编者按
这是一套在美国很受欢迎的教材，按年龄共分三部分：0-6岁学龄前儿童教程，6-12岁学龄儿童教程，和12岁以上青少年教程。我们将陆续翻译成中文，分享给大家。
这套教材里的每一篇，无论是教程还是各种活动，都独立成篇，没有先后顺序，大家可以按需要和负担选择使用。
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thedoorofsheep.com/青少年 课程目的
1.让学生对约翰福音有一个全面的了解
2.向学生介绍这样一个现实：为耶稣而活，有时会使他们处于某种紧张的氛围之中
3.激发学生为耶稣而活，不论代价如何
主题
苦难，信仰，大胆，传福音，跟随耶稣，艰辛，逼迫，恒忍
背诵经文
约翰福音8:58
开头的祷告(5-10分钟)
团队建造(10分钟)
分发一些纸和笔，让学生写下他们真正相信的5件事。也许是家庭，或是对神的信仰，友谊，宠物等等。不用考虑别的 -只要求记录他们真正相信的五件事。让每个人都分享他们写下的内容。
然后，问这些问题：
1.清单上哪个让你愿意放弃10美元？
2.清单上哪个让你愿意放弃10,000美元？
3.清单上哪个让你愿意放弃1,000,000美元？
4.清单上哪个，如果可能失去，你愿意为之奋斗，甚至受伤？
5.清单上哪个，如果可能失去，你愿意为之牺牲？
课堂起头(5分钟)
一般讨论
•你怎么知道有样东西对你是真正重要的？（你愿意为之奋斗，为之牺牲等等）
•关于真理，你最看重哪个真理？（允许学生分享。）
•你愿意为哪个真理作牺牲，甚至为之而死？（允许学生分享。）
今天，我们将讨论一个真理：耶稣不仅愿意为这个真理引起争论，而且为捍卫它也愿意牺牲。我们相应地看到，为同样的真理，我们应该愿意站起来。
深入学习(35分钟)
阅读 约翰福音7:25-52
问题讨论:
1.这一章的第一部分中，人们在挣扎什么？（尽管主耶稣在公众场合大胆讲话，但宗教领袖们并不打扰祂。在约翰福音第7章的第一部分，祂面对宗教领袖，谴责了他们，但祂的讲话并没有引起对祂的报复。）
2.为什么宗教领袖不相信祂就是弥赛亚？（他们知道祂从哪里来，但据信弥赛亚从哪里来，没有人知道。）
3.第30-31节中人群的反差是什么？（许多人相信耶稣，而其他人则试图抓祂。）
4.宗教领袖如何应对这种紧张局面？（他们打发差役去捉拿耶稣。）
5.当差役返回时，他们对法利赛人说了什么？（见第45-49节。他们说，没有人像耶稣那样说话，他们没有捉拿祂。）
法利赛人之所以生气是因为耶稣在挑战他们。“暴民”及非领袖们相信祂，但他们声称还没有“官长”或“法利赛人”相信祂。但约翰在第50节重新介绍了我们在第3章中遇到的一个法利赛人，尼哥底母。
问题讨论(续)：
6.尼哥底母认为应该做什么？（他们试图逮捕并杀死主之前，应该给耶稣一个听证的机会。）
7.法利赛人如何回答尼哥底母？（他们指责他不懂法律，说耶稣是加利利人，太同情耶稣了。）
因此，暴民被说服了，法利赛人很生气，其中一些人暗暗信了耶稣，甚至那些被派去逮捕耶稣的人也回来声称他们从未听过像祂这样说话的。
问题讨论(续)：
8.这段经文中，耶稣在哪里？（在殿里讲道。）
9.耶稣说了什么？（祂将自己与父联系在一起，说祂只是和众人在一起一段时间，告诉他们，人若渴了，可以到祂这里来喝，等等。）
10.在争议之中，耶稣有退缩的迹象吗？（完全没有。他继续带着权柄讲话。）
决心教导人，邀请更多人跟随祂，这在以后引起了更大的争议。
阅读 约翰福音8:12-59
问题讨论:
1.耶稣在这段经文开头部分说了什么？（祂是世界的光。）
2.法利赛人争论什么？（祂为自己作见证，不算数。）
3.耶稣教导这些时在哪里？（圣殿，见第20节。）
释经者认为，耶稣称自己是世界的光，这发生在烛台的背景下。烛台在住棚节中起着举足轻重的作用。
为总结这段经文，也为让学生放松一下，让他们数一数约翰福音8:12-59中，关于耶稣的问题，以及关于耶稣的话。列表如下：
•“你的见证不真。” （第13节）
•“你的父在那里？” （第19节）
•“难道祂要自杀么？” （第22节）
• “你是谁？” （第25节）
•“他们不明白耶稣是在对他们讲说父。”（27节）
•“我们是亚伯拉罕的后裔”（第33节）
•“我们的父就是亚伯拉罕”（39节）
•“我们不是从淫乱生的；我们只有一位父，就是神。” （第41节）
•“我们说你是撒玛利亚人，又有鬼附着，岂不正对么？” （第48节）
•“我们知道你有鬼附着……你将自己当作什么人！？！” （第52-53节）
一般讨论：
•耶稣冒犯了与祂交谈的宗教领袖们吗？（是的）
•让他们觉得如此反感的是什么？（祂自称是神。）
•为什么他们与耶稣的争执会从法律角度（你的见证不真。）到直呼其名（祂有鬼附着）？（他们感到沮丧，不明白，无法理解祂在说什么，感到受到威胁，祂自称是神，等等。）
应用(15分钟)
耶稣造成了许多分裂，但祂是道成肉身。祂有权柄。祂的动机是纯正的。祂说了实话-祂就是真理。
作为基督的跟随者，我们不应该担心会使他人难受，但有时教会因争论不那么重要的事情而有不好的影响。
一般讨论：
•你听到基督徒为哪些愚蠢的事争论过？（敬拜的形式，各种各样的“基督徒是否被允许……”的问题，讲道应持续多长时间，等等。有很多例子。）
•你认为非信徒看到教会为此类事情而战时会怎么想？（他们会认为跟从基督毫无意义，因为基督徒的行为和他人没有什么不同。）
实际上，有一段圣经谈到了基督徒应该如何避免愚蠢的争论。
阅读 提多书 3:9
尽管有些事情我们应该避免争论，但我们必须坚决捍卫一个真理……这是约翰写福音的全部重点：耶稣是神。当我们谈论耶稣时，我们应该一次又一次地回到这一点。这是无可争论的。如果不接受，就不能成为基督徒。
重读 约翰福音 8:54-59
问题讨论：
1.在第54-56节中，耶稣对祂与神的关系是怎么说的？（与其他人不同，祂知道天父，亚伯拉罕很高兴看到祂的到来，等等。）
2.为什么宗教领袖如此沮丧？（因为耶稣说的话，如果你不信祂的权柄，听起来会很荒谬。例如，祂甚至还没到中年，在第56节，祂声称自己认识亚伯拉罕。）
3.当耶稣说：“还没有亚伯拉罕，我就是”，你明白祂在说什么吗？（这是约翰福音中，另一句“我是”，这是神的名字。请参阅出埃及记 3:14。）
