PowerPlus Preteen Camp 2018 Curriculum

Transcription

1 PowerPlus Preteen Camp 2018 Curriculum Table of Contents... 1 Pages are not numbered accordingly. Spiritual Action Plan Day 2 Bible Story (Monday or Thursday) Print one copy per Bible Story Leader from your church. Day 2 Quiet Time (Monday or Thursday) Print copies for each preteen from your church (half-pages). Day 3 Bible Story (Tuesday or Friday) Print one copy per Bible Study Leader from your church. Day 3 Quiet Time (Tuesday or Friday) Print copies for each preteen from your church (half-pages). Bedtime Dorm Devotionals Print one copy per cabin occupied by your church. Table of Contents

2 PowerPlus Preteen Camp 2018 Spiritual Action Plan Theme: Focused Theme Passage: Psalm 119: My life is down in the dust; give me life through Your word. 26 I told You about my life, and You listened to me; teach me Your statutes. 27 Help me understand the meaning of Your precepts so that I can meditate on Your wonders. 28 I am weary from grief; strengthen me through Your word. 29 Keep me from the way of deceit and graciously give me Your instruction. 30 I have chosen the way of truth; I have set Your ordinances before me. 31 I cling to Your decrees; Lord, do not put me to shame. 32 I pursue the way of Your commands, for You broaden my understanding. (HCSB) Theme Development: The Focused theme for 2018 comes from Psalm 119: The passage describes a disciple s life of seeking the Lord through the successes and failures, and the celebrations and grievings of life. Central to this life is the idea in verse 27 of meditating on the wonders of the Lord. The Amplified Bible amplifies the word meditate with the phrase focus my thoughts. This focus on the wonders of the Lord is key to following Christ through the many ebbs and flows of the Christian life. In order to help preteens make a personal identification with this concept, the eight scheduled teaching opportunities for camp (worship messages (3), bedtime dorm devotionals (3), and Bible stories (2)) will focus on the life and ministry of Simon Peter (his call, his faith, his denial, his reinstatement, his mission, and his perseverance). Camp Pastors, please take the worship message themes and topics, and develop your messages as the Holy Spirit leads you to communicate most effectively with your particular age groups. Church Bible Story Leaders, please make the Bible stories your own. The stories have been written so that they could be read verbatim, but that would probably be the weakest way to teach. Please feel free to use your own illustrations and the creative object lessons to help the preteens of your church connect with the Scripture and with the Lord. Please remember that your Bible story location will most likely be used by other church groups when it's not your scheduled Bible story time; thus, visual aids will need to be removed when you finish each story. Print the Bible stories for each of your Bible Story Leaders. Be sure to make copies of the quiet time pages before you come to camp one copy per camper. No supplies will be available at Pineywoods. Bedtime Dorm Devotional Leaders, please do NOT skip a bedtime dorm devotional. The devotionals are written specifically to help members of your cabin to meditate on the day s lessons while providing a teaching opportunity for a specific story or moral from Peter s life. Ideally they will fall asleep treasuring God s Word in their hearts. Remember to bring one copy of each night s devotional for each cabin your group occupies. PowerPlus Preteen Camp 2018 Spiritual Action Plan

3 DAY 1 (Sunday/Wednesday) Day 1 Worship Message (Camp Pastors): Get Focused On Jesus (Focused Theme Interpretation); The message will focus on Jesus call to His disciples to Follow Me, and on His emphasis on repentance. Suggested Elements: -Jesus calls people to follow Him. -Following Jesus requires repentance because every person is a sinner. -Following Jesus requires faith trusting in Him only. -Putting our faith in Jesus, and following Jesus, requires us to focus on Jesus. -When we truly get focused on Jesus, we become His friends & His family. Suggested Scriptures: John 1:35-42, Luke 4:38-39, Luke 5:1-11, Matthew 4:12-22, Mark 1:14-20 Day 1 Bedtime Dorm Devotional (Dorm Leaders): Fishers Of Men Matthew 4:18-20 DAY 2 (Monday/Thursday) Day 2 Bible Story (Church Bible Story Leaders): Jesus Helps Us Get Focused On Him Peter s life during Jesus earthly ministry Peter s Declaration about Jesus, Peter s Denial of Jesus, and Jesus Dedication to Peter (His reinstatement of Peter) Day 2 Worship Message (Camp Pastors): Re-Focused On Jesus Jesus welcomes us back when we return to Him. The message builds on the previous night s message regarding repentance and following Christ. The message also springboards from the Bible story. The message should incorporate Peter s denial of Christ & Jesus reinstatement of Peter as His disciple. Suggested Elements: -Sometimes even people who are the most faithful and focused followers of Jesus can lose their focus on Him. (Peter s denial) Highlight different temptations common to all people, especially preteens. -When we return to Jesus, He welcomes us back as His followers. -Jesus also helps us to stay focused on Him by giving us a mission by which we serve Him. ( Feed My sheep ) This will help to setup tomorrow s Bible story & message. Suggested Scriptures: Matthew 26:69-75, 1 John 1:9, John 21:15-22 Day 2 Bedtime Dorm Devotional (Dorm Leaders): Walking On Water Matthew 14:22-33 DAY 3 (Tuesday/Friday) Day 3 Bible Story (Church Bible Story Leaders): Jesus Helps Us Stay Focused On Him & His Mission Peter s life from the Ascension through his mission taking the Gospel to the Gentiles and his perseverance through persecution. Day 3 Worship Message (Camp Pastors): Stay Focused On Jesus Life on-mission for Jesus Suggested Elements: -Staying focused on Jesus is a call to daily discipleship. -Jesus calls us to serve as His ambassadors (His ministers and missionaries) to the world. -Followers of Jesus should expect persecution and be committed to persevere through it. Suggested Scriptures: Luke 9:20-26, Matthew 28:19-20, 1 Peter 4:12-19, Matthew 5:10-12, Hebrews 12:1-3, Hebrews 10:23-25 Day 3 Bedtime Dorm Devotional (Dorm Leaders): The Day of The Lord 2 Peter 3:10-14 PowerPlus Preteen Camp 2018 Spiritual Action Plan

