Bible II Unit 5 Lesson 1: Writing to the Believers; Epistles: An Introduction Ephesians 1

Learning Goals

Identify  how the Epistles are different from the other sections in the NT and how they are structured
Apply the Bible to modern life
Be able to write an a description of the Author and Audience of an Epistle

Brainstorm : What struggles or problems do teens face when it comes to following Jesus?

An Epistle = A _________________

Written to a specific people At a specific time For a specific purpose
God Inspired Writings 2 Peter 1:16-21 = God directed the writing but did not dictate it
Written for the people back then but also for us

The Epistles

Different from the Gospels & Acts because they don’t have _____________________
Paul wrote ________  of them
Most written before the Gospels to the churches that Paul ____________ on his trips

Interpretation

How can we understand them? Do they have anything to say to us?
Understand the Contexts 

Within the document = _________________________________________
Within the culture and time = ______________________________________

Ephesians 1: Read together out loud as a class

Who wrote the book?
Who was it written to?

How are they Structured

Author
Audience
General Greeting – ___________________________________________
Content of the letter - _________________________________________
Personal greetings - _________________________________________
Blessing  - _________________________________________________

Show Me: Write a letter structured like the Epistles

In the body explain how to live as a follower of Christ in the Dominican Republic (or modern world) today you will need to address 3 or 4 issues the teens deal with. To do this explain the issue and then give advice on how to deal with it (what to do or not do). 

Class work Webquest (handout) learn more about ancient Ephesus (historical Context)

Write a concise description of the Audience of the Book. Things to consider as you write it:

What was the city like at the time of Paul?
What was the basis of its economy?
What religious buildings were there?
On what things would have the people of Ephesus based their identify?
What things about living in the city might have made it hard for people to follow Jesus?

Use what you know: You should be able to do the first 3 parts of your project:

An accurate, concise description of the author or authors
An accurate, concise description of the audience
An accurate, concise description the historical context of the book.

Lesson Highlights

An Epistle = a _______________
The books that are labeled as Epistles in the Bible do not have _____________  and because of their structure.
The majority of the epistles were written by ______________
Most were written before the ________________
They ________________ and _____________________ the new believers
They were written by _________________ but God inspired (directed) them  and uses them to speak to us
They teach a lot of Theology and address ____________________ issues of their times

Bible II Unit 5 Lesson 2 Ephesians: Intro to Theology Ephesians

Learning Goals:

Be able to accurate identify, list and explain the major issues & theological topics of an Epistle
Be able to make a short, memorable phrase that accurately characterizes the major ideas or theme/focus of an Epistle

Write a brief description of what you think God is like (regarding his personality and characteristics?

Author, Audience & Acts

Author:
Audience:
When In Acts: When he was in ________________ in Caesarea or Rome (3:1)

The Theme of the book: The ________________  is the _______________ of Christ

The Church

Not a _________________
The followers of Jesus = the _____________________

What can you learn about someone’s character from what they say?

Theology = __________________________________

What is God’s character (personality)?
What has God done, and what will he do?

Class work: Theology Handout on List of Theological Ideas Found in the Epistles 

List of Verse from Ephesians that Have Theological Ideas in them

The Trinity

1 God = Father + Son + Holy Spirit
Word never mentioned in the Bible but the idea is in many verses

Predestination Verses 4 & 11

Did God choose us or do we choose him?
Both??

Show me what you learned (work on your unit project)

Identify the Author, Audience & the historical context of the Epistle that you have been assigned for your project
Accurate list and explain of the major issues/ theological topics of the book that you have been assigned for your project
Make a short, memorable phrase that accurately characterizes the major ideas or theme/focus of your book

Practice Quiz Match the correct theological idea with the verse

Ecclesiology/the Church
Salvation/Justification
Sanctification/Holiness
Spiritual warfare

____1. “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God” Ephesians 2:8 (NIV).

____2.  “until we [God’s people] all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.” Ephesians 4:13 (NIV).

____3. “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms” Ephesians 6:12 (NIV).

____4.  “Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.  There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called” Ephesians 4:3-4 (NIV).

Lesson Highlights

wrote Ephesians while in       ______________     to the churches around Ephesus
The theme of the book is the          ____________     as the living      ____________          of Christ (the people)
The Epistles contain a lot of verses that deal with _______________________________
Theology is the __________________________ of God and our attempts to understand Him

Bible II Unit 5 Lesson 3; Ephesians Chapter 2 How to be part of the Body

Learning Goals

Recognize that the theme of Ephesians is the living body of Christ and salvation
Explain what Salvation is and how to become a part of the Body of Christ

Salvation = __________________________________

What do you need to do to be saved?

