Peter Confronted Sin (Acts 4–5)

Dear families,

One of Scripture’s most prominent warnings against false motives comes to us in Acts 5: the story of Ananias and Sapphira. Amid the church’s unity and generosity in the previous chapter, the husband and wife’s scheme stands in stark contrast. Though this couple sought to appear generous before others, the Holy Spirit unveiled their treachery so that the church could remain on mission for the Lord. 

Why did the church members lay their money at the feet of the apostles? What was the Holy Spirit’s role in the downfalls of Ananias and Sapphira? 

The last section of Acts 4 recounted the oneness of the early church, as they lived in fellowship and in concern for one another. To lay something at another person’s feet signified a trust in that person’s responsibility over what had been given. We read that the early church members’ desire was for the apostles to distribute their proceeds where they would be most beneficial for others. Their generosity was honoring to God and fulfilled the commands of Deuteronomy 15. Ultimately, it was the work of the Holy Spirit in the lives of the early church that transformed their hearts to give generously and joyfully to the Lord. 

On the other hand, Ananias and Sapphira tried to appear like they had unselfish virtues, yet they held fast to greedy motives. While others obeyed the Holy Spirit’s power at work, Ananias and Sapphira allowed the desires of their flesh to take precedence over the good works God prepared for them. They lied and therefore grieved the Holy Spirit by claiming to give all they had. Their actions did not match the motives they proclaimed, a danger that many in the church can fall prey to even today. 

As you prepare to teach this passage to kids, be sure to emphasize the Christlike love at work in the life of the early church. Though greed and self-gain seemed too big a temptation for Ananias and Sapphira, we can lead lives of obedience to the Holy Spirit, recognizing the extravagance and sacrificial love of Christ that transforms our hearts to live on mission for Him. 

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.

• Babies & Toddlers: Jesus gave up all He had to share His riches with us and give us life with God forever. 
• Younger Preschool: God’s Spirit changes us so we want to share with others. Jesus gave up everything to share His riches with us and give us life with God forever. 
• Older Preschool: Ananias and Sapphira pretended to be generous, but they wanted to keep money for themselves. The Holy Spirit changes us so we want to share with others. Jesus gave up everything He had to share His riches with us and give us life with God forever. 
• Kids: Ananias and Sapphira wanted to look generous, but they were greedy and chose to lie. The Holy Spirit changes our hearts to want to share with those in need. Jesus generously gave all He had so we can share in His riches and have forgiveness and eternal life. 

BIG PICTURE QUESTION & ANSWER

This is an important biblical truth that your child will encounter each week of this unit.

• Younger Preschool: Why does God want Christians to tell others about Jesus? We tell others about Jesus so they can know Him and love Him. 
• Older Preschool: Why does God command Christians to tell others about Jesus? We tell others about Jesus so they will hear and believe in Him. 
• Kids: Why does God command Christians to tell others about Jesus? We tell others about Jesus so they will hear and believe the good news. 

KEY PASSAGE

This is a Bible verse that relates to what your child will encounter each week of this unit.

• Babies & Toddlers: Tell others about Jesus. Romans 10:14 
• Younger Preschool: We need to tell others about Jesus so they can believe in Him. Romans 10:14 
• Older Preschool: How can they believe without hearing about him? And how can they hear without a preacher? Romans 10:14 
• Kids: How, then, can they call on him they have not believed in? And how can they believe without hearing about him? And how can they hear without a preacher? Romans 10:14 

** Next week: We Are to Tell Others about Jesus (Romans 10)

Peter Continued to Preach (Acts 3)

Dear families,

In Acts 4, we encounter Peter’s Spirit-led boldness and the religious leaders’ inability to stop the gospel’s power at work. Despite the danger they faced, the church remained steadfast in their prayers and proclamations, being filled with the courage and conviction that would become their legacy. 

What truths did the early church cling to amidst such great persecution and peril? How were their prayer lives shaped by this encounter with the Holy Spirit? 

