Faith in Jesus is the Only Way to Fly

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Anis Flynn
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3 Faith in Jesus is the Only Way to Fly KEY VERSE John 14:6 STICKY STATEMENT Faith in Jesus is the only way to fly. LESSON OBJECTIVE Children will understand that it is only through putting their faith and trust in Jesus Christ and His finished work on the cross, not their good works, that they can have a right relationship with God. CHECKLIST 1. A PowerPoint is available for this lesson. 2. Plain sheets of 8x11 paper (One for each child) (Introduction) 3. Masking tape to mark off a starting line (Introduction) 4. Small prize for the airplane-throwing champion (Suggestion: a toy plane made from balsa-wood) (Introduction) 5. Stickers, markers, or crayons for decorating their paper airplanes (Younger Adaptation) LESSON OVERVIEW Using paper airplanes, we can demonstrate that our best efforts fall short of what is needed to get us to a right relationship with God and that the only way and truth is through Jesus Christ. Teacher s Note: The following video shows how to make the airplane/rocket/cross for this lesson. You will need to practice how to fold and tear the paper prior to presenting your lesson. Have your paper plane already folded before you begin teaching. Practice the technique that shows you how to have the cross pop-up at the end of the demonstration. Airplane Simple Christian Object Lesson 5-1/ (6:08). Younger Adaptation Teacher s Note: Have a number of premade paper airplanes for children who are unable or unwilling to try to make one. Let them decorate their plane with crayons, markers, or stickers as they arrive for class. I imagine you never flew paper airplanes in church before. Your airplanes look great! Let s see who can get their plane to fly the farthest. [Recognize the child whose plane went the farthest. Have the children return to their seats and proceed with the lesson.] 35. Faith in Jesus is the Only Way to Fly (Module 11 Ready Set Know Then Go!) - 247

4 INTRODUCTION Today we re going to make paper airplanes and see who can make their plane fly the farthest. I imagine that you never thought you would be flying paper airplanes in church. Teacher s Note: Pass out 8 ½ x 11" plain paper. Limit time to about 3 minutes of construction time. Using masking tape, mark off a line behind which children will stand to throw their airplanes. Line the children up behind the tape and, on your signal, have each one fly his/her plane across the room. If your class is very large, divide the class into smaller groups, and select one group at a time to launch their planes. Recognize the child whose plane went the farthest. Have the children return to their seats. You did a great job flying your paper airplanes and some of them went quite far. Now, let me ask you, does anyone think they can fly their paper airplane, let s say.all the way back to your house? No, of course not. Even though [insert winning person s name] had the plane that flew the farthest in our room, his/her plane isn t powerful enough to fly all the way home, is it? BODY [Hold your pre-made airplane in your hand. Move it around as you teach the lesson.] I made my own special paper airplane to help me show you some important ideas for our lesson today. If this were a real airplane, it could take us up in the clouds, maybe across an ocean, or even to another country. Can an airplane take you all the way to the moon? Of course not, but maybe someday in the future. However, to even try to get to the moon, you will need a rocket. [At this point, tear off the wings of your airplane as you talk to reveal the rocket ship.] To go to your friend s house, you can walk or even ride your bike or skateboard. The fastest way to visit another country across the ocean is to fly on a jumbo jet. But to explore outer space, you will need powerful engines that are only found on a rocket. Do you know that astronauts have already landed on the moon? As we sit here today, the unmanned space rover called the Mars Pathfinder is exploring Mars and sending pictures back to Earth. Do you think it will ever be possible for someone to design a mega rocket ship that will take people all the way to Heaven? Even if we had the know-how and the power, no one knows where Heaven is located. The Bible doesn t tell us where Heaven is, but it does say that Heaven is a perfect place because it was created by a perfect God. There is no sickness, no pain, no death, and no bad things of any kind! Can you even imagine what that would be like? But to get to Heaven, we must have a right relationship with God. Some people believe they can get into a right relationship with God on their own. They think if they just follow the rules, obey their parents and teachers, work hard, and are kind to everybody that they will be right with God. Some folks believe that going to church every week, getting baptized or becoming a member of a church will surely be enough to make them right with God. Let s say that you were able to do all the good things that I just mentioned. The Bible says that you still have a problem and that problem is sin. [Read Romans 3:23.] You see, anything that we think, or say, or do that displeases God is sin. Our sin separates us from God. God is perfect and no one who is less than perfect can go to Heaven. No one will be able to go to Heaven by doing good things. The Bible also tells us that there must be a punishment for sin. [Read Romans 6:23.] Just as you get punished for breaking rules or doing wrong, God must punish sin. That punishment is separation from God. 35. Faith in Jesus is the Only Way to Fly (Module 11 Ready Set Know Then Go!) - 248

