Another Dimension sample lesson

Jesus’ picture of life from The Sermon on the Mount

n o s s e L e l p m a s Teacher’s manual Written by Rhonda Watson to be used with

Another dimension Student handbook and

Another dimension CD-ROM

Published 2006 by CEP Copyright © Christian Education Publications 2006 This resource is copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of private study, research, criticism or review as permitted under the Copyright Act, the only part of this book that may be copied without the written permission of the publisher are the photocopiable masters that are clearly indicated. These pages may only be reproduced for use in the Christian Education classes of the purchaser’s school or of the schools in which he or she has the responsibility for the provision of Christian education.

National library of Australia ISBN 1 921137 71 1 Christian Education Publications PO BOX A287, Sydney South, NSW 1235 Australia Phone: (02) 8268 3344 Fax: (02) 9283 3987 or (02) 8268 3357 Email: sales@youthworks.net Internet: www.youthworks.net PO BOX 74, Palmerston North Central, Palmerston North, 4440 New Zealand Phone: (06) 358 8180 Fax: (06) 357 0281 Email: cep@gph.co.nz Internet: www.youthworks.net Written by Rhonda Watson To be used with Another dimension Student handbook and CD-ROM Editorial: Sue Aiken Cover: Online Advertising CD-ROM production: Steve Williams, Crosstalk Technical Services 0419 607 429 Typesetting: Andrew Hope PowerPoint Design: Amy Chaplin Bible quotes are taken from: HOLY BIBLE NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION (NIV) © International Bible Society 1984 Contemporary English Version (CEV) © American Bible Society 1991 THE MESSAGE © Eugene H. Peterson, Navpress 1993 CEP has, where appropriate, pursued permission to reproduce copyright text and images used in Another dimension Teacher’s manual. However, if you believe you hold copyright to some of this material and CEP has not requested your permission to use it, please contact us so that the situation can be remedied.

Contents Using Another dimension Teacher’s manual

4

Introduction: Background to Matthew and Sermon on the Mount

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Chapter 1 Who am I trying to impress?

Matthew 5:1–12

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Chapter 2 Do I stand out?

Matthew 5:13–16

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Chapter 3 What’s going on beneath the surface?

Matthew 5:21–30

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Chapter 4 Love for my enemy?

Matthew 5:38–48

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Chapter 5 An audience of one?

Matthew 6:1–15

57

Chapter 6 What do I want more than anything else?

Matthew 6:19–34

65

Chapter 7 What is my life foundation?

Matthew 7:24–27

73

CEP High school resources Welcome to Another dimension Teacher’s manual.

This publication is written for teachers of junior high school students – roughly years 7–8. It is designed to accompany Another dimension student handbook which focuses on Jesus’ teaching from the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5–7.

This unit forms part of the range of high school resources developed for Christian studies in independent schools and Special Religious Education in State Schools. The material could easily be used in other contexts such as Youth groups or camping curriculum.

All Christian Education Publications are 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. God has acted in Christ to achieve his saving purposes for humanity.

CEP high school resources aim to help students grow in their understanding of the Christian faith, to respond to the claims of Christ and to grapple with how to apply their faith to life.

CEP high school resources cover the following six aspects of the Christian Studies program assisting students to: Engage with the Bible Students will be helped to read, understand and learn to apply the Bible to their lives and will be introduced to the concepts of Biblical theology.

Know the gospel Students will learn about the life and teaching of Jesus, come to appreciate the significance of his death and resurrection and consider their own response to him.

Examine different worldviews In a safe and supportive environment students will be encouraged to question, discuss and evaluate critically other worldviews and practices.

Learn about their Christian heritage Students will have the opportunity to learn about key events and people who have impacted history as they have put their faith into action.

Examine ethical issues Students will be encouraged to see the relationship between faith and behaviour as they examine a range of personal and public ethical issues.

Have opportunity for personal spiritual growth Students will be encourage to grow in their personal knowledge of God and in their worship, trust and obedience in the context of Christian community and through opportunities to serve others.

Using Another dimension Teacher’s manual Introduction This resource is written for teachers of junior high school students. It is designed to accompany Another dimension student handbook which focuses on Jesus’ teaching from the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5–7, especially as it applies to our relationships.

Jesus’ words from the Sermon on the Mount are amongst his best known sayings. They are radical demands for the life of a disciple of Jesus to be noticeably different to the rest of the world. They describe life in a whole different dimension to the way we usually think about it.

Perhaps the biggest danger in exploring Jesus’ teaching in the Sermon on the Mount is that of moralism.