What do you need to believe in to be saved?

Class work Complete the worksheet

Salvation by Grace

Eph 2:8-10 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith-- and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God--not by works, so that no one can boast.For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Peace

In what areas of our life can Jesus bring peace?

What does it mean to be a member of God’s household?

What are the racial berries that exist in this country?

Show me what you know: Continue to work on your project

Develop a short, memorable phrase that accurately characterizes the major ideas or theme/focus of the book

Lesson Highlights

All People ________________ and are in need of God’s ____________________
Jewish & Gentile believers are __________________ in Christ (Jesus breaks down all racial and social barriers)
One becomes part of the _____________________ of Christ (the church) through faith in Jesus
Believers are the ___________________ of God and the Holy Spirit dwells in us (we have a new identity)
We are not saved by our _______________________ but by our ______________________; however, our works prove or demonstrate our fait

Bible II Unit 5 Lesson 4; Being the Body of Christ: Ephesians Chapters 3, 4, 5

Learning goals

Identify the importance of being part of the Body of Christ
Practice the roll of submission in relationships and valuing all different types of people and gifts that people have
Be able to identify key teachings in an Epistle

What do you think is the key (most important element) to having good relationships with other people?

What do you think that your gifts (talents) are? Or what things do you do well?

Metaphors of the Church

Ephesians 3-5

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Spiritual Gifts/Offices

Apostles = _____________________________
Prophets = _____________________________
Evangelists = _____________________________
Pastors = _____________________________
Teachers  = _____________________________

Do you thing that God has a purpose for your life? How can you know what it is?

Key Teachings and issues

Salvation by __________________
Unity in the body of Christ

Jews and Gentiles are _______________
Submission to authority
Spiritual gifts (positions of leadership) 

____________ living (sanctification)

Put off your old self and put on the new

Spiritual warfare

Put on the ___________ of the Lord

 Living for God

Put off your old self and put on the new

Darkness

Falsehood
Don’t sin in your anger
Don’t steal
Bad talk including  perverted, foolish or mean jokes
bitterness, rage, fighting, put downs, and all that bad stuff
Don’t be sexually immoral
Greed
foolishness
Don’t get drunk

Light

Be truthful
“don’t let the sun go down while you are still angry” = forgive
Work and share
Use words to build others up
Be kind, compassionate, forgive, love,
Be thankful
Make the most of every opportunity
Make music in your heart

Control; Eph 5:21-6:9

What comes to mind when you hear the word submit?

What is the difference between submission and obedience's?

Submission

Why might a person be afraid to submit to another?
What does it mean to submit to Christ?
How can submission be seen in life of a believer?
What are the responsibilities of having another person be in submission to you?
How is mutual submission different than submission to one person?

Show me what you have learned

Use what you have learned to identify the key teachings and your phrase for your project

Lesson Highlights

The book focuses on the   _________              of the church

____                   is a key part of all relationships

Paul uses the metaphors of a                           ,               , and ________ to describe the church
God has a                for us all but we are not all the same and we    _________           each other to do his work
To follow Christ we must be willing to     _______       the process of being changed into someone who lives for God and strives for righteousness
The Church (followers of Christ) need to      _________       to Christ’s authority

Bible II Unit 5 Lesson 5: Ephesians 6:10-24 Spiritual Warfare

Learning Goals

Understand that we are in a spiritual battle
Identify ways to resist Satan by putting on the armor of the Lord

Spiritual Reality

What does the bible say about Satan and the demons and where can you find it?

Isaiah 14:12-15

Satan or king of Babylon?

Ezekiel 28: 13-17

Satan or king of Tyre

Luke 10:18
Revelation 12:7-9

Facts about Satan

_________________ – Job, Rev 12:10
Able to possess people -- John 13:27
Father of ___________ -- John 8:44
The ____________ of demons -- Matthew 12:24
Christians don’t need to be afraid of him Luke 10: 19 but we can allow him to mess with our lives Eph 4:27

How do we fight him? Eph 6:10-18

Stand Firm with the Armor of the Lord

Class work: Read and Identify each of the parts of the armor, explain what you think each part means and how it could be used in our struggle against Satan and Sin.

Prayer

Why is prayer such an important part of the battle?
How might someone's prayer life be different if they realized that their prayers were a powerful aspect of spiritual warfare?

Show me what you know

For you unit quiz you will be expected to know the Armor of the Lord (what each piece stands for) and how it can help us fight Spiritually

Lesson Highlights

The Bible presents _____________ as real and that we are in a spiritual battle but God is in control
Know the armor of the Lord
God’s _______________ and _______________are key elements in the battle