2019 NORTH AMERICAN MISSION STUDY FOR CHILDREN

Transcription

1 2019 NORTH AMERICAN MISSION STUDY FOR CHILDREN Big Changes Ahead... He has given us a new birth into a living hope... (1 Peter 1:3, CSB). STUDY OVERVIEW Encounters with God bring change. Perhaps no one understood this better than Saul after he met Jesus on the road to Damascus. He truly experienced a new birth into a living hope. Because of the changes in his own life, Saul became one of the biggest instigators of change in his world. Fast-forward to A troubled young man from Puerto Rico suddenly met the very same God who so dramatically changed Saul s life. Jorge was facing prison when he called out to God, If You save my life from jail, I will give You my life forever, and I will serve You forever. God answered Jorge s prayer, and he discovered firsthand that God still changes lives. After his encounter with God, Jorge went home to Puerto Rico. Not long after that, Hurricane Maria hit his home town of Comerío, providing opportunities for Jorge to share the love of God and bring hope to his neighbors and family. Today, Jorge is a church planting missionary in Puerto Rico, introducing people to the same God who changed him, Saul, and millions more. In this lesson, children will learn how God changed Saul and Jorge. They will also be challenged to invite the God of change to bring real change to their own lives. Prepare for the study Explore AnnieArmstrong.com for resources to enhance the learning experience for your children, such as videos, promotional materials, missionary contact information, information on the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering and more. Download the study materials and video from online or from the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering promotional DVD/DVD-ROM your church should have received in January. The video for children is titled Children Study - Puerto Rico and features Jorge Santiago and his ministry in Comerío, Puerto Rico. Learn more about Send Relief s response to the hurricanes in Puerto Rico at sendrelief.org/puertorico. Prepare for the Lesson Gather the following supplies for Colorful Changes, and prepare red cabbage indicator. See instructions in the Opening activity. Red cabbage indicator, prepared ahead Lemon juice Vinegar Household bleach Four clear drinking glasses or plastic cups Tablespoon Teaspoon Acquire equipment to show missionary video. Obtain a whiteboard and dry-erase markers to use during Bible story, A Really BIG Change. Gather supplies for Hidden Message, and prepare the poster so it can dry before class. See instructions in the Bible verse activity. Poster board, prepared ahead Paintbrushes Grape juice Disposable tablecloth Printed copies of My Hidden Message for each child 1

2 Gather supplies for Laundry Basket Prayer. Fill a laundry basket with clean clothes to which you have attached prayer requests with safety pins. Instructions are in the Challenge and Closing. Device to play music Laundry basket Before the lesson, roughly chop half a red cabbage. Place chopped cabbage into a pot and cover with water. Place pot onto the stove and bring water to a boil. Next, remove cabbage from heat, stir well, and cool to room temperature (about 30 minutes). Strain the cabbage, and save the liquid. The liquid will be purple or blue. Clean clothes Laundry Basket Prayer Request Cards Scissors Safety pins 1. As children arrive, show the red cabbage liquid you prepared before the meeting. Pour a 1/2 cup of cabbage liquid into each glass or plastic cup. Tell children that throughout the session you will be talking about how things can change. Lesson Summary In this lesson, children will learn how God changes lives as they hear the story of Saul s conversion on the road to Damascus and the story of Jorge Santiago, a church planter in Puerto Rico. They will learn how God used the changes in both Saul and Jorge to impact others and bring change to their lives. Children will be challenged to allow God to make changes in their lives as He gives them a new birth into a living hope. Children will learn how their gifts to the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering support missionaries who introduce people to the life-changing God. Opening Activity (10 minutes) Colorful Changes Red cabbage indicator (prepared before class) Lemon juice Vinegar Household bleach Four clear drinking glasses or plastic cups Tablespoon Teaspoon 2. As children observe, stir one tablespoon of lemon juice into one glass of cabbage liquid. Discuss the change. (It will change to a deep pink color.) 3. Then, stir one tablespoon of vinegar into another glass of cabbage liquid. Discuss the change. (It will change to a deep pink color.) 4. Next, stir one teaspoon of baking soda into another glass of cabbage liquid. Discuss the change. (It will change to a blue or green color.) 5. Finally, stir one tablespoon of bleach into the last glass of cabbage liquid. Discuss the change. (It will change to a greenish-yellow color.) 6. Ask children to guess why the cabbage liquid changed colors. Explain that the cabbage water is neutral. When you added the other items to the neutral solution, it changed color, indicating if the additive is an acid or base. Point out that an acid will turn the cabbage liquid a deep pink color and a base will turn the cabbage liquid a blue or green color. 7. Recall how the cabbage liquid changed color depending on the additive. Determine which additives were acids (vinegar and lemon juice) and which were bases (baking soda and bleach). 8. Tell children that you will also be sharing with them some ways God changes lives in really big ways. 2

