Dear Leaders,
In this manual there are various ideas of visual examples and spoken
examples that you can use in the lessons you are teaching. Please use any of
them that you wish, choosing those you believe would benefit your group.
Remember though that the best examples come from your transparency
about your lives together. These visual aids are not meant to replace your
own personal examples.
Some of these examples were collected from the USA and Canada, and
others from across the UK. If you have devised some examples of your own
which work well, please share them with us by sending a copy for
incorporation in later issues of this document.
At the end of each section you will find a lot of quotations. Again, please use
those that you think are appropriate.
We pray that you will be blessed as you teach your group.
The most important thing a man can do for his children is to love their mother.
‘Your Daily Walk through the Bible’ by Bruce H. Wilkinson
GOD HAS A HISTORY OF CHOOSING BUSY PEOPLE
GOD CALLED
Amos from the flock (Amos 7:14-15).
Moses from the flock (Exodus 3).
Gideon from threshing wheat (Judges 6:11).
Samuel from ministering to Eli (1 Samuel 2:18-36).
David from the flock (1 Samuel 16).
Jeroboam from ruling over the house of Joseph (1 Kings 11).
Elisha from ploughing (1 Kings 19-21).
Nehemiah while serving as the king’s cupbearer (Nehemiah 1:11-2:10).
Daniel while serving as a eunuch in Nebuchadezzar’s palace (Daniel 1:1921).
Peter and Andrew from fishing (Matthew 4:18-20).
John and James from fishing (Matthew 4:21-22).
Matthew from the tax office (Matthew 9:9).
Paul from persecuting and killing the saints (Acts 9:1-25).
We recognize that our leaders are often very busy people. We hope that the
visual aids and object lessons that follow will help you as you prepare to teach
and will make your job a little easier. Please remember to pray about what
God would have you share during your teaching and that the best examples
are personal.
God’s call doesn’t depend on your circumstances
It depends on His plans and His purposes!
Romans 9:11,12,16
COVENANT – LESSON 1
Two separate Polystyrene cups, each filled with popcorn kernels.
These represent hopeful marriages. Poke holes in each one, letting the
kernels spill out. This represents empty dreams, disappointments, tears
and scars. Then put both cups together inside a large cup marked
“God”. With God nothing is crushed or lost.
Unity candle – Choose one couple. Have each
spouse individually light a candle at the beginning
of the teaching representing each spouse’s
independent life. At an appropriate time each
spouse takes their candle and lights a common
candle, extinguishing their own. This represents
unity in marriage and death to independence.
Use one huge jacket. Both of you put the jacket on, one arm in each
sleeve, with your other arms touching behind you. This represents two
individuals functioning as one.
Play a tape or video of marriage vows being shared before ending the
class.
Have the teaching husband lead the other men in saying their vows, in
unison, to their wives. Then have teaching wife lead the women in the
same way.
Demonstrate the differences between a covenant marriage and a
contract marriage by highlighting what the vows might say under each
heading. You can either write these on a poster or give out cards to
each couple.
To show how continuous and binding a covenant is, hand out a ball of
wool, keeping hold of the end, and passing the wool around in a circle
unravelling it as it goes around the group. When it gets back to you
break off the end and thread your wedding ring onto the circle of wool.
Tie the ends of the wool together forming a circle of wool passing
through the wedding ring.
The wedding ring represents a marriage, it is a circle which goes on
and on with no end. The circle of wool represents the marriage
covenant. Explain that this wedding ring is totally secure on the larger
circle of wool, the marriage covenant. Pass the wedding ring around
the circle of people. Now explain that if the covenant is broken (you can
also demonstrate this visually) then the ring and everything valuable
becomes vulnerable.
Covenant exchange.
Exchange items as a symbol of the covenant exchange that happens in
marriage. Firstly ‘exchange’ things symbolic of your gifts and talents
perhaps a piece of art work or DIY then move on to exchanging more
tangible items (Pay slips, chequebooks, loan document, will, and
picture of a house, car including possessions previous to the marriage
relationship). When you move on to teach about stepchildren you could
also exchange a photo of the children. Please remember that some
couples in your group may be step grandparents they too need to be
encouraged that these step grandchildren should be as important to
them as natural grandchildren.
Exchange of salt.
Talk about how some ancient cultures (including the Jewish culture)
use salt to symbolise a covenant. There was a custom that each family
would bring a bag of salt when the dowry was being paid. The groom
and the bride’s father would take a pinch of salt and deposit it in the
other person’s bag of salt. They would say, “My salt is your salt” as
they made the exchange. After the wedding if the bride was a
disappointment to the groom he would come back to return the dowry,
the father could then demand the exact grains of salt that he had given
to the groom. This was an impossible task, in other words “What God
has joined together let man not separate”.
Pour some tea into a cup symbolising what one of you brings to the
covenant. Then add some sugar to symbolise that you both bring
different things into your marriage. Stir the two together and talk about
how God blends both together so that they cannot be separated.
Draw a covenant triangle on a piece of paper or a whiteboard. Explain that a
triangle is the strongest engineering shape that can be used. It can often be
seen in bridge structures.
The Strength of Covenant
Some Covenant
Blessings
God is a covenant partner in a
Christian marriage
Covenant
Part Christian Marriage
1 Corinthians 7:14 (The Message)
The unbelieving husband shares to an extent in the
holiness of his wife, and the unbelieving wife is
likewise touched by the holiness of her husband.
Otherwise, your children would be left out; as it is,
they also are included in the spiritual purposes of
God.
God is a witness to a marriage between
Non-Christian spouses
Use the strife/trust acrostic below to show how the relationship could
be, and should be:
Separation Togetherness
Trouble Rest
Rebellion Unity
Insecurity Security
Fear
Trust
Envy
The New Covenant in Jesus
Read Ephesians 2:11-13 The Message:
11
But don't take any of this for granted. It was only yesterday that
you outsiders to God's ways 12had no idea of any of this, didn't
know the first thing about the way God works, hadn't the faintest
idea of Christ. You knew nothing of that rich history of God's
covenants and promises in Israel, hadn't a clue about what God
was doing in the world at large. 13Now because of Christ - dying
that death, shedding that blood - you who were once out of it
altogether are in on everything
Quotes:
“To create requires infinite power. All the world cannot make a fly”.
Anon