Guarding the Truth - Sunday February 28, 2021

Sunday February 28, 2021 (Vol 10, Unit 30, 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 2 Corinthians 11. Read this over for insights and suggestions on how to help your kids grasp the concepts taught throughout the lesson.

In New Testament times, Corinth was an important city in ancient Greece. About eighteen years after Jesus’ death on the cross, Paul preached the gospel to the Corinthians and established the church there. (See Acts 18.) He stayed in Corinth for at least 18 months.

In his first letter to the Corinthians, Paul wrote to help believers solve some problems within the church. In his second letter, written just a few weeks later, Paul wrote to encourage the church and to assure them that God loved them—even when they had troubles. Of all Paul’s letters in the New Testament, none reveals his heart as much as 2 Corinthians. In it, Paul showed his passion for Christ as he fiercely defended his ministry against false teachings.

Paul wrote of the dangers he faced as a disciple of Christ—stoning, beatings, imprisonment, hunger, and hardship. But he also wrote of the comfort and the strength to endure that Jesus gives to those who trust in Him. Nothing could keep Paul from sharing the good news of Jesus—a lesson for the believers at Corinth and for all believers everywhere.

As you teach from 2 Corinthians 11, emphasize that God gives us power to stand up for the gospel. Paul cared about the believers in Corinth, and he wanted them to be faithful to Jesus and remember the gospel. Paul may not have been an eloquent speaker like those who preached lies, but he refused to back down. Paul suffered and nearly died to share the gospel.

Second Corinthians teaches us that sharing Jesus with the world is not always easy. There will always be some who try to stop the good news from spreading. But our job as believers is to follow and obey Jesus no matter what. Like Paul, we guard the truth because God, the Father of the Lord Jesus, deserves to be praised.

As we begin to explore this week’s lesson, take a moment to pray and 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! - Melissa

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! 

Let's chat!  Prompt kids to talk about a time they faced bullying or stood up to a bully.

Say • It’s never fun to feel bullied. We are called to love all people, and when you see someone being bullied, it’s important to stand up to help victims. Today we will learn about a group of people who were lying to believers, trying to get them to believe things that were not true. Paul wrote to defend the truth! Now let's do a fun activity to get us ready for the story...

Optional Session Starter Activity Pick one of two options, or do both, this is your party. (These are found on page 2 of the optional activity pages attached at the bottom of the page.)

Leader • Before we get too far into the story, we need to review the big picture question and answer. Does anyone remember the question? [Allow responses.] That’s right! Why does the church exist? How about the answer? [Allow responses.] Right again! The church exists to glorify God by worshiping Him, showing His love, and telling others about Jesus. That means that our purpose as believers is not to keep the good news to ourselves, but to spread it to everyone we meet. We show God’s love to others and worship Him in how we live our lives.

Leader • When we first started this unit, we learned that the Holy Spirit led Philip to tell the Ethiopian man about Jesus. Next, we learned Jesus saved Paul and chose him to spread the gospel. Paul planted many churches, and wrote many letters, often to the churches he planted! To the church in Colossae, Paul explained that Jesus gives new life to people who trust in Him. This week we will learn about what Paul wrote to the church in Corinth. The church in Corinth actually had a lot of struggles, and Paul wrote more than one letter to them. Our story today is from one of those letters to them. Click the link below to watch the story called “Guarding the Truth.” 

Can you imagine sacrificing everything Paul had sacrificed, only to have a liar come along and try to undo the work you started? Paul was pretty upset about the false teachers. That’s why he wrote the things he wrote: he didn’t want anyone to lead people away from the message of salvation through faith in Jesus.

Paul wasn’t writing just to defend his own reputation or to make himself look good. Paul was worried that people wouldn’t live the wonderful life Jesus had for them. Paul was concerned for the church, not himself. Even when Paul used words that may have sounded like boasting, he was really just pointing people to Jesus’ power. No matter what Paul suffered, he knew the gospel was worth it. 

We are called to defend the truth just as Paul did. God gives us power to stand up for the gospel. That’s why studying God’s Word and gathering with the church is so important. When we do those things, along with praying, we are better equipped to defend the truth against false teachers who lead people away from Jesus.

Nowadays, false teachers may teach all kinds of things; They may say that God wants more than anything to give you lots of money and make you happy. They may say that God doesn’t care about you, that God isn’t the only God, or that God doesn’t even exist. All of those messages are false. Only the gospel of Jesus is true. We are all sinners, and Jesus died on the cross for our sins, rising again on the third day to conquer death. Only faith in Him can save us.

Christ Connection:  Sharing Jesus with the world is not always easy. There will always be some who try to stop the good news from spreading. God calls believers to follow and obey Jesus no matter what.

Bible Time! 

Distribute a Bible to each kid. Help them find 2 Corinthians 11. Do and internet search or find a New Testament Mediterranean Map to point out where Corinth was located. 

 Ask the following questions. Lead the group to discuss:

Paul was concerned the Corinthians would be deceived just like who? (Eve, 2 Cor. 11:3)

Did Paul charge the Corinthians to share the gospel with them? (no, 2 Cor. 11:7)

What did Paul face because of his desire to share the gospel? (all kinds of sufferings, 2 Cor. 11:23-27)

Where can we find the truth about God and ourselves? Guide kids to see that the Bible is the only source of truth about God and our relationship to Him. Lead them to discuss why we need the Bible, and how we can learn truth from it. 

What sufferings might we face if we stand up for the gospel? Discuss the ways kids may feel left out or unpopular for their faith. Point out that some places in the world still face very severe persecution, such as imprisonment or even death. Remind the kids that even those severe forms of persecution cannot stop God’s plan to grow the church, and that the gospel is worth facing any kind of mistreatment.

Where can we get strength to face persecution and stand up for the gospel? Remind kids that God is our source of strength. Help them see that being afraid of persecution is natural and normal. Discuss ways the Holy Spirit can help them face fears and do things that seem impossible or scary.

Say • God gives us power to stand up for the gospel. In some places, persecution may be very mild; you may only be mocked or disliked because you believe the Bible. In other places, the people may actually punish you for believing the truth. No matter what kind of persecution you face, the Holy Spirit will help you.

Read the verse together 

Jesus Christ is our greatest treasure. He deserves all the glory in our lives. That’s what this verse teaches. We put Jesus first.

Memory Verse Activity:

Invite volunteers to say the key passage from memory. Thank each kid for his efforts and encourage all the kids to keep working to memorize the passage. Write phrases of the key passage on the sections of a beach ball. Toss the beach ball around the group for a few seconds. Every so often, say “stop.” Whoever catches the ball will look at the section her right thumb is touching. She must say the verse starting from that section. Play multiple rounds. 

Say • Paul wrote many letters to believers who lived all over the Roman empire. Paul wanted to make sure they knew the truth about Jesus, the gospel, and our purpose as the church. Jesus is the head of the church; He is our leader and greatest treasure. Why does the church exist? The church exists to glorify God by worshiping Him, showing His love, and telling others about Jesus.

That's all for this week. Let's pray together:

Father, we know that we would be lost without You. Help us to be bold as we defend the truth from anyone who tries to lead people from Jesus. Amen.

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

Additional Activities and Information