Leader’s Guide for LESSON 3

The Gift of Jesus’ Grace

Welcome (7 Minutes) Jesus

wants us
to know
As the parents/mentors and children arrive, give each a warm
welcome. Encourage a young person to help you greet others
as they arrive. Begin your group time together by inviting the
participants to share by asking, “Where have you seen God at for sure
work in your life this past week?” (Acknowledge all responses.) that He
Say: Last week we learned that Jesus is a Friend we can trust. has saved
us
Find someone who is not in your family to share with, and briefly
tell what you trusted with Jesus this past week.

Use the “M.M.” ball (see Curriculum introduction for instructions) to ask the families about their
use of Mentoring Moments for family worship at home

Goals for this lesson

By the end of this lesson, participants will:

• Know with assurance that they are saved
• Feel secure in what Jesus has done for them
• Respond by thanking Jesus for His gift of salvation

A disciple of Jesus is someone who lives every day

to love Jesus and bring others to Him.
Lesson Three - 1
 The Bridge (10 Minutes)
You need
• Long, heavy-duty rope

Activity Ahead
Mark out space on the floor for a
Invite the participants to divide into two groups with tug-of-war. Mark a center spot and
children in one group and adults in the other. Instruct two spots of equal distance from
them to take opposite ends of the tug-of-war rope. the center. Mark the center of the
rope and lay the rope on the floor
Say: Ready, set, go! with the center of the rope on the
Affirm the winners and the losers. center of the floor marking. The
winning team will move the center
Debrief of the rope across the spot marked
on the floor at their end.
Ask: Was this contest fair? (No.) Why?
(The adults were stronger.)

Invite one of the youngest/smallest children to stand at one end of the rope and one of the oldest/
largest children to stand at the opposite end. Say: Get ready. Then Ask: Is this contest fair?
(Acknowledge responses.) Say: Let’s get some help for (name of smaller child.) Invite one of the
strongest adults to stand beside the smaller child and hold the rope along with him/her.

Say: Ready, set, go!

Ask: Why didn’t (name of smaller child) have a chance against (name of larger child)?
(Acknowledge responses.) Did you expect (name of larger child) to lose when (name of adult)
came to help? Why? (Acknowledge answers.)

Say: We are in a tug-of-war with Satan. He knows he can win. But when we choose Jesus, Satan
doesn’t stand a chance. Jesus wants you to know that with Him pulling for you, you can know
for sure that you will be a winner every time.

Prayer: Pray or invite a volunteer to pray for the Holy Spirit to direct this meeting.

Lesson Three - 2
 Into the Word (25 Minutes)

Write this lesson’s Footprint on the board: You need

Jesus wants us to know for sure that He has • White board or flip chart
saved us. • Markers
• Bibles
Activity • Pens/pencils

Say: We are going to read a story from the Bible. Ahead

I would like you to imagine what it would have Write the Bible Discovery Scripture
been like to be there. What would you see, hear references on separate slips of paper
and feel if you were there? Read Luke 23:33-45 for distribution among the families. Be
NIV around the circle with one person from each sure to include the number reference.
family reading one verse.

Say: This is a sad story, isn’t it? Ask: What would you see? …hear? …feel? if you had been
there? Say: In our lesson today we are going to discover why Jesus was willing to die on the
cross for us.

Ask: If Jesus came back to our earth today do you know for sure that you would go to heaven
with Him? (Acknowledge answers.)

Say: Jesus wants you to know for sure. Let’s look at what the Bible teaches us about being sure
we will go to heaven with Jesus.

Lesson Three - 3
Bible Discovery
Distribute the Scripture texts to the families and instruct them to look up their verses and be
prepared to read them to the class. Encourage family groups to assign a student to read the verse
to the whole group when called. Allow 2-3 minutes.
Write on the board: Five steps to Jesus

1 Read Romans 5:8. What did God show us by sending Jesus to die for us? (God showed us
how much He loves us.)
Write on the board: STEP 1 — Know that God loves you

2 Read Romans 3:23 and 6:23 (first part). These texts tell us that all people have a problem.
What is our problem? (We are sinners who deserve to die; we need someone to save us.)
Write on the board: STEP 2 — Realize you need the Savior

3 Read 1 John 1:9. What does confess mean? (Admit you are a sinner.)
Write on the board: STEP 3 — Confess your sins

4 Read John 3:16. How do we receive eternal life? (By believing in Jesus.)
Read Romans 6:23 (last part) What is God’s free gift to you? (God’s gift is eternal life.)
Write on the board: STEP 4 — Believe in Jesus and have eternal life

5 Read Revelation 3:20. Once we believe in Jesus as our Savior, once we realize that He can
take care of our sin problem and give us eternal life, what do we need to do? (Open the door
of our heart to Jesus.)
Write on the board: STEP 5 — Invite Jesus into your heart
Ask: When you go home, why don’t you knock before you enter? (Because you belong in the
family.) You have a room inside. You may even have a key to the door. Heaven is the same
way. You don’t have to ask permission to get in. You don’t have to wonder if He will let you
in. You are Jesus’ child. He is your key to the door of heaven.

