Lesson Note on Christian Religious Studies (CRS) JSS3 First Term

SCHEME OF WORK

WEEK 1 THE HOLY SPIRIT: FIRST TERM JSS3 CRK

WEEK 2 THE COMING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT: FIRST TERM JSS3 CRK

WEEK 3 THE EFFECTS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT ON THE EARLY DISCIPLES: FIRST TERM JSS3 CRK

WEEK 4 CONVERSION OF FOLLOWERS: FIRST TERM JSS3 CRK

WEEK 5 FRUITS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT: FIRST TERM JSS3 CRK

WEEK 6 FELLOWSHIPPING IN THE EARLY CHURCH: FIRST TERM JSS3 CRK

WEEK 7 FRAUD IN THE CHURCH: FIRST TERM JSS3 CRK

WEEK 8 PHILIP AND THE ETHIOPIAN EUNUCH: FIRST TERM JSS3 CRK

WEEK 9 PAUL’S EARLY LIFE: FIRST TERM JSS3 CRK

CORNELIUS CALLS ON PETER: FIRST TERM JSS3 CRK

Lesson Note on Christian Religious Studies (CRS) JSS3 First term 

 Below are the 2022 complete JSS3 First  Term Christian Religious StudiesLesson Note

WEEK 1

TOPIC: THE HOLY SPIRIT

The Holy Spirit is the spirit of the Lord. In other words, it is God in form of a spirit. The Holy Spirit is the third divine person in the Trinity which consists of God the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. Jesus never used the adjective “it” for the Holy Spirit, To learn more, click here 

The Promise of the Holy Spirit

Before his crucifixion, resurrection and ascension Jesus took time to advise and encourage his disciples to be good ambassadors of the kingdom of God, assuring them that he would never leave them alone. And as his time for crucifixion drew ever closer, Jesus noticed that his disciples were upset and depressed as they were aware that their master was about to be taken away from them. So he promised them the he would send them a Comforter and Counselor which is the Holy Spirit. In John 14: 26 Jesus said: “The Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the father will send in my name will teach you all things and remind you all that I have taught you.” [Also read John 16:7.] After the ascension of Jesus to heaven, his disciples did receive the Holy Spirit.

Week 2

TOPIC: THE COMING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

The coming of the Holy Spirit was an event characterized by the outpouring of God’s Spirit on Jesus’ disciples. Before this event, it should be recalled that Jesus already told his disciples that he would be killed and that he would rise from the dead after three days and go back to heaven. His disciples were not happy about that, but he promised never to leave them alone and that God the Father would send down the Holy Spirit to comfort and counsel them. Consequently, after Jesus was crucified and he resurrected,  he came to his disciples and told them in Acts 1:8 that after he had ascended to heaven the Holy Spirit would come down upon them and that they shall go forth spreading the good news to Jerusalem, Judea and all over the world. He also instructed them to remain in Jerusalem till the Holy Spirit comes down upon them. To learn more, click here 

WEEK 3

TOPIC: THE EFFECTS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT ON THE EARLY DISCIPLES

The coming of the Holy Spirit had tremendous effect on the disciples and helped them in their ministries of spreading the good news and establishing the church. Specifically speaking, the miracles performed by Peter and Paul attested to the full blown effects the Holy Spirit had in the lives of the Apostles. Read below to learn how exactly the Holy Spirit had effect in the lives of Peter and Paul.

THE MIRACLES OF PETER AND PAUL

Peter and John went to the temple to pray when a lame man who was begging at the gate stopped them and begged for money. Peter and John had no money, but Peter said: “ Look at us, silver nor gold we do not have. But what have we will give to you; in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth stand up and walk.” Immediately the man stood up and started dancing around and praising God. He had been crippled from birth but through the power of the Holy Spirit through Peter and John he got his healing. The crowd was amazed by the miracle, they gathered round Peter and John was starring at them with amazement. Peter preached to the crowd and urged them to repent and leave their sinful ways. To learn more, click here 

WEEK 4

TOPIC: CONVERSION OF FOLLOWERS

After Peter and John healed the lame man in the temple, the crowd gathered round them and peter preached the goodnews of Jesus to them after which about five thousand people gave their lives to Christ. However, the temple captain and priest were not happy that the Apostles were preaching the gospel of Jesus to the crowd. So they arrested the Apostles and took them to court where the Scribes and elders assembled to pass judgement on them. The elders asked them which power they were using to perform miracles. And Peter, (ever so filled with the Holy Spirit) told them that it was by the power of Jesus Christ of Nazareth whom they crucified and whom God raised from the dead after three days. He also told them that Jesus is the stone rejected by the builder but now the chief corner stone; there is no name by which we will be saved except the name of Jesus Christ. To learn more, click here 

WEEK 5

TOPIC: FRUITS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

The fruits of the Holy Spirit are the nine visible qualities of a true Christian life. They are the evidence that one is a true child of God. All good Christians have at least one fruit of the Holy Spirit. Please see them listed below-

