Family Devotions to Accompany the Journey to the …€¦ · Each of the six tokens for the box has...

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© 2016 CTA, Inc. Permission to make photocopies or reproduce by any other mechanical or electronic means is granted only to the original purchaser and is intended for use within a church or other Christian organization, but not for resale. The Scripture quotation is from the King James Version of the Bible. Enclosed are six FREE reproducible devotions, written to accompany the Journey to the Cross Prayer Box. Each of the six tokens for the box has a matching devotional outline. You may make as many copies of the devotions as you like for use in your own school, church, or organization. Here are some ways to use the devotions . . . • Distribute copies in Sunday school, as part of worship time in your Christian day school, as part of devotional time in a midweek club or class, or during the Sunday morning children’s sermon. • Give one Journey to the Cross Prayer Box and all six devotions to families six weeks before Easter. Encourage grown-ups to use one devotion each week as they prepare to celebrate Easter. Families could also use them one per day during the six days before Easter. • Host a Mom’s Day Out or other community event. Use the devotions to tell the story of Jesus’ victory to all the children who attend. Then give each family a Journey to the Cross Prayer Box and a set of devotions to take home. In whatever ways you choose to use these materials and the Journey to the Cross Prayer Boxes, we pray that many individuals and families will be drawn closer to their Savior, Jesus, as they use them. May our Lord continue to bless all the work you do for his people! #JTC6DF The wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Romans 6:23 Family Devotions to Accompany the Journey to the Cross Prayer Box

Transcript of Family Devotions to Accompany the Journey to the …€¦ · Each of the six tokens for the box has...

© 2016 CTA, Inc. Permission to make photocopies or reproduce by any other mechanical or electronic means is granted only to the original purchaser and is intended for use within a church or other Christian organization, but not for resale.

The Scripture quotation is from the King James Version of the Bible.

Enclosed are six FREE reproducible devotions, written to accompany the Journey to the Cross Prayer Box. Each of the six tokens for the box has a matching devotional outline. You may make as many copies of the devotions as you like for use in your own school, church, or organization.

Here are some ways to use the devotions . . .

• Distribute copies in Sunday school, as part of worship time in your Christian day school, as part of devotional time in a midweek club or class, or during the Sunday morning children’s sermon.

• Give one Journey to the Cross Prayer Box and all six devotions to families six weeks before Easter. Encourage grown-ups to use one devotion each week as they prepare to celebrate Easter. Families could also use them one per day during the six days before Easter.

• Host a Mom’s Day Out or other community event. Use the devotions to tell the story of Jesus’ victory to all the children who attend. Then give each family a Journey to the Cross Prayer Box and a set of devotions to take home.

In whatever ways you choose to use these materials and the Journey to the Cross Prayer Boxes, we pray that many individuals and families will be drawn closer to their Savior, Jesus, as they use them.

May our Lord continue to bless all the work you do for his people!

#JTC6DF

The wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Romans 6:23

Family Devotions to Accompany the Journey to the Cross Prayer Box

Week 1

The Bible warns, “The w

ages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23).

This is one paycheck no one wants to cash! Kids and grow

n-ups, too, have disobeyed G

od and hurt other people. But the verse continues: “The gift of G

od is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” H

ow thankful w

e can be! These prayer starters w

ill help your child think about God’s G

ood New

s of forgiveness in Jesus:

Dear Jesus, thank you for being m

y Savior . . .

________________________________________________

Dear Jesus, I’m

sorry for . . .

________________________________________________

Dear G

od, thank you for sending Jesus . . .

________________________________________________

Dear Jesus, please help m

e forgive others . . .

________________________________________________

Dear Jesus, please forgive m

e . . .

________________________________________________

Heavenly Father, thank you for the gift . . .

________________________________________________

Dear Jesus, I love you . . .

________________________________________________

Week 2

Today we talked about the surprising fact that Jesus—

our Lord and Teacher—

came to serve us. H

e died on the cross so that all of our sins w

ould be forgiven. He rose again so that all

who trust in him

will live in his forgiveness forever! The prayer

starters below w

ill help your child to reflect on the meaning

of John 13:15 this week. Read it w

ith your child each evening.

Dear Jesus, thank you for being m

y Savior . . .

________________________________________________

Dear Jesus, I’m

sorry for . . .

