“God’s Rescue Plan: The Birth of the Church” is a 4-week lesson series focusing on the days and weeks

following Jesus’ death and resurrection. In these lessons, students will hear Jesus’ final command to His
disciples, see Jesus ascending to heaven, feel the coming of the Holy Spirit and will experience the start of
the new church.

This is the free sample lesson from the complete 4-Week God's Rescue Plan Curriculum. We are
offering week #2 to help you evaluate if this material is right for your ministry. Click here to purchase
the whole series.

The primary point we hope children will come to understand through this lesson is that the church is
God’s chosen instrument to take the good news of Jesus around the world. As these lessons fall at the
end of the gospels and the start of Acts, this series is an excellent follow up to “Why Easter?” (our Easter
lesson series) but it is written in such a way that it can be taught at any point of the year.

• Witnesses
o Text – Matthew 28 & Acts 1
o The Great Commission
o Main Point – Jesus sends His disciples out to tell people about Him
• Goodbye: Hello
o Text – Acts 1
o Jesus’ Ascension and the Promise of Jesus’ Return
o Main Point – Jesus is coming back one day
• The Helper Comes
o Text – Acts 2:1-3
o Pentecost – The Coming of the Holy Spirit
o Main Point – God sent the Holy Spirit to be with His people
• What is the Church?
o Text – Acts 2:42-47
o The First Church
o Main Point – The Church is God’s people in community

The key verse for this unit is Acts 1:8-

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in
Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
All Scripture references are taken from the ESV version of the Bible.

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Each lesson contains the following:
• Introductory Activity
• Large Group Worship Time
o Welcome activity
o Study God’s Word – teaching materials for the Biblical text
o 3 songs
o Prayer
• Small Group Lessons (2 options – ages 5-8 and ages 8-12)
o Review
o Application
o Memory Verse
o Prayer
o All necessary printables and resources
• Take home – family devotional guide

In the Large Group Worship time, songs have been suggested. Here are the suggested songs.

1. Mighty Mighty Savior – Sovereign Grace Kids

2. Forever God – Sovereign Grace Kids
3. Go – Seeds Family Worship
4. Jesus Came to Earth – Sovereign Grace Kids
5. Have You Heard? – Sovereign Grace Kids
6. Three in One – Sovereign Grace Kids
7. Jesus Came to Save Sinners – Village Church
8. Only Jesus – Shai Linne
9. Almighty Creator – Sovereign Grace Kids
10. God Made Me and You – Shai Linne

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 Sharing the Gospel with Children

All curriculum from “The Sunday School Store” is heavy on the gospel and each lesson
provides ample ideas of how to share the Gospel with the kids in your class. Our prayer is
that weekly you will have many opportunities to talk with children about the good news
of Jesus Christ.

When talking of the gospel, Charles Spurgeon once said,

“The things that are essential to salvation are so exceedingly

simple that no child need sit down in despair of understanding
the things which make for his peace. Christ crucified is not a
riddle for sages, but a plain truth for plain people. True it is
meat for men, but it is also milk for babes.”

Every time you are with children at church, make sure that you take the time to present
the plain truth of the gospel and to pray for the children in your care that they would
have hears ready to hear and receive the good news.

Here are some helpful tools to use when sharing the gospel:

• Use a tract such as Who will be King? from Matthias Media. This simple presentation shows
God as the rightful king and sin causing us to crown ourselves. It ends by reminding kids that
there can only be one king and asks them if they will be their king or if God will be their king.

• Draw an illustration like The Bridge to Life, like the one from Navigators. In this illustration,
man and God are seen separated with no way to bridge the gap. As the gospel is presented,
the cross is drawn in the gap to show that the only way back to God is through Jesus' atoning
work on the cross.

• Simply talk through the storyline of the Bible using the words - God, man, Jesus, response.
God created a perfect world and man to be in a perfect relationship with Him. Man disobeyed
the one rule that God gave him, and this was the first sin. The Bible tells is that the right
punishment for sin is death. Jesus, the son of God, came to earth as a baby and lived a perfect
sinless life. He died on the cross in our place to pay the price for our sin. Three days later,
Jesus came back to life so that we can live forever with Him. Now that you've heard this good
news you have to decide how you will respond. Will you believe this truth and follow Jesus, or
will you choose to ignore this good news?

