God s Enemies. Why Aren t Other Religions OK?

Transcription

1 God s Enemies Why Aren t Other Religions OK? Key Faith Foundation: Jesus Is the Only Way Key Scriptures: Matthew 7:13-23; Galatians 1:6-9; 2 Timothy 4:1-5; 1 John 5:1-12

2 6. Why Aren t Other Religions OK? grapple schedule 5 minutes grapple community minutes grapple games and clues 10 minutes grapple time 15 minutes grapple team time 10 minutes grapple team reports 5 minutes grapple prayer and dare Bibles, Grapple DVD, DVD player, Christian music CD, CD player, copy of the Grapple Team Guide for each person, paper, pencils, butcher paper, timer or stopwatch grapple community: 5 minutes (see pages 4-5 for descriptions) Play Christian music as kids enjoy snacks and friendship, and then play an opening countdown from the Grapple DVD to wrap up Grapple Community time. grapple games: minutes Lead kids in the games they chose ahead of time at mygrapple.com. 38 grapple clues Have kids write the answers to this week s Grapple Clues. Award points for each correct answer. (Answers in parentheses are samples.) The winning team gets the Grapple Button (see page 5). CLUE 1 [254 points]: CLUE 2 [829 points]: CLUE 3 [363 points]: CLUE 4 [192 points]: Discover two false gods mentioned in the Bible. (Molech, 1 Kings 11:7; Baal, Jeremiah 23:27) Find in the Bible a religious practice that God said was wrong. (Making an idol, Exodus 20:4; sorcery and witchcraft, Deuteronomy 18:10) Discover one other religion that everyone in your Grapple Team knows something about. Find someone in our class who has a family member or friend who practices a different religion.

3 grapple time: 10 minutes Divide kids into groups of four or five and give each group a piece of butcher paper and pencils. Lead the entire class in the following: Work together in your group to draw a maze on the paper. You ll want to make the maze as complicated as possible so no one else can find the way through it. However, you need to make sure there is one (and only one) path that goes from start to finish. I ll call time in about three minutes. Then you ll pair up with another group and swap mazes. Your goal is to get through the maze before the other team. Ready? Go! Allow time for groups to make mazes. Then call time, and help groups pair up. If you have an uneven number of groups, have three groups work together. Explain to groups that they only have one minute to race against the other group to complete the maze. After 30 seconds, start a countdown so kids know how much time is left. Why did or didn t your group get through the maze? Explain why it helped you or frustrated you to know that there was only one way through the maze. Talk about why finding the one path through the maze is similar to or different from how you view getting to heaven. What do you think about when you hear There s only one way to God or Jesus is the only way? Describe your relationship with God and why you do or don t believe you ll go to heaven. Just as there s only one path through a maze, Christians believe Jesus is the only way to God. Other religions include Jesus, but they don t say he was the Son of God. Does that make those religions OK? How come God doesn t accept all religions or anyone who s a good person? Why aren t other religions OK? Let s grapple! 39

4 6. Why Aren t Other Religions OK? grapple team time: 15 minutes Break into Grapple Teams. Encourage Grapple Team leaders to check in with kids about their week. Grapple Team leaders will facilitate discussion, using the Grapple Team Guide on pages Afterward, kids will report what they learned. grapple team reports: 10 minutes At the end of Grapple Team Time, match Grapple Teams that chose Option 1 with Grapple Teams that chose Option 2 from page 42. Have teams present their reports. grapple prayer: 5 minutes Read the Grapple Prayer options. Have the class choose one prayer option that everyone will do. Allow kids time to pray about what they discovered. Then close in prayer. Option 1: Bow Down Prayers God tells us not to bow to anyone but him. Spend your prayer time bowing down to God and thanking him for who he is and what he s done. Option 2: Cross Prayers Find something in the room to make a cross with. Then thank Jesus for dying for us and making a way for us to have a relationship with God. 40 grapple dare It would be great if we could just tell people that their religion is OK that no matter what they believe, they ll still go to heaven. But that s not the truth. God gave us a path to him, and it s through Jesus and Jesus death on the cross. So I dare you to stand firm in that. I dare you to believe that Jesus is truly the only way. I dare you to thank God every day for the death and resurrection of his Son, Jesus, and to tell other people why you believe Jesus is the only way. Just make sure you do it with love and gentleness. Remember to go to mygrapple.com this week to choose the opening games for next week, look for Grapple Clues to win the Grapple Button, play an online game, and connect with each other and me.

5 grapple team guide Lesson 6 In your Grapple Team, use this guide to grapple with today s question. Who do you know in your family, at school, or in your neighborhood who practices a different religion? What do you know about that religion? How is it similar to or different from Christianity? Why do you or don t you think their religion is OK and allows the person who follows it to have a relationship with God and go to heaven? Read Galatians 1:6-9. What do these verses say about other religions? What is the Good News that Paul s writing about? What are some ways other religions change or distort the good news? Why do you or don t you think that s OK, based on these verses? Read Matthew 7: What is the narrow gate Jesus spoke about? Why do you think the right gate is narrow and the road to destruction is wide with lots of people on it? When have you encountered a false prophet someone who seemed nice and innocent but was really trying to take you away from Jesus and your faith? How did you recognize that person as a false prophet? How did you avoid being tricked by that person? Read 1 John 5:1-12. Based on these verses, what is the only way to have eternal life? Why do you or don t you think other religions are OK, according to what you ve learned?

6 Lesson 6 - Team Guide Read 2 Timothy 4:1-5. How do these verses say we should tell others about Jesus and our faith? What can happen if we re too aggressive, forceful, or rude? Who do you need to commit to share your faith with this week? grapple team reports Take turns with your partner role-playing how you might describe Jesus to someone who practices another religion. Your partner can pretend to be the other person, and you can talk to your partner about Jesus. Tell your partner why Jesus is the only way and why it s so important to believe in Jesus. But remember, you need to do so with gentleness and respect. With your team, choose one of the options below to report what you discovered. Option 1: Jesus Is Number 1 Tell what you learned in the form of a cheer, as in, J-E-S-U-S! Jesus is number 1; yes he is! Option 2: Narrow Way Pretend you re walking on a narrow balance beam as you share what you learned about the path to heaven.