________________________________________________

Heavenly Father, show

me how

to serve today . . .

________________________________________________

Dear Jesus, help m

e think of someone to serve . . .

________________________________________________

Dear Jesus, please forgive m

e when I don’t w

ant to serve . . .

________________________________________________

My Savior, thank you for serving . . .

________________________________________________

Dear Jesus, I love you . . .

________________________________________________

Week 3

Today, we talked about Jesus, our Teacher, and the m

any things he w

ants us to learn from him

, especially his love and the forgiveness he has earned for us on the cross. Just as one picture is w

orth 1,000 words, so one exam

ple is w

orth 1,000 lectures. Set an example by eagerly hearing

and learning God’s W

ord yourself. Read your Bible at home.

Go w

ith your child to church. As you leave, talk together

about what you learned.

Dear Jesus, thank you for being m

y Savior . . .

________________________________________________

Dear Jesus, I’m

sorry for . . .

________________________________________________

Heavenly Father, help m

e to understand your Word . . .

________________________________________________

Dear Jesus, help m

e think of someone to bring to church w

ith m

e . . . ___________________________________________

________________________________________________

Dear Jesus, please forgive m

e when I don’t w

ant to learn more

about you . . . _____________________________________

________________________________________________

My Savior, teach m

e to love you more . . .

________________________________________________

Dear Jesus, I love you . . .

________________________________________________

Week 4

In Jesus, we find rest from

the impossible task of paying for

our own sins, of m

aking things right between us and G

od, our heavenly Father. Jesus did that for us, and now

we can

relax in his love, trusting his forgiveness for every single thing w

e have done wrong. Practice using the w

ords “I’m sorry”

and “I forgive you” with your child throughout the w

eek. D

emonstrate forgiveness as you hug your child(ren). A

nd be sure to rem

ind them that Jesus forgives them

, too.

Dear Jesus, thank you for being m

y Savior . . .

________________________________________________

Dear Jesus, I’m

sorry for . . .

________________________________________________

Heavenly Father, teach m

e to pray to you . . .

________________________________________________

Dear Jesus, w

hen I feel tired, remind m

e to pray . . .

________________________________________________

Dear Jesus, rem

ind me I can’t m

ake up for my sins . . .

________________________________________________

My Savior, thank you for listening . . .

________________________________________________

Dear Jesus, I love you . . .

________________________________________________

Week 5

Work w

ith your child to plan a special Good Friday

observance. If your church has services, by all means

attend. In addition, you may w

ant to show Jesus’ love in

your comm

unity—take sandw

iches to a homeless shelter,

visit a lonely person, make cookies for a lonely person, or

serve in some other w

ay, loving others because Christ has loved you first.

Dear Jesus, thank you for being m

y Savior . . .

________________________________________________

Dear Jesus, I’m

sorry for . . .

________________________________________________

Heavenly Father, thank you for sacrificing your only Son for m

e . . .

________________________________________________

Dear Jesus, help m

e always rem

ember how

much you love m

e . . .

________________________________________________

Dear Jesus, please forgive m

e for taking my sins lightly . . .

________________________________________________

My Savior, thank you for the gift . . .

________________________________________________

Dear Jesus, I love you . . .

________________________________________________

Week 6

The gift of God IS eternal life, life w

ith God now

and life with

him forever, all m

ade possible by Jesus’ death and resurrection. W

e praise our Savior for that forever life during Holy W

eek and in the w

eeks and months beyond. This w

eek, work w

ith your child to create som

e happy sidewalk chalk art. Thank Jesus for

all he has done and for his gifts of faith and eternal life. Add colorful flow

ers, fireworks, and other decorative

elements. Include the Easter m

essage: Christ is risen!

Dear Jesus, thank you for being m

y Savior . . .

________________________________________________

Dear Jesus, I’m

sorry for . . .

________________________________________________

Heavenly Father, thank you for your pow

er over sin and death . . .

________________________________________________

Dear Jesus, help m

e to tell ____ the Good N

ews about you . . .

________________________________________________

Dear Jesus, w

hen I get to heaven, I want to ask you . . .

________________________________________________

My Savior, thank you for loving m

e . . .

________________________________________________

Dear Jesus, I love you . . .

________________________________________________

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Getting Started Separate the tokens for the Journey to the Cross prayer box and plan a way to distribute the token that matches today’s devotion, one for each child. If you have a large group, enlist a helper or two. Build a prayer box of your own that you will use each week as you lead the devotion.

