Description
Lesson 1
The God Who Sees the Stranger
Scripture: Genesis 16:1-14; 21:8-21 (NRSV)
Key Theme—God demonstrates unwavering compassion for those who are displaced, marginalized, and forced to flee. Hagar, an Egyptian slave woman expelled into the wilderness, becomes the first person in Scripture to name God, calling the Lord ‘El Roi,’ the God who sees. Her story reveals that God’s vision extends beyond national, ethnic, and social boundaries to embrace all who suffer displacement and vulnerability.
Lesson 2
Remembering Our Immigrant Story
Scripture: Deuteronomy 10:12-22; 26:1-11 (NRSV)
Key Theme—God commands Israel to love the stranger because they themselves were once strangers in Egypt. Memory of their own immigrant experience becomes the foundation for ethical treatment of foreigners. When we remember that we were once outsiders, we are compelled to welcome those who are outsiders today.
Lesson 3
Faithful in a Foreign Land
Scripture: Daniel 1:1-21; Jeremiah 29:4-14 (NRSV)
Key Theme—God’s people can maintain faithful identity while living as exiles in foreign lands. Daniel and his companions demonstrate that cultural engagement does not require spiritual compromise. Jeremiah’s letter to the exiles reveals that seeking the welfare of the city where one lives is itself an act of faith, even when that city belongs to one’s captors.
Lesson 4
Jesus the Refugee
Scripture: Matthew 2:1-23 (NRSV)
Key Theme—The Son of God entered human experience not in privilege and security but in vulnerability and displacement. The holy family’s flight to Egypt identifies Jesus with all who flee violence and seek safety in foreign lands. When we encounter refugees today, we encounter those with whom Christ has uniquely identified himself.
Lesson 5
Citizens of Heaven, Residents of Earth
Scripture: Philippians 3:17-21; 1 Peter 2:9-17 (NRSV)
Key Theme—Christians hold dual citizenship: our primary allegiance belongs to God’s kingdom, yet we are called to live faithfully within earthly societies. This tension enables solidarity with immigrants who navigate between identities and challenges any nationalism that would absolutize earthly citizenship. We are all strangers and aliens in this world, awaiting a homeland that is still to come.
Lesson 6
Welcoming the Stranger as Christ
Scripture: Matthew 25:31-46; Hebrews 13:1-3 (NRSV)
Key Theme—Jesus identifies himself so closely with strangers that welcoming them becomes welcoming him. Hospitality to the foreigner is not merely ethical duty or humanitarian concern but encounter with Christ himself. The church’s response to immigrants reveals the authenticity of its faith, for in the stranger Christ comes to us in disguise.