Our American Heritage- week 3

I am back for the 3^rd week of my lesson plan. This part changes a little and focuses on scripture and what God says for us to do in times like these. Please continue to pray if this is something God has laid on your heart to do this. The bold things are my thoughts but be free to do what you want. 

Scenario 3- read and discuss by showing how God’s word can be use to help them that situation- allow 5 to 10 minutes

Your teacher tells the class that God is not real. Your friend and you talk about it later at lunch and ask you what you thought. What do you say? What do you think God would want you to say?

Eph 6:10-11, 13; 2 Tim 3:13-14 or if you found any verses yourself

Bill of Rights- ask if anyone can say the ones they have learned- help them if they need help- add the last 3- 5 min

Lesson: Why does it seem everybody at School hates Jesus?

The goal for this lesson: to share the story of Peter and John and show them the results of not having God’s word in our schools and their own lives

          Verse: Acts 3-4:3 and 2 Tim 3:1-5, 13

The Lesson (remember this is only a brief outline for you to add or take away and allow God to lead you)

To start out the lesson remind the kids of last week of how the government overstepped its boundaries and twisted the phrase “separation of church and state” and how there is no more practicing religious activities in public places such as in their schools.

Ask about their schools. These are some questions you can ask but you can come up with your own too. Do they see their peers being disrespectful towards their teacher? Do you see more friends cursing or engaging in inappropriate conversations? Have they themselves engaged in an inappropriate conversation? Or like today’s scenario, are their teachers teaching things that are against God’s Word? Allow the kids to talk about it. If teachers can’t teach from God’s word or pray in school this is the result of it. Remember Benjamin Rush? He said, “If you take religion out of education, education becomes a negative force.” 

God is no longer on our minds. Have they ever been made fun of because of God? Have they ever seen anyone else being made fun of? Tell them that this is not old news because Peter and John went through the something similar.

Read Acts 3:1-4:3 and see what God shows you as a teacher based off of what you shared with the kids for this lesson.

My thoughts: You can divide up the scripture in sections and discuss each part. Peter and John were doing what Jesus called and prepared them to do. There was this lame guy who was asking for silver or gold, but Peter and John healed him. They walk into Solomon’s porch and all the people were in shock and awe of the once lame man, which they saw and come to know, was now walking. Peter asks why do you marvel and goes on telling them that the same God that their forefathers worshipped, who became man and whom they killed and then rose again gave them the power to heal this man. He then said that when Jesus died, He fulfilled what the prophets had said. All they needed to do was repent and be converted. Then the priests, the captain of the temple and the Sadducees became greatly distressed because they were preaching in Jesus the resurrection of the dead. Peter and John were then put into jail.   

Peter and John were put in jail because they preached what teachers of the church did not like what they were hearing. Imagine that! A place of worship even had people who disagreed with what Peter and John was saying! This is also found elsewhere in the Bible where Paul was warning Timothy of teachers who were deceiving people and were only lovers of themselves.

Read 2 Tim 3:1-5, 13 and see what God shows you as a teacher based off of what you shared with the kids for this lesson.

My thoughts: What Paul wrote to Timothy in these verses goes on today. Some kids at school might be lovers of themselves, prideful, disobedient to their parents, unthankful, unloving, give out false information about somebody else or anything else that clearly disobeys God’s word. How about you? For you that accepted Jesus as your Savior, do you choose to live life for yourself and not obey God’s word? Do you realize that all people including your pastor, your mom and dad and even you can be like the people Paul describes in 2 Timothy 3? Paul, Peter, and John was also just like those people in 2 Timothy 3 but the only thing that made them be obedient to their calling was their relationship with Jesus Christ. Maybe you need to cry out to God and ask him to be like Peter and John and stand up for Jesus. Or maybe you need to ask adult to come alongside you and ask God. Your school needs to know about Jesus and we need to be the ones to tell them. For those who have not accepted Jesus as your Savior, maybe today is the day for you to ask Jesus in your life, and as Peter said acknowledge you are a sinner and ask Jesus to come in your life? He died on the cross for your sins and rose again the third day in order to have a relationship with you. Approach one of your teachers/leaders/director/pastor and ask them about Jesus. They will show you in God’s word how to become a Christian

IT IS SO IMPORTANT TO END THIS LESSON WITH A GOSPEL MESSAGE.