5 Since God wants us to live forever with Him, He made a way so that our sin could be forgiven by letting someone else take the punishment we deserve. God sent His only Son, Jesus, into the world to take your punishment and mine so we could have a right relationship with God. Jesus, God s only Son came into this world and lived His whole life without sin. Just like His Father, Jesus is perfect. [Pop open the rocket into the cross.] When the time was right, Jesus willingly allowed evil men to put Him on the cross to take the punishment for all my sin and all your sin, and the sin of every person who ever lived. If we want to have a relationship with God, we must believe that Jesus died on the cross for our sin and trust Him as our own personal Savior. Our faith in Jesus Christ makes us right with God. We are not made right with God by obeying a bunch of rules or just trying to be good. Faith in Jesus is the only way to fly! APPLICATION Today we talked about how your best efforts to fly your paper airplane to your house would fail. An airplane cannot get you to the moon, nor can a rocket get you to Heaven. Just as none of these things will work, your good works cannot fix your broken relationship with God. You simply need to believe and accept that Jesus died on the cross for your sin, was buried, and after three days Jesus rose from the dead. He took your punishment. Jesus is the only way for you to have your relationship made right with God. Listen as I read the words of Jesus from John 14:6. [Read John 14:6.] Your faith must be in God s Son, Jesus Christ. You see, faith in Jesus is the only way to fly! Aren t you glad that God sent Jesus so that you can be forgiven of your sin and have a relationship with Him? If you haven t accepted Jesus as your Savior, you can do that today right now. Be sure to talk to one of our leaders about asking Jesus to become your own personal Savior. If you have already trusted Jesus, you can share this story with your family and friends so that they, too can know that faith in Jesus is the only way to fly! [Close in prayer.] PERSONAL TRAINING TIME Goal of this Personal Training Time Make sure each child understands fully what it means to accept Christ as their personal Savior. Be prepared to talk with your children about what it means to put their faith in Jesus Christ. Discussion Questions 1. What is sin? Give us some examples of sin. (Remember sin is anything we think or say or do that displeases God. You will probably get responses like lying, stealing, disobeying parents or having a bad attitude.) 2. What was God s plan to make a way for us to have our sins forgiven? (Since God wants us to live forever with Him, He made a way so that our sin could be forgiven by letting someone else take the punishment we deserve. God sent His only Son, Jesus, into the world to help us be restored to a right relationship with God. Jesus lived His whole life without sin. Just like His Father, Jesus was perfect. The whole reason Jesus came into the world was to one day take the punishment for our sin by dying on a cross.) 35. Faith in Jesus is the Only Way to Fly (Module 11 Ready Set Know Then Go!) - 249

6 3. Do you remember a time when you realized that you needed to accept Jesus as your Savior? (This would be a good time to talk to the children about putting their faith in Christ. Ask children to share when, how, and where they were saved. You can share your own personal testimony in an age appropriate way.) PARENT CONNECTION Our lesson this week focused on the Biblical truth that no matter how hard we try to be right with God, our efforts fail. Only through Jesus Christ, God s Son can we have our sins forgiven, a restored relationship with God, and an eternal home in Heaven. Using the illustration of a paper airplane, we shared with your child that faith in Jesus is the only way to fly! You and your child may be interested in watching this video which shows how to use a paper airplane to share the Gospel. Once you learn how, dare to share the truth about Jesus with a friend Faith in Jesus is the Only Way to Fly (Module 11 Ready Set Know Then Go!) - 250

7 GO Out and Spell the G.O.S.P.E.L. KEY VERSE Matthew 28:18-20 STICKY STATEMENT Stop and pray; then share, share away! LESSON OBJECTIVE Children will learn how to share the Gospel. CHECKLIST 1. A PowerPoint is available for this lesson. 2. Small treats (Enough for each child) (Application) 3. Visual 1 with the G.O.S.P.E.L. way to share (Application) 4. Enough copies of the G.O.S.P.E.L. way to share for each leader and child (Application) 5. Optional: Rubber Olympians wristbands (Application) LESSON OVERVIEW Using the Great Commission and Paul s letter to the Colossians, student will see the importance of sharing the Gospel with others. They will learn how to share the Gospel using the acronym G.O.S.P.E.L. (Adapted from Dare to Share.) Younger Adaptation Teacher s Note: The following activity, Go and Give the Gospel is similar to the game, Duck, duck, goose. The children can either sit or stand in a circle. Pick one child to go around the circle and tap each child s shoulder as they say one of the letters from the word, Gospel. When the child stops at one letter, like O, have the group say, Our sin separates us from God. When you first begin the game, you can have the leader say the line and then have the children repeat it. After everyone repeats the words, then the leader says, Go and the child who was tapped chases the first child around the circle trying to tag them before they return to their spot. Continue the game as the time allows. Make sure that the leader has a copy of the G.O.S.P.E.L. acrostic. 36. GO Out and Spell the G.O.S.P.E.L. (Module 11 Ready Set Know Then Go!) - 251

