LEADER DEVOTIONAL Leaders: this is just for you! Read ahead of time to engage with the Bible story on an adult level and prepare your heart to teach on Sunday. Jude, along with James, was a younger half-brother of Jesus. And like James, it wasn t until Jesus rose from the dead that Jude believed Jesus was the Son of God. Sometime between AD 65 and AD 80, Jude wrote a short letter to warn believers about false teachers. False teachers had secretly made their way into the church, and Jude urged his readers not to abandon their beliefs but to contend for the faith (Jude 3). Jude warned the early Christians that some people would try to divide them by sinning and by teaching things that weren t true. Jude wanted them to not only defend the true teachings but also to actively share the gospel. He told his friends to show mercy to those who doubt, to lead others to Jesus, and to hate sin. There are still false teachers today, and some of them still try to sneak into the church itself. God loves us, and He warns us through Scripture to be on guard. We can study His Word to know what is true, and we can rely on the Holy Spirit for wisdom and discernment. Such a strong warning about false teachers might be reason for panic among believers, but Jude ended his letter reminding them of God s promise. Ultimately, Jesus is the One who protects His people from sin. Throughout history, God has been working out His plan to bring a people to Himself. God will keep us, and He calls us to not only remember His truth but to encourage other believers to defend the faith. Because of Jesus, we will be able to stand before God with great joy. In the words of Jude, to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, power, and authority before all time, now and forever. Amen (Jude 25). 0
WELCOME Greet each kid as he or she arrives. Use this time to collect the offering, fill out attendance sheets, and help new kids connect to your group. As kids arrive, ask them what they like to talk about with their friends. What things do they discuss at lunch, during recess, or when they have time to just hang out with friends? Say We love to share with our friends about things that are important to us. Today we will study another letter in the New Testament. This letter was written by a man named Jude. He was a half-brother of Jesus. Jude wrote to his friends about something very important to him. "A message from Jude activity page, 1 per kid pencils or markers ACTIVITY PAGE Invite kids to complete A Message from Jude on the activity page. Kids should use the letters to fill in the blanks and complete part of Jude s message to believers. Say The Book of Jude in the Bible is not long. In fact, it s only one chapter! Jude encouraged Christians to stand strong in the faith. In today s Bible story, we ll hear more about what that means. KEY PASSAGE ACTIVITY Key Passage Poster Form three groups of kids. Assign each group one section of the key passage and instruct them to develop hand motions for their assigned words. Then invite each group to teach their motions to the rest of the kids. Encourage the entire class to perform the hand motions for the whole verse. Say Great job, everyone. Memorizing Scripture is one way we can carry God s truth with us wherever we go. 1
SESSION STARTER Option 1: What protects you? play dough ** Please collect play dough before moving on to the next activity. Distribute a handful of play dough to each kid. Ask kids to think about things that protect them. Give them a few minutes to create sculptures representing things that protect them. Allow volunteers to share their creations with the rest of the group. Say You were very creative with your sculptures. All these things represent some form of safety or protection for us. Did you know the Bible also gives us safety? Knowing God s truth in His Word helps protect us. We will learn more about that today. Option 2: Matching game index cards marker Option: For an added challenge, make sets of words and definitions for kids to match. Before class, write key words from today s session on index cards. Create two identical sets to play a matching game. Suggested words: friends, Jesus, true, truth, sin, faith, Holy Spirit. If you have a large number of kids, consider preparing extra sets of cards and playing in smaller groups. Place the cards facedown on the floor or table. Instruct a player to turn over two cards. If the cards match, she gets to keep them. If not, turn them facedown and let the next player take a turn. Continue until kids find all the matches. Say To do well in this game, you had to have a good memory. We try hard to remember the things that are important to us. Today we are going to talk about the importance of remembering God s truth found in the Bible. Transition to large group 2
BIBLE STORY Remember God s Truth Jude 3-4,17-25 Jude was one of Jesus younger half-brothers. After Jesus rose from the dead, Jude believed that Jesus is the Son of God. Jude wanted other believers to share this good news about Jesus and to stand up for what is true about Him. Jude wrote a letter to his friends. Dear friends, I was looking forward to writing to you about the salvation we have in Jesus, but I believe there is something more important to say. I urge you to stand up boldly for what is true for the faith that God has given to His people. Jude explained that some people among them made ungodly choices. They used God s grace as an excuse to sin. They denied Jesus, our only Master and Lord. Jude reminded them that people would make fun of believers and the truth. These people would live however they wanted, sinning against God. These people do not have the Holy Spirit. They are unbelievers who bring division to the church. But believers build themselves up in the faith to stand for what is right. They let the Holy Spirit guide them as they pray. Remember God s truth, Jude wrote. He loves you. Jesus will come and give you eternal life. Jude told the believers to show mercy to those who doubt, to lead others to Jesus, and to hate sin. Now praise God! Jude wrote. He is able to keep you from sin. God is our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord. All glory, majesty, power, and authority belong to Him. Amen. Christ Connection: Jude warned the early Christians that some people would try to divide them by sinning and by teaching things that weren t true. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life the One who protects His people from sin. Because of Jesus, we will be able to stand before God with joy. Bible Storytelling Tips Change your pace: Slow down when telling bolded portions to emphasize key details. Display the Bible: Hold open your Bible as you tell the story. Make eye contact with kids to convey the importance of God s holy Word. 3
