The Nugget:
2Ti 1:7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.
My Comment:
A number of years ago I devised a series of lessons suitable for Sunday school teaching to help others learn how to use The New Treasury of Scripture Knowledge. These lessons will work equally well with Nelson’s Cross Reference Guide to the Bible and especially The Ultimate Cross Reference Treasury.
Any Bible teacher, Sunday school teacher, home school parent, small group Bible study leader, or pastor will find it easy to adopt the format I share below using any Bible passage and its cross references as the basis for lessons or sermons as needed.
Here is the first lesson in its outline form:
SERIES TITLE: Getting Hooked on the Book
SUBJECT: 13‑week Teacher Guide for introducing the New Treasury for a one‑quarter series of Sunday school lessons for an adult class.
SESSION ONE: Getting hooked on Bible study
MATERIALS NEEDED: Furnish each student with a Bible and a New Treasury.
LESSON OBJECTIVE: Learn how the Bible explains itself.
SCRIPTURE TEXT: 2 Timothy 1:7, “sound mind”
- a sound mind. ver. +*13 ( 2 Tim 1:13). *Ps 119:80. *Pr 2:7. * Pr 8:14. *Is 59:15 mg. Je 29:26. Ho 9:7. *Lk 8:35. *Lk 15:17. *Ac 26:11, 25. 2 Cor 5:13, 14.
PROCEDURE:
A. Read the lesson Bible text (2 Timothy 1:7) aloud to the class.
B. Let each of several members of the class turn to, then read in turn to the class, the related passages specified in the cross references given for the phrase “sound mind” in the New Treasury.
FOR DISCUSSION:
- What is included in the concept “sound mind” as reflected by these related Bible passages?
- What result does Scripture attribute to a strong interest in spiritual things? How does this contrast to the common opinion of interest in spiritual things in society at large?
CONCLUSION:
- After consulting the references supplied to the clause of this lesson’s Scripture text, answer the question: “What common thread of truth ties this set of references together?”
- What conclusions do you draw about the Bible’s own teaching regarding the subjects dealt with in this lesson’s Scripture text?
- What instruction or encouragement do you derive from the insights received from this comparison of related Bible texts?
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