3 Bible Story (10 15 minutes) A Really BIG Change Part 1: Saul Dry-erase markers Whiteboard 1. Divide children into pairs. Each pair will choose one person to be the observer and another person to be the changer. 2. Instruct each pair to turn back to back. Direct the observers to close their eyes. 3. Instruct the changers to change something small about their appearances. They could remove jewelry, take off socks, pull their hair back, untuck or tuck their shirts, etc. The changes should be easy to spot. 4. Lead the children to turn around and face one another. Challenge the observers to determine what their partners changed. 5. Tell the children some changes are small, like the ones in the game. But sometimes changes are really big, like the one in the story you re going to tell them. Read this story aloud: Saul was a Jew and a Pharisee. He was a very smart man and thought he knew all about God. When the Christians began teaching that Jesus was God s Son, Saul was very upset. He thought the Christians were liars. How could Jesus be God s Son? Saul went to the priest and got permission to arrest the Christians in Damascus and put them in jail. Saul took some men with him and began his journey to Damascus. As Saul was walking along, he suddenly saw a bright light flash from heaven. He was so frightened that he fell on the ground. Then he heard a loud voice calling his name. The voice asked, Saul, Saul, why are you against me? Now Saul was terrified. He asked, Who are you? The voice answered, I am Jesus. I am the one you are trying to hurt. Get up and go to the city. You will find out what to do next when you get there. When Saul stood up and opened his eyes, he realized that he was blind. The men traveling with him had heard the voice, too. They held Saul s hands and helped him find his way to Damascus. Saul was blind for three days. A Christian man named Ananias lived in Damascus. While he was praying, the Lord spoke to him. He told Ananias to go to the house where Saul was staying. He told Ananias to pray for Saul to be able to see again. Ananias was afraid. He had heard how Saul put Christians in prison. The Lord told Ananias Saul had changed. He said Saul would tell many people about Jesus, and they would believe because of him. Ananias trusted God to keep him safe. He went to Saul and prayed for him. Saul could see immediately. After this, Saul believed Jesus was the son of God. At first, the Christians in Damascus were afraid of Saul. They had a hard time believing he had changed. But soon they could see he really loved Jesus. Saul began to teach about Jesus and many people believed. God had changed Saul s life. (based on Acts 9:1 22) 1. Draw two large outlines of a man on the whiteboard, resembling the shape of a gingerbread man. Label one before and one after. 2. Ask the children to describe what Saul was like before and after he met Jesus on the road to Damascus. They can tell about his actions and what his heart was like. 3. Allow children to take turns writing their answers inside the shapes on the board. 4. Recall how God changed Saul s life. Tell them we have hope because God still changes lives today. 5. Read aloud the following Bible verse, and ask children to repeat after you:... He has given us a new birth into a living hope... (1 Peter 1:3, HCSB). Missionary Story/Video (10 15 minutes) A Really BIG Change Part 2: Jorge Equipment to show the video 1. Show the missionary video. 2. When the video is finished, ask the children to listen as you read a story about Jorge. 3

