Week 3, Spring 2008 Children's teaching materials

 

Introduction:  

 

During John’s Revelation (who can remember why it’s called Revelation?) of Christ, he is told by the Lord to write to the seven churches (who can remember where they were?) of Asia, each in turn.

 

Suggested game:         Break the children into teams, and ask them to look at the blank Mediterranean map (see attached file).

Get each team to mark the locations of the various churches:

(a) of Paul’s letters -    Romans

Corinthians

Galatians

Ephesians

Philippians

Colossians

Thessalonians

(b) of the seven churches in Revelation -        Ephesus

                                                                        Smyrna

                                                                        Pergamum

                                                                        Thyatira

                                                                        Sardis

                                                                        Philadelphia

                                                                        Laodicea

This may be too difficult, so you could show the maps from previous weeks (also attached) to remind the children first – for a set time – more like a memory game.

 

The second church John is told to write to is the church in Smyrna.

This is modern day Izmir.

                                   

 Read Revelation 2: 8-11.

The key passage this week is 2:9-10 – re-read this.

To win the ‘crown of life’, we are told to ‘be faithful’ while under the test of the devil (v.10).

The devil can test us in many ways – a common way is through temptation.

Note two lines from the Lord’s Prayer: ‘…Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil…’

Sometimes temptation is difficult to resist.

 

Suggested activity:     Buy some doughnuts, and see if any of the children can resist the temptation to lick their lips while eating one!

This could be done with very juicy sweets – see if they can rest one on their tongue without sucking or chewing!

 

When we find temptation difficult to resist we need to ask for God’s help – or maybe the help of a good friend.

If we fail though, and give in to temptation, then this is not disastrous. We can ask God for forgiveness, and repent of what we have done.

God forgives all who truly repent, and we are free from guilt or shame, or from feeling we have failed.

 

Another way the devil can test us is through persecution.

Persecution is a bit like bullying, or being picked on.

People are persecuted because of what they believe or follow.

Maybe some of the children have experienced being picked on for following a particular football team, or liking a particular pop group.

Christians – people who follow Christ, and believe He is the saviour of the world – are sometimes persecuted like this.

Luckily this doesn’t happen today here in England, but it did happen in Smyrna around the time of John’s revelation (around the year 95 – 1,913 years ago), and still happens today, in places like Pakistan, Vietnam, China, Iraq, Nigeria, Zimbabwe and India.

 

Suggested activity:     Lead the children in a time of prayer.

(a)    Be thankful that we can be Christians here in England without being persecuted.

(b)   Pray for protection for persecuted Christians around the world.

(c)    Pray that these Christians will remain faithful – and so win the crown of life.

(Note: The children could use their God journal’s from last week here.)

 

 

So, the devil can test us through both temptation and persecution.

How should we react, so we can win the crown of life?

In John’s letter to Smyrna, he tells them to ‘be faithful’.

What does ‘being faithful’ mean? – You could ask the children for their ideas on this.

We need to stay close to God – to rely on Him for our protection and for help when times are hard. This means regularly talking to God – prayer – and listening to God – reading the bible or sitting in silence.

This can be difficult when we are going through hard times, but it at these times that we most need God’s guiding hand.

Sometimes we may think it would be easier to not be a Christian, to give up can seem an easier option – but this is not being faithful. A faithful dog never leaves his owner, so we should never leave God.

 

If we remain faithful – at all times – then we too can win the crown of life.

The crown of life is the reward for being faithful - for staying close to God.

Those who remain faithful will go to heaven, and receive eternal life.

What a wonderful gift!!!

 

Suggested craft:          The children could make a crown to wear.

This can be decorated to remind them of the crown of life – the prize they can win by remaining faithful.