Sunday, Sept 13, 2015 Kidzone KG and 1st Grade Small Group TEACHER BIBLE STUDY God s Warning to Seven Churches Revelation 1 3 The apostle John wrote the Book of Revelation from the island of Patmos. Patmos was an island where the Romans often exiled prisoners. John was likely sent to Patmos as a prisoner, arrested for preaching the gospel. Introduce kids to the Book of Revelation the last book of the Bible and a book that tells about things that will happen in the future. A glimpse of the future kingdom of God gives believers hope and compels them to remain faithful to Christ. The Book of Revelation opens with John s description of a vision. In the vision, Jesus warned seven local churches. In most cases, Jesus commended the church for their good work, warned them about the areas in which they needed correction, and urged them to return to Him. Each time, Jesus promised to reward those who remain faithful to Him. Jesus loves the church. The Church is made up of people who have trusted in Jesus, who are committed to one another, and who meet together to worship Jesus and share the gospel. Jesus loves the church as His bride. (See Eph. 5:25-27; Rev. 19:7-9.) Jesus message to seven local churches called them to turn away from their sin and remain faithful to Him. The Lord is slow to anger (Ex. 34-6- 7) and patient, wanting everyone to repent (2 Pet. 3:9). Help kids understand some of the problems the early churches faced. They did not love like they should, they believed false teaching and did wrong things, and they were lukewarm useless to the cause of Christ. Churches still face these problems today. We can pray for our churches to be faithful, effective instruments in spreading the gospel. Jesus is the Alpha and the Omega (Rev. 1:8). In the Greek alphabet, alpha is the first letter and omega is the last. Jesus is the A to Z. Jesus is the beginning and the end, but not just those; He is everything in- between. Jesus made all things. (John 1:3) He is in control of all things. He holds all things together. (Col. 1:17) And He is coming back someday! YOUNGER KIDS BIBLE STUDY OVERVIEW Session Title: God s Warning to Seven Churches Bible Passage: Revelation 1 3 Big Picture Question: What did Jesus tell the churches about Himself? Jesus is the Alpha and the Omega the beginning and the end. Key Passage: Revelation 22:12-13 Unit Christ Connection: Jesus is making all things new. Unit 36 Session 3 Younger Elementary 1
Sunday, Sept 13, 2015 Welcome time Activity page (5 minutes) Session starter (10 minutes) Key passage activity (5 minutes) Kidzone KG and 1st Grade Small Group Small Group Time Bible story review (10 minutes) Activity choice (10 minutes) Journal (5 minutes) Prayer (5 minutes) THE BIBLE STORY God s Warning to Seven Churches Revelation 1 3 Like many believers, the apostle John faced suffering and persecution for telling people about Jesus. John was on the island of Patmos (PAT muhs) when he had a vision. John saw Jesus and seven gold lampstands. The seven lampstands were the seven churches. Jesus told John to write down the things he saw and send the message to the seven churches. John obeyed Jesus. These are the messages to the seven churches. To the church in Ephesus (EF uh suhs): I know what you do. You work hard and do not give up. You do not accept people who do evil things. But I have this against you: You do not love well like you did when you first believed. Turn back and love like you used to. Everyone should pay attention to this message from the Spirit. Jesus will reward believers who are faithful. To the church in Smyrna (SMUHR nuh): I know that you are poor and are suffering, but really you are rich! I know that people insult you. You may face prison or death, but do not be afraid. Everyone should pay attention to this message from the Spirit. Jesus will reward believers who are faithful. To the church in Pergamum (PUHR guh muhm): I know that you live in a place where people do evil things. But you are faithful to Me, and you tell others about Me even when it is hard. But not everyone in the church is doing the right thing. Some people are living like those who do not believe. Turn away from your sin and turn back to Me! Everyone should pay attention to this message from the Spirit. Jesus will reward believers who are faithful. To the church in Thyatira (thigh uh TIGH ruh): I know what you do. I know about your love, faithfulness, and service. You do not give up. But there is a wicked woman with you who teaches things that are not true, and some of you believe her. I will punish her and those who follow her teaching. Many of you do not follow her, and to you I say, keep believing the truth Unit 36 Session 3 Younger Elementary 2
