The Big God Story

November 8, 2020: Jesus changes everything.

Today’s lesson is based on Acts 9

Let’s Start!

Let’s Watch!

Paul, Jesus, and the Road to Damascus | by LifeKids via Youtube

Let’s Talk!

Before Paul was known as Paul – what was his name? Saul
What did Saul do to people who followed Jesus? He captured them and put them in prison. Some were even killed.
When Saul was on his way to Damascus, what happened? He saw a bright light and Jesus talked to him! After that, he couldn’t see for three days.
Ananias also heard the voice of Jesus. What did Jesus tell Ananias? To go to Saul and pray for him so that he could see again.
How did Ananias feel about that? He was scared! He knew what Saul did to people who believed in Jesus. It was hard for him to believe he could change.
The moment Ananias laid hands on Saul, his eyes were opened. From then on, Paul began to share the good news of Jesus with everyone! Talk about a big change!!
How has knowing Jesus changed YOUR life?

Parents / Guardians: This is a fantastic opportunity to share a bit of your testimony with your child. When did you come to know Jesus? What changed after you gave your life to him? (be honest and open with your kids, but keep it age appropriate). For some of us (adults or kids), our testimony might not include a dramatic conversion like Paul’s. Perhaps you’ve always known and served Jesus. If that’s the case – he’s been changing you all along to be more like Him – and still is! Think about ways that your life would have been different if you didn’t know him, or ways that he is helping you change or grow.

Let’s Do!

When Saul met Jesus, everything changed! We’re going to try some “change it up” challenges today to see how well YOU do with change!

Challenge #1: Spell it!

For this challenge, first choose a word that your child is able to spell and ask them to spell it for you out loud.
Then, tell them that the rules have changed and they have to spell the word backwards!
Backwards is trickier, right? How about this challenge:

Challenge #2 Write it!

Have your child write their name on a piece of paper.
Then, tell them that the rules have changed again, and they must write their name with their non-dominant hand.
Have them write their name again and compare the two! (to add to the challenge, you could have them try it again and write their name with their eyes closed!)

Challenge #3 Walk it!

Have your child walk from one designated point to another point in the room.
Then, tell them that the rules have changed (again!) and they must walk back to the starting point but this time, with their eyes closed, AND walking backwards!
(EGC Kids Tip: Stay close by and assist as needed so that no one gets hurt!)

Let’s Pray!

The good news about Jesus is that HE changes us. God doesn’t expect us to just be able to switch and do something backwards and instantly be different all on our own. That’s what Jesus does!
Paul was created by God, and loved by God – and so are you and I. But sometimes, we choose to do what we want instead of choosing God. The Bible calls that sin. In fact, that’s the whole reason Jesus came! When Jesus died and rose again, he defeated sin and death once and for all.
Now, when we choose to believe him and give him our lives, everything changes. He forgives us and makes us new again (2 Cor 5:17) and we become part of God’s big story – part of his family forever (John 1:12). Not only are we changed into a new person, but he helps us to keep changing – to keep becoming more and more like Him.
Have you ever given your life to Jesus? If not, would you like to today?

Parents / Guardians: What about you? Have you ever chosen to give your life to Jesus? The Bible tells us that we ALL have sinned (Rom 3:23), and that sin separates us from God. The gospel – the good news of Jesus – is so much more than a cute story for our kids to learn about in kids’ church on Sunday mornings. The gospel says: no matter who you are, no matter what you’ve done: you are loved by a God who would go to incredible lengths to forgive you, to welcome you home, and to make you new. He wants to do that for you, today. If you, or someone in your home would like to make a commitment to follow Jesus, there are some resources below that can help! If you have any questions or would like to speak with someone here at EGC about what it means to follow Jesus, you can reach a member of our pastoral staff here our our kids min team here.

Additional Resources for Families:

What is the Big God story? This video tells the story of the Bible from creation to Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection to what it means for us today. It’s a great summary for early elementary ages.
Leading Kids to Jesus Below is a document provided by TruStory (the curriculum we base our lessons on each week.