8 INTRODUCTION Teacher s Note: Before instruction begins, secretly talk with a volunteer. Tell them you will give them a bag of small treats at the beginning of the lesson. Tell the child that you will say that they are to share the treat with the entire group, but they are to ignore your request and sit back down with the bag without sharing. When you ask them why they didn t share the treat, the child should respond, I didn t know who to share with first, so I kept it to myself. Hi everybody, I was thinking I just love you all so much and wanted to give you all a little gift. So, I brought in a treat. [Hold up bag of treats for all to see. Call up the predetermined volunteer.] Will you take this from me and go share with everyone. [Allow volunteer to return to their seat. Pretend to start instruction.] I am so glad you all are here, and I hope you enjoy your gift from me. Did (volunteer name) share it with everyone? Do you like it? [Allow children to respond. Play up your astonishment.] What? Well, I brought a gift for everyone because I love you all. And, I told (volunteer name) to share the gift I gave them. What happened? [Allow the volunteer to give rehearsed response.] Well, why don t you start with the person next to you and keep going from there until everyone has one. BODY You know, this reminds me of something Jesus told His disciples, His followers, to do in the Bible. Listen as I read. [Read Matthew 28:18-19.] Christians call this the Great Commission. Jesus is telling His followers to go share His love with everyone. And you know what? He wants us to do the same. Jesus wants us to tell others about Him, too. Oftentimes, we call telling others about Jesus sharing the Gospel or sharing the Good News. I would like to read part of a letter that a Jesus-follower named Paul wrote to a new church in Colossae. Paul was encouraging them to share the Gospel of Jesus with others. Listen closely for a word that is repeated as I read some of the verses. [Read Colossians 4:2-3.] What word did you hear Paul repeat? [Allow children to respond. Correct answer is pray. ] To learn to speak wisely, we must do something first. Paul used the word pray several times. That s where we start, stop and pray; then share, share away! First, he asks the church to pray for him and those working with him to share the Gospel. He asks that they pray for opportunities for them to share the Gospel and that they would use the right words. We should be praying for opportunities to share and the right words to be said. Pastors, missionaries and Bible teachers need wisdom as they share the Gospel. However, we should also be praying for those same things for ourselves. Pray daily that God would show us who needs to hear the Good News and the words to use. Paul tells the Colossians how they should act when it comes to sharing the Gospel. Let s read verses 5 and 6. [Read Colossians 4:5-6.] In these verses, Paul instructs the Colossians to watch how they act and speak to those who do not know about Jesus. It would not make any sense for you to be mean to others then try to tell them that Jesus loves them. You need to have actions and words that show love to share God s love. Stop and pray; then share, share away. 36. GO Out and Spell the G.O.S.P.E.L. (Module 11 Ready Set Know Then Go!) - 252

9 It does matter how you behave around others. When you speak with kind and encouraging words, others will want to listen to what you have to say because they know you care about them. If you always give your best, are helpful and encouraging at school or your after-school activity, your teacher, coach, classmate or teammate might ask you why you are different than the other kids. It will give you the opportunity to tell them about Jesus. APPLICATION We told you that Jesus wants you to go and share the Gospel. And we said that before you start to share, you need to stop and pray; then share, share, away. So, let s talk about how you can share the Gospel. Sometimes, you aren t sure what you should say. Here is a helpful way to remember what to share. We will use the letters of the word Gospel. [Display Visual 1.] You can use each letter of the word Gospel as a clue to help you to share the important points that someone should know about the Gospel. Teacher s Note: After you read each of the six statements, have the kids repeat it after you. Do it again, but this time have the children turn with their backs to the screen before repeating the statement. The next time, remove the visual and just give them the first word of the statement and see if they can finish it. G God made us to have a relationship with Him. O Our sin separates us from God. S Sin can t be erased by doing good works. P The price for sin was paid by Jesus death on the cross. E Eternal life is given to everyone who accepts Jesus. L Life with Jesus begins now and lasts forever. Let s practice with a fun game. Teacher s Note: The following activity can be substituted with the Younger Adaptation. Resume lesson where noted in the application once you have completed the adaptation to finish out the lesson. This is a classroom strategy called the inside/ outside circle used to review concepts in a fun, active way. Number your students off in group 1 and group 2; if you have an odd number have an adult join the fun to even out the groups. Have group 1 stand up and make a circle facing out. Then have group 2 stand in front of and facing a person in group 2, making a larger circle of students outside of the original circle group. You can play this activity for 5 minutes or longer, as time allows. [Have the children rotate and practice saying the G.O.S.P.E.L. way to share to the person across from them.] Inside circle, rotate to the left 2 spaces and tell your partner the G.O.S.P.E.L. Outside circle, rotate to the left 6 spaces and tell your new partner the G.O.S.P.E.L. Inside circle, rotate left 4 people and tell your partner the G.O.S.P.E.L. Teacher s Note: Allow students time to move and recite. Continue this pattern with the activity, allowing the students to get as much practice as time allows. Once finished, have students return to their seats to wrap up the lesson. Teacher s note: If using the Younger Adaptation, continue the lesson from this point. 36. GO Out and Spell the G.O.S.P.E.L. (Module 11 Ready Set Know Then Go!) - 253

