Christ and His Church - Lesson 13

By Stafford North

Christ: The Hope of His Church

The Destiny of the Church

Background Information for the Teacher

Objectives:

The student can quote from memory a portion of Colossians 1:27.
The student can explain the meaning of the expression "Christ in you, the hope of glory."
The student can use four expressions to describe the eternal abode of the saints as pictured in Revelation 21-22.
The student will have a strong desire to go to heaven.

Preparation:

Each student will need a Bible.
Have a chalk board or marker board ready. No PowerPoint provided with this lesson.
Have song sheets or a song book to sing "When We All Get to Heaven."

Theme:

From before the foundation of the world, God has had in mind a plan to save sinners. He gradually unfolded the mystery until Christ came to complete the plan.We, who know the plan and follow it, should look forward to heaven and this hope should become the main guiding principle of our lives.

Lesson Plan for the Teacher

Introduction: (15 minutes)

Call the roll, introduce visitors and have a prayer.
What have your thought about during the past week that you could do to bear more fruit?
Today's lesson is about the hope Christians have-to go to heaven. Q: Is there someone you are especially looking forward to seeing in heaven?

Learning Experiences: (25 minutes)

Read Colossians 1:24-29. Q: What was Paul's commission? A: To present the word of God in all its fullness which includes the revelation of the mystery hidden for ages. Q: When did God first develop His plan to save people? A:Ephesians 1:4-before the creation of the world. (This verse does not mean God chose individuals to be saved; rather, before the world began He had a plan by which individuals would have the opportunity to respond to be saved.) Q:What is the core of this mystery? A: Christ in you, the hope of glory. Q: What does it mean for Christ to be in us? A: It means that we are in Christ, having been baptized into Him, and that we have been clothed with Christ. Thus,according to Galatians 3:27, we are in Him and He is in us. Such a combination give us the hope of glory-eternal life. Q: What, then, would we say was Christ's purpose for coming to earth? A: To give us the hope of glory.
Read 1 Thessalonians 5:8-11. Q: What four attributes are mentioned here that will help us to receive the salvation God has planned for us? A: Self control,faith, love, and hope. Q: How does each of these contribute to our going to heaven? A: Self-control helps us to stay away from sin and keep our lives in order. Faith helps us to make real what we cannot see-God, Christ, the Holy Spirit, and other spiritual realities. Without such faith, we cannot please God. Love gives our lives direction-we tend to become like what we love and love provides us motivation. We love God and each other and with that love growing, we are more likely to do the right thing.
Q: Why is hope called the "helmet of salvation?" A: The Roman soldier's helmet was to ward off the heavy blows. Hope of heaven keeps us going when the way is difficult. Q: Can anyone give us an example of this in their life?
Q: How do we keep this hope strong so it can play the important work God wants it to have in our lives? A: Study the promises God gives us about his care for us and the eternal place He is preparing for us. Share our lives with each other so we can encourage each other in difficult times. Think often about what God has planned for us. Think about those we long to see in heaven.
Q: What are the last two chapters of the Bible about? A: Heaven. Q: Do you suppose that is accidental? A: No. God wanted to close the Bible on this note of hope. (Teacher-be ready to use the board). Q: What are descriptions which you remember about heaven from Revelation 21 and 22? Look there and get some if you wish. (Teacher-list the descriptions as the class gives them).
Q: So, what message is God giving us about heaven from these descriptions? A:As is true throughout the book of Revelation, God is using figurative language to teach us the lesson He wants us to learn. Q: What quality of heaven does God mean to convey to us by such descriptions as-a perfect cube, high walls, open gates, twelve layers of foundation? A: A sense of safety-perfect protection. (Write these words on the board.) Nothing can ever bother us in heaven.
Q: What quality of heaven does God mean to convey by such descriptions as-we will be there with Christ and will see God face to face and the nations and the kings will be there and all those who have obeyed God will be there while the disobedient will not? A: Heaven will be a place of perfect fellowship-associating with God and Christ and the Holy Spirit and with the redeemed of all ages. Perfect fellowship.
Q: What quality of heaven does God mean to convey by saying we will walk on streets of gold, drink water from the stream of life, eat of the tree of life, and bask in the sunlight of God and Christ? A: Everything we could possibly need will be supplied. He will give us perfect provisions. No need left unfulfilled.
Q: What quality of heaven does God mean to convey by saying there will be no more pain, or crying, or sadness, or death. A: Nothing will ever mar our joy in heaven. It will be a place of perfect, unending joy. Unlike this life when even the righteous sometimes suffer, heaven will have nothing every to mar its perfect joy.

Application: (5 minutes)

A place of perfect protection, perfect fellowship, perfect provision, perfect joy.Make you want to go there? God has given us this description to provide hope as a helmet of salvation. Our hope can ward off the blows of life and keep us headed in the right direction.
Since the death of Christ made this hope possible, we recall our beginning passage. "Christ in you, the hope of glory." We are in Christ and He in us. That is how we keep the hope alive.

Evaluation:

Let's say together-"Christ in you, the hope of glory."
As time allows, recall the previous lessons on Christ and His Church.

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