SALT AND LIGHT TEACHER GUIDE · Option 1: ROLE PLAY “I can’t do math!” Needed: 1 shopkeeper, 2 buyers, salt for sale. Scene: Shopkeeper is selling salt at his/her shop. Buyer

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TEACHER GUIDE SALT AND LIGHT

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Truth Centered Transformation—Module: Salt and Light v3. Copyright ©2017Reconciled World, Phoenix, Arizona, United States of America. www.reconciledworld.org This work is made available under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution–ShareAlike 3.0 license. You are permitted and encouraged to adapt the work, and to copy, distribute, and transmit it under the following conditions: Attribution – You must attribute the work by including the following statement: Copyright © 2017. Published by Reconciled World (www.reconciledworld.org) under terms of the Creative Commons Attribution–ShareAlike 3.0 license. For more information, see www.creativecommons.org. Non-Commercial – You may not use this work for commercial purposes.

If you are interested in translating this material, please contact [email protected]. All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.TM. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com. The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.TM.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Before You Get Started .................................................................................................................. iv

Lesson 1: Salt ................................................................................................................................. 1 Introduction: Salt ............................................................................................................................................ 1 You are Salt ..................................................................................................................................................... 1 Be Like Salt ..................................................................................................................................................... 2 Conclusion ...................................................................................................................................................... 3

Lesson 2: Light ............................................................................................................................... 4 Introduction .................................................................................................................................................... 4 Story of a Community in Darkness ................................................................................................................. 5 Stories of Salt and Light Churches .................................................................................................................. 6 Conclusion ...................................................................................................................................................... 7

Lesson 3: Glorifying God ................................................................................................................. 8 Introduction: Valuable to God ........................................................................................................................ 8 Our Lives Should Glorify God .......................................................................................................................... 9 God’s Ambassadors ...................................................................................................................................... 10 Conclusion .................................................................................................................................................... 11

Lesson 4: True Christianity ............................................................................................................ 12 Introduction .................................................................................................................................................. 12 Character 1: Rules Without Acts of Love ...................................................................................................... 12 Character 2: Acts of Love Without Love ....................................................................................................... 13 Character 3: Acts of Love with a Heart Full of Love ...................................................................................... 14 How Does A Person of Love Act? .................................................................................................................. 14 The Source of Love ....................................................................................................................................... 15 Growing in Love ............................................................................................................................................ 15 Your Character .............................................................................................................................................. 16 Conclusion .................................................................................................................................................... 17

Lesson 5: Removing Sin & Renewing Our Minds18 ........................................................................ 18 Introduction: Losing Our Saltiness ................................................................................................................ 18 Removing Sin ................................................................................................................................................ 19 Steps to Overcoming Sin .............................................................................................................................. 20 Removing Sin ................................................................................................................................................ 20 Renewing Our Minds .................................................................................................................................... 21 Conclusion .................................................................................................................................................... 22

Lesson 6: Replacing Bad With Good .............................................................................................. 23 Introduction .................................................................................................................................................. 23 Replacing Bad with Good ............................................................................................................................. 24 Practicing to Overcome Sin .......................................................................................................................... 25 Conclusion .................................................................................................................................................... 26

Lesson 7: The Practice of Love ....................................................................................................... 29 Introduction .................................................................................................................................................. 29 What is the Practice of Love? ....................................................................................................................... 29 Areas to Implement the Practice of Love ..................................................................................................... 30 Conclusion .................................................................................................................................................... 31

Lesson 8: Commands, Consequences & Commitment .................................................................... 33 Introduction .................................................................................................................................................. 33 Command ..................................................................................................................................................... 33 Consequences .............................................................................................................................................. 34 Commitment ................................................................................................................................................ 34 Conclusion .................................................................................................................................................... 35

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Lesson 9: Committing to Action ..................................................................................................... 36 Introduction: A Village Transformed ............................................................................................................ 36 Types of Acts of Love .................................................................................................................................... 37 Ongoing Teaching ......................................................................................................................................... 37 Planning Process ........................................................................................................................................... 38 Writing a Commitment ................................................................................................................................. 39 Conclusion .................................................................................................................................................... 40

Lesson 10: A Lifestyle of Love ........................................................................................................ 41 Introduction: A Lifestyle of Serving .............................................................................................................. 41 Five Ways to Encourage Acts of Love ........................................................................................................... 41 STORY 1: From One to Many ........................................................................................................................ 43 STORY 2: A Church That Serves .................................................................................................................... 43 Conclusion .................................................................................................................................................... 45

Lesson 11: Conclusion – Remaining Faithful .................................................................................. 46 Review .......................................................................................................................................................... 46 Remaining Faithful ........................................................................................................................................ 46 Measuring Our Obedience ........................................................................................................................... 46 Conclusion .................................................................................................................................................... 47

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Before You Get Started

Preparing for Teaching a Lesson 1. Read through the Teacher Guide carefully, several times if possible. Highlight or make notes on the

sides of the pages to remind yourself of important points. 2. Look at the main ideas for each lesson so you know what students should learn through the lesson. 3. Read all scripture passages ahead. 4. Check to see what materials are needed in each lesson and make sure you make copies of Student

Guides (handouts) and create the visual aids that are used in the lesson. 5. Make sure you are familiar with each activity in the lesson (role plays, games, visual aids). You can

practice it with your family or friends. 6. Take time to pray for God to prepare the students, for the students to hear what God wants them to

hear, and for Him to help you teach the materials. Remember that it is only through God’s strength that we will see people changed.

Helpful Hints for Effective Teaching 1. Arrive early and set up your materials and the area you will be using. 2. Don’t rush through the material. Plan enough time for discussion, activities and breaks. The goal is for

people to have time to understand and be involved in the learning process. Move at a pace from topic to topic that makes sure everyone understands. Some modules may take an extra half or whole day.

3. Review often. At the beginning of each session have the class review all they have learned so far in the training module. Repetition helps people to remember what was learned.

4. Follow the Teacher Guide and your preparation notes. 5. Make sure to include all four parts of each lesson.

a. Introduce the topic – Activities will connect the topic to their previous experiences. b. Give new information – There are many ways to share new information. c. Give students a task to do with what they have learned – Activities allow them to better

understand the information by working with others, creating something, or using the new information in some way.

d. Connect the information to their lives – This is the application step that helps the student decide specific ways they will apply new information they have learned in their lives. Learning without application doesn’t produce change and isn’t very useful.

6. Review your adult learning principles and other skills taught in the Facilitator Development Training. a. Give clear directions. b. Ask lots of open-ended questions (questions requiring more than a yes/no response). c. Thank people for their participation. d. Don’t tell people what they can learn better by discovery. e. Build on what people already know and recognize their experiences. f. Be patient and wait for people to respond.

7. Encourage everyone to be participating, sharing and contributing to the discussions. Find ways to gently encourage shy people to participate without embarrassing them.

8. Pray throughout the day for God to reveal new things to you and the students.

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How to Use This Teacher Guide 1. Main Ideas and Materials: Each lesson begins with this section.

a. Main Ideas – There are many good ideas in each lesson, but participants should clearly understand these main ideas by the end of each lesson. It is good to ask yourself if you think participants could remember these main ideas after you lead a lesson. Take time to review the main ideas often to help them remember.

b. Materials – The specific materials needed are listed for each lesson, including Visual Aids and Student Handouts. You can choose to provide copies of the entire Student Guide to each participant, or make a minimal number of copies for small group discussions. If you do not use the Student Guide, you can write verses and questions on a whiteboard or poster, or write the verses on small pieces of paper for each group. If a Student Guide handout is critical for everyone to have, it will be bolded in the materials list. We also recommend having poster paper, a whiteboard, OR a chalkboard to use with the large group. The Visual Aids are all found in a section after the lessons.

2. Facilitator Instructions: There are special instructions in the lesson to help you lead the training well. These are not meant to be shared with the students. Read these ahead so you are prepared to lead discussions and activities. Some questions will also have italicized answers to help you as a facilitator know what ideas to emphasize with the students. These are not the only good answers, just some good answers.

3. Managing Time Frames and Flow: Time frames are not included for each lesson. a. Take as much time as is needed to help people learn the ideas in the lesson. It is more

valuable to be concerned about what people are learning than with completing the lesson in a set time frame.

b. Remember to leave time for facilitators to start off with devotions, share testimonies, discuss any problems they are having, and pray together.

Student Guide 1. If your group does not receive a full Student Guide, then at least make copies for each person of the

two pages at the end of the Teacher Guide: a. Lesson 6: Overcoming Sin – Common Sin worksheet b. Lesson 7: My Serving Plan chart

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Lesson 1: Salt Main Ideas:

1. As God’s people, we have great value. 2. As salt, our lives are intended to create change around us and in our communities.

Materials:

• Introduction: Container of salt • Visual Aid: “I Can’t Do Math!” Role play script (activity option 1 – three copies are needed) • Simple food seasoned and unseasoned with salt (activity option 2) • Spoon • Plate or bowl

Introduction: Salt

LARGE GROUP ACTIVITY Facilitator Instructions: Hold up a container with some salt in it or pass salt around the room for people to see

• What is this? • What is it used for? preserving / adding flavor / purifying / cleaning / preservation / etc.

Salt is a basic and wonderful way of making things better! In fact, salt is essential for our bodies: we cannot live without it. Jesus spoke about salt as a symbol for who Christians are. Today we want to see how we should be like salt to our communities. Let’s begin by looking at scripture to find out what Jesus said about salt.

You are Salt

LARGE GROUP DISCUSSION Read Matthew 5:13.

“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again?

It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men.” In this passage, Jesus is talking to His followers. Since we are His followers, He is addressing us! At the time of Jesus, salt was considered to be extremely precious and valuable – it was of great worth. Jesus is letting His followers know that they are highly valued. Be encouraged! Jesus has called you to be a loving presence in your community because He values you! Let’s take a moment to encourage each other and to celebrate the value Christ has placed on us, His Church. *

• Can you honor someone here by sharing a way you have seen them demonstrate God’s love the community?

Facilitator Instructions: Allow for 2 or 3 people to share an encouraging word about an Act of Love they have witnessed or something else they appreciate about another member of the group.

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Lesson 1: Salt

Be Like Salt

By giving high value to us as followers and by describing the usefulness of salt, Jesus is teaching us that we are able do much in our communities. He makes it clear that we can and should be like salt. LARGE GROUP ACTIVITY Activity Options: Choose Option 1 or 2 below. Option 1: ROLE PLAY “I can’t do math!” Needed: 1 shopkeeper, 2 buyers, salt for sale. Scene: Shopkeeper is selling salt at his/her shop. Buyer approaches to purchase salt.

Buyer 1 walks into shop and asks to buy some salt and asks about the price of the salt. Shopkeeper provides the salt, Buyer 1 pays, shopkeeper provides change to Buyer 1. As Buyer 1 walks away, s/he counts the change and realizes that the shopkeeper has given TOO MUCH change. Buyer 1 laughs and says something like, “This is my lucky day! That shopkeeper has given me too much change. What an uneducated person; s/he doesn’t even know how to add. HAHA!!” Buyer 1 walks away. Buyer 2 then walks into the shop and proceeds to buy salt and also receives incorrect change from the shopkeeper. As buyer 2 walks away, s/he counts the change and realizes the shopkeeper has given TOO MUCH change! Buyer 2 looks concerned and says something like, “Oh no. The shopkeeper has given me too much change. S/he has made a mistake and will lose money in his/her business this way.” Buyer 2 returns to the shopkeeper and does not talk about God, or the Church….but only explains that s/he received too much change and returns the extra money. The Shopkeeper then says, “Thank you so much. I never finished school and do not know how to do math very well. This is causing me a big problem with my business. I wish I could do math better.” Buyer 2 sympathizes and agrees that this is a big problem. Buyer 2 offers to help teach the shopkeeper proper math and other business practices so s/he can improve the business. Shopkeeper demonstrates that s/he is VERY grateful as Buyer 2 leaves the shop.

• Do we know if any of the characters were Christians? No we don’t know • Which one acted more like a Christian should? • Buyer 2 was honest…but in what other way did Buyer 2 act like SALT?

o Offered to help improve the shopkeeper’s ability to do math…making things better Option 2: FOOD TASTING Facilitator Instructions: Prepare in advance a local staple food prepared without salt. Have the group taste the food. Then add an appropriate amount of salt and have the group taste the same food with salt. Compare the two.

• How did the food taste before it was salted? After? Bland / tasty, unenjoyable / enjoyable? In past lessons we have learned how our own lives can and should be improved by following God’s ways. Now we see from this role play (or food tasting) and from scripture that our lives are intended to create change around us – in our communities! When salt is added, food tastes better. When we go into our communities, we should be making things better for those around us!

