1/6/19 Lesson 5. Inspire Shares personal stories from fellow ministry leaders about how God has worked in their lives

Transcription

1 1/6/19 Lesson 5 Bible Passage: Luke 2:21 40 (Simeon and Anna) God Honors Faith Remember Verse The LORD your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing. Zephaniah 3:17 Inspire Shares personal stories from fellow ministry leaders about how God has worked in their lives One Sunday night after church, my friends and I walked to a burger place for some late night fellowship. On the way, I noticed a homeless man. God has given me a heart for the homeless, but sometimes I still feel uncomfortable around them. This night, I stepped out in faith. Hey, man! I said, Are you hungry? Can I buy you a meal? He accepted my offer. It took about 15 minutes for the order to come up. When I took him the meal, he looked surprised. Thanks! I assumed you were lying or you forgot, he said. You know what? You re precious, he said over and over. Precious. That word resonated with me. Each time he said it, I sensed the presence of the Holy Spirit. I felt God s love. That night, I stepped out in faith and served this homeless man. I did what God had asked me to do. And God honored my faith and reminded me of His love for me. Erika Abdelatif ROCKHARBOR Church Equip Offers perspective and context to the lesson s Bible passage Simeon and Anna were part of a community of people who followed God s laws and waited faithfully for the promised Redeemer. God honored their faith by blessing Simeon and Anna with the gift of meeting His precious Son. And when Simeon saw Jesus in the temple, God revealed to him the fact that Jesus would be the One who would save God s people from their sins. God also gave Simeon the understanding that choosing to trust in Jesus would drive many people out of their comfort zones. In obedience to Jewish law, Mary and Joseph brought Jesus to the temple to have their Son circumcised. This ceremony was performed on the eighth day of a boy s life. This ceremonial process also included the official naming of the child. In Judaism, naming a child is significant because names offer prophetic insight into a child s purpose. The angel Gabriel commanded Mary and Joseph to name their son Jesus. In Hebrew, this name means God saves. So, Jesus name reflected His divinity and predestined status to be the world s Savior. Through Jesus, God honored the faith of those who had faithfully waited for His arrival. He demonstrated that salvation has always been and will always be by faith to the Jew first and also to the Gentile David C Cook. TruResources are developed in partnership with ROCKHARBOR Church and a national network of family and children s ministry leaders. All rights reserved. Reproducible for church use only.

2 Support Provides reflection and assessment through encouragement, prayer, and time in God s Word Think about the moment Simeon held Jesus in his arms. That must have been awesome the closest Simeon could get to the living God. But here s something even better: When we trust in Jesus, we have God s Spirit living in us! He s the best gift we could ever receive the ultimate gift that can satisfy our souls completely. Take some time to meditate on the fact that God has given us the greatest gift we ll ever receive. Ask God to fill your soul with gratitude, awe, and praise for the gift of His Son. Invite Him to amaze you with the gift of His love so that you feel like Simeon: overwhelmed with joy and satisfaction. SMALL GROUP Children engage in fun, creative activities designed to pique their curiosity about the day s portion of The Big God Story. Today s lesson highlights Simeon and Anna, two worshippers of God who had faith that the promised Messiah would one day come to earth. Choosing to follow Jesus stretches us and our faith. In these EXPLORE activities, kids will play with stretchy items. Stretchy Things Stretchy items (such as rubber bands, elastic, hair ties, stretchy fabric, or headbands) SET UP Place the stretchy items in the middle of one table, or divide them up among a few tables. As the children arrive, encourage them to explore the stretchy things. (Tell the kids to be careful with the rubber bands so the bands don t snap or hurt someone.) Ask the kids open-ended questions about the things they re exploring and the concept of stretching for example, what happens when you stretch each item? How does each item stretch differently from the others? Also encourage the kids to stretch their own bodies, and ask them: What does it feel like when your muscles stretch? LARGE GROUP Children participate in discovering God s Word through Bible verse memorization, interactive storytelling techniques, and worship as response. Traditions and Remember Verse Remember Verse image (see Resources) Remember Verse animation (see Resources) Mementos for your church Traditions (rocks, marbles, gum balls, etc.)