In an environment where we are pressured to teach ‘values’ as an end in themselves, it can be very easy to present Jesus’ words as a list of moral standards by which we all should live. These words were originally spoken to Jesus’ disciples, his followers. They are a call to live in a certain way in response to the gospel, in response to knowing the Lord Jesus Christ, in response to grace. They are not moral standards given by him in the vain hope of establishing a better world. They are much more exciting and demanding, and much more radical and refreshing than that.

With this in mind it is hoped that as you explore this part of Matthew’s gospel with your students you will have the gospel of grace uppermost in your mind. It is the gospel of grace that allows us to be part of life in Another dimension – life as a follower of Jesus. It is not assumed that your students are already followers of Jesus. The underlying approach is that students can explore and understand Jesus’ words, can discuss and apply them to life today and consider their own response to this challenge to live life in Another dimension.

CD-ROM The CD-ROM that comes with the Teacher’s manual contains: • supporting PowerPoint presentations for each chapter that follow the flow of the student handbook pages and include the necessary Bible texts • pdf version of the Teacher’s manual for you to download and print as required • pdf versions of the Black line masters for each section.

Unit aim To introduce the students to the teaching of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount, challenging them to understand it in the light of the gospel and allowing them opportunity to respond.

Outcomes By the end of this unit the students will: Know about: • How being a disciple of Jesus can make a difference to our lives • The basic principles of Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 5–7, especially as it applies to our different relationships • How chapters 5–7 fit into the gospel of Matthew as a whole.

Be able to: • Identify points of contrast between Jesus’ teaching and our contemporary culture • Demonstrate how the teaching of Jesus could apply to ‘real life’ examples.

Have had the opportunity to: • Appreciate the offer God makes of relationship with him, through Jesus • Be confronted by Jesus’ challenging words about living as his disciple • Be challenged to identify how their attitudes and actions could change in response to Jesus’ demands • Respond to Jesus’ challenge to live as his disciple.

A quick scan of Matthew’s gospel Content • Jesus – his life and teaching • Jesus – the messiah king who fulfils Old Testament prophecy and expectations.

Audience • Most likely written for Jewish Christians.

Author • The earliest manuscripts do not identify an author • From second century, regarded as Matthew, the disciple of Jesus and Apostle.

Date • Unknown • Use of Mark’s material makes it likely it was written in 70s – 80s.

Themes • Fulfilment – God’s plan’s revealed in the Old Testament are fulfilled in and through Jesus and his followers • Jesus is the Son of God, the messianic King of the Jews • Jesus is ‘God with us’ in power • Jesus is Lord of the church • Jesus’ teaching has ongoing relevance and authority for God’s people • The gospel is for all people – Jews and Gentiles.

Key verses • Matthew 1:1 (NIV) A record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ the son of David, the son of Abraham.

• Matthew 1:21 (NIV) Give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.

• Matthew 16:16 (NIV) Simon Peter answered, ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God’.

• Matthew 20:28 (NIV) The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.

Structure of Matthew 1:1–2:23

Prologue: Jesus’ divine and human origins

3:1–4:11

Introducing Jesus – his baptism and temptation

4:12–7:29

The kingdom – its proclamation

8:1–10:42

The kingdom – its power and mission

11:1–13:52

The kingdom – questions and opposition to Jesus

13:53–18:35

Opposition to Jesus and declaring who he is

19:1–25:46

King Jesus comes to Jerusalem – received and rejected

26:1–28:20

The king is killed and raised

The Sermon on the Mount These words of Jesus may be very well known, but they are very difficult to put into practice!

At first glance, these teachings of Jesus are attractive and point to a way of life that is gracious, caring and good. We tend to feel that if only people would really live this way, life would be much better for everyone.

And it would be! But after close self-examination in the light of Jesus’ words, we find the Sermon on the Mount has a very uncomfortable cutting edge and sets us an ideal we can never reach. Once we have begun to honestly grapple with how these words of Jesus apply to us, we can appreciate they describe life in Another dimension– life as a follower of Jesus, living in stark contrast to the rest of the world.

Jesus’ words are just as relevant today as they were when he first spoke them. In this unit we aim to explore Jesus’ demands in a way that will challenge, or even disturb students. Jesus says to us, if you really want to be my disciple, this is how you will seek to live. His words are not just for the purpose of interesting discussion, but also to be obeyed. Living in this way will truly set Jesus’ disciples apart from the rest of the world.

