The Rich Man and Lazarus

Bible Text: Luke 16:19–31

in a nutshell: God promises justice for all—rich and poor, privileged and oppressed, popular and outcast.

Big Question: Does this story mean that all rich and powerful people go to hell?

Key Words: REVERSAL, REPENTANCE, JUSTICE, MERCY

• The story of the rich man and Lazarus is one of reversal, a common theme in Luke’s Gospel.

• Social and economic reversals are part of God’s justice, which comes as judgment to the privileged and mercy to the marginalized.

• Jesus proclaims that hearing and doing God’s word is the basis of inheriting the promises God made to Abraham.

• Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection are a proclamation against the temptation to mistake God’s deliverance for divine privilege and God’s provision for our deserving.

• We often measure people’s worth and value by the size of their income and wealth, but we are who we are and have what we have because of God’s grace.

• Our church is committed to using its resources to serve others.

Does this story mean that all rich and powerful people go to hell?

Our earthly life is not fair. Youth are very aware of this fact. This scripture is about justice. Youth live in a culture in which they are bombarded with advertisements for expensive things. They have friends or classmates who flaunt their expensive toys and clothes, and they often make fun of those who do not have the means to purchase the expensive things. It does not take much at this vulnerable time in their lives to make youth feel inferior or superior.

Helping youth to hear that there is a time in God’s kingdom when those who have and those who do not have will be equalized may help them to realize that the events of today are not the most important things in the total scheme of God’s kingdom. It is not easy to look at a long-range picture of fairness when youth feel inferior today. This concept needs to be dealt with in a patient and caring manner.

Download this week’s student sheet to help enter into conversation about this lesson:

The Rich Man and Lazarus Student Sheet

Parables of Lost and Found

Bible Text: Luke 15

In a nutshell: God always makes the extra effort to find the lost and welcome them home.

Big Question: Does God really look for everyone who is lost?

Key Words: LOST, FOUND, GRACE, FORGIVENESS, CELEBRATE

• The context in which these stories are told is important and demands that we look at the hard question these parables pose for the (supposedly) “non-lost.” They just might be the real intended recipients of the message in these stories.

• The parable of the prodigal son offers a beautiful picture of grace—the father running out to meet the son and putting his arms around him and kissing him before the lost son even has the chance to ask for forgiveness.

• We don’t often enough put ourselves in the place of the elder son. He is our prideful self, the side of us that not only thinks we can make it into the “father’s arms” on our own but privately thinks we already have.

• These stories are a call to celebrate God’s radical grace. God loves each of us because that’s who God is.

Most youth have done foolish things at some point in their lives; most adults have as well. Helping youth identify with one of the brothers will help them connect with the prodigal son story. A good question to ask is “When have you been the younger brother?” Then ask, “How did it feel?” You are incorporating two important factors of the learning brain: first, you help youth to personalize the story, connecting it to something they already know; and second, you engage their emotions. We know that learning is filtered through emotions. The more youth become emotionally involved in the story, the greater the learning and impact of the teaching will be. This particular story may touch off emotional reactions to the relationship the youth have with their fathers or mothers. Be prepared for some disclosures that may be revealing and may need to be debriefed further. This is a very personal story, because all of us at some point have played each of the parts in the story.

Parables of Lost and Found Student Sheet

The Good Samaritan

Bible Text: Luke 10:25–37

In a Nutshell: Jesus teaches us to love our neighbors without boundaries.

Big Question: I know my enemy, and I know my neighbor, so how can they be the same person?

Key Words: PRIEST, LEVITE, SAMARITAN, NEIGHBOR

• We are each called to love God and our neighbor.

• God’s love extends beyond religious differences and all human boundaries. We should not place limits on whom we call our “neighbor,” because God does not.

• When we truly love our neighbor, both our words and deeds will reflect our love. Jesus instructs the lawyer—and us—to “Go and do likewise” (Luke 10:37).

• Loving our neighbor can put us at personal risk and may be costly.

• Jesus’ parable of the good Samaritan probably shocked his audience, since Jews and Samaritans did not associate with each other and were religious enemies.

Adolescent Connection

I know my enemy, and I know my neighbor, so how can they be the same person?

