Unit Description: God created the universe out of nothing. The eternal God rules over His creation. Everything was created to give glory to God the Father through His Son, Jesus, but people chose to reject God’s good plan. The whole Bible reveals how Jesus came to restore the relationship between God and humanity.
Preschool Big Picture Question: Who is God? God is our Creator and King.
We Will Be Part of the New Heaven and Earth (Revelation 21–22)
Dear families,
Revelation 21–22 mark the end of the New Testament and establish the promise of everlasting life for those in Christ. The culmination of every good gift of the Father, every promise He has given to His people, is found in His Son, to be experienced for all eternity.
In what ways will God’s new creation be unlike the world we live in today?
The apostle John described the beautiful new city of God as being like a bride adorned for her husband—glorious, radiant, faithful, and true. This new heaven and earth highlight the sweetness and sacredness of God’s covenant with us: “Look, God’s dwelling is with humanity, and he will live with them. They will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them and will be their God” (Revelation 21:3).
The earth as we know it today is a splendid example of our Creator’s workmanship and love for us, yet it has been broken by the sinfulness of His created beings. Sin has fractured our relationship with God, and though we are able to know and be known by Him, our understanding of His goodness cannot be fully experienced because of our sin. Here in today’s passage, we find the promise of what eternity is like: we will one day dwell in the fullness of God’s presence, experiencing the splendor of His radiance in perfect unity with one another and with our God.
In this new creation, there is no temple because God dwells among His people, His glory unceasingly illuminating the day. No falsehood, uncleanliness, grief, crying, or pain takes residence within God’s dwelling place; all is right and well, exactly as it was created to be.
Consider what it would look like if you lived each moment anticipating and readying yourself for the wonders yet to come. Would you be more inclined to persevere and to share the source of your eternal hope with others? Reflect on God’s goodness with gratitude, asking Him to prepare the hearts of the boys and girls you’ve been entrusted to teach it to. May this hopeful expectation change the way you view your Lord, your world, and those around you.
Check out The Gospel Project At Home for resources designed to help you lead a family worship experience as well as suggestions for morning and evening prayer times and family activities.
FAMILY TALKING POINTS
CHRIST CONNECTION
This is the big idea of how this week’s Bible story points to Jesus.
BIG PICTURE QUESTION & ANSWER
This is an important biblical truth that your child will encounter each week of this unit.
KEY PASSAGE
This is a Bible verse that relates to what your child will encounter each week of this unit.
** Next week: God Created the World (Genesis 1–2)
Jesus Will Return One Day (Revelation 19–20)
Dear families,
In Revelation 19–20, the apostle John recounts a vision he received from the Lord. The vision showcased the reality of the risen Savior who always keeps His promises. Jesus will return for His people with all righteousness, power, and might—just as the Scriptures said He would. Demonstrating His glory, strength, authority, and sovereignty, Jesus will faithfully redeem and restore the brokenness of the world and bring His followers into this realm of everlasting joy and peace with Him forever.
How is the depiction of Jesus in Revelation 19–20 different from our previous session’s lamb that was slain? What does Christ’s fulfillment mean for the ways we are to live as His followers on the earth today?
The Jesus we see in today’s passage is the conquering King over all—no longer the meek, gentle lamb who was led to the slaughter. Instead, He is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, the warrior whose enemies have been now and forever rendered powerless. He reigns and rules over Satan and the forces of evil and darkness, defeating the powers of sin and death once and for all. The imagery now describing the risen Lord is fierce, mighty, and righteous. He has returned for His people, keeping every promise He has spoken to the ones whose faith has been placed in Him.
We, as followers of Jesus, are to look ahead to the coming days of Christ’s return with expectation, joy, and celebration. Consider how you can reflect the anticipation, excitement, and comfort of this reality to the boys and girls you teach. They may feel uncertain about the Bible and if they can truly grasp what it is all about. In today’s session, you have an opportunity to relay the big idea of the Scriptures: the hope of the promised Savior and King who has invited them into this great story of redemption. All of creation will join together to sing of His infinite glory and splendor, and believers today have the opportunity to share His goodness with others. You get to proclaim His promises to the kids you will teach today!
