Ready Set Go - Lesson 7
The Point of the Lesson:
The students will learn that nothing is impossible with God
The Power of God’s Word:
Your promises have proved to be true. I love them. Psalm 119:140(NIRV)
The Prayer for Each Child:
Our prayer is that each child come to understand that God loves them and they can bring all of there problems and concerns to God because nothing is impossible with God.
Lesson in a Word - Possible
The Story
God had made a promise to Abraham and Sarah- the promise that they would have a son. But Abraham and Sarah were very old- how could they ever have a child? It was impossible!
Nothing is impossible for God. God’s promises are true. One day, Abraham was sitting in the door of his tent, because it was a hot day. That day, God came to visit Abraham. Abraham looked up, and he saw three men nearby. The men looked like angels!
Abraham ran to them and asked them to come and rest under a tree. Abraham and Sarah made food for them, and they gave them cool water to drink. God said to Abraham, “Where is your wife Sarah?” “Sarah is in the tent”, Abraham said. God said, “I will visit you this time next year, and when I do, Sarah will have a baby boy.”
Sarah had been listening from inside the tent, and she laughed, because she was too old to have a child. But nothing is too hard for God.
Just as God promised, Sarah had a baby boy. Abraham and Sarah were very happy, and they named him Isaac. The name Isaac means laughter.
(Genesis 18 & 21)
The Big Questions?
What does is mean when we say “all things are possible with God’?
Is there anything that God can not do?
What one thing that God did that seems like it is impossible?
If all things are possible with God how does that help you and me?
Ready Set Go - Lesson 6
The Point of the Lesson:
The students will learn that God keeps His promises.
The Power of God’s Word:
1 Chronicles 17:19a
Lord, you have done a wonderful thing. You have given me many great promises. All of them are for my good.
The Prayer for Each Child:
Our prayer is that each child come to understand that God loves them and always keeps his promises.
Lesson in a Word - Promise
The Story
There was a man named Abram who lived a long time ago in the land of the Bible. Abram had a wife Sarai. God told Abram to pack his things and leave his hometown. Abram trusted God, so Abram and Sarai left their home on a journey to a land far, far away.
Now God promised that he would make Abram the father of a great nation, but Abram and Sarai still didn’t have any kids. One night, Abram said to God, “You haven’t given us a child yet. Who will you keep your promise to?” God took Abram outside and said, “Look up at the stars, Abram- try to count them, if you can. One day, your family will be so big that they’ll be as many as the stars you see up in the sky.” God made a special promise to Abram, and God always keeps his promises. Later, to make his promise official, God gave Abram and Sarai new names: Abraham and Sarah.
Years passed, and Abraham and Sarah were now very old, but they still didn’t have any kids! One day God told Abraham that he would bless him and Sarah and give them a son, and that they would name the baby, Isaac. Abraham laughed, because he was almost a hundred years old! That’s old!
But God always keeps his promises, and he would keep his promise to Abraham through Abraham’s son, Isaac.
Genesis 15 & Genesis 17
Discussion
What is a promise? The dictionary says that a promise is a statement tellingsomeone that you will definitely do something. We all make promises everyday.
I promise to brush my teeth
I promise to save my money
I promise to make up my bed I promise to do my homework
God makes promises also. As a matter of fact in the Bible there are more than 3000 promises that God has made to you and me and God keeps his promises. That’s the key to today’s story. God’s promise are true and God always keeps his promises
What are some promises that God has made to us? What are some promises that we make to God? Are the promises of God good for us?
What do the promises of God tell us about God?
Ready Set Go - Lesson Five
The Point of the Lesson:
The students will learn it what it means to be faithful to God and his commandments.
The Power of God’s Word:
God is faithful. He has chosen you to share life with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord
1 Corinthians 1:9 (NIRV)
The Prayer for Each Child:
Our prayer is that each child will learn to that God is faithful and will provide a way for those who obey his will.