6 Read 1 John 5:13. What does this verse say that we can know for sure right now? (That we
have eternal life.)
Write on the board: We can KNOW we have eternal life!

Review/Quiz
Steps to follow:
1. Review the summary points written on the board.
2. Cover or turn the board around and quiz the class by asking, “What are the five steps to
Jesus?” After they complete these five ask “What can we know for sure right now?”
3. Encourage adults to allow students to answer the questions and assist only if needed.

Lesson Three - 4
 My Choice (5-8 Minutes)
Say: A gift is not something we earn
or win. It is something we accept from
You need
another person. And that’s how it is
• One copy of My Choice
with Jesus; salvation is not something
handout for each family
we earn or win. It is Jesus’ gift to us,
• Pens/pencils
and it becomes ours when we accept it
• Small gifts/trinkets for each
child (i.e. pencil, eraser,
bookmark, etc.)
Leader Share briefly your experience
of understanding that Jesus’ gift of
salvation was for you. What does being
assured of salvation mean to you? How has it made a difference in your life?

Distribute one My Choice handout to each family group.

Say: Parents and mentors, move your chairs into a family circle and follow
the instructions on My Choice with your child. When you are finished with My
Choice turn the paper over and continue with My World.

My World (5-8 Minutes)

Leaders: While the families are
working together, the leader and co- You need
leader pray for each of the parents/ • One copy of My World handout
mentors and children. for each family
• Pens/pencils
If some families finish early, as leader
you can: 1) engage those families by
asking them about their family circle time or 2) give a time “warning” to the
other families such as, “Please finish in three more minutes.” Let them know
they can finish their My World time together at home.

Lesson Three - 5
Closing (2 Minutes)
Call everyone back together as a large
group. You need
• One Mentoring Moments
Ask: Did you think of something specific handout for each family
you can do this week to show Jesus that
you appreciate His gift of salvation?

Grace Point — Say: Next week I will invite you to share what you did to show
Jesus that you appreciate His gift of salvation.

Say the Footprint together: Jesus wants us to know for sure that He has saved
us

Close with a prayer or invite a volunteer to pray:

• thanking Jesus for His gift of eternal life

Distribute Mentoring Moments and instruct the families to use these at home to
build on the concepts developed in this lesson.

Lesson Three - 6
My Choice
1. Say the Footprint together: Jesus wants us to know for sure that He has saved us.

2. Parents/mentors: Review with your child the points made in this lesson by going over them
one at a time and asking, “Do you understand what this means?” or “Do you have any
questions about this one?” Clarify any points as needed.

Five Steps to Jesus …

Step One — Know God loves you .................................................................... Romans 5:8
Step Two — Know that you need a Savior . ................................................... Romans 3:23
Romans 6:23 (first part)
Step Three — Confess your sins..............................................................................John 1:9
Step Four — Believe in Jesus and have eternal life...............................................John 3:16
Romans 6:23 (last part)
Step Five — Invite Jesus into your heart..................................................... Revelation 3:20
Know right now that you have eternal life..........................................................1 John 5:13

3. Activity: Select an item for your child and place it in a plain brown paper bag. Tell your child
that he/she can have the gift if he/she correctly identifies what it is. The child must describe it
in exact detail (color, shape, weight, etc.) After a few moments of incorrect guessing, give the
item to your child and make the following points.
• You did not earn this by guessing correctly. You did not win this. It is a gift. I offered it
to you, and it became yours when you reached out and took it.
• We can never win or earn heaven. Eternal life in heaven is a gift from God; it becomes
ours when we accept Jesus.

4. Parents/mentors: Share briefly a time when you received a surprise gift. Discuss how that gift
reminds you of God’s gift of salvation.

5. THE CHOICE — Ask: Do you want to accept Jesus’ gift of salvation? If your child says
“Yes,” Invite him/her to pray a prayer of invitation to Jesus.* (See model prayer on reverse
side.) If your child is not sure or says “No” or “Not now,” Say: It’s all right if you need time
to think about this or want to wait. Ask: Can you tell me why? Is it okay if we talk about this
next week?

5. Prayer: Form a family prayer circle and thank Jesus for His gift of salvation.

A disciple of Jesus is someone who lives every day

to love Jesus and bring others to Him.
Permission to photocopy for local church use My Choice: Lesson Three
My World
1. Ask: How do you feel knowing that you have eternal life and will go to heaven?