Print enough copies of the Faith Talk @ Home for this week to send home with each child.

Each of these devotions will start out with a guessing game. The children will guess where you are going based on the items in your story bag. You can make a simple story bag by using a drawstring bag or discarded pillowcase.

For this week, put items in the bag that would hint you are going to work. Some ideas for you: car keys, lunch bag, briefcase, folder, papers.

IntroductionI’m so glad you are here today! We are going to start with a guessing game!

I’m going on a little journey. I’ll show you the items from my story bag, and I want you to guess where I might be going if I had these things (display the items one at a time, allowing children to guess after each item). Yes, these are things I would take if I were going to work.

Getting to the HeartThink about the people you know who go to work. Why do they go to work? Do they get something because they work? (Lead the conversation to the fact that people get paid for working).

Sometimes we use the word wages to mean the money we get paid for working. People work and they get paid a wage, a certain amount of money, for doing it. The Bible uses the word wages in the book of Romans. Listen to the beginning of that verse:

The wages of sin is death.Romans 6:23

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Devotion 1: Jesus Came to Be Our Savior

Continued

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The Bible says that if we sin, we should get punishment, death—as—a result. We do sin, don’t we? There has been sin in the world ever since the Garden of Eden. Adam and Eve sinned by disobeying God. Right now, you can probably think of something you did yesterday or today that is sinful—something you weren’t supposed to do. Or maybe you knew you should have helped around the house, but you didn’t do it. That is sin, too.

God is good, kind, and holy. Sin is the opposite of good. Our sins make us enemies of God. When the Bible says, “The wages of sin is death,” it means God must punish sin. He can’t just say, “Forget about it!” We need help!

But God loves us. Instead of giving us the punishment we deserved, he sent Jesus to be our Savior from sin. We don’t deserve the gift, but in love, God gives it anyway. The same verse that starts with “The wages of sin is death” goes on to say this:

but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

This verse is going to be our memory verse over these next weeks. Listen again as I say the verse. Then say it with me:

The wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Romans 6:23

Jesus died on the cross so that your sins would be forgiven. He rose again so that all who trust in him will live in his forgiveness forever!

Taking It HomeDuring this time that leads up to Easter, we are going to talk about Jesus’ journey to the cross. Each week we’ll learn more about what happened to Jesus on that journey. But our LAST lesson will go beyond the cross. On that day, we’ll talk about what Jesus’ resurrection means for us.

Today I’m going to give you a prayer box to use over these next weeks. It doesn’t look like a box because it’s flat, but you can ask a grown-up at home to help you follow the instructions and build a box that will look just like mine (show your preassembled box).

I have something else to give you today, too: this token has a picture of Jesus on the front of it and our memory verse on the back. You can put it inside your prayer box. Then every day this week, you can write a short prayer on these strips (show the Faith Talk @ Home sheet). After you write the prayer, pray it with someone in your family. Then fold it up and put it in your prayer box. By the time we get to Easter, you’ll have lots of prayers in your box!

Next week I’ll have a new token and new prayer strips for you.

Let’s pray: Dear heavenly Father, thank you for loving me and sending Jesus to be my Savior from sin. Amen.

© 2016 CTA, Inc. Permission to make photocopies or reproduce by any other mechanical or electronic means is granted only to the original purchaser and is intended for use within a church or other Christian organization, but not for resale.

The Scripture quotation is from the King James Version of the Bible. #JTC6DF

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Getting StartedPlan a way to distribute the token that matches today’s devotion, one to each child. If you have a large group, enlist a helper or two.

Print enough copies of the Faith Talk @ Home for this week to send home with each family. Place a bookmark at John 13:15 in your Bible.

For this week’s guessing game, put items in your story bag that will help the children guess you are taking a journey to a restaurant. Some ideas: a gift card to a local restaurant, a coupon for that restaurant, money to pay the bill.

IntroductionI’m so glad you are here today! I have new things in my story bag for our guessing game. Where do you think my journey will take me today? (Show your items one at a time.) You guessed it! These are things I would take if I were going to eat at (name the restaurant).

The people who take your order and bring food to your table in a restaurant are sometimes called the servers. They work long hours and get tired from standing and walking back and forth between the kitchen and the tables. Sometimes the people eating there get impatient or complain about the food or the service. Working as a server can be hard—very hard!