Lesson in a Word - Faithfulness
The Story (4-5 minutes)
Noah was a really good man and he was faithful to God. Noah had three sons. At this time the earth was full of trouble, so God said, “I'm going to put an end to all the bad stuff. I'm going to destroy the earth. Then God told Noah to build a boat. It was called an ark. The boat should be 450 feet long, 75 feet wide and 4:45 feet high. God said, I'm going to bring a huge flood to the earth. Every creature will die, but I will promise to keep you safe. I want you to put two living creatures of every kind on the boat. Elephants, tigers, lions, bears, everything you can think of and make sure you take a lot of food.
So Noah built the boat. Just as he finished the boat, it's starting to rain. Noah and his family and all the animals got on the boat. It rained for 40 days and 40 nights. The water flooded the earth. Everything on the earth was gone except Noah and his family and the animals. The water flooded the earth for a hundred and fifty days. Then Noah released a dove. The dove couldn't find a place to land, so it came back to the boat. Noah waited seven more days and sent the dove out again. Then the dove came back with a fresh olive branch in it's beak. On the third time Noah sent out the dove it did not come back. This was a sign that the water had dried up. Noah opened the door and came out of the ark with his family and all the water from the flood was gone. Noah saw beautiful rainbow. God made a promise that he would never flood the earth again.
Genesis chapter six.
The Big Questions? (5 - 6 minutes)
God is concerned about our faithfulness. He always provides for us and keeps his promises
Lead the students in these discussion questions.
What does it mean to be faithful? (loyal, constant, and steadfast)
What are some examples of things we do to show our faithfulness to God?
What are some examples of things God provides for us that prove his faithfulness?
Ready Set Go - Lesson Four
The Point of the Lesson:
The students will learn it really matters to God what we do and say each day.
The Power of God’s Word:
Foolish people let their anger run wild.
But wise people keep themselves under control
Proverbs 29:11 (NIRV)
The Prayer for Each Child:
Our prayer is that each child will learn to take the time always to talk to God in prayer, read the Bible, and to seek God’s help with self control.
Lesson in a Word - Self Control
The Story (4-5 minutes)
Adam and Eve had two sons. The first son was named Cain. Their second son was named Abel. Abel was in charge of the animals, and Cain was in charge of the land. God’s Spirit was with Cain and Abel. One day Cain and Abel gave an offering to God. God was very happy with the offering that Abel brought. It was a great sacrifice. God was not happy with the offering that Cain brought because it was so little. Cain was sad and angry. God spoke to Cain and said, “Why are you sad and angry? If you do the right thing then all will be fine.” Cain was jealous of his brother Able. One day Cain said to his brother, “Let’s go out to the field.” And while they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him. God spoke to Cain and said, “Where is your brother Abel?” Cain pretended that he didn’t know. Cain said, “I don’t know, I don’t take care of my brother.” But then God said, “What have you done? Have you killed your brother? You will be punished now, and you will never be able to grow food again. You will spend the rest of your life looking for food.” Cain said, “How will I survive? What if someone tries to kill me? Then God said, “I will put a mark on you so that no one will try to harm you.” So Cain left the good land. God’s Spirit was no longer with Cain.
Genesis 4
The Big Questions?
What we do matters to God. God is concerned about our actions and our reactions. That’s why we need to pay attention to our actions each day. Are our actions showing the love of God? That is also why we need to take a look at our reactions. When things don’t go our way, how do we respond? Self control is the key to this lesson and we must use self control in our actions and reactions each and every day.
Lead the students in these discussion questions.
When something happens that you don’t like how does it make you feel?
When something happens that you don’t like how do you treat the people around you?
What is self control?
How do we ask God to help us with self control?
The Race is On - Lesson Three
The Point of the Lesson:
The students will learn that God loves us like a loving parent. God only wants what is best for us. God loves us and will always love us no matter what.
The Power of God’s Word:
See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!
1 John 3:1a (NIV)
The Prayer for Each Child:
Our prayer is that each child will come to understand that God loves us and only wants what is best for us.