4 PowerPlus Preteen Camp 2018 Day 2 Bible Story (Monday or Thursday) Jesus Helps Us Get Focused On Him: Simon Peter the Disciple Notes to Bible Story Leaders: 1. This lesson has been written so that you could read it as a script, but please remember that it s much better if you don t simply read it to your kids. Know the activities & the lesson beforehand, & engage your kids personally. Use this lesson as a guide. Feel free to be creative & modify or add activities. Feel free to teach this lesson from your strengths in a way that best meets your group s needs. 2. When you see ---, pause for a moment to give kids an opportunity to respond, or answer a question. 3. Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations have been taken from the Holman Christian Standard Bible, Copyright 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. In addition, bracketed words [ ] may have been inserted by the author in an attempt to help those who might be unfamiliar with some Bible words to better understand the flow of the text. Bracketed words are not intended to change the interpretation of the text in any form or fashion. The Bible text has been italicized for your convenience to more clearly distinguish it from the teaching script. Also, for your convenience, Bible passages referred to but not expressly taught, may have been included at the end of the lesson or in parentheses within the lesson. 4. Please remember to pray that God s Spirit would speak through you to the hearts of everyone who attends this Bible story. May the lost be rescued, & may the rescued be drawn to new depths of love & appreciation for Christ. Introduction: Jesus is God in human flesh. He has always been, always is, and always will be. About two thousand years ago, Jesus came to Earth to live as one of us. At Christmas, we celebrate Jesus s birth. Jesus lived on the Earth for 33 1/2 years. During the last three and a half years of His time on Earth, Jesus did a lot that was written about in the Bible. Jesus taught people about God, He healed sick people, He worked many miracles, He died to pay for our sins, He was buried, He rose back to life, and then He returned to Heaven. During those last three and a half years of His life on Earth, Jesus invested all of His time with a small group of friends called His disciples. One disciple who went almost everywhere that Jesus went, was named Simon. Does anyone remember what nickname Jesus gave to Simon? That s right, Peter. Did you know that PowerPlus Preteen Camp 2018 Monday/Thursday Bible Story Page 1

5 Peter wasn t even a name? It was the word for Rock. In fact, nobody else in the whole Bible is ever called Peter Simon is the only one. Bible Story: Simon Peter was a really interesting person. During Jesus last three and a half years on Earth, Peter was called a disciple, but after Jesus returned to Heaven, Peter was called an Apostle. The word disciple means a follower or learner. The word apostle means someone who is sent, like a missionary. Today we will learn about Peter the Disciple. Tomorrow we ll learn about Peter the Apostle. Both disciples and apostles must live very focused lives. Today we ll see how Jesus helped Peter to focus his life on Jesus, and how we can live as Jesus disciples too. Does anyone remember, from last night s bedtime dorm devotional, what Peter s job was? What was his occupation? Right, Peter was a fisherman. You might remember from the worship message last night that the way Jesus called Peter to be His disciple was with two simple words, Follow Me. The Bible says that Peter left his boats, his fishing nets, and everything else to follow Jesus. Let s think about what Peter s focus was on before Jesus came along. When Peter was a fisherman, what do you think his life was focused on? Fish, fishing, maybe providing for his family, the weather, his boats & his fishing nets Before Jesus came along, Peter was just living his life like most people do, focused on what they need to do everyday. What are some things that preteens focus their lives on everyday? School, video games, food, reading, parents, friends, etc There s not necessarily anything wrong with thinking about these things, just like it wasn t wrong for Simon Peter to think about fish, and fishing, and his family But when Jesus calls us to follow Him, our focus changes. We begin thinking about all of these things differently. Rather than just going through life always thinking about the stuff we need to do, or what we can do to have fun, we begin thinking about Jesus. We begin thinking about who Jesus really is, how He loves us, and how we can love Him with our lives. Let s look at three times in the Bible when Simon Peter s focus changed. If you have your Bible, turn to Matthew 16. (Wait for everyone to find Matthew 16 in their Bible. You might need to help them.) In Matthew 16, Jesus and His disciples traveled to a place called Caesarea Philippi. This is a real place that you can travel to today. When they got there, Jesus asked His disciples a very important question. Look at verse 13. Let s read it. PowerPlus Preteen Camp 2018 Monday/Thursday Bible Story Page 2