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Lesson 1: Salt

We all interact with our communities regularly – every day! This means we regularly have opportunities to be like salt to our communities. The things we do every day may seem unimportant, but Jesus is clear in using salt as a symbol for our lives that something small can make a big change. SMALL GROUP ACTIVITY In groups of 3 or 4, talk about some of the ways that you interact with your community on a regular basis. These should be regular daily or weekly activities (ex.,going to mill to have maize ground, shopping at market, buying and selling, collecting water, etc.). Next, choose one regular activity that you mentioned and share ideas of how you can be a loving presence or do an Act of Love while participating in that activity. REPORT BACK Share ideas with the whole group. LARGE GROUP DEMONSTRATION

• What happens if salt falls on your food in big clumps? (It tastes bad) Hold out a spoonful of salt. Ask if anyone would like to eat the spoonful of salt. (no!) Of course not! Salt is meant to be spread out. Demonstrate by sprinkling salt over a plate / bowl / table.

• Can you think of examples when we might be “too much salt” to others? We all need to remember this simple truth: Salt is meant to be spread out. If we keep the salt all to ourselves (i.e., in the spoon), we are not being obedient to God’s command to love others (i.e., spread out). Think about where salt is needed. Is it needed most on things that are already salty? The SALT of our lives is meant to be spread to those who are not yet salt – especially to those who do not yet believe. If our lives are not making things better for those around us, perhaps we aren’t really living the Christian life that Jesus intends for us.

Conclusion

1. You are salt. As God’s people, we have great value. 2. Live like salt. We are intended to add value and make positive changes in our communities by

demonstrating God’s love and doing Acts of Love. Pray together as a group. (Perhaps ask three people to pray about the following points):

• Thank God for the value He places on us as His followers. • Ask that God would move in our hearts to believe the importance of doing Acts of Love for the people

in our communities. • Ask that He would begin to show us which people He would like us to serve and how we can be like

salt to them.

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Lesson 2: Light Main Ideas:

1. The church is God’s intended vessel to model and demonstrate Christ’s love to our communities. 2. Being LIGHT to our communities is the only hope for lasting change.

Materials

• Student Guide – 3 Short Stories

Introduction

LARGE GROUP DISCUSSION After God created the heavens and the earth, light was the first thing God created. Just as we cannot live without salt, we also could not live without light – it is essential to our lives!

• What does light do? o Gives life, shows color and beauty, reveals possible dangers, etc.

• Imagine if there were no sunlight, no electrical light, no moon light. What would life be like? o Nothing could grow / couldn’t see at all, not even 1 meter in front of us / etc.

Jesus says that He is the light of the world (John 8:12) – we cannot live or grow spiritually without Him! He promises that if we follow Him, we also will have the light of life! Later, He again shows us how highly He values us as His followers by calling us the light of the world, and He tells us what to do with our light: Read Matthew 5:14–16.

“You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl.

Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others,

that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.”

• What does it mean to be ‘the light of the world?’ o To give light to ALL / to shine light on ‘hidden’ things / to expose the truth /to help growth

• Who is the LIGHT for? o Everyone in the house, all people

• According to Jesus’ words, what will happen when we shine the light of truth? o Others will see our good deeds and praise our Father in Heaven, bringing Glory to God

God has given the Church (i.e., Christians) a special role in the world: to be LIGHT! Jesus passed the LIGHT of His love on to His followers. Without the Church there is no other light; there is only darkness. If the people of God choose not to shine their light, their communities are left in darkness. Without the LIGHT of life, there is no hope for that community. Jesus is clearly naming His followers (the Church) as the ones He intends to be the LIGHT of life in their communities: to provide for those in need, to teach about health, to serve the widows and orphans, etc. In this lesson, we will hear stories of how certain communities that were in darkness have been impacted by the efforts of the world (governments, non-government organizations, etc.) and by Acts of Love from the Church. We will talk about the differences in the outcomes of each community and see which communities have come out of darkness and into LIGHT.

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Lesson 2: Light

Story of a Community in Darkness

Facilitator Instructions: Read the following story: (or have someone from the class read) There was once an nation that was one of the poorest countries in the world. For 40 years, the government and thousands of organizations carried out programs and projects in an effort to improve the problems and situation of the nation and its people. More money than you can imagine – millions upon millions of dollars – was spent to fix the country. But nothing improved. The situation didn’t change. The people of the island nation were suffering and had little hope. For every 10 people, 8 were living in total poverty. Almost all of the businesses and factories were closed down. For every 10 people, only 3 had jobs of any kind. Of course, the children were suffering, too. One out of every 10 children was dying before they were 4 years old. Looking around, one could see that hopelessness was everywhere – in cities and in villages alike. In the city, nearly everyone lived in slums, which were horribly overcrowded. Houses were unfit and unstable, and the streets were filled with garbage. Crime was out of control. The roads were in terrible condition. There was not enough clean water to drink. In the village, things were no better. For years, people had cut down trees and now the forests were nearly gone. Because of this, the land was eroding and the people had no natural protection against yearly tropical storms, which were often deadly. What’s more, the soil was no longer fertile for planting crops, and farmers were not yielding enough to feed their families. One day, a massive earthquake shook the small island nation. It was one of the most powerful earthquakes the world had ever known, killing thousands and further destroying the already desperate conditions of the people who remained. Children were orphaned, families became childless, the few factories and the already dilapidated homes were destroyed, and disease was rampant. More money was spent. More programs were started. More organizations came to help. More governments around the world offered support. And still, even with all the money spent and all the experts’ ideas, there was almost no improvement. The resources of wealth and expert ideas could not heal this poor land. Though the ideas were good, they were not lasting. No matter what the world did to help the little island, nothing changed. This is a true story about the nation of Haiti, which is near the Southern coast of the United States. It is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. LARGE GROUP DISCUSSION In this true story, what was used to bring change? (money, ideas, government, organizations, etc.) This true story demonstrates clearly that this country was in darkness. Even with billions of dollars and thousands of experts the situation did not improve. This is true throughout the world – not just in Haiti. Over the years in Africa, after governments and organizations have spent 50 billion dollars and have sent thousands of experts, many countries are now poorer than they were 20 years ago!

• What is the only thing that can chase away darkness? Light. • Who is the LIGHT? The Church. • Was the Church at work in this story? No. • Were others able to create lasting change (i.e., bring LIGHT to the nation?) No. • Why not? Because they are not the LIGHT.

Conclusion: Human wisdom and resources are not enough to heal our world. Only God and His Church – the Light of the World – can change darkness into light and bring change that lasts.

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Lesson 2: Light

Stories of Salt and Light Churches

SMALL GROUP ACTIVITY Facilitator Instructions: Split the group into 3 groups. There should be 1 reader in each group. Each group read one of the stories in the Student Guide and answer the questions. Then, groups present the story and answers to the whole group. Groups should stand together to represent the village while one reader reads. Community 1 In our village, whenever someone got sick the witch doctor would come and require them to sacrifice an animal in order to receive advice and medicines. When the Christians at the church learned about health through the TCT program, they started to use the lessons to treat common illnesses for themselves and their neighbors. All of us in the village could see that the people who were following their advice would get better without having to sacrifice animals. Now our whole village tries to prevent and treat illness rather than making sacrifices. This saves us money and keeps us healthy! It seems that serving their God makes their lives better. It makes our lives better, too! Community 2 In our village, when the people came to harvest a field, the owner of the field would be required to provide a large meal and sodas or alcohol. Sometimes the cost of this was more than the profit I would make on the field! After studying about doing Acts of Love, the Christians in our community decided that they would help in the fields of the poor without requiring any payment. Soon, other people in the village saw what they were doing and stopped requiring food and drinks, too! They even helped in my field! Nowadays everyone in the village is willing to work in each other’s fields for free. We all bring our own meals and we work together. As a result, I’m able to make a profit and so are my neighbors! Now harvesting is a time we look forward to instead of a time we worry about, and we can provide for our families with our profits! I wonder why the church decided to help even the people who aren’t Christians? Maybe I’ll ask them… Community 3 Our village has made Acts of Love a part of our everyday lives. We do Acts of Love every week. In fact, this has become such a normal way of life that now, whenever someone sees a need, they will just stop and try and solve the problem. If there are rocks or trash on the road, they stop to remove them. As a result, our whole village has changed from being one of the dirtiest, most underdeveloped in the area to being reasonably developed and tidy! We have recently been able to build a beautiful church with the income that we now have from working hard and helping one another! We can see the change, but we also feel the change in the ways we treat each other. We are much happier and thankful that the people of the church loved us enough to show us a better way to live.

• What did the church do in this story? • How did the church see God’s blessings? • What changes took place in the community? • How did the people in the village react? • How can we become more like this church?

God wants to see our communities healed. As we have learned in our previous training, Jesus came to reconcile all things. From our scripture today, we can see that He wants to do that through us! We are the light that can chase out the darkness in our communities! • What are some stories from your own communities that you can share that demonstrate how shining the

LIGHT of life has impacted your neighbors? • Have any Acts of Love been made a difference in your communities? • How have your Acts of Love been like LIGHT to those around you? • Have your Acts of Love reached those who are outside of the church? PERSONAL REFLECTION Read Colossians 1:10-14 and/or Ephesians 5:8-10.

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Lesson 2: Light

Pause to ask yourself: Do you really believe that God intends for His followers (i.e., you and me, us, the Church) to be able to chase away darkness and create change in our communities? Pray that God will convince our hearts that He wants to be powerfully at work through US to bring LIGHT to the darkness in our communities. Pray specifically that He will remove any doubts about this truth from scripture.

Conclusion

You, the Church, are Important and necessary to bring the LIGHT of life to your communities! As salt and light, Jesus makes it clear that we are the ones who can and should create change in our communities through His power. Close in prayer, thanking God for giving us incredible value by calling each follower SALT and LIGHT, and ask God how He wants the churches to shine their LIGHT in their communities.

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Lesson 3: Glorifying God


Main Ideas: 1. The purpose of being LIGHT to others is to glorify God. 2. We are to glorify God in ALL that we do.

Materials:

• None

Introduction: Valuable to God Before we go on, let’s take a moment to remember who Jesus said we are.

• In Lesson 1, Jesus called us the ______. (SALT of the earth). • In Lesson 2, Jesus called us the ______. (LIGHT of the world).

Jesus is giving us great value by using these symbols to describe us as His followers! Now hear what the apostle Peter says about who we are as believers: Read 1 Peter 2:9.

“…You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.”

Peter affirms that we have great value to God! He called US out of darkness into his wonderful light so that we, the church, can now be the LIGHT of the world! Praise God! LARGE GROUP ACTIVITY Stand up and greet each other by telling those around you who they are according to these scriptures. Give an example or two of the expected greeting (i.e., You are the salt of the earth OR You are chosen OR You are the LIGHT of the world OR You are a royal priesthood, etc.). Facilitator Instructions: Re-gather the group for prayer. Pray specifically for the group to believe God’s intention to use them as SALT and LIGHT to their communities. Let’s pause to thank God for this incredible gift and privilege of being called out of darkness in order to be light. It is wonderful that we are a chosen people! But why did God call us out of darkness? Peter states why God called us out of darkness into His light. Read the 1 Peter 2:9 again and ask:

• Why did God call us out of darkness? So that we can declare His praises! Remember the scripture from Matthew 5:16:

“In the same way let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”

• Why should we shine our light by doing good deeds for others? So that they will glorify Him!

The purpose of doing good deeds – of being SALT and LIGHT and doing Acts of Love – is so that others will praise Him! We do Acts of Love so that God will be glorified. In this lesson, we will see why HIS GLORY is our most important goal.

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Our Lives Should Glorify God LARGE GROUP DISCUSSION Read Numbers 14: 1–20. In this passage, the people of Israel have sinned. In response, God has said that He will destroy the Israelites and will instead make a tribe out of Moses. Moses goes to God and begs Him not to.

• In verses 13–16, what reason does Moses give for asking God not to do this? • What is Moses concerned about?

Moses is concerned that if God destroys the Israelites, then the Egyptians who they fled from will think that God was not able to carry out His promise to bring them to the promised land. Moses is concerned about God’s reputation – His glory! He wonders: What will the non-Christians think about God if this happens? Moses does not say ‘don’t wipe out the Israelites because we are nice people,’ or ‘because that would make me look like a poor leader,’ etc. Moses’ chief concern is God’s reputation!

• Do you ever consider God’s reputation? • Should we as Christians be mindful of God’s reputation? (i.e., His glory?) Why?

Moses was concerned about God’s glory when there was a dramatic situation. Perhaps we should only be concerned about God’s glory when there is something drastic happening. The apostle Paul has something to say to Jesus’ followers about when they should be focused on God’s reputation. Read 1 Corinthians 10:31.

• According to Paul, when should we be concerned for the glory of God? o Whenever we do anything – even the simple, daily tasks of eating and drinking.

We are told repeatedly in the Bible that we need to live lives that bring Glory to God.

• How can we do this? • If the houses of Christians are the worst kept in the community, their property is uncared for, and

their children dressed in dirty clothes, how do you think that people in the community think about God?

• Do they wonder if God is really able to care for His people? • How does the way we live affect God’s reputation?

Does this mean that we need to be rich or perfect to glorify God so that people will admire us? NO! In fact, Jesus Himself was born in a family that was probably not very well off. They definitely were not among the rich. However, we do need to make the best of what God has given us. We need to use the resources that are available to us and the skills that we have in order to bring honor to God in the best way we can.