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 Goodbye Hello

Theme: God’s Rescue Plan

Memory Verse: “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my
witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” Acts 1:8
Challenge Verse: “And behold, ‘I am coming soon. Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the
prophecy of this book.’” Revelation 22:7
Bible Story: Acts 1
The Point: Jesus is coming back one day

Introduction – Remember Me (5-8 minutes)

WHAT YOU NEED: nothing needed

With kids seated in a circle, play a traditional memory game. The first player states, “I’m going to the
beach, and I’m taking …” The player names something they would take with them to the beach. The next
player must repeat the previous player’s list and add another item. Kids should try to remember all the
items in the correct order. If time allows, play the game again as quickly as possible.

For older groups you may challenge them to name things alphabetically with each person using the next
letter of the alphabet.

SAY: “Wow, you all remembered a lot of random beach stuff. It’s good you exercised your memories.
Now let’s go to the large group and hear about remembering something more important than what we’re
taking to the beach.”

Take your group to Large Group Time.

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Large Group (25-35 minutes)
Welcome
Welcome kids to large group.

As we got started this morning, many of your small groups were playing a game to test your memory and
remember a lot of different things. In our story this morning we’re going to be talking about something
very important that all followers of Jesus need to remember. But first let’s get started by worshipping
God.

Worship Time
Let’s start with a song that reminds us that even when everything around us changes that God never
changes.

Forever God

It’s great for us to remember that God never changes. He is always the same and His plan never fails.
God’s plan from before the beginning of the world was to send His Son Jesus to earth to die in our place
and take the punishment that we deserve. Let’s sing this song as a reminder of that good news.

Jesus Came to Earth

Study God’s Word

This morning our story is kind of a sequel to what we talked about last week. That was when we were in
Matthew 28 and we saw Jesus up on the mountain top giving His final instructions to His disciples.

In Matthew 28:19-20, Jesus commanded His disciples to go into all the world and the teach everyone
everywhere everything that He had taught them. Their task was to tell people the Good News about Jesus
so that they too could become disciples of Jesus, and then to baptize them. The main thing we talked
about last week is that the good news is the truth that Jesus had come and lived and died and come back
to life so that by believing in Him we could live forever with Him.

That good news is good news for everyone everywhere!

Our story today continues right where that story left off. We hinted that this last command was given
right before Jesus went to heaven, but now let’s look in detail at the story of Jesus returning to heaven.

To get us started this morning, we need to remember that Jesus had come to earth about 33 years earlier
as a baby. John 1:14 tells us that the Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us.

So, Jesus had lived as a man, only He had lived a perfect life, and then He had died on the cross as the
perfect sacrifice for our sins, and He had risen again so that those who believe in Him could have eternal
life.

Now, He is about to leave earth and return to His Father. He is about to return to heaven.

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Acts 1:1 starts out by saying…
1In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach (the former book

he’s referring to here is Luke.

Dr. Luke wrote the books of Luke and Acts as the story of the spread of the good news about Jesus)

2until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles
he had chosen. (What was the instruction He gave? To go and tell) 3After his suffering, he showed himself
to these men and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of
forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God.

He said to them: "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my
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witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."

Did you catch that? Just like we read last week, Jesus told the disciples that they would be His witnesses;
they would tell people about Him. They wouldn’t just tell people in Jerusalem, or even the close areas like
Judea and Samaria, but all over the world.

But He didn’t just tell them to go and teach, He also gave them a promise. Jesus promised the disciples
that the Holy Spirit would come and then they would be His witnesses. He wasn’t telling them to do this
alone or in their own strength, but He was saying that He would be with them, that they would have the
Holy Spirit.

9After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.

Can you imagine that? Jesus was standing there talking to His disciples and suddenly He started floating
off the ground and went into a cloud.

