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.
I know that the Lord is always with me. Because he is at my right hand, I will always be secure. So my heart is glad and joy is on my tongue. My whole body will be full of hope.
Acts 2:25–26
As believers, we know that our hope depends on God and who He has told us He is. It is built upon our understanding of what God has done to save us. It is not just wishful thinking. It is a confident assurance that our loving Father will fulfil His promises. But in our broken world, we sometimes look away from that hope. We fill our lives with worries and stresses instead of resting in our understanding of God’s love and grace. Hopelessness creeps in and steals our joy. We no longer reflect to others the hope that is in us. But we can trust in God’s promises. He is the giver of hope, and He is generous with those He loves.
Are you filled with hope? Does your hopeful joy show others that God is always with you? If so, celebrate God’s goodness! Thank Him for who He is and what He has done to give you eternal life with Him. If the worries of life have hidden that hope, ask God to bring healing. He is at your right hand! If you ask Him, He will fill you to overflowing with hope in Him. So look to the One on whom your hope rests. Let His gladness fill your heart. As your hope is restored, you will find His joyful words on your tongue and His love guiding your thoughts.
Explain to the families that you will be teaching about hope in the coming weeks. Hope is an important part of resilience, which helps children to recover and heal from difficult situations. The knowledge that they have the guidance of a caring adult may help the children to become more hopeful and resilient.
Teacher Tip: If possible, email or text the Family Connection Card to the families of your students.
Greet the children as they arrive. Ask them to share with you the best things that happened during the week. Then ask the children to find partners to share their joys with. When you are ready to begin class, have the children sit in a circle.
As you entered our space, you shared some good things that happened in your lives. This is good news! Good news makes us happy when we share it and hear it. Show me what you look like when someone shares good news with you.
Smile and encourage the children to look excited and happy.
It is wonderful to hear good news. But sometimes you hear bad things and sad things.
How do you feel when you hear bad or sad news?
Allow 2–3 children to respond.
Bad news can make you feel sad or angry. Show me what you look like when someone shares bad news with you.
Frown or look sad and encourage the children to look sad or angry.
Let’s learn how to make bad news into good news. I will share some bad news with you. Then you will think of a way to change it into good news. For example, I might say, “I wanted to go outside and play football today, but it is raining.” Then you might say, “But rain makes the grass grow so the field will be greener and healthier the next time I play.”
After I share the bad news, you can jump up when you think of a way to make my bad news into good, happy news. Do not shout out your answer! I will call on those who stand up quickly and do not yell.
Share the following bad news statements with your children or think of your own. After each, wait until most of the children have jumped up. Allow 2–3 children to share their good news. Then allow all of the children to shout out their good news at the same time. After you have quieted them, have them sit down and share another statement.
That was fun! When I told you my bad news, you helped me to see that it was not all bad. That made me feel so much happier!
When we find good news that might come from bad news, we can learn to have hope. Hope helps us when we go through difficult times. Today we will talk more about hope and learn about the type of hope we can have when we trust in God.
Hope is wanting something good in the future. When you have hope, you want something to happen, but you are not sure it will happen.
What is something you have hoped for? Turn to the person next to you and tell that person about it.
Give the children 1 minute to talk to each other.
Hope can help you. When you hope for things, you often feel happier. When you have hope, you may be able to make plans for the future and to solve problems. Hope can also help you to overcome difficult situations.
This type of hope is good. But there is another type of hope that is even better. This type of hope comes from trusting in God and believing that He will do what He has promised. We can trust God because He is always good, and He always does what is right and true.
Today as I tell this true story from the Bible, when you hear something that is bad news, say, “That is very bad news.” You will also frown and look sad. Let’s practice this now.
Frown or look sad and encourage the children to look sad also. Then encourage them to say with you, “That is very bad news.”
What do you think you could do when you hear good news?
Allow 2–3 children to respond.
When you hear good news, you will smile and look very happy. You will say, “That is very good news!” Let’s practice this now.
You will do these things together when you hear good news and bad news in the story. Are you ready? Be sure to listen for the good news and the bad news! Let’s listen to a true story from the Bible about 2 men. They were walking to a town called Emmaus. They were very sad because their friend Jesus had died. That was very bad news.
The men were very sad because Jesus had died. They were talking about the news they had heard. They had been told that some women went to Jesus’ tomb to care for His body. But when the women arrived, Jesus was not there. This may have made the men feel sad and confused.
