1 John

Children of God

~ hebidsthemcome ~ Leave a comment

Welcome back! We took a week off for vacation Bible school and illness (whomp whomp), but will be finishing our lessons from the New Testament about leading a Godly life this week, then in July we’re back to Genesis! (We go through the Bible every year–repetition is good but also the word of God is alive and new every time we read!)

Today’s lesson is from 1 John 3 (and Romans 8).

Do you have a mommy or daddy that loves you very much? Do you know what the Bible says? It says God wants to be our Father! In 1 John 3, John reminds us that God loves us SOOO much He calls us His children!

Let’s think about that for a minute. What does your dad (or mom) do to show you they love you? God isn’t like a boss just telling us what to do, and He isn’t some scary guy up in the sky. He is like a Father. Like a daddy. Which means He loves you! He protects you, He knows all your favorite things. He knows how you feel and He knows what you need. He even knows how many hairs are on your head! He knows how to take care of you and He would do ANYTHING for you…even die for you!

In Ephesians 1 and Romans 8 the Bible talks about God adopting us. Do you know what adoption is? Adoption is when someone who wasn’t born in your family, becomes a kid in your family forever. Your mom and dad usually have to sign a lot of papers and tell a judge that they promise to take care of them and love them forever no matter what (just like they love and care for you no matter what).

The Bible says that when we accept Jesus and ask Him in our hearts that we get adopted too! God writes our name down–we get “marked” with the Holy Spirit–and that makes us God’s children FOREVER. We are now His children…just like Jesus is God’s son…we become is kids too! And that means that we get to live in God’s house (heaven) and be with Him forever and share in all the wonderful things He has made! Not only will He love us and help us here, but when we will get to be with Him forever in a perfect place and share in His treasures forever.

**If your mom or dad haven’t been very good examples of loving you, you can be sure God is NOT like that. He is the perfect example of a loving, good Father. Sometimes that means He lets us go through hard things. And sometimes He has to teach us things…but He is always good…He always loves us and He will never give up on you.

 

For our craft today we drew pictures of our Father God and us together. (Again, child produced art helps them think about what THEY think God looks like. Besides all the good brain stuff and fine motor practice, it helps them take time to identify how they perceive God and their relationship with Him.)

 

THIS SONG is from Third Day called “Children of God.”

THIS SONG is from Matthew West entitled “Hello, my name is”

THIS SONG from Godrockband is admittedly quite cheesy…but also…I’m afraid to admit…quite catchy.

 

Thanks for joining us again. Love to you all!

What is true?

~ hebidsthemcome ~ Leave a comment

Welcome back! Today’s lesson is from 1 John chapters 2 and 4.

What do you know that’s true? How about that your mom and dad love you. But how can you tell if something is true about God? Nobody on earth has SEEN God…so how can you know if someone says “God is 1 inch tall” or “God can’t do everything.”

How do you know if something is true or not? In the book of 1 John (John’s 1st letter) it says that we can know something is true if we check the Bible! We know God ALWAYS tells the truth, and the Bible is everything He wanted us to know. We can know if something is true by checking the Bible.

In this book, John also tells us to watch out. Some people will SAY they love God…but they might say some things that don’t SOUND like God…like maybe they would say “God loves you….IF you wear a certain kind of clothes. Or God only loves you IF you eat certain food.” If you aren’t sure if that’s true or not…you can check the Bible! (You can always ask a grown up to help).

AND, if anyone teaches about God, but doesn’t accept Jesus too, the Bible says that person is a liar who doesn’t really know God. When we love God, we love Jesus too. Jesus is God’s son, sent to save us from our sins. If we don’t believe in Jesus, then we don’t believe in God’s love…and God IS love! Anyone who teaches about God, but doesn’t believe in Jesus too is not someone who tells the truth.

If we want to know what is true about God, we can read the Bible. 1 John 4 says lots of people will try to tell you things that God doesn’t like. They sound really good…but they are not of God. Everything you hear, make sure God says it too. If you don’t know what to do, or if you should agree with someone or not…check the Bible! God gave us what He wants us to know in the Bible.

 

For our craft today we used 1/2 piece black construction paper, some slightly smaller sheets of white paper and a yellow piece of paper with a ‘V’  cut out of the end. We glued down the center of the black piece and added a white piece, then glued and layered another white piece, then glued and layered our yellow bookmark piece.

Our text reads: How do I know if something’s true? Checking the Bible’s what I should do! 1 John 2, 4

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Thanks for joining us, love to you all!