• Love: This is the first and most important gift of the Holy Spirit. If you love God you won’t break His laws voluntarily or hurt anyone.
• Joy: Rejoice in the Lord always. Do not let the challenges of this world steal your joy.
• Peace: Even when trouble blows, God sees- hold your peace, He is in control.
• Long-suffering: This simply means patience.
• Kindness: treat everyone with kindness
• Goodness: Have a good behavior. To learn more, click here 

WEEK 6

TOPIC: FELLOWSHIPPING IN THE EARLY CHURCH (Acts 1:15-26; 2:41-47; 4:32-37)

Peter’s Speech on Pentecost day

Peter’s sermon in Acts 2 is critically important since it demonstrates how the apostles interpreted the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, including the Ascension.  Peter uses the Old Testament in this sermon and cites texts which were fulfilled in the events of Jesus’ life, but also in the events of Pentecost.

Peter first explains the significance of the Holy Spirit (2:14-21).  Beginning with a prophecy from Joel 2:28-32, Peter states that the presence of the Spirit in the apostles at that moment is what Joel predicted.

Communal Life in the Early Church

On the day of Pentecost, Peter’s speech was strong and filled with the Holy Spirit such that about three thousand people repented of their sins and and were baptized; thence became followers of the teachings of the Disciples. To learn more, click here 

WEEK 7

TOPIC: FRAUD IN THE CHURCH

The early church enjoyed peaceful and communal co-existence; a time when every single Christian cooperated and lived as one. But then as expected in every human organisations, a time came when some bad eggs in the group started to be dishonest. A perfect example is what Ananias and Sapphira his wife did. Read a summary of the story in the next paragraph.

The Bible recorded that some of the early Christians (who owned lands) were selling their lands and other belongings and donating such to the church for daily upkeep of the members as part of their communal living. And then Ananias and his wife sold their land but but decided to keep some of the proceeds to themselves while only giving Peter part of it; pretending that was all the money earned from the land sale. Meanwhile, Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit quickly discerned  that Ananias was lying. So he said to Ananias “Ananias, how is it that Satan has filled your heart that you lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept some of the money you got from sale of the land to thyself? Didn’t it belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold wasn’t the money at your disposal? What made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied just to human beings but to God.” To learn more, click here 

WEEK 8

TOPIC: PHILIP AND THE ETHIOPIAN EUNUCH

The angel of God appeared to Philip, directing him to an Ethiopian eunuch who had come to Jerusalem to worship God. He was sitting on his chariot and reading the scripture but not understanding what it was he read. And as Philip saw the man, the spirit of God asked him to go closer and join the man in his chariot. When Philip reached there he asked the eunuch if he understood what he was reading but the eunuch replied “How can I, except some man should guide me.” He then asked Philip to come and sit with him. He had been reading the passage which says- “He was lead like a sheep to the slaughter and like a lamb dumb before his shearer, so opened he not his mouth. In his humiliation his judgment was taken away, and who shall declare his generation? For his life is taken from this earth.” To learn more, click here 

WEEK 9

TOPIC: PAUL’S EARLY LIFE

Saul was born in the Roman empire of Cilicia, a circumstance that made him a Roman citizen by birth even though he was born by Jewish parents from the tribe of Benjamin. He was a highly educated man, industrious too and an influential lawyer. His Roman name is Paul and he belonged to the extremist Jewish religious party known as the Pharisee.

The Pharisees strictly follow the laws of Moses, which is why Paul saw Christians as deviant set of people doing the wrong thing and following the wrong religious path. He therefore took it upon himself to bring them back to what he thought was the right path, playing a significant role in persecution of Christians in Jerusalem in process. He supervised the martyrdom of Stephen (i.e., the stoning to death of Stephen). After that, he became a one-man army, persecuting the Christians everywhere they were. He went house to house, dragging out and arresting Christians and apostles. His persecution crippled Christian activities because so many believers were killed and many others fled Jerusalem to other cities. To learn more, click here 

WEEK 10

TOPIC: CORNELIUS CALLS ON PETER

Cornelius was a good Christian; alongside his entire family. He was God-fearing and generous to the poor and needy. One day in the afternoon, he had a vision where the angel of God appeared to him saying: “ Cornelius your prayers and gifts to the poor have come up as a memorial offering before God. Now send men to Joppa to bring a man called Simon, also called Peter”. When Cornelius woke up he called two of his servant and a soldier, told them the vision and sent them to go to Joppa and fetch Peter.

While on their way to Peter, he too had a vision the afternoon of the following day. In the trance, he saw the heaven open and there appeared different animals and God told him to kill and eat. But Peter told God the animals were unclean. God then told him never to call anything he created “unclean” or “impure”. As Peter was still wondering what the dream could mean, the men sent by Cornelius arrived at the home where he was staying. God told Peter that there were three men looking for him, that he shouldn’t hesitate to follow them. Peter came out and told them “I am the one you are looking for, why have you come?” The men told him  why they came, and he departed with them to Cornelius’ place.. To learn more, click here