May 29, 2016 Jesus Is The Good News DATE PONDER POINT Matthew 28:16 20 (Great Commission) THE BIG GOD STORY Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; therefore he will rise up to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him! Isaiah 30:18 REMEMBER VERSE Worship & Welcome (5 minutes): Begins class creating an inviting atmosphere for kids to feel welcome and to worship in song. Celebrate (15 minutes): Establishes community and engages kids in faith building elements such as scripture memorization, missions and offering, communion and connecting with one another. The Big God Story (20 minutes): Creates space for children to hear God s word and respond to the Holy Spirit in worship response. Worship & Bless (10 minutes): Allows children to respond to the Holy Spirit in worship and to be sent out with a sense of peace and blessing so they can be a blessing to others. GOAL: Worship & welcome is all about engaging kids and helping them enter into worship, letting them know that class has begun preparing their minds for what they are going to hear. WELCOME: IMAGE: Welcome OPENING WORSHIP SONG: VIDEO: Movin Me ANNOUNCEMENTS: 1
GOAL: Children participate in traditions, experience faith building elements such as scripture memory, missions and offering, communion and will connect with one another through fun questions or activities. TRADITIONS During Traditions, you are helping the kids work toward a common goal and giving them mementos to celebrate things like memorizing the Remember Verse, inviting a friend, or bringing their Bibles. Once the kids have been awarded their mementos, direct them to put the mementos into the rock wall (w23) or plinko wall (Rev 456). When the common-goal tradition is complete, tell the kids are going to have a celebration! REMEMBER VERSE Use creative methods to teach this week s Remember Verse to the kids: Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; therefore he will rise up to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him! Isaiah 30:18 VIDEO: Remember Verse IMAGE: Remember Verse IMAGE: Offering Goal OFFERING GOAL: $450 (For current progress see offering image) This is our last time we will be gathering money to give as offering for Nick as he is in Chiang Mai, Thailand! Nick has been there over ten days now! You guys have done a great job raising money for Nick over the past few months! We are so proud of you! Like we have said, Nick will be in Chiang Mai, Thailand for 10 weeks! That is 70 days that he will be helping teach the students at Lana Theological Center! We can help today by praying for Nick to be full of God s courage and love as he is so far away. We can also pray for his family and friends, who will miss him very much as he is gone! Nick wants us to tell you guys thank you again for helping him get to Thailand! He thinks it is so cool to see you guys doing big things for God s Kingdom and is so proud of you guys for giving offering. Let s keep supporting Nick by praying for him at home throughout the summer! IMAGE: Nick Vacca COMMUNION CONNECT QUESTION This is a time that we are quiet before the Lord and we take a few minutes to remember what he s done for us by sending Jesus to die on the cross for us. After I pray, if you ve been baptized and made Jesus the king of your life you take communion. If you have not yet made that decision it s okay. We respect that everyone has a different journey towards God. Use this time to talk to God silently. IMAGE: Communion tray Invite the children to ask one another the following question or one of your own. Encourage them to ask someone they may not know. After a minute or two, ask several children to tell the group their friends answer. SLIDE: Would you rather ride on a hot air balloon, a dolphin, or a space shuttle? COUNTDOWN VIDEO (60 SECONDS) 2
Point out that what kids are about to hear is true and is recorded in the Bible. Open your Bible to the passage and leave it open and visible throughout The Big God Story. Invite kids to open their Bibles and follow along as you storytell. Children respond to what the Holy Spirit is teaching them as they reflect on the day s portion of The Big God Story. The Prayer of Release allows children and leaders to pause, be still, and ask God to quiet their hearts and minds. Before you pray, you might ask the kids to hold out their hands, palms up, in a spirit of releasing their worries and distractions in order to better receive what the Holy Spirit might have for them today. Then encourage the kids to quiet their voices, take a seat, and pray with you. The Big God Story: Worship Response: Storyteller Script But let s begin by asking God to speak to us today. Lead children in Prayer of Release. Recently we ve been hearing some of the parables that Jesus shared with His disciples and the crowds that followed Him. All of the parables were designed to help people learn about who God is. Jesus wanted people to know the good news that God is love, God redeems, and God forgives. But Jesus didn t just preach good news He actually is the Good News! All of us have been separated from God because of sin. We ve all chosen to disobey God. None of us is perfect. That is why Jesus is the Good News. We re not perfect, but Jesus is. We can t fix what sin has broken, but Jesus already has! Jesus died on the cross for our sins. Then, three days later, God raised Jesus from the dead. Jesus showed the world that He is God by coming back to life. Jesus appeared to His followers and friends so they would know He had risen from the dead. Invite the children to turn to Matthew 28 in their Bibles. Read Matthew 28:16 17 aloud: Then the eleven followers went to Galilee. They went to the mountain where Jesus told them to go. On the mountain they saw Jesus and worshiped him. But some of them did not believe that it was really Jesus. 3