3 Give the children mementos (such as rocks, marbles, or blocks) for accomplishments such as memorizing the Remember Verse or bringing their Bibles. Have them put the objects into a clear container or add them to a structure, and celebrate when it s complete. This week s Remember Verse focuses on a character trait of God that s highlighted in today s portion of The Big God Story. The LORD your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing. Zephaniah 3:17 Connect QUESTION When was a time you were asked to do something hard? The Big God Story Bible Passage: Luke 2:21 40 Storytelling Technique: Call and Response, Actions, and Images God Honors Faith Timeline image (see Resources) Timeline animation (see Resources) Images: Baby Jesus, Temple, Anna and Simeon (see Resources) Bibles How many of you have had a baby brother or sister? Encourage kids to raise hands. How did your family feel when the baby finally arrived? Invite a few kids to share responses. A new baby brings so much excitement and it s even more exciting when the baby is the promised Savior, Jesus! But before we head into The Big God Story, let s invite God to teach us today. Lead kids in a Prayer of Release to pause, be still, and ask the Holy Spirit to quiet their hearts and minds. For hundreds of years, God s people had faith that the Savior would come. How did God s people know that Jesus was coming? Pause for responses. Good thoughts. Yes, God sent prophets, like Jeremiah, to speak about the coming Savior. God also sent angels, like the angel who appeared to Zechariah. All of these people trusted or believed God s words, and they obeyed Him by doing what He told them to do. For example, Zechariah named his son John, just like God had said. When we trust and obey God, that s a part of having faith. It s trusting Him even when we can t see what He s doing. And God honors the faith of His people. Whenever I say, God honors you call back, the faith of His people! Let s try it together. God honors (prompt kids to say the faith of His people ). Great! We ve already seen how God honored the faith of His people by fulfilling His promise to send Jesus. Eight days after Jesus birth (Tech: Cue Baby Jesus image), His parents, Mary and Joseph, took Him to the temple to officially name Him and declare Him to be a part of the Israelite people. It s kind of like how today, when you re born, you get a birth certificate with your name on it. Invite kids to turn to Luke 2 in their Bibles. In the temple (Tech: Cue Temple image) was a man named Simeon who loved God. Simeon had waited his whole life for God to send the promised Savior. Ask a volunteer to read Luke 2:26 while everyone follows along. God had promised Simeon that he would meet the Savior before he died. Simeon had faith that God would send Jesus. And God honors (prompt kids to say phrase). Good job! On the day Mary and Joseph took Jesus to the temple, the Holy Spirit led Simeon into the temple courts. As soon as Simeon saw Jesus, he knew this baby was the Savior. He took Jesus in his arms and began to praise God. Invite kids to pretend to rock a baby in their arms as they say, Praise God! Read Luke 2:29 32 out loud while kids follow along. The Savior had come, just as God had promised, and Simeon got to meet Him face-to-face! How would you have felt if you had been Simeon meeting Jesus? Invite responses. Another person was in the temple that day: a woman named Anna. Read Luke 2:36b 38. Like Simeon, Anna loved God and had waited many, many years for the Savior. And now, after all that time, right before her eyes was Jesus! (Tech: Cue Simeon and Anna image.) God honors (prompt kids to say phrase). God honored Anna s faith and fulfilled His promise. And Anna praised God and shared the good news of Jesus with

4 everyone she could. Invite kids to stand up, find three others, and tell them, The Savior is here! Then have kids return to their seats. After their time at the temple that day, Mary and Joseph returned to Nazareth. Ask a volunteer to read Luke 2:40 aloud while everyone follows along. Jesus grew up as a child, just like all of us, but He was more than just a child: He was also God. He came to earth for a very specific purpose: to die on the cross and rise again so we can be saved. Simeon and Anna waited a long time to meet the Savior, but they had faith that God would keep His promise. God honors (prompt kids to say phrase). After they had met Jesus, they shared the good news with others. And it was incredible news! The Messiah had come to save them and us too! Truly, God honors (prompt kids to say phrase). Jesus came as a baby, lived a sinless life, died on the cross, and rose from the dead so we can be saved and live with Him forever. We can choose to place our faith in Him. We can choose to trust and obey Him. Sometimes choosing to have faith can stretch us out of our comfort zone kind of like how you stretched different items earlier today. But God can grow us as we re stretched. And as faithful followers, we can be used by God to share the good news of Jesus with others. Share about a time you saw God honor your faith or the faith of someone you know. SMALL GROUP Children reflect on what the Holy Spirit is teaching them and respond through creative activities and games. Reflect: God Honors Faith Encourage the kids to open their Bibles and read the suggested passages. Questions for Younger Kids Who was Simeon? Luke 2:25 What did God promise Simeon? Luke 2:26 How did Simeon react when he saw the baby Jesus? Luke 2:28 Who was Anna? Luke 2:37 How did Anna respond when she met Jesus? Luke 2:38 What would you have done if you had been there to meet Jesus? Questions for Older Kids Why did Mary and Joseph take Jesus to the temple? Luke 2:21 22 Who were Simeon and Anna? Luke 2:25 26, What did God promise Simeon? Luke 2:26 How did God honor Simeon s faith? How did Simeon react when he saw Jesus? Luke 2:27 29 How did Anna respond when she met Jesus? Luke 2:38 How do you think God honors your faith in Him? When was a time God asked you to have faith even when it felt uncomfortable?

5 Children receive a blessing from their leaders and sometimes one another. A blessing may be prayer of commission, a portion of Scripture, or words to encourage and guide. Remember Verse cards (see Resources) Bible Seeds (1 per child, small) Give a seed to each child. Jesus said that if we have faith as small as a tiny seed, we could tell a mountain to move and it would move! (Matthew 17:20). Open a Bible and read Ephesians 3:16 18: I pray that out of [God s] glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ. May your understanding of God s great love for you grow every day, and as it does, may you have the faith to be all that He calls you to be in the power of His Holy Spirit.