3-5s
Theme: We want people to see how great Jesus
is by how we live
Intro:
Spot the
difference pictures – people should see that we are different because we follow
Jesus
Bible Story:
Bring out
scroll from week 1 – remember we are away from home, we don’t belong here. But,
Peter says, we want people to see how brilliant it is to belong to Jesus
That means we
say ‘no’ to things that we know are wrong. Because we’ve been forgiven by Jesus
this is what we are to do: read 2v11
We’re to do
as Jesus tells us. If we do then people will see that we are different, they
will see that we are away from our home in heaven and how brilliant it is to
belong there. Read 2v12.
We don’t want
people to look at us and say, ‘These people who follow Jesus are really
horrible, I don’t want to follow Jesus!’
[Have an
outline of a body or adapt with a small puppet] This is you! [put on a smiley
face] Remember you are away from home in heaven where you belong.
Jesus is your
King [put a crown at the top].
But Jesus has
put other people in charge of you. Who has Jesus given you that tells you what
to do? [mum, dad, teacher – put a crown with their name underneath Jesus’]
Peter tells
us that following Jesus means doing what they say. Sometimes we won’t want to,
but we have to anyway. Otherwise people who don’t follow Jesus will look at us
and say, ‘Look how bad these followers of Jesus are? I don’t want to follow
Jesus!’
[Add arrows pointing out with
‘Jesus’ on them]
Examples:
School –
[have a picture of school or enable role play with small puppet]
When your teacher says, ‘Its time
to come in now.’ We do what she says because we want her and the rest of the
class to see how brilliant Jesus has been to us in forgiving us!
When the teacher tells us off for
something we’ve not done – we’re not to be rude and shout, because we want her
and the class to see how brilliant Jesus has been to us in forgiving us!
Remember Jesus was treated badly and
he had done nothing wrong!
[take other examples from them and repeat]
Home – [have
a picture of home]
When our mums and dads tell us to
tidy our rooms – we go and do it. Because we want everyone to see how brilliant
it is that Jesus has forgiven us.
[take other examples from them and
repeat]
Activities:
- Banner with 1 Peter 2v12b on – lifting high Jesus’ name
- Repeat the person outline picture from the talk in small and get them to stick on crowns and arrows
Songs:
- Follow, follow; I belong to him (Very, very Big God)
-----
5-11s
Theme: We want people
to see how great Jesus is by how we live
Intro:
Spot the difference pictures
Bible teaching:
[Have one up front as a ‘model’ Christian]
Can we remember how Peter describes us as Christians? Aliens, children of God, etc
As aliens we don’t belong here, we belong to Jesus in heaven
and that’s where we’ll be forever.
So while we’re here, away from home, we need to live in a
way that shows people how great Jesus is.
Read 2v11-12 (or get ‘Peter’ to from the scroll)
So, if x here was a liar, [hang a sign round neck], then
people would look at him and go, ‘Oh, people who follow Jesus are liars, I
don’t want to follow Jesus.’
Jesus is our King, but Jesus has put in place people who are
in charge of us. Who are they? [take answers]
Read 2v13-17 – so it will stop people saying silly things
about Jesus when we do what is right.
Sometimes though people will accuse us of doing things wrong
even when we haven’t. We’re not to be rude back to them and get cross with
them. Instead, we’re to remember that Jesus went through the same thing. Read
2v21-25.
So let’s act out some examples:
School – teacher tells you to do something, how do you
respond? What might the watching non-Christians think?
Teacher
accuses you of doing something wrong. How should you respond in a way that
makes Jesus look great?
Home – parents tell you to do something, how do you respond?
What might watching non-Christians think?
There’s one more area that Peter talks about which doesn’t
affect you now, but will do someday. Read 3v1-5.
Most things don’t last forever – how you look is one of
them. One day you’ll be like me, old and wrinkly! [Could use Photobooth to take
some ageing photos] But who you are, you’re character will last forever. So
Peter says, particularly to girls, ‘Don’t worry too much about looking pretty
on the outside. Worry more about being beautiful on the inside, having a
beautiful character. Then people will know you and see how great Jesus is!’
Table time:
Knowledge
Who does Peter say we are?
What does Peter want people to say about us?
Understanding
Who is in charge of us?
How should we treat them?
What do we want them to say about us?
Application
Role play [with small dolls] some other situations from the
talk and talk through how they might react and feel
Funsheet
Pray for a persecuted country, particularly a Christian who
has been unfairly accused of doing something wrong