Standing before these members of the religious elite, Peter was filled with the Holy Spirit and couldn’t stop declaring Jesus as Lord. Though he had spent the night in jail, he was resolved in his mission to make no name for himself apart from Christ. As he addressed these powerful men, he testified to Scripture’s truth, how Christ’s rejection had been prophesied in Psalm 118. In doing so, he offered an opportunity for his persecutors to place their faith in Jesus, too. In response to Peter’s boldness, they were at a loss for words. The disciples’ time with Jesus offered more insight into God’s truth than the Jewish leaders possessed from all their years in rabbi school, and the power of the Holy Spirit within them illuminated their minds to recall this truth. 

When the church heard news of Peter and John’s time spent before the Sanhedrin, they responded the only way they knew how: altogether, voices raised to heaven, in prayer before God. They reminded one another—and God Himself—of His truths declared so long ago in Psalm 2. Their course of action became one of boldness through the filling of the Holy Spirit as these men and women continued to show and tell the world about the Savior in whom they placed their hope. In answer to their faithful prayers, they were filled with the Holy Spirit, being sent out to keep doing His will. 

As you lead your kids this week, remind them—and yourself—that even in our stickiest situations and circumstances, God’s Word remains the rock where we find truth. We are invited to pray bold prayers and to ask for His Spirit to lead us in the places we don’t have strength to go; our faith is revealed through our boldness in action. 

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.

• Babies & Toddlers: The good news about Jesus must be shared with others. 
• Younger Preschool: Peter told people about Jesus even when it was hard. The good news about Jesus is so great that everyone who trusts in Jesus must share it with others. 
• Older Preschool: Peter kept preaching about Jesus even when it was hard. Not even the religious leaders could stop Jesus’ followers from sharing the good news about Jesus. The gospel is great news that we must share if we believe in Jesus. 
• Kids: Peter continued to preach about Jesus even when it was difficult. Not even the religious leaders could stop Jesus’ followers from sharing the good news about Jesus. The gospel is great news that we must share if we believe in Jesus Christ. 

BIG PICTURE QUESTION & ANSWER

This is an important biblical truth that your child will encounter each week of this unit.

• Younger Preschool: Why does God want Christians to tell others about Jesus? We tell others about Jesus so they can know Him and love Him. 
• Older Preschool: Why does God command Christians to tell others about Jesus? We tell others about Jesus so they will hear and believe in Him. 
• Kids: Why does God command Christians to tell others about Jesus? We tell others about Jesus so they will hear and believe the good news. 

KEY PASSAGE

This is a Bible verse that relates to what your child will encounter each week of this unit.

• Babies & Toddlers: Tell others about Jesus. Romans 10:14 
• Younger Preschool: We need to tell others about Jesus so they can believe in Him. Romans 10:14 
• Older Preschool: How can they believe without hearing about him? And how can they hear without a preacher? Romans 10:14 
• Kids: How, then, can they call on him they have not believed in? And how can they believe without hearing about him? And how can they hear without a preacher? Romans 10:14 

** Next week: Peter Confronted Sin (Acts 4–5)

Peter Healed a Man (Acts 3)

Dear families,

Peter’s healing and preaching in Acts 3 revealed the Holy Spirit’s power at work. Through both word and deed, Peter and John committed themselves to the all-encompassing mission of the gospel—that all they said and did would point back to the truth of Christ as Messiah. 

What deeper meaning can we glean from this healing in Acts 3? How did this miracle reveal Jesus’s identity as the promised Messiah? 

The man carried to the temple’s gate desired to receive something generous from Peter and John that afternoon; however, he did not expect to be walking around and worshiping God by the day’s end. It seemed that all those gathered around the temple likewise did not expect a miracle to occur in the life of this middle-aged man, as evidenced by their astonishment in this passage. 

Though these disciples did not have money to give to this man in need, they did possess something of even greater value—faith in the name and person of Jesus Christ. They refused to withhold this power from the man, convicted of the importance of living on mission for the gospel. More than just doing good deeds before others, they knew the priority of proclaiming Jesus’ truth before them all, so that the man and the onlookers might find restoration in Christ’s name, too.  

