Theology of the Church, Mentor's Guide, MG03

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T H E O L O G Y O F T H E C H U R C H

The Church Foreshadowed In God’s Plan

Welcome to the Mentor’s Guide for Lesson 1, The Church Foreshadowed in God’s Plan . The overall focus of the Theology of the Church module is to concentrate on the important truth of how the Church becomes foreshadowed in God’s exalted purpose for salvation. From the beginning God determined to bring glory to himself by drawing to himself a new humanity through the covenant he would make with Abraham. This wondrous plan not only included those of Abraham’s physical lineage who would come to believe in Christ, but also included the Gentiles who would come to faith. This grand mystery of his inclusion of the Gentiles in Christ Jesus has been revealed in this age and time through the apostles and the prophets. Further, the aim of this module is to detail God’s intent to make this new humanity his own unique and peculiar People, the laos of God. Salvation, therefore, is integrally connected to one’s place in the people of God, intimately tied and related to one’s participation in the Church. This module is critical for developing leaders for it cements into the minds and hearts of the students the central role of the Church in God’s salvific plan. Notice in the objectives that these aims are clearly stated, and you ought to emphasize them throughout the lesson, during the discussions and interaction with the students. The more you can highlight the objectives throughout the class period, the better the chances are that they will understand and grasp the magnitude of these objectives. Concentrate the entire training period on attaining the objectives. Relate all dimensions of class presentation and participation to the objectives. Do not hesitate to discuss these objectives briefly before you enter into the class period. Draw the students attention to the objectives, for, in a real sense, this is the heart of your educational aim for the class period in this lesson. Everything discussed and done ought to point back to these objectives. Find ways to highlight these at every turn, to reinforce them and reiterate them as you go. The more opportunity you have to focus upon the objectives, the better. Again, what we are seeking overall is for the students to come to appreciate the way in which God gave careful outline of the centrality of the Church in every phase of his work in history, in his work with his people, and especially in his work of salvation.

1 Page 13 Lesson Introduction

2 Page 13 Lesson Objectives