Following Jesus, not easy but worth it.

Hi there parents! 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 while we can't be meeting weekly during this time. 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). 

As we begin to gather together again in person, I want to assure you that I will continue to publish this blog to keep our little ones engaged in the gospel until we can meet again for children's church. 

May I encourage you with a verse from Deuteronomy about teaching your children the scriptures? Chapter 6 verse 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 to young to sit for that long. Take the key points 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 will 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 a few moments to print the activity pages as well as the additional activities and 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 during this time at home? What have your greatest blessings been? How about your biggest bummers? 

Parents share your blessings and bummers, and encourage the kids to do the same. Here is mine. My blessing this week has been being able to lean on Jesus even when things are hard and not going our way. 

Let's go to the Lord in prayer. Father God, we love you Lord. 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 the Rock that we can lean on, shelter from the storm, and our comfort in times of trouble. Thank you for our friends as well as our families. Help us to appreciate 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! Tell me about a time you saved up money to buy something on your own. What did you buy? How did you decide it was worth it? Allow the kids to answer. We often make choices about how to use our money, time, or talents. When we choose to do one thing, we are also giving up other things. Today we will talk about some of the things people give up to gain Jesus. But gaining Jesus is always worth it.

As we get to the story, let’s take another look at the big picture question. 

Do you all remember our big picture question and answer? What did Jesus teach when He was on earth? Jesus taught about God and His kingdom. He taught that all Scripture is about Him. Every story points to Jesus. Jesus came to earth to live the life we could not live and die the death we deserved to die. When we have faith in Him, we are adopted into God’s family and become a part of His kingdom. It’s important that we know what it means to be in God’s kingdom and how we ought to live so that we honor our King, Jesus.

Last week, we looked at the Sermon on the Mount, one of Jesus’ most famous teachings. We learned that Jesus taught people how to live in God’s kingdom. We cannot earn a place in God’s kingdom by obeying, but when we have faith in Jesus, the Holy Spirit helps us love God and obey. This week, we will learn that obeying Jesus can be very difficult at times. This story is called “The Cost of Following Jesus.”

Let's watch today's video to learn more, look for session 2 video:

Wow, that was pretty intense. These teachings of Jesus can often be hard to hear. It’s very common to believe that God wants us to be happy, but how can we be happy if we know we will suffer hard times if we follow Jesus?

The answer comes from understanding that there is a difference between what the world calls happiness and true joy that comes only from God. The world often says happiness is the good feeling you have when everything is going the way you want it to go. The Bible promises the opposite of that. When we follow Jesus, we must expect some things to be hard or sad. Thankfully, what Jesus offers is better than worldly happiness. Jesus offers true joy!

Joy isn’t just feeling good because things are going well. Joy is feeling peace and hope because you understand that God is in control. We can feel joy even when we are sad. Joy comes from knowing that no matter what happens to us while we are living in a sinful world, Jesus will return and restore the world and we will live with Him forever.

When we choose to follow Jesus, we must give Him complete control of our lives. Sometimes that can seem scary or even sad, but the truth is, we gain something much better than anything we give up. Following Jesus is not easy, but He is worth it.

Jesus taught that following Him is not easy. It requires commitment and sacrifice. When we trust in Jesus, we give Him complete control of our lives. True life is found in Jesus, who gave up His life to rescue us from sin and death. He is worth it.

Bible Time! 

Help kids find the books of Matthew and Luke. Discuss which division these books are in (The Gospels) and why we use Bible divisions (To help us understand and use the Bible more effectively).

 Ask the following questions. Lead your kids to discuss:

Jesus said the Son of Man has no place to what? (lay His head, Matt. 8:20)

What did Jesus say a person must take up to follow Him? (his cross, Matt. 16:24)

What did Jesus say about a king going to war? (He must consider whether his army can win, Luke 14:31)

Why do you think we must be willing to give up our family and even our life to follow Jesus? Guide kids to see that Jesus is the most important. If we truly love our families, we will want to put Jesus first so that we can help them see that He is best for them. If we love anything, even families or other good things, more than we love Jesus, those things have become idols.

What are some ways you might suffer for Jesus’ sake? Discuss what can happen if kids stand up for what’s right against friends or other kids at school. Discuss missionaries who move away from home. Talk about places where Christians are not allowed to worship God and might be arrested or killed for their faith.

What do we gain by following Jesus? Help kids think about the rewards we have through Jesus, both in this life and the next. Remind them that Jesus gives us peace, love, joy, and wisdom. Help them see that no matter what hard situations we face now, someday we will rule with Jesus when He returns.

Say • Following Jesus is not easy, but He is worth it. Some people hate Christians and think we are foolish and wrong. Even though they are enemies, we love them and trust Jesus through hard times. No situation is so difficult that God cannot use it for His glory and your good. He is worthy.

Write out the verse ahead of time on a dry erase board. have the kids read the verse out load together. Maybe a couple of times at first. Next, erase 3-5 words, and recite the verse again. Repeat this until the verse is completely erased. 

Great job with that activity! Our key passage comes from the Gospel of John. Jesus spoke these words to His disciples before He went to the cross. He wanted them to know that even if they struggled to remember His teachings, the Holy Spirit would help them remember. The same is true for us. When we have faith in Jesus’ perfect life, death, and resurrection, the Holy Spirit lives with us to help us love and obey God.

Let's pray:

Lord, thank You for the amazing gift of Your Son. Help us trust You and understand that nothing we could ever sacrifice to obey You compares to the wonderful and eternal life available in Jesus. Amen.

Thanks for joining us! See you next week!

*If anyone reading this has questions about being born again, eternal life with Jesus, or God's love for us please feel free to contact the church at fcbc@fcbc.church and someone will get back with you for help.*