Jesus’ Hard Lessons-Sunday September 20, 2020

Sunday September 20, 2020 (Vol 9, Unit 25, Session 3)

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 Children's Church is not meeting. 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 John 6. 

On the heels of His miraculous feeding of the five thousand, Jesus encountered crowds who erroneously concluded He was worth following because He could use His power to fill their empty stomachs. But Jesus recognized their motives and challenged them to go after something greater—not to work for food, which does not last long, but to receive eternal life by believing in Him.

Over and over again, people misunderstood Jesus’ words. They asked what they could do to get the food that lasts forever. Eternal life is a gift that God gives—not to those who perform certain deeds, but to anyone who believes in Jesus. Then the crowd asked for another sign. If Moses had provided bread for 40 years, couldn’t Jesus do that too? Jesus pointed out the bread didn’t come from Moses; it came from God. The crowd was so determined to get bread to eat that they didn’t recognize that God had now provided true bread from heaven by sending His Son.

Jesus said, “I am the bread of life.” Jesus didn’t want just to fill people’s stomachs, He wanted to give them true life. Jesus continued, “If anyone eats of this bread he will live forever” (John 6:51). As you teach, emphasize to kids that God invites us to come and eat. We partake in the bread of life by believing in Him.

The Jewish leaders struggled with Jesus’ teaching. How could this man, whom they knew as the son of Joseph, be the Son of God? Furthermore, Jesus talked about giving His flesh and blood. To the Jews, this didn’t make any sense. Jesus’ teachings were hard to understand. When Jesus talked about His flesh and blood, He was talking about His death and resurrection.

 Many people stopped following Jesus because they could not accept His teachings. Yet Peter, one of the Twelve, grasped the truth: “You have the words of eternal life. … You are the Holy One of God” (John 6:68-69). When we trust in Jesus, He gives us the gift of eternal life.

 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. 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 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 information (found in the links at the bottom of the page) 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 this week? 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. 

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. 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! 

Prompt kids to share about a time they had trouble understanding something a parent or teacher was explaining.

Say • We all have trouble understanding new ideas sometimes. Today, we will learn about a time Jesus said some things that were really hard to understand. Some people even stopped following Jesus because they did not understand these hard teachings.

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 

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

Let’s review our big picture question and answer. Who can say it from memory? [Allow responses.] Great job! How does God care for His creation? God loves and rules over His creation according to His perfect plan. God’s perfect plan all along was to send Jesus. Jesus lived a perfect life before dying on the cross for sin and rising again. As a result of Jesus work, sin’s hold over the earth has been broken.  Jesus’ kingdom has arrived! Someday, Jesus will return and fully set up His kingdom, restoring the earth to be perfect again. That’s how God loves and cares for creation—including you and me!

Part of Jesus’ ministry was teaching people about God and God’s kingdom. Jesus often did this by using parables - special stories with deeper meanings. Jesus used parables to teach that God’s growing kingdom is more valuable than anything. And it was through parables that we learned Jesus came to seek and save the lost. This week, our story doesn’t have parables exactly, but it does contain a message that doesn’t mean exactly what it sounds like it means. 

Oh my! I can understand why people were confused. Many people misunderstood Jesus’ teaching. Let’s work together to make sure we don’t make that same mistake.

Jesus called Himself the bread of life. On another occasion He said that He gives living water. In both those situations, Jesus used non-literal language. That just means “words that mean more than they seem to.” Jesus wasn’t talking about physical bread and water. He was talking about the salvation and satisfaction we get from faith in God. Just as our physical bodies need food and water to live, our souls need Jesus and the Holy Spirit to love and obey God.

When Jesus talked about eating flesh and drinking blood, He was really hinting at what would soon happen to Him. He would be killed, and He would bleed to provide salvation from sin to everyone who believes. When we consume the Lord’s Supper, it helps us remember Jesus’ sacrifice. A lot of the people didn’t understand what Jesus meant, and they decided they didn’t want anything to do with Him anymore.

I love Peter’s response though. When understanding and obeying Jesus seemed very hard, Peter knew that there was nowhere else to go. No one but Jesus could speak the words of God. Only Jesus offers eternal life. I pray we respond the same way when following Jesus is hard.

Jesus wanted to do more than fill people’s stomachs; He wanted to give them true life. Jesus’ teachings were hard to understand. When Jesus talked about His flesh and blood, He was talking about His death and resurrection. When we trust in Jesus, He gives us the gift of eternal life.

Bible Time! 

Distribute a Bible to each kid. Help kids find John 6. Ask kids to tell you the books that come right before and right after John. (Luke before, Acts after) You may use the New Testament Israel Map to point out Capernaum, the location where today’s story happened. (C6) 

 Ask the following questions. Lead the group to discuss:

What did Jesus say God wants people to do? (believe in Him, John 6:29)

Who will have eternal life? (everyone who believes in Jesus; John 6:40)

Why did many of Jesus’ followers go away from Him? (His teaching was difficult to understand and accept, John 6:60-66)

How can we eat Jesus’ flesh and drink His blood? Remind the kids that Jesus was not speaking literally. Guide them to think about the way Jesus’ body would be killed and His blood spilled to make the way for us to be saved. Discuss how believers consume the Lord’s Supper to remember Jesus’ sacrifice for us.

Who can help you understand the Bible? Direct the kids to yourself, pastors, elders, deacons, and so forth. Remind them that God has sent the Holy Spirit to live within believers. He helps us understand God’s Word with the help of other believers.

How can we help people who don’t know Jesus come to understand and believe in Him? Guide kids to practical steps they can take, like offering to read their Bibles with friends or inviting them to church. Remind the kids that only the Holy Spirit can make other people understand the truth, but we should try to give them the opportunity to hear it. Talk about what living on mission means and how it accomplishes that goal.

Say • Many people misunderstood Jesus’ teaching. Even today, many still do not think the Bible makes sense. When we live on mission, we can try to help people understand God’s Word and pray that God gives them faith and understanding.

 Let's read Colossians 1:13-14 together. 

**Have bubble solutions and wands on hand** 

Ask the kids to gather near the center of the room. Select a volunteer to blow bubbles. The rest of the kids should take turns saying the key passage word-by-word, popping one bubble with each word said. Play multiple times, allowing other kids to have a turn blowing the bubbles. Then allow volunteers to say the key passage from memory. Thank the kids for their efforts and encourage all the kids to continue working on the key passage.

Say • Everyone who has faith in Jesus is a part of God’s kingdom. God’s kingdom is a kingdom of light, where Jesus is our perfect King. We may not always understand all Jesus’ teachings perfectly, but we can trust His goodness and obey Him out of love as we grow in faith.

 That's it for this week! 

Let's pray:  Lord, we see in the Bible that many people misunderstood Jesus’ teaching. We confess that we do not always understand or accept the truth. Give us wisdom. We believe that everything in Your Word is true. Help us obey You—for our good and Your glory. Amen.

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

This bog is published using Lifeway's Gospel Project materials with their permission.  

Additional Activities and Information