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This is an awesome salvation object lesson that I taught my children in Awana. I modeled how to rip the paper and form the words and symbols. Then I had them practice telling to gospel to a partner. This is such a tangible, interesting way to present the gospel!
Materials: 1 sheet of paper. (I’ve used typing paper and construction paper. Either will work.)
Environment: Be in a place where you can sit on the floor and have the kids gather and sit in front of you. Make sure you have enough floor space to move pieces around to tell the Easter story.
The Foundation: (Fold paper while discussing this with children)
“In the beginning was the Word. And the Word was with God and the Word was God.” Who is the Word? (Jesus) And what does that verse tell us about Jesus? (Jesus existed with God before the world was created and Jesus is God.) If Jesus is God, that means He has all of the same characteristics of God. What is God like? (perfect, holy, good, mighty, kind, patient, without sin) If God is like that, then what is Man like? (selfish, greedy, imperfect, sinful)
The Need:
What is sin? (Anything that we think, say or do that does not please God.) Who sins? (Everyone) What have you done that is sin? (have kids give examples) The Bible tells us that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” It also tells us that “the wages of sin is death.” What is a wage? (something, such as money, that a person earns) So that verse tells us that we, all sinners, EARN death because of our sin.
And death equals eternal separation from God. No relationship with Him. There is a verse in Isaiah (59:2) that says, “Your sins have separated you from your God.” Wow. Sin is a problem. And the Sin Problem needs to be fixed. The problem is, man can’t do it. We can try. What types of good things can people do? (share, do kind things, give money to charity, etc) But the Bible says that my righteousness, the good things I do, is as “filthy rags” to the Lord. We can’t fix the Sin Problem, but God can.
What is the rest of the “wages” verse? (For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.) Yes! To fix the Sin Problem, God sent Jesus. And remember, He is like God. Jesus was born like you, only He was without sin. He grew up, lived His life, worked some miracles, preached some great sermons, and then He was accused of saying He was God. The Jews didn’t like hearing that. So they figured out how to get Jesus killed. Crucified. Jesus didn’t fight them. Jesus was nailed onto a cross on a hill called Calvary.
Two other thieves were crucified as well, with Jesus in the middle.
Pilate, the Roman leader who allowed Jesus to die, had a sign placed over Jesus’ head that read, “King of the Jews.”
The Roman soldiers who nailed Jesus to the cross rolled dice and gambled to see who would win Jesus’ robe.
After Jesus died, a soldier took a spear and thrust it into Jesus’ side to make sure He was dead. He was.
Jesus was taken down off the cross and laid in a tomb. Three days later He arose and He appeared to women and the disciples and quite a few others. Jesus was alive.
The Invitation:
And He is still living today. “God loves [YOU] so much that He gave His one and only son and if [YOU] believe in Him, then [YOU] will have eternal life.”
“If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you WILL be saved!” Saved from what? (Hell, eternal separation from God) God wants you to have life. Eternal life with Him. Forever. By telling Jesus that He is Lord, then you are saying to Him, “Jesus, my life is Yours. YOU are my Lord. You are my Master. I am going to learn about your commands and then I am going to obey them.” Believing in Jesus means making a change in your behavior and living a life in His favor.
The Opportunity:
If the Lord leads, then give the children an opportunity to respond or accept Him. May the Lord use this object lesson for kids, and YOU, to further His kingdom!!
Download the directions! Click the image below. ->
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