During the lesson, the information for you to know is written in regular type, and what we suggest speaking or reading aloud to children is in bold. All resources for this lesson, including the Teacher Guide, Student Page, Family Connection Card, and other resources can be downloaded in a ZIP file by clicking on the following link:
In some lessons you will find "resource articles." These are articles written by experts from around the world to help equip you for your work with children and adolescents. Share them with parents or guardians if you consider it appropriate.
If you are using mud, mix a batch of thin mud before class. Be sure there is enough mud for each child in the class to paint a small picture.
The Lord will keep all his promises. He is faithful in everything he does.
Psalm 145:13
God always keeps His promises. The most amazing and wonderful example of this is seen in the fulfillment of God’s promise to bless the world through Abraham’s family line. When God sent His only Son down from heaven to die for our sins, He fulfilled His promise to Abraham and to the rest of the world. Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection show how faithful God is to His people.
As you reflect on God and the keeping of His promise to send His Son to die so that you could have eternal life, think about what it means to love and be faithful to someone, even when she does not always do the right thing. That is exactly what God did. He made a promise and kept it, not because His people were always perfect and made good decisions, but in spite of the fact that they did not. Celebrate the promise God made to set you free from your sins. Be encouraged as you share this wonderful promise with your students.
Encourage families to talk to their children about doing the things they say they will do. For example, if a child says to her mother, “I will clean up the house,” she will then sweep and pick up the house. Doing this will help the children connect with today’s lesson about keeping promises.
Teacher Tip: If possible, email or text the Family Connection Card to the families of your students.
Greet the children as they come to class. Ask each child to find a partner and share what it means to make a promise.
Welcome to class! Today we will talk about promises. A promise is when you tell someone you are going to do something and they can believe that you will do it.
I will make you a promise. I promise that at the end of class today, you will do a fun activity. At the end of class today, you will paint a picture. You get to help choose what tool you want to use to help you paint. Let’s vote now on 2 choices.
Count the number of hands raised.
Count the number of hands raised.
Instruct the children to vote on the tool they most want to use. Let them know that they may only vote for 1 tool. Read the options once more and allow the children to vote. Then announce which tool received the most votes.
I promise we will paint with (selected tool) today at the end of class. You can trust me to keep my promise to you. You can see that I have all that we need to do that activity at the end of our class.
People do not always keep their promises to each other, but God always keeps His promises to us.
Remember when we learned that God created us? He loves us so much that He created us in His image! We also learned that God loves us, and because of His love for us, He made and keeps promises to us. The Bible says:
Read this verse directly from your Bible.
The Lord will keep all his promises. He is faithful in everything he does.
Psalm 145:13
Today, we will learn how God kept a very special promise He made to us.
Do you remember when we learned about God keeping His promises? God promised Abraham that his family would grow into a great nation. It did, and his family became the nation of Israel. The Bible says:
If possible, show the Action Bible image of the promise to Abraham (Abram).
All nations on earth will be blessed because of your children. All these things will happen because you have obeyed me.
Genesis 22:18
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The promise God made to Abraham later came true. From the nation of Israel came the greatest gift of all—God’s only Son, Jesus. It was Jesus who was the completion of the promise God made to make a way for us to be part of His family forever. Listen to what the Bible says:
Read the verse directly from your Bible.
God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son. Anyone who believes in him will not die but will have eternal life.
John 3:16
God sent His one and only Son to earth because He loves each of us very, very much. But when Adam and Eve sinned, they could no longer live forever with God. God promised to save people from their sins and give everyone a chance to know and be with Him. Remember, we have already learned that God always keeps His promises. In the Bible, God promised those who loved and followed Him that He would send a Saviour who could forgive their sins so that they could live with God in heaven. God kept His promise! Let me explain what God did to keep His promise.
Draw a circle about 2 meters across on the ground.
Let’s pretend that the circle shows us where God is.
Stand at the outside of the circle and ask the children to join you around the circle. If your group is too large to stand right outside of the circle you drew, gather the children as closely as you can to the circle.
God created us to be close to Him, just as we are all close to this circle. When we go against what God wants for us, we move away from Him. This is called sin. Sin separates us from God. Every person who has ever lived has sinned. Let’s see what happens when we sin.
