Really, None? KEY VERSE Romans 3:10 STICKY STATEMENT Not even me, not even you. LESSON OBJECTIVE Children will learn no one is without sin and will be given the opportunity to trust Jesus as Savior. CHECKLIST 1. A PowerPoint is included for this lesson. 2. Picture of Disney cartoon villains https://teachersource.wol.org/videos/oly18/26-1/ freeze frame at :28 (Introduction) 3. Picture of the teacher (Introduction) 4. Picture of the pastor (Introduction) 5. Video: The Good-O-Meter, https://teachersource.wol.org/videos/oly18/26-2/ (2:56). (Body) LESSON OVERVIEW In today s lesson the children will learn that the Bible teaches that there is no one who is righteous. We will look at the consequences of unrighteousness and God s solution to our unrighteous problem. Younger Adaptation Ask for a volunteer and bring that child up front with you. I m going to ask you 5 questions. Do your very best to answer them. Ready? Question 1: What does 1 + 1 equal? Question 2: What color is the sky? Question 3: How many doors are in this room? Question 4: What is your teacher s name? Question 5: How far is it from earth to the sun? Okay, I admit that the last question was really hard. You were right most of the time. Although none of us are right all the time, God is right all the time because He is righteous. Now, there s nothing wrong with not knowing the answer to a really hard question. But we do have a problem when we make wrong choices in the things we think, say, and do. 26. Really, None? (Module 8 Virus) - 185
INTRODUCTION We re going to start today by playing a game. But first there is a word that I want to introduce to you because you ll have to know what it means so that you can play the game. The word is righteous. Righteous means always good, never does anything wrong. Got it? Okay, here s the game. I ve got a picture of some characters from a few Disney movies. When I point to one of them, if the person is righteous I want you to give me a thumbs up. If the person is not righteous I want you to give me a thumbs down. Teacher s Note: Show the picture found at https://teachersource.wol.org/videos/oly18/26-1/ freeze frame at :28. The first one is the Queen of Hearts. Thumbs up or thumbs down? What s wrong with the Queen of Hearts? [Call on a child to answer. Answer: The Queen of Hearts is bad tempered and is always shouting Off with their head! ] The next one is Captain Hook. Thumbs up or thumbs down? What s wrong with Captain Hook? [Call on a child to answer Answer: Captain Hook is from the book Peter Pan and is a pirate who kidnapped Wendy.] The next one is Cruella De Vil. Thumbs up or thumbs down? What s wrong with Cruella De Vil? [Call on a child to answer Answer: Cruella De Vil hired Horace and Jasper to steal dalmatian puppies.] Next is Jafar. Thumbs up or thumbs down? What s wrong with Jafar? [Call on a child to answer Answer: Jafar tried to take over the kingdom from Princess Jasmine s father.] Teacher s Note: Take down the picture. Display the picture of yourself. Thumbs up or thumbs down? [Put your thumb down.] Thumbs down is the right answer, but I m not going to ask you what s wrong with me. You ll just have to trust me when I tell you that I am not righteous, I m not always good, and I do things that are wrong. [Display the picture of your pastor.] Thumbs up or thumbs down? [Put your thumb down.] You may be surprised that thumbs down is the right answer. I m also not going to ask you what s wrong with Pastor [insert name]. But if he were standing here with us, our pastor would admit that he is not always good, and he does things that are wrong. BODY We could play this game with pictures of everyone who has ever lived. The correct answer would always be thumbs down. The only exception would be Jesus, God s Son because He is perfect. How do I know that? Let s open our Bibles to the book of Romans, chapter 3, verse 10. There we read, As it is written: There is none righteous, no, not one ; God s Word is always true. So, if God tells me that there is none righteous, He means none, not even me, not even you. Often, we like to compare ourselves to other people to decide if we re good or not, if we re righteous. I might be bad tempered sometimes, but I ve never shouted off with their head! I ve never kidnapped anybody. I ve never hired anyone to steal puppies, and I ve never tried to take over a kingdom. I try to obey traffic laws. I try to be kind and helpful and honest. So I must be good; I must be righteous. But God s Word tells me that no one is righteous, not even me, not even you. 26. Really, None? (Module 8 Virus) - 186
Teacher s Note: Use the Younger Adaptation in this part if you believe that you need to clarify that righteousness means all the time. Here s the problem I m comparing myself to the wrong one. We read this in Deuteronomy 32:4 about God, He is the Rock, His work is perfect; for all His ways are justice, a God of truth and without injustice; righteous and upright is He. God is perfect. God is righteous. God is always good. God never does anything wrong. So when I m trying to decide if I m righteous or not, I have to compare myself to God. When you re trying to decide if you re righteous or not, you have to compare yourself to God. What does that say about you? There is none righteous, not even me, not even you. So what s the big deal about not being righteous? Well, God is righteous, and God can t have any unrighteous person with Him in Heaven. Having an unrighteous person in heaven would make Heaven imperfect. How many of you remember learning about Adam and Eve, the first man and woman God created? Remember God put them in a perfect place called Eden. When Adam and Eve disobeyed God and ate the fruit He told them not to