Leader s Guide: Ages 12-14 Kings & Kingdoms Part 1: The Life of Jesus Unit 4, Lesson 21 The Great Commission Lesson Aim: To explore effective ways to carry out the Great Commission today. THE WORSHIP Who God Is: The King Who Rose THE WORD What He Has Done: Jesus sent His disciples to make disciples of all nations. Scripture Focus: Matthew 28:16-20; 22:37-39 Key Verse: Matthew 28:19-20 Christ Connection: Psalm 22:27 THE WAY The Big Question: How do you recognize a disciple today? UNIT 4 FOCUS VERSE Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died more than that, who was raised to life is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Romans 8:34 Unit 4: The King Who Rose Bible Story What He Has Done Lesson Aim* 18 Jesus Is Risen, Mark 15:37-39, 46-47; 16:1-8; Romans 6:23; 1 Corinthians 15:20-22 19 The Road to Emmaus, Luke 24:13-35; Matthew 18:20; 1 Corinthians 2:9-11 20 Jesus Talks with Peter, John 21:15-17 21 The Great Commission, Matthew 28:16-20; 22:37-39 22 The King Ascends, Acts 1:1-11 Jesus rose from the grave. Jesus appeared and explained who He is. Jesus asked Peter to care for His followers. Jesus sent His disciples to make disciples of all nations. Jesus ascended into heaven. To understand Jesus conquered sin and death when He rose from the grave. To understand who Jesus is and to recognize His presence. To be invited to receive Christ as Savior and challenged to care for believers. To explore effective ways to carry out the Great Commission today. To honor Jesus final words and to look forward to His return. LEADER S ENCOURAGEMENT This week, read Revelation 7:1-12. Please join us in praying, Thank You for the Great Commission and the promise of Your presence. Use us to inspire each student with Your words. Amen. Lesson Aims are based on reflecting God s character as we participate in His actions to, for, and in the world. Take Home Elements: The Journal Entry, Action Card, and Family Discussion Card may be sent home to encourage students to reflect on the lesson. The Journal Entry is an in-depth personal study. The Action Card is a visual reminder of the Bible story, God s action, and how we can join into that action. The Family Discussion Card gives parents and guardians a way to engage their students in what they are learning. Leader s Tip: For larger gatherings, teach THE WELCOME, THE WORSHIP, and THE WORD in a large group setting and divide into small groups for discussion with THE WAY. Permission is granted to reproduce these materials. Not for resale. Use is subject to the Terms of Use available at ResourceWell.org. Terms are subject to change without notice. All other rights are reserved. Kings & Kingdoms Unit 4, Lesson 21 ~ Ages 12-14 ~ Page 1 of 6
Getting started THE WELCOME Suggestions: Choose a game that focuses on concepts related to the lesson such as discipleship, different nations, travel, or teaching. ACTIVITY OPTION 1: DESTINATION IMAGINATION Purpose: To introduce the idea of going to all nations to make disciples. Supplies: None Directions: 1. Each student thinks of a destination they would like to visit or have visited. 2. Then they decide upon three clues to help the other members to be able to accurately guess their destination. 3. One at a time, students act out their three clues as the rest of the group guesses the country they chose. For instance, if their chosen place is Hawaii, they could do a hula dance. ACTIVITY OPTION 2: STICKY BALLOON Purpose: To introduce the idea of telling others about Jesus. Supplies: 20 balloons and 1 roll of masking tape per group of 4-6 students, permanent markers Directions: 1. Give each team 20 balloons and 1 roll of masking tape. 2. Each team blows up their balloons. 3. On each balloon, students write down something they could tell others about Jesus. 4. On your signal, each team works together to wrap one player in their group with masking tape (sticky side out) from the top of their knees to their arm pits. 5. Once the chosen teammate is wrapped with masking tape, the rest of the team places all their balloons on the tape until all 20 balloons are sticking to their teammate. 6. The group that finishes first wins. Kings & Kingdoms Unit 4, Lesson 21 ~ Ages 12-14 ~ Page 2 of 6
The King who rose THE WORSHIP Note to Leader: The instructions below are suggestions only. Adapt this time of worship to suit your environment, resources, and cultural expression. Encourage students to broaden their view of corporate worship by including a variety of expressions such as group prayer, group praise, silent meditation, singing, listening to music, reading scripture, collecting an offering, drama, dance, visual arts, and/or a physical exploration of nature or neighborhoods. Ideas for Optional Visuals: Today, we worship God as the King who rose. Just before Jesus ascended into heaven, He commissioned His disciples to go and make disciples. He promised He would be with them and with us forever. That means we can worship Him forever! Read Unit 4 Focus Verse: Romans 8:34. Sing worship songs that focus on Jesus as the risen King who commissions us to go and make disciples. Read Zephaniah 3:17. Invite students to offer sentences of praise to God by completing the following sentence: Lord, we worship You for. Kings & Kingdoms Unit 4, Lesson 21 ~ Ages 12-14 ~ Page 3 of 6
Jesus commissions His disciples THE WORD Presentation Note to Leader: Adapt this segment to your setting (Sunday School class, youth group, multi-age gathering, youth camp, retreat, etc.). In some settings, you may choose to have a student read the scripture aloud, and then have the leader, in his or her own words, briefly communicate the Teaching Points, the Christ Connection, and the Big Question. In other settings, a teacher, pastor, or other experienced speaker may present a lecture or extended message that includes those same elements. Ideas for Optional Visuals: You may choose to include an object lesson, video clip, drama, dance, song, or work of art to illustrate the teaching points. Option 1: Option 2: TEACHING POINTS Consider current culture and influences impacting your students, and adjust the teaching accordingly. Read the suggested scripture and communicate each of the points noted. The leader or a student reads Matthew 28:16-20 aloud. Matthew 28:18-20 is known as the Great Commission. In it, Jesus sends believers to go and make disciples of all nations. The Great Commission is not a suggestion or a prompting. First, Jesus reminds us of His supreme authority and then He