The significance of the man’s ability to not only walk but to leap cannot be understated. The prophet Isaiah declared such a miracle would stem from the Messiah’s power. (Isaiah 35:6) What was true then is still true today: God is restoring all things, and this healing further represented His ability to remedy our greatest need for salvation. This man was raised to walk again by the same power that raised Christ from the dead. 

As you prepare to talk with your kids about Acts 3, reflect on the Holy Spirit’s power at work within Peter. This disciple who denied Christ went on to empower others to repent of their own denial of the Messiah. The same Spirit who restored and redeemed this apostle has empowered you to declare this same hope to the children in your home. 

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.

• Babies & Toddlers: The Holy Spirit helps us do God’s plan. 
• Younger Preschool: After Jesus went back to heaven, the Holy Spirit gave Jesus’ followers power to help people. With the power of Jesus’ name, Peter healed a man who could not walk. 
• Older Preschool: With the power of Jesus’ name, Peter healed a man who could not walk. Peter and John showed God’s power and pointed to a greater, spiritual healing found in Jesus. 
• Kids: After Jesus returned to heaven, the Holy Spirit gave the disciples power to begin working. With the power of Jesus’ name, Peter healed a man who was lame. Peter and John showed God’s power and pointed to a greater, spiritual healing found in Jesus. 

BIG PICTURE QUESTION & ANSWER

This is an important biblical truth that your child will encounter each week of this unit.

• Younger Preschool: Why does God want Christians to tell others about Jesus? We tell others about Jesus so they can know Him and love Him. 
• Older Preschool: Why does God command Christians to tell others about Jesus? We tell others about Jesus so they will hear and believe in Him. 
• Kids: Why does God command Christians to tell others about Jesus? We tell others about Jesus so they will hear and believe the good news. 

KEY PASSAGE

This is a Bible verse that relates to what your child will encounter each week of this unit.

• Babies & Toddlers: Tell others about Jesus. Romans 10:14 
• Younger Preschool: We need to tell others about Jesus so they can believe in Him. Romans 10:14 
• Older Preschool: How can they believe without hearing about him? And how can they hear without a preacher? Romans 10:14 
• Kids: How, then, can they call on him they have not believed in? And how can they believe without hearing about him? And how can they hear without a preacher? Romans 10:14 

** Next week: Peter Continued to Preach (Acts 4)

Peter Preached in Jerusalem (Acts 2)

Dear families,

The latter portions of Acts 2 relay the Holy Spirit’s transformational work within not only the apostle Peter’s life but also in the lives of thousands of new believers in Jerusalem. In what could have been a somber retelling of herd mentality gone wrong, we instead read of the power of the Holy Spirit at work within the life of Peter to bring life transformation to thousands who heard his message. 

What evidence do we see of genuine life transformation in Peter’s life? How is the Holy Spirit’s power made evident by the legacy of the Acts 2 church? The apostle Peter’s life was one of Scripture’s greatest examples of discipleship. Though he had personally journeyed for three years alongside the Savior, Peter struggled with fear, hesitancy, and uncertainty. He was the man who sank from doubt while walking on water and denied Jesus’ lordship not once—but three times. However, the Peter we find in Acts 2 seems to have overcome these stumbling blocks to his faith. But how? It was through the power of the Holy Spirit at work in his life, enabling and encouraging him to do the Lord’s will. 

The miracle of discipleship did not end with Peter simply learning from Jesus and being filled with His Spirit, only to then retreat and retire from his personal spiritual journey. Instead, he proclaimed the truth of the gospel’s good news for mankind and brought many new believers into the fold as well. 

We read of Peter’s call to repentance for all those gathered in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost, but how can we know that these hearers truly experienced life transformation by the Spirit? The proof was in their legacy as a church, through the lifestyles they took on upon coming to the faith: devotion to the Scriptures, fellowship with one another, enjoying meals together, and prayer. 

