| LESSON OBJECTIVE |
In this lesson, the children will discover that faith
is the key to receiving the gift of Salvation. Out of faith we
are able to trust in Christ alone, confess His Holy name before others,
be repentant of our sins, and finally in obedience to His Word, be
baptized.
|
| AS KIDS ARRIVE (15 minutes) |
Work Folders: Have the children's
work folders available as they arrive.
Verse
Worksheet 2 Click here [PDF]
Have the children take Verse Worksheet 2 from their folder,
and have them paraphrase the
last three verses (John 3:36; Romans 10:9; and Acts 2:38. When
finished, ask for two or more volunteers to share their paraphrases
for all six verses. Then have them place the worksheet back into their
folders to take home.
|
| OPENING PRAYER AND PRAISES
(10 minutes) Further info? Click here |
After prayer, ask the class about their homework assignment. They
were to read about the time Jesus calmed the storm from Matthew 8:23-27.
Discuss the following question:
1. Why did Jesus tell the disciples
they had little faith? (They were putting their faith in their
own abilities rather than in Jesus. They knew they had no power over
the storm, but also they did not fully believe that Jesus did.)
2. How is faith related to not being afraid? Afraid of what?
(Fearful things will
still exist, but having faith in Jesus will help keep us from becoming
powerless because of fear.)
|
| CLASS EXERCISE (5 minutes) |
Faith can be described in this way.(Write the following acrostic
on the board and encourage all the kids to copy it somewhere on their
folder.)
F–
orsaking
A– ll
I
T– rust
H– im |
|
|
| MEMORY WORK (10 minutes) |
"Whoever acknowledges me before
men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in Heaven.”
Matthew 10:32
Have everyone find this verse in their Bible, and read it together
several times.
Jesus is speaking these words. "Acknowledge" in this instance
means to announce before others that Jesus is who He claims to be,
and to accept his power and authority over your life. In other versions
of the Bible, the verse may read, "Whoever confesses me before
men..."
Have everyone read the verse again, but this time replace the words
acknowledges and acknowledge with the words confesses and confess.
Have everyone recite the verse one more time after discussion of the
following:
Discussion Questions:
1. Who should we acknowledge Jesus to? (Other people)
2. When we acknowledge Jesus before men, to whom will Jesus acknowledge us? (God)
3. Why do you believe Jesus says that we must acknowledge or confess
Him before others?
4. What may happen if we don't acknowledge or confess Jesus? (He
will not acknowledge us before God.)
5. Is it enough to simply state that Jesus is who he says he is? (no,
we also must put our trust in him, and accept his power and authority over our lives.)
|
| SCRIPTURE READING AND DISCUSSION
(15 minutes) |
Introduction:
In our Bible study today, we will be picking up just after the Disciples
received the Holy Spirit in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost. Shortly
after that, Peter addressed the crowds, and preached the Good News
to all of them about who Jesus really is and what He accomplished
on the cross. Let's pick up the story in Acts 2: 37.
Read Acts 2:37-47
Discussion Questions:
1. Why does Peter say "repent" in verse 38? What does
"repent" mean? (To turn from - to change directions.
Peter says we must turn from our sin and turn to Jesus as Lord and
Savior.)
2. What else does Peter suggest the people do besides repenting
of their sin? (To be baptized.)
3. What is promised to the people if they do what Peter suggests?
(Their sins will be forgiven and they will receive the gift of the
Holy Spirit.)
4. Peter lets the crowd know who can be saved. Who? (Those hearing,
their children, people far off, all who the Lord calls.)
5. Do you believe the Lord is calling you? (Allow for answers.)
6. What changes took place in the lives of the new believers?
(Allow the class to look through verses 42-47 and list them on the
board.)
•They devoted themselves
to the apostles teaching
•They had fellowship with each other
•They broke bread and ate together
•They prayed together
•They were filled with awe
•They saw many wonders and miraculous signs done by
the Apostles
•They were together
•They had everything in common
•They gave to anyone who had a need
•They met every day in the temple courts
•They gave praise to God
|
|
| CLASS EXERCISE (10 minutes) |
New Life in Christ (Object Talk)
Click here
|
| CLOSING EXERCISE (10 minutes) |
My Prayer of Faith
Have the children take "My Prayer
of Faith" completed during lesson 2 from their folders.
Suggest each student take some time to review their prayer of faith,
and then allow time for each student who is ready, to actually pray
their prayer to God. Afterwards, have those who prayed their prayer
of faith to raise their hand, so you will know who is ready to make
a commitment to follow Jesus, confess publicly, and be baptized according
to the specific practices of your church.
|
| APPLICATION (10 minutes) |
We covered quite a lot of information during this lesson series.
We learned that no matter how hard we try, we will never be good enough
to get to Heaven on our own. Yet, it is a free gift. We also learned
that we are sinners. Sin will keep us from having a relationship with
God in Heaven, and God is just. He must punish sin, which is eternal
death. However, God is also merciful. He loves us and does not want
to punish us.
In order to save us, He sent His only begotten Son, Jesus to die for
us. Jesus was completely without sin. He got what he did not deserve,
to keep us from getting what we do deserve, death. Finally, we learned
that when we put our faith and trust in Jesus, we can take hold of
the Grace of God, and receive eternal life.
By praying the prayer of faith, we turn our lives over to the Lordship
of Jesus. By confessing His name before others, we show that we acknowledge
that He alone is Lord, our Lord and Savior. We can then take hold
of the promise that Jesus forgives our sins and gives us the Holy
Spirit. In obedience, we repent of our sins, meaning to turn away
from them and live a new life in Christ, and express this through baptism.
|
| CLOSING PRAYER (5 minutes)
Further info? Click here |
| |
| TAKE HOME PAGE |
Give one copy to each child at the end of the class to take home. Click here for NIV or KJV
|
