Year A. 3rd Term. Lesson 1. How to become God's child

Scripture: for teacher background:  John 1:12,13 and 3:3-16; 1 John 1:9; Ephesians 2:1-10; Romans 3:23,24 and 6:23 1 Corinthians 6:9-11

Making contact:

Have a glove and show the children how limp and useless it is on it’s own. What does it need? It needs a living hand. Explain that people are like that glove and need the hand of God.

 Exploration:

Explain to the children how an animal is made up of body and soul. 

You can see the fur and the legs and tail of your dog. It is body. It also has a soul – it has a mind and feelings and personality. 

You can tell when it is scared and unhappy and you can tell when it is happy.

We humans are similar – we have a body that we can see and touch and we have a soul – made up of our mind and feelings and personality but we have something else. 

We have a spirit.

We were made in the image of God and that means we have been made spiritual beings.

Now angels have souls and spirits but not bodies.....usually. (Unless God sends them on a mission that needs a body.)

However, there is something wrong with our spirits. They are actually dead, just like that glove if we don’t believe in Jesus. 

This is all since Adam and Eve. Human beings sin because of separation from God. This is the cause of all sin in the world.

 There is only one way for the life to come into our spirits and that is by believing and receiving Jesus Christ. 

The hand of God then comes upon us and IN us. 

The Spirit of God comes in us and gives us life. We are born again. Our bodies are not born again nor our souls but our spirits are born and we become children of God. CHRIST Ins – Christians!

Put the glove on and show thumbs up. You have Good News to tell them.

Then point with the pointer finger up to heaven.

1. Firstly, God loves me. Point to heaven and then point to your self. Then point to heaven and point to the children. God loves you!

That is the lesson of the first finger of the glove.

2.Then using the glove, show the tall finger – (don’t make a rude sign) I have sinned. My body has sinned and my soul has sinned and before I can ask the Spirit of God, the Lord Jesus, to come into my life I need to be clean.

3.Show the ring finger -The Bible says the way to be clean is to pray and ask that the blood that Jesus shed on the cross wash away all my sin. That is why Jesus had to die. Nothing else could make sin disappear – only the death of our Saviour.

4.Then show the small finger. I ask Jesus to come into my heart and make me God’s child.

Application

Go over these steps again and see if the children can explain it. 

This is called the Gospel – the Good News. Make sure they understand. Have a time of prayer and give them the opportunity to do these steps.

Challenge to Mission

A glove with a hand in it is so alive – it can now make a difference in this world and work for God, and spread His love around – pass around a handshake to show how living hands can pass love around.

Ask them for ideas how these hands can do good works. Remind them about missions that their church is involved in. Get them to talk about being Helping Hands at home and school and spreading kindness.

Consolidation

There is a worksheet. They must trace their hand and draw lines from the 5 points to tell the Gospel story.

Colour each finger a different colour. Shade the pointer finger yellow – God’s light, telling us He loves us. The next finger make a dark colour – our sin has separated us from God and our hearts are dirty and full of sin. The ring finger colour in red – to signify the blood of Jesus washing away our sin and the little finger leave white to show the clean heart and open space that Jesus comes to live in.

Memory Verse

“Some did receive Him and believed in Him, so He gave them the right to become God’s children.” John 1:12