27 September 2015

Kelas Balita

Coach Carrie

Asst 1 : Jesslyn

Asst 2 : Tessa

Kelas 1 - 3

Coaches : Shianty & Ci Dewi

Kelas 4 - 6

Coaches : Tjipto & Jeremy

The New Covenant Foretold

1. HOOK: “Can you do everything?” challenge

• Make an agreement/contract with the class. If anyone can do everything that you ask them to do, they get rewarded. Have ready the reward/treat and display it. Get them to agree. Write with large handwriting on a big piece of paper of paper
  “ (your name) will give chocolates/treats to the children if they can do everything she/he asked them to do”.
  “Signed____________
  (on behalf of the children)”
• Get a representative from the children to sign the agreement and you also sign.
• The challenge has to be difficult so much so that no one meets it. You can start with a “Simple Simon” game: What Simon says, everyone must do. When Simon didn’t say, no one must do. (Get another helper to help you catch those who didn’t follow what Simon said). Let’s start – Simon says “Lift your right arm”, Simon says “lift your left arm”, Simon says, “jump”. Simon says “wave your hands”. Stop. (If they stop keep jumping and waving the hands, they are out because Simon didn’t say so. They have to keep jumping and waving the hands. You have to say it quite fast to catch them and may vary the actions).
• If there are those who managed to win the game, try to give the winners a quiz where they have to answer all the questions.
• You may use other games, but the objective is to show that no one can do everything they are told to do.
• Now you can use the game to illustrate your point. “Remember the Old Covenant?” “Who did God make the covenant with?” Israelites. “Were they able to obey everything in God’s law?” No. “The game we played (can you do everything challenge) was something like the Old Covenant”.
• Tell the class, “I want to change the agreement so that I can give chocolates/treats to you even when you can’t do everything I asked you to”. Tear up the piece of agreement in front of the class, and similarly you and the representative of the children sign:
  “ (your name) will give chocolates/treats to the children”.
  “Signed____________
  (on behalf of the children)”
• Tell them you will distribute the treats to all children at the end of the class.
• 

2. LESSON: The New Covenant foretold

A. The Problem with the Old Covenant

• We just played a game where we had to change the agreement so that you wouldn’t lose.
• But do you know that God did exactly that. He made a New Covenant because the people couldn’t obey the Old Covenant.
• Who did God make the Old Covenant with? The Jews/Israelites.
• The Old Covenant/Law was good. It showed us God’s holiness and perfection.
• But there were 2 big problems. First, we could not fulfil our part. Second, it could not help us keep it. E.g. it was like a mirror — it showed us our faults and mistakes, but it couldn’t help us change. <bring a mirror as a visual aid if u like>
• About 600 years before Jesus was born, God told his prophet, Jeremiah to tell the people that he would make a new covenant with his people and it will not be like the Old Covenant.

B. God promised a New Covenant

• God made all these promises in Jeremiah 31:33-34
  “This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel
  after that time,” declares the Lord.
  I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts.
  I will be their God, and they will be my people.
  No longer will they teach their neighbor, or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’
  because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest,”
  “For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.”
• Who did God make the New Covenant with? Jesus.
• It’s ALL about what Jesus does for us. Not about what we can do for God.
• The biggest difference between the Old Covenant and the New Covenant is:I WILLvs THOU SHALT NOT
• New Covenant = ALL ABOUT JESUS!

C. What God promised in the New Covenant

i. God’s Law written in our minds & hearts

• Under the Old Covenant, there were altogether 613 laws for the Israelites to obey. If you break one, it is the same as breaking them all. It is impossible to remember and obey 613 laws!
• Today, we don’t need a rule book to tell us how to live our lives anymore.
• As the Holy Spirit lives within us, he will guides us so we will know what we should do or not to do in any situation. As our minds are renewed and our hearts transformed, we will live in response to all the Jesus has done on the cross for us!
• Just like in class: Jesus loves us so much, so we can love one another — don’t disturb our friends, listen to our teacher etc.

ii. He is our God, We are His People

• We always belong to Him.

iii. We will know God

• Under the Old Covenant, only the high priest can enter the Holy of Holies in the temple, where God’s presence was to offer animal sacrifices to God once a year. Other people cannot enter the Holy of Holies. Under the New Covenant, we are made clean and righteous by Jesus’ blood. When we receive Jesus as our Saviour, the Holy Spirit who comes and lives within us. He will never leave us!
• As we have the Holy Spirit, we can all know God personally, whether we are 4 years old or 80 years old, whether other people think we are important or not.
• Jesus is our BFF!

iv. Our sins are forgiven and forgotten

• When he was on this earth, Jesus kept the whole law and did not sin. On the cross, he took all our curses, all our punishment so that God forgave our past, present and future sins and remembers them no more.
  

