Children's church lesson: the 12 spies

Say: Today we are going to read a story about two real live spies! Their names were Caleb and Joshua. A spy is a person who secretly watches something to get information.  Let’s see what happens! 

Read “The Twelve Spies" in any children's story Bible, or read Numbers 14 

Lesson

Say: What kind of report did the ten men give? (Awesome land, good food.  The people are too big and strong.  We can’t go there) Why did Caleb and Joshua give a different report? (The trusted God and knew he would be with them) What did the reports of the other spies make all the people think? (The people were afraid and did not believe that God would help them conquer the Canaanites).

Caleb and Joshua didn’t listen to the bad reports. Instead, they put their confidence in what God said.  Caleb and Joshua were confident in God’s promise, even when the others were not. Caleb and Joshua believed in God’s promise to them. God keeps his promises to us, too! We can believe in God.

 Big Idea

God keeps his promises to us! We can believe in God. 

Memory Verse

Trust in the God with all your heart – Proverbs 3:5  

Prayer- Ask for Joys and Requests

Take a minute to see if the children have any prayer requests or prayer joys Say a short prayer thanking God loving us and taking care of us. 

Craft

Make and decorate toilet paper role binoculars.

Children's Church Lesson: God's House (John 14:1-14)

Story

Say: Have you ever thought about heaven?  What do you think heaven is like?  (Take answers)  Those are great answers.  In today’s story Jesus shares a little bit about heaven. 

Read “God’s House” in any story bible, or read John 14:1-14.

Lesson

Say: What is God’s house in heaven like? (Big, room for everyone) Why was Jesus going to heaven? (To get it ready for everyone) How do we get to heaven to be with God?  (Jesus is the way!) 

Jesus teaches us two things about heaven in this story.  The first thing he teaches us is that there is room for everyone in heaven!  That is great news isn’t it?!

The Second thing that Jesus tells us about heaven is that he is the only way to get to heaven.  What did Jesus mean by that (take answers).  That’s right!  Jesus made a way for us to get to heaven.  Jesus loves us and wants us to go to Heaven one day. How do we get to Heaven? We have to believe that Jesus died and came back to life. We must know that Jesus died for the wrongs we have done. We must tell Jesus we are sorry for our sins and ask Him to forgive us. Then, we must ask Jesus to come into our heart and help us live for God in all we do. Jesus promises to stay with us forever and take us to Heaven one day. If you want to know more about Jesus, talk to us anytime about it.  

Big Idea

Jesus is the way to heaven!  We go to heaven when we admit our sin and accept his gift.   

Memory Verse

Jesus said “I am the way, to God.” -  John 14:6

Prayer- Ask for Joys and Requests

Take a minute to see if the children have any prayer requests or prayer joys Say a short prayer thanking God loving us and asking Him to help us love others.  

Craft

Heaven’s Gate Craft 

Youth Discussion: A Heavenly Perspective (Philippians 3:10-4:1)

Bible Verse 1: Philippians 3:10-4:1

         

Video:  “Evermore” Dan Stevers 

Bible Verse 2:                                   

Five Questions:

1.     Are you ever afraid of death?  Why?

2.     What does Paul say happens when people don’t follow Christ? (Philippians 3: 18-19)

3.     What happens to people who follow Christ as his Disciples?  (Philippians 3: 20-21)

4.     In the video those who go to heaven are themselves only better.  How does this make you feel?

5.     Does the video answer some questions you might have about death and heaven?  Do you have others?

6.     How does knowing that God had a plan from the very beginning help you to be less afraid?  How does it help you to trust God?

Wrap Up:

Verses 18 and 19 describe those who live as “enemies of the cross of Christ”. “Their mind is on earthly things”; in other words, they can’t see beyond the here and now (i.e., “whose god is their belly”), and they only live for the present moment. But, says Paul, “our citizenship is in heaven” (v 20). To know Christ, we must understand that heaven is our home. We are called “heavenwards” (v 14), we belong there (v 20), our Saviour will return from there (v 20), and he will transform “our lowly bodies” (v 21) into glorious bodies that will spend eternity there. Keeping that heavenly perspective, says Paul, is “how you should stand firm in the Lord” (Philippians 4:1).

Supposing we decide that our country is no longer worth living in, and we become convinced that Peru is the place to be. We receive our Peruvian citizenship, but must wait six months before we move there. What will we do in the meantime? We will not spend our time building up our attachment to our old country – extending our home, buying things that we will have to leave behind when we move, forming relationships that have no future. We will spend time getting ready to live in our new country – learning the language, the customs, the national anthem, the history. And we will think about and talk to each other about how marvellous it will be when we move there. Knowing Christ should change the way we look at everything – our homes, our work, our relationships, what we spend our money on, what we give our time to. Knowing Christ is not just the aim of life; it is life.

Close in prayer and ask for prayer requests. 

Youth Lesson: The New Nature (Colossians 3:5-14)

Bible Verse 1: Colossians 3:5-14

         

Video:  “Can You Here Me Now”- Skit Guys 

Bible Verse 2:  Colossians 3:12-14   

Five Questions:

1.     Do you think that in the video “Trevor” is angry at his friend, the phone or both? Why?

2.     In the passage in Colossians how does God say we are to treat others?

3.     Why is it so hard to be patient with one another?

4.     Should both friends in the video forgive each other or does only one friend need to forgive the other? Why?

5.     What does it mean that God forgives us so we must forgive others?

6.     How well do these verses describe this group and this church?  What can we do to be more like what Colossians 3 calls us to be?