As you teach your kids this week, remember the role you play as a proclaimer of Christ’s truths to the next generation, taking part in His mission so that your children may follow suit. As you lead a life of faithfulness and fruitfulness, they will see and experience the power of the Holy Spirit at work in your life. 

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.

• Babies & Toddlers: God used Peter to tell others about Jesus. Everyone who believes in Jesus is changed forever. 
• Younger Preschool: God used Peter to tell others about Jesus so they would believe and be changed too. Everyone who believes in Jesus is changed and will never to be the same. 
• Older Preschool: God used Peter to preach Jesus to the crowd so that thousands of people would believe and be changed as well. All who believe in Jesus are changed and will never be the same. 
• Kids: Peter’s sermon shows the Holy Spirit’s power to save and change those who trust in Jesus. God used Peter to preach about Jesus to the crowd so that thousands of others would believe and be changed as well. All who believe in Jesus are changed and will never to be the same. 

BIG PICTURE QUESTION & ANSWER

This is an important biblical truth that your child will encounter each week of this unit.

• Younger Preschool: Why does God want Christians to tell others about Jesus? We tell others about Jesus so they can know Him and love Him. 
• Older Preschool: Why does God command Christians to tell others about Jesus? We tell others about Jesus so they will hear and believe in Him. 
• Kids: Why does God command Christians to tell others about Jesus? We tell others about Jesus so they will hear and believe the good news. 

KEY PASSAGE

This is a Bible verse that relates to what your child will encounter each week of this unit.

• Babies & Toddlers: Tell others about Jesus. Romans 10:14 
• Younger Preschool: We need to tell others about Jesus so they can believe in Him. Romans 10:14 
• Older Preschool: How can they believe without hearing about him? And how can they hear without a preacher? Romans 10:14 
• Kids: How, then, can they call on him they have not believed in? And how can they believe without hearing about him? And how can they hear without a preacher? Romans 10:14 

** Next week: Peter Healed a Man (Acts 3)

Unit Description: As the church began, Peter played a key role, following the example Jesus had set. Like Jesus, Peter preached the gospel, healed people, and confronted sin—all so that others might come to know Christ, too.

Younger Preschool Big Picture Question: Why does God want Christians to tell others about Jesus? We tell others about Jesus so they can know Him and love Him.

Older Preschool Big Picture Question: Why does God command Christians to tell others about Jesus? We tell others about Jesus so they will hear and believe in Him.

The Holy Spirit Changes Us (Galatians 5)

Dear families,

Today’s passage from Galatians illustrates the Holy Spirit’s power in Christ followers’ lives. Written by the apostle Paul to the non-Jewish congregation in Galatia, this letter outlines the importance of pursuing righteousness by faith as opposed to the works of the flesh. 

How are believers today at risk of pursuing legalism or lawlessness rather than the love of God just as the church in Galatia did? Why is it essential to live in step with the Holy Spirit’s guidance instead of false doctrines or the whims of our flesh? 

Though thousands of years have passed since Paul first penned this writing to believers in the place known today as Turkey, today’s Christians still wrestle in the faith as they did back then—between the belief that we must earn salvation and the tendency to forgo good works altogether. For the Galatians, the issue at play was a mistaken belief that circumcision was necessary upon coming to faith.  

Paul discussed how being led by the Holy Spirit in faith is our hope of righteousness; it is not our works that save us, but faith in the work Christ did on our behalf. Even so, good works are the evidence of His power in action within our lives. Christ kept His promise to send the Holy Spirit, and He in turn empowers and enables us to be His witnesses on mission to the world through our words and our actions. 

The balance between legalism and lawlessness could never be attained by doing more good things or by avoiding being bad; rather, the steadiness we seek is only found in following the Holy Spirit’s guidance. The proof of our following is the fruitfulness in our lives, as seen in the ways we love God and our neighbors. 

As you prepare to study Galatians 5 with your kids, consider sharing how the Holy Spirit’s guidance has shaped your own spiritual journey. May we all continue to grow in fruitfulness as we yield to the power of the Spirit in our own lives. 

