Radical Jesus - Teacher's manual

JESUS 10 lessons on the radical Saviour For high school students in years 7 and 8

Teacher’s manual Written by Tim Clemens To be used with Radical Jesus Student handbook and the Jesus—Life of Christ DVD

Christian Education Publications PO Box A287 Sydney South NSW 1235 Australia P +61 2 8268 3333 | F: +61 2 8268 3357 E: sales@youthworks.net W: www.cepstore.com.au Published January 2013 Copyright © Tim Clemens 2013 This book is copyright. Apart from fair dealing for the purposes of private study, research, criticism and review as permitted under the Copyright Act, no part of this book may be reproduced by any process without the express permission of the Publisher.

Scripture taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version (NIV). Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 Biblica.

Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved. ‘New International Version’ and ‘NIV’ trademarks are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica. Use of either trademark requires the permission of Biblica.

Jesus—Life of Christ DVD © 1979 Inspirational Films Inc. is reproduced in partnership with Campus Crusade for Christ Australia, 1/8 Anzed Court, Mulgrave VIC 3170.

All rights reserved. This product may not be reproduced, televised or broadcast in whole or part without prior written approval by Inspirational Films. Unauthorised duplication, distribution or exhibition may result in civil liability and criminal prosecution.

National Library of Australia ISBN 978-1-922000-52-1 Author—Tim Clemens Managing editor—Julie Firmstone Theological editor—Loren Becroft Design—Chrisy Savvides

JESUS CO N T EN T S How to use this manual

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About the author

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Unit overview

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Chapter 1

R adical birth

Luke 1:26–38

Chapter 2

Radical beginning

Luke 3:21–22; 4:1–13

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Chapter 3

Radical teaching

Luke 6:27–36

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Chapter 4

Radical authority

Luke 8:22–25; 8:26–39; 9:10–17

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Chapter 5

Radical followers Luke 9:18–27

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Chapter 6

Radical opposition Luke 20:9–19

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Chapter 7

Radical betrayal

Luke 22:39–53

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Chapter 8

Radical death

Luke 23:32–43

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Chapter 9

Radical resurrection Luke 24:33–49

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Chapter 10 Radical ascension Luke 24:50–53

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HOW TO USE THIS MANUAL Radical Jesus is part of a series of curriculum products written by Tim Clemens for years 7–10 students studying Christian studies in independent schools and Special Religious Education in State schools.

As with all Christian Education Publications, Radical Jesus is grounded in the belief that God is the source of all truth, and his word, the Bible, is where God reveals himself and his saving purposes. Each lesson aims to teach students directly from the Bible, or, when this is not possible, to engage them with issues from a biblical perspective.

This unit is intended to provide you, the teacher, with reliable, engaging and ready-to-use material. With a total of ten lessons, Radical Jesus is designed to span two school terms.

Each of these lessons is structured to run for 40 minutes to one hour, but can be shortened or extended to suit your needs.

PREPARATION Before you teach each lesson: • pray for students to have open minds and hearts to receive God’s word • read through the lesson plan and the Bible passage(s). Think through how you will lead the discussion and what you will share with students about your own experience • watch the relevant DVD section and make sure you have the equipment ready to play this at the appropriate time in the lesson • have the Student handbooks and Bibles ready to hand out (one per person) • gather together any additional props or materials you will need to run the games and activities.

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LESSON FORMAT The lessons in this unit follow a basic format from week to week.

PRAYER INTRODUCTION/ RECAP DISCUSSION OR ACTIVITY SHARE

An opportunity to commit the lesson to God and get the students used to praying and talking with him.

Lesson 1—A brief overview of what will be covered in this unit.

All other lessons—a short revision of the previous lesson’s big idea.

An interactive section designed to get the students talking and thinking about the topic.

An opportunity for you, the teacher, to share something of your own life and walk with Christ as it is relevant to the topic.

LINK

A bridge between the activities and what you have shared, and the Bible teaching to come.

DVD

A portion (usually only a few minutes) of the Jesus–Life of Christ DVD which relates to the lesson topic.

READ THE BIBLE

A chance for students to read the Bible themselves. Get a confident reader in the group to read the passage for the day aloud. Key passages are printed in the Student handbooks for easy reference.

STUDENT HANDBOOKS

A resource for students with a variety of questions and activities to complete based on the teaching. Be sure to allow time for students to share their answers with the class and for you to see how well they have understood the material. See the note on page 6 for more information.

REINFORCE THE BIG IDEA

A way to finish the lesson with the key points from the study.

CHAT

ANSWERS TO COMMON QUESTIONS

An invitation for students to challenge you on any point they disagree with or find difficult to accept or understand. Encourage any young person to approach you after class with questions or comments, and offer to pray with any student who wants this support.

Some examples of difficult questions you may get asked by students on the main issues discussed in each lesson, together with appropriate and helpful responses.

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A NOTE ABOUT THE STUDENT HANDBOOKS Each student should have their own Student handbook. Hand them out at the start of each lesson and collect them again at the end of class. This will give you the opportunity to review and mark (if you wish) their work, and to see whether the students have understood the material. At the end of the last lesson, allow the students to take home the Student handbooks as a record of what they have covered that term and a potential resource for any unanswered questions.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Tim Clemens is passionate about reaching youth with the gospel of Jesus Christ. He has been involved in youth ministry since 2006, and began teaching Special Religious Education (SRE) at St Ives High School in Sydney in 2009. Tim’s desire is to develop material which will engage and challenge high school students as they hear the gospel.