What the men did not know is that their bad news was actually very good news. They did not know that their friend Jesus was alive!
Optional: If possible, share the images from The Action Bible.
Another man came and joined them as they were walking. It was Jesus, but the 2 men did not recognize Him. The men were very sad. Jesus asked them what they were talking about. One of the men told Jesus that the people had hoped that Jesus was the Saviour. Then the man told Him the sad news.
Read these verses directly from your Bible.
The chief priests and our rulers handed Jesus over to be sentenced to death. They nailed him to a cross. But we had hoped that he was the one who was going to set Israel free.
Luke 24:20–21
Make a sad face and say, “That is very bad news!” Encourage the children to do the same.
What do you think happened next?
Allow 2–3 children to respond.
Jesus walked with the men and explained to them what the Bible said about Him. Listen to what the Bible tells us happened next:
They approached the village where they were going. Jesus kept walking as if he were going farther. But they tried hard to keep him from leaving. They said, “Stay with us. It is nearly evening. The day is almost over.” So he went in to stay with them. He joined them at the table. Then he took bread and gave thanks. He broke it and began to give it to them. Their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. But then he disappeared from their sight.
Luke 24:28–31
Optional: If you are using The Action Bible, read the bottom 2 sections of page 644 to the children.
How do you think the men felt when they realized they were with Jesus?
Allow 2–3 children to respond.
Smile and say, “That is very good news!” Encourage the children to do the same.
Their friend Jesus was alive! They did not need to be sad. In this true story from the Bible, the men thought Jesus’ death was bad news when, in fact, it was very good news! Jesus died for everyone who lived at that time. He also died for those of us who are living now and those people who will live after us. Jesus died and rose again to save us from our sin and shame! If we trust Him, we can be part of His family and live with Him forever.
Smile and say, “That is very good news!” Encourage the children to do the same.
The men who were walking with Jesus on the road had hoped that Jesus would set God’s people free, and that is what He did! They also learned that they could trust in Jesus and be saved from their sins. Because of what Jesus did, we can all have great hope!
Smile and say, “That is very good news!” Encourage the children to do the same.
Listen to these verses about hope that comes from God.
I know that the Lord is always with me. Because he is at my right hand, I will always be secure. So my heart is glad and joy is on my tongue. My whole body will be full of hope.
Acts 2:25–26
When you believe in God, He is always with you. You can be joyful and hopeful because you can trust in God and in His promises. That is very good news!
Smile and say, “That is very good news!” Encourage the children to do the same.
We can learn to have hope like the men on the road to the town of Emmaus did. One good way to grow in hope is to learn from what we have done in the past. We can learn from the things we do well and from our mistakes and poor choices. Mistakes and poor choices are like bad news. Sometimes they make us feel angry. Sometimes they make us feel sad or ashamed. But mistakes and poor choices can also teach us new things. Learning from them can make us happier and more successful!
When you make a mistake, ask yourself this question: “How can I turn this bad situation into a good one?” When you begin to see that mistakes can help you to do things better the next time, you may have more hope.
Think of a mistake or poor choice you have made. We all make mistakes and poor choices, and we can learn from them. Turn to the person next to you and tell him about your mistake or poor choice. Talk together about what you can learn from it. How can you find the good news in your bad news? When you have finished, smile at your partner and say, “That is very good news!”
Give the children 2 minutes to do this.
Optional: If you are using the Student Pages, give the children scissors or have them tear out their puppets. Then allow 2 minutes for them to do the activity.
Now that you have practiced finding good news in bad news, there is something you should know about hope. When we are filled with hope, it changes our whole lives! Listen to what the Bible tells us about hope in God.
Our memory verse today reminds us that God is always with us, even when we feel uncertain.
If you are using the Memory Verse Poster, show it to the students.
I know that the Lord is always with me. Because he is at my right hand, I will always be secure. So my heart is glad and joy is on my tongue. My whole body will be full of hope.
Acts 2:25–26
Help the children remember the verse by teaching them motions to go with the words. Lead children in repeating the first part of the verses with the following motions. Repeat the motions with the words 3 times.
End class by saying this blessing, based on Acts 2:25–26, over the children:
Blessing: May you be filled with the joy that comes from hope in God. May you know the perfect peace that comes with trusting in Him.
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.
