NBC Sunday School Lesson For February 2, 2025 : Topic - Praying For Relief

NBC Sunday School Lesson For February 2, 2025 : Topic - Praying For Relief

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SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSON FOR YOUR PREPARATION

NBC SUNDAY SCHOOL OUTLINE

Theme for the Month: "LIFE IN GOD'S KINGDOM"

PREVIEW FOR FEBRUARY

Welcome to the second month of the year. The theme for this month is "Life in God's Kingdom". The texts shall be taken from the gospel according to Matthew. Jesus taught extensively about God's kingdom, the struggle to have our needs met and how not to be overwhelmed by anxiety. He also taught His disciples about how to pray for forgiveness of sins. Some of the highlights of the lesson are: 

● The nature and obligations of kingdom life to Jesus' disciples.

● Jesus' teaching on how to pray.

● Jesus' prediction that the kingdom of heaven will meet with resistance in the world.

● The reward for those who have given up everything to follow Jesus.

The parable of the judgment challenges His followers to serve the King faithfully. People often resist changes. Matthew recorded Jesus' pronouncement that those who would take hold of God's kingdom must be forceful about it. He also taught that the pursuit of wealth and possession could stand in the way of a purposeful life and could hinder some from entering God's kingdom. It is possible for those who put their trust in God to attain eternal life; if they attempt to do so through their efforts, they will fail. Sunday school teachers and class members should prepare their hearts to be blessed with these beautiful lessons about life in the kingdom.

Below are the suggested teaching methods to prepare and teach the lessons. They can be used during the general opening or in the class:

February 2 - Panel Discussion: Assign the two sub-topics to class members ahead of time to enable them to prepare to discuss the lesson.

February 9 - Scripture Comparison and Verbalisation: Three class members should write out Matthew 11:20 from different versions of the Bible on separate cardboards and display them as they stand in front of the class for everyone to read and discuss its application to the lesson of the day, and life.

February 16 - Drama: A few people should do a short drama on today's lesson.

February 24 - Recitation: Class members should read the Golden Text (Matthew 6:10) several times in unison until they have memorised it. 

 

DATE: SUNDAY, 2ND FEBRUARY, 2025.

TOPIC: PRAYING FOR RELIEF.

Devotional Reading: Psalm 4.

Background Scripture: Matthew 6:5-15.

Lesson Scripture: Matthew 6:5-15.

GOLDEN TEXT:

"Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven." Matthew 6:10.

📌Objectives: 

By the end of the lesson, class members should be able to:

● Explain why they need to pray; 

● Discuss what it means to afford vain repetition in prayers; 

● Determine to be closer to God in prayer.

INTRODUCTION 

The early Christians followed the footsteps of Jesus by praying like Him. They prayed consistently because they had faith in the Lord Jesus. The book of Acts of the Apostles has a concise account of the early church's practices of prayer. There are testimonies in the history of Christianity about people who persisted in prayer and received commensurate result. Christianity, generally, took after the long tradition of Judaism. There are many striking similarities between the prayers recorded in the Jewish liturgy and the the prayers of the early Christians. For example, although most of the Christian writings were done in Greek and not Hebrew, phrases like "Amen", "Selah", "Hosanna", "Maranatha", and "Hallelujah", which are Hebrew phrases w were retained in the liturgy of the early church. The early church adopted the Hebrew form of prayer, which is poetical or rhetorical discourse. Christian prayer then, like its precursor, is spontaneous, natural and unaffected at the early stage. However, the unique emphasis of Christian prayer on the intimacy of the Father and Son makes it different from Judaism. Another difference is the absence of sacrificial elements such as animals, oil, and others.

