3-5s
Theme: Jesus rose from
the dead and will come back for everyone who loves Him
Aim: That they look
forward to Jesus coming back and don’t worry
Intro:
- · Putting pictures of the life of Jesus in order and colouring
- · Waiting game
Teaching:
Recap – Paul had only been with the Thess Christians for 3
weeks, so there was lots of stuff they still didn’t know. Although they were
Jesus’ friends and really loved and trusted Him they were worried because some
of their friends had died.
Do you remember Terry, the Thessalonian? [have picture of
Terry] Well, Terry was worried because his friend Toni/Tony had died. Did that
mean that she/he wasn’t going to be with Jesus?
So Paul writes to them and says, ‘Do you remember how Jesus
died and rose again?’ [use picture from intro] ‘So you, too will die but you
will also come to life again.’ So Toni/Tony will come to life again? When? Paul
writes [read v16-17].
So here’s what it will be like: Jesus will come down on the
clouds [have some ‘clouds’ and get a child to hold them up high]. Then there
will be a shout. [get them to shout]. Then the angels will sing [add angels to
the picture and get them to sing]. Then there will be the sound of the trumpet
[add a picture of a trumpet, if possible use a trumpet, if not get the children
to make a noise]. Then all those people who have died will rise to life, so
Toni/Tony will rise again. And we will all go and meet Jesus in the clouds [add
pictures of people to the cloud]. And we will be with Jesus forever.
So Terry doesn’t need to worry about Toni/Tony – one day all
Jesus’ friends will be with Him forever! And you don’t need to worry either –
really sad things will happen to us, but one day we will be with Jesus forever
and everything will be brilliant!
Pray
Add picture to letters – clouds
Craft
- · Mobile – coat hangers: have clouds covering the hanger, then hang off on string people and angels and trumpets.
Songs:
- · He died upon the cross, Jesus no.1 and Super Saviour (all by Colin Buchanan)
-----
5-11s
Theme: Because Jesus
died and rose again, so His friends will die and rise again
Aim: That they don’t
worry about friends and loved ones who die, but encourage each other
Intro:
- · Recap game – find the hidden pictures from the letter and explain
- · Stuck in the mud – rework to bring in death and resurrection
Teaching:
Recap – Paul at Thess for 3 weeks therefore, although they
were doing well, they still had lots of questions and things they didn’t
understand.
One of the questions they had was about other Christians who
had died. Was that it? All the non-Christians around them thought so. They used
to weep and wail and wail and weep because when you were dead you were dead! It
was over, no more, nothing.
Do Christians believe that? No! Read 4v13
Paul tells us that it’s about Jesus! Read 4v14. Do we
remember what Jesus did? [on screen with pictures] He was born 2000 years ago,
grew up to be a man, died on the cross but… he rose again! And so Paul promises
that those who have died will rise again. For those who follow Jesus the same
thing will happen: we are born, live, die someday too, but we will all rise
again.
Jesus will come back some day and it doesn’t matter whether
we are alive or whether we are dead when He comes: read 4v15.
So how will that happen? Well Paul tells us [could have
‘Paul’ reading?]. [have some of them lying down] ‘The Lord Jesus himself will
come down from heaven’ [have clouds on screen]. ‘There will be a loud command’
[another leaders or two make loud noises]. ‘the voice of the archangel’
[leaders sing!] and with the trumpet call of God.’ [leader or child plays a
note on the trumpet]. ‘And those who have died and were in Christ will rise
first.’ [children lying down sit up] ‘After that, those who are still alive at
that time will be gathered up with them.’ [all children stand up]. ‘We will be
taken up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And we will be with the
Lord forever.’
This is great news! We don’t need to worry about friends or
loved ones who have died loving Jesus. And so we should encourage one another
of the great future that we have in Jesus, being with Him forever. Read 4v18.
Pray
Add clouds to old letter
Table Time: [younger
ones could add clouds, trumpet, etc to picture as they answer the questions]
Knowledge
- · What were the Thessalonians worried about?
- · What was Paul’s answer to their question?
- · What will happen when Jesus returns?
Understanding
- · How does Paul’s answer help them not to be worried?
- · Why does it not matter if people die before Jesus returns?
Application
- · How do you feel about the future?
- · Are you worried about people who have died?
- · How can you encourage people with the good news of forever with Jesus?
Pray for suffering church
Memory verse
No comments:
Post a Comment