UNIT 3#3 THE GALATIAN CHURCH K/1 ST GRADES GRACE GOD S GIFT. Non-Christian students will learn that God s grace is a free gift available to everyone.

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1 UNIT 3#3 THE GALATIAN CHURCH K/1 ST GRADES CONCEPT GOAL GRACE GOD S GIFT Grace is God s free gift of forgiveness and acceptance paid for by Christ s death on the cross and available to everyone who accepts it. Christian students will learn the immense value of grace and be encouraged to thank God regularly for the grace he has already shown them. Non-Christian students will learn that God s grace is a free gift available to everyone. PASSAGE: Galatians 2:20-21 Key Verse: "I do not treat the grace of God as meaningless. For if keeping the law could make us right with God, then there was no need for Christ to die." Galatians 2:21 (NLT) PLANNING AHEAD Lesson Supplies Lesson: Pencil tops, wrapped in white tissue w/curling ribbon, 1/student Basket for tissue-wrapped gifts Drama: 4 Butcher paper Kid Washer sign Grace detergent box Plain detergent box Craft Supplies Activity Station: Various colored cardstock paper stains, 2-3/student 2 die for the Grace game 12 pencil tops 2 Grace game boards White lunch bags, 1/student Yarn for handle, 15 /student Various colors of construction paper, 2 of each color/class Shape punches Decorative- edge scissors Hole Punch Glue sticks Markers Teachers please note: For clarity, the shaded areas in the Planning Ahead section indicate supplies that are in and should be returned to your classroom SHARED SUPPLY bag. Items followed by an asterisk* are to be supplied by the teaching team. XENOS CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP, , K/1 st Unit 3#3 Page 1

2 BACKGROUND INFORMATION / TEACHER HELPS I am not saved by believing I simply realize I am saved by believing. And it is not repentance that saves me repentance is only the sign that I realize what God has done through Christ Jesus. The danger here is putting the emphasis on the effect, instead of on the cause. Is it my obedience, consecration, and dedication that make me right with God? It is never that! I am made right with God because, prior to all of that, Christ died. When I turn to God and by belief accept what God reveals, the miraculous atonement by the Cross of Christ instantly places me into a right relationship with God. And as a result of the supernatural miracle of God s grace I stand justified, not because I am sorry for my sin, or because I have repented, but because of what Jesus has done. The Spirit of God brings justification with a shattering, radiant light, and I know that I am saved, even though I don t know how it was accomplished. 1 We live in a very performance-based world. Good grades, job promotions and raises, even relationships, can all hinge on fulfilling the expectations of others. It can be as blatant as kissing up to the boss or as subtle as the expectation of a reciprocal dinner invitation. Many times this performance standard is transferred to the spiritual realm. Even though the Bible declares salvation a free gift, not a result of works (Ephesians 2:8,9), we feel compelled to jump through hoops to gain and maintain God's acceptance. God is omniscient, He knows our faults and shortcomings but loves us anyway (Psalm 103:14-17; Psalm 139:1-8). He loves us so much that He has given us the gift of His Son. There is nothing we can or will ever do to earn or keep His forgiveness and love. Therefore, it can only be accepted and retained as a free gift. The free gift of forgiveness extends to past, present and future sins. Although we know Christ has paid for our sins, we often live as though we have to do good and obey the law to maintain a clean slate. It is only the life at rest in the finished work of Christ that experiences the grace, peace and fulfillment that is ours from the moment of salvation. As we appropriate God's grace we will extend grace to others. We are called on to be kind, tenderhearted, forgiving each other just as Christ forgave us (Eph. 4:32). This is impossible unless we acknowledge our sin and the depth of our need for forgiveness. For he who has been forgiven much, loves much (Lk. 7:47). Pray that the Spirit will give you deeper insight into grace for your life. Ask Him to show you how to extend it to others. 1 Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest, Copyright 1992 by Oswald Chambers Publications Association, Ltd. Original edition copyright 1935 by Dodd, Mead & Company, Inc. Copyright renewed 1963 by Oswald Chambers Publications Association, Ltd., October 28. XENOS CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP, , K/1 st Unit 3#3 Page 2

