Tuesday Lesson – Come with Courageous Trust
Scripture Story: Matthew 8:1-10
Spiritual Focus: Confidence and Courage are important parts of Faith
Welcome back. Before you begin today’s lesson, please take a moment to pray for your camper, their fellow campers, and their staff. Thanks.
Today’s lesson is found in the gospel of Matthew 8:1-10. Go ahead and open your Bible, but instead of reading the entire section, just read the first verse. Verse 1 sets the scene for today’s lesson. It is a clue that can help open the story in the upcoming verses. Verse 1 has Jesus coming down from the mountain. Why is this important? Why was he on the mountain? Matthew wants us to answer these questions.
Without going into great detail, your camper will learn a little about what is often called “The Sermon on the Mount.” It is a huge collection of Jesus’ teachings. It begins in chapter 5. Some of the most distinctive Christian teachings are found in these chapters. For our campers, a main point of emphasis is that Jesus has taught with authority, and now it is time for him to put these teachings into action.
Now take a moment to read Matthew 8:1-4. Jesus is approached by a man in great need. He has the terrible skin disease of Leprosy. At that time leprosy was thought to be very contagious and untreatable. It caused great fear. A leper was seen as an enemy of the healthy. Our campers will discuss the courage and the trust that the leper had to have in order to come to Jesus asking to be healed. They will discuss Jesus’ reaction to this man and his request. Without hesitation, Jesus reaches out and touches the leper and heals him.
The second story is about a Roman Centurion who displays strong faith. These two men, the Centurion and the Leper, are on opposite sides of the status spectrum. On the other hand, they have some remarkable similarities in their understanding of faith in Jesus. The story of the Centurion is in Matthew 8:5-10. Take time now to read it.
The Centurion is strong and powerful. He is a Roman occupier. He is an enemy of the Hebrew nation. Our campers will examine how he came to Jesus and how he understood Jesus’ authority. How did the Centurion display courage and trust when he came to Jesus for help? And again, Jesus did not hesitate to respond. Jesus does not reject him, but seems very glad to grant the Centurion’s request. In addition, Jesus is very impressed with the Centurion’s faith, describing it as an honored example.
Campers will identify the elements that these two stories of faith have in common and what they teach us about having faith. This will be followed by a discussion about what these stories teach us about Jesus. We can learn much about someone when we see them in action. The love that Jesus expresses in these two stories goes far beyond the healing. This is what we hope will be recognized today.
Tomorrow we will be studying Mark 12:28-34.
Scripture Story: Matthew 8:1-10
Spiritual Focus: Confidence and Courage are important parts of Faith
Welcome back. Before you begin today’s lesson, please take a moment to pray for your camper, their fellow campers, and their staff. Thanks.
Today’s lesson is found in the gospel of Matthew 8:1-10. Go ahead and open your Bible, but instead of reading the entire section, just read the first verse. Verse 1 sets the scene for today’s lesson. It is a clue that can help open the story in the upcoming verses. Verse 1 has Jesus coming down from the mountain. Why is this important? Why was he on the mountain? Matthew wants us to answer these questions.
Without going into great detail, your camper will learn a little about what is often called “The Sermon on the Mount.” It is a huge collection of Jesus’ teachings. It begins in chapter 5. Some of the most distinctive Christian teachings are found in these chapters. For our campers, a main point of emphasis is that Jesus has taught with authority, and now it is time for him to put these teachings into action.
Now take a moment to read Matthew 8:1-4. Jesus is approached by a man in great need. He has the terrible skin disease of Leprosy. At that time leprosy was thought to be very contagious and untreatable. It caused great fear. A leper was seen as an enemy of the healthy. Our campers will discuss the courage and the trust that the leper had to have in order to come to Jesus asking to be healed. They will discuss Jesus’ reaction to this man and his request. Without hesitation, Jesus reaches out and touches the leper and heals him.
The second story is about a Roman Centurion who displays strong faith. These two men, the Centurion and the Leper, are on opposite sides of the status spectrum. On the other hand, they have some remarkable similarities in their understanding of faith in Jesus. The story of the Centurion is in Matthew 8:5-10. Take time now to read it.
The Centurion is strong and powerful. He is a Roman occupier. He is an enemy of the Hebrew nation. Our campers will examine how he came to Jesus and how he understood Jesus’ authority. How did the Centurion display courage and trust when he came to Jesus for help? And again, Jesus did not hesitate to respond. Jesus does not reject him, but seems very glad to grant the Centurion’s request. In addition, Jesus is very impressed with the Centurion’s faith, describing it as an honored example.
Campers will identify the elements that these two stories of faith have in common and what they teach us about having faith. This will be followed by a discussion about what these stories teach us about Jesus. We can learn much about someone when we see them in action. The love that Jesus expresses in these two stories goes far beyond the healing. This is what we hope will be recognized today.
Tomorrow we will be studying Mark 12:28-34.