Lesson in a Word - Love
The Story In the beginning God made Adam and Eve. God made an amazing place for them to live. It was a beautiful garden. In the garden, there was plenty of food there for them to eat. They had everything they needed in the garden. God said they could have anything they wanted except for one thing. They could not eat fruit from one tree in the garden. One day a snake came to Eve and said, “Did God really say you could not eat from that tree in the garden?” Eve said, “God did say that we could not eat fruit for the tree in the garden. If we touch it we would die.” The snake said, “That’s not true, God knows that if you eat the fruit you would be really smart. You would be just as smart as God. You will know everything.” So Eve went to the tree, and when she saw the fruit it looked really good. Eve believed what the snake said. She wanted to be smart and know everything. Eve ate the fruit and she gave some to Adam. He ate it too. They knew what they did was wrong, and they tried to hide from God. God came to Adam and Eve and said, “Why are you hiding, what did you do?” Adam said, “We heard you coming and we were scared.” God answered, “You were scared because you did something wrong. Did you eat the fruit from the tree in the garden?” Adam said, “Eve gave it to me to eat.” And Eve said, “The snake lied to me. So, I ate the fruit.” God told them, “You disobeyed me. I gave you everything and you did not listen.” So God punished them. They had to leave the garden. They were not allowed to go back to the beautiful garden. They did not have everything they wanted anymore. Now they had to work hard everyday to grow food and have all that they needed.
Genesis 3
Ready Set Go Lesson One
The (human) Race is On!
The Point of the Lesson:
The students will learn the God is the creator and forever giver of life.
The Power of God’s Word:
We are God’s creation. He created us to belong to Christ Jesus. Now we can do good works. Long ago God prepared these works for us to do.
Ephesians 2:10 NIRV
The Prayer for Each Child:
Our prayer is that each child will come to understand and know that God is the creator and forever giver of life.
Lesson in a Word - Life
The Story
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was empty and dark. God had a plan. He said, "Let there be light, and there was light all around. He called it “day.” God called the darkness “night. “This was the first day. On the second day, God said, “Let there be a large space.” The space was formed and God called it “sky.” On the third day God made the rivers and the sea. He made the mountains and deserts. He planted trees and flowers of many colors. On the fourth day, God put other lights in the sky. The hot sun was for daytime, and the sparkling moon for nighttime. He also made stars to sparkle in the sky at night. On the fifth day, God filled the water with many fish. Then, he made birds to fly in the sky. On the sixth day, God made animals. There were all types of animals: furry, scaly, large and tall. On that same day, God made man. He created man in his own image. He was finally finished. He saw that everything he made was good. So, on the seventh day he rested.
(Source Genesis 1- 2:2)
Get Ready For Easter - Lesson Five
Jesus Rises from the Dead
Series Verse
He is not here, for He has risen, just as He said. Matthew 28:6 NASB
The Point of the Lesson:
Each child will learn that Jesus came back to life after He was crucified. They will understand that this is the joy of the Easter celebration. They will see that they can share this good news with others by telling them what Jesus has done.
The Power of God’s Word:
We are telling you what we have seen and heard.
1 John 1:3a CEV
The Prayer of Each Child:
Dear Jesus, This is the best part about Easter. You came back to life. Nothing is impossible with You. I can trust You to help me with anything. I want You to always be a part of my life. Help me to tell my friends and family this good news. Amen
The Lesson in a Word:Tell
Story
Jesus is Alive!
After Jesus died on the cross, a friend of Jesus named Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate if he could take Jesus’ body and give Him a proper burial. Joseph took Jesus and wrapped Him in clean linen and laid Him in a tomb. They rolled a large rock in front of the tomb and went away. The leaders who didn’t like Jesus demanded that Pilate put guards at the tomb, so that no one could take Jesus’ body and make it seem like he was alive. So there were guards at the tomb. On the morning of the third day, Mary Magdalene and the other women came to the tomb. As they approached, they felt the earth shake as an angel rolled the stone away and sat down. The angel said, “Don’t be afraid. Jesus isn’t here. He’s risen. He’s alive!” The angel sent the women to tell the others the good news. Later when Mary Magdalene went back to the tomb, Jesus appeared to her. She was so excited she went to tell everyone the good news: Jesus is alive!