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.

• Babies & Toddlers: The Holy Spirit changes us so that we want to obey God, and He gives us power to be like Jesus. 
• Younger Preschool: The Holy Spirit changes us so that we want to obey God, and He gives us power to obey. The Holy Spirit helps us as we tell others about Jesus. 
• Older Preschool: The Holy Spirit changes us so that we want to obey God, and He gives us power to obey. The Holy Spirit helps us as we share the gospel in all the world. 
• Kids: The Holy Spirit changes our minds and hearts so that we want to obey God, and He gives us power to obey. The Holy Spirit guides us as believers as we live out God’s mission for us to share the gospel in all the world. 

BIG PICTURE QUESTION & ANSWER

This is an important biblical truth that your child will encounter each week of this unit.

• Younger Preschool: How does the Holy Spirit help Christians? The Holy Spirit helps us as we live.
• Older Preschool: How does the Holy Spirit help Christians? The Holy Spirit comforts us, shows us our sin, and guides us as we live for God’s glory. 
• Kids: How does the Holy Spirit help Christians? The Holy Spirit comforts us, shows us our sin, and guides us as we live for God’s glory. 

KEY PASSAGE

This is a Bible verse that relates to what your child will encounter each week of this unit.

• Babies & Toddlers: God’s Spirit helps us be like Jesus. Galatians 5:22 
• Younger Preschool: God’s Spirit gives us love, joy, and peace like Jesus. Galatians 5:22 
• Older Preschool: The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Galatians 5:22-23 

Kids: But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. The law is not against such things. Galatians 5:22-23

** Next week: Peter Preached in Jerusalem (Acts 2)

The Holy Spirit Came (Acts 3)

Dear families,

In Acts 2, we find the fulfillment of Jesus’ promise from Acts 1:8. Jesus’ followers devoted themselves to one another and to His mission, and we can observe their unity in the first verse of this passage. They experienced the power of the Holy Spirit together as a church body unified by more than mere proximity. 

What was the significance of the Holy Spirit’s arrival on the day of Pentecost? How did His presence lead to the furtherance of Christ’s mission? Many devout Jews traveled to Jerusalem to observe the harvest festival as usual, but the Holy Spirit offered new meaning to their celebrated traditions of old. On this day of celebrating God’s provision through the old covenant, Pentecost now signified the new covenant made possible through faith in Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit. 

The Spirit’s presence meant that Jesus kept His promise to provide comfort and help. His provision came as His Spirit fell upon them in this new, tangible way. With visions of fiery tongues and the sound of rushing wind, the room where the followers expectantly gathered was filled with a stirring like never before. 

Jesus declared they would receive power through His Holy Spirit, and their identity as His witnesses was forever secured. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, Christ’s followers broke down barriers to communicate the gospel in languages they had never spoken before. What a mighty act of God through such a miraculous feat! His people were empowered to declare His magnificence in these new languages of praise. 

Help your kids see that Jesus’ followers are to speak His praises just as they did in this story. The day of Pentecost points to who Christ is: the Savior who seeks out the lost and breaks down barriers. Explain how the Holy Spirit comes into our lives, too, when we trust in Jesus. The faithfulness of Christ’s people on the day of Pentecost led thousands to come to faith. May we, too, be just as eager to live on mission and communicate the gospel just as faithfully. 

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.

• Babies & Toddlers: God gives the Holy Spirit to people who trust in Jesus. 
• Younger Preschool: God sent the Holy Spirit just as He promised. Now Jesus’ friends had everything they needed to make more followers of Jesus! God gives His Spirit to everyone who trusts in Jesus. 
• Older Preschool: God sent the Holy Spirit just as He promised. Now Jesus’ disciples had everything they needed to make more followers of Jesus! God gives the Holy Spirit to everyone who trusts in Jesus. 
• Kids: God kept His promise to send the Holy Spirit. With the Holy Spirit’s help, Jesus’ disciples could begin their work to share the gospel with the entire world. God gives the Holy Spirit to everyone who trusts in Jesus as Lord and Savior. 