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UNIT OVERVIEW Many students will be familiar with the story of Jesus—particularly his virgin birth, his death by crucifixion and his resurrection three days later. However, for most students, this will be where their understanding stops.

The Radical Jesus unit covers the whole life of Jesus: from his radical birth right through to the present day. It attempts to give students an overview of his life by focusing on ten key areas and challenging students to consider the significance of these areas for their lives.

These key areas are: 1.

Radical birth. A teenage virgin gave birth to God in the flesh.

2.

Radical beginning. At Jesus’ baptism, the sky opened as God declared him to be his precious Son. Jesus’ obedience to God was greatly tested in the desert.

3.

Radical teaching. Jesus saw everything from an upside down perspective, and in his teaching he called his followers to live upside down lives too.

4.

Radical authority. Jesus showed that he has authority over everything in the natural world and in the spiritual world.

5.

Radical followers. Jesus taught that those who want to follow him must give up their lives to do so.

6.

Radical opposition. Jesus received severe opposition from the Jewish and Roman leaders for the things he said and did.

7.

Radical betrayal. Jesus was betrayed by one of his closest friends—an event which ultimately led to his execution.

8.

Radical death. Jesus died on the cross even though he was God’s perfect Son—one who had never sinned.

9.

Radical resurrection. Three days after his death, Jesus rose physically from the dead and appeared to his disciples among many others.

10.

Radical ascension. After 40 days, Jesus ascended into heaven as the King of the universe, where he reigns to this day.

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UNIT AIMS Radical Jesus aims to: 1. introduce students to the person of Jesus and his teaching 2. challenge students to respond in repentance and faith 3. motivate students to live lives of obedience to God.

ASSUMED KNOWLEDGE It is assumed that, in beginning this unit, students will: • understand that the Bible is the word of God • have basic skills in reading the Bible and finding Bible passages • have a fundamental understanding of the Christian faith including: i. God as Creator ii. Man as sinful iii. Christ as Saviour.

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radical teaching RADICAL TEACHING

BIG IDEA Jesus gave us the ultimate example of loving our enemies when he died for us on the cross.

OUTCOMES In this lesson students will: • explore what attributes make a good teacher • investigate some of the teachings of Jesus • be challenged to love like God loves • understand that Jesus demonstrated his love for us when he died on the cross.

KEY PASSAGE Luke 6:27–36

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TODAY’S LESSON PRAYER Begin by praying something like, ‘Heavenly Father, please speak to us today from your word, the Bible. Help us to see that Jesus wants us to imitate you, his heavenly Father, in the way that we live our lives. Show us what this means for our lives today and help us to put our trust in him. Amen’.

RECAP Ask the students what they remember from last week’s lesson. Perhaps you could provide a reward for the first student who reminds the class of the big idea: Jesus’ baptism and his sinlessness through subsequent testing in the desert demonstrated that he was the obedient Son of God.

ACTIVITY: HANGMAN Begin today’s lesson with a few games of ‘Hangman’.

Hangman is a game in which students have to guess the individual letters that make up a word or phrase of your choosing. If they guess a letter correctly, you write it up on the board. If they guess a letter that is not contained in the mystery word or phrase, you draw one line of a picture of a ‘hangman’ on the board.

The winner is the person to guess the complete word or phrase. Alternatively, if you complete the hangman drawing before the students guess the word, you win.

Use the surname of teachers at the students’ school as the mystery words.

Note: If you think that calling the game ‘Hangman’ and drawing the picture may be considered offensive in the school in which you are teaching, substitute it with another image such as a house.

LINK Jesus was a teacher. He was actually the best teacher who ever lived.

DVD Watch the Jesus movie from 24:50—29:20 minutes. This section covers more teaching than just Luke 6:27–36, but do not feel compelled to focus on these other elements in today’s lesson. The purpose is for students to get an overall understanding of what was happening at this time in Jesus’ life.

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Use this time to hand out the Bibles and Student handbooks.

READ THE BIBLE Ask for a volunteer to read Luke 6:27–36. You may need to explain what Jesus meant by ‘sinners’ in verses 32–34.

A ‘sinner’ here does not refer to somebody who sins. In that sense, we are all sinners.

Rather, in the context in which Jesus first spoke these words, a ‘sinner’ referred to those people that society believed were beyond God’s help.

STUDENT HANDBOOKS Instruct the students to begin answering the questions in their Student handbooks. Go around the class and help them as they do this.

Depending on time, you may like to get your students to complete the Get creative activity.

Be sure to provide an opportunity for the students to perform their scenarios to the class.

REINFORCE THE BIG IDEA Make sure that students understand that Jesus embodied his own teaching when he died on the cross for his enemies. Remind them of Romans 5:8 and help them to see that Jesus ought to be our motivation to love others.

CHAT Invite any students who have questions or who wish to talk further about the concepts in this lesson to speak with you during or after class.

ANSWERS TO COMMON QUESTIONS Does Jesus seriously expect me to ‘turn the other cheek’ if someone punches me?

Yes and no. On the one hand, there’s no denying that Jesus tells us to ‘turn the other cheek’.

That being said, there’s also nothing to stop you from taking a step backwards to avoid being hit.

The emphasis in these verses is not so much on enduring punishment and pain, but on responding to our enemies in a heavenly, or God-like, manner.

That is, there is a real sense in which God ‘turns the other cheek’ to us. When we sin against God he doesn’t lash out and judge us immediately. Rather, God is patient, even when we continue to do the wrong thing, because he wants us to repent (2 Peter 3:9). This ought to influence the way we respond to others.

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