D. Conclusion:

• Today we have learnt that under the New Covenant:
• Everything is done for us by Jesus! We just need to believe in Jesus to receive all the blessings of the New Covenant!
• The Holy Spirit guides us and is always with us.
• God is our God, and we belong to Him.
• We can all know God personally.
• God forgives our past, present and future sins and remembers them no more.

• Who would like to belong to God and know Him personally? <pray>

3. SUGGESTED ACTIVITIES

• To reinforce that the Holy Spirit is always within us and he will remind us of Jesus, sing:
  Every move I make I make in you Jesus
  Every move I make I make in you Jesus (actions)
• Memory verse: Jeremiah 31:33-34
  • Print 2 sets of these verses; cut out into phrases/words (for younger kids, use longer phrases). Get the kids into 2 teams to fix it all back together.
  • Or worksheet.
• Matching Game: 2 posters — 1 grey in shape of tablets of stone; 1 red in shape of heart.
  Prepare 10 “You shall not”s in black; Prepare “I will” in red with accompanying pix.
  Get kids to match the “You shall not”s to the grey tablets; and the “I will”s to the red heart.
  
  

Close in prayer

20 September 2015

Kelas Balita

Coach Jemimah

Asst 1 : Adeline

Asst 2 : Awan

Kelas 1 - 3

Coaches : Iwan & Shevica

Kelas 4 - 6

Coaches : Savitri & Miguel

David & Jonathan’s Covenant

1. ICEBREAKER

• Play any simple game between 2 teams. Tell them that the winning team will decide the forfeit for the losing team.
• After the game, get the winning team to show kindness to the losing team by giving them a prize, even though they do not deserve it.

2. LESSON: David & Jonathan’s Covenant

A. David & Jonathan (1 Sam 18:3-4)

• Covenant between friends: What’s yours is mine; what’s mine is yours
• The Exchange of robes: Putting on each other’s identity
• Jesus took the form of man so He could die for us. When we receive Jesus, we put on His identity (Gal 3:26-27) so we can be children of God.

B. Mephibhosheth (2 Sam 4:4; 2 Sam 9:1,3, 5-7, 9-13)

• Son of Jonathan
• Name means “a thing of shame”
• Crippled in both feet; orphaned; scorned and living in fear; a “dead dog”
• David remembered his covenant with Jonathan: “Is there still anyone who is left of the house of Saul, that I may show him kindness for Jonathan’s sake?” (2 Sam 9:1)
• Mephibosheth: How do you think he felt? Fell on his face. “Here is your servant.”
• David said to him, “Do not fear, for I will surely show you kindness for Jonathan your father’s sake, and will restore to you all the land of Saul your grandfather; and you shall eat bread at my table continually.” (2 Sam 9:7)
• “He shall eat at my table like one of the king’s sons.” (2 Sam 9:11)

C. God’s Covenant of Kindness

Because of his covenant with Jonathan, David showed Mephibhosheth kindness and gave him:

• Assurance: Do not fear
• New Life
• Restoration
• Provision
• A Place at the King’s table
• Sonship
• Because of the New Covenant, we receive the kindness of God!
• Ephesians 2:4-9 4 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6 and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages, He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindnesstoward us in Christ Jesus.

Jesus gives us:

• Assurance: No fear
• New Life (Eph 2:4-5)
• Restoration —Jesus came to restore us to the Father and all the Adam lost in the garden of Eden (Joel 2:25)
• Provision (Phil 4:19)
• A Place at the King’s table (John 6:53)
• Sonship (Galatians 3:26 For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.)

D. Conclusion

• WHO ARE WE? We are the Sons of the King
• WHERE DO WE DWELL? In the Land of the King
• WHAT DO WE CONSUME? The bread of the King
• In Christ, with Christ, through Christ, the Covenant of God’s Kindness is shown!

3. ACTIVITY SUGGESTIONS

• Memory Verse Activity: Galatians 3:26  For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.
• Worksheet (click for PDF)

Close in prayer

13 September 2015

Kelas Balita

Coach Susan

Asst 1 : Tasya

Asst 2 : Felianti

Kelas 1 - 3

Coaches : Lily Bun & Santi

Kelas 4 - 6

Coaches : Lusiana & Theresia

The Old/Mosaic Covenant

1. ICEBREAKER:

a. 100% … Perfect!

• Pin the tail or similar game. Kid to be blindfolded and try to stick a tail/sticker/ball etc on a chart with a target. Aim is to be 100% on the target.

• Play any simple memory game where kids should try to aim for 100% accuracy in remembering stuff.
  e.g. Go in a circle. First kid states his/her name. Second kid has to say 1st kid’s name and then his/her own. Third kid has to say 1st and 2nd kids’ names and then his/her own. And so on. For older classes, can make it trickier by having them add an adjective in front of their name, e.g. “Silly Susan”, “Joyful Jenny”, “Busy Ben” etc.

b. Overflowing!

