Peter and Cornelius - Sunday March 7, 2021

Sunday February 28, 2021 (Vol 11, Unit 31, Session 1)

With Easter approaching on the horizon, I would like to ask you a question... 

Do you have a church home? If not, why not join ours? If you are local to the SoArNoCa region (Southern Anne Arundel/Northern Calvert) we would love to meet you and Easter would be the perfect time to see what we are all about. We offer a sunrise service overlooking the bay as well as an in-person service at our facility later in the morning. Stay tuned for more information or email fcbc@fcbc.church for more information. 

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). So, let’s have some fun and teach our kids from the scriptures.  

Parent Devotional

This week’s lesson talks about Peter and Cornelius and is found in Acts chapter 10. Read this over for insights and suggestions on how to help your kids grasp the concepts taught throughout the lesson.

The apostle Peter preached and taught boldly after Pentecost. Jesus had commanded His followers to take the gospel to the ends of the earth. Acts 10 shows us how God made clear to Peter that the gospel is for everyone—not only the Jews but also the Gentiles.

The story begins in Caesarea (cess uh REE uh), the capital city in the Roman province of Judea. Cornelius, a Roman centurion, lived in Caesarea. Like many of the people in Caesarea, Cornelius was a Gentile; however, he did not worship the Roman gods. Cornelius worshiped the one true God, and one day, God spoke to Cornelius in a vision. In the vision, an angel told Cornelius to send for Peter.

Now Peter was in Joppa (JAHP uh), about 30 miles south of Caesarea. As Cornelius’ men approached the city, Peter had a vision too. He was on a rooftop when God showed him a sheet of animals and commanded him to eat. The problem was that some of the animals were considered “unclean” by Jewish food laws. Three times, God said to Peter, “What God has made clean, do not call impure.”

Peter visited Cornelius and others who had gathered with him. Peter understood that God did not want a Jewish man to call anyone unclean just because he was a foreigner. (See Acts 10:28-29.) Peter preached the gospel to the Gentiles there, and they believed. The Holy Spirit filled them, and they were baptized.

The gospel is good news for everyone. As you teach kids, emphasize that God showed Peter that just as there is no “clean” and “unclean” food, there are no “clean” and “unclean” people. God calls believers to tell everyone the good news about Jesus, no matter who they are or where they come from. Jesus is the Lord of all!

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 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

Opening

“Blessings and Bummers”

So, 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 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 explain what their favorite animals are, and why.

Say • It’s OK to have favorite animals or animals you don’t like; however, the Bible teaches that all people are made in God’s image, so it’s sinful to say some groups are better than others. Today we will learn more about how Jesus taught the early church to accept all people.

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.)

Big Picture Question

Say • As we learn more about the church, I want you to consider this big picture question and answer: What is the gospel? The gospel is the good news that God sent His Son, Jesus, into the world to rescue sinners. The whole Bible tells the story of God’s rescue plan, and the church is made up of all the people who have heard the good news, believe it is true, and trust in Jesus to save them.

Review

Say • After Jesus rose from the grave and returned to heaven, He sent the Holy Spirit to live in His disciples and give them power. They used that power to preach the truth to people from all over the world. The church grew, but for the most part it was Jewish people who believed and became part of the church. This week, we will learn what God did to help the early church understand that His plan is to rescue sinners from every nation, tribe, and people group. Let’s watch the video to learn more…

Bible Lesson (After video)

The Old Testament laws had strict rules about which animals could and could not be eaten. The vision God gave Peter was about more than food though. God was showing Peter that the gospel is for all people. God’s plan all along has been to glorify His name in all the earth.

The blessings that God had promised Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were always supposed to be carried through them to the rest of the world: a blessing used to bless others. Jesus, the fulfillment of that promised blessing, had come, lived a perfect life, died the death we deserve, and rose again to defeat death. The time had come for Peter and the other apostles to carry the gospel beyond just the Jewish people, to people of all nations.

The Bible teaches that all people are born in sin, and so we all need a Savior. That is why the gospel is so beautiful. What is the gospel? The gospel is the good news that God sent His Son, Jesus, into the world to rescue sinners—not just some sinners, but all sinners who have faith in Jesus.

Christ Connection

Say • God showed Peter that just as there is no “clean” and “unclean” food, there are no “clean” and “unclean” people. God calls believers to tell everyone the good news about Jesus, no matter who they are or where they come from. Jesus is the Lord of all.

Bible Time!

Distribute a Bible to each kid. Help them find Acts 10. Remind the kids that Acts is in the History division of the New Testament. Ask them who wrote Acts. (Luke) You may also choose to direct kids to find Leviticus 11.

 Ask the following questions. Lead the group to discuss:

·       What did God tell Cornelius in his vision? (to send for Peter, Acts 10:5)

·       What did God show to Peter through a vision? (a sheet in which many animals, including unclean animals, were sitting; Acts 10:11-12)

·       What did Peter’s vision mean? (that God wanted the gospel to be preached to Gentiles; Acts 10:28,34-36)

·       Why does God love all people? Guide kids to remember that all people are made in God’s image. Help them see that our value and dignity do not come from our actions, our appearance, or the talents we have. Our value is based on God’s love for us and the fact that He has created each of us.

·       Why does God want us to love all people? Guide kids to see that our love reflects His love. If we behave toward others as if we hate them or do not care about them, we communicate untrue things about God. Help them see that the Bible teaches us that we cannot love God without also loving people. Our love for people is evidence of our love for God.

·       How can we show with our actions that we love God and love people? Guide kids to think practically about ways they can care for others. Suggest ways they can show kindness to their classmates and help them see that seeking out ways to show love to people who are different from them is a great way to show that God does not show favoritism.

Say • The gospel is for all people. When we are transformed by God’s love, we will see that all people are important to God and will show love to people—even those who are different from us or unkind to us.

Memory Verse

Read the verse together 

Say • God is the one true God. He is Lord of all creation, which means He is God over all nations. His plan to rescue the world from sin is reason to praise Him.

Memory Verse Activity:

Work with the kids in your group to develop simple pictures or symbols to replace key words in the key passage. Draw the symbols on a dry erase board or large sheet of paper. Then, cover the key passage poster and encourage the kids to say the key passage using only the symbols to help them if they get stuck.

Suggested symbols: heavens, a cloud with shine lines; rejoice, two hands raised in praise; nations, a flag; Lord, a cross; reigns, a crown.

Say • The key passage comes from the Old Testament, specifically from a song King David sang to praise God after He helped His people recover the ark of the covenant. Now that Jesus has risen from the dead, people from all nations can be saved to worship the God of all nations.

That is it for this week. Let's pray together:

Additional Activities and Information