Before The Throne- Sunday August 22, 2021
Sunday August 22, 2021 (Vol 12, Unit 36, Session 3)
Hi there, and thanks for joining us this week. FriendshipKids exists to help families bring their children to Christ and disciple them to be fully mature, reproducing followers of Jesus Christ. We hope this blog will be a useful tool for you to use to full fill that call on your life. This blog will review the previous Sunday’s Children’s church lesson and help your kids grow in their faith. Please feel free to use as much of it as you choose. You know your kids and are the best possible teacher for them. God has given you the power of the Holy Spirit to enable you to do more than you think possible (Eph 3:20). So, let’s have some fun and teach our kids from the scriptures.
Parent Devotional
Before the Throne
John was on the island of Patmos when he had a vision. Jesus appeared to John and showed him what will happen before the end of time. John wrote about what he saw in the Book of Revelation. John saw a vision of the future. John saw a throne in heaven and the Lord was on the throne.
John saw a scroll in the Lord’s right hand. A mighty angel asked, “Who is worthy to open the scroll?” But no one in heaven was worthy. No one on earth was worthy. No one under the earth was worthy either.
John began to cry loudly because no one was worthy! Then John saw Jesus, the resurrected Lamb. The elders threw their crowns at His feet. They worshiped Him and sang a new song. John heard every creature, everywhere, worshiping the Lamb together.
Revelation 4:11 says, “Our Lord and God, you are worthy to receive glory and honor and power, because you have created all things, and by your will they exist and were created.”
John’s vision gives us a glimpse of our future and also reminds us of a present reality: The Lord is on His throne. After His death and resurrection, Jesus ascended to heaven and sat down at the right hand of God. (Heb. 10:12)
Jesus, the Lamb of God, is worthy of our praise. All the creatures in John’s vision worshiped Jesus. As you teach kids, hold up Jesus as our treasure who is worthy of all honor. Worship Him together in song.
Jesus was killed on the cross so that we could have forgiveness and eternal life. Jesus deserves all praise, honor, and blessing. We look forward to the day we will join with all the saints in worshiping Jesus forever.
Parent Guidance and Instructions
As we begin to explore this week’s devotional, take a moment to pray and meditate on the verse from Deuteronomy about teaching your children the scriptures. Deuteronomy 6:7 says: “You shall teach them diligently to your children and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.” Maybe you do not have time to sit and have an hour of Bible time all at once, or perhaps your children are too young to sit for that long. Consider the key points of the lesson and ask God to give you opportunities to speak them into the hearts of your children throughout the week. Let the Bible become a part of your day-to-day. Be blessed this week, my friends!
Each week we include songs, activity pages, the bible lesson video, memory verses, and possibly a craft or 2. We pray this will help you find ways to engage your kids spiritually. It is written in script form from the K-2nd grade lesson, so you can read directly from it or change it to suit your children. Take some time to look at and print the activity pages and the additional activities and information (found in the links at the bottom of the page) to review the lesson so you can adjust as needed. I have included the Bible and Discussion questions along with a breakdown of the Gospel in the Older Kids Activities pages and loads of activities and crafts on the Preschool Extra Activity Pages. Once you are ready, go ahead and start with these songs if you would like, or pick some of your favorite worship songs and then jump right in! Have fun! And remember, this does not need to be done in one sitting! Feel free to break it up over the week. Please contact us at the church if you have any questions or suggestions. We would love to hear from you!
Opening
“Blessings and Bummers”
Let’s get started. Tell me, what have you seen the Lord doing in your lives this week? What have your greatest blessings been? How about your biggest challenges?
Parents share your blessings and bummers, encourage the kids to do the same. The goal is for kids to see God at work in the everyday, seemingly small and mundane things. It doesn’t matter if it is something as small as getting to watch a favorite TV show or something big like a new baby sibling being born, God is active and in our midst.
Prayer
Let’s go to the Lord in prayer: Father God, Thank you. Thank you for providing for our needs. You are so good to us even though we do not deserve it! Thank you for continuing to bless us, Lord. Thank you for being patient with us. Thank you to our friends as well as our families. Most importantly, we thank you always for sending Jesus to live a perfect life and die to pay for our sins. Thank you for raising Him from the dead and promising us life with you forever if we believe in Him. Please help us be thankful for all you do for us and look to you in all that we do. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
(Please add to or customize prayer time to fit your family)
Praise the Lord for hearing our prayers!
Let’s chat!
Prompt kids to discuss a time when they weren’t able to do something, but someone else was.
Say • There are times when we can’t complete a task by ourselves. We may not be strong enough to complete the task or we may not know enough to complete the task. It’s important for us to ask for help when we can’t do something on our own. Who did you ask to help you when you weren’t able to do something yourself?
Optional Session Starter Activity
Pick one of two options or do both; this is your party. (You can find these on page 2 of the optional activity pages attached at the bottom of the post.)
Who remembers our Big Picture Question?