Getting to the HeartPicture the people you ate meals with yesterday. I’m guessing they are people that you care about very much!

Jesus shared a meal with his disciples on the Thursday before Easter. These friends were celebrating the Passover, a special meal that reminded them of a miracle God had done for his people many, many years before.

When they all arrived, it was time for a servant to wash everyone’s dusty, grimy feet. None of the disciples wanted to do this. It was harder than being a server in a restaurant! You had to kneel down. You had to smell

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Devotion 2: Jesus Shows Us How to Serve

Continued

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stinky feet! You had to show everyone that they were more important than you! So none of Jesus’ disciples wanted to do it. (Would you want to do it?)

There was no servant to wash the disciples’ feet. So, imagine how surprised the disciples were when Jesus knelt down and began to do this! Rather than acting important and insisting that everyone serve him, Jesus knelt down to serve them! It was really, really surprising.

But Jesus was about to do something much, much harder and even more surprising! In just a few hours, he would let his enemies arrest him. They would not treat him with respect. They would hurt him and then they would kill him on the cross. By suffering and dying, Jesus served us; he suffered and died without complaining because of his great love for us and because he knew how important it is for us to be forgiven from our sins.

Jesus explained to the disciples that even though he is important (they called him Lord and Teacher), he washed their feet to show them how he wants his followers to treat other people. Still today, he wants us to think of others as more important. He wants us to serve them.

Sometimes we don’t want to serve. Maybe Mom asks us to set the table, but we want to finish reading our book instead. Or maybe someone in school needs help on math but we don’t offer to help that person because we’d rather talk with our friends. When we behave that way, we sin.

Do you remember our Bible memory verse from last time? This verse helps us remember that Jesus came to forgive sins just like those. Listen, then say it with me:

The wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Romans 6:23

Jesus died on the cross so that your sins would be forgiven. He rose again so that all who trust in him will live in his forgiveness forever!

Taking It HomeWe are talking about Jesus’ journey to the cross. Each time, we come closer to what happened on the cross on Good Friday, but our LAST lesson will go beyond the cross. On that day, we’ll talk about what Jesus’ resurrection means for us.

Today I’m going to give you a token with a picture of a bowl and towel on the front of it. The verse on the back is from John 13:15 (read the verse). You can put it inside your prayer box. Then every day this week, you can write a short prayer on these strips (show the Faith Talk @ Home sheet). After you write the prayer, pray it with someone. Then fold it and put it in your prayer box. By the time we get to Easter, you’ll have lots of prayers in your box!

Next week I’ll have a new token and new prayer strips for you.

Let’s pray: Dear Jesus, thank you for serving me in the very best way—dying on the cross so that my sins would be forgiven. Thanks, Lord Jesus! Amen.

© 2016 CTA, Inc. Permission to make photocopies or reproduce by any other mechanical or electronic means is granted only to the original purchaser and is intended for use within a church or other Christian organization, but not for resale.

The Scripture quotation is from the King James Version of the Bible.

#JTC6DF

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Getting StartedPlan a way to distribute the token that matches today’s devotion, one to each child. If you have a large group, enlist a helper or two.

Print enough copies of the Faith Talk @ Home for this week to send home with each child. Place a bookmark at John 15:9 in your Bible.

For this week’s guessing game, put items in your story bag that will help the children guess you are going to school. Some ideas: pencils, notebooks, book bag, calculator, lunch box.

IntroductionI’m so glad you are here! I have new things in my story bag for our guessing game today. (Show your items one at a time.) Where will my journey take me today? You guessed it! These are things I would take if I were going to school. What are some things that we do in school? (Lead the children to suggest that we learn in school.)

Getting to the HeartYou are right. We learn lots of things at school. What do we call the person who helps us to learn those things? (Teacher.)

Jesus was a famous teacher. He taught people many things about God. He used stories and examples as he taught. In the last week before he died and rose again, Jesus spent time teaching his closest friends, his disciples.

Last week we talked about Jesus’ Last Supper with his disciples. After supper was over, Jesus told his friends that he loved them very much. Jesus told them clearly that he was going to die and then rise again.