6 Matthew 16:13 When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, Who do people say that the Son of Man is? Did you notice that Jesus called Himself the Son of Man? This was Jesus favorite way of referring to Himself. It means Human. Jesus liked calling Himself The Human. Back to the question: What did Jesus ask His disciples? Who do people say that the Son of Man is? right. Jesus wanted them to think about who He really was, so He asked them what they had heard other people saying about Him. Let s look at verse 14 to see what they said. Matthew 16:14 And they said, Some say John the Baptist; others, Elijah; still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets. Their answer is kind of strange. They named people who were no longer alive on earth. Apparently a lot of people were watching Jesus work powerful miracles. Many of them had heard Him teaching amazing lessons about Heaven, God and life. When they saw and heard these things, the only thing people could think was that Jesus was some great person from the past that had come back from the dead. All those people were wrong, so Jesus asked a second very important question. Let s look at it in verse 15. Let s read it. Matthew 16:15 But you, He asked them, who do you say that I am? Jesus asked His disciples, Who do you say that I am? Jesus wanted them to think about who He really was, where He had come from, and what He was doing on earth. Simon Peter spoke up and answered Jesus very well. Let s read verse 16 to see what Peter said. Matthew 16:16 Simon Peter answered, You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God! Peter said a lot in this one statement. Peter called Jesus the Messiah. This was very important because all of the disciples knew who the Messiah was. For more than a thousand years people had been waiting for the Messiah to come to earth. The Messiah would be the Savior of the World the one who would come from Heaven and rescue people from all their sins. Peter also said that Jesus was the Son of the living God. This is really, really important too. When Peter said this, he was declaring that Jesus is God the God who created everything and has all power over everything. Peter was saying that Jesus wasn t some famous person from the past who came back to earth, but that Jesus is the God who always was, always is, and always will be the PowerPlus Preteen Camp 2018 Monday/Thursday Bible Story Page 3

7 Living God. In fact this is so important, look at what Jesus said to Peter about this in verses 17 and 18. Matthew 16:17 And Jesus responded, Simon son of Jonah, you are blessed because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father in heaven. 18 And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the forces of Hades will not overpower it. Wow! Jesus told Simon Peter that he was exactly right. In fact, Jesus told him that the only way he could have known this about Jesus was if God had revealed it to him. In verse 18, Jesus calls Simon by the name Peter. Do you remember what Peter means? Rock, right. In fact, in the very same statement, Jesus said that all of Christianity, the whole Church, and everything that we believe will be built on the foundation of Peter s statement that Jesus is God and the only Savior of the world. Jesus said that not even all the strength of the devil could ever overpower this truth and those who believe it. Peter was focused on Jesus as the Savior of the world God in flesh. If we are going to be Jesus disciples and follow Him, we must also believe that Jesus is God and the only Savior of the world. In fact this is the real reason why we should follow Him but that s not all that Jesus said. A couple of verses later, Jesus began to tell Peter and the other disciples what was going to happen in the very near future. Let s read verse 21. Matthew 16:21 From then on Jesus began to point out to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders, chief priests, and scribes, be killed, and be raised the third day. Jesus was proud that Peter had understood that Jesus was the Messiah, so Jesus began to share with him more about Himself. Jesus began telling them about what was going to happen to Him when He traveled to the city of Jerusalem. What were the different things that Jesus said was going to happen to Him? Look in verse 21 again That He would suffer many things, be killed, and be raised back to life on the third day, right! Can you imagine if you were Simon Peter and you were hearing Jesus say these things? What do you think you would feel like when you heard Him say this? Anger, fear, confusion, worry, maybe you would think that Jesus was wrong, or how you would fight to make sure such terrible things would never happen to Jesus. Look at verse 22 to see exactly what Peter did. Matthew 16:22 Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke [firmly correct] Him, Oh no, Lord! This will never happen to You! PowerPlus Preteen Camp 2018 Monday/Thursday Bible Story Page 4

8 Peter had been so focused on the truth of who Jesus is, that He forgot that Jesus came to do something very important. Look at verse 23 to see what Jesus said to Peter. Matthew 16:23 But He [Jesus] turned and told Peter, Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me because you re not thinking about God s concerns, but man s. Wow! Just a few verses before, Jesus was praising Peter for having the right focus, but in verse 23, Jesus called Peter the devil. Now of course Jesus didn t mean that Peter was literally the devil, but He explained that Peter was a temptation or offense to Jesus. What was so bad about what Peter had said? Peter was just saying that he would never let Jesus suffer & die. The problem was that Jesus came to the earth to suffer and die and be raised back to life. This was the way He was going to save people from all of their sins. Peter had already stopped focusing on God s plan he had started focusing on his own plan. Sometimes this can happen to us too. Did you notice at the end of verse 23 that Jesus told Peter you re not thinking about God s concerns, but man s? Wanting Jesus to stay alive and never suffer was not a bad thing to want but that wasn t God s plan. God s plan was to rescue people from all their sins by paying for them with His own life. This is the greatest and purest expression of love. Peter didn t understand this yet, so Jesus helped Peter refocus on what God s plan was. In the next few verses, Jesus explained to His disciples how His followers must focus their lives. Let s read verses 24 through 27 together. Matthew 16:24 Then Jesus said to His disciples, If anyone wants to come with Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me. 25 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life because of Me will find it. 26 What will it benefit a man if he gains the whole world yet loses his life? Or what will a man give in exchange for his life? 27 For the Son of Man is going to come with His angels in the glory of His Father, and then He will reward each according to what he has done. In just a few verses, Jesus said a lot about what it means to follow Him. He said to follow Him, someone must deny himself; in other words, not live for himself or herself, but live for Jesus and His plan. Jesus also asked a powerful question that has an obvious answer. In verse 26, Jesus made it clear that even if you gained the whole world but didn t live for Jesus, everything you gained would be completely worthless. Wow! If we re going to follow Jesus, we must believe that He is God and that He is the only Savior of the world. If we re going to follow Jesus, we must also follow His plan, and not our own. Sometimes Simon Peter got it right, and sometimes PowerPlus Preteen Camp 2018 Monday/Thursday Bible Story Page 5