4.在听到这句话后，犹太人为什么想向耶稣扔石头？（这是对他们的亵渎，因为耶稣自称是神。）
基督徒应该捍卫自己的信仰。但是有时候，我们固执己见，对无关紧要的事情展开争论。约翰在这里很清楚地表明，耶稣自称是神，祂就是神，耶稣毫不犹豫，即使这会使周围人们感到不舒服甚至生气。
结束祷告(3分钟)
为学生的勇敢而祷告，因为当他们相信耶稣的神性时，即使在社会上为真理站出来很难，他们也会毫不犹豫地与他人分享这一点。
**** 英文版 *******
Gospel of John
Lesson 6: Jesus Causes Arguments
LESSON OBJECTIVES
Goals
1. To provide students with an overview understanding of the Gospel of John
2. To introduce students to the reality that living for Jesus will place them in some tension
3. To inspire students to live for Jesus no matter the cost
Topics
Affliction, Believing, Boldness, Evangelism, Following Jesus, Hardship, Persecution, Perseverance
Scripture Memorization
John 8:58
OPENING PRAYER (5 to 10 minutes)
GROUP BUILDING (10 minutes)
Hand out some paper and pens and ask students to write down 5 things that they really, really believe in. Maybe it’s family, their belief in God, a friendship, a pet, whatever. Don’t qualify more than that—just ask them to record to record five things that they really believe in. Have everyone share what they wrote down.
Then, ask these questions:
1. What on your list would you be willing to give up for $10?
2. What on your list would you be willing to give up for $10,000?
3. What on your list would you be willing to give up for $1,000,000?
4. What on your list, if you were in danger of losing it, would you be willing to fight for? Get injured for?
5. What on your list, if you were in danger of losing it, would you be willing to die for?
GETTING STARTED (5 minutes)
General Discussion:
• How do you know when something is really important to you? (You are willing to stand up for it, sacrifice for it, etc.)
• When it comes to truth, what truth do you value the most? (Allow students to share.)
• What truth would you be willing to sacrifice — even die for? (Allow students to share.)
Today, we’re going to talk about a truth that Jesus was willing not only to cause division over, but also a truth he was willing to die for while defending it. Correspondingly, we also see that we should be willing to stand up for that same truth.
DIGGING IN (35 minutes)
Read John 7:25-52
Discussion Questions:
1. In the first part of this passage, with what are the people struggling? (Religious officials are leaving Jesus alone, despite His bold public speaking. In the first part of John 7, He has confronted and rebuked the religious leaders, but still He speaks without retribution.)
2. Why don’t the religious leaders believe He is the Messiah? (They know where He is from, and it was believed that it would not be known where the Messiah was from.)
