The Readings
John 21:1-19
Acts 3
Acts 10:1 - 11:18
Psalm 51
Memory Verse
Acts 4:19-20: But Peter and John answered them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.”
Teachers of young children
Each of these passages has been a Sunday School staple for years, and not without reason. They are foundational not only to understanding the character of a faithful disciple, but to understanding God Himself. I’ve written a lot about them all, but I will focus here on the first one, about Jesus restoring Peter, in John 21.
Nothing is more foundational to Christianity than this: “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by His grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” (Romans 3:23-24). This proposition is not only truth, but it has been exemplified through story. Just as saying “God resurrects” is founded not in hope but in the reality of Jesus’ own resurrection, saying “God forgives” is founded in what we see right here.
Kids of all ages can not only grasp “that” God forgives, they can see that God “did” forgive. Younger students especially are at the point where they are beginning to see that others can wrong them; we can’t protect them from all harm, nor would we want to. They need to learn about forgiveness, and the best way to do so is to fill them with stories of forgiveness.
Teachers of older children
In the vein of what I told parents: “Let your students see this stuff.” Let them see Jesus restoring and forgiving Peter in John 21. Let them see Peter boldly appealing to the name of Jesus in Acts 3. And let them see Peter struggle with the door that God was opening in Acts 10.
It’s along this last one that I want to speak, and hopefully inspire confidence in you as a teacher. Saying, “God is doing a new thing” can lead to all sorts of manipulation. Frankly, anyone today who wants to put God’s stamp of authenticity on “What I want to do anyway” can just claim, “God is doing a new thing,” and everyone backs off. It’s the trump card – or so it seems.
But note what happens here. First, the expectations that are changed are not moral; this is about cleanness and uncleanness. Jesus himself said “It is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth; this defiles a person” (Matthew 15:11). What we take in can sicken us, but what we put out can defile us.
Second, the message was followed by a sign, authenticating it was from God. It could have been a vivid dream; but then there was a knock on the door. It could have been a misunderstanding, but then the Holy Spirit came on Cornelius, just as it had at Pentecost. Peter was being transformed not through personal growth, but through revelations of God’s power and authority.
When your students push the idea that “God is still speaking,” don’t be afraid, and don’t push back. Slow them down. Yes, God is still speaking. But an alteration of His known expectations requires more than my feelings on the matter.
Teachers of adults
If you head into John 21, I hope you’ll check out what I wrote to teachers of younger children. If you study Acts 10, I beg you to read my encouragement to teachers of older children. So, for you, I provide a challenge about Acts 3!
What would it look like for your adult students to really trust Jesus, to really believe in Jesus, in the way that Peter does on the Temple steps? There’s a sermon in there; I’ve preached it many times. What happened to Peter that he believed Jesus’ name would do something, just like Jesus had believed His own words would do something?
We tend to think of belief as a propositional thing: an understanding. I “agree” that Jesus is Lord. I “understand” forgiveness is through Him. What Peter does is “beyond” belief, as we tend to think of it. This is something else. It’s a belief that produces confidence that, when acted upon, produces greater belief. I can’t quite put a term to it, but I’ll bet your students could.