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Roman's Road

LESSON 2: Hope for the World

Lessons in this series: 1 2 3 4 5 Overview

The children will learn about the lasting hope of salvation.
by Leah Pittsinger

TOPICS

Roman’s Road, Salvation, Hope, Perseverance

AS KIDS ARRIVE (10 minutes)

Hope Word Collage (Activity) Click here

OPENING PRAYER AND PRAISE (5 minutes)

Further info? Click here  

MEMORY WORK (12 minutes)

“But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
Romans 5:8 NIV


Write the verse on a whiteboard or poster board. Read it out loud to the class and then ask them to read it with you. Next, erase/cover a few words at a time and ask the class to read the verse again with you while filling in the blanks. Continue this process until most or all the words are erased, and the children can recite the verse from memory.

SCRIPTURE READING AND DISCUSSION (15 minutes)

Introduction: Last week we learned about sin being our big problem and how the “Roman’s Road” (a collection of verses that tell us how we can be saved) teaches us that we are saved by faith and believing in Jesus Christ as our Savior. Today we will learn why we have the hope of salvation and how Jesus’ actions on earth reflects God’s loving desire for us to know Him.

Read Romans 5:1-11 (Salvation provides hope for the world.)

Discussion Questions:
1. How are we justified, or saved? (Through faith.)
2. What is “the glory of God?” (God’s worthiness of praise because He is holy.)
3. Why can suffering be a good thing? (Because it teaches us perseverance, character, and hope.)
4. How is God’s love poured into our hearts? (Through the Holy Spirit.)
5. What were we like when Jesus died for us? (Powerless, ungodly, sinful, etc.)
6. What is the ultimate proof of God’s love for us? (Jesus died for us even though we are sinners.)
7. What makes us an enemy of God? (Sin.)
8. What gives us reconciliation, or peace, with God? (Jesus’ perfect sacrifice on the cross.)
9. Does this mean we too become perfect when we believe in Jesus? Why or why not? (No, because we still live in a fallen, sinful world.)
10. Then why should we strive to be faithful and obedient to God? (Because we have the hope of salvation!)

Conclusion: The hope for the world is that anyone can receive salvation. Even though we are sinful enemies of God, He showed us His great love by sending Jesus to die for our sins. When we turn away from our sins, ask for God’s forgiveness, and freely accept Jesus’ sacrifice, the Bible tells us that we receive the hope of salvation. As we choose to follow the Lord and face the trials that will come, we can cling to the precious hope of salvation and have confidence in God’s loving promises.

CLASS EXERCISE (15 minutes)

Hanging on to Jesus (Craft) Click here

ALTERNATE CLASS EXERCISE (15 minutes)

Finding Hope (Game) Click here

APPLICATION (4 minutes)

Talk about a time when you “hoped” something would happen, but it didn’t turn out the way you desired (such as passing a test, getting a job, or receiving a nice gift). Explain the evidences you had for such hope and the outcome (e.g. “I studied really hard for the test, but I didn’t pass and had to try again later”). Tell the children what the experience taught you about God and how hope in Him motivated you to keep moving forward. Emphasize that while we may hope in earthly things that eventually disappoint us, our true hope of salvation is a lasting hope that we can take into Heaven.

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]