It is important to keep in mind that Jesus spoke these words to disciples and that they inform us about how disciples of Jesus are to live. At the heart of the demands of Jesus there lies the grace of God towards his people and their loving relationship with God, their heavenly Father. We will set these words of Jesus in the context of Jesus’ work on the cross to ‘give his life as a ransom for many’ (Matthew 20:28). As his disciples, we will seek to live this way out of gratitude to him for all he has done in making it possible to be forgiven friends of God.

Our relationships With the Sermon on the Mount as Bible input, this unit explores these relationships: • Me and God • Me and others • Me and my world • Me and my enemies • Me and my ‘treasures’ • Me and Jesus.

From Gordon Fee & Douglas Stuart How to read the Bible book by book (Zondervan, 2002).

In this unit the students are encouraged to express their opinions and feelings about the various relationships in their lives.

In approaching this unit we are aware that adolescence is a tumultuous time for most of us, especially in regard to our relationships. While we still experience relational difficulties as we mature, the teenage years seem to be particularly painful. That is one of the challenges of this unit. It will not be difficult to make connections with the real life experiences of your students, the greater challenge will be in having wisdom to deal with issues, comments or emotions that may arise from the lessons. It will be important to be prayerful and sensitive to know when issues would be better dealt with by someone with more expertise in this area.

These sessions will probably have a double-edged effect. On the one hand we will explore some emotive and difficult relationships with the students, which will touch on hurts, and deep needs in their lives. On the other hand we will do this in the context of the gospel of grace. The care of our heavenly Father (see Matthew 6:25–26) and the love of Jesus demonstrated in his sacrifice on the cross will provide a deeply reassuring foundation for the challenging area of our relationships.

w or reap or so t o n o d ey th ; ir a e th Look at the birds of er feeds th Fa ly en v ea h r u yo t nd ye store away in barns, a ble than they? a lu a v re o m ch u m t o n them. Are you Matthew 6:26

Structure and themes of Another dimension Introduction Background to Matthew and The Sermon on the Mount Chapter 1 Theme:

Key relationship: Key question: Bible passage:

The people God favours My relationship with God Who am I trying to impress?

Matthew 5:1–12

Chapter 2 Theme: Key relationship: Key question: Bible passage:

Salt and light My relationship with the world Do I stand out?

Matthew 5:13–16

Chapter 3 Theme:

Key relationship: Key question: Bible passage:

Anger and lust My relationship with others What’s going on beneath the surface?

Matthew 5:21–30

Chapter 4 Theme: Key relationship: Key question: Bible passage:

Love, even for my enemy My relationship with others Love for my enemy?

Matthew 5:38–48

Chapter 5 Theme:

Key relationship: Key question: Bible passage:

God sees me My relationship with God An audience of one?

Matthew 6:1–15

Chapter 6 Theme:

Key relationship: Key question: Bible passage:

One master My relationship with my possessions What do I want more than anything else?

Matthew 6:19–34

Chapter 7 Theme:

Key relationship: Key question: Bible passage:

One foundation My relationship with Jesus What is my life foundation?

Matthew 7:24–27

Components of each chapter in Teacher’s manual Aim The key idea for lesson expressed in terms of concept and application to the students.

Outcomes Measurable outcomes for each lesson in terms of • Knowledge • Understanding • Skills

• Response

CD-ROM Notes to indicate what is on the CD-ROM for each chapter.

Vox Pop questions Suggestions for creating a Vox Pop style starter for the lesson, using students’ answers to a focus question.

Background notes • This will provide basic Bible background notes to assist in understanding the original context of the passage and it’s place in a Biblical theology framework.

• The meaning of the passage will be presented in summary.

• Key issues in applying the passage to contemporary life will be briefly explored.

Lesson notes Basic structure and flow of the student handbook for each lesson will be shown.

Notes regarding any key questions or case studies.

Points of particular interest will be explored.

FAQs An attempt to anticipate and avoid tricky issues and difficult questions, which may be raised by students.

Extension ideas A variety of ideas for extending each lesson, or tailoring the lesson for particular groups, will be provided.

They may include the following: • Movies

• Music • Websites • Drama • Debates • Creative arts • Research • Games.

Black line masters BLMs for some of the extension ideas are provided. Note that pdf versions of these are also on the CD-ROM for ease of downloading and copying.

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2

Matthew

Do I stand out?

5:13–16

Chapter

Theme:

Salt and light

Key relationship:

My relationship with the world

Key question:

Do I stand out?

Bible passage: Matthew 5:13–16

Aim

CD-ROM

To help the students understand that Jesus’ followers should stand out from the rest of the world and to explore some of the ways in which we might expect their lives to be different.

1. Key questions: Do you know any true individuals, who really live life their own way, without being influenced by other people?

Do you think we can tell if someone is a follower of Jesus, just by the way they behave?