This story may help to explain: (Facilitator Instructions: You OR someone from the class may read)

I once knew a man whose family was relocated to a refugee camp at the end of a war in their country. Before the war, the family had been very wealthy. Now they had gone from living in a fancy house to living in a mud house. The wife didn’t care for the simple house and it quickly became run down. She missed the beautiful house she used to have and could only think of what she didn’t have. After some time, her brother came to stay. Using what they did have, he cleaned up the house as best he could and went and picked some flowers to decorate the house. He stayed for a few weeks doing these kinds of simple tasks without using any money: he swept the area, repaired the house and made it more beautiful using only what was available. By adding plants and flowers and making the house tidy, clean and uncluttered, the feeling in the home changed. Even though the family was still poor and the house was still small and simple, the brother used what the family had to give glory to God! This gave hope not only to his brother’s wife, but also to all those around them even in a very difficult situation.

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SMALL GROUP ACTIVITY In small groups, come up with as many ideas as possible for these 2 questions. (If necessary, start by coming up with a few ideas together so that they understand what sorts of answers are possible. When the groups are finished, have them report back to the class.)

What are some ways that we can build God’s reputation among non-Christians?

What are some ways that we can destroy God’s reputation among non-Christians?

• Care for our children • Love our wives • Work hard • Serve others • Follow healthy practices • Look after the environment / animals / livestock • Keep our property tidy • Etc.

• Not care for our families • Ruin the environment • Not care for our bodies (drinking and smoking) • Get angry easily • Be dishonest (in daily affairs / business) • Be unfaithful to our spouse • Abuse our children / families / animals • Etc.

REPORT BACK LARGE GROUP DISCUSSION

• When people look at your life, do they think, “God is so wonderful: He is to be respected and obeyed!” or do they think that our God is not very powerful or very important?

• Are we obeying God in every area of our life? Do we work hard? Do we treat others with love? Do we spend our money wisely? Are we honest? Do we give generously? What can we do differently?

God’s Ambassadors LARGE GROUP DISCUSSION God’s reputation is very important. He has called us His ambassadors! Read 2 Corinthians 5:20. • What is an ambassador?

(Replace countries with familiar countries according to the audience.) An ambassador is someone that goes from one country to another to represent their own country. For example, in the USA there is a Kenyan ambassador. He is responsible to represent Kenya in the USA. If the Kenyan government makes any decisions, then he speaks on behalf of them in the USA. He tells people about Kenya, Kenyan people and Kenyan products and encourages them to visit Kenya, set up businesses in Kenya, and buy Kenyan products. If anyone wants to know about Kenya, he gives honor to his country by telling them about Kenya. We are also ambassadors, but for God’s kingdom. When people look at us and our lives they should see what God’s kingdom is like. • What do our lives tell people about what God’s kingdom is like? This week think about how you are representing God. When people look at your lives, what do they understand about who God is? PARTNER ACTIVITY In pairs, think about some specific things that you can do differently this week using only what you already have. Pray together that God will help you to make the changes that you want to make to bring honor and glory to Him. (Invite a few partners to share their ideas with the whole group.)

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Conclusion Living for God’s glory can fill us with the LIGHT of joy in all situations and give the LIGHT of hope to those around us. We started the lesson by reading 1 Peter 2:9. Peter was writing to a group of Christians who had been suffering various trials and afflictions; their lives were not easy.

“…You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.”

In verse 12, Peter goes on to say,

“Live such good lives among [those who do not believe] that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.”

Our goal in living for God’s glory is so that others will also glorify Him! Isn’t it wonderful that by living in this way, God blesses us even further by giving us joy and hope in serving Him? In pairs, pray, asking God to show us how to live as people belonging to Him and representing Him as a God who deserves all of our praise and glory!

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Lesson 4: True Christianity

Lesson 4: True Christianity Main Ideas:

1. People who act like SALT and LIGHT seek God’s glory and have hearts full of love. 2. Hearts full of God’s love make us able to show love to others through acts of love. 3. Acts of love done with hearts full of love glorify God.

Materials:

• Visual Aid: 3 Character Role Play instruction cards • 3 candles • Matches

Introduction Facilitator Instructions: Ask the class the following questions. Allow time for several answers.

• How would non-Christians in your community describe what a Christian is? • What would they say a Christian does?

Today we will look at 3 common examples of Christian behavior.

Character 1: Rules Without Acts of Love LARGE GROUP ACTIVITY: ROLE PLAY Facilitator Instructions: You will need 3 volunteers. As you give out the cards for the role play make sure the volunteers are prepared to act in the following ways:

– 1st character: act very proud – 2nd character: act judgmental and resentful – 3rd character: act caring, humble and repentant

Character 1: (Act very PROUD) How satisfying! Today I preached to a crowd of people in town. My loudspeakers were very useful for everyone to hear my fancy prayers and spiritual rules – I told them all the ways they should be living. I know I convinced them, because they all raised their hands to become Christians when I was finished preaching. I truly am the best evangelist in this area – no-one else has as much success as me! It’s not surprising: I spend 2 hours praying and 1 hour reading the Bible every day. Last week I fasted for 3 days and asked God to give me 50 conversions this month. I am sure when He sees how much I pray and fast that He will answer my prayer. It’s too bad that others aren’t as spiritual as me – they don’t know how to really commit themselves to God’s work… Oh – there’s that neighborhood drunkard again. It looks like he won’t even be able to find his way home and it’s only 5:00! He really needs to hear one of my sermons! Well, I don’t have time for him right now – it’s time to pray! (Hurries off.)

• How would you describe Character 1? o Concerned only for his own glory; interested in spiritual things, not acts of love.

Our first character is like a Pharisee. The Pharisees were the church leaders during the time of Jesus. They were considered the most holy people who committed their entire lives to studying and teaching the Law of Moses. They were so concerned with following God’s laws and living perfectly ‘holy lives,’ that they added an extra 365 prohibitions and 250 commands to the 10 commandments and expected everyone to follow them. Pharisees were thought to be the most holy people. The average person could never be as ‘holy’ as they were.

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However, again and again in the Bible we see Jesus criticizing the Pharisees who were considered in their culture to be the ‘most holy.’ In fact, Jesus’ most harsh words were not for people like prostitutes or drunkards but for the Pharisees. Let’s read what He said to them: Read Matthew 23: 1–7, 23–28. • From these verses, what do you think was the sin of the Pharisees?

o Pride, greed; only concerned that people thought they were holy; showed no justice, mercy, or faithfulness; did not care about people, but made harsh rules for them; taught that following ALL of the rules makes you holy.

Jesus is clearly criticizing the Pharisees for seeking their own glory and for not doing what is important to God. Now let’s read Matthew 5:20. Jesus harshly criticized the Pharisees, but here He says that we are to be MORE righteous than they are! What does He mean? Listen again to what Jesus said to the Pharisees in Matthew 23:23b:

“But you have neglected the more important matters of the law – justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former.”

Jesus says that practicing spiritual things is necessary, but doing acts of love are the more important matters. The Pharisees were following the rules of “being spiritual” without doing acts of love (justice, mercy, faithfulness). Like the Pharisees, the first character was interested in his own glory. Because of this, he was not interested in doing acts of love; he was only interested in being recognized for “spiritual things.” Jesus is calling us to a higher standard of seeking HIS glory and practicing acts of love.

Character 2: Acts of Love Without Love LARGE GROUP ACTIVITY: ROLE PLAY Character 2: (Act frustrated, with a bad attitude, and get angrier as you speak) Phew! What a day – I’m exhausted! Being part of the church is taking up a LOT of my time! Every week I spend my time helping others and singing in the choir. No wonder the pastor told me that I was such a blessing to the church! Today I visited 3 people that were sick and brought them food. Just last week, I organized the building of a house for a widow… (Starts to get angry) I don’t know why her own children can’t help – she has 2 sons who should help her! I spent time away from my family, but no one seems to care that I am sacrificing to help them! I’m sure they will never thank me for all my work. At least the pastor and the others in the congregation will see what a ‘Good’ Christian I am. Well, it’s time for choir practice. I’d better get going… • How would you describe Character 2?

o Working hard on church activities but having the wrong attitude / motives. The second character was concerned about his reputation. He was doing acts of love with a bad attitude and for the wrong reasons – so that others would praise Him. Let’s look at another passage that talks about this problem. Read 1 Corinthians 13:1–3. • From this scripture, what was missing from the second character? (LOVE)

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The Bible clearly teaches us that doing good things (acts of love) for others without love in our hearts is not enough! We understand from this passage that we must have love in order for our acts of love to be worthwhile.

Character 3: Acts of Love with a Heart Full of Love LARGE GROUP ACTIVITY: ROLE PLAY Character 3: (Act Humble and Repentant) I am always so impressed with (person 1) and (person 2). They are so spiritual and do so many good things for the church. But it feels like I just never quite manage to be as good as them. Today I tried to spend time praying, but after just a few minutes, my daughter fell and cut her knee, so I stopped to clean and put a bandage on it. Soon it was time to take the children to school. After that, I went to the fields to work. On my way home, I stopped to visit with the widow next door. The poor woman – she just lost her husband and she is so bitter. I really feel so sorry for her. We spent a few hours talking while I helped her with her laundry, and I prayed with her. She seemed much happier, but I wish that there was more that I could do to help. My heart is so sad for her. If only I were more spiritual like the others, then I could do more. (Bowing head) Father, please forgive me for the ways I am not perfect. I want to live a life that honors You. Show me how to spend my time and how to love others as You want me to. I need Your help, I know I can’t do it by myself. • How would you describe Character 3?

o Humble, caring, showing love is part of daily life. She is being true SALT and LIGHT. • Who did this character desire to glorify? God • How did he/she spend her time? doing acts of love, desiring to spend time in prayer • How do you know he/she had a heart full of love? felt sorry for neighbor, sought God’s glory The third character went about her ordinary, daily tasks with a heart that desired God’s glory. She had no special qualifications and she didn’t stand out as someone exceptional, but she had a heart full of love and a spirit that was willing to act in love. She acted in kindness and sought God in prayer. She was faithful to her daily work yet responsive to the needs around her. This third character models that we don’t have to be perfect in order to serve! God desires that we offer Him what we have (our daily lives) for HIS GLORY. Doing acts of love with hearts full of love is what brings God glory and causes others to praise Him! We cannot truly be the LIGHT of the world without a heart full of love. The only way to have a heart full of love is to seek God’s glory instead of our own.

How Does A Person of Love Act? LARGE GROUP ACTIVITY We know that the third character in our role plays acted with a heart full of love because we recognize how love acts! This is how the Bible describes how love acts: Read 1 Corinthians 13:4–7 (Love is patient, love is kind…). When you see people behaving like this, you will know that they are filled with the love of God. Take a moment to think of someone in the room who demonstrates one quality of love that we read and acted out. Can you honor them right now by stating aloud how you have seen that s/he is loving? PERSONAL REFLECTION Ask yourselves: Do I display these signs of love?

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Facilitator Instructions: After some time of personal reflection, read the 1 Corinth. 13:4–8a again. This time, read very slowly and pause each time you come to the word “love” or “it.” Invite participants to say their own name aloud in the place of “love” or “it” and consider whether or not these statements are true about themselves. The passage would read like this: “John is patient… John is kind…. John does not envy… John does not boast… John is not proud….” None of us is righteous – no not one! But, we can ask God to make us righteous so that each of those statements becomes true about us as we grow in love.

The Source of Love If we want to grow in love, we must always go to the source of love. Read 1 John 4:7–9.

• Where does love come from? Love comes from God! God is love! We are filled with love when we seek the source of love – when we desire God’s glory. When we are filled with love, we are able to do acts of love that are meaningful because they are done in love. Remember the LIGHT passage: “… Let your light shine before others, so that others may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.” We love (i.e., let our light shine) because He loved us and so that He will be glorified! LARGE GROUP DEMONSTRATION Facilitator Instructions: Select a volunteer to come forward. Give him/her an unlit candle. Instruct the volunteer to light her candle. (She won’t be able to light it without a source of light.) Ask:

• Why can’t you light your candle? Because I don’t have a light to light it with. • What do you need? A light / a source of light.

Facilitator Instructions: Volunteer remains in front. Give another unlit candle to someone else in the room. Instruct the volunteer to light the candle of that other person. (She won’t be able to light it b/c she still doesn’t have a source of light). Ask:

• Why can’t you light your neighbor’s candle? Because my own candle is not lit. • Does it make sense to try to light someone else’s candle without a light of your own? Of course

not! Just as we cannot light a candle without a source of fire/light, we also cannot be truly filled with love without the source of love. Facilitator Instructions: On a table in the front of the room, light a larger candle.

Ø Say, “Jesus is the Light of the world. The source of our light comes from God through Jesus Christ.” Ø Ask volunteer, “If you seek this source of light, can you light your candle?” (Yes.) Ø Instruct volunteer to light candle. Ø Say, “Now you are filled with Light and Love because you were seeking the source of love. Now are

you able to light your neighbor’s candle?” (Yes.) Instruct volunteer to light the other candle.