Do you think the disciples were expecting that? I think I would have been pretty confused and probably
would have stood there staring into the clouds wondering what had happened, wondering where Jesus
had gone and if He was coming back. Let’s see what the disciples did.

They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, (yep, just what I would have done) when
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suddenly two men dressed in white (so who do you think these guys were? Right, angels) stood beside
them.

"Men of Galilee," they said, "why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been
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taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven." (wow!
Angels told the disciples that Jesus would come back some day just like He had gone.)

But let’s think about that for just one minute. We’ve talked a lot in the past about why Jesus came to
earth. He came to earth to die on the cross. He came as the perfect sacrifice for our sin. He came so that

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God’s people could be forgiven and brought back into a right relationship with God. Jesus came to earth
to die. And that’s the heart of the Bible!

But when He comes back again will He be born as a baby again?

No, according to these angels who spoke to the disciples, He’ll come back in the clouds.
Will He come to die on the cross again?
No, Jesus already died for the sin of all of God’s people, that part of His job is finished.

So, why will Jesus come back again?

You’ll have a chance to talk about this more in your small groups, but when Jesus comes back again, He’ll
come to do 2 things:
(1) He’ll judge the world and
(2) He’ll take His people to live with Him forever.

When Jesus comes again, He’s coming to judge everyone in the world and only people who are perfect
and righteous will be taken to live with Him forever.

But wait a minute, none of us are perfect, the Bible tells us that we’ve all sinned and none of us are good
enough for God.

The GOOD news is that if you have turned away from your sin and believed in Jesus and followed Him,
when God looks at you, He sees the perfection of His Son Jesus.

The BAD news is that everyone who hasn’t followed Jesus, everyone who hasn’t believed in Him will be
punished and will spend eternity away from God.

Before we go to our small groups to talk more about Jesus’ promise that He will come back some day,
let’s sing a song that reminds us what the disciples were sent out to do in the meantime.

Go

Pray
Let’s pray and thank God for sending Jesus to earth and thank Jesus for sending disciples out to spread
the Good News!

“Dear God, thank you for sending Jesus to earth as the perfect sacrifice. Thank You that through Jesus we
can know that we are forgiven of our sins and have a relationship with God. Thank You for Your disciples
who shared this good news with us. Help us to share this good news with everyone that we meet. As we
go to our small groups, please teach us more about what it means to have a relationship with You
through Jesus. In Jesus name we pray, Amen.”

Dismiss kids to small groups.

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 Goodbye Hello

Small Group (30 - 40 minutes)

Younger group – ages 5-8

Before the Session:

• 1s vs 2nd - 2 poster boards or large pieces of paper, 1st & 2nd verse cards, Bibles and markers/ crayons
• God Keeps His Promises - ½ piece of paper per kid, crayons
• Waiting Time – one traffic light page & set of verse cards per kids, glue, markers/ crayons and Bibles
• Come Again - Bibles & a memory verse page

1. 1st vs 2nd (review)

WHAT YOU NEED: 2 poster boards or large pieces of paper, 1st & 2nd verse cards, Bibles and markers/
crayons

As the kids come back from large group, ask them to remind you what they heard about Jesus going back
to heaven. Briefly discuss the fact that Jesus came to earth as a baby, lived a perfect life and died as the
perfect sacrifice for our sins, that He rose again and then returned to heaven. Talk about the fact that
Jesus is now reigning/ ruling in heaven, but that one day Jesus will return to earth for a very different
reason than why He came the first time.

Divide your group into two teams. Give each team a piece of paper/ poster board and some markers or
crayons and make sure they have a couple of Bibles. Give one team the “1st verse card” and the other
team the “2nd verse card”. Explain that as a team they’ll work together to research either why Jesus came
the first time or why He will come back the 2nd time.

FOR NON-READER GROUPS: If you only have non-readers, work on this together as a group and talk your
group through the verses and then give them time to draw. You can read the verses for both groups and
then divide them up to work.