10 So, when your teacher, coach, classmate or teammate asks you why you are different from the other kids you can tell them, I try to live my life like Jesus, God s Son. See, He died for you and for me on a cross. Three days later, He rose to life. Jesus did this because He loves everyone and wants us to be in a right relationship with God. Would you like to come to know more about Jesus? You can use the G.O.S.P.E.L. way to share when talking with someone, or you can even write it in a letter. When your friend is sad and feels unloved, you can tell them how Jesus loves them. You can write a friendly note and share the Good News. Remember, first stop and pray; then share, share, away. [Give each child a treat.] I am going to give you a piece of paper with the G.O.S.P.E.L. way to share. This week, ask someone if you can share what you learned in Olympians. After you finish, thank them for listening and tell them that besides sharing this good news, you also have a treat to share with them. Don t forget, first stop and pray; then share, share, away. [Close in prayer.] Teacher s Note: Optional: Encourage the children to keep practicing sharing the Gospel. Consider giving the children a rubber Olympians wristband when they are able to share the Gospel using the G.O.S.P.E.L. way to share method. This could be an ongoing challenge for the next few weeks. PERSONAL TRAINING TIME Goal of this Personal Training Time During this small group time, review scriptural truths learned in the lesson and allow time for the children to practice using the G.O.S.P.E.L. way to share. Discussion Questions 1. What did Jesus command His disciples and us to do? (Summarize the Great Commission, Matthew 28:18-19.) 2. What things can we do that Paul told the church in Colossae to do to help share the Gospel with others? (Pray for others who share the Gospel as a job like pastors or missionaries; pray for opportunities to share, behave and speak with grace around those who do not know Jesus.) 3. What do the letters G.O.S.P.E.L. stand for? (G God made us to have a relationship with Him; O Our sin separates us from God; S Sin can t be erased by doing good works; P The price for sin was paid by Jesus death on the cross; E Eternal life is given to everyone who accepts Jesus; L Life with Jesus begins now and lasts forever.) 4. Who are you going to share the Good News with this week? (Allow the children to respond. As they do, write down the names of each person so you can be praying for them yourself. Close your time by praying for your Olympians and the person they mention.) 36. GO Out and Spell the G.O.S.P.E.L. (Module 11 Ready Set Know Then Go!) - 254

11 PARENT CONNECTION In Olympians today, we learned that Jesus commanded His followers, including us, to share His Gospel. The Apostle Paul encouraged the Colossians to pray, act, and speak in ways that would allow them to share Jesus. We shared with your child how to stop and pray; then share, share, away. Ask your child about the handout they received about the G.O.S.P.E.L. way of sharing the Gospel. If you have a smart phone you can download the Dare2Share App to help you share the G.O.S.P.E.L. Please share with us any great stories of your child sharing the Gospel story with others. 36. GO Out and Spell the G.O.S.P.E.L. (Module 11 Ready Set Know Then Go!) - 255

12 Visual 1 Visual GO Out and Spell the G.O.S.P.E.L. (Module 11 Ready Set Know Then Go!) - 256

GO Out and Spell the G.O.S.P.E.L.

GO Out and Spell the G.O.S.P.E.L. KEY VERSE Matthew 28:18-20 STICKY STATEMENT Stop and pray; then share, share away! LESSON OBJECTIVE Children will learn how to share the Gospel. CHECKLIST 1. A PowerPoint