1 East Bode Road Streamwood, IL U.S.A. (630) awana.org 2016 Awana Clubs International

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1 1 East Bode Road Streamwood, IL U.S.A. (630) awana.org Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. NKJV

2 1.6 GOD IS... REVIEW: LESSON OPENER (5 MINUTES) OPTION 1: GOD S A-MAZE-ING CHARACTER WHAT YOU LL NEED: Ball of yarn or string STEP 1: Have kids sit in a circle. Review the five aspects of God s character studied in Unit 1 (Creator, holy, just, love, eternal) by asking children to name each of the five aspects. STEP 2: After the first kid names an aspect of God s character, gently toss the ball of yarn or string to that kid. Ask that kid to recall something they remember about God from that lesson. Allow other kids to chime in too. Take time to correct any misunderstandings they have had about what they ve learned about God s character. Then have that kid hold onto a section of the yarn or string and then toss it back to you. STEP 3: Continue in this pattern for several minutes, letting additional kids name character aspects, share what they remember about God from that lesson, hold onto a section of the yarn or string, and then toss it back to you. STEP 4: At the end of the activity, observe together the pattern they created with the yarn. Point out that each length of yarn represents something they know about God s character. Point out to kids that each of God s many character traits is unique and special, and yet God is ALL parts of His character, ALL the time. For example, He isn t love one day and holy the next. He is all parts of His character at the same time. Also point out that when we know who God is, it helps us know more about who we are, and in today s lesson we will remember who God is and who we are! STEP 5: Open in prayer, asking the Holy Spirit to guide you and the kids into God s truth through the lesson. Transition to main lesson.

3 1.6 GOD IS... REVIEW: MAIN LESSON (15 MINUTES) OPTION 1: GOD IS/I AM WHAT YOU LL NEED: Bible with verses for the lesson bookmarked, four sheets of posterboard or construction paper, markers, tape, or easels LESSON PREP: Write one of the following phrases on each sheet of posterboard or construction paper: God is, I am, I deserve, I can. Display the signs in front of the classroom by hanging them on the wall with tape or resting each one on an easel. STEP 1: Have kids recite Revelation 4:11 with you while you read it from the Bible. Choose a kid to write the word Creator under the God is sign. Then share these key concepts: A. God made the whole world and everything in it from nothing in just SIX days! He is so powerful that He did this just by speaking words. B. God made everything in creation for His own special purposes. He created us to be in His image and have a relationship with Him. Ask kids these questions: What does it mean to be in God s image? How do we have a relationship with God? A. To be in God s image means we are like Him in many ways. Like God, we can think, talk, love, make choices, and create (except only God can create something from nothing!). B. We have a relationship with God by first trusting Christ as Savior, and then listening to God s words in the Bible and talking to Him in prayer. Choose a kid to write God s creation under the I am sign. Then prompt kids to think of some of their own ideas about who they are as God s creation, and let them add a few of their ideas to the poster. Possible ideas are: in God s image, beautiful in God s sight, able to talk to God, able to hear God, able to love like God. STEP 2: Have a kid recite Revelation 4:8b or read it from your Bible. Choose a kid to write the word holy under the God is sign. Then ask kids these key questions: What does it mean when we say God is holy? Can God do anything wrong? Why not? Why can t we be holy like God? A. When we say God is holy, we mean He is perfect, without sin, and always right. B. We can t be holy like God because we are all sinners and we are all born in sin. Choose a kid to write the words a sinner under the I am sign. Ask kids these follow-up questions: What is sin? What are some examples of sin you or other kids might do? Review that sin is anything we think, say, or do that disobeys God. It is also not doing the good things God tells us to do. If necessary, help kids think of several examples of common sins that they might do (yelling at a sibling, disobeying parents, lying to a teacher). STEP 3: Choose two kids to recite Deuteronomy 32:4 together or read it from your Bible. Review these key concepts: A. God is just. He is always fair. B. Because God is always fair, He must always give us exactly what we deserve. Choose a kid to write the word just under the God is sign. C. The punishment for breaking God s law (sinning) is death. If we break just one little command, or rule, from God s law we are as guilty as if we had broken all of His commands. D. God must always punish sin. PAGE 1 OF 2

