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Roman's Road

LESSON 1: A Big Problem

Lessons in this series: 1 2 3 4 5 Overview

The children will learn how God provided the answer to the world’s biggest problem.
by Leah Pittsinger

TOPICS

Roman’s Road, Salvation, Sin

AS KIDS ARRIVE (10 minutes)

Little Sin, Big Change (Object Lesson) Click here

OPENING PRAYER AND PRAISE (5 minutes)

Further info? Click here  

MEMORY WORK (12 minutes)

“There is no one righteous, not even one; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”
Romans 3:10, 23 NIV

To prepare, write 3-4 words on a single piece of paper until both verses are written. Then give volunteers a piece of paper and help them stand in order so the verse can be read by the rest of the class. After reading, exclaim, “Scramble!” and the volunteers will hustle to move into a different spot. Then the class will work together to once again put the words back in the right order and recite them together. For the next round, ask a volunteer to sit down before exclaiming, “Scramble!” Then the class will work together to put the verse back together with fewer words. Continue this process until there are no words left (and all the volunteers are seated with the class) and the verses can be recited from memory.

SCRIPTURE READING AND DISCUSSION (15 minutes)

Introduction:
There is a big problem that separates us from God. The “Roman’s Road” (a collection of verses that tell us how we can be saved) points out why we need Jesus and how God provided the answer to our big problem. Today we are going to learn the first two verses of the Roman’s Road.

Read Romans 3:10-24 (Sin is a problem for everyone.)

Discussion Questions:
1. What is our big problem? (Sin.)
2. Who is righteous, or without sin? (No one except Jesus.)
3. What are the listed examples of sin? (Deceitful speech, turning from God, selfishness, lack of self-control, no fear of God, strife and division, etc.)
4. What is “the law?” (The rules and guidelines God gave us in the Old Testament.)
5. Does obeying the law save us from sin? (No.)
6. Then why is the law important? (Because it points out our sin and helps us know the difference between right and wrong.)
7. If obeying God doesn’t save us and pay for our sins, then how can we become righteous? (Through faith in Jesus Christ.)
8. How is this possible? (Because Jesus was perfect, and His death on the cross paid for our sins. We receive salvation when we believe in Him!)
9. So why is sin such a big problem? (Because it separates us from God and tries to keep us from truly knowing Him and becoming who He wants us to be.)
10. How do we trust in Jesus as our Savior? (By believing in Him, asking God to forgive our sins, and confessing that Jesus is Lord.)

Conclusion: The big problem is that everyone on earth sins. We can’t be saved by obeying the law because rules are meant to teach us the difference between right and wrong. We are only saved from our sins when we believe in Jesus because His death on the cross paid for our sins. Then God sees us as “righteous” (without sin) because of Jesus’ sacrifice.

CLASS EXERCISE (15 minutes)

Signs of Salvation (Craft) Click here

ALTERNATE CLASS EXERCISE (15 minutes)

Toss Away Sin (Game) Click here

APPLICATION (4 minutes)

Talk to the class about some sins that many people believe aren’t a “big deal” (such as lying, gossiping, stealing, cheating, teasing, etc.). Help the children identify the consequences of such sins (“When we lie, it’s harder for people to trust us when we really need help”) and explain that every bad decision has a consequence. So, when someone tries to tell us that sin isn’t a “big deal,” we need to remember that the consequence for our sins was Jesus’ death on the cross and instead choose to obey Him. Because of Jesus, we can escape the punishment of death and instead live in eternity with Him!

NEXT WEEK

Come back next week for another lesson on The Roman’s Road.

CLOSING PRAYER (2 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 [PDF]