A Sunday School Lesson On Blessings

Here is a Sunday school lesson or Bible study on blessings from the Bible.

Material Blessings

Romans 15:27 “For they were pleased to do it, and indeed they owe it to them. For if the Gentiles have come to share in their spiritual blessings, they ought also to be of service to them in material blessings.”

Paul could have never taken all of his mission trips or planted all of those churches without someone supporting him financially, but Paul never requested money for himself. His only pleas were for those Christians who were in dire need and desperately poor and in writing to the church at Rome, he wrote “if the Gentiles have come to share in their spiritual blessings, they ought also to be of service to them in material blessings” (Rom 15:27). By their giving, they too might be given to by God for “It is well with the man who deals generously and lends; who conducts his affairs with justice” (Psalm 112:5) and to be sure, “blessed is he who is generous to the poor” (Prov 14:21) because “Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will repay him for his deed” (Prov 19:17).

Does God always repay the generous with money alone?

Do we have to exercise caution with who the poor are?

Does this mean we give money to everyone that claims a need? If not, why not?

Enemies Blessings

Matthew 5:11-12 “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

The Apostle Peter knew exactly what Jesus was talking about in referring to persecution because he experienced that up to the time of his death, being crucified upside down, so Peter could write “If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you” (1st Pet 4:14) and don’t you want that? The truth is “all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” (2nd Tim 3:12). The key is there must be a desire to live a godly life because if there’s not, you must not be living a godly life and that means you don’t have that desire to do so. And you’ll not be part of the “all who desire to live godly” lives that are being persecuted (and blessed). If you never face any persecution, ask yourself this; “Am I living a godly life? Do I desire to live one?” Do you not know that, “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matt 5:10)?

Does this mean we should seek out persecution so that we’ll be blessed?

Can you sincerely say that you desire to live a godly life?

Are you ever persecuted? If not, why not?

Spiritual Blessings

First Corinthians 9:23 “I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings.”

What greater blessing is there than to receive eternal life? There is nothing greater because all physical blessings will vanish in time and after one’s death, they are useless to us. Paul understood that the greatest gift is that of eternal life through faith in Christ (John 3:16; Eph 2:8-9). The Father has already “blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places” (Eph 1:3) but is there any greater blessing than what Paul writes, “Blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin” (Rom 4:8) to which the psalmist adds, “Blessed is the man against whom the LORD counts no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit” (Psalm 32:2).

Name a blessing greater than that in John 3:16.

Do you “share with them” the spiritual blessings found in Christ?

How often would you say you do it by word of mouth?

Jesus’ Blessings

Matthew 5:6-8 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.”

If you want to read about blessings, I strongly suggest you read Matthew 5 because there are nine blessings in the first eleven verses (Matt 5:1-11). Jesus pronounces a blessing upon the poor in spirit, those who mourn, those who are meek, who have a hunger and thirst for righteousness, are merciful, peacemakers, and those who are persecuted for Jesus’ own sake (Matt 5:2-10). The thought behind these words might be Jesus’ blessing those who are poor or humble in spirit; those who mourn over their sinfulness; those who display meekness (not weakness!); those who have a deep hunger and thirst to know more about God; who show mercy to others; who try to act as a peacemaker when disputes erupt; and to be persecuted and hated by others is to be loved and embraced by God (Matt 5:11-12). The purpose is “that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust” (Matt 5:45).

Why should we show mercy to others in relation to who we once were (Rom 5:8, 10)?

Does the Bible teach that the pure in heart shall see God (Rev 21:3; 22:4)?

Is our receiving mercy conditioned on showing others mercy (Matt 6:12)?

Conclusion

I urge you in your study to look at all of the Bible verses and read them aloud in the class so that you can get the most out of this lesson on blessings and may Jesus’ own words bless you; “Blessed are you when people hate you and when they exclude you and revile you and spurn your name as evil, on account of the Son of Man” (Luke 6:22)! If it’s on account of Him, He’ll account it to you (Matt 5:12). It’s worth repeating about the verse I love that mentions the ultimate blessing; “Blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin” (Rom 4:8).

Is our blessing for being persecuted come in this life?

Will it be in the next life or both here and later?

Does God accredit blessings through non-believers?

Has your understanding changed about blessings in the Bible from this study?

Article by Jack Wellman

Jack Wellman is Pastor of the Mulvane Brethren Church in Mulvane Kansas. Jack is also the Senior Writer at What Christians Want To Know whose mission is to equip, encourage, and energize Christians and to address questions about the believer’s daily walk with God and the Bible. You can follow Jack on Google Plus or check out his book Teaching Children the Gospel available on Amazon.