BIBLE STORY REVIEW AND BIBLE SKILLS Bibles, 1 per kid Paper Pencils Say Raise your hand if you had heard this Bible story before today. Whether you ve heard a Bible story one time or a hundred times, there is always something new that we can learn. God s Word is living and active, so there is always more that God can reveal about Himself through what we read in Scripture! Let s review some of the details from today s story. Provide a Bible for each kid and instruct them to find the Book of Jude. Explain that Jude comes right before Revelation, the last book of the Bible. Say Today s Bible story has been about truth, so we re going to do a true/false review. Number your paper from 1 to 5. As I read each statement about today s Bible story, write T if the statement is true and F if it is false. We ll check our answers at the end, so don t give away the answer by your reactions while I read. Jude loved Jesus, but was not related to Him. (False, He was one of Jesus half-brothers; Jude 1; Gal. 1:19) Jude said God will punish people who deny Jesus. (true, Jude 4) Jude told his friends that people would make fun of believers and the truth. (true, Jude 18) Jude encouraged believers to ignore those who doubt the truth. (False, Jude said to show mercy to those who doubt; Jude 22) God is able to keep you from sin. (true, Jude 24) Take a few minutes to review and discuss each statement: Why it is true or false, and what does it means to us today? Prompt kids to read the references supporting each answer. Review the gospel with boys and girls. Explain that kids are welcome to speak with you or another teacher if they have questions. (Feel free to use the GOSPEL visual aid from your class bulletin board.) 4
ENGAGE Option 1: Bible bookmarks heavyweight paper scissors markers, crayons, or colored pencils Before the session, cut heavyweight paper into strips. Prepare at least one per kid. Say We heard in our Bible story today that Jude encouraged Christians to stand strong in the faith. To stand strong in the faith, we have to know what is true. The best way to know God s truth is to read it in the Bible. Spending time in God s Word helps us know what is true. It helps us to remember what is important to God, and therefore, what should be important to us. God s Word gives us directions for our lives. We re going to create bookmarks to keep in our Bibles as a reminder and encouragement to read it every day. Note: Making a specific plan will make it easier for kids to follow through with daily Bible reading. Distribute paper strips and decorating items to the kids. Encourage boys and girls to create bookmarks for their Bibles. Suggest they write the big picture question and answer on their bookmark. Consider encouraging kids to list on the back of their bookmarks a simple daily reading plan. Example: one chapter of Proverbs, one psalm, and one chapter from a Gospel. If your church has a reading plan for adults, encourage the kids to participate. Option 2: Path of truth colored paper, 12 or 16 sheets tape paper pen Tape sheets of paper on the floor in a 3-by-4 or 4-by-4 grid. Before the session, draw the predetermined path across the grid on a separate sheet of paper for your reference. Do not show it to the kids! Explain that there is a secret path to get across the papers. Kids must discover by trial and error the right path by stepping on the paper in the correct order to get through the grid. One at a time, challenge a kid to walk on the paper in the correct path. As soon as a player makes a wrong step, tell her to stop. Let the next player try. Kids will soon figure out that if they watch the players before them, they will learn some of the correct steps and make it further through the path. Continue until kids can walk the entire pathway correctly. Option: Review the gospel with boys and girls. Explain that kids are welcome to speak with you or another teacher if they have questions. Say This game was very challenging at first because you didn t know the correct path. But as you watched and worked together, you learned and remembered the correct steps. 5
The same can be true for our lives. We don t know the path laid out in front of us. But when we read the Bible and remember God s Word, we learn what path He has for us. He will guide us in all truth. Jude encouraged Christians to stand strong in the faith. We can stand strong in our faith because we are confident in what God s Word says. Pencils Journals ENGAGE AND PRAYER TIME Distribute journal pages and pencils. Guide kids to think about and answer the questions listed on the page: What does this story teach me about God or the gospel? What does the story teach me about myself? Are there any commands in this story to obey? How are they for God s glory and my good? Are there any promises in this story to remember? How do they help me trust and love God? How does this story help me to live on mission better? While kids journal, invite them to share their ideas. Then lead kids in prayer. Then pray, thanking God for His Word and asking for strength and courage to share the gospel, even in difficult situations. Pray for joy and peace in obeying Jesus command to share the good news with the world. CLOSING AND PICK UP After prayer time is done, continue any unfinished activities until parents arrive. Send each kid home with this week's Big Picture Card so kids and their parents can interact with the biblical content at home. 6