Joyful Moments in Christ

This Bible study lesson is for people who are learning English (ELL or ESL students). It is made for advanced beginner and intermediate English learners. Children who speak English or adults who prefer easy English may also enjoy it and learn from it.

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Lesson Icebreaker Question

What is something that makes you feel safe and happy in your home?

Lesson Highlight

In this lesson, we will learn about evil spirits, true happiness, and the light of God in our hearts. Jesus teaches how to live in a way that pleases God and brings peace inside us.

Vocabulary List (GNT)

1. Accuse — To say that someone did something wrong.
2. Assure — To tell someone something is true to help them feel sure.
3. Beginning — The start of something.
4. Blessed — Very happy because God has shown kindness.
5. Body — All the parts that make a person or animal.
6. Bore — Gave birth to a baby.
7. Brings — Carries something to a place.
8. Certain — Sure about something; not having doubts.
9. Clean — Not dirty; neat and in order.
10. Crowd — A large group of people in one place.
11. Darkness — When there is no light.
12. Dry Country — A place with little water and no trees.
13. Evil — Very bad or wicked.
14. Evil Spirit — A bad spirit that can harm people.
15. Except — Leaving out; not including.
16. Eyes — The parts of the body people use to see.
17. Find — To discover something that was lost or not known.
18. Fixed Up — Made neat, clean, and ready.
19. Goes Out — Leaves a place.
20. Greater — More important or better than something else.
21. Happy — Feeling good and glad.
22. House — A place where people live.
23. Judgment Day — A future time when God will judge all people for what they have done.
24. Jonah — A prophet in the Old Testament who was sent by God to warn the people of Nineveh.
25. King Solomon — A wise king in the Old Testament, known for his great wisdom, riches, and building God’s temple in Jerusalem.
26. Lamp — A light that people use to see in the dark.
27. Lampstand — A stand or table where a lamp is placed.
28. Light — What lets people see; the opposite of darkness.
29. Lights — Turns on a lamp or makes something bright.
30. Live — To be alive in a place.
31. Looking — Trying to see or find something.
32. May — Asking for permission or hoping for something to happen.
33. Miracle — A special act of God that cannot be explained by normal things.
34. Nineveh — A big city in the Old Testament where the people were warned by Jonah.
35. No Good — Not helpful or bad.
36. Nursed — Fed a baby milk from the mother.
37. Other — Someone or something else.
38. Preach — To speak about God and how to live.
39. Queen of Sheba — A queen from far away who visited King Solomon because of his wisdom.
40. Rather — Instead of; choosing one thing instead of another.
41. Rest — A time to be quiet and stop working.
42. Return — To come back to a place.
43. Shape — The condition or way something is.
44. Shines — Gives off light.
45. Sign — Something that shows a message or warning.
46. Sin — Breaking God’s rules.
47. Son of Man — A name Jesus often used for himself.
48. Sound — In good health or good condition.
49. Stand Up — To get on your feet or speak out boldly.
50. Travel — To go from one place to another.
51. Turned — Changed direction or changed from doing bad to good.
52. Worse — Not as good as before.
53. Word of God — God’s message to people, found in the Bible.

Summary of the Passage

This passage tells about some of the things Jesus taught the people who came to listen to him. First, Jesus spoke about evil spirits. He said that when an evil spirit leaves a person, it looks for another place to go. If it cannot find a place, it might return to the person. If the person’s heart is empty and not filled with good things from God, even more evil spirits might come back, making the person’s life worse than before.

Then, a woman in the crowd called out to Jesus, saying it must be a blessing to be his mother. But Jesus answered kindly that it is even better to listen to God’s word and obey it. That is the way to real happiness.

Jesus also talked about people asking him for a miracle. He said no miracle would be given to them except the sign of Jonah. Jonah was a man from long ago who was sent by God to a city called Nineveh. The people there were doing many bad things. God told Jonah to go and warn them. When the people of Nineveh heard Jonah’s message, they were sorry and turned away from their sins.