THE LESSON EXPLAINED

A. UNACCEPTABLE WAY TO PRAY PRAYER

[Matthew 6:5]

Matthew 6 is a continuation of Jesus' sermon on the Mount which began in chapter 5. In some verses of chapter 6, Jesus describes how one can pray wrongly and He also explains the right way to pray. Genuine prayer, in Christian tradition, ought to be based on a solid relationship with the heavenly Father through the Lord Jesus Christ. It is not a matter of show-off, which some people are used to. Some people who claim to be religious tend to show off by praying in public places for other people to see. And Jesus says praying with the intention to be noticed by others is hypocritical and does not attract heavenly reward. The attention received from people is the reward for such prayer. 

Many Christians pray wrongly and then wonder why their prayers are not answered. Some people's prayers tend towards African traditional belief with emphasis on the power of the Devil rather than the exaltation of the Sovereign Lord. These erroneous prayers are sometimes abusive, self-centred and unchristian.

DISCUSSION TIME:

1. Was Jesus prohibiting praying in public places?

2. Discuss some features that should characterise a Christian's prayer.

BACCEPTABLE WAY TO PRAY

[Matthew 6:6-8]

Prayer stems from a personal relationship with God. The right kind of prayer that will attract the attention of the Creator, must observe the following: 

● Must be void of distraction both inwardly and on the outside and the sole focus of the prayer must be God(v.6)

● Memorised rote prayers which are endlessly repeated without any connection to God in the heart of the one praying are vain repetitions which do not get God's attention. 

● The heathens do vain repetition because they think that their god will be impressed by their many words. In contrast, prayer for a Christian is a means to relate to the Father and fellowship with Him.

Our almighty Father knows everything we are going through but He needs us to express our minds and believe in Him. He expects us to express our confidence in Him. Christian prayer should primarily be borne out of a relationship. It should be a moment when one has an experience that transcends human imagination. In addition, 

Christian prayer should be a worship experience when God is lifted and you enjoy a relationship with Him. When prayer is rightly engaged, it will be a healing experience, which brings physical, emotional and spiritual healing. For Christians, prayer should be an avenue for submission to God, offering sacrifices of praise, thanksgiving and oneself to Him.

DISCUSSION TIME:

1. What is the place of relationship with God in Christian prayers?

2. List some of the ways by which prayers rendered by some Christians today deviate from biblical teachings. 

C. THE LORD'S PRAYER

[Matthew 6:9-15]

The Lord Jesus Christ gave a model of prayer, which should serve as a guidance for our prayer to our Heavenly Father: 

● Acknowledging of God as an intimate Father, who is beyond all His creations; He is in heaven above; v.9b

● Acknowledging that God rules, He has a kingdom that is and is to come. 

● He alone is the Provider and Sustainer of all that He created.

● The responsibility of each believer is to manifest forgiveness, which is an aspect of God's nature. 

● God demands that a forgiven sinner must keep on pardoning anyone who offends them to continue to benefit from God's grace of forgiveness.

● God protects and delivers from temptation. 

● God owns all powers, glory and kingdom forever.

Forgiveness of sin and cancelling of debts were commanded through the Law and celebration of Jubilee in Leviticus 25. We need to forgive those who have offended us in appreciation of the forgiveness we receive freely from God (Matthew 18:23-35). Forgiveness is a gift from God. All those who have received it must show mercy to others (Luke 6:36). 

DISCUSSION TIME: 

1. What will our society be like, if we all practise forgiveness, as stated by Jesus Christ? 

2. What are the benefits of praying homsM like Christ Jesus?

Fellowship and Ministry Building Activity:

Ask class members to reiterate step by step the Lord's Prayer and state how this should influence the way they pray.

Prayer:

● Thank God for pardoning your sins. 

● Ask God to grant you grace to forgive those who have offended you.

Take Home: 

Write down three lessons you are taking home from today's lesson?

● __________ 

● __________ 

● __________ 

Commitment: 

● Based on today's lesson, resolve to pardon those who have offended you, whether they plead for forgiveness or not.

Happy Sunday in Advance.

Remain Inspired & Be Lifted!