4 1.6 GOD IS... REVIEW: MAIN LESSON (15 MINUTES) E. The punishment for sin is death and life forever in a terrible place called hell. Choose a kid to write the words death and hell under the I deserve sign. STEP 4: Ask kids to recite together with you Ephesians 2:4-5 as you read it from your Bible. A. God loves us and wants the very best for us. B. God made a way for Jesus Christ to take the punishment for our sin. Choose a kid to write the word love under the God is sign. Ask one of the kids to explain what Jesus did to take our punishment for sin. C. We can trust that Jesus Christ, God s only Son, who was perfect and never sinned, died to take the punishment we deserved for our sin. D. We can be saved from the punishment for sin when we trust in what Jesus did for us. D. Those who trust in Jesus as Savior will one day live with God forever in heaven. Those who do not trust Jesus as Savior will live away from Him in a terrible place called hell. E. We can believe that when we die, God will make us alive again and bring us to live with Him in heaven. Choose a kid to write the words live forever with God under the I can sign. Explain that trusting in Jesus as Savior means that we each believe that Jesus is God s perfect Son, and choose to trust that He died for our sins so we could be saved and then came back to life again so we could life forever with Him. Give kids an opportunity to talk with leaders about how they can trust in Jesus as Savior. E. We don t deserve God s love, but He gives it to us anyway. When God loves us and gives us kindness and gifts that we don t deserve, that s called grace! Choose a kid to write the words trust in Jesus under the I can sign. STEP 5: Choose a kid to read Psalm 90:2 or have a leader read the verse from his or her Bible. Review these key concepts: A. God is the only one without a beginning or end. B. No one created God. God has always been alive in the past, and He will always be alive in the future. Choose a kid to write the word eternal under the God is sign. C. We will always be alive in the future too. But we have a choice of WHERE we will be in the future. PAGE 2 OF 2

5 1.6 GOD IS... REVIEW: LESSON OPENER (5 MINUTES) OPTION 2: FOUR IMAGES: WHAT YOU LL NEED: Sheet of bright white paper; a globe or a picture of the earth; a gavel, black robe, or a picture of a courtroom or judge; a small cross or a picture of a cross; a circular object (e.g., a ring, a Hula-Hoop ); a large box STEP 1: Place all objects in the large box. Tell kids that each item in the box represent one of God s character traits. STEP 2: Choose a different kid to pull out each item from the box. Let kids try to guess which character trait of God each item represents. STEP 3: Place all the items back in the box. Review this key concept: A. Each of God s character traits is ALWAYS a part of Him. He is ALWAYS the Creator, holy, just, love, and eternal. STEP 4: Open in prayer, asking the Holy Spirit to guide you and the kids into God s truth through the lesson. Transition to main lesson. A. God is Creator (represented by the globe or picture of the earth). God made the whole world and everything in it from nothing in just SIX days! B. God is holy (represented by the white sheet of paper). God is perfect, without sin, and always right. He has never done anything wrong, and He CANNOT do anything wrong. C. God is just (represented by the gavel, black robe, or picture of a courtroom). He is always fair. Because God is always fair, He must always give us exactly what we deserve. D. The punishment for breaking God s law (sinning) is death. If we break just one little command or rule from God s law, we are as guilty as if we had broken all of His commands. God must always punish sin, and the punishment for sin is death. E. God is love (represented by the cross or picture of a cross). God loves us and wants the very best for us. He made a way for Jesus Christ to take the punishment for sin. F. God is eternal (represented by the circular object). We cannot find where this circle began or where it ended. God had no beginning, and He has no end. He has always been alive in the past and He will always be alive in the future.