Groups should read their verses and either write or draw things on their pages to help them explain to
the rest of their small group either why Jesus came the first time, or why He will return one day. Give
groups time to work through their verses, and then have them present their findings to the rest of the
class.

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Start with the 1st group and have them share their findings. Discuss the truth that the first time Jesus
came He came with good news and He came to die for His people to bring them back into relationship
with God.

Then have the 2nd group present their findings and talk about the fact that when Jesus comes again, He
won’t be coming to rescue His people, but this time He’ll be coming to judge the world. Read John 3:16-
17 and discuss what these verses teach us about the first time Jesus came and how when He comes the
2nd time, He will be coming to judge the world.

Help the kids make sense of this whole thing, by writing “Good News” on the page about Jesus’ first
coming and writing “judgment” on the 2nd coming page.

Talk about how the good news was good news for the whole world. Remind the kids how Jesus sent His
disciples out into the whole world to preach the good news. Then, pull out the 2nd coming page and ask if
Jesus’ return is good news or bad news.

Help them see that even though Jesus is returning to judge the world that disciples or followers of Jesus
don’t need to be afraid of judgment because they are seen by God as righteous because of the blood of
Jesus. Read Philippians 3:9 to help make sense of this statement. So, believers don’t need to worry about
judgment, and Jesus’ return is good news for believers because Revelation 21:3 reminds us that at that
point all followers of Jesus will live forever with Him and with God the Father.

But we need to remember that as good of news as this is for followers of Jesus, it’s bad news for people
in the world. When Jesus returns, He will be returning to judge the world and everyone who is not a
disciple of Jesus will be separated from God forever.

[HEART TO HEART] This is a good time to remind the group what it means to be a follower or disciple of
Jesus. Talk with them about how having Christian parents doesn’t make you a Christian or coming to
church doesn’t make you a Christian, but that the only way to be saved is by turning away from your sin
and believing that Jesus died to pay for your sin (John 14:6 & Ephesians 2:8-9).

SAY: “This morning we saw clearly that [THE POINT] Jesus is coming back one day. As He ascended into
heaven, angels told the disciples that He would return the same way one day. The day that Jesus returns
to earth will be a day of rejoicing for all of His disciples, because just as Jesus promised His disciples in
John 14:3, when He returns, He’ll take His followers to be with Him forever. Romans 8:1 (read the verse)
tells us that there is no condemnation (no judgment) for those who are in Jesus, because they have been
given the righteousness of Christ. But, at the same time, this is very bad news for those who aren’t
following Jesus, because the day He returns He’ll be coming to judge those who are not His followers and
separate them from Himself forever.”

2. God Keeps His Promises (Prayer)

WHAT YOU NEED: ½ piece of paper per kid, crayons

[Heart to Heart] Take a minute to remind the kids in your group of the truth of the gospel, what it means
to be a follower of Jesus and how followers of Jesus can rejoice and look forward to the day of Christ’s
return and know that on that day Jesus will take them to live with Him forever.

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Review Acts 1:7-11 with the kids in your group. Talk about the promise that the disciples heard on that
day; the promise that Jesus will return again one day. Remind the kids in your group that God always
keeps His promises, so we can be sure that He’ll keep this promise for Jesus to come back one day.

Give each kid a piece of paper and some markers/ crayons and have them draw a picture of something
they can think of from the Bible where God kept one of His promises (you may want to be prepared to
prompt kids by thinking up some ideas for the kids in your group - Abraham, Isaac, Noah, Moses, Exodus,
Jesus’ birth, etc.).

Give kids time to draw their pictures and then bring the group back together. Have kids share the pictures
that they drew and talk about what promise God kept in that situation/ story. As each kid shares their
picture, say a brief prayer of praise for the way that God kept His promise in that situation and have all
the kids respond by saying together, “God always keeps His promises”. Once all the kids have shared their
pictures, close this time by leading the group in a prayer of praise for always keeping His promises.