Close in prayer and ask for prayer requests. 

Salt and Light

Story/Passage

Say: What do your friends and family say that you are like? (take answers)  In today’s story Jesus shows us how we can be like salt and light.  Let’s take a look!

 Read “Salt and Light” in any children's bible (Matthew 5:13-17)

Lesson

Say: Do you like salt? What does food taste like when there is no salt in it? (Let the children answer). When salt is added to some foods they taste much better. God put Christians in this world so that we can make the world better. Are you salt? Do you make this world better? Tell me some ways you make your school better? (Let the children answer and then go on to talk about ways they can make home, sports, etc. better by living a Christian life.)

What do you think Jesus meant when he said: “You are the light of the world”? Did he mean we are not human but that we are light bulbs? Of course not. He was saying a parable to tell the people something very important.  Many people in this world do not know about God. Jesus said that it is like they are in a very dark place. They need someone to give them some light so that they can see. When Christians obey God then it is like a light is shining. People see Christians doing good things and it makes them want to follow God.

When we live like Jesus and tell others what we he has done for them we are being like salt and light.

Big Idea

When we live like Jesus and tell others what we he has done for them we are being like salt and light. 

Memory Verse

Matthew 5:16 …let your light shine…

Prayer- Ask for Joys and Requests

Take a minute to see if the children have any prayer requests or prayer joys Say a short prayer thanking God loving us and asking Him to help us be like salt and light to the people around us.  

Song

This Little Light of Mine 

The Wise Men

Story

Say: Sometime after Jesus was born, some special visitors came to see Him. These visitors are known as the three wise men. Everyone has probably heard the Christmas carol that goes "We three kings of Orient are..." Without a doubt they were wise, because they were searching for Jesus in order to worship him and give him gifts.

Read “Wise Men” in any children's bible 

Lesson

Say: What did the magi see that caused them to look for Jesus? (A star in the east.)  How did King Herod know that the magi would find Jesus in Bethlehem? (He asked the chief priests and teachers of the law, who knew the prophecy that said a ruler of the Israeli people would come from Bethlehem.)  What gifts did the magi give to Jesus? (Gold, incense and myrrh.) Besides giving gifts, what else did the magi do when they saw Jesus? (They worshipped Him.)

The Three Wise men were from A different part of the world than Jesus and his family.  They knew that God made a promise to send Jesus to save the whole world.  No matter what we look like, how we dress or where we come from,  Jesus came as a baby to save us all.  Thank you God for Jesus!  

Big Idea

Jesus came to earth to save us from our sins so we can live with him forever in heaven!   

Memory Verse

God loved the world so much that he sent his only so anyone who believes in him will be saved – John 3:16

Prayer- Ask for Joys and Requests

Take a minute to see if the children have any prayer requests or prayer joys.  Say a short prayer thanking God for love us and sending us his son.  Ask God to help us share the good news with others.  

Youth Group Discussion: Tithing

Bible Verse 1: Leviticus 27: 30-34 (consider also reading Malachi 3:8-12?)

         

Video:  Skit Guys: The Skinny on Tithing https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQRQY3R_Ty4

Bible Verse 2:  Luke 21: 1-4

Five Questions:

1.     Money is hard for people to talk about.  Does your family ever talk money?  How does the subject come up?  (as a parental beating “We can’t afford that!” or honest discussions)

2.     Can anyone give me a good definition of tithing?  You just read a couple of Bible passages and saw a video, what did they say?

3.     Why is God so worried about what we do with “our” money?

4.     Do any of you have a regular job or get paid for doing chores?  Do you have a lot of money?

5.     If you have little or no money, how can you tithe?  What other ways could you give to the church?

Leaders please mention the flyers for the trip to the Alpha Family Center this Sunday.

Giving is a tough subject to tackle. We live in a stuff-oriented culture. Wherever we turn, we’re reminded of more “things” we can accumulate. Everything in our culture says to gather and hoard, and the accumulation of possessions becomes a mad pursuit. God wants us to be generous, because it's a direct reflection of our priorities. Giving can be the elephant in the room, but developing this discipline is critical for spiritual health.

The tithing  is not just about giving what we owe God. It was a reminder that we owe everything to God.  Sharing is always an easier concept to grasp when you’re on the receiving end and not the one giving. With God, we are the ones who receive. Ultimately, God is the one who gives us everything. In Psalm 24:1, the Psalmist wrote that the earth and everything in it belong to God. That covers it all. Everything belongs to God because he is the creator of everything!

God wants us to give joyfully.  Tithing is one important way to worship God, even though many Christians may not think of it in those terms. We give our tithe and offerings because of our love for God, not because we are required to give.

You may be thinking, well I don’t have anything I can give to God, I have no income. Giving to God is more than giving money. All of us have twenty-four hours in a day. We can give God a tenth of our day in studying and meditating in the Word and praying. We can give a tenth of our time to pray for the needs of others.  We also give our talents to God, finding ways to serve God and others with our skills. 

Close in prayer and ask for prayer requests.