Together in Jesus - Sunday June 20, 2021

Sunday June 20, 2021 (Vol 12, Unit 34, Session 3)

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 – Together in Jesus

Ephesians 2-3

During Paul’s second missionary journey, Paul stopped in Ephesus and preached in the synagogue. (See Acts 18:19.) Apollos, a Jewish believer, also taught in the synagogue there. Paul’s third missionary journey took him back to Ephesus, where he spent two to three years speaking with crowds about Jesus. (See Acts 19:8-10.) As people believed in Jesus, the church was established and grew under local leadership.

Paul was in a Roman prison when he wrote his letter to the church at Ephesus. Paul’s letter to the Ephesians—like other letters he wrote to churches when he was unable to meet with them in person—brought words of instruction and encouragement that are still helpful to believers today. The letter to the Ephesians focuses on the big idea of unity. 

Paul wrote to teach Jewish and Gentile believers that they are one in Christ and that they should treat one another with the love of Christ. Focus on these three ways believers are united: united in sin, united in Christ, and united in one church. 

First, we are united in sin. Paul’s description applies to first-century believers, to believers today, and to everyone. We are spiritually dead. Our union with Adam as the representative of the whole human race unites us in sin. Apart from Christ, we live as the world lives—doing whatever we want. This is bad news. 

Next, we are united in Christ. Jesus is the second Adam. All who trust in Him are united in Him. He makes us alive again. This is the good news of the Bible. Finally, we are united as the church. Jesus breaks down barriers between Jew and Gentile, and He unites forgiven sinners as one church.

As you teach kids, emphasize that God brings together different people as the church. People who might otherwise have nothing in common are part of the same family, adopted as brothers and sisters in Christ forever and ever. 

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 attending a major sporting event. Why are all of those people gathered? Are they all alike or different? What brings them together?

Say • The church is not just our church here in our city. The church is everyone who believes in Jesus from all around the world. The church is made up of many different people from different cultures who speak different languages. We are all gathered because of our faith in Jesus. Think about a big sporting event. Have you ever thought about how all of those people, being very different from one another, are all gathered for one purpose in that stadium? 

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

Other believers in the church can encourage us and help us in our faith, but the transformation of our hearts is something only the Holy Spirit can do. That’s called sanctification. What is sanctification? Sanctification is the process of becoming more like Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit. Sanctification doesn’t happen all at once. It’s a gradual process and it continues through our whole lives. Sometimes it feels like we may take two steps forward and one step back, but we can trust that God will complete the process of making us more like Jesus.

Review

Two weeks ago, we learned that Paul used every opportunity to tell people about Jesus. But Paul’s preaching made some men angry. They wanted to kill him, but God protected Paul so he could preach about Jesus. Even in danger and uncertainty, Paul trusted God to protect him while he shared the gospel. This week, we will learn about a letter Paul wrote to the believers living in Ephesus.

Bible Lesson

Paul was a prisoner because he taught about Jesus. Some Jews did not like what Paul taught about Jesus’ resurrection or that Gentiles could be believers. But Paul shared the gospel with everyone, Jews and Gentiles, even though it meant he went to prison.

Paul wrote a letter to the church in Ephesus to help them remember what happens when people belong to Jesus. Paul reminded them that they were once dead—not dead as in not breathing and buried in the ground, but spiritually dead in their sins. They disobeyed God and did whatever they wanted to do. This is like all of us. We are dead in our sins. As a result, we are separated from God and cannot obey Him. Paul wrote that God makes us alive with Christ! God gives us life through salvation! God is merciful and shows us grace!

Paul reminded the Ephesians that everyone who trusts in Jesus has been saved only by grace through faith. We haven’t done anything to earn or deserve salvation. It is a gift. We cannot work for it or boast about it.

Paul wrote that Gentiles were born outside of God’s chosen people, Israel. Gentiles had no hope until God brought them into His family through Jesus’ death and resurrection. Everyone who believes in Jesus is a member of His family. Jewish and Gentile believers are now members of the same family. 

Christ Connection

The gospel brings together all people who have faith in Jesus. God’s salvation is a gift of grace, and forgiven sinners come together as the church. Paul dedicated his life to sharing the good news about Jesus with everyone. God calls us to join this work, too. Jews and Gentiles can work together to share the gospel with the world.

Bible Time!

Distribute a Bible to each kid. Help them find Ephesians 2–3. Remind kids that Ephesians is in the New Testament and part of the division called Paul’s Letters. Explain that these books are written by the apostle Paul. Ephesians was a letter sent to believers living in Ephesus. Consider showing Ephesus on a New Testament Map.

 Ask the following questions. Lead the group to discuss:

·       How are we are saved? (by grace through faith, not by works; Eph. 2:8)

·       Can Gentiles be a part of God’s family? (yes, through Jesus; Eph. 2:11-13)

·       How are all believers similar? (All believers are members of the same body and partners in the promises of Jesus; Eph. 3:6)

·       Why does God want people from every people group to be saved? Guide kids to understand that all people are made by God in His image. God loves us because He created us. He shows His love for all people by making salvation available to every person who believes in Jesus, not just certain kinds of people.

·       How does God’s feelings about diverse people change our feelings about diverse people? Help kids see that, just as Jews and Gentiles can be united in Jesus, any and all people groups can be united in Jesus no matter how different they seem, or how long they have treated one another as enemies. We should treat all people with love and respect.

·       How can we show others that we love God and celebrate the diverse world He created? Explain that we show our love of God by loving the people He loves—everyone. Brainstorm ways your group can help spread love and forgiveness in your city.

Say • The gospel brings together different people as the church. It doesn’t matter who you are, where you’re from, or what you do to be part of the church. We are all made part of the church only through our faith in Jesus.

Key Memory Verse

Read the verse together. 

The letter of 1 Timothy is found in the New Testament. Paul wrote this letter to Timothy. Timothy was helping teach the believers in Ephesus how to follow Jesus. When God calls us to salvation, we respond by placing our faith in Jesus. Salvation is the free gift of eternal life through Christ Jesus, our Lord.

Memory Verse Activity:

Form groups of two or three kids. Provide each group with a piece of paper and a marker. Invite them to write the key passage on their paper. Provide each group with a pair of scissors to cut the key passage papers into puzzles with about seven pieces. Challenge each group to trade their puzzle with another group and work together to put it back in the correct order. Read the key passage together aloud.

Say • It is sometimes hard to follow Jesus because of the broken world we live in. This key passage reminds us that even though following Jesus can be hard, we should never give up. We can trust God to help us fight the good fight daily. 

That is all I have for this week. Let’s pray together:

God, we confess that we are all sinners in need of forgiveness. Thank You for sending Jesus to die in our place and take our punishment so we can have the free gift of salvation. 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