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Devotion 3 : Jesus Teaches Us

Continued

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© 2016 CTA, Inc. Permission to make photocopies or reproduce by any other mechanical or electronic means is granted only to the original purchaser and is intended for use within a church or other Christian organization, but not for resale.

The Scripture quotation is from the King James Version of the Bible.

#JTC6DF

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Do you always understand what your teacher tells you in school? The disciples didn’t understand what Jesus was teaching them, either. It didn’t make sense. But after it all happened, after everything Jesus said came true, then they could think back to the Teacher’s words and understand it all.

We are Jesus’ disciples today. He has many things to teach us. But sometimes we feel too tired to get up for church. Sometimes we would rather play with our toys than learn about Jesus in Sunday school. We may even pester other children so they can’t pay attention in (name your setting). But then, when we remember how much Jesus loves us, we feel sorry for those times when we don’t listen to our Teacher, Jesus, those times when we don’t eagerly learn what God wants us to know.

Jesus’ message of love to the disciples of so long ago is for us, too. Listen to what he says: (read John 15:9). We know that Jesus loves us and that his love makes all the difference for us. He forgives us for our sins. Our Bible verse helps us remember that.

Listen as I say the verse. Then you can say it with me:

The wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Romans 6:23

Jesus died on the cross so that your sins would be forgiven. He rose again so that all who trust in him will live in his forgiveness forever!

Taking It HomeWe are talking about Jesus’ journey to the cross. Each time, we come closer to what happened on the cross on Good Friday, but our LAST lesson will go beyond the cross. On that day, we’ll talk about what Jesus’ resurrection means for us.

Today I’m going to give you a token that has a picture of Jesus teaching a child on the front of it. The verse on the back is John 15:9 (read the verse). You can put it inside your prayer box. Then every day this week, you can write a short prayer on these strips (show the Faith Talk @ Home sheet). After you write the prayer, pray it with someone in your family. Then fold it up and put it in your prayer box. By the time we get to Easter, you’ll have lots of prayers in your box!

Next week I’ll have a new token and new prayer strips for you.

Let’s pray: Dear Jesus, you love us so very much! Forgive us for the times we are not looking forward to learning about you. Put more of your love inside us so we can love you the way you love us. Amen.

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Getting StartedPlan a way to distribute the token that matches today’s devotion, one to each child. If you have a large group, enlist a helper or two.

Print enough copies of the Faith Talk @ Home for this week to send home with each child. Place a bookmark at Matthew 11:28 in your Bible.

For this week’s guessing game, put items in your story bag that will help the children guess that today’s journey will take you to the beach. Some ideas: sunglasses, sunscreen, a hat, a beach towel, flip flops.

IntroductionI’m so glad you are here today! Do you remember our guessing game from last week? We’re going to play the game again this week, and I have new items in my story bag. Where do you think I’m going? (Show your items one at a time.) You guessed it! These are things I would take if I were going on a journey to the beach!

Getting to the HeartWhy do people like to go to the beach? (Take a variety of answers, but try to guide the replies toward the idea of the beach as a place for rest and relaxation.) Some people go to the beach so they can rest. Grown-ups might be tired from their demanding jobs. Students might be worn out from lots of studying. They want to rest so they’ll get their energy back.

These past few weeks we have been taking a journey to the cross. And we are thinking about what Jesus did for us on the cross. The Bible tells us that as Jesus journeyed to the cross, he sometimes took a break from teaching and healing the people. He wanted some quiet time alone to pray. Jesus knew that talking to God, his heavenly Father, would refresh him.

Today, I have a story about that for you: Mom got really mad when Jake threw the football in the house. It knocked over her new lamp, sending little pieces everywhere! Jake felt terrible and tried so hard to make up for it. Over the next week, Jake cleaned his room. He washed the dishes every evening. He helped carry groceries in from the car. He even gave Mom the $3.23 from his piggy bank. But the lamp had cost $80. There was no way Jake could make up for breaking it. Jake needed Mom’s forgiveness.

Devotion 4: Jesus Gives us Rest

Continued

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© 2016 CTA, Inc. Permission to make photocopies or reproduce by any other mechanical or electronic means is granted only to the original purchaser and is intended for use within a church or other Christian organization, but not for resale.

The Scripture quotation is from the King James Version of the Bible.

#JTC6DF

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We can be like Jake. We know we’ve done wrong things. So we might try very, very hard to be good, to make up for what we have done. But really, it is impossible for us to make up for our sins. Nothing we can do will make God happy with us again.