9 he lost his focus just like we sometimes do. The really cool thing is that when we re serious about following Jesus, He helps us to focus on Him and His plan. We ll see this some more in the next two true stories. To see the time that Simon Peter really lost his focus, turn to Matthew 26. (Give everyone time to find Matthew 26 in their Bible.) This next true story took place on the night that Jesus was arrested the night before He was crucified [executed]. Remember that Jesus had told His friends that all this was going to happen, but Peter said he wouldn t allow it. Let s read starting in verse 31 to see what Jesus said to His disciples on that scary night. Matthew 26:31 Then Jesus said to them, Tonight all of you will run away because of Me, for it is written: I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered. 32 But after I have been resurrected, I will go ahead of you to Galilee. 33 Peter told Him, Even if everyone runs away because of You, I will never run away! 34 I assure you, Jesus said to him, tonight, before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times! 35 Even if I have to die with You, Peter told Him, I will never deny You! And all the disciples said the same thing. Did you hear it? Jesus was trying to help His friends, His disciples, to be prepared for what was about to happen, but Peter was saying the opposite again. Did you notice in verse 31 that Jesus told them that when He would be arrested, all of the disciples would run away but, Peter said in verse 33 that he would never run away, even when everyone else did. Then in the very next verse, Jesus told Peter that he was going to deny Jesus three times that very night. Of course Peter wasn t really focused on why Jesus had come to earth. Peter was focused on what he wanted to happen rather than on what God had planned to happen. In verse 35, Peter told Jesus that he would die with Jesus before he denied knowing Jesus and denied being Jesus disciple. Did you notice that it says at the end of that verse that all the other disciples said the same thing? The other disciples were listening to Simon Peter and following him even when his focus was on his own plan rather than Jesus plan. We need to remember that other people are watching how our life is focused, and sometimes others will follow us even when we re not focused on the Lord. Let s read the next verse to see what happened next on that night. Look at verse 36. Matthew 26:36 Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and He told the disciples, Sit here while I go over there and pray. 37 Taking along Peter and the two PowerPlus Preteen Camp 2018 Monday/Thursday Bible Story Page 6

10 sons of Zebedee, He began to be sorrowful and deeply distressed. 38 Then He said to them, My soul is swallowed up in sorrow to the point of death. Remain here and stay awake with Me. 39 Going a little farther, He fell facedown and prayed, My Father! If it is possible, let this cup pass from Me. Yet not as I will, but as You will. 40 Then He came to the disciples and found them sleeping. He asked Peter, So, couldn t you stay awake with Me one hour? 41 Stay awake and pray, so that you won t enter into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. 42 Again, a second time, He went away and prayed, My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, Your will be done. 43 And He came again and found them sleeping, because they could not keep their eyes open. 44 After leaving them, He went away again and prayed a third time, saying the same thing once more. 45 Then He came to the disciples and said to them, Are you still sleeping and resting? Look, the time is near. The Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners. 46 Get up; let s go! See, My betrayer is near. Jesus told Peter and the others to stay awake and pray for Him, but what was Peter doing each time Jesus came back to them? Sleeping, right. Jesus wanted Peter and the others to be very focused on God s plan by praying very seriously for Jesus, but instead the disciples just kept falling asleep. I wonder how many times God wants us to pray seriously about something or for someone and all we do is sleep or get distracted with something. Let s keep reading in verse 47. Matthew26:47 While He [Jesus] was still speaking, Judas, one of the Twelve, suddenly arrived. A large mob, with swords and clubs, was with him from the chief priests and elders of the people. 48 His betrayer had given them a sign: The One I kiss, He s the One; arrest Him! 49 So he went right up to Jesus and said, Greetings, Rabbi! and kissed Him. 50 Friend, Jesus asked him, why have you come? Then they came up, took hold of Jesus, and arrested Him. 51 At that moment one of those with Jesus [Peter] reached out his hand and drew his sword. He struck the high priest s slave and cut off his ear. 52 Then Jesus told him, Put your sword back in its place because all who take up a sword will perish by a sword. 53 Or do you think that I cannot call on My Father, and He will provide Me at once with more than 12 legions of angels? 54 How, then, would the Scriptures be fulfilled that say it must happen this way? 55 At that time Jesus said to the crowds, Have you come out with swords and clubs, as if I were a criminal, to capture Me? Every day I used to sit, teaching in the temple complex, and you didn t arrest Me. 56 But all this has happened so that the prophetic Scriptures would be fulfilled. Then all the disciples deserted Him and ran away. PowerPlus Preteen Camp 2018 Monday/Thursday Bible Story Page 7

