RCCG SUNDAY SCHOOL STUDENT'S MANUAL 11 JUNE 2023

LESSON FORTY ONE (41)TOPIC: THE EARTHEN VESSELS

SUNDAY SCHOOL HYMN1. O Sunday School, on the Lord's day,O how I love Thee well,I am happy, it makes me gladTo rejoice at Thy birth.

2. O Sunday School, on the Lord's day,Thy friendship suits me well,Both young and will sing Thy song,We long for Sunday School.

3. O Sunday School, on the Lord's day,Christ was Thy first teacher,The Holy Spirit, great teacher,Does manifest in thee.

4. O Sunday School, on the Lord's day,This testimony is sure,That God, the Father Almighty,Poured His blessing on Thee

5. O Sunday School, on the Lord's day,Though the sun be so bright,Or if the clouds be black with rain,I’ll be in Sunday School.

6. O Sunday School, on the Lord's dayI rejoice to see Thee,Will thou pass over me today?Without my being blest?

BIBLE PASSAGE: 2 Timothy 2:20-21[20]But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honour, and some to dishonour.

[21]If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master's use, and prepared unto every good work.

MEMORY VERSE: "But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us." 2Corinthians 4:7.

INTRODUCTION: God can make something out of nothing and will never create anything without a purpose. He chose a small portion of the dust to form man and His breath in the nostril of man made the difference, making man a living soul (Gen.2:7). God has a purpose for all souls He created including all the resources He puts into our hands more so because no one can have anything except it is given from above. God expects the resources given to us to flow through us to benefit others and this forms the differences between a container and a vessel.

OUTLINES:1. TREASURES IN DUST2. CONTAINERS OR VESSELS

1..TREASURES IN DUSTDust had no serious relevance to man until God touched, made and breathed into it, the breath of life (Gen.2:7). He deposited part of Himself – His Spirit – into the dust and deposited a treasure in it (Job 32:8). That small portion of dust began to move on the larger portion with authority from God (Gen.1:28). When the master, in the parable of the talents in Matthew 25:14-30, was ‘travelling to a far country,’ he gave talents to his servants according to their pre-determined abilities. All the servants got something and none was empty. All of us, therefore, have resources deposited inside of us and no one is empty (2Cor.4:7). Our Master, Jesus Christ, has deposited great treasures into us (Eph.4:7-8) and expects us to use the resources and make profits so that He will bless us when He comes back (1Cor.12:7; Rev.22:12). What you do with the resources is a matter of choice; you could be a container or a vessel.

CLASS ACTIVITY 1: The teacher should ask each student to identify what talents or gifts or abilities they have and how they use the gift for God's glory.

2. CONTAINERS OR VESSELSGod expects us to be vessels and not containers. What then makes a container different from a vessel?1. A container receives and retains whereas a vessel transports (transmits). Abraham received Isaac and was willing to release him (Gen.22:15-18).

2. A container is a reservoir but a vessel is a channel (Lk.12:16-21; Gen.12:1-3).

3. A container is basically static like a pond but a vessel is dynamic (Acts8:5-6, 26-40).

4. A container gives only when compelled but a vessel is always giving (Eccl.11:2-6).

5. A container is limited in reception but a vessel is unlimited because it is constantly flowing (Jn.20:21-22; Prov.11:24).

6. A container abides alone whereas a vessel touches several others (Jn.12:24; Acts 10:38; Jn. 7:37-39).

A container could become a vessel if the container is willing. If a wheel is attached to a container and pulled, it becomes a vessel. A good example is in Elisha who forsook his ambition, attached himself to Elijah and kept moving (1Kgs.19:19-21; 2Kgs.2:1-22).

CLASS ACTIVITY 2: The teacher should lead the students to pray that they will be vessels to honour and not containers.

CONCLUSIONBeware; a vessel could equally become a container. Let the one who thinks he stands take heed lest he falls (1Cor.10:12).

QUESTIONS:* Give some examples of situations when God brought out something from nothing* What are the differences between a container and a vessel?

FURTHER READINGS: MON: Jn. 12:24. TUE:Lk.19:30., WED: Acts 9:36. THUR: Acts 4:13FRI: Lk.6:17, SAT: Matt.26:58, SUI-Rom.8:25.

ASSIGNMENT: Mention five (5) biblical char-acters, with scriptural reference each, whoremained vessels in God's hand. (2×5=10Marks).