LEADERS HUB
Year 1, Term 2, Week 1: Ideas for Middle Group
Week 1: Serving God - Saved by Faith!
Lesson Objective:
We are saved through faith by the grace of God because Jesus died on the cross- not because we have done anything to earn it.
Bible Passage:
Matthew 19:16-26
Memory Verse:
Ephesians 2:8-9- You were saved by faith in God, who treats us much better than we deserve. This is God’s gift to you, and not anything you have done on your own.
Story Idea: Act it Out!
Have two leaders act out the story of the rich young man, use costumes from the cupboard:
- Jesus ( white robe, shepherds hat etc.)
- Rich man (coloured robe, jewels/beads, fancy hat etc.)
Tell the kids that one day Jesus' disciples were with him when a rich man came to ask him a question! Jesus should stand to one side while the rich man comes to talk to him:
Rich man: Teacher, what do I need to do to live in Heaven forever?
Jesus: If you want to live forever in Heaven, you must obey God's commandments!
Rich man: Which ones?
Jesus: Don't steal, don't tell lies, obey your parents, don't hurt people, and love others as much as you love yourself!
Rich man: But I think I have done all of these things Jesus!
Jesus: If you want to be perfect, then you should sell all you have and give it to the poor - that would be the really loving thing to do!
Rich man: (Looks very sad) But... But... I have so much, I don't want to just give it all away... (Walks away sadly)
Jesus: (To group) Jesus turned to his disciples and said.... It is very hard for someone who is rich to follow all of God's commandments... It's harder than fitting a huge (hold arms out) camel through a tiny (hold fingers close together) end of a needle! Jesus' disciples were AMAZED ... 'It seems like it's impossible for a person to get to Heaven they said' ... 'How can anyone obey God's rules ALL THE TIME?' .... Well, that's just the thing, it's NOT possible for anyone to get to Heaven on their own because nobody can be perfect all the time!... I, Jesus, I'm the one that makes it possible for everyone to get to Heaven!
Quiz Questions:
1. What did the rich man ask Jesus? What do I have to do to have eternal life?
2. What did Jesus answer? Obey ALL of God's commandments
3. What were some of the commandments that Jesus listed? Don't lie, don't hurt others, don't steal, obey your parents, love others as much as you love each other
4. Did the rich man think he had done all of this? Yes
5. What did Jesus tell him he should do? Sell everything and give to the poor
6. The rich man had a LOT of money and didn't want to share it with poor people, so do you think He was really loving everyone like he loved himself? No
7. Can anyone obey God's commands ALL the time? No
8. Is it possible for us to get to Heaven on our own by doing good things? No
9. Jesus says that HE is the one that makes it possible for us to get to Heaven, what did Jesus do so we could be with Him in Heaven? Died on the cross
Game Idea: Obstacle Course!
Before the lesson, set up an obstacle course (or two the same so that teams can race!)
- Chairs to climb over
- Marker cones to weave through
- A tunnel to crawl through (sheet over chairs)
- A beam to balance on (two parallel masking tape lines stuck to the ground or an actual piece of wood to balance on)
Have the kids complete the course relay-style, or have two teams race through identical courses to make it more interesting!
Obstacle courses can be hard! Remind the kids that Jesus said it would be harder for us to earn our way into Heaven than it would be for a big camel to go through a tiny hole in the end of a needle! Thankfully, Jesus made a way for us!
Game Idea: Hoop challenge!
- Have the kids join hands in a circle
- Place the hoop around the hand-link between two kids
- Challenge the group to make the hoop travel all the way around the circle so that everyone climbs through without letting go!
Remind the kids that Jesus said it would be harder for us to earn our way into Heaven than it would be for a big camel to go through a tiny hole in the end of a needle! Thankfully, Jesus made a way for us!
​Craft Idea: Camel Craft!
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Before the lesson:
- Download and print the camel outline template, double sided on coloured card and cut around the outside (ensure printer is set to 'full size' not 'fit to page' so that the two sides of the camel line up, or print on separate pages and cut both out to be stuck together
- Gather wool, googley eyes, wooden pegs, scissors, glue and pencils and strips of cardboard about 7cm wide
Have the kids:
- Decorate their camel
- Stick on eyes, attach pegs and colour hooves and gluing on tufts of hair
- Tufts of hair can be created by winding wool around a strip of cardboard, using a small piece of wool to tie the winds together at one edge of the cardboard and snipping the winds at the other end (two tufts for the humps and one for the tail)
Prayer Idea: Blackboard Prayers
- Give each child a blackboard and piece of chalk
- Have them each write down one thing that they want to thank God for and one thing that they want God to help them with
- Go around the circle and allow each child to pray for their two things
