Key Thought: God’s pleasure with His creation shows how valued we are in His eyes and how much He treasures us. How can we value the worth of each person?
January 18, 2025

1. Have a volunteer read Luke 15:11-32.

1. Ask class members to share a short thought on what the most important point is in this passage.
2. What does this reveal about God’s compassion and love?
3. Personal Application: How do we deal with fairness in our lives? Have you seen unfair treatment in your family? Workplace? Society? How do we balance our personal sense of justice with love and compassion for others? Share your thoughts.
4. Case Study: One of your relatives states, “What was the problem of the older son? I don’t see that he did anything wrong in this story. He was faithful. He stayed and worked with his dad. He didn’t go off and do stupid things like his brother. And yet there seems to be a warning about the older son here.” How would you respond to your relative?

2. Have a volunteer read Isaiah 43:4, Psalms 149:4, Proverbs 15:8,9.

1. Ask class members to share a thought on what the most important point in this text is.
2. What do these texts tell us about God taking delight in His people?
3. Personal Application: Does knowing God can be so intimately involved with us help when you are going through a difficult time? Share your thoughts.
4. Case Study: One of your friends states, “I see a lot of Christians that despise the dignity and value of others in their words and interactions. How should our Christian love override our social and political viewpoints and actions?” How would you respond to your friend?

3. Have a volunteer read Romans 8:1, 5:8, I Peter 2:4-6, Hebrews 11:6.

1. Ask class members to share a short thought on what the most important point in this text is.
2. What do these texts teach us about our standing with God?
3. Personal Application: Why is the idea of Christ mediating as your defense attorney and mediator in heaven for you encouraging? Share your thoughts.
4. Case Study: One of your neighbors states: “Can we get people’s attention and share the gospel with them if we have no care or concern for them? If we don’t value a person’s life, is there any way God could use us to help them in their salvation?.” How would you respond to your neighbor?

4. Have a volunteer read Mark 9:17-29.

1. Ask class members to share their thoughts on the most important point in this text.
2. How does God respond to the man in this story? How much faith is enough faith?
3. Personal Application: How well do we follow the adage to treat people how you want to be treated and love your neighbor as yourself? Share your thoughts.
4. Case Study: Think of one person who needs to hear a message from this week’s lesson. Tell the class what you plan to do this week to share with them.

(Truth that is not lived, that is not imparted, loses its life-giving power, its healing virtue. Its blessings can be retained only as it is shared. ”Ministry of Healing, p. 148).

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Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/3-to-be-pleasing-to-god-teaching-plan/

Daily Lesson for Monday 13th of January 2025

Hard as it is for us to imagine, God considers each person of incalculable value, which is why He rejoices over the salvation of even one soul.

Image © Educational Concepts Collection at Goodsalt.com

Zephaniah 3:17 emphatically displays the delight of God over His redeemed people. Just about every word for joy and delight in the Hebrew language is packed into this single verse, descriptive of God’s delight over His redeemed people. It’s almost as if no one of the terms by itself is sufficient to describe the magnitude of God’s delight on that day.

Notice, too, where God is according to this verse—in the “midst” of His people. The reconciliation that arises from the relationship of love comes with the immediate presence of God. Just like the father—when he sees the son afar off, he comes running—here God is in the midst of His people.

In Isaiah 62:4, similar imagery is couched with a marriage analogy. According to Isaiah 62:4 (NKJV), God’s people will “be called Hephzibah,” which means “My delight is in her,” and the land will be called “Beulah,” which means “married.” Why? Because, the text says, “The Lord delights in you, and your land shall be married.” The very pinnacle of God’s joy is reserved for the day of restoration, when He will receive His people and rejoice over us, even as the father rejoiced over his prodigal son.

This passage exhorts husbands to love their wives “just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her,” and to love their wives “as their own bodies” (Ephesians 5:25,28, NKJV). These texts not only highlight the kind of unselfish and sacrificial love a husband is to have for his wife but also show that Christ Himself loves His people (the church) as part of Himself.

<–Sunday Tuesday–>

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Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/25a-03-rejoicing-with-gladness/