2s and 3s Lesson - Grace Church Kids

Life Changer – Lesson 1.5
2s and 3s
Divine Attribute
Heart Response
God is Life Changer
Believe in Him
Memory Verse
2 Corinthians 5:17
“Anyone who belongs to Christ has
become a new person. The old life is
gone; a new life has begun!”
Dios cambia vidas
Creedle
2 Corintios 5:17
“De modo que si alguno está en
Cristo, nueva criatura es; las cosas
viejas pasaron; he aquí, son hechas
nuevas.”
POINTS OF EMPHASIS:
1.
2.
3.
4.
We are all sinners and need Jesus to change our lives.
Only God can change our hearts and lives.
When you believe in Jesus you become a new person.
When God changes our lives we want to tell other people.
PERSONAL PREPARATION: When reading through the book of Acts and examining the
life of Paul, one thing is very clear: God is life changer. Following religious rules and doing and
saying religious things will not do. We cannot change our lives no matter how hard we try. But God
is able to change our hearts and turn us towards Him. God sent His one and only Son to rescue us
and bring us back into a relationship with Him. The work has already been done for us, but we must
choose to believe.
The Bible is clear that when we believe in Jesus we are made new; the old life is gone and a new life
is begun. When we choose to believe in Him we are admitting we cannot do it on our own. We are in
desperate need of Him and He responds. He gives us the Holy Spirit to work in our lives. When we
seek Him, He changes our hearts and the way we think. He replaces our unfulfilling, selfish desires
with His own.
This brings change. Some of this change is immediate. When we encounter our holy God, His Spirit
becomes alive in us. He opens our eyes to see with a new heart. Things that used to bring pleasure
are now recognized as sin and are no longer desirable. We become hungry for more of Him and
what He offers. This initial change of heart starts our new life of freedom, where the focus is no
longer on us and our behavior, but on worshiping and bringing glory to God. As we allow God to
work in our hearts He continues to transform our lives to resemble more of Him. As He continues
to change us, we begin to see other people as God sees them. We want to share our story of life
change with others so they can experience the same loving and personal God we know.
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Over and over in the book of Acts that is just what Paul did. Paul told his story of how God changed
his life. There could be no other explanation for the turnaround that Paul experienced. The very
person who was persecuting Christians for believing and proclaiming that Jesus was God’s Son was
now willing to go to jail and risk his own life to tell others the Good News! Paul’s life was changed
and it wasn’t because he tried harder or followed more rules. He believed and received God’s great
gift of grace and forgiveness and then passed it along to others out of the strength that only the
Spirit can give.
As you read through the book of Acts and prepare to teach these lessons, seek God and ask Him
how He wants to use your own changed life. Ask God to show you the areas of your life that still
need to be transformed to bring glory and honor to Him. Pray for the strength that only God can
give as you pass on what you have received from Him to each child in your class.
CENTER TIME - 10-20 minutes as the kids begin to arrive
To help the children transition into class, please use a center format at the beginning of each service. Set up three
centers in your classroom to allow children options of activities. Ideas include, but are not limited to:
1. Read books on the floor.
2. Color at the table.
3. Play with blocks on the floor.
4. Play with puzzles at the table.
5. Play with Play-Doh at the table.
OPENING ACTIVITY – 10 minutes at the start of service
The following activity is provided to begin engaging the children for the upcoming lesson. As the teacher of your class
you have an important opportunity to come alongside the parents of these children to teach them about God.
Hide and Escape
Supplies
Basket (1 per bin)
Toys from around the room
Place a basket in the middle of the table. Have the children take turns hiding a toy around the room.
While one child tries to hide the toy have the other children cover their eyes and put their head
down on the table. Then let the children get up and try to find the hidden toy and help it to “escape”
by placing it into the basket. Tell them in today’s Bible lesson they will learn about how Saul’s
friends helped Saul hide and escape in a basket from a city when people were trying to hurt him.
BIG GROUP TIME – please check your classroom schedule
Please talk to your class about the purpose of this time – to have fun worshiping God together. Give your class practical
ideas of what this means (obey the teachers up on the stage; sing and praise God with a happy heart; keep your hands to
yourself; etc.). Teachers, you are crucial in helping create a peaceful, orderly environment to worship God during this
time. Thank you for your help!
SMALL GROUP TIME – 25-30 minutes
Bible Lesson
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Supplies
Bible (Acts 9:20-25)
3’ rope or cord (1 per bin)
Basket (from opening activity)
Do you remember our new memory verse from last week? “Anyone who belongs to Christ
has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!” 2 Corinthians 5:17.
(Repeat with them a couple of times.)
(Open your Bible’s to Acts 9:20-25.) Last week we started learning about a man named Saul
and how God changed Saul’s life. Saul was a Pharisee. He did not believe Jesus was God’s
Son. He did not like people following Jesus so he would put them in jail. On his way to
Damascus God blinded him with a great big light.
Everyone close your eyes and pretend you are like Saul when he was blind (close your eyes.)
Jesus talked to him and Saul listened. Then God healed Saul and let him see again. Let’s all
open our eyes, now, too.
