Passages: 2 Corinthians 1-6
Big Idea: We don’t live for ourselves, we live for Jesus.
Ages: 5-7
Seven lessons exploring 2 Corinthians 1-6.
From the moment a child is born they are fed the lie that their life is all about them - and that their greatest moral obligation is to be true to themselves and chase their dreams. The first six chapters of 2 Corinthians make it clear that our lives come from God - both life on this earth, and our eternal life to come. Our children need to share Paul’s conviction that Jesus died for all, and therefore all died, so that we might no longer live for ourselves but for him. We want children to know that we are not saved to go on living our own way, but to point others to Jesus, that they might see his glory.
In 2 Corinthians we see how Paul lived for Jesus. It wasn’t an easy life! Paul ‘died’ to his own life and plans and dreams and gave himself fully to Jesus’ mission of making disciples. In order to share the gospel, he struggled through times of grief, persecution, danger, pressure and being misunderstood. He lived for Jesus' glory because he wanted everyone to honour and respect Jesus as he deserves.
The only way Paul kept going through such difficult times was by relying on God’s strength. In chapter 1, through extreme suffering, Paul is comforted knowing that God would raise him from the dead. He comforts the christians in Corinth with the same hope. In chapter 2, Paul points the disciples to God’s faithfulness in Jesus - the YES to all God’s promises. In chapter 3, Paul talks of the confidence he has, not in himself, but in God’s new covenant that transforms us to show God’s glory. In chapter 4, when facing persecution, weakness and death, Paul persevered knowing that God would strengthen him to keep sharing the gospel, that more people might find salvation in Jesus. In his weakness he kept his eyes fixed on the resurrection body God promises. In chapter 5, Paul is convicted that a disciple of Jesus will no longer live for themselves, but for him who died for them - and in chapter 6, he describes how different this kind of life looks, using his own difficult life as an example. He then calls the Corinthians (and us) to follow his example and be separate from sin in order to live holy lives that honour God.
For children who already trust in Jesus, we must help them grasp that their lives are not their own. They have been saved to live for Jesus. They must also understand that such a life will not be easy. In our human weakness we will worry what others think of us. We may be hurt when people reject us and our message. We may feel like giving up if we face physical danger for Jesus’ sake. But God gives us all we need to persevere, through his Spirit living in us. Having God’s Spirit also guarantees that we have eternal life and that we will share in Jesus’ glory forever!
Life with Jesus is hard, but life without him is far worse.
The unit comes complete with stories, pictures, suggested songs/memory verses, games, drama activities, crafts, large and small group activities. A resource pack full of crafts and worksheets is also included.