Sunday, Sept 13, 2015 Kidzone KG and 1st Grade Small Group until I come. Everyone should pay attention to this message from the Spirit. Jesus will reward believers who are faithful. To the church in Sardis (SAHR diss): I know what you do. People think you are alive, but you are actually dead. You used to have a strong faith, but now you are weak. You do not live as you should. Wake up! Be ready for My return. Turn from your sin and remember the gospel. Turn back to the Lord and live for Him. Everyone should pay attention to this message from the Spirit. Jesus will reward believers who are faithful. To the church in Philadelphia (fil uh DEL fih uh): I know what you do. You are a small church, but you listen to Me and obey My word. I have opened the door for you to enter My kingdom. I am coming soon. Be ready and keep believing. Everyone should pay attention to this message from the Spirit. Jesus will reward believers who are faithful. To the church in Laodicea (lay ahd ih SEE uh): I know what you do. You are not hot or cold, so you are not good for anything. I will spit you out of My mouth! You think you are rich, but you are actually poor, blind, and naked. Come to me, and I will make you rich. I will make you see, and I will put clothes on you. I am here! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in and eat with you, and you will eat with Me. Everyone should pay attention to this message from the Spirit. Jesus will reward believers who are faithful. Christ Connection: Jesus loves the church. His message to seven local churches called them to turn away from their sin and remain faithful to Him. Jesus saves sinners and changes them to be like Him. SMALL GROUP OPENING Session Title: God s Warning to Seven Churches Bible Passage: Revelation 1 3 Big Picture Question: What did Jesus tell the churches about Himself? Jesus is the Alpha and the Omega the beginning and the end. Key Passage: Revelation 22:12-13 Unit Christ Connection: Jesus is making all things new. Unit 36 Session 3 Younger Elementary 3
Sunday, Sept 13, 2015 Kidzone KG and 1st Grade Small Group Welcome time: Arriving Activity: Bible search Bibles, 1 per kid Guide kids to find various books of the Bible. You may encourage them to find the first book of the Old Testament, the last book of the Old Testament, the first book of the New Testament, and so forth. Be sure to instruct kids to find the last book of the Bible, Revelation. Say Today s Bible story comes from the very last book of the Bible, Revelation. In the first few chapters of Revelation, God gave warnings to seven churches. Activity page (5 minutes) Warning Sign Patterns activity page, 1 per kid pencils Guide boys and girls to complete the activity page. Say Excellent job figuring out those patterns. What do the signs in the patterns warn against? Why would a warning sign be helpful? In our Bible story today, Jesus warned seven churches. He did not use a sign though. God gave John a vision to share. Let s find out more in our Bible story. Session starter (10 minutes) Option 1: Seven down Invite kids to stand in a circle and number off. When a child says seven, she must sit down. The next kid starts over again with one. Keep playing until one child is left standing. Say In our Bible story today, Jesus gave the apostle John a vision of seven lampstands. Each lampstand represented one of seven churches. Jesus had warnings for each of those different churches. We will find out what those warnings were in our Bible story today. Unit 36 Session 3 Younger Elementary 4
Sunday, Sept 13, 2015 Kidzone KG and 1st Grade Small Group Option 2: Pay attention! tray various small items piece of fabric Tip: For younger kids, simply remove an item and kids must guess what is missing. Gather various small items on a tray. Display the tray of items. Warn kids to pay close attention to where items are on the tray. Cover the tray with the piece of fabric. Direct kids to face the opposite direction while you modify the items on the tray. You may move an item on the tray, remove an item from the tray, or add an item to the tray. Remove the fabric from the tray and allow kids to take turns guessing what has changed on the tray. Say In our Bible story today, God gave the apostle John specific messages to share with seven specific churches. These messages were warnings. Jesus said the churches should pay attention to the messages. SMALL GROUP LEADER Session Title: God s Warning to Seven Churches Bible Passage: Revelation 1 3 Big Picture Question: What did Jesus tell the churches about Himself? Jesus is the Alpha and the Omega the beginning and the end. Key Passage: Revelation 22:12-13 Unit Christ Connection: Jesus is making all things new. Key passage activity (5 minutes) Key Passage Slide or Poster dry erase board and markers (optional) beanbag paper marker scissors Make sure the key passage, Revelation 22:12-13, is visible for each child, either as the printed poster or written on a dry erase board. Read the verses together. Say Did you notice that the answer to our big picture question is similar to our key passage? Jesus said He is the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end more than once in the Book of Revelation. For Jesus to say that multiple times lets us know that it is important information. Jesus is most important of all! Unit 36 Session 3 Younger Elementary 5