(Source: Matthew 27:57-66 & 28:1-7, John 20:11, 14-18)
Get Ready For Easter - Lesson Four
Jesus Dies on the Cross
Series Verse
He is not here, for He has risen, just as He said. Matthew 28:6 NASB
The Point of the Lesson:
Each child will hear about Jesus as He was led away to be crucified. They will see that He went through great pain and suffering in order to pay the price for our sins. They will understand that through belief in Jesus, the gift of salvation is made available to all who believe.
The Power of God’s Word:
God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son. Anyone who believes in him will not die but will have eternal life.
John 3:16 NIRV
The Prayer of Each Child:
Dear Jesus, I am so glad that You died on the cross for me. Your suffering paid for all of the bad things that I have done. I believe that You are God’s Son and I will be able to live with You forever in heaven. Thank you for loving me. Amen.
The Lesson in a Word:
Believe
The Story
Only a few days earlier, people had been cheering and praising Jesus as King. But now they wanted Him to be punished. After Jesus’ trial, the soldiers took Him and treated Him badly. They whipped Him and put a crown of thorns on His head, and made fun of Him being a King. The soldiers made Him carry a large wooden cross as the angry crowd jeered. It was very heavy. When Jesus fell, a man named Simon picked up the cross and carried it for Him the rest of the way. Jesus was put on the cross on a hill named Golgotha. There were two thieves who were being punished also. One of the thieves believed in Jesus. The thief asked Jesus to remember him. Jesus promised the man that He would see him in heaven. A great darkness covered the whole sky. As Jesus breathed His last breath, the earth shook and the rocks split open.
(Source: Matthew 27:26-50)
Get Ready For Easter - Lesson Three
Jesus’ Trial
Series Verse
He is not here, for He has risen, just as He said. Matthew 28:6 NASB
The Point of the Lesson:
Each child will see how Jesus was falsely accused and mistreated. They will understand that He did not fight or argue, but remained silent and fully trusted in God’s plan. They will understand that sometimes they are falsely accused or made fun of, but they have the power to remain silent just as Jesus did.
The Power of God’s Word:
But when the chief priests and the elders brought charges against him, he did not answer. Matthew 27:12 NIVR
The Prayer of Each Child:
Dear Jesus, You know what it is like to be hurt and made fun of. Help me to trust You completely when bad or sad things happen in my life. Keep me from saying things in anger that could make a situation worse or hurt others. Amen
The Lesson in a Word:Silent
The Story
Jesus’ Trials and Peter’s Denial
After Jesus was arrested in the Garden, He was taken to Caiaphas, who was the religious leader in Jerusalem. Caiaphas and the other leaders wanted to get rid of Jesus. Caiaphas looked for ways to accuse Jesus of bad things He never did. Finally, two men came up and they said untrue things about Jesus, but Jesus stayed silent. He didn’t say a word. Caiaphas was angry that Jesus didn’t say anything. He yelled at Jesus. Finally, Caiaphas shouted, “Tell us if you are the Son of God!” Jesus said that He was God’s Son. Caiaphas and the other leaders all said Jesus was guilty, and they hit Him and made fun of Him, but Jesus stayed silent. They sent Jesus to the Roman governor Pilate. When Pilate asked Jesus about what the others had said, Jesus didn’t say a word. There was a custom that the governor would free one prisoner from jail at this time of year. When Pilate asked the crowds who they wanted released, Jesus or a murderer named Barrabas, the people shouted, “Barrabas!” The crowds demanded that Jesus be punished. So Pilate let Barrabas go, and Jesus was sent to the cross.