Relating this powerful story to today’s time is critical for a deeper understanding of its meaning. Youth have people that they perceive as their “enemies.” This perception may be based on bullying, rivalry in sports, dating, grades, or one of many other pressures and challenges they face in daily life. Since perception is reality, if they believe someone is an enemy, that’s the way it is. Helping them to understand that going out of their way to help someone they perceive as an enemy is what it is all about.

Anyone can help a friend. It takes the guidance and teachings of Jesus to feel love and compassion for an enemy. Bringing the story home by making it “up close and personal” will help youth to relate and respond in healthy and helpful ways. In this way, they can connect more readily with the story in an emotional way.

The Good Samaritan Student Sheet

February 2011 ParentLink Newsletters

Hi Parents,

See below to download the February 2011 ParentLink Newsletters. There is a lot of great information there. We are blessed to be able to offer it to you!

February 2011 Children’s Parentlink

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Zacchaeus

Bible Text: Luke 19:1–11

In a nutshell: Jesus’ welcome transforms our life and behavior.

Big Question: How am I changed because Jesus welcomes me?

Key Words: TAX COLLECTOR, SEEK, SAVE

• Jericho sat on a strategic trade route and was a likely place for tax collecting.

• By working for the Roman occupiers, Zacchaeus was a political traitor to his people, but the nature of his job meant that he also had to charge more than the Romans required in order to make a living for himself. Because he colluded with the Romans, who were Gentiles, Zacchaeus was considered unclean by the laws of his faith.

• Being unclean meant he could not participate in the life of the worshipping community—he was an outcast religiously as well as sociologically (as a traitor).

• Jesus welcomed many people who were considered unclean in his day. His behavior seems to suggest that everyone is welcome in God’s eyes.

• Zacchaeus’s interaction with Jesus was life-changing for him. God’s welcome transforms us all.

Adolescent Connection

How am I changed because Jesus welcomes me?

The story of Zacchaeus is a story about transformation. This transformation comes from the hand of Jesus as he takes a personal interest in this man who is considered a sinner by his neighbors. Personal identification is a key to hearing the richness of this story and will bring the story to life. Youth have all felt “small” at one time or another, and this metaphorical connection brings them into the story immediately. What lengths might they go to, to be able to “see” Jesus? The realization that Jesus knows their name places a different spin on their relationship with him. Thinking about righting a wrong in their own lives can be a powerful enhancement to hearing this story. A reemphasis of Luke’s theme of Jesus coming to save the least, the last, and the lost through this story will resonate with the youth as their feelings often lead in that direction.

Zacchaeus Student Sheet

 

 

Healing the Bent Over Woman

Bible Text: Luke 13:10–17

In a nutshell: Laws are for the good of the people.

Big Question: Can I break the rules when I think I’m right?

Key Words: SABBATH, LAW, FREEDOM, MERCY

• Jesus’ ministry is often about mediating the kingdom of God to those who are demeaned, oppressed, and denied proper status by religious and social restrictions and authorities. Women hover near the top of the list of demeaned and oppressed groups in the first century.

• In this story, Jesus is honored and his opponents are shamed, but the greatest change comes in the healed woman’s status.

• The nameless woman in this story had an affliction that left her unable to stand up straight and disabled her for 18 years.

• Jesus saw this instance as a battle between keeping the Sabbath law’s particularities and his “job description” of freeing people from bondage.

• Jesus did not hesitate to heal because of gender, location, or Sabbath rules.

Adolescent Connection

This story can help youth connect with the concept of “the letter of the law” versus “the spirit of the law.” They would probably agree that being told to wear a seat belt because it may save their life is far more meaningful than being told to wear the seat belt because it is the law. Jesus tried to make this difference clear. Learning to understand and accept the difference is a gift of grace and understanding of God’s relationship with people. There are times when the letter of the law must be upheld for the good of all people. A red light means stop. And there are times when the well-being of a person overrides the letter of the law. This is why ambulances have flashing lights and sirens. When a life is at stake, the spirit of the law takes over.

Healing the Bent-Over Woman Student Sheet

January 2011 ParentLink

Hi Parents,

See below to download the January 2011 ParentLink Newsletters. There is a lot of great information there. We are blessed to be able to offer it to you!

