Running the Race - Sunday June 27, 2021
Sunday June 27, 2021 (Vol 12, Unit 34, 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 – Running the Race
Philippians 3
While Paul sat in a Roman prison from AD 60 to 62, he wrote letters to churches he had started or visited on his missionary journeys. Despite his circumstances, Paul’s letter to the church at Philippi is filled with joy. Philippians reveals Paul’s heart as a devoted follower of Christ. It is full of practical advice about how to live for Jesus and love others.
In the third chapter, Paul wrote about knowing Christ. He said that his relationship with Jesus was the only thing that mattered. This was in stark contrast to his priorities before becoming a believer. As a devout Jew, Paul had been proud of his status: He was circumcised according to the Law, he belonged to the Israelite tribe of Benjamin, he was a faithful Pharisee, and he obeyed the Old Testament law. Now, as a Christian, Paul considered these accolades to be worthless.
Paul set an example for the Philippian believers. They had been distracted by false teachings. He encouraged Christians to press on through difficulties by essentially keeping their “eyes on the prize.” He set himself up as an example for the Philippians to imitate. Paul was motivated by God’s promise to stand before the Lord, meet Him face-to-face, and know Him completely. Paul’s journey toward Christian maturity involved figuring out God’s call on his life and carrying it out.
Our perseverance in the race reminds us of Jesus’ enduring the cross, which provided forgiveness of our sins and salvation. Because Jesus fixed His sight on the victory that awaited Him, we persevere, fixing our gaze on the hope that one day we will be glorified with Him.
As you teach kids, help them think about the Christian life as a race. We don’t want to get distracted or give up running even though it is hard. We can encourage one another toward the finish line. The Lord will help us, and He promises a wonderful prize: life with Him forever.
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 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 discuss a time they participated in a race.
Say • Running a race is difficult. You have to keep running and keep working until you reach the finish line. Jesus calls us to run a race in our Christian life. We must press on as we follow Jesus until we reach the finish line. What do you think the “finish line” is in the race to love and obey Jesus?
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
As we press on to know Jesus more fully, the Holy Spirit will continue to transform us. Does anyone remember that special word we use to describe changing and transforming to be more like Jesus? [Allow responses.] That’s it! Sanctification. What is sanctification? Sanctification is the process of becoming more like Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Review
On Paul’s third journey, Paul used every opportunity to tell people about Jesus. When Paul was arrested, God protected Paul so he could preach about Jesus. Paul wrote to the church in Ephesus about how the gospel brings together different people as the church. Today we’re going to learn how following Jesus is like a race.
Bible Lesson
Paul’s letter to the Philippians was a reminder that true joy comes from knowing Jesus. Paul wrote that when we truly believe in Jesus, we must worship by the Spirit and not trust ourselves and our own abilities. Paul claimed that he could be the most confident in his own abilities. Paul was a Jew and had followed the law his whole life. But despite his background and knowledge, Paul had persecuted the church. We cannot trust our own abilities.
Paul explained that knowing Jesus is the only thing that really matters. Paul gave up nearly his whole life to follow Jesus. But he said that it was all worth it. Paul wrote that once he belonged to Jesus, he was made right with God. But this wasn’t because of his own abilities. It was because of what Jesus did for him through His death and resurrection.
Paul’s goal was to know Jesus. Even though he knew the Scriptures very well and had been one of the greatest missionaries, he still didn’t know Jesus completely. Paul said that God brings us into His family so that we can know Jesus more. Paul encouraged the Philippians to forget the past and look ahead. Our Christian life is like a race. We must press on and run after the goal of knowing Jesus. At the end of the race, we will win a heavenly prize of being with Jesus for eternity. God wants us to never give up and never lose focus on Him. That’s how we run this race well.
Christ Connection
Following Jesus is like running a race for a wonderful prize. We remember that Jesus endured the cross so we can have forgiveness of our sins. We press on to fully know Jesus and share in His victory for eternity. We must not focus on earthly things. Our home is not here. Our home is in heaven. Jesus will come back one day and take us to heaven to be with Him for eternity.
Bible Time!
Distribute a Bible to each kid. Help them find Philippians 3. Point out Philippi on a New Testament Mediterranean Map.
Ask the following questions. Lead the group to discuss:
· What did Paul say is more important than Jesus? (Nothing is more important that knowing Jesus; Phil. 3:8)
· What example did Paul give to help us fully know Jesus? (Paul said to look ahead to the future and run after the goal of knowing Jesus; Phil. 3:13-14)
· What is the prize of running this race? (eternal life with Jesus Christ, Phil. 3:14)
· How can we know that Paul really valued following Jesus? Guide kids to discuss the changes that God produced in Paul’s life. Paul went from hating believers to preaching the gospel. Paul gave up his old life and faced all kinds of trials and pain so that he could obey God and know Jesus more. His actions proved his words.
· Have you lost or given up anything to follow Jesus? Encourage kids to answer honestly. Some may feel like they haven’t given up anything to follow Jesus, and others may have a lot of things they feel they have given up. Remind them that following Jesus means giving up our sinful desires like selfishness or laziness in order to live like Jesus.
· When does following Jesus feel the most difficult? Help kids thing about situations they face that make them feel tempted to sin. Maybe it is a sibling who irritates them; a chore they don’t want to do for their parents; or a video game, movie, or TV show they want to consume that isn’t honoring to God.
Say • Following Jesus is like running a race for a wonderful prize. Jesus gave up His power and glory in heaven to come to the earth and die on the cross in our place. It’s only through Jesus’ death and resurrection that we can be forgiven. We must press on to fully know Jesus and share eternal life with Him.
Key Memory Verse
Read the verse together.
Paul uses examples like “fight the good fight of faith” and “run the race set before us” to describe our Christian life. Paul is encouraging us to keep following Jesus even when it is difficult. There is a prize at the end of the race. We must keep fighting with the hope of eternal life.
Memory Verse Activity:
Invite volunteers to say the key passage from memory. Thank each kid for his effort and encourage all the kids to continue working to memorize the key passage. Then, direct the kids to spread out around the room. Instruct the kids to recite the key passage when you blow a whistle, ring a bell, make a noise, etc. When you make the noise again, they will stop reciting the key passage and jog in place. When you do it again, they will continue reciting the key passage where they left off. Continue in this way until kids have said the key passage a few times.
Say • As we fight this good fight of faith, Paul tells us to take hold of eternal life. We are to keep following Jesus as we know Him more fully with the hope of heaven as our prize. Eternal life with Jesus will be a greater prize than anything we will ever win here on earth.
That is all I have for this week. Let’s pray together:
God, thank You for sending Jesus to rescue us from our sins so we can live with You forever, sharing in Your victory. Thank You for giving us strength to press on in following You with confidence even when we go through hard things in life. We have hope and look forward to spending eternity with You. 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