• What do we learn from this demonstration? o Jesus is the light and source of our love. We can’t love well without receiving His love.

It is clear that we MUST go to the source of love in order to grow in love so that we can then show others the love of Christ.

Growing in Love LARGE GROUP DISCUSSION How can we grow in love? Here are some ways to seek Christ and to grow in His love:

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Facilitator Instructions: Hand motions are a useful tool for remembering each of the following points. Teach the hand motions listed as you introduce each new point, and review them all before moving on. For example: • Teach point 1 with hand motion. Review hand motion 1 before moving to point 2. • Teach the new hand motion for point 2. After point 2, review hand motions 1–2, then move on to point 3. • Teach the new hand motion for point 3. After point 3, review hand motions 1–3, then introduce point 4,

etc.

1. RECEIVE Hands open (palms up) and lifted as if to receive something from above

• Love comes from God. If you do not have God living in you, then you will first need to invite God to fill you with His presence. God IS Love!

2. PRAY FOR YOUR OWN HEART

Hands come together in a prayer position in front of heart • Pray for the Holy Spirit to fill you with His love so that you can be truly loving.

3. PRAY for OTHERS

Hands are still together in a prayer position, hands move outward from heart staying in a prayer position • Love grows as we pray for people – even those you don’t like. Ask God to give you love for them.

As you spend time praying for them each day you will be surprised how God changes your attitude toward them. This takes time!

4. ACT / OBEY

Hands come apart and face outward (arms outstretched / palms forward) to show action toward others • Love grows as we act – love is not just a good feeling. Sometimes it is an action. So, even if we

don’t necessarily feel loving we can still try to show love towards someone and pray that the feeling of love will grow.

5. STUDY to UNDERSTAND GOD’S WORD

Arms still outstretched, hands come together like open book (palms up) and move back toward body like reading from hands.

• Love grows as we learn and understand God’s Word. As we study, we receive the mind of Christ and begin to love others as He also loves them.

Keep in mind: loving someone doesn’t mean that you agree with all of their actions. If someone is sinning, then we don’t agree with the sin but we do love the sinner. Jesus spent his time with prostitutes and tax collectors and others who committed social evils. He did not approve of their sin, but He loved them. He ate with them, shared his life with them and served them out of His great love for them.

Your Character PERSONAL REFLECTION Think back to the characters in our role plays. Take time to examine yourself. Ask yourself the following questions:

• Am I committed to doing acts of love? Or do I believe that going to church and being involved in spiritual things is more important?

• Do I want God to receive glory and praise because of what I do? Or am I more concerned about others praising me?

• Am I seeking after God sincerely or am I just doing the right things on the outside? One way to know is to look at the person that you are when no one is looking. How do you treat your family when nobody knows? How committed are you to the things of God when nobody is looking? Do you really love or are you more interested in people thinking that you are holy?

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• Am I able to truly ‘love’ my neighbor, or do I need to ask God to change my heart so that I can love truly?

Pray individually, in pairs or as a group that God will transform our hearts and our actions to truly demonstrate the LIGHT of His love to our communities.

Conclusion Living like SALT and LIGHT means that we are seeking God fully and truly loving others for the sake of His glory. When we seek God’s glory, He fills us with His love. With hearts full of love, our acts of love will cause others to praise Him! That is how we become the SALT of the earth and the LIGHT of the world! Our next lessons will teach us how to grow spiritually so that our hearts are made pleasing to God!

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Lesson 5: Removing Sin & Renewing Our Minds


Main Ideas:

1. Sin makes us un-salty, which means we are less able to glorify God and love others. 2. We must take steps to overcome sin in order to be like SALT and LIGHT in our communities.

Materials:

• Student Guide: Steps for Overcoming Sin (with scripture and pictures) • Visual Aid: Black Dot Game (print or create enough cards for everyone to have one card) • Visual Aid: Six images – three for the steps of ‘Removing Sin’ and three for ‘Renewing Our Mind’ • Scripture verse posters (write these out on paper if using review activity #5) • 9 Steps of Overcoming Sin poster (create or write on a whiteboard) with space between each step • Salt, stones/sand, water • Flip chart / whiteboard • Markers • Tape (optional)

Facilitator Instructions: It is important to practice the demonstrations in this lesson before you present them so that you are certain they will be effective for making the point being taught. Also, the large group games require some preparation on the part of the instructor, so be sure to have any materials ready ahead of time.

Introduction: Losing Our Saltiness You remember from Lesson 1 that we read the following scripture from Matthew 5. We talked about the value and necessity of salt and how our lives should be like salt to our communities. The second part of this passage addresses what happens if salt becomes “un-salty.” Read again Matthew 5:13. “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer

good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men.” LARGE GROUP DEMONSTRATION Facilitator Instructions: Take salt and mix with small stones (and/or sand).

• Is the salt useful the way it is now? Salt can only lose its saltiness if it becomes impure or diluted. In the same way, we lose our saltiness as Christians when we allow sin to remain in us. In order to be truly "salty," we must remove the impurities of our sins. There is good news! LARGE GROUP DEMONSTRATION Facilitator Instructions: Take a small amount of salt mixed with stones. Sift or thresh it to remove the stones. When the impurities are removed, this salt is useful again! In the same way, when sin is removed from our lives, our hearts are made clean and we can become like SALT to our communities.

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Removing Sin Sin is the permanent condition of our hearts that causes us to desire ungodly beliefs and behaviors that lead to destructive habits. (Repeat that last sentence again slowly if necessary.) Sin makes us un-salty and ineffective in our communities. We are going to play a simple game to find out which ones of us need to overcome sin in our lives and which ones do not have sin in our lives. LARGE GROUP ACTIVITY: The Black Dot Game Facilitator Instructions: Show the group two cards: one with an empty dot and one with a black dot. The empty dot represents a pure heart that does not have sin and the filled-in black dot represents a sinful heart. For this activity, we will use the front of the room. This space is now divided into two areas:

• Area 1 – “Sinful” • Area 2 – “Not sinful”

Game Instructions: 1. Each of you will each receive a card with a dot on it. That card will determine which side of the room you

will go to: filled-in black dot = “sinful” area, or empty dot = “not sinful” area. 2. Do NOT look at the dot until I instruct you that it is your turn. Keep your card hidden so no one can see

your dot – not even you! Facilitator Instructions: Show them a card with a black dot and demonstrate that this card would send them to the side of the room designated “Sinful.” Show a card with an empty dot and demonstrate that this card would send them to the side of the room designated as “Not sinful.”

• Distribute one card per participant (ONLY USE THE BLACK DOTS.) • Remind them not to look at their card! • They will all have black dots • One-by-one, call each person forward and ask them to look at their card and then show it to the class. • Tell them to move to the appropriate side of the room and continue to hold the card in front of them

so that it is visible to the class. • When everyone has had a turn, ALL of the participants will be on the side of the room designated

“Sinful.” • Then read the following:

According to 1 John 1:8, we all have sin.

“If we say that we do not have any sin, we are deceiving ourselves and we’re not being truthful to ourselves.” Phillips translation

Since we all have sin, we all need to know how to remove that sin so that we can be made salty. Paul tells us in Romans 3:23, 24: although we all have sin and we all fall short of God’s glory, we also all have the assurance of knowing that we are “justified freely by [God’s] grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.” What an incredible sacrifice and promise! This is so that no one can boast. When it comes to having sin, we all require God’s forgiveness. PERSONAL REFLECTION AND PRAYER Let’s take a moment to pray while we are still standing. Thank God for His promise of forgiveness, and ask Him to give us willing hearts and clear instruction for how to overcome our sin.

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Steps to Overcoming Sin LARGE GROUP DISCUSSION Since we are all un-salty, how can we be made salty again? Are we no longer good for anything but to be thrown out and trampled? Although our sin may be great, the Bible is very clear in giving us instruction on how to remove sin and assures us that God’s power can overcome all of our sin! His power makes us SALTY again. We are going to learn about three simple processes to overcoming sin in our lives:

1. Removing Sin 2. Renewing Our Minds, and 3. Replacing Bad with Good

Facilitator Instructions: Repeat these three steps and invite participants to repeat them after you. Each of these processes has three steps, so we will learn 9 steps in all. In this lesson, we will learn the three steps of Removing Sin and the three steps of Renewing our Minds.

Removing Sin Facilitator Instructions: As you teach the next two sections, write each number and heading on a whiteboard or poster. Then show the visual aid image that represents the new concept. Then go on to explain each one. There is also a summary page in the Student Guide for all nine steps and related scripture. This is similar to teaching the hand motions in lesson 4. Follow this model for each step:

• Introduce point 1 with its image. Review image 1 before moving to point 2. • Introduce point 2 with new image. After point 2, review images for 1–2, then move on to point 3. • Introduce point 3 with new image. After point 3, review images for 1–3, then move on to point 4, etc.

Let’s begin by looking at 3 steps to Removing Sin. 1. Identify the Sin (Image: Hand with a black dot)

Ask God to show you a particular sin in your life that he wants you to work on changing. It may be something that we do – like gossiping – or it may be something that we fail to do – like loving our wives as Christ loved the Church. We see David doing this in Psalm 139: 23–24, which says, “Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”

2. Confess the Sin and Be Forgiven! (Image: speech bubble with black dot inside)

Once the sin has been identified, we first confess that sin to God and possibly to others. 1 John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” Be encouraged! No sin is too significant for God! He is faithful to forgive ALL of our sinfulness. If we have sinned against someone else, it may be necessary to seek their forgiveness. If a relationship has been damaged or broken by your sin, confessing and seeking forgiveness in order for that relationship to be restored is also important.

3. Repent and Commit (Image: speech bubble with black dot crossed out)

It is necessary to repent and to make a commitment in order to not repeat sins. Repenting means turning away from something by stating what it is you do NOT want to do. Making a commitment is like making a statement about what you do want to do instead. You cannot do one without the other.

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In Job 31:1 we read, “I made a covenant with my eyes not to look lustfully at a young woman.’ Here we see that Job repented and made a commitment not to look at a woman with lust. Job was someone that God called “blameless and upright” (Job 1:8) and yet Job found it helpful to make a commitment about this particular sin. We can be encouraged that God honors those who desire to overcome their sin! Praise God that it is HE who makes us blameless and upright!

Renewing Our Minds LARGE GROUP DISCUSSION The next three steps have to do with Renewing our Minds. 4. Pray Daily (Image: hands praying)

We cannot overcome sin by our own efforts alone. Even the apostle Paul said in Romans 7:19–20, “For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do – this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.” It is clear that we need God’s help to remove sin from our hearts. Since we know that every day we will face temptation, every day we need to prepare ourselves by praying for God’s help. This reminds us of our dependence on God and of our commitments to Him. We need to follow Jesus’ warning to his disciple, Matthew: “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation.” (Matthew 26:41) Praying regularly puts us in touch with the One who is powerful to overcome our sin. He has already conquered sin and death, so we can trust God to overcome the sin in our own lives!

5. Control Our Thinking (thought bubble filled with empty dots)

Every sin is committed two times – once in the mind and the second time in our behavior. Therefore, we first need control our thoughts in order to prevent a sinful thought from becoming a sinful action. Read the following verses:

Romans 12:2: “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – his good, pleasing, and perfect will.” Colossians 3:2: “Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things”

2 Corinthians 10:5: “We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”

The Bible has a lot to say about our thinking. That is because what is in our minds is so important. If we do not control our thinking, then we will not be able to control our actions. But be encouraged by what Paul writes to the Philippians 4:8 as he is teaching them about this very thing! “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things…” That is not the end. Paul goes on to say this: “...Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me – put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.” Did you hear that last phrase? When you do these things, God Himself – the God of peace – will be with you! What a comforting promise!

6. Memorize Scripture (Image: thought bubble with open book in it) Memorizing scripture helps us to control our thinking and keeps truth always in our minds. Whenever we start to think wrong thoughts, we can then recite verses that we have memorized to fill our minds instead with truth. In this way, we ‘renew our minds’ by removing what is bad and replacing it with what is good.

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When Jesus went into the desert and Satan came to tempt Him, Jesus quoted scripture in order to defeat Satan’s temptations to sin. Psalm 119:11 says, “I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.” The Bible makes it clear that memorizing scripture helps us to overcome sin. We can always find an appropriate portion of scripture that is related to the sin that we are trying to overcome. If you don't know where to find the scripture, ask a pastor or another friend who might direct you. Memorize the scripture and it WILL help you to overcome temptation when it arises.

LARGE GROUP ACTIVITY (Choose one or two activities) Facilitator Instructions: The following are several options for reviewing the steps of Removing Sin and Renewing our Minds. From the following five options, choose one or two (or as many as you have time for) that will work best for your group:

1. Review the 6 steps taught so far by giving each group an image and then calling out one step. The group with the image that matches the step will stand up showing the other groups the image. For example, call out “Identify the Sin!” and group with the hand with the black dot on it should stand and hold up the image. Then call out another step. Get faster and faster.

