Part 1, lesson 5. CAC Sunday School lesson, July-Dec. 2017

CHRIST APOSTOLIC CHURCH WORLDWIDE.

SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSONS.

MEGA THEME:

THE LIFE OF CHRIST(continued).

For the period; July through December, 2017.

Lesson Three; JESUS, MARRIAGE AND THE FAMILY.

For September 17th  and September  24th, 2017.

Part 1 of Lesson 5

Jesus’ appearance at the wedding in Cana is a demonstration of His love for, and commitment to marriage, as God's institution. He also spoke vehemently against divorce.

MEMORY SCRIPTURE
And said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and two shall become one flesh’ (Matthew 19:5).

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT
For any marriage to be successful in life, Jesus must be its all in all.

INTRODUCTION

Textual Source: Matthew 5:31-32; 19:1-12; Mark 10:1-12.

We are grateful to God for all what we have been learning at the feet of Christ, since we started this series, on THE LIFE OF CHRIST(cont’d). Jesus was humble enough to relate with different classes of people in the society ---- the children, women and men, the high and the low people of different religious orientations.
In the previous lesson, we learnt from Jesus, passion and compassion for people ---- the sick, bereaved, sinners and demon-possessed/oppressed, in relation to what our relationship should be with them, as a Christians, in this crooked world. We were taught, as Christians, what we should do to help the different categories of people we would be coming across in our stints, here in the world.

In continuation, lesson 5 is a discourse of Jesus’ attitude of marriage and family; what Jesus taught about marriage, and how marriage should be between only man and one woman who agree in the Lord, to be one flesh,  for life. Hence, no room for divorce or any other immoral practice, most especially, within the context of marriage/family, no matter the excuses.

Though Jesus chose not to marry because of His mission they necessitated a brief stay here on earth. Being divine, He has all it takes to instruct us on what and how marriage/family should be. May we be blessed as we learned at His feet for these two weeks. Amen.

LESSON OUTLINE

1. CHERISHES THE MARRIAGE INSTITUTION
• Stressed Marriage’s Sanctity
• Seen At A Wedding Feast

2. CONDEMNS IMMORAL PRACTICES
• No To Divorce
• No To Other Immoral Practices

LESSON EXPOSITION

1. CHERISHES THE MARRIAGE INSTITUTION (Matthew 19:4-6; John 2:1-11).

~> Stressed Marriage’s Sanctity (Matthew 19:4-6).

And He answered and said to them, “Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning made them male and female” (v. 4).

▶ v. 4: God is the One ...who made them at the beginning (cf. Genesis 1:26-28). The same God is the author of marriage and family. How?

▶ In the beginning, He saw no good in man's (Adam) loneliness, and consequently went ahead to format the woman (Eve), the wife, from Adam’s ribs (Genesis 2:18-22), having earlier made them male and female, from the beginning (Genesis 1:27).

▶ v. 5: God was like conducting the first wedding’s formality in Genesis 2:22,23, after which He officially instituted the ordinance of marriage, in very clear terms (Genesis 2:24).

▶ An institution that God who made them from the beginning, had fully blessed (Genesis 1:28), thus duly giving the man and the wife the spiritual, legal and all other rights to be naked to each other, in all respects, without shame (Genesis 2:23), should be held honourably among all, the way the Creator expects (Hebrews 13:4).

~> Seen At A Wedding Feast (John 2:1-11).

Now both Jesus and His disciples were invited to the wedding (v. 2).

▶  vv. 1,2:  It is more than a coincidence that the first outing Jesus and His disciples, plus His mother, we're jointly invited to, was a wedding feast ---- the very first institution of God.

▶ That Jesus accepted this invitation and attended with His full entourage suggests His interest in seeing that what God started continues to flourish on earth.

▶ vv. 3-5: The scenario here (v. 3) would have been humiliating for the bride and groom, had Jesus not been invited. Any marriage/home sailing without Christ on board, heads for the rocks. Invite Him into your mareiage; He won't refuse.

▶ vv. 6-10: That Jesus is present in a home doesn't mean there won't be challenges (cf. John 16:33). The joy is that He always has the right solution for every situation (cf. I Corinthians 10:13).

▶ v. 11: What a great show of immense importance that Christ attaches to marriage/family! He chose to perform His first miracle in Cana of Galilee in a marriage setting.

LESSON DERIVED

★ God instituted marriage. Everyone who loves Him never compromises it's sanctity.

★ The presence of Jesus in that wedding feast, recorded in the Scripture, speaks volume about the importance He attaches to the institution.

WORK TO DO

》 If Jesus places such premium on marriage/family, why is it that some Christians, churches and ministers inclusive, mellow down God's standard for it, today?