uses that authority to commission us to carry out His mission here on earth. This is an order from Jesus, the supreme authority over all of heaven and earth. Jesus was not only commissioning the disciples on the mountain, He was also commissioning all who would become His disciples in the future, including those who follow Him today. Jesus command for us to make disciples contained three specific instructions: to include all nations, to baptize, and to teach them to obey all of His commands. Baptism is the outward sign of a disciple s union with and commitment to Jesus as Lord. Baptism is not only a life changing claim of commitment to Christ, it is also an encouragement to the body of Christ to see others profess Jesus as their Lord and Savior. It is very important to see that, in His instructions on baptism, Jesus lists all three persons of the Holy Trinity of God; the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This is one of the few places in Scripture where all three persons of the trinity are listed together, and the fact that it is a quote from God's Son gives it even more weight. Teaching people to obey all of Jesus commands includes teaching them obedience to the two greatest commandments from Jesus. The leader or a student reads Matthew 22:36-40 aloud. These are not only the most important commandments, but they are also the most challenging for us to fully obey. It is through our own example that we teach others how to obey them. Kings & Kingdoms Unit 4, Lesson 21 ~ Ages 12-14 ~ Page 4 of 6
THE WORD Presentation continued The leader or a student reads Romans 1:16 and 1 Peter 3:15 aloud. The Bible tells us that the Holy Spirit will guide us and even help us know what to say when we share the reason for our faith. Just as a doctor would not be ashamed of saving someone s earthly life, Paul is not ashamed of sharing the truth about Jesus, because he knows it is through this truth that God saves people and gives them eternal life. Peter was a very bold disciple, so it is even more meaningful that someone comfortable with boldness and conflict would caution us to be gentle and respectful with others when we give them the reason for our faith. Each time we prepare to speak about Jesus, we should first ask the Holy Spirit to guide our words and give us a gentle, respectful attitude toward others. As part of the Great Commission, Jesus promised to be with us always. Only through His presence do we have the ability to obey His commission. Jesus is the one who makes disciples through us. It is not just our duty to carry out His mission, it is our great honor. It is important to recognize that making disciples of all nations implies including all people regardless of their culture, religion, lifestyle, heritage, or personal history. Connecting the Old Testament, the New Testament, and Us CHRIST CONNECTION In the whole story of God, what's the connection between this New Testament story and the Old Testament? Jesus sends us to all nations because He came to save every person who believes in Him. He is the fulfillment of the covenant promise God made with Abraham two thousand years earlier. The leader or a student reads Genesis 28:14. Abraham blessed people in his own time, but the fulfilment of this promise is Christ Himself. He is the descendant of Abraham who blesses all peoples on earth through the salvation of all who believe in Him. THE BIG QUESTION Introduce and elaborate on this question. Students will answer it in their discussion group. How do we go and make disciples today? Kings & Kingdoms Unit 4, Lesson 21 ~ Ages 12-14 ~ Page 5 of 6
Making disciples THE WAY Discussion GETTING STARTED Display and review the Discussion Group Covenant below: We will include everyone here, treating one another with respect and kindness. We will encourage everyone here to express their thoughts and opposing views. Every student shares his or her best experience or greatest challenge of the past week. READ IT AGAIN Read Matthew 28:16-20; Romans 1:16; and 1 Peter 3:15 silently or aloud. What are the specific instructions Jesus gave about making disciples? The gospel refers to the story of Jesus as our Savior. How does Romans 1:16 describe this gospel? What does Peter say about the way we are to tell people about our faith? THE BIG QUESTION Invite students to share their answers. How do we go and make disciples today? TAKE ACTION Lead students in a discussion using the questions below. What do you think is the least effective way to connect with others, point them to Jesus, and help them follow Him as disciples? What do you think is the most effective way? How does knowing Jesus is always with you give you the courage in talking with others about following Jesus? Ask each student to complete this sentence: God calls us to go and make disciples SO THAT others might. PRAY Share prayer requests and answered prayers. Have students pray with partners, or have the whole group pray together. FINAL FIVE MINUTES When only 5 minutes remain, begin this segment. Give each student Action Card #21 and Journal Entry #21. Take home today s Action Card as a reminder of how we can join in what God is doing. Use the Journal Entry as your personal devotional study. Complete your Journal Entries at home and keep them together in a notebook or in your Bible. Optional: Provide parent or guardian with Family Discussion Card #21. Kings & Kingdoms Unit 4, Lesson 21 ~ Ages 12-14 ~ Page 6 of 6
KINGS & KINGDOMS JOURNAL ENTRY #21 The Great Commission Matthew 28:16-20; 22:37-39 WHAT DOES IT SAY? Pray!!! Ask the Holy Spirit to show you what He wants you to learn from this passage. Now read Matthew 28:16-20; 22:37-39. Write Matthew 28:19-20 in your own words. WHAT DOES IT MEAN? What does it mean to make disciples? After reading the Great Commission, how would you summarize God s plan for building His kingdom? WHAT CAN I DO? If you are a follower of Jesus, who came and led you to Jesus? Have you ever wanted to talk with someone about following Jesus, but didn't know what to say? If so, describe what happened. Read Romans 1:16. The gospel refers to the story of Jesus as our Savior. How does Romans 1:16 describe this gospel? Have you ever had the opportunity to go to someone and make a disciple (lead them to follow Jesus)? If so, describe what happened. Read 1 Peter 3:15. According to this verse, when we are making disciples, how are we to give an answer to others about our faith in Jesus? When have you experienced Jesus promise to be with you always?