11 Did you notice that in these verses it was actually one of Jesus disciples who betrayed Jesus to the people who arrested Him? That disciple s name was Judas. He completely lost his focus on Jesus. Did you also notice that when the men grabbed Jesus to arrest Him, one of Jesus disciples pulled out a sword? Does anyone know which disciple that was? Peter, right. This story is also written in John 18, and in verse 10 of that book it says this was Peter that cut the servant s ear off. Here s another time when Peter was thinking about his own plan to rescue Jesus, rather than focusing on Jesus plan to rescue the whole world. Then verse 56 ends with something very sad. It says that all the disciples of Jesus deserted Him & ran away. All of Jesus followers ran away and left Him. If you were Jesus, and all of your friends left you and ran away, how would that make you feel? Sad, mad, etc. We need to remember this. When we take our focus off of Jesus when we run away from Him, it makes Him sad and mad. Now let s read the rest of the chapter and find out what happened to Jesus, and what Peter did. Let s read starting with verse 57. Matthew 26:57 Those who had arrested Jesus led Him away to Caiaphas the high priest, where the scribes and the elders had convened. 58 Meanwhile, Peter was following Him at a distance right to the high priest s courtyard. He went in and was sitting with the temple police to see the outcome. 59 The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for false testimony against Jesus so they could put Him to death. 60 But they could not find any, even though many false witnesses came forward. Finally, two who came forward 61 stated, This man said, I can demolish God s sanctuary and rebuild it in three days. 62 The high priest then stood up and said to Him, Don t You have an answer to what these men are testifying against You? 63 But Jesus kept silent. Then the high priest said to Him, By the living God I place You under oath: tell us if You are the Messiah, the Son of God! 64 You have said it, Jesus told him. But I tell you, in the future you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of the Power and coming on the clouds of heaven. 65 Then the high priest tore his robes and said, He has blasphemed! Why do we still need witnesses? Look, now you ve heard the blasphemy! 66 What is your decision? They answered, He deserves death! 67 Then they spit in His face and beat Him; others slapped Him 68 and said, Prophesy to us, Messiah! Who hit You? The officials were being very hateful to Jesus. What kinds of things were they doing to Jesus? That s right, they were spitting on Him, beating Him, slapping Him, and telling lies about Him. Did you notice in verse 58 that Peter had followed the crowd that had arrested Jesus? He wanted to see what was going to happen to Jesus. Let s see what Peter did next in verse 69. PowerPlus Preteen Camp 2018 Monday/Thursday Bible Story Page 8

12 Matthew 26:69 Now Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard. A servant approached him and she said, You were with Jesus the Galilean too. 70 But he denied it in front of everyone: I don t know what you re talking about! 71 When he had gone out to the gateway, another woman saw him and told those who were there, This man was with Jesus the Nazarene! 72 And again he denied it with an oath, I don t know the man! 73 After a little while those standing there approached and said to Peter, You certainly are one of them, since even your accent gives you away. 74 Then he started to curse and to swear with an oath, I do not know the man! Immediately a rooster crowed, 75 and Peter remembered the words Jesus had spoken, Before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times. And he went outside and wept bitterly. Do you remember that earlier that very same night, Jesus had told Peter that he would deny Jesus? Jesus told him that he would deny knowing Jesus and deny being His disciple three times before what? The rooster crowd, right. That s exactly what happened. This was really, really bad. Peter was scared. How could this have happened though? Remember when Peter was at the lake three and half years before? When Jesus told Peter, Follow Me, Peter left everything behind immediately to follow Jesus. Peter had lived with Jesus, seen Jesus work many miracles and teach many wonderful truths about God and Heaven. Remember, Peter was even the disciple who made the true declaration that Jesus is God and the only Savior of the world. Peter had been so focused on Jesus and Jesus perfect plan, but then along the way, Peter began focusing on his own plan. Peter lost his focus on the plan that God had for Jesus to die to rescue the world from sin. Peter lost his focus so much that he even told people three times that did not even know Jesus. Look back at the end of verse 75. What does it say that Peter did when he remembered what Jesus had predicted? He went outside and wept bitterly, that s exactly right. When Peter took his focus off of Jesus, it broke his heart. Probably it broke Jesus heart too. Although Peter and the other disciples ran away, God s plan was still fulfilled. Jesus was executed. He died to pay for all the sins of people. Jesus was buried on Friday afternoon, and on Sunday morning, Jesus came back to life. Although Peter and the other disciples had all abandoned Jesus, Jesus came and found them. Jesus spoke lovingly to them and encouraged them. When they saw Jesus alive, they all believed in Him and refocused their lives on Him and on His plan. Do you remember how Peter had become the leader of the other disciples how the other disciples had followed Peter s example and his words? This was actually part of God s big PowerPlus Preteen Camp 2018 Monday/Thursday Bible Story Page 9

