3-5s
Aim: That they see how
much Paul loved the church
Theme: That they love
to see each other keeping going too.
Intro:
- Simple
board game to get Paul/Timothy to Thessalonica by answering simple
questions.
- Get the
children to colour some of the characters you will use for the story
Teaching:
[You will need a crowd of
Thessalonians, a Paul, a Timothy and a Satan possibly on Lego wheels]
[Two faces - one happy,
one sad] When do you feel happy? When do you feel sad? Do you feel sad when you
miss someone? Maybe when mummy or daddy goes away?
Paul was feeling sad
because he missed the people in Thessalonica. He longed to see them again and
was very sad that he couldn't. Do you remember why he left? [Put Paul with the
crowd] The leaders in the town chased him away because they didn't want to hear
about Jesus. [move Paul away] Here is how Paul felt: read 2v17. He was so sad
that he had to be parted from them.
He tried to return to be
with them, to help them keep following Jesus, because he loved them. But he
says he couldn't. [read v18]. [move Paul towards the crowd but have Satan move
in front of him]. Someone kept blocking his way. Paul called him Satan, and
Satan is God's enemy, the one who stops people loving and trusting God. He was
there in the garden with Adam and Eve and tricked them and now he was stopping
Paul seeing the Thessalonians. Paul tried again and again to get to see them
but Satan kept stopping him.
So here's what Paul did:
read 3v1-2. Paul sent Timothy instead [move 'Timothy' to the crowd]. Paul
wanted them to keep following Jesus even though it was really hard for them.
People were attacking them and laughing at them and doing horrible things to
stop them loving Jesus, so Timothy went to tell them to keep going, keep loving
Jesus.
Paul loved the other
followers of Jesus in Thessalonica and wanted them to keep going, to keep
following Jesus. We should love each other too; we should be helping each other
to follow Jesus.
We can do that by
Pray
Stick a heart on the old
letter
Craft:
- Stick red paper on cut out hearts
- Pray cards - get the children to colour a card
which says 'Dear ____, we prayed that you would keep following Jesus.'
Songs:
- He overflows with Love (from J is for Jesus)
- Jesus loves the little children
-----
5-11s
Theme: Paul loved the
church and loved to see them keep following Jesus
Aim: That they love the
church and encourage each other
Intro
- Encouraging one another - get them to write
encouragements on post-it notes and stick on each other
- Get to Thessalonica - they have to go from
Teaching
[You will need: one child
to be Paul, one Timothy, a crowd of Thessalonians and a leader to be Satan]
Have you ever really
missed someone? Maybe Daddy or Mummy have gone away on business? [spend some
time chatting, but be careful as this could raise some big issues]
Paul really missed the
Thessalonians. Do you remember what happened? [Recap Acts 17 and remind that he
was sure they were genuine Christians from 1 Thess 1-2]
Paul carries on writing
his letter. [Get Paul to read 2v17-20]. Paul is desperate to see them. [Act out
Paul trying to get to Thess but Satan stopping him]. He really loved the church
in Thessalonica and was desperate to get back and encourage them and make sure
they were still going following Jesus. But God allowed His enemy, Satan, to
stop Paul. We don't know why or how, but somehow Paul couldn't see them again,
even though he really wanted to.
Did you hear how Paul
describes them? Our hope [attach 'hope' to the crowd], joy [attach 'joy' to the
crowd], our crown [put a crown on the crowd]. When Jesus returns Paul will be
so excited that they are standing with him, loving Jesus.
Paul is so desperate to
find out how they are going on that he sends Timothy to find out. Paul reads
3v1-2. [Timothy goes to the Thessalonians and asks them how they are going]. We
will find out next week what report Timothy brings back to Paul, but Paul tells
us why he is worried: Paul reads 3v3-5. They were being badly treated for
following Jesus just as Paul was and he's worried that they will have given up.
[Act out - one or two children say 'this is too tough, I'm stopping following
Jesus.']
Paul loved them too much
to see this happen. He wanted to encourage them, to give them a spiritual kick
in the bottom to say, 'Keep going! Its worth it.'
Do you love the church as
much as Paul did? Remember its not the building, its the people. Do you love
the older folk and care for them? How can we encourage them?
Do you want people to keep
loving and trusting Jesus? How can we keep them going?
[Could have time here for
testimonies from leaders who have been encouraged by the care of others to keep
going.]
Pray
Table time: [younger ones - have a board game where they have
to get Timothy to Thessalonica by answering the questions]
Knowledge
- Why did Paul not go back to Thessalonica?
(2v17-18)
- Who did Paul send instead? (3v1-2)
- What was Paul worried about? (3v3-4)
Understanding
- What did Paul want to know about the
Thessalonians?
- Why did this matter to Paul?
Application
- What encourages you to keep following Jesus?
- How can you encourage others to follow Jesus?
- How can you love other followers of Jesus
more?
[If the first game wasn't played,
it could be played at this point]
Stick a heart on the old
style letter
Pray for the persecuted
church
Memory verse
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