RCCG YAYA SUNDAY SCHOOL TEACHER’S MANUAL SUNDAY 12TH OF FEBRUARY, 2023

SUNDAY SCHOOL HYMN

1. O Sunday School, on the Lord’s day,

O how I love Thee well,

I am happy, it makes me glad

To rejoice at Thy birth.

2. O Sunday School, on the Lord’s day,

Thy friend 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 day

I rejoice to see Thee,

Will thou pass over me today?

Without my being blest?

[1]After this Absalom the son of David had a lovely sister, whose name was Tamar; and Amnon the son of David loved her.

[2]Amnon was so distressed over his sister Tamar that he became sick; for she was a virgin. And it was improper for Amnon to do anything to her.

[3]But Amnon had a friend whose name was Jonadab the son of Shimeah, David’s brother. Now Jonadab was a very crafty man.

[4]And he said to him, “Why are you, the king’s son, becoming thinner day after day? Will you not tell me?” Amnon said to him, “I love Tamar, my brother Absalom’s sister.”

[5]So Jonadab said to him, “Lie down on your bed and pretend to be ill. And when your father comes to see you, say to him, ‘Please let my sister Tamar come and give me food, and prepare the food in my sight, that I may see it and eat it from her hand.’ ”

[6]Then Amnon lay down and pretended to be ill; and when the king came to see him, Amnon said to the king, “Please let Tamar my sister come and make a couple of cakes for me in my sight, that I may eat from her hand.”

[7]And David sent home to Tamar, saying, “Now go to your brother Amnon’s house, and prepare food for him.”

[8]So Tamar went to her brother Amnon’s house; and he was lying down. Then she took flour and kneaded it, made cakes in his sight, and baked the cakes.

[9]And she took the pan and placed them out before him, but he refused to eat. Then Amnon said, “Have everyone go out from me.” And they all went out from him.

[10]Then Amnon said to Tamar, “Bring the food into the bedroom, that I may eat from your hand.” And Tamar took the cakes which she had made, and brought them to Amnon her brother in the bedroom.

[11]Now when she had brought them to him to eat, he took hold of her and said to her, “Come, lie with me, my sister.”

[12]But she answered him, “No, my brother, do not force me, for no such thing should be done in Israel. Do not do this disgraceful thing!

[13]And I, where could I take my shame? And as for you, you would be like one of the fools in Israel. Now therefore, please speak to the king; for he will not withhold me from you.”

[14]However, he would not heed her voice; and being stronger than she, he forced her and lay with her.

[15]Then Amnon hated her exceedingly, so that the hatred with which he hated her was greater than the love with which he had loved her. And Amnon said to her, “Arise, be gone!”

INTRODUCTION: To ‘crush on someone’ is to have a feeling of romantic love for that person, especially someone you have not met physically or have any relationship with. Furthermore, the way someone smells, laughs, or smiles can play role in creating a crush while the feelings accompanying a crush can be overpowering. Crushing on someone is synonymous with ‘infatuation’ (an obsessive focus on the opposite gender). This study will attempt to distinguish between crushes and real love as well as proffer a way to handle this feeling.

OPENING PRAYER: Father, please teach me how to handle crushes in Jesus name.

TEXT REVIEW:

A. The above scripture is the story of how Amnon, David’s son defiled Tamar, his half-sister, because of untamed lustful desire:

i. At a time Amnon fell deeply in love (obsessed) with Absalom’s beautiful sister Tamar such that he became ill and because she was a virgin assaulting her sexually seemed so difficult, V1-2.

ii. Jonadab, Amnon’s friend – a cunning person, upon enquiry on the leanness of the king’s son, counselled him to pretend to be sick and ask his father to send Tamar, his half-sister to prepare his meal, V3-5.

iii. Amnon pretended to be sick as counselled, made the request and the king asked Tamar to go to his house and prepare his half-brother’s meal, V6-7.

iv. Having prepared the meal, she served him, but Amnon refused to eat and have all men in the house ordered out and asked Tamar to bring the meal into his chamber, V8-10.

v. ……………………………………………………V11.

vi ……………………………………………..V12.

vii …………………………………..…………….V13.

viii ……………………………………………..V14.

ix. He then hated her more than the love he earlier had for her and he sent her away, V15.

TEACHING METHOD:

The Question and Answer Methods.

Question: The Teacher should ask the students what they understand by the word ‘crush’ and real love?

Answer 1:

i. Crush may begin just the same way love does, but love goes beyond physical and emotional attractions to a point of sacrificial actions (1Cor.13:4-9).

ii. If you observe that you are only attracted to a person because of the person’s external beauty or friendliness, you are just crushing.

iii. You also need to know that whenever you discover that your thoughts toward a particular person are predominated by sexual fantasies, coupled with lustful thoughts, then, you might merely be crushing rather than loving. This should not be entertained beyond the first fleeting thought.

Answer 2:

i. Love is driven by commitment and patience while crush is driven by emotions, impatience, and satisfaction with one’s selfish desires.

ii. Love seeks to serve the other person and does what is best for them (1Cor.13:4-7) while crush causes you to act foolishly, not caring about anyone but yourself and demanding fulfilment of your wants.

iii. Love is a fruit of the Spirit (Gal.5:22) while crush can be the spark that ignites sinful thoughts, such as lust.

iv. Love never fails but crush does (1Cor.13:8).

CLASS ACTIVITY 1: Students should distinguish between crush and real love

Crushes are natural emotional tendencies that can degenerate to sin if not properly managed. If you find yourself thinking day and night about one person, you may have crossed the line from a normal liking to an unhealthy obsession.

How can we handle crushes?

A. Seeking intimate times of fellowship with God can help keep that crush in perspective:

i. You start by being honest with the Lord about your feelings, like the Psalmists (Ps.38:9; 139:23).

ii. Ask Him to help you keep your thoughts pure and your actions pleasing to Him (Ps.19:14).

iii. Ask God for wisdom to handle this difficult situation (Jam.1:5).

B. In addition, it is important for you to realise that lust is a bad substitute for love (2Sam. 13:15):

i. Do not follow your lustful emotion (Rom.6:12).

ii. Refuse to fuel your lust, walk in the Spirit (Gal.5:25).

C. Confess the word of God to rid your heart of filth (Jn.17:17).

D. If you are a married person and you are attracted to another person, take time to build what you like in that person in your spouse.

E. Above all, it is very important to seek wise and godly counsel.

CLASS ACTIVITY 2: The Class should mention other practical steps to handling crushes.

CONCLUSION: Do not run your life by feelings (Col.3:5), life decisions should be made through the guidance of the Holy Spirit and godly counsel (Prov.24:6).

EVALUATION: What should believers do to crush crushes?

CLOSING PRAYER: What should believers do to crush crushes?

ASSIGNMENT: Mention five things you will do to overcome lustful desires (2×5=10 marks).