SAY: “The Bible tells us that [THE POINT] Jesus is coming back one day, and we can be sure that God will
keep that promise because we know that God always keeps His promises. God is faithful and always does
what he says He will do. Since we know that Jesus is coming back one day, if we are followers of Jesus, we
should be excited about that truth and tell everyone we meet the good news that Jesus came and lived
and died and rose again and went to heaven and that He is coming back one day. If we are not followers
of Jesus, we should repent of our sin and turn to Jesus to save us.”

3. Waiting Time (Scripture Search)

WHAT YOU NEED: one traffic light page & set of verse cards per kids, glue, markers/ crayons and Bibles

Show your group the traffic light page. Ask the group to remind you what the different colors on the
traffic light tell us we’re supposed to do when we are driving.

Ask, based on last week’s lesson what could the green light remind us of? To GO and tell others about the
good news of Jesus.

Explain that the yellow light means to wait/ watch out. Remind kids that from the day Jesus returned to
heaven until the day He returns that disciples of Jesus are called to wait. Disciples aren’t told to stop;
they’re told to wait with anticipation (looking forward) of what’s to come. To watch out and be ready for
Jesus’ return.

Hand out the traffic light cards and the verse cards to the kids. Go through the verses (either you read
them or have a volunteer read them) one at a time and help the kids figure out where to glue each of the
verse cards on the traffic light card. Once kids have completed their traffic light pages, encourage them to
take them home with them to use as a reminder that we should STOP and think about how great God is,
we should STOP following the world and instead follow God. We should WAIT and watch for the return of
Jesus. And that while waiting, followers of Jesus should GO and tell others everywhere the good news
about Jesus.

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SAY: “People who are followers of Jesus should remember and rejoice in the fact that [THE POINT] Jesus is
coming back one day. While believers wait, they should remember what Jesus did on the cross and they
should be telling others the good news of Jesus and telling them to repent of their sin and turn to Jesus.”

4. Come Again (Memory Verse)

WHAT YOU NEED: Bibles & a verse page

Remind students of this month’s memory verse. Ask if anyone remembers it from last week.
Have one of the kids read the verse for you and have the rest of the kids read along in their Bibles.

Remind students that this month we’re learning about what happened after Jesus came back to life and
as the new church began. Talk about how our verse for the month reminds us that the news of Jesus
coming to earth to rescue His people was good news for people everywhere - Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria
and the ends of the earth. Have kids remind you of the activity they did last week with the prayer cards
and how they prayed for people all around the world, who still haven’t heard the good news of Jesus.

Show kids the verse page. Explain that you’re going to say part of the verse and they should repeat back
to you the part of the verse that you just said. Go through the verse in various orders, randomly saying a
few words of the verse at a time. Then, go through the verse once or twice from beginning to end having
the kids repeat after you.

SAY: “The Bible assures us that [THE POINT] Jesus is coming back one day. As we watch and wait for the
return of Christ, we should be telling everyone everywhere that Jesus came to die for their sins. Our
memory verse for the month reminds us that Christ’s death and resurrection is good news for people
everywhere.”

Conclude the session with a review and prayer.

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 Goodbye Hello

Small Group (30 - 40 minutes)

Older group – ages 8-12

Before the Session:

• 1st vs 2nd - 2 poster boards or large pieces of paper, 1st & 2nd verse cards, Bibles and markers/
crayons
• Come Back - one piece of blank paper and something to write with and a Bible
• What Now? – Bibles, one “wait” traffic light sign & a set of yellow lights cards
• Show Us How - Bibles

1. 1st vs 2nd (Review)

WHAT YOU NEED: 2 poster boards or large pieces of paper, 1st & 2nd verse cards, Bibles and markers/
crayons

As the kids come back from large group, ask them to remind you what they heard in large group about
Jesus going back to heaven. Briefly discuss the fact that Jesus came to earth as a baby, lived a perfect life
and died as the perfect sacrifice for our sins, that He rose again and then returned to heaven. Have one of
the kids in the group read Philippians 2:9-11 and discuss what these verses teach us about why Jesus
came to earth the first time and where Jesus is now. Talk about the fact that Jesus is now reigning in
heaven, but that one day Jesus will return to earth for a very different reason than why He came the first
time.