4 Jorge Santiago grew up in Comerío, Puerto Rico. When he was young, he got into some trouble. He was spending time with friends who were not good influences. Jorge s parents sent him to live in Washington, D.C., for a while, hoping he would make new friends and better choices. Living so far from home must have been a really big change for Jorge. Sadly, Jorge got into trouble again. It seemed that he might have to go to jail. Jorge was frightened. He prayed to God, If You save my life from jail, I will give You my life forever, and I will serve You forever. God heard Jorge s prayer, and he did not have to go to jail. Then an exciting thing happened to Jorge: he became a Christian! Now that s a really big change! Jorge loved going to church. The leaders in the church noticed something special about Jorge. They began training him to be a minister. Then Jorge met Rebeca, and they married. Their church encouraged Jorge and Rebeca to move to Puerto Rico to start a church. They moved to Comerío, where Jorge grew up. Can you imagine what the people in Comerío thought when they heard Jorge wanted to start a church? They remembered what Jorge was like before he left. They remembered how he got into trouble. But it didn t take long, and they saw what a really big change God had made in Jorge s life. Before Jorge and Rebeca could start a church, a huge hurricane hit Comerío. It was devastating. People lost their homes and all their belongings. They did not have food or clean water to drink. Jorge says the people were really afraid and desperate. The people needed so much that it was overwhelming. Jorge wondered what he could to do to help. Then he had an idea. Jorge noticed the people had no way to wash their clothes. They tried washing them in the river, but the clothes did not get clean. And the clothes smelled bad. Family and friends had sent money to Jorge and Rebeca to help them. They decided to use the money to buy washing machines so people could wash their clothes. But they had a problem: there was no electricity to run the machines. Then Jorge got a phone call from another missionary in Puerto Rico. He told Jorge there was a package for him at the Send Relief warehouse. Send Relief is a part of the North American Mission Board that helps people in need. Send Relief had sent supplies to the pastors in Puerto Rico to help them minister to the people. When Jorge opened his package, he was so surprised. Inside he found tools and a generator! This was exactly what he needed to make the washing machines run! The people in Comerío were thankful for the washing machines. Jorge was able to talk to many people about Jesus while they washed their clothes. He told them about the hope they can have because of Jesus. Jorge and Rebeca started a church for the people. It is called One Church. The people can see the really big change God has made in Jorge s life. And that gives them hope, too. 3. When you have finished reading the story, tell the children the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering provides money for missionaries to help people in need. Bible Verse Activity (10 minutes) Hidden Message Poster board Paintbrushes or cotton swabs Grape juice Disposable tablecloth Printed copies of My Hidden Message for each child Before the lesson, prepare the hidden message Bible verse. Mix equal parts of baking soda and water. Use a paintbrush to write the Bible verse in large letters on the poster board. Allow plenty of time for the baking soda mixture to dry. 1. Cover a table with a disposable tablecloth to protect it from the grape juice. 2. Place the hidden message Bible verse poster on the table. Inform children there is a hidden message on the poster. 3. Pour grape juice into a bowl, and tell the children dip their brushes or cotton swabs into it. Instruct them to brush the juice across the poster and look for a change. 4. After the hidden message is revealed, ask children to read the verse aloud together several times. 5. Give children printed copies of My Hidden Message to take home. They can make their own hidden messages to give to their friends. 4

5 Challenge and Closing (5 10 minutes) Laundry Basket Prayer Device to play music Laundry basket Clean clothes Printed prayer request cards Scissors Safety pins Before the lesson, print and cut out Laundry Basket Prayer Request Cards. Pin the prayer requests to the articles of clothing, and place the clothing in a laundry basket. 1. Play music, and direct children to pass the basket around the circle. 2. At intervals, stop the music. The child who is holding the basket when the music stops should take a piece of clothing from the basket and read the prayer request on the card. 3. Continue until all the prayer requests have been read. 4. Ask for volunteers to pray for the prayer requests. 5. Challenge children to find ways to tell others about the change God can make in their lives. 6. Remind children they can be a part of sharing hope through their gifts to the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering. Encourage children to think of ways they can earn or collect funds for this special offering. 5

6 LAUNDRY BASKET PRAYER REQUEST CARDS Pray for Jorge and Rebeca to be safe in Comerío. Pray for Jorge and Rebeca s children, Sebastian and Sophia. Pray they will tell their friends about Jesus. Pray for supplies for the people in Puerto Rico to rebuild their homes. Pray for food and clean water for the people in Comerío and other places hit by disasters like hurricanes. Pray for One Church to reach many people for Christ. Pray for Puerto Rico. There are many other communities there that have suffered because of Hurricane Maria. Pray for people who will start new churches in Puerto Rico. There are many cities and towns there that have no Southern Baptist churches. Thank God for the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering that provides funds for missionaries and their work. Pray for your church to be generous as they give to the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering. Pray God will show you how you can share the hope of Jesus with your family and friends. Pray people can see the really big change God has made in your life. Pray for missionaries all over North America who are sharing the good news of Jesus and for God to help them in their work.

7 MY HIDDEN MESSAGE You can share the hope of Jesus. Make your own hidden message and share it with a friend. What you need: Water Paper (card stock is best) Cotton swab or paintbrush Grape juice What you do: 1. Mix together 1/4 cup of baking soda with 1/4 cup of water. If it is too thick, add a few drops of water and stir. 2. Decide what you want your hidden message to be. You could write your favorite Bible verse. 3. Use the cotton swab or paintbrush to write your message on the card stock. 4. Set aside your hidden message to dry. It must dry thoroughly before you can reveal the message. 5. Give your hidden message to a friend. 6. Tell your friend to paint over the message with grape juice to reveal it.... He has given us a new birth into a living hope... (1 Peter 1:3)