During the time Jesus appeared to people and showed them that He d risen from the dead, Jesus sent word for all of the disciples to meet him on a mountain in Galilee. When the disciples saw Jesus, they had different reactions. What do you think you would do if someone you knew had died and then you saw him standing in front of you alive? Allow responses. Some of the disciples worshipped Jesus, and others had a hard time believing that it was all really happening. Jesus, their dear friend and teacher, was dead and then alive! It was a lot to think about. Jesus knew it was almost time for Him to go back to heaven to be with His Father, but the disciples still had a big job to do. Jesus had taught the disciples so much during His time on earth, and He had one last thing to share with them. Read Matthew 28:18 aloud. 18 Then Jesus came to them and said, All power in heaven and on earth is given to me. First of all, Jesus reminded the disciples that He has all power and control over heaven and earth, so no job is too big for Him. He is God. Then, Jesus continued with several instructions. Read Matthew 28:19 20 for the group. 19 So go and make followers of all people in the world. Baptize them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. 20 Teach them to obey everything that I have told you. You can be sure that I will be with you always. I will continue with you until the end of the world. Jesus told His disciples to go and make more disciples. Jesus wants people everywhere to know the good news that He died for them and that they can be saved. Jesus wants everyone near and far, in cities and in the country, in jungles and deserts, in cold places and in hot places to know that He is the Good News. Jesus had more to tell the disciples about their big job. He told them that as they went out and made disciples, they should also baptize them. Baptism is a way for people to show that they want to trust and follow Jesus with their whole lives. The Bible describes it as starting a new life. Jesus told His disciples to baptize people in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit and to show them how to be His disciples. Jesus also told the disciples to teach people to obey His commands, because part of being a disciple is learning to live God s way the best way. The Bible has a lot to teach us about God s ways and commandments. One time, the religious leaders tried to trick Jesus and asked Him what He thought was the most important command. In Matthew 22:37 39, Jesus told them, Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. I have one last cheer. Who wants to help me lead it? 4
The best way to live is to love God and love others. That is what being a disciple of Jesus is about, but it isn t always easy to follow Jesus and obey His commands. That s why Jesus promised that we don t have to do it on our own. Jesus promised the disciples that He would be with them always, and the same is true for us. Jesus gives us His Holy Spirit to help us follow Him. Jesus is the Good News! Jesus is the promised Savior. He is our Redeemer. Do you know that because the disciples did as Jesus told them and shared the good news with people near and far, you and I have the chance to know the good news too? The disciples told people, and those people told people, and those people told people, and those people told people, and over thousands of years and millions of miles the good news of Jesus came to us here, in this place, on this day. God has taught us so much about Himself. Storyteller continues into Worship Response... Another way the Bible talks about the good news of Jesus is by describing it as a glad tiding, or a good announcement. In a sad world, Jesus is a glad tiding. In a world that can seem to be filled with bad, Jesus is a good announcement. What does the good news mean to you? Take a minute to think about how Jesus is good to you, and tell God what you re thinking. To start, I m going to read the words from a song that God s people have been singing together for many years, and then we will have a few moments of quiet. Read the words of Turn Your Eyes upon Jesus (by Helen Lemmel) for the group: His Word shall not fail you He promised; Believe Him, and all will be well: Then go to a world that is dying, His perfect salvation to tell! Turn your eyes upon Jesus, Look full in His wonderful face, And the things of earth will grow strangely dim, In the light of His glory and grace. Allow for a short time of silence. God loves to hear your prayers. As we continue to look to Jesus, let s worship Him by singing and dancing together. VIDEO: Good News 5
