Paul Gave Hope - Sunday May 30, 2021
Sunday May 30, 2021 (Vol 11, Unit 33, Session 4)
Hi there, and thanks for joining us this week. The following blog is here to be a tool for you to 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 – Paul Gave Hope
1 and 2 Thessalonians
Consider how your life would change if you knew the future—if you could accurately predict the weather or outcomes of baseball games. If you could know how your life is going to turn out, would you live today differently? In the bigger picture of God’s plan for the world, we do know the future. God reveals the outcome of His plan for humanity in His Word.
In the Book of 1 Thessalonians, Paul wrote about the future to encourage believers facing persecution. Their hope as believers then is the same as our hope as believers today. We look forward to a final resurrection, the return of Jesus, and the judgment of the world.
Around AD 50, the city of Thessalonica was filled with those who worshiped idols, Greek and Roman gods, and even the Roman emperor himself. So, when Paul started a church there, he quickly faced persecution and was forced to flee the city. Even though he could not return, Paul still loved the young church and was concerned for them, so he sent Timothy to check on the believers.
Timothy reported back with good news—though the church was suffering from persecution, they were holding tightly to their faith. They did have some misunderstandings about Christianity, especially the return of Jesus, but they were working hard for the Lord. Paul wrote a letter to encourage the believers and to clear up misunderstandings about the future and what happens when Christians die.
Perhaps Paul’s greatest message was about the return of Jesus. On that day, Paul said, believers will be freed from their sufferings. On the Day of the Lord, Jesus will return for His people and judge the wicked. That is a promise we can still claim today.
Paul’s letter gave believers hope. The hope we find in the Bible is stronger than just wanting something to happen; biblical hope is expecting with confidence because we know God is faithful and true.
Parent Guidance and Instructions
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 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 me 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.
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 don’t 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 discuss what they would do if they could tell the future.
Say • It may seem like a cool trick to be able to tell the future, but the future is only for God to know. Today we will learn about a time Paul wrote a letter to remind God’s people to trust Him even though they didn’t know what would happen in the future. How do you think we can show we trust God?
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.)
Big Picture Question
That brings us to the big picture question: What is the Bible about? The Bible is the story of God’s plan to save people through Jesus. Without the Bible, we wouldn’t have God’s perfect message preserved for us generation after generation. It’s vital to understand the message of the Bible so we can respond to it by putting our faith in Jesus. If we make the mistake of thinking the Bible is primarily about us, about people, then we will be distracted from our purpose of glorifying God.
Review
The early church needed a firm foundation too. Since the New Testament hadn’t been written yet, the church leaders had to gather to remember all the things Jesus had taught them about God and the Old Testament scriptures concerning Him. They agreed that salvation comes only through faith in Jesus. Paul and Silas planted new churches based on that firm foundational truth. Sadly, false teachers still tried to lead people away from God by adding to the gospel. We cannot earn salvation with works. Believers are saved and grow in godliness through faith in Jesus. Believers also faced hard times, and many people began to struggle with doubt as they saw days, weeks, and years pass without Jesus’ return. Paul wrote a letter to some believers to help them trust Jesus’ timing. Let’s watch the video to learn more.
Bible Lesson
Sometimes it is easy to assume that our understanding of God is complete. But the truth is, God will always be beyond what we can understand. That’s why His timing doesn’t usually line up with how we think it should. The promise that Jesus would return left some believers thinking that He would be back from heaven after only a few months. Surely by the end of their lives. But from our perspective, it has been a long time and Jesus still hasn’t returned. That’s why we must remember that God’s timing is perfect, even if it is very different from ours. Thousands of years are nothing to God.
Paul told the church to stand firm as we wait for Jesus’ return. We will face persecution and various difficulties, but that does not mean Jesus has left us. God uses our trials to make us more like Jesus. We can learn patience and humility as we remember to trust in God and wait for Him to show us His plans.
Christ Connection
The prophets in the Old Testament told us about the Day of the Lord, a day when God would come to judge the world and save His people. Paul said that in the future, on the Day of the Lord, Jesus will return for His people and judge the wicked. Believers live with hope, knowing that Jesus will come again.
Bible Time!
Distribute a Bible to each kid. Help them find 1 Thessalonians. Remind the kids that this book is part of the Paul’s Letters division of the New Testament.
Ask the following questions. Lead the group to discuss:
· What news did Timothy bring to Paul about the Thessalonians? (good news about their faith and love, 1 Thess. 3:6)
· What happens to believers who die before Jesus returns? (They will rise again and be with God; 1 Thess. 4:13-14)
· How did Paul tell the Thessalonians to behave while they wait for Jesus’ return? (to be self-controlled, wearing armor of faith and love and salvation; 1 Thess. 5:6-7)
· In what ways does Jesus’ return give us hope? Guide the kids to think through what we know about Jesus’ return. Remind them that those who die in Christ are united with Him in heaven, and all who have faith will be raised to life to rule over the earth with Him when He returns. Remind them that Jesus’ return will mark the end of sin, sadness, and pain.
· How should we respond to hard times? Guide kids to think about how we can show love to those who may mock or mistreat us. Help them think about the hope we have for the future. Remind them that no difficult time can take away the promises of Jesus to return and make everything right.
· What are some hard times you face? Help the kids think through the trials they may face. Be sensitive and compassionate, while directing kids to the hope we have in Jesus. If any kid in your group discloses abuse or neglect, follow all reporting procedures according to the laws where you live and your ministry’s protocol.
Say • Paul told the church to stand firm as we wait for Jesus’ return.
Key Memory Verse
Read the verse together.
Peter spoke these words to religious leaders who hated hearing the truth. But that didn’t stop Peter and the other apostles from carrying the good news all over the world. There is no way to be saved from sin apart from Jesus. That’s what the whole Bible is about! What is the Bible about? The Bible is the story of God’s plan to save people through Jesus.
Memory Verse Activity:
Before the session, write the key passage on a sheet of paper and cut apart the words. Prepare enough sets so that each kid in your group will have at least one slip of paper with a word. In the session, pass out the slips and encourage each kid to draw a picture on the back to help her remember her word. Collect the slips and see if the kids can say the key passage using only the pictures to guide them. Then allow volunteers to say the passage from memory. Thank each kid for his efforts and encourage all the kids to continue working on memorizing the key passage.
Say • Jesus is the only One who can save us. Unless we have faith in Him, we cannot be saved from sin. That’s why it is important to be firmly rooted in the Bible—so we can know what it is about and teach it to others. What is the Bible about? The Bible is the story of God’s plan to save people through Jesus.
That is all I have for this week. Let’s pray together:
Father, thank You for all you do for us. Help us love You and stand firm in our faith while we wait on Your perfect timing. Please let Jesus come soon and repair all that sin has broken. In the meantime, give us strength to obey You out of love. Amen.
Thanks for joining us! I hope to meet you here again next week!
Thank you, Lifeway’s Gospel Project, for allowing us to publish this material.
Additional Activities and Information
