New Life in Jesus- Sunday February 21, 2021

Sunday February 21, 2021 (Vol 10, Unit 30, Session 3)

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 Colossians 2&3. Read this over for insights and suggestions on how to help your kids grasp the concepts taught throughout the lesson.

Paul wrote his letter to the Colossians while he was imprisoned in Rome. At this point, Paul had not yet visited the church at Colossae. The church was established by Epaphras, who reported to Paul that the church was facing troubles with false teachers. Paul wanted to put an end to the false teaching and remind the believers of who Jesus really is. Key to this letter is Paul’s teaching about how the gospel affects how we live.

As you teach kids from Colossians 2–3, focus on some of the main points Paul makes. First, God changes us when we trust in Jesus. The Bible describes us apart from Jesus as “enemies of God” (Rom. 5:10) and “dead” in our sins (Eph. 2:1). Jesus rescued us from sin and death by dying on the cross and rising again. Jesus gives new life to people who trust in Him.

Second, following Jesus means living for Him. Jesus is our reason for living, and He gives us power to live in a way that honors Him. Jesus adopts us into His family and makes us new! We respond to the good news of the gospel by submitting to Jesus as Lord and Savior.

Finally, Jesus calls us to turn away from our sinful ways and live in a way that honors Him. Paul contrasts an earthly way of thinking with a godly way of thinking. The old, sinful way of living (the “old self”) is characterized by anger, wrath, hatred, lies, and filthy language. Paul wrote that living for Jesus means putting away the evil, selfish ways of the world and living like Jesus by loving God and loving others.

In Jesus, we have power to live in a new, godly way. This way (the “new self”) is marked by compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, and love. Paul says believers should “put on” these things. As we grow in this new way of living, God is making us more like His Son.

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 their favorite outfit, article of clothing, or costume they’ve ever worn.

Say • Sometimes your favorite clothes might be something super comfy. Or maybe you love a special sports jersey with the number worn by your favorite player. Maybe you like a certain costume that helps you pretend you are a fictional character that you like. Today we will learn about something the Bible tells us to “put away” and something else we should “put on” like clothing. But it’s not actual clothes! Let's start with an activity to get us into 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.)

As we’ve been learning about the early church, it has been important to discuss a special big picture question and answer. Why does the church exist? The church exists to glorify God by worshiping Him, showing His love, and telling others about Jesus. Jesus saves us, but not so we can sit around and be happy we are saved. We should feel extreme joy because of salvation, but that joy will naturally push us to glorify God by serving Him and spreading the message of the gospel. As the church grows, more people glorify God, and that’s what we were created to do all along!

Two weeks ago, we learned that the Holy Spirit led Philip to tell the Ethiopian man about Jesus. Last week, we heard the amazing story of Paul’s conversion. Jesus saved Paul and chose him to spread the gospel. God used Paul to start many churches and to instruct churches in how to fulfill their purpose to worship God, show His love, and tell others about him. This week, we are going to learn a bit about one of the churches Paul planted, as well as the letter he wrote to help them love and obey God more fully. Click the link below to watch the Bible story video. 

The messages of the world can often sound pretty good to us. “You get what you deserve;” “do what makes you happy;” “you have to look out for yourself;” “follow your heart” … 

But those messages are not what Jesus wants for us. What we deserve is death because of our sin. What makes us happy is very often bad for us. If we only look out for ourselves, we live selfishly. And the Bible teaches that our hearts are tricky and will lead us to chase after sin.

Paul’s letter to the Colossians helped them see that they needed to radically change their lives to match God’s plans for them. We can’t say we have faith and then go on living selfishly. That’s not how it works! When we repent and believe the gospel, the Holy Spirit lives in us and transforms us to look more like Jesus. That means loving even our enemies, caring for the needs of other people, giving generously, and following God instead of our sinful hearts. 

Christ connection

Turning from sin isn’t always easy, but it is always worth it. Every sin that seems fun or easy will end up hurting us and making our lives harder, eventually. God changes us when we trust in Jesus. He adopts us into His family and makes us new! Jesus calls us to turn away from our sinful ways and live in a way that honors Him. Let's dig in a little deeper in Bible study...

Bible Time! 

Distribute a Bible to each kid. Help them find Colossians 2–3. Remind kids that Colossian is part of the Paul’s Letters division of the New Testament. 

 Ask the following questions. Lead the group to discuss:

What did Paul tell believers to continue to do? (to walk in Christ, Col.2:6)

What should believers think about? (heavenly things, Col. 3:1-2)

What did Paul tell children to do? (obey their parents; Col. 3:20)

How does God make us new? Discuss the immediate change that takes place in our standing before God when we believe the gospel. Remind kids that there is also a gradual change in our lives as the Holy Spirit makes us more and more like Jesus over time. Teach the kids the words justification and sanctification to describe these changes, the immediate and the gradual, respectively.

Why does God make us new? Talk kids through God’s desire to show us love and mercy. Remind them that we were created to glorify God by enjoying His goodness. Explain that sin prevents us from doing what we were made to do. God makes us new so that we can glorify Him as we were supposed to all along. That is how we experience the most joy in life.

Why is love so important for believers? Guide kids to think through the ways all of God’s commands center on loving Him and loving people. Love for God motivates us to love people. Remind them that when we love others, we want what is best for them; we will want them to live with God as we do.

Say • Jesus gives new life to people who trust in Him. The life Jesus gives is the only way to experience true joy and peace. The Holy Spirit helps us to live in a way that honors God.

Read the verse together. 

 Our key passage comes from the very letter we are studying today. Paul wanted believers to treasure Jesus more than anything. When we make Jesus the most important part of our lives, the Holy Spirit changes us to be more like Him. That makes putting away sin and putting on holiness easier and easier each day. Let's commit this to memory. 

Memory Verse Activity:

Write each word of phrase of the key passage on a separate sticky note. Place a sticky note on each kid’s back. Challenge the kids to work together to stand in the correct order without reading the words or phrases on their individual backs. Invite a volunteer to say the key passage from memory. Thank each kid for her efforts and encourage all the kids to continue working to memorize the passage.

Say • Paul wrote these words in his letter to the believers living in Colossae. Paul wanted them to know that Jesus is the leader and most important part of the church. We all must love and obey Him as part of the church. 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, our hearts are broken by sin, and it’s only Your power that can fix us. Help us to live for Your glory. Give us boldness to pursue You no matter what. Help us put away old sins and put on holiness that honors Jesus before everything else in our lives. Amen.

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

Additional Activities and Information