Teen ParentLink January 2011

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The Sending of the 70

Bible Text: Matthew 8:19–22; 10:6–16; Luke 10:1–16

In a nutshell: Jesus equips discipleswith power—now as then—and sends them out to spread the good news.

Big Question:  How am I supposed to be a missionary?

Key Words: DISCIPLE, MISSIONARY, EQUIP, ENLIST

• The sending of the 70 appears only in Luke, although all four of the Gospels have instructions of some sort for missionaries.

• The Jesus movement was growing to such an extent that Jesus had enough followers (not just the 12 apostles) to send them out to further the message of the good news of God’s presence in the world.

• The pattern for missionary journeys established in this story is the basis for many of the best mission efforts today.

• How is the gospel spread today? How do we go about our mission if it is not door-to-door? What is appropriate and effective in our shrinking world? What do Christians have to offer to others in an age of multiculturalism and religious pluralism? Do we know ourselves to be the powerful missionaries that we are?

The Sending of the Seventy Student Sheet

The Transfiguration

Bible Text: Matthew 17:1–8; Mark 9:2–8; Luke 9:28–36

Big Question: Why were Moses and Elijah there with Jesus?

Key Words: TRANSFIGURATION, PROPHET, LAW, MOSES, ELIJAH

In A Nutshell: Jesus is revealed as the Son of God and the fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets.

The transfiguration story is a bit of a mystery. Interpreters do not agree on the transfiguration’s historical roots or its meaning.

• The Greek word behind transfiguration is metamorphoomai. The English word metamorphose means “to change the nature of something.” This coupled with the literary form (an epiphany or sudden manifestation of the divine) suggests that the transfiguration changes, or at the very least clarifies, Jesus’ identity.

• The divine voice heard in this story gives the fullest possible answer to the question of Jesus’ identity. Jesus is seen in full glory, and God says from a cloud, “This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!” (Luke 9:35).

• The transfiguration story reminds us of events from Jesus’ entire life.

Adolescent Connection

Why were Moses and Elijah there with Jesus?

Learning and memory are connected through emotions. A highly emotional experience will last in the brain for decades and can be pulled up at a moment’s notice. This moment of transfiguration was an exciting, emotional experience for those who witnessed it. If youth can connect this teaching with a sense of the excitement of the moment, they can get a glimpse of the significance of this moment. Jesus is meeting with two of the most important people of the Hebrew testament—Moses and Elijah. Guiding youth to imagine what it would be like to witness such an event may help them to remember it and to realize how important it is. God’s Son is conversing with God’s chosen messengers from history.

The Transfiguration Student Sheet

Have a Merry Christmas!

Peace,
Greg

Jesus Feed the 5000

In a nutshell:

God responds to human needs with abundance.

Bible Text: Luke 9:10–17; Matthew 14:13–21; Mark 6:32–41; John 6:1–14

Big Question: What can I do to help others?

Key Words: ABUNDANCE, SCARCITY, MULTIPLICATION, BLESSING

• Fully divine and fully human, Jesus could empathize with the hungry masses that followed him. He provided for their real-life needs—when they were hungry, he gave them food.

• Jesus’ disciples in every age do well to remember that the calling to follow him and invite others can never be separated from the physical needs of those whom we encounter.

• The miracle of the feeding of the 5,000 parallels the bountiful manna from heaven received by the Israelites in the desert following the exodus from Egypt. Once again, God has fed the people and provided for their needs and, in doing so, the promises and figures of the past are recalled in the multiplication of the loaves.

• At the table we are fed by the Bread of life; Jesus feeds us and then calls us out into the world to do the same.

Adolescent Connection

What can I do to help others?

The students you teach are probably busy. They have little time for fellowship with family—both home and church—and little time to address the needs of others. In the feeding of the 5,000, youth can see Jesus’ generosity. Even though tired and needing rest, he gave up his quiet time to help others. His compassion on the crowd, shown in teaching and feeding them, sets the example for the students. Service to others is sometimes costly, requiring that we give up both our time and our personal preferences. Often youth will not be sure they have anything to offer. Assure them that God wants them to use their unique skills to serve others and, in so doing, declare how much God has done for them.

The Feeding of the Five Thousand Student Sheet