Session 8 FOR THE LEADER The Book of Titus Titus 1 3 Paul wrote this letter to Titus who had been on the island of Crete working with the local church. Titus had been with Paul for most of Paul s missionary career and may have been very instrumental in Paul s dealings with the church at Corinth. As Paul and Titus traveled through Crete, Paul decided it best to leave Titus on Crete to help lead the churches on the island. Paul wrote this letter, very similar to 1 Timothy, to Titus to encourage him to boldly preach the truth of Jesus. It appears through Paul s letter to Titus that the situation on Crete was very similar to that in Ephesus where Timothy served. The church in Crete was also being infiltrated with false teachers and Paul encouraged the church to stay fast in the truth of the gospel as Titus helped the church leaders know what was right. Paul also spent time outlining for Titus how the leaders of the church were qualified to serve and how they should behave as messengers of the one true God. Titus job on Crete was to appoint overseers in each of the new churches that were being started. By finding men who were faithful in their personal lives, even tempered, and known as honest men, the message of truth could be shared with confidence across the island. The island of Crete was not known for its hospitality. Paul quoted one of their own writers, Epimenides, who, centuries before, said of his own people, Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons. (Titus 1:12) In the very next verse Paul went on to agree with the truth of this statement as it applied to those teaching falsehoods in the church. The Greek word kretizein, which literally means to cretize, was a common way to refer to liars or cheaters across the Greek world at that time. Paul s teaching culminated with another spotlight on the gospel and the fact that, because of His great mercy, God sent Jesus to save us from sin. Salvation comes only as a free gift from God, because of His mercy alone, and it cannot be earned. 2018 LifeWay Session 8: The Book of Titus 61
OVERVIEW SESSION FOCUS BIBLE PASSAGE: Titus 1 3 MEMORY VERSE: Titus 2:14 TEXT TRUTH: Because of His mercy, God saved us from our sin. CHRIST IN CONTEXT: The Book of Titus teaches that Jesus is the kindness of God and He is the Savior. Jesus is the grace of God who came to bring salvation for all people. By His mercy, Jesus brought salvation so that all who trust in Him might be redeemed from all lawlessness and become heirs of eternal life with Him. GET STARTED TOOLS (10 MINUTES) Bible Skills: Spinner and Christ in Context: Titus (Poster Pack), fidget spinner, dot sticker, Bible Book Cards (enhanced CD), Titus (Books of the Bible Posters) BIBLE STUDY TOOLS (35 MINUTES) Jump In: 3 plastic cups, small object, Crete (DVD-ROM), Bibles Examine the Text: Would You Rather (enhanced CD), Bibles, Text Truth Strips (Poster Pack), The Gospel (enhanced CD) Play the Video: Explore the Bible on Location video Memory Verse: marker board, dry erase marker, Titus 2:14 (Poster Pack) Prayer: Family Cards SMALL GROUP TOOLS (30 MINUTES) Explorer Guides: Bibles, Explorer Guides, pens Move: 4 small buckets, table tennis balls, 2 large plastic spoons, paper, marker, painter s tape Make: heavyweight paper, envelopes, markers, stickers, glue sticks Explore: Flag Bingo and Allergy Alert (enhanced CD), small cereal or candies NOTE: Downloadable versions of DVD items are available in the Digital Video Bundle. Downloadable versions of enhanced CD items are available in the Music and Print Extras Bundle. For free online training on how to lead a group, visit ministrygrid.com/web/explorethebible. 62 Explore the Bible: Younger Kids 2018 LifeWay
BIBLE STORY THE BOOK OF TITUS Titus 1 3 During his journeys, Paul shared the gospel with and taught other young men to be leaders in the church. Titus was one of these men. Titus had traveled with Paul, delivered letters for Paul, and was assigned by Paul to help the believers on the island of Crete. Paul instructed Titus on how to help organize and choose leaders for the churches on the island of Crete. The churches needed leaders who could teach the truth about Jesus. Paul wrote to Titus, The grace of God has brought the message of salvation to all people. It instructs us to reject sin and temptations. It teaches us to live our lives in a godly way. We do this while we wait for Jesus, our Savior, to appear. He gave Himself to redeem us as a people eager to do good. Tell these things to the people, Titus, and do not let them ignore you. Paul continued, Remind everyone to respect and obey their leaders. To be ready for every good work. To not lie about others. To avoid fighting. To be kind and gentle to all people. Remember that we were once disobedient and hateful to God. But when the goodness and love of God (Jesus) appeared, He saved us. Not because of anything we had done. He saved us because of His mercy. Then He gave us His Holy Spirit. Through the grace of Jesus, we have been declared righteous. We have become heirs with the hope of eternal life with Jesus. KEY POINTS God has offered us salvation because He is merciful and gracious. He doesn t give us what we