Big Picture Question
A few weeks ago, we learned that Jesus appeared to John in a vision. Jesus told John to write down all that he saw in the vision. Last week we learned that Jesus had a message for seven churches. Jesus told the churches not to give up. Jesus encouraged the churches to turn away from sin and remain faithful to Him. In today’s Bible story, we will learn how Jesus is the only One who is worthy of all praise, honor, and blessing.
Review
Last week we read that Jesus appeared to John in a vision. Jesus instructed John to write down everything his vision. Jesus is the First and the Last, the Living One. This week we’ll be learning what Jesus wanted the seven churches to know.
Bible Lesson
John wrote down what he saw in his vision, and those writings became what we call the Book of Revelation. The Book of Revelation is filled with symbols that mean something more than what they literally show. A great example is when John saw the Lamb who had been killed standing near the throne. We understand that this passage is talking about Jesus, not an actual baby sheep.
When John saw that no one was worthy to open the scroll, he cried. God’s plan wouldn’t continue until the scroll was open. John knew that God’s plan is perfect, and wanted to see it go on.
When John saw Jesus, it was clear that He was the only one worthy to open the scroll. Jesus is perfect and lovely. He is holy and powerful. He is worthy of every bit of praise and worship every creature will ever offer and more. Some people now refuse to give Jesus the worship He deserves, but someday all people and creatures will worship Jesus just as He deserves.
John’s vision helps us have hope for the future. The Lord is already on His throne. Jesus is at the right hand of God. One day, Jesus will return to make all things new. Every person and creature from everywhere will worship Jesus together. Only Jesus is worthy of all praise, honor, and blessing. We can worship Him now and will worship Him forever.
Christ Connection
John cried when he saw that no one was worthy to open the scroll. Then John saw the resurrected Lamb—God’s Son, Jesus. Jesus was killed on the cross so that we could have forgiveness and eternal life. Jesus is worthy. He deserves all praise, honor, and blessing.
Bible Time!
Distribute a Bible to each kid. Help them find Revelation 5. Remind the kids that Revelation is the final book of the New Testament, and thus the last book in the whole Bible. Ask them who wrote Revelation and which other books we know he wrote. (the apostle John; the gospel of John and 1–3 John) When all kids have their Bibles open to Revelation 5, read aloud each of the songs that were sung to Jesus. [See Rev. 5:9-10,12-13.]
Ask the following questions. Lead the group to discuss:
What were the creatures and elders doing? (worshiping the One on the Throne, Rev. 4:9-11)
· Why did John cry? (No one was worthy to open the scroll, Rev. 5:3-4)
· Who was the only One worthy to open the scroll? (Jesus, the Lamb; Rev. 5:6-10)
· Why do you think John cried when no one could open the scroll? Help the kids understand that God’s plan would not continue until the scroll was opened. Guide them to understand that John knew God’s plan was perfect, and he wanted to see it continue. John’s sadness may have been similar to how we would feel if we learned that our favorite story didn’t have an ending. Explain that John’s reaction helps us see how we should long to see God’s plan happen and sin destroyed.
· Why did John describe Jesus as being like a “slaughtered lamb”? Remind the kids to think all the way back to Exodus, when God rescued the Israelites from Egypt. Discuss the ways Jesus’ role as our perfect sacrifice was a completion of the kinds of sacrifices God commanded His people to make in the Old Testament. Jesus was killed on the cross and raised to life so that we could have forgiveness and eternal life.
· What is so significant about every creature worshiping Jesus together? Explain to your group that the Bible teaches God the Son, with God the Father, created all things. Jesus deserves all praise, honor, and blessing. Because Jesus is God of all creation, He deserves praise from all of creation.
· Say • All people and creatures will worship Jesus. Only He is worthy to open the scroll.
Key Memory Verse
Read the verse together.
Revelation has many passages that are not perfectly clear, but John’s vision shows us what will happen in the future. We can be certain that Jesus will return. We don’t know exactly when Jesus will make everything right, but we can be sure that Jesus will reign over all the world for eternity. Because only Jesus has lived a perfect life, taken the sin of the world to the cross, and risen from the dead, only He is worthy to reign forever. All people and creatures will worship Jesus.
Key Verse Activity:
Write the key passage on the board or a large piece of paper together as a group. Recite the key passage together several times. Provide each kid with a piece of paper and pencil. Encourage them to write the key passage on one side of their paper. Invite the kids to turn their paper over and draw a picture of what they envision when they read the key passage.
Say • Jesus revealed some of what heaven will look like in John’s vision. This key passage gives us excitement and hope that when Jesus returns, we will be with Him forever and ever on the new earth.
That is all I have for this week. Let’s pray together:
Father, we praise You. We thank You for sending Your Son to save us. We know that He is worthy of all praise. Help us to live out His teachings. Help every part of our lives to be devoted to worshiping Jesus. Amen.
Thanks for joining us! I hope to meet you here again next week!
Additional Activities and Information