Divide your group into two teams. Give each team a piece of paper, some markers/ crayons and make
sure they have a couple of Bibles. Give one team the 1st verse card and the other team the 2nd verse card.
Explain that as a team they’ll work together to research either why Jesus came the first time or why He
will come back the 2nd time.

Groups should read their verses and either write or draw things on their pages to help them explain to
the rest of their small group either why Jesus came the first time, or why He will return one day. Give
groups time to work through their verses, and then have them present their findings to the rest of the
group. Start with the 1st group and have them share their findings- -discuss the truth that the first time
Jesus came He came with Good News and He came to die for His people to bring them back into

26
relationship with God. Then, have the 2nd group present their findings and talk about the fact that when
Jesus comes again, He won’t be coming to rescue His people, but this time He’ll be coming to judge the
world. Read John 3:16-17 and discuss what these verses teach us about the first time Jesus came and
how when He comes the 2nd time, He will be coming to judge the world.

Help the kids make sense of this whole thing, by writing “Good News” on the page about Jesus’ first
coming and writing “judgment” on the 2nd coming page. Talk about how the good news is good news for
the whole world. Remind the kids from last week’s lesson how Jesus sent His disciples out into the whole
world to preach the good news. Then, pull out the 2nd coming page and ask if Jesus’ return is good news or
bad news.

Help them see that even though Jesus is returning to judge the world that disciples or followers of Jesus
don’t need to be afraid of judgment because they are seen by God as righteous because of the blood of
Jesus. Read Philippians 3:9 to help make sense of this statement. So, believers don’t need to worry about
judgment and Jesus’ return is good news for believers because Revelation 21:3 reminds us that at that
point all followers of Jesus will live forever with Him and with God. But we need to remember that as
good of news as this is for followers of Jesus, it’s bad news for people in the world. When Jesus returns,
He will be returning to judge the world and everyone who is not a disciple of Jesus will be separated from
God forever.

[HEART TO HEART] This is a good time to remind the group what it means to be a follower or disciple of
Jesus. Talk with them about how having Christian parents doesn’t make you a Christian or coming to
church doesn’t make you a Christian, but that the only way to be saved is by turning away from your sin
and believing that Jesus died to pay for your sin (John 14:6 & Ephesians 2:8-9).

SAY: “This morning we saw clearly that [THE POINT] Jesus is coming back one day. As He ascended into
heaven, angels told the disciples that He would return the same way one day. The day that Jesus returns
to earth will be a day of rejoicing for all of His disciples, because just as Jesus promised His disciples in
John 14:3, when He returns, He’ll take His followers to be with Him forever. Romans 8:1 (read the verse)
tells us that there is no condemnation (no judgment) for those who are in Jesus, because they have the
righteousness of Christ given to them. But, at the same time, this is very bad news for those who aren’t
following Jesus, because the day He returns He’ll be coming to judge those who are not His followers and
separate them from Himself forever.”

2. Come Back (Prayer)

WHAT YOU NEED: one piece of blank paper and something to write with and a Bible

[Heart to Heart] Take a minute to remind the kids in your group of the truth of the gospel, what it means
to be a follower of Jesus and how has a follower of Jesus you can now rejoice and look forward to the day
of Christ’s return and know that on that day Jesus will take you to live with Him forever.

Review Acts 1:7-11 with the kids in your group. Talk about the promise that the disciples heard on that
day; the promise that Jesus will return again one day. Ask the kids in your group what they know to be
true about God and His promises.

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Explain that you’re going to remember the promises that God has kept as a way to remind each other
that God always keeps His promises, and that Jesus is the yes (the answer) to all of God’s promises. Read
2 Corinthians 1:20 as a reminder that Jesus is the answer to all of God’s promises.

Have the kids list promises that God made to His people throughout the Bible (you may want to make a
list of your own before class to help prompt the kids) and write them on the page as they list them. Then,
use the page to prompt a prayer of praise.