GOAL: Allows children to respond to the Holy Spirit in worship and to be sent out with a sense of peace and blessing so they can be a blessing to others. WORSHIP: Let s continue in worship together VIDEO 1: Shout VIDEO 2: You Are Encourage the kids to hold their hands in front of them, palms up. This posture is meant to symbolize a willingness of heart to respond to God s Holy Spirit and receive what God has for them. Invite them to remain in this posture as you bless them. Friends, Jesus is the Good News. The thing about good news is that it has to be shared. Sometimes we have sad news, or disappointing news, or bad news, and those things can be hard to share but not good news! The good thing about good news is how good it is to share! May you celebrate that Jesus is the Good News, and may you share His love with others. 6
A few months ago, I found out I was pregnant. This event was a bit of a surprise because it happened sooner than my husband and I expected. We were sitting together on our bed when we picked up the pregnancy test and saw the result together. Our response? Laughter. Not Sarah s laughter (Genesis 18:10 12), but laughter because we were surprised and stunned and a little overwhelmed. We laughed because there was nothing else to do. This good news, though shocking at first, changed our lives. It began to affect all of our thoughts and conversations and interactions. This is news we began to share with those who were closest to us and eventually with everyone around us. This good news that lives inside of my belly cannot be hidden it is obvious to all who look at me. This, I think, is how the good news of the gospel should affect us. Jesus came to do what?! He paid my price? He offers me new life and a restored relationship with God? How can it be true?! We should laugh in shock and then rejoice with overflowing praise. This good news about Jesus should be shared with those closest to us and with all who will listen. This good news should not cannot be hidden. It should pop out of us and be so visible in us that people ask us about it. Jesus changes us completely. He has rescued us. Good news, indeed. Denise Snyder Crossroads Church The core message of the New Testament is the all-important truth that Jesus is the Good News. He has made the way for us to be reconciled back to God. That is the message we all have been commissioned to share with the world (Matthew 28:19 20). In fact, this mandate to spread the good news is the last thing Jesus told His disciples before He ascended back to heaven. This command is called the Great Commission. But what is this command really saying? Every so often, the English translation doesn t quite carry the emphasis of the original Greek. This is one of those times. Much has been made, especially in missions literature, of the imperative command go at the beginning of verse 19. Go into all the world is the focus. So we are told from the pulpit to go spread the gospel. But in the Greek, the emphasis is a little different. What is surprising is that go is not even an active verb in the Greek, let alone an imperative command. It is a participle, which helps us understand the actual verb a little better. The only active (imperative) verb in the sentence is in the phrase make disciples. The terms go, baptizing them, and teaching them are all participles that explain the action of the verb. The tense of the participle go assumes action, and the next two participles describe the manner in which the verb is to be carried out. So verse 19 could be over-translated, (Since you are) going (and as you go), make disciples baptizing them and teaching them. So what does it mean to share with the world that Jesus is the Good News? It means to make disciples. We are to tell people about Jesus, baptize them, and teach them to observe all that Jesus commanded. The fact that Jesus has reconciled us to God, the truth that God invites us to be a part of His family, the amazing grace that shows us that God has been working since Genesis to restore the good that was there in the beginning it s the greatest news the world has ever heard. Instead of making us furrow our brows and recite gloomy verses, it should make our hearts leap with joy and our bodies dance in praise! Jesus is the Good News! He is the answer we ve been looking for. God has been victorious, and He invites us into His kingdom! What emotions do you experience when you really stop to think about the good news that Jesus proclaims? Take a moment to read Luke 4:18 19. This is the good news Jesus came to proclaim spiritual and physical freedom and salvation. The year of the Lord s favor! This week share this good news with someone who needs to hear it. And pray for your kids, that they would understand this good news, accept it, and share it with others. 7