BIG PICTURE QUESTION & ANSWER

This is an important biblical truth that your child will encounter each week of this unit.

• Younger Preschool: How does the Holy Spirit help Christians? The Holy Spirit helps us as we live.
• Older Preschool: How does the Holy Spirit help Christians? The Holy Spirit comforts us, shows us our sin, and guides us as we live for God’s glory. 
• Kids: How does the Holy Spirit help Christians? The Holy Spirit comforts us, shows us our sin, and guides us as we live for God’s glory. 

KEY PASSAGE

This is a Bible verse that relates to what your child will encounter each week of this unit.

• Babies & Toddlers: God’s Spirit helps us be like Jesus. Galatians 5:22 
• Younger Preschool: God’s Spirit gives us love, joy, and peace like Jesus. Galatians 5:22 
• Older Preschool: The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Galatians 5:22-23 
• Kids: But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. The law is not against such things. Galatians 5:22-23

** Next week: The Holy Spirit Changes Us (Galatians 5)

The Disciples Replaced Judas (Acts 1)

Dear families,

In the latter half of Acts 1, Jesus’ eleven disciples were at a turning point in their ministry. Jesus had ascended to heaven, and His followers recognized the gap Judas left. They came together, united in mission and motive as they waited for the promised Holy Spirit. 

How did the disciples take their next step without Christ’s physical presence guiding them like before? To what did they cling for hope and clarity?  

Verse 14 explained that a zealous prayer life knitted together the eleven disciples and their fellow believers. This eagerness to commune with the Father not only bound them together in fellowship; it also unified them as they sought out the next leader to take Judas Iscariot’s place. 

While they followed Jesus’ command to wait in Jerusalem, the disciples leaned on God’s Word as the cornerstone of their faith. Peter stood up among their community of believers, reminding them of Scripture’s supremacy and foresight. He reassured them of the Holy Spirit’s movement throughout the Old Testament and emphasized His presence and guidance amidst this new turning point for the church. 

Continuing to unite themselves in prayer, they sought out the next apostle to join them as a leader. They trusted the character and direction of the God whom they served and called for Matthias to join them. Through prayer and meditation over God’s Word, they were certain about the call on this new disciple’s life. 

Consider the example set by the early church in Acts 1. When they found themselves at a crossroads, they turned to the same resources we have available today: prayer, biblical community, Scripture, and the guidance of the Holy Spirit. As you prepare to lead your kids this week, be encouraged that you are using the same tools to prepare for your family ministry as the early church used. God is faithful to use us for His kingdom purposes just as He faithfully used the early church to complete the mission He gave them.

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.

• Babies & Toddlers: God wants us to work together to tell others about Jesus. 
• Younger Preschool: Matthias was chosen to join Jesus’ friends to tell others about Jesus. God wants us to work together to tell others about Jesus, too. 
• Older Preschool: Matthias was chosen to join the disciples to tell others about Jesus. God wants us to work together to tell others about Jesus, too. 
• Kids: Matthias was chosen to join the apostles in sharing what they learned about Jesus. God calls us to join in this mission of sharing the gospel, working in community, and seeking Him in prayer. 

BIG PICTURE QUESTION & ANSWER

This is an important biblical truth that your child will encounter each week of this unit.

• Younger Preschool: How does the Holy Spirit help Christians? The Holy Spirit helps us as we live.
• Older Preschool: How does the Holy Spirit help Christians? The Holy Spirit comforts us, shows us our sin, and guides us as we live for God’s glory. 
• Kids: How does the Holy Spirit help Christians? The Holy Spirit comforts us, shows us our sin, and guides us as we live for God’s glory. 

KEY PASSAGE

This is a Bible verse that relates to what your child will encounter each week of this unit.

