/ August 27, 2017 The Doors Are Open By Daphne Myers Focus: God opens doors and calls us to go through them. Bible Basis: Acts 10:19-33 Memory Verse: He said to them: You are well aware that it is against our law for a Jew to associate with a Gentile or visit him. But God has shown me that I should not call any man impure or unclean. Acts 10:28 Students will discuss how God opens doors to share the Gospel with those who are different from us. OPENING ACTIVITY: Prejudging People On a board or a piece of newsprint, write the question, What are some criteria people use to prejudge other people? For example, we judge people by the way they dress, their ethnicity, their overall appearance, or their social position. When we judge others, we are judged ourselves because we only know in part and see in part. The appearance of a person does not reveal his or her heart. This week s story is an example of the Lord transforming the heart of a man in a region where Christianity is most often persecuted. God s wisdom, power, and purpose for each person s life aren t known to us. Our duty is to go where He sends us and do as He commands. OPENING STORY: [Make copies or ask a volunteer to read the story aloud] KURDISH MUSLIM RESISTED READING THE BIBLE, THEN DISCOVERED ITS MAGNETISM Chevan (not his real name) was born near Nineveh, Iraq, the city where Jonah preached. His father was a sheikh and preached at the mosque, but Chevan never got interested in daily prayers. He wanted to play music and was drawn to the arts to the chagrin of his father. He got into journalism and reported on television and movies. A sportswriter friend was killed because some groups were demanding good press. They didn t care that a sportswriter has nothing to do with politics.
Chevan didn t write about politics either, but after he witnessed his friend gunned down in front of his eyes, he knew not to stick around. He traveled to Syria, then Egypt, to Dubai, and finally to Lebanon. His family was aware of the dangers he faced and funded his travel. While he pursued an acting career, he found a job selling ads for a magazine and two newspapers. He was getting by. One day he was walking down a busy street near downtown Beirut, Lebanon, when he ran into a pastor handing out Bibles. The pastor reached out his hand and offered a Bible to him. No, I don t take it, Chevan said. I am Muslim. You don t have to be Christian to read the Bible, Pastor Gergis (not his real name) responded. It s happy news. You just read it like any other book. Two days later, the same pastor approached Chevan on another street, without recognizing him. This time, Chevan was annoyed. This is the second time you told me to take the Bible, and I told you I don t want it, he responded gruffly. Improbably, the pastor ran into Chevan on the beach a few days later, didn t recognize him, and offered him a Bible once more. You know this is the third time you offer me this Bible. This time I will take it, not because I want it, but just because I want to stop you. Chevan took the Bible home and started reading in Genesis. He flipped through to the middle and studied some passages. He also read some passages in Revelation. He spent nearly four hours in the Word. Suddenly he was seized with curiosity to discover the happy news. I wanted to read it more. I wanted to know what the secret was in this book, he said. It was magnetic to me. The next day, I went to the Bible, I don t even know why. I just wanted to open it again. I felt like something amazing was in this book, but I didn t know what it was. The Sunday afterward, he found an ad in the newspaper about a church and decided to attend. Originally, his plan was to expose the Christians false worship. By coincidence, it was Pastor Gergis s church. People were very friendly to me. I thought I would tell them I am Muslim and they would kick me out. But they didn t. They told me it was God s house for everyone in any time. I was happy. Two months later, Chevan discovered the secret behind the Bible s magnetism: it s a living Word. Unlike other books, the words in the Bible are alive, and they offer new life to all who believe. In response, Chevan surrendered his life to Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord and was born again. He was 29 when he received the Lord. It wasn t easy for me to accept Jesus even with an open mind, he said. He loved the pastor and the other believers he met, but he applied for a refugee visa with the United Nations and was allowed to move to the United States. I understood that after I became a Christian, it was not okay for me to stay in the Middle East, he said. Middle Eastern Christians are exposed to persecution from Muslims, especially converts from Islam. He hop-scotched around major cities of
America and always got involved in a local church. I started to read the Bible on the computer and listen to Christian music and famous Christian preachers like Billy Graham, he said. Chevan has been following Jesus for 10 years. My future is in God s hands, he says. I don t know what He wants me to do, he said. But what I want to be is a pastor in Nineveh, the place where I was born. Ask your students to form small groups to discuss their answers to these questions. Why might you not reach out to someone like Chevan with the Gospel? How many doors did God open so that you could be reached with the Gospel (for example, different people who reached out to you, different circumstances you were in)? Why should we not prejudge who God wants to follow Him? (When you are finished with the questions, go on to Step 2 in your Adult Teacher s Guide.) News Source: By Esteban Orozco http://blog.godreports.com/2017/07/kurdish-muslim-from-ninevehresisted-reading-the-bible-then-discovered-its-magnetism/ NOTE: Names have been changed to protect the people in this story.
/ August 28, 2017 The Doors Are Open YOUR OPEN DOORS Focus: God opens doors and calls us to go through them. Bible Basis: Acts 10:19-33 Memory Verse: He said to them: You are well aware that it is against our law for a Jew to associate with a Gentile or visit him. But God has shown me that I should not call any man impure or unclean. Acts 10:28 Several years ago, I worked an extremely stressful job and wasn t sure why the Lord kept me there when I sought an open door to leave. There was a Muslim gentleman with whom I cultivated a mutually respectful, working relationship. He was born in Afghanistan but had lived in America since childhood. Over time, I had an opportunity to share the Gospel of Christ, and he accepted the Lord. In less than two years, my coworker suffered a massive stroke and died at 43. You can t love God and hate some of His people. Scripture says that if we say we love God whom we haven t seen, how can we hate our brother whom we have seen? (1 John 4:20). He that loves his brother abides in the light (1 John 2:10). The world judges people by outward appearances, not by their character, but God looks at their hearts. He opens doors all around us to bring people to Him, people we may not think would ever come to Him but they will. Ask students to return to the groups they had in Step 1 to discuss how they will do this activity. This week, do an assessment of who is in your path on your job, in your community, or in your circle of family or friends whose respect and trust you ve earned. Pray about who among those people thirsts for God and would receive Him if you introduce Him. End the class praying for daily direction and purpose for each of you, for we don t know what a day may bring, and He aligns schedules and chance encounters in our lives so we can proclaim His glory through our word and works. (We are not affiliated with and do not endorse any website listed on these pages. At the time of writing, our editors carefully review the referenced material and non-referenced
web page content. However, due to the nature of the Internet, non-cited content on the website [including pop-ups, links, and ads] changes frequently and is beyond our control. Please review carefully before showing links in the classroom.) THE BIBLE IN THE NEWS An inscription from the time of Nebuchadnezzar s destruction of Judah has been found hiding in plain sight on a pottery shard: http://www.jpost.com/israel-news/culture/advanced-imaging-reveals-rare-hebrewinscription-from-first-temple-period-496878