Tips for Teaching This Week’s Session of The Gospel Project for Adults

Every week for Volume 4: From Captivity to the Wilderness, Ken Braddy, Lifeway’s director of Sunday School, will offer guidance to help leaders prepare to lead and teach each session of The Gospel Project for Adults.

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This week’s training notes:

This week, your group will be studying Unit 6, Session 1, A Rebellious People, which focuses on how God’s people failed to listen to Him and trust His promises. God had promised the land to the Israelites, but in the face of challenges and fear, the people complained and rebelled.

So this week, here are your three things to know, read, and do as you prepare for this week’s session:

Something to know

In the face of difficult challenges or opposition, it would be easy to doubt God’s promises. In the shoes of the Israelites, facing giants living in the land God promised, would we react any differently? The Israelites were clearly facing a foreboding enemy, but they should have held on to their faithful God. Consider investing additional time exploring the reactions of Moses, Aaron, Joshua, and Caleb by reading all the commentary for point 3 on page 123, as well as the extra commentary and illustrations on page 126-127 of your leader guide. Focus on the importance of holding on to God’s promises and the consequences when you don’t.

Something to read

For something to read, we’ve included a link to an article by Austin Wadlow in the Additional Resources called I Don’t Want to be One of the Ten Spies. This article discusses how we can be more like Joshua and Caleb and less like the ten spies. Here’s a great quote to reflect on from it:

“God commanded Moses to send some men out ahead of them to spy out the land (13:1-2). It wasn’t like God didn’t already know who inhabited the land and what it was going to take to defeat their armies so He needed to send out some spies. I think God sent spies because He wanted to test the Israelites faith. God wanted the Israelites to know what they were up against and to choose to move forward in faith because apart from God choosing to fight for them, they were sure to lose.“

Something to do

In response to the people’s fear, Joshua and Caleb reminded the people of God’s goodness and faithfulness and encouraged them not to rebel or fear. Consider for an activity bringing blank cards and envelopes to your group meeting. At the end of class, remind your group how Joshua and Caleb tried to encourage the community. Ask them to think of someone who might need encouragement in the face of struggles or challenges. Have them write and send a note to that person the coming week.