Paul Teaches About Self-Respect Ephesians 2:8-10 The Point We respect ourselves. Large-Group Lesson 3 CHOOSE YOUR OPTIONS Each option below is designed to last 10 minutes. The option used to tell the Bible story is designated with the Bible image. Always do this option first in your large-group time. Use the chart below to plan the rest of your largegroup time in whatever order fits your needs. Check the options you want to use. Key Verse Respect everyone. 1 Peter 2:17 Tear off for easy planning. Large Group Choose Your Options Get Your Supplies Planning Notes Welcome Praise & Worship Reflection Object Lesson Game 1 sheet of paper per child that reads The Way Jesus Sees Me Skit I Wish (p. 32) Teach the Key Verse anytime during large group. Small Group WHAT GROUPS WILL NEED Preschool Supplies Lower Elementary Supplies Upper Elementary Supplies Permission to photocopy this page from Group s : Wilderness Trail granted for local church use. 25
Copy this page, and distribute to your leaders. Paul Teaches About Self-Respect Ephesians 2:8-10 Leader Insights JAILED CORRESPONDENCE Incarcerated and awaiting trial, Paul guessed he d most likely never again visit the church in Ephesus a church that he d established some years earlier. So he did in writing what he couldn t do in person: encourage, strengthen, and confirm the believers in their service, their holiness, and their faith. One main point Paul wanted to get across to the Ephesian believers was that people aren t saved by the work of their own hands, but by the grace of God alone. HEAD VERSUS HEART Paul warned against big-headedness or boasting about the great things people have done. Human nature may incline people to take credit for their work or think that they re somehow more holy because of the number of mission trips or hours spent kneeling and praying. Paul sensed this was the case in Ephesus and addressed it directly. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it, Paul wrote. He knew that if people took credit for their salvation by the works they did, there d be no need for Jesus not his life, his sacrifice, or his crucifixion. CREATED ANEW God s masterpiece. God s favorite display on his mantel. He created us for a purpose in fact, he created us knowing the great things we d do. He created us specifically so we d be able to accomplish them. Paul s point of not boasting is doubly reinforced here: We can t boast about our good works since God gave us the ability to do those works in the first place. A HARD CONCEPT Grace and favor are tough ideas to wrap our brains around sometimes. A heavenly reward and one doesn t have to work for it? What s the catch? With God, there isn t a catch. It s grace, freely given. It s part of God s character. We may feel undeserving of heavenly favor and grace, but God offers it regardless. All we can do is position ourselves to receive it and give credit to God when we do! LIVING INSIDE OUT Sometimes we re tempted to look to our own accomplishments as a kind of spiritual gauge. It might be difficult to hear of a colleague s two-hour daily devotional time when you barely have 15 minutes to yourself. Keep in mind that God has given you your creativity, your ability, and your giftedness and he gave all of it for a purpose. Not for comparison with others, but for serving others and, ultimately, serving God. This week, challenge yourself to boast about God and the amazing things he s doing in your life. 26 Permission to photocopy this page from Group s : Wilderness Trail granted for local church use.