Have the kids sit in a circle and pass the page around the circle. One kid should read one of God’s
promises and the next kid should say, Thank You God for keeping your promises and you (the leader)
should respond by quoting the end of Revelation 22:20 (the next to last verse in the Bible) which says, “….
Amen. Come Lord Jesus.” Go through the whole list of God’s promises and close by leading your group in
a prayer of praise for always keeping His promises.

SAY: “The Bible tells us that [THE POINT] Jesus is coming back one day and if we are followers of Jesus, we
should respond by saying ‘come Lord Jesus.’ Knowing that Jesus is coming back should also prompt us to
tell people everywhere the good news of Jesus before He returns so that everyone has a chance to repent
of their sins and turn to Jesus and therefore look forward to the return of Jesus one day.”

Discussion Questions:
• Who is the return of Jesus good news for and who is it bad news for? And why?
• Do you think much about the fact that Jesus could return at any time? What should you be doing
to be ready when He comes? (this would be a good time to review the gospel message and remind
kids of the need to repent and believe).

3. What Now? (Scripture Search)

WHAT YOU NEED: Bibles, one traffic light sign & a set of yellow lights cards

Show your group the traffic light page. Ask the group to remind you what the different colors on the
traffic light tell us we’re supposed to do when we see the different colors when driving. Ask based on last
week’s lesson what the green light could remind them of:
to GO and tell others about the good news of Jesus
and to tell them to STOP living in sin- to repent of their sin and turn to Jesus. 



Explain that the yellow light means to wait. Remind kids that from the day Jesus returned to heaven until
the day He returns that disciples of Jesus are called to wait, just like at a traffic light, but that we aren’t
told to stop, we’re told to wait with anticipation of what’s to come. Hand out the yellow light cards to the
kids in the group and have them take turns reading their verses and writing on the traffic light page the
things that believers should be doing while they wait for the return of Jesus.

SAY: “Believers should be waiting with anticipation for Jesus knowing that [THE POINT] Jesus is coming
back one day. While believers wait, they should remember what Jesus did on the cross, and they should
be telling others the good news of Jesus and calling them to repent of their sin.

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 4. Show Us How (Memory Verse)
WHAT YOU NEED: Bibles

Review this month’s memory verse (Acts 1:8). Have one of the kids read the verse for you and have the
rest of the kids read along in their Bibles.

Either with the whole group working together, or by dividing into 2 or 3 smaller groups, come up with
motions for the verse that will help your group remember the verse this month. Give kids time to work on
their motions and then have them say the verse and do the motions for the rest of the group. Have each
group say the verse with the other groups as they do their motions.

SAY: “The Bible assures us that [THE POINT] Jesus is coming back one day. As we watch and wait for the
return of Christ, we should be telling everyone everywhere that Jesus came to die for their sins. Our
memory verse for the month reminds us that Christ’s death and resurrection is good news for people
everywhere.”

Conclude the session with a review and prayer.

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 Goodbye Hello - - Take Home Page

Memory Verse: “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my
witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” Acts 1:8
Challenge Verse: “And behold, ‘I am coming soon. Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the
prophecy of this book.’” Revelation 22:7

Acts 1 teaches us that Jesus is coming back one day.

Day 1 – Read Acts 1:1-11

Draw a cartoon of this scene. Focus on who said what to whom and on the fact that Jesus will come
back to earth someday.

Day 2 – 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

Think back to yesterday’s reading. How did the angels say Jesus would return? According to these
verses, what will happen to all of God’s people (those who have died and those who are still alive)
when Jesus comes back? Write Revelation 22:7 (this weeks’ challenge verse) on a piece of paper to
help you remember that Jesus is coming back.

Day 3 - Matthew 25:31-46

In these verses, Jesus is teaching the disciples what will happen when He comes back. Try to imagine the
scene of everyone in the world standing in front of Jesus on His throne and people being separated;
some to spend an eternity with God and some to have eternal punishment. What is the difference in
these two groups of people? Read Ephesians 2:8-9 and discuss how Christians are saved.


