Letters To The Seven Churches- Sunday August 15, 2021
Sunday August 15, 2021 (Vol 12, Unit 36, Session 2)
Hi there, and thanks for joining us this week. FriendshipKids exists to help families disciple their children to be fully mature, reproducing followers of Jesus Christ and so we hope this blog will be a useful tool for you to use to full fill that call on your life. This blog will 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
John’s Vision of Jesus
The Book of Revelation opens with John’s description of a vision. In the vision, Jesus gave John messages for seven local churches. Jesus told John to write these messages on a scroll and send them to the churches.
In most cases, Jesus commended the church for their good work, warned them about the areas in which they needed correction, and urged them to return to Him. Among other things, He warned the churches not to forget their love of the Lord. He encouraged them not to be afraid of being tested. He urged those who were surrounded by evil to not deny their faith. Each time, Jesus promised to reward those who remain faithful to Him.
The church is made up of people who have trusted in Jesus, who are committed to one another, and who meet together to worship Jesus and share the gospel. Jesus loves the church as His bride. (See Eph. 5:25-27; Rev. 19:7-9.) Jesus’ message called the churches to turn away from their sin and remain faithful to Him. The Lord is slow to anger (Ex. 34-6-7) and patient, wanting everyone to repent (2 Pet. 3:9).
Jesus warned specific churches in Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey), but the problems they faced can still be found in churches today. Help kids understand some of the problems the early churches faced: They did not love like they should, they believed false teaching and did wrong things, and they were lukewarm—useless to the cause of Christ.
We can pray for our churches to be faithful, effective instruments in spreading the gospel. We should love the church because Jesus loves the church. Through the church, Jesus helps believers work together to do God’s plan. Finally, Jesus warned believers to stay alert because He will come like a thief when no one is expecting Him. Believers—then and now—must always be ready!
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 at the church 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 talk about what they would do if they were on the outside of a locked house.
Say • If you were locked out of a house, you could look for a window to crawl through or maybe try to pick the lock. But the easiest way would be to knock and see if whoever is inside will let you in. Today we will hear about a time Jesus told a church He was outside, knocking to get in.
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.)
Who remembers our Big Picture Question?
Big Picture Question
That’s right! What is the hope of the church? The church looks forward to Jesus’ return when He will make all things new. All of the people who believe in Jesus await the day when Jesus will return and make all things new.
Review
Last week we read that Jesus appeared to John in a vision. Jesus instructed John to write down everything his vision. Jesus is the First and the Last, the Living One. This week we’ll be learning what Jesus wanted the seven churches to know.
Bible Lesson
Some of Jesus’ messages to the churches were fairly straightforward. Jesus told the church at Ephesus to love Him as they used to, which isn’t too hard to understand. Over time, we all may drift away from loving Jesus as our top priority. But some of the messages were kind of confusing.
Why might Jesus tell the church in Sardis they were dead? Do you think Jesus meant all the believers in Sardis were actually dead? [Allow responses.] No, of course not. Remember that James said faith without works is dead. So it’s possible Jesus was telling the church in Sardis to put their faith into action—to live in a way that shows they love Jesus.
And what would it mean to be lukewarm? Think about water temperatures. Cold water is refreshing, soothing, and good to drink. Hot water is good for cleaning or cooking. Jesus was likely trying to help the church in Laodicea see that they had become useless because they had turned away from Him. In fact, Jesus told that church that He was on the outside, knocking to get in! In a way, they had tried to lock Jesus out of His own house. Jesus is the head of the church, and they were leaving Him out of their gatherings.
Thankfully, none of the warnings were without instruction and encouragement. Jesus wasn’t telling the churches that it was too late for them, but that they needed to love and obey Him before it was too late. Jesus told churches to not give up.
Christ Connection
Jesus loves the church. His message to seven local churches called them to turn away from their sin and remain faithful to Him. We can learn from those churches. Through the church, Jesus helps believers work together to do God’s plan.
Bible Time!
Distribute a Bible to each kid. Help them find Revelation 2–3. Remind them that Revelation is the last book of the Bible. Instruct kids to read Revelation 2–3 to find the locations of each church Jesus told John to write to: Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea. Consider finding each out on the New Testament Mediterranean Map. (D6–7)
Ask the following questions. Lead the group to discuss:
What was Jesus’ message for the church in Smyrna? (“You may be poor and suffering, but really you are rich! Do not be afraid when you face prison or death”; Rev. 2:8-10)
What was Jesus’ message for the church in Pergamum? (“Some of you are living like those who do not believe. Turn away from your sin and turn back to Me!” Rev. 2:12-16)
What was Jesus’ message for the church in Laodicea? (“You are lukewarm—not hot or cold. I will spit you out of my mouth!” Rev. 3:14-18)
Who is the church? The global church is all people throughout history who have trusted in Jesus. The local church is a group of believers who live near one another; are committed to one another; and who gather regularly to worship Jesus, serve others, and share the gospel.
Why did Jesus send messages to the churches? Help kids see that Jesus wasn’t telling the church it was too late, He was reminding them that it wasn’t too late. They still had time to love and obey Him. He was encouraging them to live for Him.
How can we be faithful to remain in Him until His return? Discuss different ways we can build up our faith to remain in Christ. Explain that we can, and should, read the Bible, obey the commands of Scripture, pray, gather with our local church, and so forth.
Say • Jesus told the churches not to give up. Jesus loves the church and He gave His life so that we could become the church. He wants the church to remain faithful to Him. Jesus helps the church work together to do God’s plan.
Key Memory Verse
Read the verse together.
This key passage comes from the Book of Revelation. The Book of Revelation reveals to us the future kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ. Jesus will return and reign forever and ever. We need to remain faithful to Him until He returns to make all things new.
Key Verse Activity:
Display the key passage poster. Lead kids in reading aloud Revelation 11:15 together.
Before meeting together, write phrases of the key passage on seven pieces of paper and put them in seven separate envelopes. Create two or more sets of envelopes, depending on the size of your group. Color code the envelopes so that each team will have a certain color envelope to look for. For example, team one will look for all seven of the green envelopes and team two will look for all the red envelopes. Hide these envelopes around the room where you meet.
Begin the activity by forming kids into teams, one team for each set of envelopes. Challenge the kids to find all seven of their assigned color envelopes, open them, and put the verse in order. The first team to finish wins.
Say • Great teamwork! We will keep memorizing God’s Word together each week.
That is all I have for this week. Let’s pray together:
God, help us to repent of our sinful ways. Help us to love the church just as You love the church. Help us to remain faithful to You as we wait for Your return. 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