2. Do the same as above, but in reverse: Instructor holds up an image and the group calls out what concept/step it represents. For example, hold up the image of the hand with the black dot on it and participants shout out, “Identify the Sin!” You can keep score if you’d like to make it more competitive: the first person to call out the concept that the image represents wins a point!

3. You can review the first few steps individually as well. Then ask for 6 volunteers each to put one image face down on the floor at the front of the room. Mix them around, face down. When you say, “Go!” Each person flips an image over. Together the group tries to put the images in the right order. Ask the group to say aloud what each picture represents. Then have each person choose a new person and do it again. You can simplify this game by having participants simply organize the 6 steps into the two categories of Removing Sin and Renewing Our Minds if this seems more appropriate for your group.

4. This last option requires a bit more understanding of the concepts taught, not just the order of the steps. The instructor reads a verse aloud and the participants choose which heading it belongs to. For example, the instructor reads Psalm 119:11, “I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you,” and participants have to match this verse with step 6, Memorize scripture, on the board or poster at the front of the room.

5. The above option can also be done in reverse if you have a class of literate learners. One set of verses will be printed and distributed among the groups. Each group must decide which of the 9 steps of overcoming sin it matches and the whole group holds up the number of fingers that matches with the verse. Then as a large group see if everyone agrees on the matches.

Conclusion All of us have sin in our hearts. Not one of us is blameless and pure. The impurities of our sin are like the impurities we saw in the salt: sin takes away our saltiness. God desires to forgive our sinful actions and help us remove the sin from our lives. Removing sin from our lives makes us salty again and allows us to be more effective in doing Acts of Love in our communities. Overcoming sin from our lives takes practice and work. We have seen today that overcoming sin happens by first removing the sin and then renewing our minds. These are processes that take time, but be encouraged! Jesus has already overcome sin and death! His power can overcome the sin in your life, too. Facilitator Instructions: As you finish the lesson ask someone to pray that God will help the group to remove the sins that He reveals to them that He wants to help them overcome. Pray especially that His word and His life will renew all of our minds to be filled with His truth and love.

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Lesson 6: Replacing Bad with Good

Lesson 6: Replacing Bad with Good Main Idea:

• Replacing bad habits with good habits is necessary to overcoming sin in our lives. • We must take steps to overcome sin in order to be like SALT and LIGHT in our communities.

Materials:

• Student Guide: Overcoming Sin Table – anger example and blank table (make 1 copy for each person/group) This worksheet is also found at the end of this Teacher Guide.

• Visual Aids: Images for Steps 6–9 for Overcoming Sin (3 total) • Scripture verse posters (write these out on papers if using review activity #5 in Lesson 5) • Optional: Review posters from large group game, Lesson 5

Introduction In the last lesson we played a game to remind us that we ALL have sin in our hearts. We saw that we must overcome sin by Removing it and Renewing our minds. Now we will look consider how to Replace the bad habits of our sinful ways. LARGE GROUP ACTIVITY Facilitator Instructions: This story can simply be read aloud, or it can be treated as a role play with participants silently acting the roles as you read the story. Listen to this story… There was once a man who was building a house. Whenever he earned enough money, he would use it to build the house up a bit at a time. Once the house was completed, he planned to move his family to live in it. Oh, how he looked forward to that day! There was just one problem: since he lived some distance away, he was not nearby to oversee the new house daily. This created quite a difficulty for the man. At first, when the walls were not yet finished, he would sometimes come to the house to find that the neighbor’s goats and chickens had grazed both outside and inside the house. This was not a big problem, but it did make a mess. The man completed the walls and blocked the entrance so the animals could no longer enter. Some weeks later, he came to work on the house only to discover that a family of rats had nested in the corner. He rid the house of the rats and completed the roof of the house, hoping this would prevent the rats from entering. The next time, he arrived at the house to discover that a colony of bats had taken up residence in the eaves of the new roof! He rid the house of the bats and screened the eaves. Again, he came to the house to find that another neighbor had used the house to set up her small business of selling the local homemade brew to the men of the village. Furious that his property was being used without his permission, he demanded the woman relocate her business. He secured the door with a lock and went on his way. Some months passed. Once more, the man came to the house to see the lock had been broken and the door was hanging on its hinges. A stranger of ill repute had made the home his resting place. A violent man and a drunkard, he had damaged the interior of the house and threatened the owner with vile talk and vicious behavior. The owner had to involve the local authorities to have the stranger removed.

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At last, the man realized, as long as his house was left empty, something would fill it. If he did not choose what would fill his house, no doubt it would be filled with unwelcome pests and menacing guests. He decided he must choose his own tenants: a quiet couple who would look after the little house and take good care of it until his family could move in. Months passed and the man returned to complete the final steps of preparation for the house. He was delighted to find that the couple had kept the house in excellent condition! The door was securely on its hinges, the windows were nicely hung with simple cloths to keep out dust, the inside they kept free of pests, and even the yard was swept! The owner of the house had learned a difficult but valuable lesson:

An empty house attracts a tenant. Fill it wisely!

• What happened when the house was left empty? • What did the owner do to keep out the unwanted pests and people? • What do we learn from this story?

Our hearts and minds are like this man’s house. The man in this story continually removed the pests and renewed his house by cleaning up after them and preventing them from coming back, but each time he came back the house was replaced with another pest! He needed to complete the final step of overcoming the pests, which was to fill the house wisely and replace the pests with good tenants. In the same way, we need to complete the process of Overcoming Sin in our lives by Replacing Bad Habits with Good Habits. Filling our hearts and minds with God’s truth and love is the best defense against sin coming to live in our hearts again. Let’s learn about the final 3 steps to Overcoming Sin. Facilitator Instructions: If you feel it is necessary, you can quickly review the 6 steps learned in the previous lesson at this point. Teach the following points in the same way you did the first 6 steps, write the steps on the poster and introduce each image before moving on to the next point. (See Lesson 5).

Replacing Bad with Good LARGE GROUP DISCUSSION 7. Flee from temptation (Image: person running away from black dot)

Overcoming sin is a like a battle. In a battle you need to know your enemy. Overcoming sin is no different. We need to know ourselves and our weaknesses. James 4:7 says, "Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you."

Avoid people and places who will promote temptation. If you have a problem with drinking don’t go to a bar to hang out with your friends. If your problem is jealously then avoid things that make you jealous until you can learn to be content with all that God has given you. Be encouraged by these words from 1 Corinthians 10:13: " No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.

8. Develop new habits (Image: person with black dot being replaced with clear

dot) Instead of our old sinful habits we need to start to develop new habits. For example, instead of getting angry when we come home and find that our wife has not prepared the meal, instead we can ask how we can help to get the work done and look for ways to help her. Instead of going to the bar / social club / town square in the evenings, we can visit with friends or spend time

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with our children. Instead of complaining or being resentful, we can develop a habit each evening of naming three things we are especially thankful for from the day. The Bible has much to say about new habits. In Paul’s letter to the Colossians, he lists several habits that the followers of Jesus should throw away and then several habits that they should replace them with. Read Colossians 3:1–16. Did you hear this part of verse 9? “…since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.” Remember that our Creator is the LIGHT of the world, and we are being told here to develop new habits that resemble His LIGHT so that we, too, will be the LIGHT of the world.

9. Accountability (Image: two persons supporting one another with clear dots on chests) THIS IS IMPORTANT TO SUCCESS in overcoming sin! As we make good choices and develop good habits to avoid sin, it will become easier to overcome the sin next time. Every time we make the right choice it becomes a little easier. Establishing the habit of making the right choice is easier if you do it together with someone who will help and encourage you. Find someone who will help to hold you accountable to your desired good habit and encourage and affirm you when you do make good choices in that area. Since overcoming sin is difficult, we need one or two friends that can help us in the struggle. These friends should be believers who also share our commitment to training in holiness. They, too, should be working to overcome sin in their lives and should be willing to share with you about their own struggles. Read Ecclesiastes 4:9–10.

" Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up."

• Is there someone that you can meet with regularly – someone with whom you can pray and be

mutually encouraged as you work to overcome sin and temptation?

Optional Activity: If your group is literate and familiar with looking up scripture, you can form small groups to look up the following verses that answer the question, “What are some ways that we can help each other in the battle against sin?”

• Colossians 3:16 – teaching and admonishing • Hebrews 3:13 – encourage • James 5:16 – confess and pray • Galatians 6:2 – bear one another’s burdens • Ephesians 4:29 – build each other up according to their needs

Practicing to Overcome Sin LARGE GROUP ACTIVITY Facilitator Instructions: Choose one simple optional activity now for reviewing all 9 steps of Overcoming Sin from Lesson 5. (There were 5 options listed for activities/games to review the steps in Lesson 5.) SMALL GROUP ACTIVITY Facilitator Instructions: Demonstrate to the whole group how each of the 9 steps can be applied to overcoming a particular sin (anger and complaining are in the sample table at the end of this lesson). For less literate groups, give each group a set of the images and ask them to put all of their images in order or use the Student Guide chart to fill out. After you identify 4–5 sins that are common in the area, then assign each group one of these sins to discuss. Have the groups talk through each of the steps for that particular sin. Ask one small group to present how they went through each step for their assigned sin.

• What are 4-5 most common sins in this area?

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Activity Instructions: 1. Get into small groups of 3 or 4. 2. Arrange all of your images in order or use the chart in the Student Guide. 3. You will be assigned a sin that is common. Talk through each step for that particular sin.

PERSONAL REFLECTION This month choose a sin that you want to overcome. Take a few moments to silently consider each step in your mind.

Conclusion LARGE GROUP DISCUSSION We know that we are all sinful. Even King David, who is known as ‘a man after God’s own heart,’ was a sinful man: he committed adultery with a married woman, and then had her husband killed so he could marry her!! God revealed David's sinful condition to him through the prophet Nathan. Psalm 51 records for us how King David responded. Listen carefully for what David asks for God to remove, how he wants to be renewed and what he asks to be replaced. (You may want to read the Psalm in two sections: for what David asks to remove and renew, read verses 1–9; for what David asks to be replaced, read verses 10–13).

Psalm 51

1 Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. 2 Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. 3 For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. 4 Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight; so you are right in your verdict and justified when you judge. 5 Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me. 6 Yet you desired faithfulness even in the womb; you taught me wisdom in that secret place. 7 Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. 8 Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice. 9 Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity. 10 Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. 11 Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. 12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me. 13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways, so that sinners will turn back to you.

• What did David ask to have removed from him? (his transgressions, sin, iniquity) • What did he ask God to replace in him? (a pure heart, a steadfast spirit, the joy of salvation, a

willing spirit). This passage gives us great HOPE!! God forgave King David of adultery and murder; He can surely forgive and restore us as well. It also gives us a great model for overcoming sin: the ungodly things in our lives must be removed, our hearts and minds must be renewed, and the ungodly things must be replaced with godly things. Sin is not overcome until it has been replaced with Truth. Listen again to the final verse: “…Then I will teach transgressors your ways, so that sinners will turn back to you.” Like David, our goal to overcome sin is so that our SALTiness is restored, and our LIGHT can shine for God’s glory so that others will turn to Him! Praise be to God! Option: Use the scripture above as a prayer to close the lesson.

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OVERCOMING SIN NO.1 SAMPLE TABLE – Anger

STEPS IMAGE SIN REMOVE SIN

1. Identify the Sin

Anger

2. Confess & Be Forgiven

I confess that I….. Please forgive me for….

3. Repent & Commit

I no longer want to be angry to those around me. I want to treat others around me with kindness and compassion.

RENEW OUR MINDS

4. Pray Daily

I need help today with…

5. Control Our Thinking

When I get angry, I am thinking about _______. Instead, I want to remember that Jesus demonstrated patience instead of anger by _______________.

6. Memorize Scripture

Proverbs 15:18 “A hot-tempered person stirs up conflict, but the one who is patient calms a quarrel.”

REPLACE BAD WITH GOOD

7. Flee Temptation

When I start to feel like I am getting angry, I will walk away from the situation until I have calmed down.

8. Develop New Habits

When I start to feel angry go for a walk for 5 minutes and ask God to help me to behave as He wants me to.

9. Accountability

I will meet with (John) every week to discuss how I’m doing and to think about how I could have handled some of the times that I did lose my temper.

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OVERCOMING SIN NO.2 SAMPLE TABLE – Complaining


1. Identify the Sin

Complaining


I confess that I….. Please forgive me for….

3. Repent & Commit

I do not want a heart that complains. Instead of complaining, I want to speak positively and act thankful for what I have.

RENEW OUR MINDS

4. Pray Daily

I need help today with…


When I complain, I am thinking only of myself. Instead, I want to think of how the task before me can be used to glorify God. I want to think about Him instead of myself.


Eph 4:29 – says “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.”


7. Flee Temptation

I always complain when I’m with _________. I need to either not spend time with him/her or tell him/her that I don’t want to complain anymore.


When I’m tempted to complain, I will think of 3 things that I am thankful for. I will thank God would that He can use the situation to bring Him glory.

