RCCG SUNDAY SCHOOL TEACHER’S MANUAL 12 MARCH 2023

LESSON: 28
DATE: SUNDAY

TOPIC: CHRISTIANITY AND WEALTH

SUNDAY SCHOOL HYMN
1. O Sunday School, on the Lord’s day,
O how I love Thee well,
I am happy, it makes me glad
To rejoice at Thy birth.

2. O Sunday School, on the Lord’s day,
Thy friend friendship suits me well,
Both young and will sing Thy song,
We long for Sunday School.

3. O Sunday School, on the Lord’s day,
Christ was Thy first teacher,
The Holy Spirit, great teacher,
Does manifest in thee.

4. O Sunday School, on the Lord’s day,
This testimony is sure,
That God, the Father Almighty,
Poured His blessing on Thee

5. O Sunday School, on the Lord’s day,
Though the sun be so bright,
Or if the clouds be black with rain,
I’ll be in Sunday School.

6. O Sunday School, on the Lord’s day
I rejoice to see Thee,
Will thou pass over me today?
Without my being blest?

OPENING PRAYER
Father, prosper the work of my hand and bless my labour with favour.

MEMORY VERSE: “Both riches and honour come of thee, and thou reignest over all; and in thine hand is power and might; and in thine hand it is to make great, and to give strength unto all”. – 1Chronicles 29:12

BIBLE PASSAGE: LUKE 12:15-21

15 And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.

16 And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully:

17 And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits?

18 And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods.

19 And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry.

20 But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?

21 So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.

INTRODUCTION

Wealth is the abundance of valuable possessions or money. When we have wealth, we have more than we need to sustain a normal life. The Bible contains several examples of people blessed by God with great wealth; Abram (Gen. 13:2), Jacob (Gen. 30:43), Solomon (1Kings 10:23), Joanna (Luke 8:3) and Joseph of Arimathea (Matt. 27:57) among others. We shall consider what the Bible says about wealth and what should be believers’ disposition towards it.

TEXT REVIEW: Luke 12:15-21

A. The teacher should find out five phrases or clause or sentences containing “I” or “MY” in the passage. For instance,

i. v17b What shall “I” do?
ii. …………….
iii. ……………
iv. ……………
v. …………….

B. What are the consequences of attributing wealth to one’s efforts according to v20. …………..

LESSON OUTLINES
1. BIBLICAL PERSPECTIVES
2. BELIEVERS’ DISPOSITION

BIBLICAL PERSPECTIVES

A. Students should mention some examples of wealthy people in the Bible in addition to Those indicated in the lesson introduction.

B. The teacher should direct the attention of the students to the position of the Bible on wealth as indicated below.

i. 1Chronicles 29:12: God owns wealth and honour.

ii. Deut. 28:1-5: God blesses his children with wealth and honour.

iii. Ps. 112:1-3: The houses of men and women that fear the Lord shall be filled with riches and wealth.

iv. Money is not evil after all, because:

a. Eccl. 10:19 says money answers all things.

b. Eccl. 7:12 says money is a defence.

c. Prov. 19:4 says money makes many friends.

v. Eccl. 5:19: To enjoy one’s wealth is a gift from God.

C. Arising from the above points, the teacher should ask the students to state whether wealth and riches are good for believers or not.

D. The teacher should allow students to mention those things that are not good about wealth. For instance:

i. Love of money is not good because it is the root of all evil (1Tim. 6:10).

ii. Trusting riches is not good. Rather the God of all riches should be trusted (Prov. 23:5; Luke 12:15).

iii. Getting wealth through the wrong means is not good because such wealth will diminish (Prov. 13:11).

iv. Holding wealth so dearly as if it is God, is not good because one will still die someday and leave the wealth behind (Ps. 49:10).

v. Pursuing wealth to the extreme at the expence of other core values of life is not good because wealth is also vanity and those who pursue it can never be satisfied(Eccl. 5:10a).

CLASS ACTIVITY 1
How should believers see or handle wealth?

BELIEVERS’ DISPOSITION

A.
i. Believers should not see all wealthy people as sinners or all poor people as righteous. (Luke 16:20-23; Psa. 73:3-12)

ii. Poor people could be saint or sinners.

iii. Wealthy people too could be saint or sinners.

B. The following guidelines could help believer to develop the right attitude to wealth.

i. It is not a sin for a believer to be wealthy and enjoy riches (Eccl. 5:19; 3John 2).

ii. Wealth should be seen as God’s benevolence investment entrusted to believers. (1Chronicles 29:12).

iii. Wealth should be seen as a veritable tool to advance kingdom projects on earth. For instance:

a. Wealthy believers could promotes charities and scholarship programmes care for orphans, widows etc.

b. Wealthy believers could use their resources to minister to the need of God’s servants. (Luke 8:3; Rom. 16:3).

c. Wealthy believers should be faithful to God with their riches by supporting God’s work. (Matt. 6:19-20).

CLASS ACTIVITY 2
What are the wrong ways or attitudes in handling wealth?

SUMMARY
God does not prohibit His children from getting wealth through righteous means.

CONCLUSION
In a bid to be wealthy, believers should always note their first care should be for God’s kingdom and his rightousness (Matt. 6:33).

CLOSING PRAYER
Almighty Father, please give us only adequate wealth that will glorify Your Holy name.

ASSIGNMENT
Mention five (5) things believers must not do in their quest tone wealthy (2×5=10Marks).