deserve (punishment for our sin) and instead gives us His love, forgiveness, and other good things we don t deserve. We were redeemed to do good things. Our actions are important. Believers have a promise of an eternity with Jesus. TEXT CONNECTION Titus, another of Paul s companions, was on the island of Crete. The island was in the Mediterranean Sea near Greece. One of Crete s own writers had claimed that the people of Crete were known to be liars, evil, and lazy. Paul sent Titus to this place. Titus gladly accepted the opportunity to minister at the churches that had been started during earlier visits. The church had problems similar to those in Ephesus, where false teachers had infiltrated the congregation. Paul told Titus the same things he told Timothy: be strong in the faith and don t let false teachers lead you astray. People are created in the image of God. As such, God desires that all people live to honor Him. Genesis 9 shares that after the flood, God established a covenant with Noah that included a command to protect human life. Titus followed that command as well and relied on God to provide salvation. God rescued Noah from the flood, and God rescues sinners from their sin through faith in Jesus Christ. EXPLORE THE BIBLE AT HOME See the enhanced CD for additional family resources. 2018 LifeWay Session 8: The Book of Titus 63
GET STARTED TOOLS: Bible Skills: Spinner and Christ in Context: Titus (Poster Pack), fidget spinner, dot sticker, Bible Book Cards (enhanced CD), Titus (Books of the Bible Posters) PREPARATION: Place a dot sticker on one of the circles of the fidget spinner. Print off the Bible Book Cards and cut them apart. Consider laminating the Spinner game piece to make it sturdier. GET STARTED (10 MINUTES) BIBLE SKILLS Lead boys and girls to form a circle. Place the Bible Book Cards in the center of the circle. Allow a child to choose a card and spin the fidget spinner. If the spinner lands on the Say It! section, the child is to try pronouncing the Bible book. If the spinner lands on the Find It section, the child should try finding the book in his Bible. Continue play as time allows. After every child has had a turn, invite kids to examine the Titus and Christ in Context: Titus posters. Explain that today you will be discovering the Book of Titus in Bible Study. Dismiss to Bible Study. BIBLE SKILLS SPOTLIGHT Knows the Bible helps people know more about God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. Begins to know some of the books of the Bible in order and pronounces names of some Bible books. Knows the Bible tells that God sent Jesus to earth because He loves all people. 64 Explore the Bible: Younger Kids 2018 LifeWay
BIBLE STUDY BIBLE STUDY (35 MINUTES) JUMP IN Take three plastic cups and place a small object under one cup. Ask your group to follow the cups as you mix them around. Ask girls and boys if they can choose the cup that has the small object under it. Ask: Was it hard for you to follow the cup with the small object? You had to focus your eyes on the right cup. Our Bible story today reminds us that we should focus on doing good. Today, we are going to be learning from the Book of Titus. Let s take our Bibles out and see if we can find Titus. When you find the book, say Got it! Assist kids as needed, demonstrating how to use the table of contents. Display Crete. Ask: Does anyone know the name of this island? Look at Titus 1:5. Read the verse and affirm that the island is Crete. Continue: Today, we are learning from another letter written by Paul. Paul wrote this letter to a man named Titus. Titus job was to help the believers of Crete. This is a picture of Crete. Paul reminded Titus to always teach the truth about Jesus. He reminded Titus to teach the people to do good and follow the teachings of Jesus. He reminded Titus that because of God s mercy, God saves us from our sin. Let s learn more! TOOLS: Jump In: 3 plastic cups, small object, Crete (DVD- ROM), Bibles Examine the Text: Would You Rather (enhanced CD), Bibles, Text Truth Strips (Poster Pack), The Gospel (enhanced CD) Play the Video: Explore the Bible on Location video Memory Verse: marker board, dry erase marker, Titus 2:14 (Poster Pack) Prayer: Family Cards PREPARATION: Memory Verse: Display the Titus 2:14 poster and write the verse on the marker board. EXAMINE THE TEXT Gather your children together. Ask boys and girls the Would You Rather questions. Say: I asked you some silly questions, didn t I? We all must make choices every day. Some choices are harder than Do you want to be a superhero or an actress? But no matter the choice, God can always be our guide. This is what Paul wrote Titus in his letter. He wanted Titus to remind the people on the island of Crete to live their life by God s Word. Tell the Bible story in your own words. A Bible story page has been provided for you to use as a guide. Ask volunteers to read Titus 2:11-14. Say: These verses remind us that through God s grace, we are saved. His Word gives us guidance on how we should live. When we love God the way we should, we want to make right choices and to stay away from doing wrong. Display the Text Truth Strip. Continue: Our Text Truth says, because of His mercy, God saved us from our sin. We all sin. We all make bad choices. God will forgive us for those sins. We only have to ask for His forgiveness. Share the gospel plan with your group. The Gospel is included on your enhanced CD for you to use as a guide. 2018 LifeWay Session 8: The Book of Titus 65