Outcomes

2. Text of Matthew 9:1–8. Jesus heals the paralysed man and forgives his sin.

By the end of this chapter the students should: • know that Jesus challenges his followers to be different to the rest of the world • understand that followers of Jesus will act in ways that preserve what is good in our culture • understand that followers of Jesus will act in ways that shine a light on what is not good in our culture • consider why the offer of forgiveness is such an important part of being a follower of Jesus

Vox Pop questions Do you know any true individuals, who really live life their own way, without being influenced by other people?

Do you think we can tell if someone is a follower of Jesus, just by the way they behave?

• be challenged to consider whether their own lives lead others to praise and thank God.

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do i stand out?

Background notes This section of the Sermon on the Mount focuses on the public witness of followers of Jesus, in terms of their behaviour and priorities.

We see from these verses that it is not possible to view following Jesus as a purely private or personal lifestyle choice. The righteousness of the life of a follower of Jesus will attract attention.

This attention may take the form of opposition at times. To be hungry and thirsty for righteousness, to be merciful and meek, to be mournful over sin and to be a peacemaker will inevitably make a person stand out.

Jesus uses two strong metaphors to show how followers must live their lives so that they ‘leave their stamp on the world which is so opposed to the norms of the kingdom’1.

In Jesus’ world, salt was used mainly as a preservative. It also helped flavour food. In describing his followers as ‘salt of the earth’, Jesus is implicitly saying that apart from the influence of his kingdom, the world becomes more and more rotten. If his followers conform to the description in verses 3–12, they will be an influence for good in their society. The worse the world becomes, and the more opposed to the norms of the kingdom, then the more it is in need of the influence of followers of Jesus.

These strong words of Jesus should cause us sober reflection. It is very easy for Christians who are comfortable, well-fed, free and enjoying many of the benefits of life in westernised societies to lose our edge and just fit in with those around us. Our temptations to conform may come in the form of consumerism, apathy and laziness, rather than outright opposition. We need to remember that Jesus’ call to live as his followers is truly countercultural and we may need to be alert to the ways in which we compromise and ‘lose our saltiness’.

The second metaphor Jesus uses for his followers in the world is ‘light of the world’. The image of a brightly-lit city on a hilltop suggests the combined effect of the community of disciples living by the values of the kingdom of God. The effect of the followers of Jesus acting as light and salt is to draw attention to the one they are following, the Lord Jesus. The good deeds of Jesus’ disciples should naturally make the onlooker turn towards their Father in heaven.

The challenge for us as teachers, as well as for our students, is to reflect on whether our own lives serve the function of pointing people to God.

By contrast, if salt loses it saltiness it is good for nothing but the garbage heap and might as well be thrown out onto the street. If Jesus’ followers allow themselves to be more influenced by the norms of the world than by the norms of the kingdom, then they are useless.

1. Carson, D, Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, Global Christian Publishers (Grand Rapids 2001) p 31.

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do i stand out?

Lesson notes Get started

Wrap up

Use the Vox Pop questions, or the first two questions in the student handbook to engage the students in the issue of how difficult it is to truly be an individual in our society. We all experience pressure to conform. Adolescents particularly sense this pressure, although it is true for us whatever our age.

Focus on the offer of forgiveness and a fresh start (student handbook page 11). By keeping the command to live as salt and light in the context of forgiveness, we avoid empty moralistic requirements. Acting as Jesus’ followers in the world should spring from experiencing his grace.

Pray for the class.

Engage Read Matthew 5:13–16 and encourage the students to jot down their first ideas about what these verses mean on page 8 of the student handbook.

After exploring the meaning of being salt and light, read the story in Matthew 9:1–8 of Jesus healing the paralysed man. (The text is provided on the CD-ROM as a PowerPoint presentation.)

Note the different reactions of those present. Even though Jesus’ action were truly ‘salt and light’ some of those watching thought they pointed away from God being at work. Discuss the issue of not being able to guarantee the reaction of others, even though we act by Jesus’ values.

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do i stand out?

Extension ideas Hotel Rwanda

Critiquing our culture

The case study of Hotel Rwanda lends itself to viewing a clip of this movie if it is available.

Provide students with a copy of BLM 3 and/or 4 on pages 37 and 38.

There is also artwork by Julius Guzy that may be of interest on this topic. These paintings represent his experiences in Rwanda at the times of the war between Tutsis and Hutus.

Ask them to create a mind map showing what is good in their culture and should be protected and preserved. A similar mind map can show what they think is not good in their culture and should be avoided or changed.