Check out The Gospel Project At Home for resources designed to help you lead a family worship experience as well as suggestions for morning and evening prayer times and family activities.
FAMILY TALKING POINTS
CHRIST CONNECTION
This is the big idea of how this week’s Bible story points to Jesus.
BIG PICTURE QUESTION & ANSWER
This is an important biblical truth that your child will encounter each week of this unit.
KEY PASSAGE
This is a Bible verse that relates to what your child will encounter each week of this unit.
** Next week: We Will Be Part of the New Heaven and Earth (Revelation 21–22)
Jesus Is Worthy of Worship (Revelation 4–5)
Dear families,
John’s vision of heaven in Revelation 4–5 offers us a glimpse of Jesus’ worthiness and heaven’s splendor, as those found in Him will abide with Him forever. From these passages, we know that God will forever reign with all glory, splendor, righteousness, and holiness attributed to His name.
How does Jesus meet John—and us—in our need? What do we learn about the nature of heaven and our role there as the redeemed?
Revelation 5 introduces the crucial conflict of today’s passage: No one has been found worthy to break the seal of this great scroll. This somber realization led the apostle to weep, until his gaze was lifted up to Jesus. He alone has conquered the power of sin and death, making Him the only One worthy to open the scroll. However, the magnificent, conquering Son of God did not appear in the way we would expect; rather, His appearance was like a slaughtered lamb—representing His sacrifice on our behalf.
As He took the scroll, the creatures and elders fell down before Him in praise. The angels likewise declared that the slaughtered lamb’s power, riches, wisdom, strength, honor, glory, and blessing would endure forever! The resurrected Jesus who defeated sin and death rose victoriously to bring us back into relationship with the Father. By trusting in Him and giving Him praise for all He has done, we find our purpose in this life and for all days to come. We will forever worship the only One worthy of praise. This is what heaven is: the place of eternal unity with our Lord, where we will praise Him for eternity, no longer inhibited by sin. We will experience God’s glory in its fullness there forevermore.
As you prepare to teach this session to kids, remember this main point: Christ is worthy of endless praise and has made a way for us to dwell with Him forever! Though this passage may seem difficult to comprehend, the simplicity of His worthiness is what we must return to.: Our God is good, and He loved us enough to send us His Son.
Check out The Gospel Project At Home for resources designed to help you lead a family worship experience as well as suggestions for morning and evening prayer times and family activities.
FAMILY TALKING POINTS
CHRIST CONNECTION
This is the big idea of how this week’s Bible story points to Jesus.
BIG PICTURE QUESTION & ANSWER
This is an important biblical truth that your child will encounter each week of this unit.
KEY PASSAGE
This is a Bible verse that relates to what your child will encounter each week of this unit.
** Next week: Jesus Will Return One Day (Revelation 19–20)
We Are Here to Make Much of Jesus (1 Thessalonians 4–5)
Dear families,
First Thessalonians 4–5 serves as an encouraging, insightful, and convicting portion of the letters penned by Paul. As evidenced by the compassionate, heartfelt words he shared, the apostle loved his brothers and sisters who belonged to the church in Thessalonica. Because of the deep affection he held toward them, he exhorted them to lean into the special, set-apart lives Christ had called them to as His followers.
What does Paul say is the will of God for his brothers and sisters in Christ—both in the year A.D. 50 as well as in the modern-day church? How are we to accomplish this will according to today’s passage?
We often wonder what God’s will for our lives may be. Yet we see throughout the pages of Scripture: His will is our sanctification—in sexual morality, self-control, holiness, and honor … on account of the knowledge of our God (1 Thess. 4:3-5). Paul writes in the next chapter that His will for us is that we would likewise continually rejoice, pray, and give thanks for all He has done (1 Thess. 5:16-18). He calls for a “whole-person” holiness in all parts of our lives: spirit, soul, and body, which only comes through placing our trust in Jesus—which means trusting in what He says is best for our lives.