9. Accountability

I will keep a record of every time that I complain this week and share it with (John). I will work to decrease this number so that it is zero.

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Lesson 7: The Practice of Love

Lesson 7: The Practice of Love Main Idea:

1. Jesus instructed us to love one another. 2. We can be SALT and LIGHT to those around us by putting love into practice.

Materials:

• Student Guide: Luke 2:52 Example Serving Plan from Module 1 • Student Guide: Personal Serving Plan for this lesson (make 1 copy per person) This chart is also

found at the end of this Teacher Guide) • Visual Aid: Serving Plan Image cards from the chart for less literate groups

Introduction We spent a lot of time in the last lessons focused on removing sin and replacing it with truth. 1 Peter 1:22 says:

“Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for each other, love one another deeply, from the heart.”

In this lesson, we are going to think about how we can love one another. Since we have now spent much time focused on filling our hearts with the things of God (the source of love), we are prepared to act in love to others.

What is the Practice of Love? LARGE GROUP ACTIVITY – Three Times! game Facilitator Instructions: Invite a few participants to the front of the class as leaders of the game. Quietly tell them that they are each going to give the other participants one simple instruction (i.e., Stand up, Sit down, Jump, Clap, Sing, etc.), but they are to repeat that instruction three times, more emphatically each time. Demonstrate by telling the class that they must do what you say: “Stand up. Stand up! STAND UP!” Have each leader take a turn giving a simple instruction in the same way. Have fun! Continue for as long as this is entertaining.

• What did you notice about each instruction? It was repeated three times. Listen to Jesus’ instruction in John 13:34–35. He says (emphasize the phrases as in the game):

“A new command I give you: love one another. As I have loved you, so you must LOVE one another!

By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you LOVE ONE ANOTHER.”

• What is Jesus’ instruction? • Why do you think He says it three times?

Repeating instruction is a way of showing us how important the instruction is. Jesus is making His instruction to us very clear: we are to LOVE ONE ANOTHER!

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Loving others in all aspects of our lives is not only the fulfillment of this command, but it ensures that we are putting our Saltiness to good use, and being Light by allowing everyone to see that we are disciples of Christ! Remember: acts of love done with hearts full of love glorify God!

Areas to Implement the Practice of Love LARGE GROUP DISCUSSION Do you recall making a personal growth chart in Module 1? (hold up a copy for them to see). If you have yours, take it out. If not, try to remember what you had filled in. This is a good tool to help us put love into action. Let’s review: Luke 2:52 says, “And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.”

• What are the four ways that Jesus grew? (help make the connections to mental, physical…etc.) o In Wisdom (Mental), Stature (Physical), In favor with God (Spiritual), In favor with Man

(Social) Since Jesus is our example, we should follow Him by striving to grow in these four areas. We have spent much time learning about how to grow in these ways in our own lives. Now, think beyond yourself. Remember that SALT is meant to be spread out and LIGHT is supposed to be shared with all people.

• Does this mean that our family should also grow spiritually, physically, mentally, and socially? • What about our church? • What about the community around us?

Yes! Looking back at our growth chart from Module 1, we see who should experience growth (self, family, church, community). Let’s think of some practical ways that we can spread SALT and LIGHT to others to fulfill Jesus’ command to LOVE ONE ANOTHER deeply with sincere love (hearts full of love). LARGE GROUP ACTIVITY Activity Instructions: As a group, review the Luke 2:52 Serving Plan (below) and its examples. Think about other possible activities.

Context Areas of Jesus’ Growth

For Service

Wisdom Physical Spiritual Social

Family

Share with my family some of the health teaching that I learned

Help my wife to prepare more nutritious meals

Spend time with one of my children sharing about what I am learning about God

Play soccer with my children at local field

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INDIVIDUAL WORK Spend some time thinking about what you wrote in these boxes in Module 1.

• How did you do? Are there some things that you need to continue working on? • Are there ideas you need to change? Or are you ready to do more?

Activity Instructions: Fill in your own My Serving Plan chart, making a commitment for what you will do over the next three months. Remember that we need to make a commitment and then actually carry it out. Like any habit or regular practice, it is hard work but if we really want to grow as SALT and LIGHT people we need to follow through with our commitments. Spend the next 15 – 20 minutes to fill out the My Serving Plan chart. REPORT BACK Facilitator Instructions: Ask if a few participants are willing to share one or two acts of love that they filled in or thought about for their family, church or community. Affirm ideas that are shared! If your class can’t write, invite them to use image cards to make various combinations and consider one thing they could do every week to grow in their practice of love. Each person will need at least 4 image cards for each of the left column (family, church, community) and at least 3 image cards for each of the top row (wisdom, physical, spiritual, social). They should select a card from each pile to create various combinations (i.e. church and physical) and come up with an idea for that combination. After 10–15 minutes, have the class show their paired images (i.e., church and physical) and share their idea with the group. Allow all participants a chance to share their ideas aloud as a way of encouraging more ideas and allowing for affirmation from others. PERSONAL ASSIGNMENT: 1) Finish filling out the My Serving Plan chart on your own time (or continue using the image cards to come

up with new ideas). 2) Put it in a place where you will see it on a regular basis (in your Bible, next to the mirror, tape it in a

window where you often work, etc.) 3) Commit to pray over those activities every time you see the chart. 4) Review it every 1–3 months to see how you are doing and to determine if you should update or change

any of the commitments. 5) Share it with someone that can encourage you and hold you accountable to fulfill your commitment.

Conclusion Putting love into action means that our SALT improves the situation around us, and Christ’s LIGHT in us shines in areas where His power is needed, giving Him glory!

Church Help teach a small group at the church about health

Clean the grounds of the church

Pray each day for pastor and elders of the church

Organize football game for church

Community

Talk with neighbors about marriage training

Keep the area of road in my neighborhood free of trash

Talk with my neighbor about God

Drink coffee with grumpy neighbor

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Using a Serving Plan or Paired Images: • Reminds us of where we should focus our efforts • Helps us to clarify what we can actually do • Reminds us when we forget what we have committed to do • Helps us to see how things change in the areas where we have been faithful

Take time to pray, asking God to continually empower us to love others because of His love for us.

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Lesson 8: Commands, Consequences & Commitment


Main Idea:

1. Our churches are commanded to be SALT and LIGHT to our communities. 2. There are consequences if we do not obey the command to love and care for the poor. 3. In order to be SALT and LIGHT, our churches must be committed to grow spiritually, just as we have

committed to grow personally. Materials

• Poster paper or white board • Markers

Introduction We have just finished up learning how to be SALT and LIGHT people. We are now going to focus on how to be SALT and LIGHT churches. The question we want to begin with in this lesson is:

Are we as a church being obedient to the charge to love our neighbor and care for the poor? LARGE GROUP ACTIVITY: Facilitator Instructions: Split the class into two groups. Give each group separate instructions without the other group hearing:

• GROUP 1: Answer the question, What does your church do? List (and write down if possible) all of the activities that your church does.

• GROUP 2: Answer the question, What should a SALT and LIGHT church do? List and write down answers. Read Isaiah 58:1–11 and/or 1 John 3:16–18 to help you answer the question.

REPORT BACK – Have each group present its list. Compare what your church does to what a SALT and LIGHT church does and determine: Is your church a SALT and LIGHT church? As a church, are you living in obedience to God’s instructions to actively love and care for the poor and needy?

• If so, take a few moments to celebrate how God’s love is alive and active in His church! Share examples of how caring for others in the community has brought glory to God. Praise Him for making us the SALT of the earth and the LIGHT of the world!

• If not, why? (Allow time for discussion).

Facilitator Instructions: It is possible that the church may be in obedience in some areas and not in other areas.

Command Listen to this scripture that makes it very clear that we are expected to act in love to those in need. Read 1 John 3:16–18.

“This is how we know what love is; Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. If anyone has material possessions and sees

his brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue, but with actions and in truth.”

• Do you really believe that it is a requirement and responsibility of the church to care for the poor and

show love to their community?

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It is important to believe that caring for the poor and transforming our communities is not optional. Like prayer or worship, it is commanded by God. Facilitator Instructions: Do not go on from this section until the class agrees that God has commanded us to care for others and not doing so is to live in disobedience.

Consequences Whenever God gives a command, there is a consequence for how we respond. The consequence of living in obedience is blessing! The consequence for NOT living in obedience to God’s command always brings poor results and separation from His good plans for our lives. It is good to remember the consequences that others have experienced because of disobedience: this is a warning to us! In our activity, Group 2 had a chance to read from Isaiah 58. Listen to this passage now and consider how God responded when His people did NOT obey the command to love and care for others. Read Isaiah 58:1–11, or ask the reader from Group 2 in the earlier activity to read it aloud.

• How does God respond if we DON’T obey the command to love and care for others?

Remember the first character in our role plays from lesson 4 who behaved like a Pharisee? Israel is like the Pharisee in this passage. Even though Israel was doing ‘spiritual things,’ God refused to listen to their prayers and fasting because they failed to share their food with the hungry, provide the poor wanderer with shelter, to clothe the naked, etc. This passage makes us look at ourselves:

• Have we, as a church, committed the sin of ‘not caring for our communities?’ Or, what are the dangers if the church does not uphold the commitments it has already made?

• Can you think of what the consequences have been? If the church has been obedient, this is a chance to celebrate the consequence of blessing! If the church has been disobedient, this is a sobering time to recognize the poor and possibly harsh consequences of disobedience.

• What do we need to do about it? If the church has been obedient, point out the need to stay true to their commitments and possibly change them or add to them. If the church has been disobedient, think back to the steps we learned about overcoming sin: 1. Identify the sin, 2. Confess and repent. Use images to remind the group that the next step is to confess and repent.

Commitment It is not enough to realize how we have disobeyed God's command; we need to commit to obeying Him! Just as we made commitments to overcome sin in our personal lives, our churches also need to make commitments which will help us to continue to obey. Facilitator Instructions: If the church is already committed to doing Acts of Love on a regular basis, take this time to remember and renew the commitment the church has already made. If the church is not yet committed to doing Acts of Love or needs to redirect its efforts, then move ahead through the rest of the lesson.) PERSONAL REFLECTION: Take time quietly and think about the following questions.

• Are you willing to commit that your church will serve the poor in obedience to God? Think very carefully. You are making a promise to God – this is not a small matter. When we make a promise to God we have to do everything that we can to honor that promise. Are you ready? Are you willing to be obedient to God in this matter?

• Is there anyone who doesn’t want to make that commitment? If there is then find out why. If it is just one person, try to address their concerns but it may be appropriate to ask them to consider not being part of the commitment until they decide that they are ready to do so.

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If we have a clear plan, then we will be much more likely to keep our plan. If we aren’t really sure what exactly we are committing to do it is easy to forget. At the end of the next lesson we will take time to write our commitment.

Conclusion Turning away from the things we have failed to do and turning toward the things God has commanded us to do always ends in blessing. Pray a prayer of thanks for God’s promise to honor a broken heart and a contrite spirit. As David prayed in Psalm 51, we can also pray for our church:

Restore to us the joy of Your salvation and grant us as a church willing spirits to sustain us as we move toward obedience and truth. Thank You for showing us the foolishness of our ways. Deliver us from the guilt of not obeying You and renew a steadfast spirit within us all to do what pleases You!

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Lesson 9: Committing to Action

Lesson 9: Committing to Action Main Idea:

1. Being SALT and LIGHT churches that want to transform communities requires commitment, prayer, a plan, and realistic goals.

2. Acts of love are done individually, in groups, as a congregation, on a larger scale and in an ongoing way.

Materials:

• Student Guide: Acts of Love Planning Steps • Student Guide: Writing A Commitment • Types of Acts of Love Poster (either make a poster or write this on a white board) • Ongoing Teaching Poster (either make a poster or write this on a whiteboard) • Paper (or use the Student Guide Commitment page) • Pens

Introduction: A Village Transformed In Lesson 8 we were reminded of the importance of making a commitment to obey God’s command to love and transform our communities. In this lesson, we will spend time making this commitment practically for Acts of Love done by our church. First, be encouraged by the commitment and transformation of this small village! TRUE STORY: A village transformed.