See http://juliuspaintings.co.uk/cgi-bin/paint_css/ rwanda/rwandaSketch.pl for examples of his work and discussion about the meaning of his art.

Role-play Read the life situations described on BLM 1 on page 35. Discuss different views about how to approach or resolve these situations.

Students could act out roles – some choosing to react clearly in non-Christian ways and others trying to suggest a way to react based on being a follower of Jesus. In discussing the different responses, encourage the students to unpack the consequences of different choices, rather than simply taking a simplistic approach.

50 facts that should ‌ Provide students with a copy of the facts on BLM 2 on page 36. Discuss each one and decide on possible action we could take that would be bringing salt and light to these situations.

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This task is designed to help students understand that followers of Jesus will act in ways that preserve what is good in our culture and that will shine a light on what is not good in our culture.

Bible extension It is interesting follow up other verses on the theme of light. The students could use BLM 5 on page 39 as the basis of exploring other important New Testament verses on light.

Chapter 2 – BLM 1

Role-play You know that someone in your year at school is being intimidated by a group of other students.

This happens regularly and in small ways that the teachers don’t always notice.

What can you do?

You have a new student in the class who lives near you. She is from a refugee family and has trouble understanding the homework tasks. She obviously needs help with getting a grasp of English.

What could you do?

Your school begins a project to help another school in Uganda. The principal suggests a variety of ways that students could help.

What could you do?

Your family is under a lot of pressure, even though most people, including your friends, don’t know about it. Your father’s job is under threat and your mum has been unwell. Your big brother is causing a lot of stress in the family.

Is there anything you could do?

Your friend has a computer in his own room at home. He has time when no one is supervising him and has been exploring some ‘dodgy’ websites. He asks you to come over to his place and take a look.

What could you do?

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Chapter 2 – BLM 2

Read the following facts and discuss ways Christians could act as salt and light in response to these issues. at least one person Landmines kill or maim the world, more than every hour. All around conflicts past and 100 million remnants of ground, waiting for present lie quietly in the countries, landmines action. In more than 60 said to be popular litter the earth. They are install. People because they’re cheap to dmines are largely killed and maimed by lan tries most heavily powerless and the coun rld’s poorest. mined are among the wo

The golfe r Tiger Wo ods is the highest p world’s aid sports man. He e $78 millio a rns n a year – or $148 e second. 7 v e ry 1 of that 7 8 million c from spon o mes sorships. T igers Woo $55,000 a d s is paid day to wea r Nike cap worker is p s; a Thai aid $4 a da y to make them.

Americans discard 2.5 million plastic bottles every hour. That’s enough bottles to reach all the way to the moon every three weeks. Every hour, British households throw away enough rubbish to fill the Royal Albert Hall. Each year, America produces enough plastic wrap to cling-film the state of Texas. Each Christmas, an additional 5 million tons of rubbish is generated, 4 million of that is wrapping paper and shopping bags. China produces and discards more than 45 billion pairs of disposable chopsticks every year and cuts down 25 million trees to do it. In Bangladeshi capital Dhaka, more than 10 million plastic bags are dumped every day, clogging the city’s drains. It is now said that there are two man-made structures that can be seen from outer-space: the Great Wall of China, and the Fresh Kills landfill near New York. A landfill closes in the US everyday, and experts say that the country has 18 years of landfill capacity left. By 2005, 250 million computers will be obsolete and 130 million mobile phones will be discarded every year.

One in five of the world ’s people live on less than a $1/da y.

Through the 1990s, the re was a 7% improvement in poverty . Poverty, as it turns out, is complet ely avoidable. For less than 1% of the income of the wealthiest countries each year, the worst effec ts of poverty can be greatly dim inished.

Seven million American women and one million American men suffer from eating disorders. Most common is anorexia, whose psychological nature wasn’t uncovered till the early 20th century. Top fashion models now weigh 25% less than the average American woman. The average Hollywood starlet now wears an American size 2 dress on the red carpet – which has the same measurements as a dress made for a ten-year-old girl.

These facts are taken from: Jessica Williams, 50 Facts That Should Change the World, Icon Books 2004

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Chapter 2 – BLM 3

Critiquing our culture Create a mind map showing what you consider good in our culture that should be protected and preserved.

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Chapter 2 – BLM 4

Critiquing our culture Create a mind map showing what you consider bad in our culture that should be avoided or changed.

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Chapter 2 – BLM 5

Following the light Look up these verses and make brief notes on what they say about light as it refers to God, Jesus, or people.

Bible passage

What it says about light

What this teaches us about God or people

John 3:20–21

John 8:12

Philippians 2:14–16

1 John 1:7

Revelation 22:5

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