3 LESSON PLAN SET UP INCORPORATION MIN #1 LG GROUP 5 MIN TRANSITION 2 MIN Instructions: Stretch the butcher paper between two chairs and tape it to them. Tape the "kid washer" sign to it. As children enter the classroom, tape "stains" onto their backs. Don't tell them what they are! Activity Stations: Craft Gift Bag Instructions: Give each child a white paper lunch bag. Decorate the bag with markers and punched shapes. Cut the top edge of the bag in a pattern with the decorative-edge scissors and fold over to create a border edge. Punch two holes in each side. String a piece of yarn for a handle through the holes. As the children work on this craft, discuss what a gift is. A gift is something that is offered for free with no strings attached. All you have to do is to accept it. They can take this bag home and put a gift in it for someone. Game Grace Game Instructions: Play this game with 2-6 children/teams at a time. The object of the game is to be the first player/team to get to the finish line. Place the pencil tops at "start." Each player/team will roll the die. The highest number goes first. Move the game piece the number shown on the die. When they land on a "grace" space they get a FREE turn. Missions Prayer Instructions: Talk about and pray for Oasis Giving campaign and adopted missionary child. Good News Instructions: Have the tissue-wrapped gifts available. Some of you just made gift bags to use for a present for someone. What do you have to do to get presents? (Nothing.) I have a present for each of you if you want it. (Offer gifts. Have each student physically take the gift from you. Don't pass them out because the point is that salvation is a free gift, but we must ask for it.) Now tell me, did you deserve this gift because you did something really good or sat perfectly still? Do you think I offered it to you because of something you did? (No.) How did you get the gift? (Asked for/received it, took it from your hands.) What if I told you that in order to keep the gift you now have to promise me that you will save $5.00 out of your spending money in the next month to put in the giving globe in our class? Now what do you think about this gift? (It isn t free.) It wouldn't be a gift if you had to pay for it, would it? A gift is free, not something we work for. Like a present, God's gift of grace is free to you. You only have to receive it. Our key verse is, "I do not treat the grace of God as meaningless. For if keeping the law could make us right with God, then there was no need for Christ to die" (Galatians 2:21). Righteousness is a big word that means being right with or accepted by God. Our verse tells us that if we could gain acceptance with God through keeping His law, then Christ didn't need to die. Jesus' gift of forgiveness to you and me is free, but He had to pay for it. He died on the cross to pay for our sins so we can be made right with or accepted by God. Forgiveness is a gift from God; there is no other way that we can be forgiven and be friends with God. Let's repeat our key verse. "I do not treat the grace of God as meaningless. For if keeping the law could make us right with God, then there was no need for Christ to die " (Galatians 2:21). Jesus died for something very special. He died so we can be accepted by God and have a friendship with Him. That's God's grace. You've all seen commercials on TV. Let's make up a commercial of our own about GRACE laundry detergent. Drama Commercial performed by teachers and class XENOS CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP, , K/1 st Unit 3#3 Page 3