Sunday, Sept 13, 2015 Kidzone KG and 1st Grade Small Group Write the key passage on a single sheet of paper. Cut the paper into 1- inch vertical strips. Mix the strips and place them facedown on a table. Invite kids to stand in a circle near the table and toss a beanbag to one another, counting to seven. The child who catches the beanbag on seven will choose a strip and place it faceup on the table, away from the other strips. He rejoins the circle and starts the beanbag toss again. The next child chooses a strip and places it appropriately with the other faceup strip(s). Continue until kids assemble the passage. Say the key passage together. Bible story review (10 minutes) Bibles, 1 per kid Small Group Visual Pack Big Picture Question Slide or Poster beanbag tape red and blue construction paper dry erase board or paper with markers Encourage the kids to find Revelation 1 3 in their Bibles. Help them as needed. Say Where is the Book of Revelation found? (the last book of the Bible) Revelation is the only book in the Prophecy division of the New Testament. In the Book of Revelation, the apostle John recorded the visions God gave him. Use the small group visual pack to show kids where today s Bible story is on the timeline. Review the Bible story provided using the bolded text, or summarize the story in your own words. Write the names of the seven churches on a dry erase board or large sheet of paper to display. Create a five- by- five grid on the floor with tape. Form two teams. Team 1 tosses a beanbag into a square on the grid. Ask a question about one of the messages to the seven churches. If the team can name that church, they place a blue piece of paper in the square. If they cannot, the square remains blank. Team 2 tosses the beanbag into a square and attempts to answer a question. If they answer correctly, they place a red piece of paper in the square. The object of the game is to get four of a team color in a row in any direction. If time runs short, stop the game and count the colors in the squares. The team with the most squares wins. Use the following review questions or create your own: Which church did Jesus tell not to be afraid even though they were facing prison and death? (Smyrna, Rev. 2:8 10) Which church had a wicked woman teaching things that were not true? (Thyatira, Rev. 2:18 20) Unit 36 Session 3 Younger Elementary 6
Sunday, Sept 13, 2015 Kidzone KG and 1st Grade Small Group Which church did Jesus say was neither hot nor cold? (Laodicea, Rev. 3:14 16) Which church lived in a place where people were doing evil things? (Pergamum, Rev. 2:12 16) Which church did Jesus tell to wake up? (Sardis, Rev. 3:1 2) Which church did Jesus say did not love like they used to? (Ephesus, Rev 2:1 4) Which church did Jesus say was small but listened to Him and obeyed His word? (Philadelphia, Rev. 3:7 8) Say Every time Jesus gave a message to one of the churches, He encouraged them to be faithful to Him. Show the big picture question slide or poster. Say What did Jesus tell the churches about Himself? Jesus is the Alpha and the Omega the beginning and the end. Activity choice (10 minutes) Option 1: Listen and find Write Jesus on a small block. Choose one child to stand outside the room or to go to another part of the room and face away from the group. Hide the block in the room. Ask the child to return and try to find the block. As the child looks, the rest of the group should clap softly when he is far away from the hiding place and clap loudly when he is close to the hiding place. When he finds the block, choose another child as the seeker and repeat the game. Say When you were looking for the block, you had to listen carefully. When your friends clapped softly, they warned that you were not close. Jesus gave messages to the churches. He wanted them to listen to His words and know what to do. What did Jesus tell the churches about Himself? Jesus is the Alpha and the Omega the beginning and the end. Option 2: Message in a bottle empty, clean plastic bottles paper markers Provide a piece of paper and markers for each child. Guide kids to create a message by writing the big picture answer on their paper or drawing a picture that reminds them that Jesus is the beginning and the end. Kids may use markers to decorate their message. Demonstrate how to fold and roll the message to fit in the plastic bottle. Use the bottle s lid to seal the message inside. Encourage kids to think about to whom they may give their message in a bottle. Unit 36 Session 3 Younger Elementary 7
Sunday, Sept 13, 2015 Kidzone KG and 1st Grade Small Group Say In today s Bible story, Jesus gave John a vision. Jesus told John to write down the things he saw and send the message to the seven churches. What did Jesus tell the churches about Himself? Jesus is the Alpha and the Omega the beginning and the end. Journal and prayer (5 minutes) Journal Page, 1 per kid markers or crayons Bible Story Coloring Page Distribute each child s the journal page provided with this session. Instruct the kids to draw a picture of seven churches. Writers can write things they remember Jesus said to the seven churches. Say Would someone like to say our big picture question and answer? What did Jesus tell the churches about Himself? Jesus is the Alpha and the Omega the beginning and the end. If time remains, take prayer requests or allow kids to complete the coloring page provided with this session. Pray, thanking God for speaking to His people. Pray for each child by name, asking God to save them and help them remember Jesus in everything they do. Dismiss to parents Make sure to check security tags when dismissing children. Unit 36 Session 3 Younger Elementary 8
UNIT 36 Session 3 God s Warning to Seven Churches 2015 LifeWay OK TO PRINT God s Plan for the Church Is Fulfilled
God s Plan for the Church Is Fulfilled 23 UNIT 36 Session 3 Younger Kids Activity Pages Instructions: Complete the pattern.