Dear Friends, For me, a main theme in this week's Lesson is blessed and blessings. Each section is built around one or more of the Beatitudes, which includes the word "blessed." Here is a word study for some of those main ideas.
Word Study for the Lesson on substance
_______
Research for this Lesson:
Dummelow's Commentary has a wonderful, long section on the Beatitudes, starting at page 638. Here is one quotation from Dummelow's:
"Blessedness is higher than happiness. Happiness comes from without, and is dependent on circumstances: blessedness is an inward fountain of joy in the soul itself, which no outward circumstances can seriously affect. Blessedness consists in standing in a right relation to God, and so realizing the true law of a man's being." (Dummelow 639).
____________
Matt 15: Healing of the daughter of the Syro-Phoenician woman
Notice on the map of Palestine (from biblosfoundation.org) where Tyre and Sidon were. Jesus rarely goes up this far out of Israel, but in this instance, he is found in Gentile territory.
_______________
Acts 15: The Jerusalem Council
________________
CHILDREN'S IDEAS:
Here is a blank chart to fill in as you study the Beatitudes more deeply. Looking up each word in Greek—looking up things about them in the periodicals, seeing what Mrs. Eddy has to say about them, taking notes in general, can all be put on these charts. Some of my research on them can be found on the "Answers to Beatitude Charts."
Beatitude chart page 1 Beatitude chart page 2
Answers to Beatitude Chart page 1
Answers to Beatitude Chart page2
Sometimes it is helpful to see how someone studies ideas in the Bible. Long ago, I started working on understanding the beatitudes in a deeper way. Here are my first sheets with notes taken from my research:
Kathy's page 1 beatitude study Kathy's page 2 beatitude study
____________
These word charts could go up in a Sunday School class to teach the main words in Greek in the Beatitudes:
____________
These are flash facts of the Beatitudes created by Biblos Foundation. They are no longer for sale there, but they do have a Teaching Children section with other flash facts for sale.
Beatitudes Flash Facts page 1 Beatitudes Flash Facts page 2
____________
____________
www.biblefunforkids has a whole unit on teaching the Beatitudes to very young children. You might want to take a look. You can print off templates, etc. Be sure to read through everything to ensure the theology is one that you agree with.
Click on the link and click again when it comes up in blue:
http://www.biblefunforkids.com/2015/04/the-beatitudes-bee-attitudes-bulletin.html#more
Here is a sample of one of their activities:
________________
Sermon on the Mount in two pages
"To my sense the Sermon on the Mount, read each Sunday without comment and obeyed throughout the week, would be enough for Christian practice" (’01 11:16-19).
________________
I hope these ideas are helpful!
Kathy