Paul Teaches About Self-Respect Ephesians 2:8-10 Large-Group Lesson 3 Welcome Allow 5 minutes COUNT DOWN Play one of the countdowns. Have children get with their small groups, and get them excited to worship! GREET Have small-group leaders greet kids in their groups especially guests. ANNOUNCE Make any announcements (including birthdays), and collect offerings. Praise & Worship SING (Song 1) Respect Everyone (1 Peter 2:17) (Song 2) No Greater Love (John 15:13) (Song 3) Doin It for the Lord (Colossians 3:23) (Song 5) PRAY Thank God for loving us just the way we are, for sending Jesus to be our friend, and for helping us respect ourselves. Easy Options: lyrics and motions. provided on the CD. Say: Have you ever wished you could be like someone else instead of yourself? Have you ever worried that you weren t wearing the right clothes or you weren t on the right team? Sometimes we can feel as though we don t fit in, but God loves us the just way we are. Jesus wants you to feel good about being you that s what self-respect is all about. Today we ll talk about how we respect ourselves. Permission to photocopy this page from Group s : Wilderness Trail granted for local church use. 27
INTRODUCE Open your Bible to Ephesians 2:8-10, and hold it up. Say: God says you are really special! To see how unique you really are, hold up your thumb and look at it very, very closely. See the tiny swirls? Those are you have. Let s have some fun with these thumbprints! CREATE Hand each child half an index card, and hand leaders ink pads and wet wipes. Say: When it s your turn, press your thumb onto the ink pad and from the others in your group! Have leaders assist kids in cleaning their thumbs with a wet wipe or damp towel after they ve made a print. REFLECT Say: Let s take turns placing our thumbprints in this outline of a heart. When it s your turn, walk to the heart, silently thank God for creating you just the way you are, and then tape your print inside the heart. DISCUSS IN GROUPS DVD Thumbody Special Questions Cue the question screen for kids to answer each of the following: Say: God knows everything about us, because he created us. He knows what s in our hearts, what our thumbprints look like, even how many hairs are on our heads! Because we re God s masterpiece, we know we re worth a lot. When we see how God sees us, we respect ourselves. Prepare Ahead Using a red marker, draw an outline of a heart on a sheet of poster board and tape it to the wall. The heart should be large enough to hold thumbprints from everyone in the large group. No ink pads? No problem! To make your own ink pad, paint a thin layer of tempera paint on one side of a plastic food container lid and let it dry slightly. 28 Permission to photocopy this page from Group s : Wilderness Trail granted for local church use.
INTRODUCE Have kids get into pairs, and hand out one of the prepared papers to each child. Say: I d like you to think of things that make it good to be you. There must be a lot of reasons to like you and to respect you, but I m only going to ask you to think of five reasons. EXPLAIN Explain that for each reason they think of, kids have to tell their partners what it is and then fold their papers in half. Say: For instance, maybe you re kind to others, or maybe you re really good at reading or math. Ready? Go! Allow about two minutes. UNFOLD Say: Now unfold your paper. Look at all the squares folded into it! Are there more than five? You know what? Jesus could fill all those squares and more with things he loves about you and never run out of ideas. He thinks you re wonderful, and he ll always love you! DISCUSS IN GROUPS DVD Folded Up Questions Cue the question screen for kids to answer each of the following: Say: Jesus thinks you re pretty wonderful and his list about you is really long! We can remember that self-respect means seeing ourselves the way Jesus sees us. That way, we respect ourselves. Prepare Ahead In large letters, write The Way Jesus Sees Me in the center of a sheet of paper. Make one photocopy of this for each child. If kids have trouble thinking of positive things about themselves, prompt others within the group to help them by offering affirmations. Permission to photocopy this page from Group s : Wilderness Trail granted for local church use. 29
Game INTRODUCE Say: Have you ever been to the store and begged your mom or dad for a certain pair of shoes or jeans because all your friends were wearing them? How about a certain toy that you wanted because your friend had one? Sometimes we want to be like everyone else or have what others have. We think that then maybe we ll be happy and others will think we re cool. PARTNER Have kids find a partner and stand about 3 feet apart. Say: One of you will be the Leader and one will be the Mirror. Normally, when you look in the mirror, your reflection copies you exactly but not today. Explain that whatever movements the Leader makes, the Mirror will do the opposite. BEGIN Say: Ready? Go! Give kids about 30 seconds to oppositely mirror each other, and then have them switch roles. Allow another 30 seconds. DISCUSS IN GROUPS DVD Mirror Opposite Questions Cue the question screen for kids to answer each of the following: do? to respect yourself? Begin by suggesting movements such as patting their heads with alternating hands, sitting down, hopping on one foot, and so on. Then let kids have fun as they invent their own movements! Say: Sometimes it s hard to do the opposite of what our friends do. We might think they won t like us anymore! But sometimes we know the right thing to do and the right way to act even if it s the exact opposite of what our friends are doing. We respect ourselves by being exactly who God made us to be and doing what we know God wants us to do. 30 Permission to photocopy this page from Group s : Wilderness Trail granted for local church use.