FAIRNESS 4 – When someone’s not being treated right, do something about it!

 Fairness 4 - English file

Fairness 4 - German file 

Devotional Thoughts about Acts 6,1-7

Someone who trusted Christ for salvation in the early church period usually came from one of two backgrounds. He or she was either a Jew living in Judea and worshipping in the temple or a Jew who had grown up in one of the surrounding cultures in the Roman Empire. Their common language was Greek.

Then it came out that the widows—the vulnerable people in these distinct groups—were treated differently. As the gospel had quickly spread, transcending races and cultures, it was surely uncomfortable for the Jewish apostles, who were committed to taking care of their own, to expand the concept of “their own” to include those whom they’d been conditioned over the years to shun.

But when the problem was brought to their attention, they called a meeting of the many belie­vers to address it. Acts 4:37 gives the impression that the church’s charitable work had initially been done through the apostles, but by this time with all the growth, it had become way too much for them.

As their own priority was preaching and teaching God’s Word, they instructed the church to choose and dedicate seven men to take care of those needing help. As a result of this, yet more people came to faith in Christ.

Lord, please help me see where people are falling through the cracks and do what I can to help.

 Downloading lesson files

If you're interested in the lesson file, simply click on the appropriate link above to download it in the desired language. See the Informational Pages in the right column for more about the lesson series. The next post and the next lesson will be the last in the topic Fairness.

FAIRNESS 3 - Treat everyone as important, not just rich people.

Fairness 3 - English file

Fairness 3 - German file

Devotional Thoughts about James 2:1-9

As I’ve worked with groups of children over the years, I’ve been appalled now and then to see how cruel one can be to another. In their immaturity kids sometimes re­sort to crude methods to secure a place for themselves in the established hierarchy of their peers, and favoritism and exclusion are basic tools.

Although they’re resentful of teacher’s pets and others’ partiality, they scramble to wield the same weapon to jealously guard their own social assets in the precarious drama at school.

Of course adults show partiality, too, but usually with a veneer of sophistication. The truth is: we like some people more than we do others, and it shows. We act upon our preconceptions and sometimes even use them to manipulate others.

That God loves us all and is willing to accept anyone who comes to Him, is hard for us to grasp or truly believe because our sin nature is so grasping and self-centered.

Lord, please keep reminding me of Your “royal law” (James 2:8) and enable me to treat others as just as important as myself for Your glory. 

Downloading lesson files

If you're interested in the lesson file, simply click on the appropriate link above to download it in the desired language. See the Informational Pages in the right column for more about the lesson series. The next post and the next lesson will be the fourth in the topic Fairness.

 

FAIRNESS 2 - Everyone's important to God.

Fairness 2 - English files

Fairness 2 - German files

Devotional Thoughts about Acts Chapter 10

So what’s the big deal about whether Peter was willing to eat the animals let down in the sheet? We need Old Testament knowledge to understand his persistent refusal. The animals he was shown were evidently among those forbidden as food for Jews in Leviticus Chapter 11. These dietary restrictions were and still are a huge part of Jewish identity and lifestyle.

Peter never did eat the animals, which were then removed, but they had served their purpose. Considering how slow Peter had been to understand what God wanted from him, he was remarkably quick to apply that tardy lesson to the next situation into which he was thrust.

He realized that God wanted him to revamp his categories of clean and unclean—not primarily in terms of animals but of people. In the Old Testament, God had forbidden Jews from intermarrying with surrounding peoples for the very real danger of idolatry, which happened plenty.

But especially for those who kept that command, hatred for non-Jews must have seemed the obvious and logical alternative. In this chapter, which is a major cog in the transitional book of Acts, God expected Peter to change his categories because He had made him clean and was in the process of doing the same for non-Jews.

Not being Jewish myself, I’m very thankful that the good news of the gospel is for me, too. Lord, please help me to treat others for what they are: people whom God loves and for whom Christ died.

Downloading lesson files

If you're interested in the lesson files, simply click on the appropriate link above to download them in the desired language. See the Informational Pages in the right column for more about the lesson series. The next post and the next lesson will be the third in the topic Fairness.

 

FAIRNESS 1 - Where there's favoritism, there's also envy.

 Fairness 1 - English files

 Fairness 1 - German files

Devotional Thoughts about Favoritism in Jacob’s Family

When I think about the dynamics of this family, my first question is: Why did Jacob, who was hurt by his father’s favoritism, carry it on with his own kids?

The only answer I can come up with is that most of us instinctively follow patterns of behavior we learned in childhood— even those we’ve experienced as being nega­tive. Thus addictions tend to run in families over generations, and even rebellious kids end up more like their parents than they’d ever like to admit.

Of course there are kids who don’t do this, and Joseph is one of these exceptions. Before his abduction and exile, he may have been on a track to repeat his father’s and grandfather’s mistake, especially as he was the favored one. But after he was ripped out of a universe that had revolved around him, he had time without his family to reflect as well as a pressing need to trust God for survival.

Early on he was noted for how God’s presence in his life made him stand out (Genesis 39:3,21-23). At the reunion years later, his forgiveness and acceptance toward his brothers showed the maturity and character that God had forged in his life (45:4-12).

Lord, keep me seeking the nearness to You. Let others notice the difference You make in a person’s life.

Downloading lesson files

If you're interested in the lesson files, simply click on the appropriate link above to download them in the desired language. See the Informational Pages in the right column for more about the lesson series. The next post and the next lesson will be the second in the topic Fairness.

DILIGENCE 4 - Don't work for nothing; don't live for nothing!

Diligence 4 - English files 

 Fleiß 4 - German files

Devotional Thoughts about Matthew 7:24-27

Scenes from this famous parable are often crafted, drawn or colored by Sunday School kids and shown to their parents. Most of them can usually point out the differences in the two structures that make the one practical and the other tragic.

In this age of building codes and of heavy machinery eliminating much of the back­breaking work necessary to erect sustainable buildings, most children in first-world countries now have little or no exposure to poorly-built houses. But even those who can point to a potential fixer-upper in the neighborhood don’t necessarily get the point of the story.

Just as the houses in most neighborhoods don’t usually convey to a curbside bystander the problems that might be hiding inside such as mold, faulty plumbing, abuse or even criminal activity, many of those who build their lives without Jesus don’t let on by their outward appearances what a wreck their lives are.

Many aren’t even fully aware of it themselves as they live in denial, desperately projecting success with their words and their lifestyles. Children as well as many adults are taken in by appearances, not perceiving the brokenness in people all around them.

Lord, please convince me—and the kids, too—that a life without You brings devastation. Help us to make You and Your Word the foundation of our lives.

Downloading lesson files

If you're interested in the lesson files, simply click on the appropriate link above to download them in the desired language. See the Informational Pages in the right column for more about the lesson series. The next post and the next lesson will be the first in the topic Fairness.