Evangelism (Be a Big Mouth)
Lesson 3: A Blind Date
Lesson Workbook Click here
Helping the Blind See (Activity) Click here
LESSON OBJECTIVES
Goals
1. To develop in students a new passion for evangelism
2. To motivate students to help—not hinder—the spiritually blind
3. To give students eyes to see the lost
Topics
Boldness, Evangelism, Light, Truth, Witnessing
Scripture Memorization
Luke 18:39
OPENING PRAYER (5 to 10 minutes)
GROUP BUILDING (10 minutes)
Helping the Blind See (Activity) Click here
GETTING STARTED (10 minutes)
Today we’re going to try something a little different, a little weird. Since today’s scripture is about a blind man who meets Jesus, I really want you to understand what it is like to be blind. To do this, I have a few tasks that I would like you to do, only you have to do them with your eyes completely closed. No peeking. Before we get started, get a piece of paper and a pen or pencil handy.
Here are the simple tasks to do in order, but not until I say "Go". And remember, your eyes must be closed.
1. Somewhere on your workbook, or a piece of notebook paper, draw a dog, any dog.
2. Remove your left shoe and then put it back on again making sure to re-tie, re-buckle, or re-fasten it correctly.
3. Stand up, move three steps from your chair, then go back and sit down again.
4. Take your pen or pencil and put a circle around the dog.
Is everyone ready? Close your eyes, Go!
Discussion Questions:
• What was hard about that experience?
• What do you think it would be like to be totally blind? How would you get through life?
• Do any of you know anyone who is blind? What is that person's life like?
DIGGING IN (30 minutes)
Teaching Notes on Luke 18:35-43 So we can focus on application rather than textual variants or discrepancies, we will only examine Luke's account. |
Today we’re going to break down a passage of scripture that talks about a blind man who meets Jesus. The truth is, we all know blind people. They might be able to see physically, but spiritually they don’t see the truth. The question is, are you helping them see the Light, or pushing them farther from the Truth? Let’s take a look at the story.
Read Luke 18:35-43
Discussion Questions:
1. Can someone retell the story for us in your own words?
2. Besides the obvious, what else is going on here?
Read again Luke 18:35-38.
Discussion Questions:
1. What do you think being a beggar would have been like in those days? What would be most difficult for a beggar?
| The Beggar Man was… • A social outcast • Presumed unclean because of his affliction • Completely blind, unable to see anything • Poor, unable to work for money so had to beg to stay alive • Very desperate, he sets himself up for embarrassment by calling out loud to Jesus |
The blind man was blind, but not deaf. As Jesus and His followers moved past, the blind man inquired as to what all the commotion was all about. All he needed to know was that Jesus was passing by.
2. How did the blind man respond to the news? (Cried out for mercy and help.)
3. How did the blind man know who Jesus was? (Word of mouth, rumors, etc.)
Read again Luke 18:39
Discussin Questions:
1. What did the people say to the blind man? (They told him to stay quiet.)
2. Why do you think the people said that?
3. If you had been the blind man, what would you have done in response to their rebuke?
4. What was his response? (He shouted even louder.)
We may never know the real motives behind the crowd telling the beggar to be quiet, but the fact is, if they had it their way, the man would have never known sight.
Read again Luke 18:40-43
Disussion Questions:
1. What does Jesus say? (He asks him what he wants.)
2. Do you think Jesus knew what he wanted? Why, then, did He ask the man? (To test his faith, to give the man a voice among the people.)
3. How do you think the blind man felt when Jesus asked, “What can I do for you?”
Jesus gives the man back his sight, based on his faith, and the man rejoices. The crowd goes nuts, too, praising God for what He has done. That result is no surprise, and when it comes to us being a big mouth, it’s not what Jesus does that is in question—it’s what we’re willing to do.
MAKING IT REAL (10 minutes)
The past couple of weeks, we’ve talked about methods of bringing people closer to Jesus, and that is the goal of evangelism. But are you aware that sometimes you can keep people from Christ with your words? That’s certainly true here. When it comes to being a big mouth, saying something is not always the issue. Sometimes, what we say is much more crucial.
We have to be willing to ask ourselves, are we like the crowd from our story telling the beggar to be quiet?
Ask yourselves these questions:
• Do you, either accidentally or purposefully, using pure or tainted motives, keep others from Christ?
• Are there people who you feel don’t deserve the Gospel?
• Are there people who you think are a waste of your time?
• Are there people that you view as “too far gone”?
(Unfortunately, the answer to those questions for most people is yes. We view some people as too bad to hear the Gospel, as too different from us for us to reach, and as just a waste of our time.)
You can keep people from Jesus with words, looks, and behavior. If you do that, their salvation is on you. You pass by people every day who don’t know Christ but crave His presence in their lives. Their souls are crying out “Heal me, Jesus!” and we tell them to be quiet, Jesus is too busy for them. We are guilty, plain and simple. And it's time to put a stop to it.
Jesus said to the blind beggar, "What can I do for you?"
• What can Jesus do for others?
• Are there any limits to how He can do it?
• Is there anyone He can’t do it for?
• Do you really believe that?