There is a village in a remote area. It is set far into the mountains and is very simple. The people in the village used to make rice wine and grow and smoke tobacco. They rarely worked but were often drunk on the rice wine that they grew. Hygiene levels in the village were very low; they bathed once a month, rarely washed their hands, and had no latrines. Their clothing was ragged and the children wore very little. Economically, the village suffered. There was no real road between them and the main road – only a walking track. Because of this, the people were only able to sell the few crops they grew for less than half the amount of money compared to those whose farms were on main roads. These minimal profits meant that they made little effort to grow anything in their fields. They were Christians, but they had not learned much about God! They did not have a church leader and no pastors would go to the area because the roads were impassible. They didn’t have a meeting point and they were not growing spiritually at all. After receiving TCT training, the church started studying the TCT program and began to do small Acts of Love for the next 3 years that eventually grew to larger projects. One of the large projects that they did was to widen the walking path that ran from the main road to their village. They worked to make this 10 km stretch wide enough for a car. This also included building a suspension bridge. As a result of the bridge and the road, the value of their crops increased. The people began to work more in their fields so that they were able to grow five times the amount that they used to! Because they could now earn a good profit, they were motivated to work harder, drink less, and now their income has increased to ten times what it used to be! The village is no longer one of the most undeveloped but is improving quickly. Three people have applied the health lessons and even provided Health Classes to the community and now everyone knows how to treat common illnesses, and everyone has a latrine and a vegetable garden. They started a literacy program, and in response, the government has provided a school. God has also blessed them with electricity despite the fact that many of the villages between them and the nearest supply of electricity don’t yet have electricity. This village is an example to so many around them of how their lives can be changed by doing Acts of Love and applying what they learned. When they were asked at the RW evaluation how many Acts of Love they had

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done they could not provide a count. Even when asked how many in the last three months, they could not calculate. Instead they told us that they do one or two Acts of Love a week and now it is part of their lifestyle. If they see something that needs to be done, they just go do it!

• What were the impacts of Acts of Love on this village? • How has one church, with little knowledge of God, been able to transform their whole village? • Can you silently consider small projects and one large project that your church might commit to this

year? Save these ideas for later. This is only a prompt to get people thinking ahead. LARGE GROUP PRAYER (You can also allow other people to pray after this corporate prayer) God, we thank you for the changes You brought about in this village because of their commitment to Love One Another. We ask that You help us as we commit as a church to love our neighbors. Through our Acts of Love, we trust that You will bring about true transformation in our community that brings You glory! Amen.

Types of Acts of Love LARGE GROUP DISCUSSION The churches that have seen the most dramatic changes in their communities are churches that have committed themselves to doing all kinds of Acts of Love (large and small) and to doing them regularly, such as every month or even every two weeks! Let’s look at 5 ways that we, as a church, can help bring transformation to our communities. (Write the 5 Acts of Love on the board or create a poster and invite others to read it.)

1. Individual Acts of Love – Serving our family, neighbors, work colleagues, etc. 2. Groups–Share / Pray in small groups / Work together as a group to implement 3. Church Acts of Love – Church congregation projects, 1–2 days to implement 4. Larger Acts of Love – Larger activities that take more than 2 days (road

building, construction, etc.) 5. Ongoing Education – Passing on what we have learned to other community members

o Formal: formal teaching means setting up a group to teach the lessons – for example, from the health training.

o Informal: informal teaching may mean something as simple as trying to share a lesson each week with the people that you work with in the field over lunch. To encourage this at your church, you could study again one lesson each week so that you remember it and are able to teach it to those that you meet during the week.

SMALL GROUP ACTIVITY Facilitator Instructions: Split the class into 4 groups. Assign each group a number (1–4) from the list above and have them spend 5–10 minutes answering these questions for that type of Act of Love.

• What is one Act of Love your church could do that fits into this category? • How often should we do these things? • What might be some challenges that we face in doing these things? • How can we overcome these barriers / challenges?

REPORT BACK When finished, invite small groups to present their ideas to the whole group.

Ongoing Teaching LARGE GROUP DISCUSSION The fifth kind of Act of Love from our list is “Ongoing Education.” Ongoing teaching is a good practice if we are to be a SALT and LIGHT church. It spreads our knowledge to those around us in order to improve their lives!

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There are several ways we can teach in an ongoing way. (Write this on the board or create a poster and invite others to read through it.)

1. Sermons from the Pastor – Regular reminders from the pastor are important to keep people thinking about our calling to serve those around us.

2. Small Group Study – Studying in small groups helps us to grow spiritually as individuals, be accountable to each other, and encourage each other to serve our neighbors as teams or individuals.

3. Formal Classes for ALL Community members – You can adapt the lessons in the health, marriage and family or money management modules so that they can be taught directly after the church service, or during the week. This allows the Christian and Non-Christian community members to learn together, building relationships and opening doors for more interaction.

4. Informal Teaching Opportunities – The Bible tells us to whom much is given, much will be required (Luke 12:48). We need to be faithful to pass on what we are learning. In some areas it may be possible to do informal teaching through groups or a type of visiting plan. Others may find it more appropriate to teach the lessons whenever you get an opportunity. For example, if you work in the fields with others then you could take the opportunity to teach what you have learned while working together or eating lunch together. Think about what natural opportunities you have in your life to share what you are learning.

Consider these questions:

• Church Leaders: How often do we mention the idea of serving others or God’s desire to reconcile our relationships with others, Himself and creation in sermons?

• How often do we make opportunities to teach what we are learning? • How can we increase opportunities to teach? Are there other natural times to do so? • Are there any extra resources that you require to do training? What?

Facilitator Instructions: Share ideas. Invite participants to encourage each other by sharing how they have seen ongoing teaching taking place. Offering testimony is a great way of affirming and motivating one another! Invite them to also share what areas they are not very good at yet. Offer encouragement for growth in these areas.

Planning Process LARGE GROUP ACTIVITY Activity Instructions: 1. I am going to read through the steps for planning Acts of Love. 2. Everyone that is able, please stand up. 3. Each time you hear me say the word “pray,” you will kneel or bend your knees and fold hands, then stand

upright again. 4. Let’s practice together.

Facilitator Instructions: Read through the bold headings, emphasizing the word “pray” each time you read it (i.e. “Number 1: Meet Regularly… Number 2: Pray together…Number 3: Assess needs and pray…,” etc.) and the class kneels each time. Repeat this a second (or even third!) time, going through each point, each time getting faster and faster. By the end, the group will be bouncing up and down in prayer. J What is central to planning? Praying! You can sit down now as we read each of these points. (Encourage everyone to say the headings together. Then ask volunteers to read each point of the Acts of Love Planning Steps in the Student Guide, reading the explanations as well; or if not using the Student Guide, then read them and ask them to highlight key ideas.)

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1. Meet Regularly – As the church, you need to be meeting regularly. It is easy for the busyness of life to take over and to forget what you should be doing. Try to meet a minimum of once a month to pray, discuss Acts of Love and make plans.

2. Pray together – It is only through God’s strength and wisdom that we can really transform our communities. It is an impossible task without Him, but with Him we can truly make a difference. Never forget the importance of prayer; don’t be deceived into thinking that our actions are enough without it!

3. Assess needs and pray – Each person should come to the meeting ready to discuss the needs that you see around you. As you go through your day you should be looking for things that need to be done or people that need helping. At the meeting discuss together what needs to be done. Pray together that God will show you what you should do and help you to make a plan for making an impact.

4. Make a plan and pray – (review Module 1 plans if needed)

5. Pray and then Implement – Set a date, time, materials and tools, people needed, etc.

6. Evaluate and Pray to Thank God – See what impact there has been. In the lesson on accountability we will learn more about how to do this step and what to evaluate.

Remember: Small activities done often are better than one large activity that is only done once. Smaller activities allow you to succeed. When the community sees you constantly doing small things to serve rather than just one large activity a year, this has a greater overall impact. One large activity will be wonderful, but then if they never see the church do anything for the community again, it will soon lose its impact.

Writing a Commitment LARGE GROUP ACTIVITY If you have not yet done so, we can now take some time to write a commitment. You’ve already shared some ideas for Acts of Love that your church can implement, so you are on your way to Step 1 of making a commitment (refer to the list in the Student Guide):

1. Make a list: Think about Acts of Love, larger activities, ongoing teaching (informal or formal) and meetings together that you will be able to commit to for the next 12 months. Make a list of these possible opportunities.

2. Choose activities / areas: For each of these areas, highlight or mark which activities you are willing to commit to do. Be realistic. If you have struggled to do more than 5 Acts of Love in the past, then don’t plan to do lots of large activities this year.

3. Clear and Simple: Make sure that your commitment is clear and exactly what you are planning to do. Don’t just write, “This year we commit to do Acts of Love.” Think about how many you will do. Don’t just write, “We will meet.” Determine how often you will meet and make a specific plan.

4. Write a Commitment: When you have finished your list, you should all be able to agree with it. Pray that God will help you to be faithful to the commitment.

Facilitator Instructions: Write the four points on a poster or whiteboard. Then explain and/or write this example:

Take 20–30 minutes to write a commitment as a group. (Use the Student Guide “Writing A Commitment” page)

We desire to be obedient to God and bring God’s love to our community. This year we commit to: • Do one Act of Love every month. • Teach the health curriculum after the church service every month and encourage those that

attend to teach someone else that week. • Meet together each month to plan the next Act of Love.

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Conclusion We are committing as a church to do Acts of Love! We know that Acts of Love:

• are a way to obey God’s command to demonstrate His love to our communities • enable us as a church to ‘shine our light before all men’ • bring transformation to our communities • help us to ‘spur one another on to good deeds’ (Hebrews 10:24)

We also know that we must have a plan in order for our commitments to actually make a difference in our communities. We cannot do this without prayer and we trust God to transform our lives and our communities as we commit to act in love. Having acknowledged our failures as a church, turned from our sin, and committed to act together, pray now that Hebrews 10:22–25 would be true for this church: LARGE GROUP PRAYER (either read this prayer or ask someone to read it)

“Let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encouraging one another – and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” Amen!

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Lesson 10: A Lifestyle of Love

Lesson 10: A Lifestyle of Love Main Idea:

1. In order to be SALT and LIGHT in our communities, we need to be SALT and LIGHT to each another by continually encouraging one another toward Acts of Love.

2. Our goal as a church is for Acts of Love to become our way of life, not just something we do from time to time.

Materials:

• Visual Aid: Encouraging Acts of Love Role Plays (print this and cut them apart to give to each group) • Chart or whiteboard • Markers

Facilitator Instructions: This lesson is intended for the CHURCH LEADERS in your congregation to help them think about how to get more people in their congregation involved in Acts of Love. If you are teaching directly to the congregation members then you can skip this lesson and go straight to lesson 11.

Introduction: A Lifestyle of Serving In Lesson 9, we made a Commitment Statement (or renewed our past commitments) to serve our communities as a church. Remember the village that was completely transformed by Acts of Love? At the end, they said that they could no longer really keep an account of their Acts of Love because serving their community had simply become their lifestyle – their way of living! Wouldn’t it be wonderful if that could be said of your church?! It can be easy to lose motivation to do Acts of Love, but the Bible encourages us in this! Read Galatians 6:9.

“Let us not grow weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” In this lesson, we will look at ways our church can help to cultivate a lifestyle of serving rather than only serving from time to time. This requires that we encourage one other in Acts of Love.

Five Ways to Encourage Acts of Love There are many ways to encourage each other to continually do Acts of Love. Let’s think about 5 of them now by acting them out in small groups. SMALL GROUP or PAIRS ACTIVITY In pairs or small groups, act out the following ways of encouraging one another in Acts of Love. Facilitator Instructions: There are 4 role plays (Group 3 represents two ways) to show the 5 ways to encourage others to do Acts of Love. Don’t make more than 4 groups. Then using the cut-up visual aid, give each group one or two scenes to act out. At the end of each act:

• Ask the class, “What was done to encourage the character?” • Read/explain the Lesson. • Ask the Question for discussion.

GROUP 1: Affirmation Everyone enjoys being thanked for their work. Act out someone working hard to serve another. The person being served may or may not say, “Thank you.” When he is on his way home, someone from the church approaches him to say “Thank you,” for his Act of Love. This can happen more than once as he “walks home.”

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Lesson: Being affirmed with a simple, “Thank you!” can be very encouraging, especially for Acts of Love that usually go unnoticed. Question: Can you think of someone right now whom you can thank for their efforts in Acts of Love? GROUP 2: Recognition (minimum of 3 people) Being honored in front of others for our efforts is a great encouragement. It is easy to talk about someone in a way that is not uplifting, but it is not as easy to speak highly of someone to other people. Act out a situation in which 3 or more people are talking together – perhaps drinking tea or walking along the road. Person 1 says to the others the Act of Love that he saw Person 2 doing. Praise person 2 for her efforts. The others join in recognizing and praising Person 2 for the good effort. Lesson: Being recognized and honored in front of others is uplifting and motivating. Question: Can you recognize one person in the room right now for their efforts in serving others? GROUP 3: Enjoyment & Working as a Team Not all jobs are enjoyable, but making them enjoyable can make a miserable job pleasant! Act out Person 1 doing a not-very-enjoyable task (like sweeping the grounds). Show a solemn face to demonstrate he is not enjoying the work. Person 2 comes along singing or whistling a familiar tune and joins in the work. Person 1 starts to smile and sing along. They continue working and singing together. This can be repeated with as many people are in the group. The more people singing and working together, the better! Lesson: Making the work more enjoyable is encouraging and fun! Working together brings joy to the work! Question: What are some ways we can make serving more enjoyable? Possible answers include: work in teams, take time to celebrate especially after a big job, create a fun atmosphere, help people to find the right job for their personality, make sure that things are well prepared and that people aren’t standing around waiting for people all the time, reduce conflict GROUP 4: A Greater Purpose Our perspective on our work is important to whether or not we will continue doing it. Act out: At a construction site a group of workers is building. A bystander approaches three workers separately. He asks each one what they are doing. Person 1 responds gruffly, “Can't you see? Are you stupid? I'm carrying these stones!” Person 2 replies with pride in his voice, “I am building a beautiful church.” Person 3 says gladly, “I am helping to build the Kingdom of God.” Lesson: We all like to feel like the work that we are doing is important. Helping people to understand how even something simple like preparing the flowers or sweeping the sanctuary is important helps them to find value in their job and stay motivated longer. Questions: Which person do you think feels like their job is the most important? Were their jobs actually any different? How can we help people to feel that their work is worthwhile and important? Optional Activity: We just saw 5 ways that people feel encouraged to do Acts of Love: Affirmation, Recognition, Enjoyment, Working with Others, and Having a Greater Purpose. As I say each one of these, stand (only once!) when I say the one way that you feel would motivate you the most. (List them again, tally the results of each.)

o Did everyone choose the same method? Usually they will be different. o Explain that all people are motivated differently, so in our churches we need to put together a plan

that motivates all kinds of people. o Are there any that scored very highly? Why do you think these scored more highly? Are there ways

you use this method to encourage people in your church?

