Doers of the Word- Sunday January 31, 2021

Sunday January 24, 2021 (Vol 10, Unit 29, Session 4)

Welcome back! Or if you're new here, welcome! The following blog is here to be a tool for you to 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).  

Parent Devotional: This week’s lesson is found in James 1 & 2.

The early church was made up mostly of Jewish believers who had grown up believing they needed to fully obey God to be accepted. Grace was a new concept for them, and many struggled with understanding how grace and obedience fit together. Some made the mistake of thinking that once they had acceptance in Jesus, obedience didn’t matter after all.

This greatly concerned James—Jesus’ half-brother and a leader in the church at Jerusalem— so he wrote a letter to the Jewish Christians scattered throughout the Roman Empire. James wanted these Christians to understand that grace and obedience do not work against each other; they work with each other.

James wrote, “Be doers of the word. If you hear the word but don’t do it, you fool yourselves. Anyone who is a hearer but not a doer is like someone who looks at himself in a mirror, goes away and forgets right away what he looked like.”

James wanted Christians to realize that true faith in Jesus—a faith that comes by grace—will always lead to action. True faith is an active faith.

James gave an example: When we look into a mirror and see something is not right—our hair is out of place or food is stuck in our teeth—we don’t just walk away; we fix it. The gospel is like that mirror. It shows us what is true about ourselves, and when we see we are not living out our true identity, we should want to address it.

Help kids understand that true faith in Jesus always leads to living differently. When we trust in Jesus, God changes our hearts so that we will want to live a life pleasing to Him. We aren’t accepted by God because of our obedience; we obey God out of gratitude because we are accepted by Him through Jesus.

As we begin to explore this week’s lesson, take a moment to remember the verse from Deuteronomy about teaching your children the scriptures. Deuteronomy 6:9 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 don't have time to sit and have an hour of Bible time all at once, or maybe 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 up to suit your children. Take some time to look at and print the activity pages as well as the additional activities and information (found in the links at the bottom of the page) also to review the lesson so you can make adjustments 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'd 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 course of the week. Please contact me if you have any questions or suggestions. I'd love to hear from you!

So, let's get started. I like to begin each week with Blessings and Bummers. 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 and encourage the kids to do the same. 

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 don't deserve it! Thank you for continuing to bless us Lord. Thank you for being patient with us. Thank you for 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. Help us to be thankful of all you do for us and to 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! 

Prompt kids to discuss the rules they have at their schools or in their homes. Is it important just to know the rules, or is it important to follow them as well?

Say • Your teachers and parents give you rules for good reasons, to keep you safe and help you learn. To honor your teachers and parents, and to get the benefit of the rules, you need to do more than just know what the rules are. You need to follow them! God gives us rules for good reasons, too, and it’s important to know them and follow them!

Optional Session Starter Activity Pick one of two options, or do both, this is your party. These are found in the activity pages attached below.

We have been learning about the church. Namely, what is the church? The church is all believers everywhere, who gather in their communities to worship and serve God. There are many ways to worship God and many ways to serve Him. When we obey His commands, we can show with our actions that we believe in Jesus and that His love fills us up. Many of Jesus’ commands have to do with taking care of other people and loving them well.

At this point in the big story, Jesus had already come to earth, died on the cross for our sins in our place, and rose again showing His victory over sin and death for us. Jesus sent out the apostles to share the good news about Him and to start His church. As the good news spread, churches started everywhere, and leaders like James wrote letters to help these churches know how to honor God. Our story today is called “Doers of the Word.”

I love how simply James explained the importance of knowing God and obeying Him. If you were hungry, and someone told you that they hoped you were full, that wouldn’t make you full, would it? No! They would need to actually feed you something to make you full. The same goes for if you are cold. Saying “Stay warm,” may be a kind gesture, but it won’t keep you from getting frostbite in cold weather. When you say one thing and your actions don’t match up, it communicates to other people that you did not mean what you said.

We can’t truly help others or please God by just knowing what God says to do. We must actually do it. Obeying God shows the world that we really are God’s people, and Jesus really is our King. More than that, obedience is one way we show that we love God for all He has done for us. The church must love God and people. What is the church? The church is all believers everywhere, who gather in their communities to worship and serve God.

God loved us so much that He sent Jesus to die for us. We love Him in return by trusting that what He asks us to do is right and good for us, and then doing it! Just like Abraham showed that he believed God by being willing to sacrifice Isaac, we show that we love and trust God by believing His commands are good for us and others and obeying Him. We can’t just have faith we must obey God and do the works He asks us to do. James said that faith without works is useless.

Jesus said, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word” (John 14:23). James reminded believers to be doers of the word. Jesus rescues us from sin and frees us to live a life that honors God. By doing what is good and right, people who trust Jesus can show that they really believe in Him.

Bible Time! 

Distribute a Bible to each kid. Help them find James 1–2. Remind them that James is in the General Letters division of the New Testament, after Hebrews and before 1 Peter. James, Jesus’ half-brother, wrote this book. 

 Ask the following questions. Lead the group to discuss:

James says that a person who hears the Word of God but does not do what it says is like who? (A person who sees himself in a mirror and then immediately forgets what he looks like, James 1:23-24)

What two groups of people did James specifically mention helping? (widows and orphans, James 1:27)

What does James say a person can show their faith by? (the works they do to obey God, James 2:18)

If you take care of people in need and show kindness to others, but do not trust Jesus, are you saved? Remind kids that faith is necessary to salvation. We cannot earn salvation by good works. 

Why is faith without works useless? Guide kids to understand that a person who claims faith but shows no outward signs of loving and obeying God’s Word probably does not have true faith. Explain that saving faith is marked by the Holy Spirit’s presence in a person’s life. He transforms people to live more and more like Jesus; a person who isn’t being transformed likely doesn’t have the Holy Spirit in his life.

What are some ways we can do good works through faith? Help kids brainstorm practical ways they can live on mission, such as sharing their lunch with a friend, showing kindness to someone they don’t normally get along with, and telling their friends about Jesus.

Say • James’ letter was written mostly to Jewish believers. He wanted them to be prepared for hard times, and he wanted them to honor God with their actions, not just their words. James said faith without works is useless. We know that the Holy Spirit helps us do good works for God’s glory.

Read the verse together 

Paul wrote this key passage as part of his letter to believers living in Rome. He wanted Christians to understand that we are all united as members of the church, the same way arms, legs, lungs, and so forth are united as parts of a body. Jesus is the head of the church. He’s the ultimate authority. If you do not listen to and obey Him, you are like a body part that won’t perform its job when your brain tells it to. That’s not a good way to live.

Memory Verse Activity:

Prior to the session, write two to three words from the key passage on index cards. Give one card to each child, and then instruct the children to race to get in the right order. Mix up the cards again and see if kids can beat their time. Continue to practice the key passage in this way as long as kids are interested.

Say • Paul wrote this key passage in his letter to the believers in Rome. Paul hadn’t met them, but he wanted to be sure they knew the gospel and were united by God’s grace.

Today, God’s grace still unites believers. Everyone who is a Christian is a part of the global church, and we meet together in our communities to form local churches. When we love God, we obey His Word by serving and worshiping together.

That's it for this week!

Let's pray:

God, thank You that You love us so much that You sent Jesus to die for us. Since we know that You did that for us, we know that You want good for us and that all Your commands are for our good. Help us to show our love for You by obeying You, showing that our faith is real by the works that we do. Amen.

Thanks for joining us! I hope to meet you here again next week!

Additional Activities and Information