Defending The Faith - Sunday August 1, 2021
Sunday August 1, 2021 (Vol 12, Unit 35, Session 5)
Hi there, and thanks for joining us this week. We hope this blog will be useful as a tool for you to 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 – Children of God
Jude
Jude, along with James, was a younger half-brother of Jesus. And like James, it wasn’t until Jesus rose from the dead that Jude believed Jesus was the Son of God. Sometime between AD 65 and AD 80, Jude wrote a short letter to warn believers about false teachers. False teachers had secretly made their way into the church, and Jude urged his readers not to abandon their beliefs but to “contend for the faith” (Jude 3).
Jude warned the early Christians that some people would try to divide them by sinning and by teaching things that weren’t true. Jude wanted them to not only defend the true teachings but also to actively share the gospel. He told his friends to show mercy to those who doubt, to lead others to Jesus, and to hate sin.
There are still false teachers today, and some of them still try to sneak into the church itself. God loves us, and He warns us through Scripture to be on guard. We can study His Word to know what is true, and we can rely on the Holy Spirit for wisdom and discernment.
Such a strong warning about false teachers might be reason for panic among believers, but Jude ended his letter reminding them of God’s promise. Ultimately, Jesus is the One who protects His people from sin. Throughout history, God has been working out His plan to bring a people to Himself. God will keep us, and He calls us to not only remember His truth but to encourage other believers to defend the faith.
Because of Jesus, we will be able to stand before God with great joy. In the words of Jude, “to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, power, and authority before all time, now and forever. Amen” (Jude 25).
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 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 several ways that we show love to other people.
Say • John was one of Jesus’ disciples and closest friends. He had seen how Jesus loved others by serving them. John wrote a letter to believers to help them understand how to love and serve others the same way Jesus loved and served others. John said that we must love others through our words and actions. Can you think of times when others have shown love to you? Did they love you through their words or actions?
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.)
Big Picture Question
The New Testament is filled with commands to love our neighbors. Jesus taught that we should even love our enemies, but that kind of love can be difficult. It helps to focus on our future hope: eternal life with Christ. What will happen for all Christian in the future? One day all Christians will see Jesus in His glory and live with Him forever.
Review
Paul was able to encourage believers to stand strong in their faith because he did that every day in his own life. Paul was willing to do hard things to share the gospel. Paul met with people again and again to share the gospel. Paul trusted God to rescue him even in the middle of a shipwreck. He trusted God to keep His promise to rescue him from the storm. Last week, Paul encouraged Philemon to treat Onesimus as a brother in Christ. In today’s Bible story, John encourages believers to show love to one another with more than just our words. Our story is called “Children of God.”
Bible Lesson
John wrote the book of 1 John as a letter to believers. John was an apostle of Jesus and one of Jesus’ closest friends. John knew first-hand how much Jesus loved His followers. Fifty years after Jesus ascended into heaven, John wrote this letter to help believers know how much Jesus loved them. Jesus loved us so much that He gave His life for us. Jesus took our punishment for sins by dying on the cross in our place. When we confess our sins and believe in Jesus’ death and resurrection, we become children of God.
As children of God, we all have a command to obey: to love one another. This is how people in the world know that we are followers of Jesus. John urged believers to love one another the same way Jesus loved us. Jesus didn’t just say He loved us, He demonstrated His love with His actions. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, we can love each other well. We should love one another so much that we’re willing to help with any need, even lay down our own lives for someone else. Are you willing to do that? This is the kind of genuine love we should show our brothers and sisters in Christ. We can love and serve others because of how Jesus loved us first.
Love is more than a feeling. Love isn’t something we have to earn from someone else. Love is a choice to put another person’s needs in front of your own. Love is choosing to stand by someone even when they mess up. Jesus showed us the perfect example of love. He gave His life so we might live. That’s how we are to love one another. That’s how the world will know that we belong to Jesus.
We don’t love others to earn Jesus’ love. We love and serve others as a way to show our love for Jesus and our thankfulness for what He did for us.
Christ Connection
John wrote a letter to teach believers in the church—the children of God—about the importance of showing love. Love is more than feelings or words; it is an action. Jesus showed God’s love for us when He died on the cross to rescue people from sin.
Bible Time!
Distribute a Bible to each kid. Help them find 1 John 3. Ask the kids if they know how many books in the Bible John wrote. (five—the Gospel of John; 1, 2, 3 John; and Revelation) Challenge the kids to count how many times the word love is used in 1 John 3. (Answer may vary depending on translation; nine in CSB.)
Ask the following questions. Lead the group to discuss:
What do we become when we believe in Jesus? (children of God, 1 John 3:1-2)
What command did John give to children of God? (to love one another, 1 John 3:11)
How do we love one another? (in deed and in truth, 1 John 3:18)
What does godly love look like? Guide kids to look at Jesus as the perfect example of love. Jesus served His disciples, taught them, and laid down His life for sinners. We can love one another by serving one another, helping one another study the Bible, and protecting one another from harm.
How can we love one another well? Help the kids understand that, on our own, we do not have the power to love in Godly ways. Remind the kids that the Holy Spirit lives in believers to give us the power to love God and love one another.
When is it hard to show godly love to others? Guide kids to think through situations they have faced in which they didn’t want to show love to someone. Help them understand that we must love even those who treat us badly. Be sure to remind kids that loving someone doesn’t mean letting them hurt you. If any kids disclose abuse or neglect, report it to law enforcement and your ministry leaders according to the laws where you live.
Say • Children of God love one another with their actions. Love is more than just how we feel about others. Love is an action to show others that we are children of God. It is by our love for others that the world will know we follow Jesus.
Key Memory Verse
Read the verse together.
This key passage tells us that God will absolutely keep us as His children until the day Jesus returns. When God calls us to salvation and we respond, we become children of God. God begins a good work in our hearts. God promises to complete that good work when we reach heaven.
Memory Verse Activity:
Before the session, use white crayon to write each word of the key passage on a separate sheet of white paper. For larger groups, make multiple sets so each kid has at least one word. Help the kids use washable watercolor paints to cover the sheets and cause the words to appear where the paint won’t absorb into the paper. Ten work together to arrange the sheets in order.
Say • It takes time for God to complete the good work He started in our hearts. But He is faithful and will make us like Jesus. Each day the Holy Spirit transforms us a little bit. Once we respond to God’s gift of salvation, we become children of God. He will keep us and work on our hearts until we reach heaven.
That is all I have for this week. Let’s pray together:
God, thank You for adopting us as Your children. Help us to love one another the way Jesus loved us. Help our love to be more than just feelings or words. Help us to show people our love through our actions. Amen.
Thanks for joining us! I hope to meet you here again next week!
Thank you to Lifeway for allowing us to publish this lesson using their Gospel Project materials.
Additional Activities and Information