13 plan. Jesus wanted Peter to be a leader among the disciples, but there was a big problem Peter had denied Jesus on that night before Jesus was killed. Peter hadn t just denied knowing Jesus once, but Peter denied being Jesus disciple three times! Let s turn to John 21 to see how Jesus helped Peter get his focus back. (Give everyone time to find John 21.) In John 21, Simon Peter and the other disciples had been fishing all night. In the morning, they saw Jesus standing on the shore. Jesus had cooked breakfast for His disciples and invited them to eat. Let s read starting in verse 15. John 21:15 When they had eaten breakfast, Jesus asked Simon Peter, Simon, son of John, do you love Me more than these? Yes, Lord, he said to Him, You know that I love You. Feed My lambs, He told him. 16 A second time He asked him, Simon, son of John, do you love Me? Yes, Lord, he said to Him, You know that I love You. Shepherd My sheep, He told him. 17 He asked him the third time, Simon, son of John, do you love Me? Peter was grieved that He asked him the third time, Do you love Me? He said, Lord, You know everything! You know that I love You. Feed My sheep, Jesus said. In these verses, what did Jesus ask Peter? Do you love Me? right. How many times did Jesus ask Peter? Three times, right. Did you catch what Jesus did for Peter? After Simon Peter had denied Jesus three times, Jesus helped him get his focus back by asking him three times if he loved Him. When we mess up, Jesus is there waiting for us to come back to Him. In these verses, what did Jesus tell Peter to do each time after Peter answered Him? Feed My lambs, shepherd My sheep, feed My sheep, right. This was Jesus way of reminding Peter that Jesus had chosen him to lead the disciples especially after Jesus would return to Heaven. This was also a wonderful way of telling Peter that Jesus had forgiven him. Peter could now begin to focus on what Jesus had called him to do. tomorrow s Bible story. We ll learn more about that in To finish out today s story, let s read two more verses. Let s read verse 18 and 19. John 21:18 I assure you: When you were young, you would tie your belt and walk wherever you wanted. But when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands and someone else will tie you and carry you where you don t want to go. 19 He said this to PowerPlus Preteen Camp 2018 Monday/Thursday Bible Story Page 10

14 signify by what kind of death he would glorify God. After saying this, He told him, Follow Me! What were the last two words that Jesus spoke to Peter in verse 19? Follow Me, right. Remember what Jesus said to Peter three and a half years before when they were at the lake? Follow Me, right. Follow Me and I ll make you fishers of men. In tomorrow Bible story, we ll learn about how God used Peter to become a Fisher of Men. You know, this is an amazing true story all about Simon who lived a long time ago in a country far away but God wants you to follow Jesus too. He wants you to focus your life on Jesus and His great plan for you every single day. Following Jesus and focusing on His plan means you must repent (turn away from your sin & your own plan) and trust in Jesus only. When you trust in Jesus, He forgives your sin, and gives you eternal life. Some of you are ready to trust in Jesus right now. We can talk to God here, today, just like Peter talked to Him so many years ago. You can tell God that you want to be focused on Him by trusting in Jesus right now. I can help you tell Him from your heart. I will say the words out loud, but you can just repeat them in your heart. What really matters to God is that you really mean what you say in your heart. Let s bow our heads and close our eyes, so we re not distracted. If you want to give your life to God by trusting in Jesus right now, then repeat these words in your heart: Dear God,...I am sorry for my sin...the times I ve disobeyed You...I believe that Jesus paid the price for my sin...when He died on the cross for me...i believe that Jesus rose from the grave on the third day...i believe that Jesus is the only way for me to be rescued from my sin...please forgive me right now...i give my life to You...please make me Your child... please help me to be the example for other people to also trust in Jesus...I love You, Lord...in Jesus name...amen. If you prayed that prayer, and really meant it for the first time, then raise your hand right now. Don t be shy. We don t ever have to be ashamed of Jesus. In fact we need to always be proud of Him. Everybody who raised their hand, please stay right here for a few minutes. I d like to talk with you for just a moment. Everyone else can pick up a Quiet Time Page, and find a quiet place nearby to talk with God and answer the questions. Don t go too far away. I ll call everybody back together in just a few minutes. (Distribute the Quite Time Pages. Take a few minutes to counsel with those who made decisions. Call the group back together in about five or ten minutes. After Quiet Time, dismiss to Free Time.) PowerPlus Preteen Camp 2018 Monday/Thursday Bible Story Page 11