BIBLE STUDY PLAY THE VIDEO Play the Session 8 video. Ask: What was Joel trying to accomplish? What does the Book of Titus teach us about salvation? Who do we need to rescue us from our sin? MEMORY VERSE Read the verse for your boys and girls. Repeat the verse in short segments for your group and have them repeat it back to you. Hide the Titus 2:14 poster. Erase one word from the board. Ask your group to repeat the verse to you and to fill in the blank with the missing word. Erase another word. Guide boys and girls to repeat the verse again and fill in the blanks. Continue play by erasing words and repeating the verse. Close with girls and boys saying the verse again together. PRAYER Give each boy and girl a Family Card. Say: Today, Paul reminds us of how we should live a life of godliness. This means we should respect and obey leaders, do good work, avoid fighting, and be kind and gentle to everyone. Paul reminds us that God s message of love is for everyone. It is because of His mercy, God saved us from our sin. Take your cards home this week and do some of the activities suggested on the card. Think about when you don t always make the best choice. Ask God for His forgiveness. Pray and ask God to help you make better choices. Close in prayer. Dismiss to Small Group. 66 Explore the Bible: Younger Kids 2018 LifeWay
SMALL GROUP SMALL GROUP (30 MINUTES) EXPLORER GUIDES Distribute Explorer Guides and help girls and boys locate today s pages, The Book of Titus. Invite a couple of volunteers to read aloud the Spotlight on Titus. Review today s object, the island of Crete. Ask a volunteer to read What Is Mercy? Guide kids to complete the Word Art and to think about this word from today s Bible study. Encourage kids to spread out and quietly complete the Gospel Review. Help kids as needed. TOOLS: Explorer Guides: Bibles, Explorer Guides, pens TECH CONNECT (OPTIONAL) Prior to Bible study, download the Explore the Bible: Kids Family App. Use the activity labeled Explorer Plus on the app. ACTIVITIES Select one or more of the activities to complete as time allows. MOVE TAKE IT TO THE WORLD Tools: 4 small buckets, table tennis balls, 2 large plastic spoons, paper, marker, painter s tape Write The World and Here on two pieces of paper. Place each paper on opposite sides of the room. Fill up two buckets with the table tennis balls and place them on the Here side of the room. Place the other two buckets on The World side of the room. Form two groups with your boys and girls. Tell them that you would like them to use a spoon to scoop up a ball out of the bucket and take it to the other bucket. Instruct them to take turns and continue play until all the balls are moved from one bucket to another bucket. Explain: In our game we were taking table tennis balls from here to the world. What message or truth does God want us to take to the world? Allow kids to share their thoughts. Say: Titus job was to help the people of Crete by helping them organize the church and to teach the truth of Jesus. Our job as Christians is to share the Gospel with others. We can do that by how we live and how we speak. Paul reminds us that God s Word is our guide to live a life that gives God glory. It is because of His mercy, God saved us from our sin. This is a gift from God that we should tell everyone. 2018 LifeWay Session 8: The Book of Titus 67
SMALL GROUP MAKE EXPLORE MAILBOX Tools: heavyweight paper, envelopes, markers, stickers, glue sticks Seal the envelopes and trim off the end of each one. Allow children to make a family mailbox. Instruct children to glue the envelopes to the heavyweight paper. Allow them to decorate the envelopes and paper with the markers and stickers. Encourage your boys and girls to write little notes to their family members that will encourage them and show them how they love them. Say: God sent His Son, Jesus, to save us from our sins. We all sin. It is because of His mercy, God saved us from our sin. We are to share the good news that God sent Jesus with everyone. God s love is for us to share. You can share God s love and about the gospel in a lot of ways, including writing someone a note. FLAG BINGO Tools: Flag Bingo and Allergy Alert (enhanced CD), small cereal or candies Print off the Flag Bingo cards. Cut apart the teacher cards. Give each child a Flag Bingo card and some small cereal or candies to use as playing pieces. Call out a country name and show the flag to the group. Ask your boys and girls to cover the correct flag if it is on their card. Say: God s message of love and salvation is for everyone. Missionaries travel all around the world to tell others about Jesus. It is because of His mercy, God saved us from our sin. It is our job to share that good news with everyone. You can be a missionary too! We can show God s love by how we live and what we say. 68 Explore the Bible: Younger Kids 2018 LifeWay