In the same way, Jesus said he was a sign from God to the people of his time. Lastly, Jesus talked about light. He said people put a lamp on a stand so others can see. He explained that our eyes are like a lamp for our body. If we let good things into our lives, we will be full of light. But if we fill our hearts with bad things, our lives will be dark.

This passage teaches us that we should fill our hearts with God’s word, trust in Jesus, and live in his light.

Read The Passage

The Return of the Evil Spirit
24 “When an evil spirit goes out of a person, it travels over dry country looking for a place to rest. If it can’t find one, it says to itself, ‘I will go back to my house.’
25 So it goes back and finds the house clean and all fixed up.
26 Then it goes out and brings seven other spirits even worse than itself, and they come and live there. So when it is all over, that person is in worse shape than at the beginning.”
True Happiness
27 When Jesus had said this, a woman spoke up from the crowd and said to him, “How happy is the woman who bore you and nursed you!”
28 But Jesus answered, “Rather, how happy are those who hear the word of God and obey it!”
The Demand for a Miracle
29 As the people crowded around Jesus, he went on to say, “How evil are the people of this day! They ask for a miracle, but none will be given them except the miracle of Jonah.
30 In the same way that the prophet Jonah was a sign for the people of Nineveh, so the Son of Man will be a sign for the people of this day.
31 On the Judgment Day the Queen of Sheba will stand up and accuse the people of today, because she traveled all the way from her country to listen to King Solomon’s wise teaching; and there is something here, I tell you, greater than Solomon.
32 On the Judgment Day the people of Nineveh will stand up and accuse you, because they turned from their sins when they heard Jonah preach; and I assure you that there is something here greater than Jonah!
The Light of the Body
33 “No one lights a lamp and then hides it or puts it under a bowl; instead, it is put on the lampstand, so that people may see the light as they come in.
34 Your eyes are like a lamp for the body. When your eyes are sound, your whole body is full of light; but when your eyes are no good, your whole body will be in darkness.
35 Make certain, then, that the light in you is not darkness.
36 If your whole body is full of light, with no part of it in darkness, it will be bright all over, as when a lamp shines on you with its brightness.”

Luke 11:24-36 (GNT)

Most English learners should use the New International Reader’s Version (NIRV) or the Good News Translation (GNT) because they are easy to read. If you want to try something harder, you can read one of the other Bible versions:

• Very Easy: New International Reader’s Version: Luke 11:24-36 (NIRV)
• Easy: Good News Translation: Luke 11:24-36 (GNT)
• Medium: New Living Translation: Luke 11:24-36 (NLT)
• Hard: New International Version: Luke 11:24-36 (NIV)
• Very Hard: English Standard Version: Luke 11:24-36 (ESV)

Comprehension Questions

1. What does an evil spirit do after it leaves a person?
2. What happens if the evil spirit comes back and finds the place clean and empty?
3. What did the woman in the crowd say to Jesus?
4. What was Jesus’ reply about true happiness?
5. Why did the people ask Jesus for a miracle?
6. What sign did Jesus say would be given to them?
7. Who was Jonah, and what did he do for the people of Nineveh?
8. Why did Jesus say the Queen of Sheba would accuse the people?
9. What does Jesus say about a lamp and its light?
10. How are our eyes like a lamp for our body?

Application Questions

1. How can we fill our hearts with good things from God?
2. Why is it important to obey God’s word and not just listen to it?
3. What do you think it means for our lives to be full of light?
4. How can you be a light to other people around you?

Theological Insights

1. Evil is real, but God’s power is stronger than evil spirits.
2. True happiness comes from hearing God’s word and obeying it.
3. Jesus is the greatest sign God has given to the world.
4. God calls people to turn away from sin and trust in him.
5. When we let God’s word into our hearts, it fills our lives with light.

Closing Prayer

Dear Father, thank you for sending Jesus to show us how to live in your light. Help us to listen to your word, obey it, and keep your light shining in our hearts. Amen.

ELL Resources for the Gospel of Luke

More ELL Resources

You can find more Bible lessons for English learners on the main ELL page.

Scripture quotations marked (GNT) are from the Good News Translation in Today’s English Version- Second Edition Copyright © 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.