For the church of Thessalonica to pursue God’s will for their lives would be entirely impossible if not for the power of the Holy Spirit in their lives. They had to trust in the Lord to help them obey, believing in Christ’s perfect life and sacrifice as the basis of their faith.
As you take steps toward teaching this session, consider the ways you’ve been faithfully following Jesus. Be encouraged by all that He has done in your life to help you look more like Jesus through the power of His Spirit. Help kids see that they, too, can trust God’s character and goodness, which means that we can believe that His will for our lives—this call to sanctification—is good.
Check out The Gospel Project At Home for resources designed to help you lead a family worship experience as well as suggestions for morning and evening prayer times and family activities.
FAMILY TALKING POINTS
CHRIST CONNECTION
This is the big idea of how this week’s Bible story points to Jesus.
BIG PICTURE QUESTION & ANSWER
This is an important biblical truth that your child will encounter each week of this unit.
KEY PASSAGE
This is a Bible verse that relates to what your child will encounter each week of this unit.
** Next week: Jesus Is Worthy of Worship (Revelation 4–5)
Paul Preached in Rome (Acts 28)
Dear families,
Acts 28 finished out the nearly 30-year saga of Acts on a high note: Paul, by God’s grace, was able to carry out two years of faithful ministry there in the great city of Rome. Despite the troublesome circumstances surrounding his entry and reputation before the Romans, God proved Himself faithful and demonstrated the power of His gospel.
How, through the book of Acts, might we glean a deeper understanding of God’s work in the lives of His followers? What does Acts 28 teach us about God’s kingdom?
This incredible book of the Bible detailed the earliest days of the church and how the Holy Spirit has remained at work in His people’s lives, just as Christ promised. Here in the final chapter of Acts, we see the continued example of Paul’s reliance on the Holy Spirit as he ministered to and healed those on the island of Malta, as well as his years spent boldly proclaiming the gospel to all who visited him amidst his imprisonment.
Against all odds, the apostle found himself in the city where not even a shipwreck, false accusation, or snakebite could impede his arrival or ministry. Paul’s story in Acts ends with him being found faithful despite all that was stacked against him. Yet even his own faithfulness pales in comparison to the faithfulness of the God who called him on this mission.
Luke set the context for this book in chapter 1, when he stated that the resurrected Christ appeared to His people and spoke about the kingdom of God, promising His Spirit to them as they witnessed to the world. We see Paul exemplify this Spirit-filled life on mission as a witness, declaring the truth of God’s kingdom to all who’d listen—from slaves to kings. May we, too, be the witnesses we’re called to be, especially to the boys and girls entrusted to us through these sessions centered around His love.
Check out The Gospel Project At Home for resources designed to help you lead a family worship experience as well as suggestions for morning and evening prayer times and family activities.
FAMILY TALKING POINTS
CHRIST CONNECTION
This is the big idea of how this week’s Bible story points to Jesus.
BIG PICTURE QUESTION & ANSWER
This is an important biblical truth that your child will encounter each week of this unit.
KEY PASSAGE
This is a Bible verse that relates to what your child will encounter each week of this unit.
** Next week: We Are Here to Make Much of Jesus (1 Thessalonians 4–5)
Paul Went to Rome (Acts 27–28)
Dear families,
In today’s passage, we read of the troublesome conditions Paul and his shipmates experienced on their way to Rome. From troubles with the weather and waters to issues with others aboard the ship, the men’s hope of survival was fading quickly. Even still, Paul believed in God’s promise to keep him safe on his mission to proclaim the gospel in that great city.
What lessons about perseverance can we glean from this passage? How does God reveal His faithfulness to His people throughout their time aboard this dangerous ship?
So much seemed to be working against Paul in these passages. To begin with, the purpose of this trip was to appeal to the highest powers in the Roman courts against his unfair arrest and condemnation from the Jewish elite. It was in these dire circumstances that God revealed he would safely arrive to proclaim the gospel there. However, the esteemed apostle and his shipmates were not met with smooth sailing.