eat, God put them out of Eden. They could not be in the perfect place God created because they were no longer righteous. Just like Adam and Eve could not be in Eden, we cannot be in Heaven because we are not righteous, not even me, not even you. Let s watch a video that might help to explain what I m saying. In this video you will see people waiting to get into Heaven. Each person has a file which tells how they lived. The person stands on the Good-O-Meter to see if they can enter Heaven. Some people have done some good things and others, well, let s just say they weren t always good. Watch closely to what happens to the last guy in line. Teacher s Note: Play the video: The Good-O-Meter, https://teachersource.wol.org/videos/oly18/26-2/ (2:56). Of course, there are no Good-O-Meter scales in Heaven to measure your goodness. However, I hope you understood that the last guy demonstrated what God tells us in Romans 3:10, There is none righteous, no, not one. This guy believed in Jesus and trusted in Jesus death, burial, and resurrection to be saved. Jesus paid for all the sins in his file. As a result, he was allowed into Heaven. APPLICATION So, going back to the game we played earlier, if you were giving me a thumbs up for a righteous person and a thumbs down for an unrighteous person, and I showed you a picture of Jesus, what would you do? [Emphatically put your thumb up]. Jesus was the only righteous person who ever lived. Jesus was always good. Jesus never did anything wrong. So what I need is for God to see Jesus righteousness when He looks at me. What you need is for God to see Jesus righteousness when He looks at you. How can I do that? How can you do that? How can you change from not even me, not even you to being a person who God can allow into Heaven? You become righteous by believing that through Jesus death, He took the punishment for our sins. Through Jesus resurrection He was victorious over death. That s it! There is no other way. I want to give you an opportunity to be like the last guy in the video and put your trust in Jesus. It s simple really. God tells us in His Word that none of us is righteous. Do you agree with God? God tells us in His Word that whoever calls on the name of Jesus will be saved. Do you believe God? If you would like to trust in Jesus, it s as simple as talking to God. I d like everyone to close their eyes and bow their heads. I m going to lead in a prayer. If you would like to trust Jesus today talk silently to God as I pray: 26. Really, None? (Module 8 Virus) - 187
Dear God, I know that I am not always good and that sometimes I think, say, or do bad things. I know that You are righteous and that I am separated from You because I am not righteous. I believe that You love me and want me to be with You. I believe that You love me so much that You sent Jesus to take the punishment for the wrong things that I do. I believe He died and rose again to pay for my sin. Today, God, I am trusting in Jesus as my Savior. Thank you, God, for loving me, and thank you, Jesus, for dying for me and rising again. Amen. If you prayed and put your trust in Jesus just now, I want you to tell your leader before you leave. Or if you have any questions about trusting Jesus, will you talk with your leader about it? He/she would love to answer any questions you have. Maybe you are that guy or girl who can remember a time and place when you realized that you were a sinner and could not save yourself and accepted Jesus as your Savior. But what about your family and friends? Do your unsaved loved ones know what you believe about Jesus? Have you shared the Good News of the Gospel with them? Could you show them verses in the Bible that would help them see their need to receive Jesus as their Savior? Remember, that every day is an opportunity to share how wonderful God is and what He has done for us. In just a moment, I will close in prayer. As I pray ask God to help you reach one of your unsaved family or friends with the Good News of the Gospel. [Close in prayer.] PERSONAL TRAINING TIME Goal of this Personal Training Time Help children understand what righteousness is and that they are unrighteous. Then help them understand that through Jesus they can be called righteous. Be sensitive to the prompting of the Holy Spirit and watch for any child who might need to speak with someone about making a decision for Jesus. Discussion Questions 1. What does righteous mean? (Righteous means always good, never does anything wrong.) 2. Besides Jesus, are there any righteous people? (None, not even me, not even you) 3. When does God sees us as righteous? (If you have children who have not received Jesus as their Savior, you may want to review the fact that no one is righteous. We are only made righteous by God s Son, Jesus, who died on the cross, was buried and rose again. He paid for their sin. For those children who are saved, tell them how important it is for them to memorize verses like Romans 3:10 and Romans 3:23 to be prepared to share with others.) 26. Really, None? (Module 8 Virus) - 188
PARENT CONNECTION Today we examined Romans 3:10 where we learned that none of us is righteous, not even me, not even you. We defined righteous as always being good and never doing anything wrong. We made the connection between Adam and Eve being separated from God when they disobeyed Him and our being separated from God when we disobey Him. We gave the children an opportunity to respond and put their trust in Jesus as their Savior. Over the next week when you find yourself doing something wrong say to your child, That wasn t righteous, I am so thankful for Jesus! 26. Really, None? (Module 8 Virus) - 189
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