3. What is the contrast in the crowd in verses 30-31? (Many believed in Jesus, while others tried to seize Him.)
4. What do the religious leaders do in response to this tension? (They send the temple guards to arrest Jesus.)
5. When the temple guards returned, what do they say to the Pharisees, etc.? (See verse 45-49. They said no one ever spoke the way Jesus did and did not arrest Him.)
The Pharisees were angry because Jesus was challenging the status quo. The “mob,”or non-leaders, believed in Him, but they claimed no “rulers” or “Pharisees” had believed in Him yet. But John re-introduces a character we met in John 3, Nicodemus, a Pharisee, in verse 50.
Discussion Questions (continued):
6. What does Nicodemus argue should be done? (That they should give Jesus a hearing before they attempt to arrest and kill Him.)
7. How do the Pharisees answer Nicodemus? (They accuse him of being ignorant of the Law, a Galilean, and too sympathetic.)
So the mob is being persuaded, the Pharisees are angry, some of them secretly believe in Jesus, and even those who were sent to arrest Jesus return claiming they’ve never heard anything like Him before.
Discussion Questions (continued):
8. Where is Jesus in this text? (In the temple, teaching.)
9. What sorts of things does Jesus say? (He links Himself to the Father, says He’s only with them for a while, tells them if they are thirsty to come to Him, etc.)
10. In the midst of the controversy does, Jesus show any sign from backing down? (Not at all. He continues to speak with authority.)
This resolve to teach the people and invite many to follow Him results in greater controversy later.
Read John 8:12-59
Discussion Questions:
1. What does Jesus say in the beginning of this passage? (That He is the light of the world.)
2. What do the Pharisees argue? (That He doesn’t offer up witnesses to support His claims.)
3. Where was Jesus when He taught this? (The temple, see verse 20.)
Commentators suggest that Jesus’ claim of being the Light of the World occurs with the backdrop of the menorah, which played a prominent role in the Feast of Tabernacles.
To finish summing up this passage, turn your students loose to count up the questions asked about Jesus and the things they say about him from John 8:12-59. A list follows:
• “Your testimony is not valid.” (verse 13)
• “Where is your Father?” (verse 19)
• “Will he kill himself?” (verse 22)
• “Who are you?” (verse 25)
• "They did not understand that He was telling them about His Father" (verse 27)
• “We are Abraham’s descendants” (verse 33)
• “Abraham is our father” (verse 39)
• “We are not illegitimate children, the only Father we have is God Himself.” (verse 41)
• “Aren’t we right in saying you are a Samaritan and demon-possessed?” (verse 48)
• “We know you are demon possessed…who do you think you are!?!” (verse 52-53)
General Discussion:
• Is it fair to say that Jesus has offended the religious elite He’s spoken to? (Positively.)
• What is it that they find so offensive? (He is claiming to be God.)
• Why do you think they go from arguing with Jesus on points of law (His testimony is not valid) to name-calling (He’s demon-possessed)? (They are frustrated, don’t understand, can’t comprehend what He is saying, feel threatened, He is claiming to be God, etc.)
MAKING IT REAL (15 minutes)
Jesus caused a lot of division, but He had the benefit of being God in the flesh. He had authority. His motivations were pure and just. He told the truth—He is the truth.
As Christ-followers, we should not be afraid of upsetting people, but sometimes the Church gets a bad reputation for arguing over things that aren’t that important.
General Discussion:
• What are some silly things you’ve heard Christians argue about? (Style of worship, various “Are Christians allowed to…” questions, how long a sermon should last, etc. There are lots of examples.)
• What do you think non-believers think when they see churches fighting about such things? (They think it’s pointless to be a follower of Christ because they don’t act any differently.)
There’s actually a passage of Scripture that talks about how Christians should avoid foolish arguments.
Read Titus 3:9
While there are some things we should avoid arguing about, there is one truth we must vigorously defend…It’s the whole point of John writing his gospel: Jesus is God. It should be the point that we return to again and again when we talk about Jesus, too. This is non-negotiable. If you don’t accept it, you cannot be a Christian.
Re-read John 8:54-59
Discussion Questions:
1. What does Jesus say about His relationship to God in verses 54-56? (That He knew the Father unlike they did, that Abraham would be excited to see His arrival, etc.)
2. Why are the religious leaders so upset? (Because Jesus is saying stuff that, if you don’t believe in His authority, sounds ridiculous. For example, He’s not even middle aged and He’s claiming to know Abraham in verse 56.)
3. When Jesus says, “Before Abraham was, I am,” do you understand what He is saying? (This is another of John’s “I am” statements, and it was a name used for God. See Exodus 3:14.)
4. Why did the Jews want to stone Jesus upon hearing this? (It was blasphemy to them, because Jesus was claiming to be God.)
Christians should stand up for what they believe in. But sometimes, we are stubborn and get into arguments about stuff that doesn't matter very much. But John is making it clear here that Jesus claimed to be God, is God, and Jesus did not hesitate to make those claims even though it would make people uncomfortable or even angry.
CLOSING PRAYER (3 minutes)
Pray for boldness for your students, that as they are convinced of Jesus’ deity, they will likewise not hesitate to share that with others, even when it is socially unacceptable to stand up for that truth.
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