Day 4 - John 14:1-9
Jesus told His disciples that if they had seen Him, that they have seen God. He also said that He is the
way to the Father. Draw a treasure map with God as the treasure and Jesus as the way to the
treasure as a way help you remember this truth.


Day 5 – Read Acts 1:12-26
After Jesus returned to heaven, the disciples started to do the job Jesus had left them to do, but the
first thing they did was to choose a man to replace Judas (the disciple who had betrayed Jesus). How
did they choose? (Casting lots is kind of like drawing straws and is a way that people made decision in
Bible times to show that God was the one doing the choosing, since God is sovereign/ in control over
everything). These verses help us to get ready for next week’s lesson.

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 Week 2
Teaching Materials
 younger group

1 st 2 nd
John 3:16-17 John 14:3
John 18:37 Matthew 24:30-31
Acts 1:11
Luke 2:4-12
Matthew 25:31-34,
41 & 46

1 st 2 nd
John 3:16-17 John 14:3
John 18:37 Matthew 24:30-31
Acts 1:11
Luke 2:4-12
Matthew 25:31-34,
41 & 46
 top
s

t
ai
w

go

“But you will receive power when the

Holy Spirit has come upon you, and
you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem
and in all Judea and Samaria, and to
the end of the earth.” Acts 1:8
 " _________ ing " _________
" ____________
for our blessed hope, into all the world and
and consider
the appearing of the glory
the wondrous proclaim the gospel to
of our great God and
works of God." the whole creation."
Savior Jesus Christ."
Job 37:14 Mark 16:15
Titus 2:13

" _________ ing " _________

" ____________
for our blessed hope, into all the world and
and consider
the appearing of the glory
the wondrous proclaim the gospel to
of our great God and
works of God." the whole creation."
Savior Jesus Christ."
Job 37:14 Mark 16:15
Titus 2:13
 older group

1 st 2 nd
John 14:3
John 3:16-17 Matthew 24:30-31
John 18:37 Acts 1:11
John 14:1-7 John 5:21-22
Luke 2:4-12 Titus 2:13
Matthew 25:31-34,
Matthew 27:45-54 41 & 46

1 st 2 nd
John 14:3
John 3:16-17 Matthew 24:30-31
John 18:37 Acts 1:11
John 14:1-7 John 5:21-22
Luke 2:4-12 Titus 2:13
Matthew 25:31-34,
Matthew 27:45-54 41 & 46
Wait
 yellow light cards

John John
20:27 20:27

Matthew Matthew
28:19-20 28:19-20

Titus Titus
2:11-14 2:11-14
Colossians Colossians

4:2 3:16

1
Thessalonians Romans
5:17 10:14-16
“But you will receive
power when the Holy
Spirit has come
upon you, and you
will be my witnesses
in Jerusalem and in
all Judea and
Samaria, and to the
end of the earth.”
Acts 1:8
 About the Author

Bethany Darwin is the lead curriculum developer at the Sunday School Sore. Bethany spent 20 years
working full time in children’s ministry before recently coming home to raise her son.

During her years in children’s ministry, Bethany discovered gaps in available curriculum and often struggled
to find curriculum that worked in her church setting. It was this discovery that awakened a passion in her
for writing children’s ministry curriculum.

Bethany is a regular contributor for Ministry-to-children and you can find many resources of hers there.
You can connect with Bethany through Facebook at ‘Treasure Trunk Books’ or on IG at
‘Treasure_Trunk_Kids.’ On these pages she shares articles and resources for families as well as what she is
doing to point her little one to Christ. You can also find other resources of hers there.

Bethany is a graduate of Samford University (B.A. 1997) and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary
(M.A. in Christian Education, 2000). Bethany is a member of Faith Bible Church in Naples, Florida where she
serves in children’s ministry.

Future Projects:
Bethany is busy writing more Sunday School materials for the Sunday School Store and is proud to be
working on Torchbearers VBS.

Bethany also has an advent book/ family devotional/ coloring book/ curriculum called "Is It Time Yet?"
that's soon to be released. To learn more, check it out here.