Think of something a person might do that is wrong. This could be something that person does or even thinks. Some examples are stealing things, being mean to another person, and hurting someone. Raise your hand if you have an idea.
Allow 1 child to respond.
Everyone take a small step away from the circle. Each time we sin, we move farther away from God.
Allow 3–4 children to respond. Each time a child names a sin, the children will take a small step away from the circle you drew.
Pause to allow the group of children to respond or allow 1–2 children to respond.
No, we have moved away from God by sinning. But God still loves us so much!
Ask the children to sit down where they are. Allow 2–3 children to respond to each of the following questions.
It is difficult to watch people you love choose many times to do something that is wrong. When their choices take them away from you, it can be even more difficult.
God created each of you and does not want anyone to be away from Him. So, God made a beautiful promise to every person. God gave us a way to come back to Him, even when our sin takes us far away from Him.
Allow 1–2 children to respond.
God kept His promise by sending His Son, Jesus. Jesus takes away the sins of those who believe in Him. Without Jesus, sin holds on to us and we cannot get away, no matter what we do.
Close your eyes. Imagine you are alone in a room. You walk to the door and try to open it, but you cannot. You try again, but you still cannot get out of the room. You are trapped! You call out for help, but no one answers. Open your eyes.
That is what sin does to our lives. It traps us and makes us feel alone. Sin keeps us from being with God. The Bible tells us that only Jesus can set us free from our sin.
Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
John 14:6
Jesus holds the key to the room where you are trapped. Close your eyes again. Picture yourself in the room alone. You cannot open the door. You are trapped! This time, when you call for help you see the door handle begin to move. The door opens! Jesus, God’s only Son, walks through the door! You are no longer alone! You are no longer trapped! Open your eyes.
Because God is good and sin separates us from Him, He knew that someone had to take away our sins. Jesus chose to come to live on earth as a man. Because Jesus is God’s only Son, He is the only man who never sinned. Jesus died on a cross and paid the price for our sins. After He died, He was buried, but He did not stay there. He came to life again and showed everyone that He is more powerful than death.
Even though we all sin, God still loves us. It is because of His love that He sent Jesus to die for us. Because of this, God forgives us when we tell Him we are sorry for the bad things we have done. God loves us so much that He promises those who love Him they can live with Him forever in heaven. That is an amazing promise!
The next time we meet, we will learn more about the special relationship Jesus wants to have with each of us.
I made a promise to all of you at the beginning of class. Now, it is time for me to keep my promise. Let’s do something exciting! Listen carefully to my directions.
You will paint a picture of what it would look and feel like to see God’s promise come true. Let me show you what I mean. I will paint a picture of myself with Jesus. (Take a moment to make a picture. It does not need to be perfect.) Be sure to show on the face you paint how you would feel. To help you, remember what it felt like when Jesus opened the door to the room you were trapped in.
Optional: If you are using Student Pages, allow the children to paint their pictures on the pages.
Give each child the materials needed to paint a picture. Give each child a piece of newspaper, cardboard, or paper. Then, give each group of 4–5 children some mud to paint with. If your children chose to use sticks or paintbrushes, give each child 1 to help him create his picture. Allow 5–10 minutes for children to complete their paintings.
Optional Supplies: If you are using watercolour paints, place 1 set of paints out for every 4–5 children. Then, pour 3–5 ml of water in each cup and place the cups where the groups of children can reach them.
I hope you enjoyed showing what you learned about God’s promise coming true. Remember, God always keeps His promises!
God loves us so much! His love is truly amazing! Our memory verse today tells us more about who Jesus is.
The Son is the exact likeness of God, who can’t be seen. The Son is first, and he is over all creation.
Colossians 1:15
The Son is the exact likeness—With your right middle finger pointing down, touch your left palm. Then, with your left middle finger pointing down, touch your right palm.
With the children, repeat the motions with the verse 3 times. End class by saying this blessing, based on John 3:16, over the children.
Blessing: May you know that God loves you so much that He sent Jesus, His only Son, to help you. May you trust God to keep His promise to free you from sin.
Lead the children in singing this quarter’s song if possible.
Life on Life ©2020 David C Cook. Reproducible for home or classroom use only. All other uses require written permission from David C Cook [email protected]. All rights reserved.