But here’s the Good News: God is already happy with us because of what Jesus did for us. In Jesus, we can rest, we can find relief from thinking we have to make up for our sins. Listen to what the Bible says: (read Matthew 11:28). Jesus wants us to come to him, to tell him what we have done wrong, and to ask for rest. When we do that, Jesus will forgive us. We can know for sure our sins are gone—gone forever!

Do you remember our Bible memory verse? See if you can say it along with me:

The wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Romans 6:23

Jesus died on the cross so that your sins would be forgiven. He rose again so that all who trust in him will live in his forgiveness forever!

Taking It HomeWe are talking about Jesus’ journey to the cross. Each time, we come closer to what happened on the cross on Good Friday, but our LAST lesson will go beyond the cross. On that day, we’ll talk about what Jesus’ resurrection means for us.

Today I’m going to give you a token that has a picture of hands folded in prayer. The verse on the other side is Matthew 11:28 (read the verse). You can put this token inside your prayer box, along with the others. Then every day this week, you can write a short prayer on these strips (show the Faith Talk @ Home sheet). After you write the prayer, pray it with someone in your family. Then fold it up and put it in your prayer box. By the time we get to Easter, you’ll have lots of prayers in your box!

Next week I’ll have a new token and new prayer strips for you.

Let’s pray: Dear Jesus, thank you for your great love for me and for dying for me on the cross! Thank you for giving me rest from having to make up for my sins. Help me to trust and love you always. Amen.

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Devotion 5: Jesus Died to Forgive Our Sins

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Continued

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Getting StartedPlan a way to distribute the token that matches today’s devotion, one to each child. If you have a large group, enlist a helper or two.

Print enough copies of the Faith Talk @ Home for this week to send home with each child. Place a bookmark at Luke 23:46 in your Bible.

For this week’s guessing game, put items in your story bag that will help the children guess you are taking a journey to church. Some ideas: Bible, offering envelope, other items that make sense for your particular church.

IntroductionI’m so glad you came today! I have new items in my story bag again. Let’s see if you can guess where my journey will take me today! (Remove your items one at a time and let children guess. They should end up guessing that you’re going to church.) You guessed right again! I’m going to church.

Getting to the HeartWhen we talked about Jesus being our teacher, we said that church is one of the places we can learn about Jesus. What are some of the things we learn about Jesus at church/Sunday school? (Allow children to list answers. Encourage them to name as many things as possible.) You are right. We learn all of those things about Jesus here and more besides.

The most important thing we learn about Jesus is something that happened on a day that Christians now call Good Friday. Do you know what I’m thinking of? (Allow children to answer.) Yes, on Good Friday, Jesus suffered and died on the cross. Here’s what the Bible says about when Jesus died: (read Luke 23:46). Jesus suffered terribly! The pain was terrible, but worse still, he suffered all alone. Even God, our heavenly Father, left him! These were terrible punishments because they had to pay for a terrible thing—sin.

But Jesus never sinned. We are the ones who have sinned. We are the ones who deserve punishment. God, our heavenly Father, should leave us all alone forever. It can be hard to think about that, just as it can be hard to think about Jesus’ suffering and death. We love Jesus, and knowing how he suffered makes us think about our sins. We don’t like knowing what happened to Jesus. We are sorry for our sins that caused Jesus’

© 2016 CTA, Inc. Permission to make photocopies or reproduce by any other mechanical or electronic means is granted only to the original purchaser and is intended for use within a church or other Christian organization, but not for resale.

The Scripture quotation is from the King James Version of the Bible.

#JTC6DF

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suffering. But Jesus suffered and died in love for us. He knew that his suffering and death would make all the difference for us. He knew that it would wipe away our guilt and our sinfulness.

Do you remember what our Bible memory verse says about the wages we have earned? And do you remember the part about the gift God gives us instead? Let’s say it together:

The wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Romans 6:23

We call the Friday when Jesus died “Good Friday” because Jesus made all the difference in the world that day! Because Jesus died on the cross, your sins are forgiven. Jesus didn’t stay dead, though. He rose again so that all who trust in him will live in his forgiveness forever!

Taking It HomeWe are talking about Jesus’ journey to the cross. Each time, we come closer to what happened on the cross on Good Friday, but next time, we will go beyond the cross. We will talk about what Jesus’ resurrection means for us.