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STORY 1: From One to Many Facilitator Instructions: The following are two stories that are meant to motivate and encourage the group by demonstrating how various churches encouraged Acts of Love. Depending on how much time you have and the context of your group, you may decide to use only one of these stories and its accompanying activity.

• STORY 1 would be appropriate for use with a group of parishioners. • STORY 2 may be better suited to a group of pastors / other church leaders.

Feel free to choose only one story and then move on to the conclusion. If you think both stories are useful and the group is highly focused to continue listening, you may decide to use both. Working together builds unity and spurs us on to further good deeds! Remember our lesson in Module 2 from Romans 12? We are all parts of one body – the Church! The body is only effective when all parts are working. Not all parts will do the same thing but we can all do something. If we are all active, we will be able to do so much more than we can individually, and we will encourage one another as we are serving. Listen to this story of how a failed Act of Love became a successful Act of Love for many. For years the church wondered why the person assigned to clean the church yard would change regularly. Someone would volunteer and then just 3 or 4 months later they would say that they were no longer able to do the job. Many people who volunteered in other areas in the church stayed for years in their job, so why were these volunteers so quick to change? The volunteers were asked why they had quit, but most were reluctant to give a clear answer. Someone suggested that maybe if they had a property team it would be better. The church decided it was worth trying, and a garden team was set up. Today there are a number of fathers and sons and other men on the garden team. They meet together every Saturday morning at 7 a.m. They start with a prayer and then head off to various areas where they work together in pairs – two pruning trees, two sweeping, etc. At 9 a.m. they drink coffee together and share about how things are going in their lives. Everyone has the opportunity to share and they finish in a prayer. Then they head back out to keep working together. Every week someone’s wife in the group takes a turn to prepare lunch for the group and they eat together. After lunch they finish any work together. Now people stay as part of the garden team for years. They only leave when they do not have the health to continue or they have other obligations. Discuss:

• What made the volunteers willing to work much longer? • Why do you think that serving together is so important? • What are some of the things that they did to build unity? • What are some ideas of how we can help people to serve together?

Pray that God would encourage all members of your church to join in Acts of Love even as you also encourage one another. In this way, His LIGHT shines through your LIGHT and gives LIGHT to all. OPTION: Go straight to the Conclusion.

STORY 2: A Church That Serves If we desire for our churches to develop a lifestyle of doing Acts of Love regularly (not just once in a while), then we need to first commit to praying for our church. We then need to do what we can to talk about, do and celebrate Acts of Love regularly. Listen to this story of a church that worked hard to make Acts of Love the way of life for their congregation.

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Pastor James was feeling a little defeated. He knew that he wanted to get people serving in his church but he didn’t know how. A friend had given him the phone number of Pastor Moses and suggested that he call him for advice. He called Pastor Moses and after a short conversation was told that HE needed to build a serving atmosphere at his church. Pastor James had to confess that he had no idea what a serving atmosphere was. “Don’t worry” Pastor Moses replied, “neither did I until a few years ago. Come to one of our services and I will show you want I mean.” Pastor James was met by Pastor Moses at the church entrance. He was relieved and pleased to see that Pastor Moses seemed to genuinely want to help him rather than just to show off his large church. As they walked into the church Pastor James noticed a large poster. It was titled ‘Be Involved in a Serving Day.’ Under was the verse ‘…and as for you, brothers and sisters, never tire of doing what is good’ from 2 Thessalonians 3:13. Below this, each month was listed with 3 lines next to it. The first line was for the number of Acts of Love that had been done that month, the second line for the number of people that were helped, and the third line for the number of people who had been involved in helping. “What is this” asked Pastor James. “We have a serving day each month” Pastor Moses explained. “On those days we try to get as many people in the church serving in some way as possible. I regularly invite people to sign up when I preach and others in the congregation invite others in their daily interactions. Some serve in the church helping with gardens or repainting a room. Others serve in the community helping someone by repairing a house or running a fun day for the children. We have a number of posters around the church reminding people about these days and helping them to see how many people are serving and that we still need them to get involved. Each month we record how many Acts of Love that we were able to do, how many people were helped, and how many people were involved. Each month, we try to increase the number of people involved.” As Pastor James looked around the church he noticed that it was true – there were a number of posters with various verses on the walls. On the back wall there were several photos of numerous serving events that had happened in the past. People were building houses, people were fixing roads, people were cleaning the church, and people were teaching children. There were lots of photos of people involved in different things. Above the photos was a large sign which read “Be involved, join in serving.” Pastor James found a seat and as Pastor Moses prepared to start the service, Pastor James noticed friendly people greeting everyone at the door, and a woman helping the blind and old to find seats and serving them with cups of tea. He felt very welcomed in this church and wondered if he could do something like that at his church. The service started and the youth preformed a dance and the congregation sang songs. After the worship time, people had an opportunity to share a testimony. An older woman came forward and shared how she had lost her husband and was now looking after her grandson by herself. She told of how her house was in poor repair and leaked badly and how her grandson was doing badly in school. Then she shared how the church had come and helped her by repairing the roof. Then some teenagers had invited her grandson to be part of a tutoring program so he wouldn’t fail school. She was so grateful for the way that the church had cared for her and wanted to say Thank You!! Everyone was moved by the testimony. Pastor Moses returned to the front of the church and asked the team that had rebuilt the house and the tutoring team to stand. As they did the whole church cheered loudly for them. They looked delighted and sat down quickly. Pastor Moses said a quick prayer for the woman and the serving teams – thanking God for their willingness to help, thanking God for using them, and asking God to continue to help the church to bring Him glory by their acts of service. Then Pastor Moses reminded the church that serving day was coming up in just 2 more weeks. He reminded them that they needed the whole body working together if they were to build God’s Kingdom. He reminded them that there were no useless parts of the body and that like the human body, if there are parts that are not working, then the whole body is not operating as well as it could. He then asked those that had already signed up to make sure that they all asked someone to join them on serving day.

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As the service continued Pastor James considered all that he had seen and heard so far. Was it any surprise that so many people from this church were involved in Acts of Love regularly? He finally understood what Pastor Moses meant when he said that you had to build a serving atmosphere. List the following headings on a chart or whiteboard. For each heading, identify how the church in this story worked to make serving part of their regular way of life.

• Teaching and Preaching – The pastor preached about and invited others to serve. In lesson 9 we discussed ‘on-going’ teaching. It is key that the leaders (pastors, etc.) teach in our churches about the importance of serving. If our people don’t know about God’s call to serve their communities then we cannot be surprised if they don’t serve.

• Make Serving a Priority – posters, sign-ups, reminders If we want to be a group or church that Acts in Love then we (the church) need to make serving a priority. Make sure that you are talking about serving even in your conversations with people.

• Create Opportunities – sign-ups for Acts of Love, inviting people to join By doing Acts of Love we create opportunities for others in the church to be involved. Often people aren’t sure about which ways they can be serving. Try to think of a variety of different things that could be done so that all sorts of people can be involved in the church’s Acts of Love.

• Utilize the Skills and Talents of the Congregation – examples from the widow’s story It is important to make sure that ALL members are included in serving if possible, including children, elderly, handicapped, the poor. Take time to ask people what they enjoy doing and think about how you could use their interests.

• Invite People – people in congregation invited others to sign-up for service Most people will not volunteer to serve until they are invited to do so. In the same way as Jesus invited the disciples to serve with Him, we need to become people that invite others to serve together with us.

• Keep Volunteers Motivated – celebrate with pictures, set goal to keep track of number of Acts of Love Volunteers do not get paid, so it is important to remember to not give them ‘more than they can handle’ and also to keep them motivated to continue serving, even when they are tired, through the ways we talked about: affirmation, recognition, etc.

PERSONAL REFECTION

• Would any of these would be appropriate in your church? • Are there other ideas that might work better in your context?

Pray that God would encourage all members of your church to join in Acts of Love even as you also encourage one another. In this way, His LIGHT shines through your LIGHT and gives LIGHT to all.

Conclusion In order to be SALT and LIGHT in our communities, we need to be SALT and LIGHT to each another by continually encouraging one another toward Acts of Love. We all have the ability to serve in different ways, and we all need encouragement to do so. Ephesians 4 says ‘the whole body… grows and builds itself up in love as each part does its work.’ We grow as we are given opportunity to use our gifts!! Our hope as a church is that Acts of Love will become our way of living, not just something we do from time to time. Invite others to pray for their churches and for each other. He who promised is faithful! Amen.

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Lesson 11: Conclusion – Remaining Faithful


Main Idea:

1. As SALT and LIGHT churches, we need to ensure that we fulfil the commitments that we make so that we don’t become un-salty as a church.

2. Using simple forms to evaluate our progress can help us to remain faithful to our commitments. Materials:

• None Facilitator Instructions – This is the conclusion of the Module. It should take 30 minutes.

Review Facilitator Instructions: Take some time to review the module, highlighting the key ideas of each lesson. Ask students to share what ideas stood out to them and what they will do differently as a result of the module.

Remaining Faithful You remember that in Lesson 3, we talked about being SALT and LIGHT (i.e., doing Acts of Love) so that God will be glorified. HIS GLORY is our most important goal as individuals AND as a church. Now that we have made a commitment, we want to ensure that we follow through with what we have committed, evaluate the results, and share them with others as a testimony to God and His goodness.

• Have you ever promised to do something and then forgotten? • How does it feel when you forget to keep your promise?

Measuring Our Obedience LARGE GROUP DISCUSSION Facilitator Instructions: Write these 4 points on the whiteboard or poster and then explain them. For example, Activity, Results, Attitude, etc. We can measure our obedience in four areas:

1. Activity: Record how many Acts of Love we do, how often we serve others, the number of people being helped, etc.

2. Results: We should see results for the efforts we’ve made. If you haven’t seen any results after doing a number of Acts of Love, then evaluate what is happening and why there is no fruit. It may be that more time is needed and that you should remain faithful, or it may mean that you need to change your actions.

3. Attitude: Being faithful to tasks with the wrong attitude is not obedience. Helping with a poor spirit is not being SALT and LIGHT. Are we doing Acts of Love with love in our hearts or for another reason?

4. God gets the glory: In the passages about SALT and LIGHT, Jesus reminds us that we should do good deeds before men so that they may praise who? God! Constantly check to see if your intention is to bring God glory!

SMALL GROUP ACTIVITY

• Think of ways that you can measure your obedience. What are some steps that you want to put into place?

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REPORT BACK (have each group share 1 or 2 practical ideas)

Conclusion YOU are the SALT of the earth! YOU are the LIGHT of the world! Your faithfulness to do Acts of Love will bring glory to our Father in heaven and transformation to your community. Remember in Isaiah 58 when God tells Israel what will happen when they are faithful to care for the poor and needy? Listen to verse 8 and be encouraged toward faithfulness:

“Then your LIGHT will break forth like the dawn, And your healing will quickly appear;

Then your righteousness will go before you, And the GLORY of the LORD will be your rear guard.”

God is the One who makes you the LIGHT. He is the one Who heals our land through our Acts of Love. The practice you have started will lead you on to a lifestyle of service, and the glory God receives because of your obedience will follow after you. Praise God! Close in a prayer of thanks for God’s promise and His faithfulness.

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STUDENT GUIDE

STUDENT GUIDE Facilitator Instructions: Print these two pages for each participant if you do not provide the full Student Guide.

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Overcoming Sin

Common Sin: _______________________________________________


1. Identify the Sin


3. Repent & Commit

RENEW OUR MINDS

4. Pray Daily




7. Flee Temptation


9. Accountability

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My Serving Plan

Areas of Jesus’ Growth Context

For Service

Wisdom

Physical Spiritual Social

Family

Church

Community

Documents

SALT AND LIGHT TEACHER GUIDE · Option 1: ROLE PLAY “I can’t do math!” Needed: 1 shopkeeper, 2 buyers, salt for sale. Scene: Shopkeeper is selling salt at his/her shop. Buyer