2 Corinthians 5:16-21, New Creation
Lesson Snapshot
BOTTOM LINE:
Jesus forgives sin and makes us new.
OBJECTIVE:
Kids will say, “I can be forgiven.”
KEY PASSAGE:
2 Corinthians 5:16-21, New Creation
MEMORY VERSE:
“When anyone lives in Christ, the new creation has come. The old is gone! The new is here!” 2 Corinthians 5:17 (NIrV)
SUMMARY:
Pumpkins are full of goop and gunk when we first open them. In order to use pumpkins as a light to the world, we have to clean them out. When we accept Jesus, he cleans out the gunk we call sin and makes us into something new!
LESSON:
Today’s story comes to us from the Bible. The Bible is God’s word to us, so we know that everything it says is true.
Paul was a man who loved Jesus. He traveled all over the world telling everyone about Jesus. Everywhere he went, he would start a church, so people could worship Jesus. Paul would write letters to all of the churches, telling them all the good things about Jesus. We can read some of Paul’s letters in the Bible.
Paul wrote a letter to the church of the Corinthians. He told the people: every one of us has done bad things. We’ve done things our own way instead of God’s way. Those bad things are called sin. Each of us have sinned, except Jesus.
Sin separates us from God. But then Jesus came to earth. He never sinned. He died for us and rose again. When we believe that and decide to follow Jesus, Jesus forgives our sins. Paul says we become like whole new people.
When Jesus forgives our sins, we are new creations. The old life goes away and we become clean and fresh and new. Jesus can forgive me. I can be forgiven. I can be made new.
Sing/Dance/Move
Parent Participation
Pumpkin Gunk
ITEMS NEEDED: Large pumpkin, knife, scoop, bowl
ADVANCED PREPARATION: Cut open the top of the pumpkin as if starting a Jack-o- Lantern.
DIRECTIONS:
Bring out the pumpkin. Ask the kids to identify the object.
Say: “That’s right. This is a pumpkin. What is something you can do with a pumpkin?” Wait for someone to mention jack-o-lanterns.
Say: “You can make a jack-o-lantern with a pumpkin, where you carve a face or a picture into the pumpkin. Then you put a light inside that shines out for all to see. But before you carve a pumpkin, you have to empty it out. Pumpkins are full of goop and gunk when we first open them. All of that has to be cleaned out.”
Have kids come up and look inside the pumpkin. Demonstrate how you scoop out the goop inside. Allow every kid who wants to come up and empty one or two scoopfuls of pumpkin into the bowl.
Say: “Pretty gross, right? We are like this pumpkin. We may want to shine bright for Jesus, like a jack-o-lantern, but we are too filled up with goop and gunk. Our sin – the bad things we have done – stay with us on the inside. It needs to be cleaned out. Only Jesus can clean us up. When we decide to follow Jesus, he comes, forgives our sin, and cleans out all the gunk. Jesus makes us into something new.”
“With Jesus, I can be forgiven.”
Children’s Craft Idea
New Hearts
ITEMS NEEDED: Construction paper, scissors, marker, cotton balls, liquid glue, plates
ADVANCED PREPARATION: Cut each sheet of construction paper into a large heart.
DIRECTIONS: Give each kid a heart. Explain that when we sin, it makes our heart dirty and unclean. Go around to each heart and mark it up with the marker.
Bring out the cotton balls. Place a healthy amount of glue onto the plates. Have kids dip each cotton ball into the glue and then place it on the heart. Encourage kids to cover their entire heart with the cotton balls. (For a more colorful display, this could be done with small pieces of tissue paper wadded up, rather than cotton balls.)
Explain that when we decide to follow Jesus, he makes our hearts new. Not only does he take away our sin, but he fills up our hearts with Himself.
I can be forgiven.