15 PowerPlus Preteen Camp 2018 Quiet Time DAY 2 (Monday or Thursday) Jesus Helps Us Get Focused On Him: Simon Peter the Disciple PowerPlus Preteen Camp 2018 Quiet Time DAY 2 (Monday or Thursday) Jesus Helps Us Get Focused On Him: Simon Peter the Disciple Sit quietly and think about the Bible story today. Remember that before Jesus came along, Simon Peter was a fisherman focused on catching fish to feed his family and make a living. Take some time to think about what your life is focused on. Think about your time where do you spend most of your time? What do you spend most of your time doing? Sit quietly and think about the Bible story today. Remember that before Jesus came along, Simon Peter was a fisherman focused on catching fish to feed his family and make a living. Take some time to think about what your life is focused on. Think about your time where do you spend most of your time? What do you spend most of your time doing? When Jesus met Simon Peter on the shore, He said Follow Me. Imagine today that Jesus is right here beside you saying to you, Follow Me. Just like Peter left his boats & and his fishing nets, you may need to leave something in order to follow Jesus. Ask God to show you what you need to leave behind so you can follow Jesus. Ask God to help you focus your life on Jesus right now. When Jesus met Simon Peter on the shore, He said Follow Me. Imagine today that Jesus is right here beside you saying to you, Follow Me. Just like Peter left his boats & and his fishing nets, you may need to leave something in order to follow Jesus. Ask God to show you what you need to leave behind so you can follow Jesus. Ask God to help you focus your life on Jesus right now. If you have given your life to Jesus, and He has given you eternal life, then take a moment to tell Him thank You for forgiving your sin, and for giving you eternal life. If you have given your life to Jesus, and He has given you eternal life, then take a moment to tell Him thank You for forgiving your sin, and for giving you eternal life. If you have not received eternal life, then ask God to help you give your life to Jesus. Ask Him to help you talk to your adult sponsor right now about putting your faith and trust in Jesus. As soon as we dismiss, find your sponsor and talk to them about this. You might want to tell them that you are ready to give your life to Jesus, and you would like their help. If you have not received eternal life, then ask God to help you give your life to Jesus. Ask Him to help you talk to your adult sponsor right now about putting your faith and trust in Jesus. As soon as we dismiss, find your sponsor and talk to them about this. You might want to tell them that you are ready to give your life to Jesus, and you would like their help.

16 PowerPlus Preteen Camp 2018 Day 3 Bible Story (Tuesday or Friday) Jesus Helps Us Stay Focused On Him & His Mission: Simon Peter the Apostle Notes to Bible Story Leaders: 1. This lesson has been written so that you could read it as a script, but please remember that it s much better if you don t simply read it to your kids. Know the activities & the lesson beforehand, & engage your kids personally. Use this lesson as a guide. Feel free to be creative & modify or add activities. Feel free to teach this lesson from your strengths in a way that best meets your group s needs. 2. When you see ---, pause for a moment to give kids an opportunity to respond, or answer a question. 3. Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations have been taken from the Holman Christian Standard Bible, Copyright 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. In addition, bracketed words [ ] may have been inserted by the author in an attempt to help those who might be unfamiliar with some Bible words to better understand the flow of the text. Bracketed words are not intended to change the interpretation of the text in any form or fashion. The Bible text has been italicized for your convenience to more clearly distinguish it from the teaching script. Also, for your convenience, Bible passages referred to but not expressly taught, may have been included at the end of the lesson or in parentheses within the lesson. 4. Please remember to pray that God s Spirit would speak through you to the hearts of everyone who attends this Bible story. May the lost be rescued, & may the rescued be drawn to new depths of love & appreciation for Christ. Introduction: Remember yesterday s Bible story? We learned about Simon Peter the disciple. Remember that Simon Peter was a fisherman, and that one day, Jesus met him at the Sea of Galilee and told him, Follow Me. Remember that Simon left his boat and his fishing nets and followed Jesus immediately. Yesterday we learned that Jesus gave Simon the nickname Peter. Does anyone remember what the name Peter means? Right, it means rock. Remember that Jesus asked His disciples who they thought that He was, and Peter correctly said that Jesus was God s Son, the one who had come to save people from all of their sins. We learned yesterday that Peter was a very focused follower of Jesus, but sometimes he lost his focus. Remember that immediately after Peter made this correct declaration about who Jesus was, he then said that he would never PowerPlus Preteen Camp 2018 Tuesday/Friday Bible Story Page 1

17 let anyone kill Jesus. This was against God s plan, because God s plan was for Jesus to suffer and die on the cross to pay for our sins. Then we learned that on the night that Jesus was arrested, Peter was very scared and lost his focus. Do you remember what Peter did each time that somebody asked him if he was one of Jesus disciples? Right, he denied being Jesus disciple, and he even denied ever knowing Jesus. How many times did Peter deny Jesus? Right, three times (before the rooster crowed). However, that wasn t the end of the story, was it? No. After Jesus came back to life, He met with His disciples several times to encourage them and to help them re-focus their lives on Him and on God s very big plan. We learned yesterday that Jesus asked Peter if he loved Jesus. How many times did Jesus ask Peter if he loved Him? Three times, right. Each time, Jesus told Peter to feed or care for His sheep, which was Jesus way of telling Peter that he was forgiven and that Jesus wanted Peter to lead the other disciples in the mission that Jesus was calling them to. Today, we ll learn about this mission, because it s a mission for us to be focused on in our world today. Bible Story: Today our Bible story begins in Acts 1. Turn in your Bible to Acts chapter 1. (Wait for everyone to find Acts 1 in their Bible. You may need to help some find it.) This chapter tells us what happened on the day that Jesus went back to Heaven. He was with Simon Peter and all His other disciples, and He told them something very important. Let s see what Jesus said in verse 8. Acts 1:8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come on you, and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. There were two very important things that Jesus said in this verse. First, He said that after He returned to Heaven, the Holy Spirit of God would come to earth and give power to the disciples. God s Spirit was going to come on the followers of Jesus to help them stay focused on God and His plan for the world. Second, in this verse, Jesus told His friends that they would be His witnesses right where they were (in Jerusalem), in the surrounding area (Judea), in areas farther away (like Samaria), and even to the ends of the earth. What do you think Jesus meant when He said they would be His witnesses? What does it mean to be a witness? In the original language that this Bible verse was written in, the word for witness is the word martyr. Now days, in English, the word martyr means someone who dies for what they believe in. The reason that this word means this now days is because so many of Jesus disciples were arrested or beaten or killed because they believed in Jesus, and would not stop telling people about Jesus. Our word witness has two important meanings. First it means somebody who had seen or heard something for themselves. Sometimes in court rooms during legal trials, lawyers will call PowerPlus Preteen Camp 2018 Tuesday/Friday Bible Story Page 2