Salvation Path for Children Printable Download

If you, or someone in your family prayed today to ask Jesus into your life, we’d love to celebrate with you! Send us an email at egckids@elimgospel.org and let us know!

If you’ve already made a commitment to follow Jesus, hooray! That’s awesome! Do you know someone who doesn’t know Him yet? Maybe a friend or someone in your family, a leader, or someone at school (maybe even someone who isn’t usually very nice to you)?
Jesus loves them too – just like he loved Saul, and just like he loves you! Take some time right now to pray for them, that they would come to know Jesus! And, pray that God would give you the courage to talk to them about Him, just like Ananias in today’s story.

Let’s Memorize!

Let’s Bless!

Parents/Guardians, close out your lesson time by speaking this blessing over your child(ren):

Weekly Lessons

October 18: God Restores Relationship

This week’s lesson is based on Luke 22:63-24:8

Let’s Start!

Let’s Watch!

Let’s Talk!

Can you think of some real (or imaginary) people who rescue others? Firefighters, policemen, superheroes!
All of those people rescue others from something, right? Whether it’s from a fire or an emergency or an imaginary villain, they rescue people who need their help!
Did you know that Jesus came to rescue us? It’s true!
In the beginning, God created Adam and Eve – and their relationship with God, and each other was perfect! But then, what happened? Adam and Eve chose to disobey God and do what they wanted to do – eat the fruit he told them not to!
Their disobedience was called sin, and their sin separated them from God, and brought death and sickness and pain into the world.
But, God loves people and wanted to fix His relationship with us, so he had a plan. What was God’s plan to rescue us from all those things? Jesus!
At first, God’s plan didn’t seem to make a whole lot of sense. Jesus died! It seemed like death had won. But, what happened on the third day? Jesus rose from the dead!
Did everyone believe that Jesus had risen from the dead at first? No. It sounded crazy to people. And, even people who saw him didn’t recognize him at first.
When Jesus died, he took the punishment for sin that we deserve. Does anything stand in between us and God now? NO! Not even death!
Can ANYONE become part of God’s family? Yes. Anyone who believes in Jesus and decides to follow Him becomes part of His family because of God’s plan to rescue us through Jesus!

Let’s Do!

What you need:

Three plastic non-see-through cups.
One small item that won’t make noise inside a cup (ie: cotton ball).

What you do:

Place all the cups upside down on the table in a single row.
Take the cotton ball (or item of choice) and place it under one cup.
Without moving the cups off the table, move them around and then place them back in the single row.
See who can guess where the cotton ball is, or if they find the “empty tomb!”
Take turns as a family guessing or moving the cups. As you play, talk about what it must have been like to have found an empty tomb! How would you have felt? What would you have done?

Let’s Memorize!

To help you memorize this week’s verse, take one of the cups from the empty tomb cup challenge and try to balance it on your head while you say your verse! See if you can say the whole thing before the cup topples off! (Hint: for older children, you can add in an extra challenge – like standing on one foot, or spinning in a circle). If the cup falls off before you complete your verse, start again!

Let’s Pray!

Jesus had to go through some really hard things when he died. You can read about his death and resurrection with your family in Luke 22:63-24:8 or in your favorite Children’s Bible.
For older children the Gospel Project gives a really fantastic summary here:

After you read (or watch), take some time as a family to thank Jesus for taking the punishment that you deserved and repairing your relationship with God.
Thank him for being your rescuer, and for defeating death, so that you can live (now, as a child of God, and with Him forever!)

Let’s Bless!

Parents/Guardians, close out your lesson time by speaking this blessing over your child(ren):

May you know that Jesus has defeated sin and death. May you walk in the victory of new life, as a son or daughter of God.

Weekly Lessons

September 6, 2020: The Big God Story

Let’s Start!

Let’s Watch!

Let’s Talk!