2. Discuss: What can we do as a family to show Jesus that we appreciate His gift of salvation?

Things we can do to show Jesus we appreciate His gift of salvation:

3. Ask: When can we do this together?

Prayer of Invitation*

Dear Jesus,
Thank You for loving me enough to die for my sins.
I want to be in heaven with You.
Forgive me of all my sins and completely clean out my whole heart.
I accept Your free gift of salvation.
Come into my heart and stay there forever.
Thank You, Jesus!
—Amen.

Special Note to parents/mentors: Many adults have questions about knowing they are saved.
If you or your child have questions, write them down and meet with the class leader or your
pastor to discuss them together.

Grace Point — Next week you will be invited to share what you did to show Jesus you
appreciate His gift of salvation.

Next Week Parents/mentors, you will be asked to share a personal devotional time with God that
was especially meaningful to you.

Permission to photocopy for local church use My World: Lesson Three

The Gift of Jesus’ Grace!
Mentoring Moments for Lesson 3
Mentoring Moments are meant to extend the lesson you studied with your small group. Each
Mentoring Moment choice contains a Scripture, an activity, discussion questions, and a prayer
point grouped around a particular topic. They are perfect for use in family worship. If time does
not permit the completion of the activity, using just the Scripture and discussion questions can
provide a Mentoring Moment anywhere, even in the car.

Choice One
Scripture: Joshua 24:14-15
Activity: Review your Sabbath school lesson this week (or choose a favorite Bible story) and
identify people who have either accepted or rejected Jesus’ gift of eternal life. What clues in the
story help you know what choice they have made?
For Discussion: Why would serving the Lord seem undesirable? Why would anyone want to
reject eternal life?
Prayer Point: Ask Jesus to always make you willing to serve Him. Thank Him for making it
possible for you to have a choice.

Choice Two
Scripture: Romans 6:23
Activity: Look at a pay stub for a member of the family. Take note of all the deductions.
For Discussion: Whose wages were those? What were all the deductions for? Does the Bible say
that anything is deducted from the wages of sin? What’s the best gift you’ve ever received? Was
there anything you did to deserve or earn it? What’s the difference between wages and a gift?
What’s better – wages or a gift?
Prayer Point:Thank Jesus for giving you eternal life as a gift, instead of the wages we have
earned.

Choice Three
Scripture: Revelation 21:1-5, Revelation 22:1-6
Activity: Look up the outcome of a sporting event in the sports pages of the newspaper. What
was the outcome? Did the players know the outcome this time yesterday?
For Discussion: The verses you just read tell you the outcome of the enmity between Satan and
God’s people. What is that outcome? How does that make you feel?
A fourth grader named Landon said this about heaven: “When I think about heaven I imagine
there will be real pretty green grass, lots of trees and happy children playing all the time.

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I know heaven will be perfect! There will be nothing bad there, not one thing! The best thing I
imagine about heaven is all my family and friends being there with Jesus.”
What are some things that you imagine about heaven?
Prayer point: Thank Jesus for guaranteeing the outcome of the enmity between us and Satan.
Thank Him for telling us the outcome in the Bible

Choice Four
Scripture: Genesis 3:8-10; 1 John 1:9
Activity: On a piece of paper write down something that God already knows, but that you need to
tell Him in order to reestablish your connection with Him. After your prayer, destroy the piece of
paper (burn it carefully with adult supervision, tear it into tiny pieces, flush it down the toilet, etc.).
For discussion: Did God know what Adam and Eve had done before they told Him? Does God
know what sins you have committed before you confess? Why do you think the Bible tells us we
need to confess? Before Adam and Eve sinned, they used to enjoy a daily walk in the garden with
God. As soon as they sinned, they hid from God. That’s what sin does – it separates us from God.
Confessing reestablishes our connection with God. Someone once said that confessing is telling
God what He already knows.
Prayer Point: Thank Jesus for forgiving all your sins. Ask Him to help you always be honest
with Him and to keep your connection strong.

Choice Five
Scripture: John 14:15; John 15:12
Activity: Give your child a small gift certificate (to a toy store, ice cream shop, etc.) When your
child accepts it, ask what it would take to help them enjoy that gift. Chances are they will want
you to take them to the store as soon as possible.
For discussion: Why do some people seem content to accept the gift of salvation and never
give it a chance to change their lives? In what ways should Jesus’ gift change you? Is your life
showing that you have accepted Jesus’ gift of salvation? Is there anything your family might
change to better show that they have chosen to accept God’s gift?
Prayer Point: Thank God for his wonderful gift and ask Him to help your life show that you
have accepted His gift.

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