• Babies & Toddlers: God’s Spirit helps us be like Jesus. Galatians 5:22 
• Younger Preschool: God’s Spirit gives us love, joy, and peace like Jesus. Galatians 5:22 
• Older Preschool: The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Galatians 5:22-23 
• Kids: But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. The law is not against such things. Galatians 5:22-23 

** Next week: The Holy Spirit Came (Acts 2)

Jesus Gave His Followers a Mission (Acts 1)

Dear families,

Today’s passage is found in the first chapter of the book of Acts. Although Jesus’ time on earth was coming to an end, He promised to leave for His followers a special Helper and Guide. God fulfilled His promise to remain with us, and through the gift of the Holy Spirit, He also provided the power to accomplish the mission of His church. 

What was Jesus’ overall mission for His church? Better yet, how were the apostles supposed to accomplish this feat in Christ’s absence? 

Jesus’ departure meant great uncertainty for His people. He proclaimed the restoration of God’s kingdom, but His apostles could not seem to recognize His power at work. Though they requested a timeline for their troubles, the Lord directed their attention away from the passage of earthly time and instead toward the power of His Holy Spirit. 

As He did with His early followers, the Lord has called us to be witnesses of His good news to the world. He may not give us the answer to every one of our questions, but He does give us the power of the Holy Spirit to proclaim His good news with our words and actions. From Judea to Samaria, near and far, there is no place His power and purpose cannot reach. Knowing we lack the ability to do His will on our own, He provided His Holy Spirit to aid us on this mission. Jesus even declared in John 16:7 that it is better that He leave us and grant us the Spirit’s power in His place. 

As you talk with your kids this week, consider the truth that the Holy Spirit has already provided us the strength needed to witness to the next generation of Christ followers. While we may not understand His timing or plans, we can trust in His ability to provide what is needed to do His will. Help your class see that the Holy Spirit empowers us to face life’s uncertainties and to live on mission for His kingdom, leading others to place their trust in the God who provides all we need. 

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.

• Babies & Toddlers: Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to help us while we wait for Jesus to come again. 
• Younger Preschool: Jesus left earth and returned to heaven, but He did not leave us alone. Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to help us do God’s work on earth while we wait for Jesus to come again. 
• Older Preschool: Jesus left earth and returned to heaven, but He did not leave us alone. Jesus promised to send the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit helps us do God’s work on earth while we wait for Jesus to come back and make everything new. 
• Kids: Jesus left earth and returned to heaven, but He did not leave us alone. Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to be with us and help us do God’s work. One day, Jesus will return to make all things new and to rule as Lord over all. 

BIG PICTURE QUESTION & ANSWER

This is an important biblical truth that your child will encounter each week of this unit.

• Younger Preschool: How does the Holy Spirit help Christians? The Holy Spirit helps us as we live.
• Older Preschool: How does the Holy Spirit help Christians? The Holy Spirit comforts us, shows us our sin, and guides us as we live for God’s glory. 
• Kids: How does the Holy Spirit help Christians? The Holy Spirit comforts us, shows us our sin, and guides us as we live for God’s glory. 

KEY PASSAGE

This is a Bible verse that relates to what your child will encounter each week of this unit.

• Babies & Toddlers: God’s Spirit helps us be like Jesus. Galatians 5:22 
• Younger Preschool: God’s Spirit gives us love, joy, and peace like Jesus. Galatians 5:22 
• Older Preschool: The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Galatians 5:22-23 
• Kids: But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. The law is not against such things. Galatians 5:22-23 

** Next week: The Disciples Replaced Judas (Acts 1)

Unit Description: Before Jesus returned to be with the Father, He gave His followers the mission to continue what He had begun. But this is a mission they would not be able to complete in their own power. Jesus would send the Holy Spirit to change them and empower them to be His witnesses to the world.

Younger Preschool Big Picture Question: How does the Holy Spirit help Christians? The Holy Spirit helps us as we live.

Older Preschool Big Picture Question: How does the Holy Spirit help Christians? The Holy Spirit comforts us, shows us our sin, and guides us as we live for God’s glory.