Today I’m going to give you a token that has a cross on it. The verse on the back is Luke 23:46 (read the verse). You can put this token inside your prayer box. Then every day this week, you can write a short prayer on these strips (show the Faith Talk @ Home sheet). After you write the prayer, pray it with someone in your family. Then fold it up and put it in your prayer box. By the time we get to Easter, you’ll have lots of prayers in your box!

Next week I’ll have a new token and new prayer strips for you.

Let’s pray: Dear Jesus, thank you for suffering and dying on the cross for me. Thank you for taking away all my sins. I love you so much, Jesus. Amen.

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Devotion 6: Jesus Won Eternal Life for Us!

Getting StartedPlan a way to distribute the token that matches today’s devotion, one to each child. If you have a large group, enlist a helper or two.

Print enough copies of the Faith Talk @ Home for this week to send home with each child. Place a bookmark at Revelation 21:4 in your Bible.

For this week’s guessing game, put items in your story bag that will help the children guess that today’s journey will take you somewhere you will stay overnight. Some ideas: toothbrush and toothpaste, pajamas, favorite blanket or stuffed animal, fresh set of clothing.

IntroductionI’m so glad to see you! I have new things in my story bag for our guessing game today. Where do you think I’m going? (Show your items.) You guessed it! These are things I would take if I were going to spend the night at someone’s house. Have you ever spent the night at someone’s house? What was your favorite part about sleeping over?

Getting to the HeartSpending the night at Grandma’s house or staying at a friend’s house can be exciting. Here’s a story about that:

Julie was having a horrible week! On Monday she fell off her bike and scraped her knee AND her elbow! She cried because it hurt. Then on Wednesday at dinner, her brother teased about her striped socks. Julie ran to her room, sobbing because her feelings were hurt. On Thursday, Maria invited her over to play, but Mom said no. Julie had to stay home and finish her homework; it was a school night. Julie was so mad that she cried loudly while she worked on her math paper.

What a week! First Julie cried because her leg and elbow hurt; next, because of hurt feelings. After that, she cried because she didn’t get what she wanted. Do you ever cry for those reasons? All of us have sometimes. Almost always, we cry because something is hurting us or making us sad.

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The Scripture quotation is from the King James Version of the Bible.

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Julie’s story has a happy ending. After she finished her math, she realized she shouldn’t have behaved that way. She told Mom she was sorry. Mom gave her a hug and said, “I forgive you. I know you have had a hard week. I have some good news for you! Before you go to bed tonight, you need to pack your suitcase for Grandma’s house because tomorrow after school, we are going to visit Grandma for the weekend!” Can you imagine how happy Julie was? She hugged her mom and started packing! She knew a weekend at Grandma’s would be wonderful!

Taking It HomeFor several weeks now, I’ve been promising you that we would journey to the cross and then go beyond the cross. Today’s the day! And we go beyond the cross because Jesus did not stay dead. On Good Friday, Jesus was crucified for our sins. Then, on Resurrection Day, he came back to life. He will never die again. He is our Savior and Friend forever. Let’s repeat our memory verse one more time:

The wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Romans 6:23

Everyone who trusts in Jesus has eternal life! Do you know when your eternal life starts? It has already started! “The gift of God IS eternal life”! Right now, we are living as people saved by Jesus. Jesus cares for us, forgives us, gives us joy, and helps us through all our troubles as long as we live here on earth.

When our life here on earth ends, the eternal life we have from Jesus just keeps on going. We will live with Jesus and with all God’s people someday in heaven. Listen to one description of that life as I read about it: (read Revelation 21:4). Heaven will be a wonderful place—no more death or crying or pain! Only joy and love forever! What a gift from Jesus!

Today’s token has a picture of the empty tomb. The verse on the back is Revelation 21:4 (read the verse). You can put this inside your prayer box. Then every day this week, you can write a short prayer on these strips (show the Faith Talk @ Home sheet). After you write the prayer, pray it with someone. Then fold it and put it in your prayer box. That box is probably getting pretty full by now!

Let’s pray: Dear Jesus, thank you for your journey to the cross, for your death on the cross, and for coming alive again! We are so glad you took all our sins away and that you are getting a place ready for us in heaven. Thank you, Jesus! Amen.

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