4 #2 LG GROUP TRANSITION 2 MIN LESSON LG GROUP XENOS CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP, , K/1 st Unit 3#3 Page 4 Instructions: Have all the students line up to go through the KID WASHER. A teacher will stand above the KID WASHER and shake the box of "Plain" detergent while the first few go through. The children will come out with "stains" still taped to them. They don't come clean. Teacher will wail and moan. "Oh no, what will we do?! Stop the machine. Nothing is getting clean!" Another teacher will come in with "GRACE" laundry detergent and say, "Here, try something that has been on the market since the beginning of time, GRACE Laundry Detergent. It is guaranteed to wash ALL stains away." First teacher will be skeptical and resist; "Nothing will work on these stains. I have used the best detergent I could find, also guaranteed to wash all stains clean." Second teacher says, "What do you have to lose? This is GRACE Laundry Detergent." First teacher finally relents reluctantly. Now have all the students go through the KID WASHER again. Have second teacher shake GRACE Laundry detergent over the KID WASHER while students go through. She should say, "The greatest thing about this detergent is that it is FREE!" Have another teacher remove the "stains" as the students crawl through. First teacher responds ecstatically as they come out clean! Encourage the students to make up some of their own lines as well. We've talked a little about grace and made a fun commercial. Now let s learn what the Bible has to say about grace. We have talked some about grace. Who remembers what grace is? (It is a free gift given by God.) We can't earn it. It's free to us, but cost Jesus His life. "I do not treat the grace of God as meaningless. For if keeping the law could make us right with God, then there was no need for Christ to die " (Galatians 2:21). This tells us that if we can be God's friend by doing good things that we don t believe in His grace and Jesus did not need to die. Jesus was punished in our place because He loved us and knew we couldn't be good enough to be God's friend. He took the punishment we deserve when He died on the cross. We become Christians when we accept this free gift from Jesus. Even after we become Christians we still can't live perfectly. Do you think God continues to forgive and accept us and be our friend, even when we sin? (Yes.) That is what grace is. Remember our key verse. "I do not treat the grace of God as meaningless. For if keeping the law could make us right with God, then there was no need for Christ to die " (Galatians 2:21). In the commercial the GRACE detergent washed away the dirt, the mud, the grime and the filth. Those stains represent our sin. Let's think of another example of God's grace. Let's imagine that we have a friend named John. John's friend, Nancy, has a brand new mountain bike. John has wanted a mountain bike his whole life. So, one afternoon when Nancy was at her ballet lesson John went to her house and stole her bike. On the way home from the ballet lesson, Nancy and her mother saw him on Nancy's bike. He was caught red handed! But when Nancy and her mother asked him where he got the bike, he told them that it was his. He stole the bike and then lied about it because he wanted that bike so bad. Well, Nancy's mom called the police. The police went to John's house and questioned him and proved that it wasn t his bike. So, the police arrested John and took him to the police station. At the trial it was proven that he had stolen the bike; the punishment for stealing a bike is $300 for the bike and a year in jail. John was afraid when he heard this. But he knew he had done the wrong thing and had to take the punishment. When the judge told him his punishment Nancy stood up and said, "Your Honor, I will take the punishment for John. I will pay the $300 and go to jail for a year in his place." The judge said, "I can't imagine why you want to do that. But if you want to take his punishment, you can." Then the judge asked John if he would allow Nancy to take the punishment for him. John was amazed and very grateful. He said, "Yes!" Stop and think about this. Is it fair that Nancy should take the punishment for John when he stole the bike and should be punished? That's what grace is. That's like what Jesus did for us on the cross. Jesus was perfect. He never sinned. He never thought or did anything wrong. He did not deserve to be punished, but He took the punishment

5 TRANSITION 2 MIN #3 SM GROUP OPTIONAL ACTIVITY we deserve for our sin. Listen to the key verse again. "I do not treat the grace of God as meaningless. For if keeping the law could make us right with God, then there was no need for Christ to die " (Galatians 2:21). Let s get into small groups to finish up and pray. Who can tell me what "grace" is? What are some things you learned about grace? (Jesus died on the cross to take the punishment we deserve for our sin. Just as the GRACE laundry detergent washed away dirt, mud, grime and filth, Jesus' death washed away our sins. Like John with Nancy, we each have to accept what Jesus did for us. Grace must be accepted like a gift.) Do you know anyone who doesn't know about grace? How might you tell them about grace? If one of you has not heard about grace before today, I hope you understand what it is and will ask God for that free gift. Let's pray together for those who haven't yet accepted God's grace. And let's pray that we who have accepted God's grace will always thank Him for it and how great His love is that He was willing to take the punishment we deserve. Play the GRACE game again. Stains: XENOS CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP, , K/1 st Unit 3#3 Page 5