• Get coloured plastic balls
• Divide kids into 2 groups. Pour the balls all over the floor. Tell the kids they have to collect as many as they can and put into their baskets.
• The baskets should be overflowing at the end of the game.

2. LESSON: The Old/Mosaic Covenant (Exodus 24)

• Last week, we learnt that God is a covenant-making God: He makes promises with His people, and He keeps them!
• Who did He make a covenant with? Abraham
• Today, we learn about a covenant God made with a special group of people called the Israelites.
• The Israelites had spent 400 years in Egypt as slaves. And God used a man called Moses to lead them out of Egypt.
• In the desert, God wanted to teach the people His ways (because they had been in Egypt for so long and had followed the Egyptians’ ways). He wanted the Israelites to know what He was like — perfect — and to live like Him — perfect. So that other people around can see that they were different, and will also come to know Him.

a. God makes a Covenant

• So God made a Covenant with the Israelites.
• He gave them a set of rules and commandments —the 10 Commandments + many other rules (ceremonies and offerings and all the other things they had to do or couldn’t do).
• Unlike the Covenant with Abraham, where God cut the covenant with Himself (while Abraham was sleeping), this Covenant was conditional!
• If the Israelites OBEYED FULLY all God’s laws, they will be richly BLESSED.But if they DISOBEYED or broke even 1 law, they will be CURSED.
• God is 100% perfect. And His ways and standards are 100% perfect. So even if the people had made a tiny weeny mistake and got 99.999%, they still failed! It was Mission Impossible!
• But the Israelites were very gung-ho. “No problem!” they said. “We will do everything the Lord has said.” (Deut 19:8) So they “signed” the Covenant.
• But could the Israelites keep the Covenant? No!
  In fact, they broke Commandment #1 as soon as God gave Moses the law.
  And ever since then, they repeatedly broke God’s laws and commandments over and over again! (Psalm 78:10-11).
• As a result, they received punishment and were eventually driven out of the Promised Land God had given to them.
• It really was Mission Impossible! Man could not keep God’s standards; man could not keep God’s laws; man could not keep God’s Covenant. Because Man was sinful by nature. And God is perfect.

b. Jesus came to fulfill the law

• Only a PERFECT man could keep God’s laws 100%.
• Where would we find such a man? Does such a man exist?
• Yes! His name is Jesus, the only perfect man who ever lived!
• Jesus:
  • Lived a sinless life
  • Fulfilled ALL parts of the law (moral, ceremonial, civil)
  • Took ALL the curses we deserved
  • So that we can receive ALL the blessings in Him!
  • Cut a NEW Covenant on the cross with the Father
• Because Jesus fulfilled the Law, we can be part of God’s New Covenant people and enjoy His blessings!

c. God’s blessings overtake us! (Deut 28)

• Blessed in the city or the country (wherever we are)
• Fruitful in every way (family, work, relationships etc)
• Blessed in our basket and kneading bowl (our work/studies)
• Protected in our coming ins and going outs
• No fear of our enemies! They fear us instead!
• No leakages in our storehouses
• A Holy People — people can tell that we are different/special because we have Jesus
• Prosperity and rain in its season
• A favoured people — lend, not borrow; head, not tail; above, not below

Conclusion (Get kids to declare out loud)

Because Jesus carefully followed all God’s commands and obeyed Him …

• I will be blessed everywhere — in the city and in the country.
• I will be fruitful in everything.
• My work and studies —my basket and kneading trough — will be blessed.
• I will be blessed when I come in and blessed when I go out.
• The enemies who rise up against me will be defeated and flee from me in seven directions.
• I will be God’s holy, special people.
• The Lord will prosper me in all I do.
• I am highly favoured —
  I am the head, not the tail.

Thank you Jesus!

3. SUGGESTED ACTIVITIES

• Worksheet (click for high-res)

• Basket craft

6 September 2015

Kelas Balita

Coach Ochie

Asst 1 : Ruth

Asst 2 : Laila

Kelas 1 - 3

Coaches : Susi Tjio (Asst. Fenny)

Kelas 4 - 6

Coaches : Kent & Swanky

Genesis: God Created the World 
(7 lessons on Creation)

For the younger kids (preschoolers), we spread the lessons on Creation (Genesis 1) over 8 weeks — 1 day of creation per week + a review — with a Jesus’ focus for each day.

You can get lots of ideas on story telling, songs and activities at the Ministry to Children site.

