THEME: JUSTICE
PROMISED
TEXT: PSALM
146:1-10
MEMORY VERSE: “Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose
hope is in the Lord his God.... He upholds the cause of the oppressed and gives
food to the hungry.” — Psalm 146:5, 7 (NIV)
LESSON AIMS: After participating in this lesson, each
student will be able to:
1.
List the attributes of
God that relate to justice.
2.
Relate the attributes
of God and his justice to situations both in ancient Israel and in situations
of his or her experience where those attributes address a need for justice.
3.
Write a poem or song
that praises God’s justice.
INTRODUCTION
Nigeria, in recent times has been experiencing
horrific mass murders, especially in the northern part, where a lot of families
are being shot, slaughtered and bludgeoned to death by the Boko Haram sect.
Only a few survive this menace. Everyone who has heard of it wants justice done
for these families.
Hundreds of other examples of criminal acts
could be offered. They all have a common thread: every decent and honourable
person wants justice. The problem is that not everyone gets justice in this
world. For perfect justice we must turn to the only one who can give it, and
that is the God of the universe.
[Please
note that you are free to reproduce this lesson for your Sunday school classes.
The talk points (in red prints) are to help your
discussions.]
A. CALL TO PRAISE –
Psalm 146:1-2
1. How do your experiences praising the
Lord compare with the psalmist’s? (In difficult
circumstances; In good circumstances; In combining continual praise with
sincerity.)
B. TRUST IN WHOM? –
Psalm 146:3-5
1. How does our obligation to obey the
authorities relate to the idea of trusting (or not trusting) in those
authorities? (Matthew 23:1-3; Romans 13:1-5; Colossians
3:22; Hebrews 13:17; 1 Peter 2:13.)
C. ATTRIBUTES OF GOD –
Psalm 146:6-10
1. How has God worked in your life when
you have faced the things described in verse 7? (When
you felt oppressed; When you didn’t have enough food; When you were in bondage
of some kind.)
2. How do we continue to praise God when
he doesn’t seem to answer our prayers for relief? [When
promoting the gospel brings hardship (2 Corinthians 11:16-31); When holy living
brings hardship (Daniel 6); The injustice of the cross (Mark 14:36; 15:34).]
3. How have you seen God frustrate the plans
of wicked people? [By working through Christians
(example: Acts 9:28-30); By working through secular authorities (example: Acts
19:35-41); By acting by his own power (example: Acts 12:5-11).]
CONCLUSION
Often there seems to be no justice to be
found with human leaders, even in the twenty-first century. Human leaders and
institutions cannot save us. In fact, in their clumsy attempts to “save” us,
they actually may harm us. Our help, and thus our hope, must be in Yahweh God
alone. To him belong attributes that indicate his perfection and worthiness of
praise that we have seen in this lesson. Therefore, all generations of God’s
people should praise Yahweh God. One day all the injustices of the world will be
judged, and justice will prevail in the new heavens and the new earth (see Revelations
21, 22; compare Isaiah 60).
PRAYER
O Lord our God, we put our trust in you and
not in man. We pray for justice for the oppressed, and we pray for the strength
to be your agents who provide that justice. Overturn the plans of the wicked.
In Jesus’ name, amen.
THOUGHT TO REMEMBER
Praise Yahweh
God—again!NEXT WEEK: NEXT WEEK: AUGUST 12, 2012: GOD PROMISED A RIGHTEOUS LORD –Isaiah 9:1-7
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