Where can you read about God’s story? The Bible!
Grab your Bible and open it up. Flip through some of the pages and read the names of some of the books out loud (Hint: The names of the Books should be at the tops of the pages, or you can find them in the table of contents at the beginning!). Some are hard to pronounce, right?
Now open up to the very first book. What is it? Genesis
Flip through a few pages in Genesis. Can you point out the chapters? (Hint: Each chapter should be labeled with a BIG number).
Do you know how to find a verse? (Hint: each chapter has lots of verses, they’re the smaller numbers on the pages next to the words!)
In Genesis, we learn that God created the world and we meet people like Adam and Eve and Noah and Abraham, and Moses! But we also find out that people decide to do things their own way instead of following God. That’s called sin. And sin separates us from God.
Do you sometimes do things YOUR own way? Of course! We all do!
Was God surprised that people would do things their own way? No.
God had a plan all along. Do you know what that plan was? To send Jesus.
That’s right! Jesus came to earth to save people from their sins, and repair their relationship with God.
Now, can you find the book of Romans? (Hint: Romans is the 6^th book in the New Testament). Look for Chapter 10, verse 9. What does it say? “Say with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord.’ Believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead. Then you will be saved.“
What do you think that means? When we believe in Jesus, and that He died and then rose again to take away our sins – and we ask Him to be the king in our life (instead of choosing our own way), he makes us NEW!
God’s big plan wasn’t just for the people in the Bible, it was for us too! For you, and me, and your friends, and your family, and your neighbors, and your teachers, and everyone all over the world. He loves us SO much and He wants us to be part of His family.

Let’s Pray!

Open your Bibles and read 1 John 4:9-10 together.

How does it make you feel to know that God wants you to be part of His big story?
Do you know Jesus?
Have you ever asked Him to be the King of YOUR life?
If not, would you like to?
- If your child has already prayed to ask Jesus to forgive them and be part of their life, take some time now and thank Him!
- If your child has never prayed to ask Jesus to forgive their sins and make them new, you can lead them to Him today!

From the EGC Kids Team: Remember, there is no perfect formula, and no prayer outline you have to follow to lead your children to Jesus. Take it slow and give them a chance to ask as many questions as they want and process their thoughts. It’s ok if you don’t know all the answers, start with what you DO know: that Jesus loves them, and that He wants them to know Him. Trust that the Holy Spirit will speak to their hearts and give you the words to say! Below is an excellent resource to help guide your discussion, with some verses you can use as you talk.

Salvation Path for Children Download

*If your child decides to follow Jesus, let us know here! We’d love to celebrate with them!

Let’s Do!

What you need:

A backpack, suitcase, basket, or grocery bag (one for each child)
Lots of heavy items (weights, rocks, canned goods).
Masking tape or sidewalk chalk
Timer or stopwatch (optional)

What you do:

Mark a starting line on the floor on one side of the room, and a finish line at the other end (alternately: you could do this activity outside, with sidewalk chalk lines, or race around your house).
Have your child run from the start to the finish, carrying their bag with them. (you can time them with the stopwatch if you want to).
Each time, add another heavy item to their bag, until it really slows them down or becomes too heavy for them.
Explain to them that sin is like that. It gets really heavy, and weighs us down. But Jesus promises to take our sins, and forgive us, and make us new.
Dump all the heavy items out of their bags again and have them run the race one more time.
Whew! That was way easier, right?! What do you think is a better idea? Running with all that sin? Or giving it to Jesus?!

Let’s Memorize!

Say with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord.” Believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead. Then you will be saved.
Romans 10:9

Use the following hand motions to help you learn your verse this week (or make up some of your own!)

Say with your | Put your hands on the sides of your mouth like you’re about to yell
Mouth | Point to your mouth
Jesus | Put your arms out to the sides to make a cross
Is Lord | Make the shape of a crown on your head
Believe in your heart | Put your hands on your heart
God | Point up
Raised Him from the dead | start out in a squat and then jump up
Then you | Point to each other
Will be saved | Give a thumb’s up

Let’s Bless!

Parents/Guardians, bless your child with this blessing:

May you know the immeasurable, incredible love of God this week. May you trust in Jesus, who died on the cross, to take your sins and make you new. May you walk in that newness as a child of God – knowing that YOU are part of God’s Big Story.