They battled terrible conditions from all sides—stormy winds that wouldn’t cooperate, brutal winter weather that wouldn’t let up, an inability to eat for days on end, and no means of securing direction from the sun or stars. Some of the sailors had even plotted an escape from this dire situation at hand, hopelessly believing they could not be saved from their circumstances.
Through it all, Paul took on a leadership role on the ship, giving advice as to how they could avoid great loss by not going forward from Crete as planned. Although the men didn’t listen, Paul was later able to give other encouragement to his peers, sharing with them the words that an angel had spoken to him: “Don’t be afraid.” Paul trusted in His Savior Jesus to continue the work and mission He had begun in the apostle’s life and knew that God could be trusted.
Consider all the things working against Paul in just this chapter alone. Then, reflect on the God who had revealed His great plans for the apostle. Pray for God to grant the same miraculous gift of faith to you and to your group as you relay this incredible story of God’s faithfulness, no matter the storm.
Check out The Gospel Project At Home for resources designed to help you lead a family worship experience as well as suggestions for morning and evening prayer times and family activities.
FAMILY TALKING POINTS
CHRIST CONNECTION
This is the big idea of how this week’s Bible story points to Jesus.
BIG PICTURE QUESTION & ANSWER
This is an important biblical truth that your child will encounter each week of this unit.
KEY PASSAGE
This is a Bible verse that relates to what your child will encounter each week of this unit.
** Next week: Paul Preached in Rome (Acts 28)
Paul Was Sent to Rome (Acts 24–26)
Dear families,
The story of Paul’s time in Caesarea seemed to be long, drawn out, and hopeless. Even still, the apostle was not without hope, which he proclaimed the good news of Jesus before the governor and king—just as Jesus prophesied of His followers in Matthew 10:18.
How does Paul establish the credibility of his faith in Jesus here at his tribunal? What does he declare to be his hope, even now as a prison under the threat of death by his own people?
Paul spent much of this time laying out his testimony, beginning with his blamelessness through the lens of the Jewish law, as well as his continued worship of the same God as his Jewish ancestors. As he stood before King Agrippa and Queen Bernice, the military commanders, and prominent men of the city, he laid out the hope of God’s people since the beginning and how Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection served as the fulfillment of their long-awaited grand hope.
It seemed apparent to the king that, after years of incarceration, this prisoner had finally received an opportunity to defend his freedom before these great men of power. However, rather than deflecting from his intended message for the sake of his freedom, Paul chose to extend a gospel presentation. The king asked if he were really going to present the case of Christ so easily, and Paul’s response was that he desired all those individuals present before him to receive the same gift of salvation that applies to all—no matter their worldly status.
Paul never wavered in his boasting of Christ and His resurrection, nor did he allow the terrible circumstances of his imprisonment to color his belief in the worthiness of his Lord. Consider the faith this man had in believing Jesus’ promises amidst his hardship. How can you shine that same light as you teach of Paul’s courage and perseverance in his eternal hope in Jesus? Teach the boys and girls in your group about the boldness of Paul in response to the faithfulness of Jesus.
Check out The Gospel Project At Home for resources designed to help you lead a family worship experience as well as suggestions for morning and evening prayer times and family activities.
FAMILY TALKING POINTS
CHRIST CONNECTION
This is the big idea of how this week’s Bible story points to Jesus.
BIG PICTURE QUESTION & ANSWER
This is an important biblical truth that your child will encounter each week of this unit.
KEY PASSAGE
This is a Bible verse that relates to what your child will encounter each week of this unit.
** Next week: Paul Went to Rome (Acts 27–28)
Paul Was on Trial (Acts 22–23)
Dear families,
In Acts 22–23, Paul must persevere with his trust in Jesus as he faces the dangers prophesied for him in Jerusalem head-on. Though the Jews planned evil against him, God planned it for good, to bring about the message of salvation to those who were waiting to hear it in Rome.