1. Weekly lesson’s JESUS focus:

Day 1: God created the world and light

• Why is light important? (get kids to give some answers, e.g. so we can see where we are going, so we won’t be afraid, gives life and brightness to our world etc)
• Do you know …  Jesus is the Light of the World (John 8:12)
• When we have Jesus, we have His light. We can see where we are going, we won’t be afraid, and we have His life!
• Thank you Jesus for bringing light to the world!

Day 2: God created sky 

• Do you know … Jesus is coming again on the clouds/through the sky (Matt 26:64; Acts 1:11)
• After Jesus died and rose again, He went back to heaven through the clouds. His disciples were all standing and looking up into the sky as Jesus was taken up. Suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them and said, “Why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen Him go into heaven.”
• So when we see the sky and clouds that God has created, we remember that one day, Jesus will come back again for us!
• Thank you Jesus that You are coming back again for us on the clouds/through the sky!

Day 3: God created land and plants

• Do you know … Jesus is the tree and we are His branches?
• John 15:5 I am the fruit tree and you are the branches. I will be in the person who is in me. That person will have a fruitful life. But you can do nothing without me.
• (NIV) “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 
• Jesus is the tree. When we believe in Jesus, we become part of the tree — its branches. Just like the branches get life and nutrients from the tree and produces many fruits, we get life from Jesus and our lives will be fruitful!
• Thank you Jesus for being the tree that gives us life!

Day 4: God created sun, moon, light

• Do you know … Jesus is always with us?
• Isaiah 60:19 The sun will no more by your light by day, nor will the brightness of the moon shine on you, for the Lord will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your glory.
• The sun is seen in the day time; the moon and stars are seen at night. But Jesus is the everlasting light — everlasting means all the time, forever and forever.
• With Jesus, we will never be in darkness. He is with us always, forever and forever.
• Thank you Jesus for being our everlasting light!

Day 5: God created fish & birds

• Do you know … Jesus reminds us not to worry — God takes care of the birds; God takes care of me!
• Matthew 6:26  Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?
• The birds do not have to labour hard or build big factories to keep their food because God takes good care of them.
• We are much more important to God than the birds.
• God will always take care of us!
• So we do not have to worry about our life — what we will eat or drink, what we will wear.
• Thank you Jesus for reminding us not to worry!

Day 6a: God created Animals

• Do you know … Jesus is the victorious Lion King!
• Revelations 5:5 See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed.
• Jesus has many names in the Bible. One of them is Lion of Judah.
• The Lion is often known as the King of the animals. It is a big, strong cat, with a majestic mane and a roar that can be heard from 8 kilometers away! When chasing a prey, it can run as fast as 81km/h. It is often used as a symbol of royalty and victory.
• When we see lions, we remember that Jesus is the Lion of Judah — He died for us and rose again, defeating sin and death — He is our Victorious King!
• Thank you Jesus for being our victorious Lion King!

Day 6b: God created Man & Woman

• We are God’s masterpiece — the crowning glory of His whole creation, His favouritest part of all His work!
• Psalm 139:14 “I praise you, for I am wonderfully made”.

Day 7: God Rested

• God rested after his creation work was finished: He created the world in 6 days — the heavens, the earth and its inhabitants, including man — saw that it was “very good”. Then on the 7th day, God rested.
• Jesus gives us rest after His work on the cross was finished: When Jesus died on the cross, He said, “It was finished.” Jesus’ work on the Cross was complete. Jesus was “very good”, and His work was “very good”. Because of that, we don’t have to try to be “very good” on our own. No matter how good or bad we are, God always loves us. So we can just rest in His love and know that we can be God’s children because of what Jesus did on the cross.

2. THEME SONG:

Seven Days of Creation (Tune of “Are You Sleeping Brother John” with actions; add 1 verse per lesson)

God created: God createdNight and Day: Night and DayThat was on the first day: That was on the first day,It was good: It was good.

God created: God created,Sky and Clouds: Sky and CloudsThat was on the second day: That was on the second dayIt was good: It was good.

God created: God created,Land and Plants: Land and PlantsThat was on the third day: That was on the third day,It was good: It was good.

God created: God created,Sun, Moon, and Stars: Sun, Moon, and StarsThat was on the fourth day: That was on the fourth dayIt was good: It was good.

God created: God created,Birds and Fish: Birds and FishThat was on the fifth day: That was on the fifth dayIt was good: It was good.

God created: God createdCreatures on Land;People too!That was on the sixth day: That was on the sixth dayIt was good: It was good.

I am special, I am specialDon’t you see? Don’t you see?Someone very special, Someone very specialGod made meGod made me!

Then God rested: Then God restedFrom His work: From His work.That was on the seventh day: That was on the seventh dayAll was good: All was good.

Let’s sing praises: Let’s sing praisesTo our God: To our GodHe is everywhere, giving love and careGod is good: God is good