18 witnesses to tell the court what they saw or heard. What these people say (their testimony) is important because it helps the judge and the jury know what actually happened. This idea actually helps us understand the second important meaning. Witness also means somebody who tells what they ve seen or heard. In Acts 1:8, Jesus told His disciples that they were going to be His witnesses That they were going to go all over the world telling people all the things that they saw Jesus do, all the things they heard Jesus say, and all about who Jesus is. What Jesus told His disciples on that day, is still true for His disciples today. Jesus wants everyone who follows Him and has their life focused on Him, to also be His witnesses. Jesus want us not only to follow Him, but also tell other people how to follow Him. It s a little more difficult for us to be witnesses for Jesus today because we have never seen Jesus with our own eyes or heard Him with our own ears. Some people might say, How can I be a witness for Jesus, since I ve never seen Him or heard Him? That s a really great question. The answer is simple Remember that Jesus told His disciples that when He went back to Heaven, He would send God s Holy Spirit to them to give them power to be His witnesses? Well, the Holy Spirit is still here today, giving power to Jesus disciples so we can be witnesses for Him too. The Holy Spirit actually comes to live inside the spirit of every person who gives their life to Jesus. When we follow Jesus and focus our lives on Him, He sends His Holy Spirit to live inside of us. His Holy Spirit helps us to stay focused on Jesus, and He helps us to know what to say so that others can also follow Jesus. Listen to what Jesus said about this in Luke 12. Luke 12:11 Whenever they bring you before synagogues and rulers and authorities, don t worry about how you should defend yourselves or what you should say. 12 For the Holy Spirit will teach you at that very hour what must be said. Another reason we can be witnesses for Jesus is because we have the Bible. What are the two main parts of the Bible called? Right, the Old Testament and the New Testament. Did you know that the whole Bible testifies or witnesses about who Jesus is? The Old Testament was written before Jesus came to earth. It was written to prepare people for Him coming to earth. The Old Testament is amazing because hundreds of years before Jesus came to earth, it told of the wonderful things that Jesus was going to do when He came to earth and do you know what happened? All of those things came true. How do we know that all of those things came true? That s where the New Testament comes in. The New Testament was written by Jesus disciples all those people who heard with their own ears, saw with their own eyes, or people who knew those people who saw and heard for themselves. While the Old Testament tells us the story of everything before Jesus came to earth, the New Testament tells us the true story of what PowerPlus Preteen Camp 2018 Tuesday/Friday Bible Story Page 3

19 happened when Jesus came, and how Jesus disciples became His witnesses. We can read the Bible for ourselves in fact, we should read the Bible for ourselves. We should read some of the Bible every single day. We should memorize Bible verses and learn the true stories. We should learn the Bible because it s God s Word, written down by people who listened very carefully to God s Holy Spirit. When we learn the Bible for ourselves, then God s Holy Spirit focuses our lives on Jesus and helps us become even better witnesses for Jesus. Jesus disciple, Simon Peter, became a powerful witness after Jesus returned to Heaven. Turn your Bible to Acts chapter 2. (Give everyone time to find Acts 2 in their Bible.) The events of Acts chapter 2 actually took place ten days after Jesus returned to Heaven. Let s look at how Jesus helped Peter to focus on the mission of being Jesus witness. Look what happened starting in verse 1. Acts 2:1 When the day of Pentecost had arrived, they [Jesus disciples] were all together in one place. 2 Suddenly a sound like that of a violent rushing wind came from heaven, and it filled the whole house where they were staying. 3 And tongues, like flames of fire that were divided, appeared to them and rested on each one of them. 4 Then they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in different languages, as the Spirit gave them ability for speech. 5 There were Jews living in Jerusalem, devout men from every nation under heaven. 6 When this sound occurred, a crowd came together and was confused because each one heard them [Jesus disciples] speaking in his own language. 7 And they were astounded and amazed, saying, Look, aren t all these who are speaking Galileans? 8 How is it that each of us can hear in our own native language? So this is pretty cool, huh? Remember that Jesus told His disciples that after He returned to Heaven, He would send the Holy Spirit to give them power to be His witnesses? Well, this is when it happened. On that day, when the Holy Spirit came to live inside of Jesus followers, He gave the disciples a very special and amazing power. The Holy Spirit gave Jesus disciples the power to speak in other human languages languages that they had never studied and didn t have any way to speak those languages before. It was such a big deal that people from all over the city of Jerusalem came to see what was going on. Look down in verse 11 and see what else the people in the crowd said to the disciples: Acts 2:11b we hear them speaking the magnificent acts of God in our own languages. 12 They [the people in the crowd] were all astounded and perplexed, saying to one another, What could this be? 13 But some sneered and said, They re full of new wine! PowerPlus Preteen Camp 2018 Tuesday/Friday Bible Story Page 4