What was the basis of the Jews’ argument and plot against Paul? How do we see the Lord fulfilling the promises He made to his apostle throughout this passage?
In our previous session, we learned that the Jews in Jerusalem were angry with Paul for proclaiming a gospel that seemed to make light of Moses’ teachings and law. Additionally, the Jews speculated that he had even allowed Greeks into the temple, thus defiling their holy place. They held the baseless belief that Paul was leading their people further from their long-held views of God and His salvation.
While Paul had been sent back to the barracks to be kept safe from the mob overnight, the Lord drew near to Him and called for him to have courage. Just as Paul had preached the good news of the gospel in Jerusalem, so, too, was he commissioned to do the same in Rome. All Paul could do was faithfully trust the God who had brought him thus far.
Reflect on the perseverance of Paul despite all the false allegations, mistreatment, and injustice he faced in today’s passage. Through it all, he remained steadfast, steadied by his trust in the God who conquered death and gave him nothing to fear. Pray for the boys and girls in your group, that they, too, would experience the comfort that comes with entrusting all we are to the God who reigns.
Check out The Gospel Project At Home for resources designed to help you lead a family worship experience as well as suggestions for morning and evening prayer times and family activities.
FAMILY TALKING POINTS
CHRIST CONNECTION
This is the big idea of how this week’s Bible story points to Jesus.
BIG PICTURE QUESTION & ANSWER
This is an important biblical truth that your child will encounter each week of this unit.
KEY PASSAGE
This is a Bible verse that relates to what your child will encounter each week of this unit.
** Next week: Paul Was Sent to Rome (Acts 24–26)
Paul Returned to Jerusalem (Acts 21–22)
Dear families,
Acts 21 and 22 serve to build out the suspense of the troubles ahead that lay Paul in the city of Jerusalem. Not only Paul, but other disciples had likewise heard from the Holy Spirit that dangers lay ahead of him should he continue his plans for the journey ahead. Even still, the apostle ventured on, leaning into the high stakes and emotions felt by so many of his brothers and sisters in the faith.
What led Paul to set aside the warnings he had received about all that awaited him upon his return to Jerusalem? What guiding forces ushered this apostle forward as he considered the fate in store for him?
Paul displayed an unwavering trust and abiding hope in Jesus as he counted the cost of following Him. His answer to the pleadings of Agabus and the locals was that he was ready to sacrifice everything for the name of His Lord Jesus. His conviction on the matter of going forward with his plans was so strong, in fact, that the people’s response could only be to have faith that the Lord’s will would be done. Paul didn’t care about reputation, status, or prestige—only Christ crucified and His name proclaimed to the Jews and Gentiles alike.
Even the apostle’s defense to the mob in Jerusalem was deeply steeped in the grace of Jesus. He sought not to simply get himself out of trouble, but to declare the worthiness of His Lord before an audience who only wanted to see him dead. He shared with them all they had in common and the one thing that kept them distinct and separate from one another: faith in the Son of God. He was driven by a hope that they would turn to saving faith in Him, too.
Reflect on the evidence of Paul’s faith before his fellow disciples and those who were unbelievers. No one questioned his confidence in the Father, no matter the cost. Pray for the hearts of your students as you prepare to teach this session. May your faith grow and be displayed before those God has set before you. May they see and experience the worthiness of His love through your devotion and fervor for His gospel.
Check out The Gospel Project At Home for resources designed to help you lead a family worship experience as well as suggestions for morning and evening prayer times and family activities.
FAMILY TALKING POINTS
CHRIST CONNECTION
This is the big idea of how this week’s Bible story points to Jesus.
BIG PICTURE QUESTION & ANSWER
This is an important biblical truth that your child will encounter each week of this unit.
KEY PASSAGE
This is a Bible verse that relates to what your child will encounter each week of this unit.
** Next week: Paul Was on Trial (Acts 22–23)
Imago Dei Church Kids Ministry