(Source: Matthew 26:57-26:68 & Matt 27:1-2, 11-25)
Get Ready For Easter - Lesson Two
Jesus Praying in the Garden
Series Verse
He is not here, for He has risen, just as He said. Matthew 28:6 NASB
The Point of the Lesson:
Each child will understand that Jesus was aware of the pain and suffering that He was going to go through on the cross. They will see that He turned to His Father to pray for strength, peace and guidance. They will learn that it is best to trust God no matter what happens around them.
The Power of God’s Word:
He went a little farther. Then he fell with his face to the ground. He prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, take this cup of suffering away from me. But let what you want be done, not what I want.” Matthew 26:39 NIRV
The Prayer of Each Child:
Dear Jesus, I am glad that I do not have to go through things alone. You are always with me. Help me to trust God each day even when things don’t go well. God knows the future and promises to always help me out. Amen
The Lesson in a Word: Accept
The Story
During the Passover festival, Jesus had a special meal with his friends. Jesus was sad because He knew one of His disciples was not going to be His friend anymore. Jesus knew that disciple was Judas. It was hard, but Jesus told Judas to do what he had to do. After Judas left, Jesus finished the meal with His friends. After supper, Jesus and His friends went to the Garden of Gethsemane to pray. Jesus asked His friends to stay awake as He went off to pray by Himself. Even though Jesus was God, He knew what was about to happen. He knew He would be arrested and beaten, and that it would hurt to be on the cross. Jesus knelt down and talked to His Father. He asked God, “If there’s any way out of this, help me find it. But most of all, I want Your ways, God.” Jesus went back and found His friends asleep. He was sad that His friends couldn’t even stay awake with Him. He woke them up, and then He went back to praying. Jesus came back, and He found His friends asleep again! This time He let them sleep as He prayed. When Jesus came back the third time, He woke his friends. Just then, Judas appeared with a large mob. Judas kissed Jesus on the cheek as a sign to show the crowd who to arrest. Then the crowd took Jesus away.
Get Ready For Easter - Lesson One
Get Ready for Easter
Lesson 1
Triumphal Entry
Series Verse
He is not here, for He has risen, just as He said. Matthew 28:6 NASB
The Point of the Lesson:
Each child will understand that Jesus is a King and that we need to worship Him as a King by the way we live our lives.
The Power of God’s Word:
So they took branches from palm trees and went out to meet him. They shouted,
“Hosanna!”
“Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!”
“Blessed is the King of Israel!” John 12:13 NIRV
The Prayer of Each Child:
Dear Jesus, I pray that I will understand what this Easter season is all about. Help me to understand how to worship You every day. Help me to say and do things to show others that You are my King. I want to always sing about You and praise You every day. Amen
The Lesson in a Word: Worship
The Story
Jesus came into Jerusalem for the very last time. The disciples were told to go find a donkey and her colt that were tied up outside of town and bring them to Jesus. He then rode on the donkey into the city of Jerusalem. As Jesus made His way into Jerusalem, people began to gather from all around the city. They waved palm branches and laid their coats and palm branches on the ground before Him. This was how they showed honor and attention to Jesus as their King! It was like the people were watching a parade. This parade of people began to follow Jesus and shout “Hosanna,” (or today we would shout “Hooray!”) which was a shout of praise to Jesus. They also yelled, “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest!” Their excitement continued to follow Jesus as He entered into the city of Jerusalem. When Jesus finally entered the city, the people who knew Jesus said, “It’s Jesus from Nazareth”
(Source: Matthew 21:1-11)
The Big Question?
This is the weekly discussion time. The bottom line “Big Question” is the same each week - What does this story tell us about God?
As Jesus entered Jerusalem, why did the people wave palm branches and laid down their robes before him?
this was the custom to honor a king
As Jesus entered Jerusalem, why did he ride on a donkey?
- this fulfilled a prophesy from Zechariah 9:9 about a future king
What kind of king would Jesus be for the people and the world?
- not a king of earthly kingdoms but a king of our hearts.