Christ and His Church - Lesson 8

By Stafford North

Christ: The Gift-giver for His Church

The Work of the Church

Background Information for the Teacher

Objectives:

  1. The student can list the various responsibilities of the church.
  2. The student can share what he/she believes to be his/her part in fulfilling the mission of the church.

Preparation:

  1. Each student needs a Bible
  2. Have a chalk board or marker board. No PowerPoint provided with this lesson.
  3. Have a songbook or song sheet so the class can sing "To Christ Be True."
  4. Make copies of the worksheet for students to use at the end of the class period.

Theme:

This lesson shows what the church should be doing, how Christ has commissioned various ones of us to various parts of the mission, and how Christ wants each of us to be fulfilling our part in the mission of the church.

Lesson Plan for the Teacher

Introduction: (10 minutes)

  1. Call the roll, recognize visitors, have an opening prayer.
  2. Tell the class that today's lesson is about the work of the church. Read the words to the song "To Christ Be True," briefly connect it with the lesson, and then sing the song thoughtfully.

Learning Experiences: (30 minutes)

  1. Q: What things do you believe make up the mission of the church and from what part of scripture would you draw that? (Teacher-write these on the board as the students give them. If they miss some, lead them along by having them read the scriptures mentioned.) A: Evangelize the world (Mark 16:16, Matthew 28:18-20, Acts 1:8, 2 Corinthians 5:20); take care of each other (Acts 2:44-46, 4:32, 2 Corinthians 9:1-2); meeting together for worship (Hebrews 10:24-25, 1 Corinthians 14:26); instructing each other (Acts 20:20, 28-31); helping those outside the church by serving them and teaching them about the church (Acts 5:12-16, Galatians 6:10).
  2. Q: What are some principles we should follow in getting this work done? Read Ephesians 4:11-16. A: Christ gives us roles to fill in the church. Some of these roles are no longer with us but some are. Those in these roles are to work together "to prepare God's people for works of service." This will allow the church to mature and everyone will be well grounded in the faith. For this to happen, every part of the body must do his/her work. Read 1 Corinthians 12:18-
  3. Q: What principles do we see here? A: Every member has an important part to play in the work of the body, even those that are less prominent or less well known. Everyone should appreciate those with other roles, whatever they maybe. Read Romans 12:3-8. Q: What additional thoughts does this passage give on our work together in the church? A: Each member belongs to all the others. We all work together and are all proud of each other. Each person has different abilities and skills but all of us should be using the abilities and opportunities God has given us for His service. Read 1 Peter 4:10-11. Q: What points about the body does this passage emphasize? A: Each one has a gift from God's grace. The use of all gifts is for the praise of God.
  4. Now let's apply these principles to the work of this congregation. (Teacher-here is a series of question to ask with the answers coming from the class.) Q: Name something that someone does in our congregation that is important but which gets little recognition? Q: How could we get more of our members involved in doing something for the service of God? (Explore this one for awhile.) Q: Is there something that you have thought about doing that you have never gotten started in? Q: What are areas of work in this congregation for which we need more people at work? Q: How could we get more of our members to work individually to bring people to church with them?

Application: (5 minutes)

  1. (Teacher: Summarize some of the key points the class has made.)
  2. (Teacher: Hand around the sheets provided and ask members of the class to complete them as a way of getting them to commit to doing some things they have not been doing.)

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