Once your students have all arrived, invite them to answer a question.
- Do any of you listen to music by Christian artists Cory Asbury or Forrest Frank? If so, what do you like about their music? (Allow students to share their thoughts.)
Earlier this year, there was an online conflict between Cory Asbury and Forrest Frank. Forrest posted a video about being healed from a back injury. Cory Asbury responded with a video making light of Forrest’s medical journey.
Later, Cory acknowledged that even though his intentions in making the video weren’t malicious, making light of someone else’s medical experiences—or healing—wasn’t the right response. Let’s take a look at Cory’s public apology video to Forrest.
Play this video for your students [2:38]: CORY ASBURY’S APOLOGY TO FORREST FRANK
- Cory acknowledged he doesn’t think poking Forrest was the right way to handle the situation, even though that’s what he did. Have you ever acted in a way that you later regretted or realized was wrong? Why do you think we sometimes act in ways we don’t necessarily like? (Accept all reasonable answers, which may include the following: we may act before we think, we don’t always consider our possible actions, we allow our actions to be driven by emotions, etc.)
The Bible tells us stories of people as human and complex as us. They sometimes demonstrate good examples, sometimes bad, sometimes the messy in between. The Bible gives plenty of examples of relationships—good and bad, real and complex. Today we will see how the supportive and respectful relationship between two women experiencing loss and difficult circumstances resulted in a better life for their family as God worked behind the scenes to bring about restoration.