After Saul regained his sight he wanted to tell everyone about Jesus. God changed Saul’s
life and his heart. Saul now believed in Jesus and loved Him and wanted to follow Him. God
made Saul like a brand new person with a heart that loved. Instead of hating Jesus and the
people who followed Him, Saul fell in love with Jesus and wanted to tell everyone that
Jesus changed his life.
Saul began to tell people that Jesus was the Son of God. The people were amazed to hear
what Saul was saying about Jesus. They couldn’t believe it! They knew Saul to be the one
who hurt followers of Jesus and put them in jail. Now he was telling people that Jesus
really was God’s son and Jesus really can change lives and forgive sin.
Some of the Jewish leaders became very angry. These leaders watched the gates of the
city day and night waiting for Saul. They knew that Saul would have to leave through the
gates because there was a very tall wall that went around the entire city of Damascus. The
leaders wanted to catch Saul to keep him from telling anyone else about Jesus.
When Saul found out about the Jewish leaders’ plan and that they were waiting for him by
the gates, he knew he would have to find another way out. His friends wanted to help him
escape. So, one night Saul’s friends pulled a basket up to an opening in the city wall. Saul
got into the basket and they lowered Saul down to the ground on the other side of the
wall. (Use the basket and rope to show how they lowered Saul down to the ground.) Saul escaped
the Jewish leaders from the city of Damascus and traveled to Jerusalem.
God changes lives. He has the power to forgive because of what Jesus did on the cross. He
loves us and has a plan for our lives just like He had a plan for Saul’s life. God wants us to
turn to Him and away from sinful choices. Only God can change our hearts and our lives.
Prayer
Prayer time may not be appropriate immediately following story time. If this is the case, we ask that you be
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intentional about praying spontaneously or formally with the children at other times during class.
Dear Lord, thank You for loving us and sending Jesus. Help us to see that You can change
our lives like You changed Saul’s life. Thank You for always being there with us and for
giving us friends that will help us like You do. Amen.
Basket Escape
Supplies
3 oz paper cups with no print on them (1 per child)
Craft stick (1 per child)
Spool of brown or beige yarn – enough for 8” per child (2 per child)
Brown crayons
Spoon-shaped craft stick with a face on it (1 per child)
Bag of construction paper scraps (1 per bin)
Have the children tape the ends of both pieces of yarn to the sides of the cup on opposite sides. (Or
punch holes in opposite sides of the cup and string the yarn through the holes and not the ends
inside the cup.) Help them tape the other ends of the yarn to the craft stick. Then have them color
the cup with brown crayon to make it look like a basket. Next have them glue 2-3 paper scraps onto
their spoon-shaped craft stick to be Saul’s clothes. Then, have the children put Saul into the cup and
turn the craft stick so that the yarn winds up and down to raise and lower the basket (cup). Let them
try to lower Saul down.
***Have fun and let them do the crafts themselves, as much as possible. This is a hands-on way for them to learn who
God is and remember what they learn. It doesn’t matter if they place the label or stickers in the wrong spot. What
matters is teaching them who God is. ***
Tips for 2s: Give them only one thing at a time and do the crafts step by step. Also, you may find it
easier to have the helper be in charge of the glue stick. Have the helper spread glue all over the
items that need glue and have the children focus on sticking the items in the right place.
**FOR CLASSES WITH KIDS STAYING 2 SERVICES**
Basket Action
Supplies
Hula-hoops (3 per bin)
Lay hula-hoops out on the floor. Have two children stand next to each hula-hoop. In our Bible
lesson today Saul escapes the city of Damascus. How did he escape? We are going to play a
game where we get in and out of a basket. Pretend the hula-hoop is a basket. Now listen
carefully and jump into your basket. Great Job! Now jump out of your basket. Continue
with other commands like walking around the basket, putting their hands inside the basket, walking
backwards around the basket, hopping on one foot into the basket.
SNACK & ADDITIONAL ACTIVITIES – last 30 minutes
Please wash the children’s hands before snack time and say a prayer thanking God for the food. As they are eating their
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snack, please take time to go over the review questions.
Review Questions
1. Who changed Saul’s life? (Jesus.)
2. What did Saul do after Jesus changed his life? (He told other people that Jesus was
God’s Son and how Jesus had changed his life.)
3. Why did Saul want to escape Damascus? (People were trying to hurt him.)
4. Why did people want to hurt Saul? (Because he was sharing the Good News about Jesus.)
5. How did Saul escape? (In a basket over the city wall.)
6. Who is the only one who can change our lives? (God/Jesus.)
Over The Wall
Supplies
Rope/cord (from the lesson)
Basket (from the lesson)
Building blocks (in room)
Have the children make a wall together. Make sure it is wide and about as high as the children’s
shoulders. Tell them they need to be big helpers and not let the wall fall down. After they build the
wall let the children use the rope to take turns lowering the basket down the other side of the wall.
Remind the children that Saul’s friends helped him escape in a basket over the city wall because
people wanted to hurt him. The people did not like that Saul’s life was changed and that he was now
sharing the Good News about Jesus.
If you have any comments about this lesson or Big Group, please fill out a FEEDBACK
CARD provided in your room and give it to your coach.
Gracechurchkids.org
2801 Pelham Rd. Greenville SC 29615 Ph: 864.284.0122 Fx: 864.284.0222
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