Please note that we are going to do this lesson again because there were a couple of groups that missed it out so for those groups that have already done the lesson maybe y'all can ask your kids to share about their concerns about the upcoming year with new subject combinations (some taking trip science/full humanities..etc) i guess also general concerns about the future? what they plan to do?

Proverbs 16:33 - We may throw the dice, but the Lord determines how they fall.
I find it very encouraging to know that God is truly in control of all the outcomes in our lives and nothing is a gamble! :):):)

More importantly I think we should try to provoke them to think about how as they grow older they should be also growing in terms of their maturity in Christ :) are they seeing any change in their relationship with God? Are they learning more about him everyday/every week? growing closer to him ? If not why and if yes how? Also try to share about the pivotal point in your own life that really led you to desire God more and what changed after that :):):)




Lesson:

Begin by asking your kids what is the greatest gift/ gift which touched their hearts that they have ever received. Who was it from? What was so great about the gift and did they feel thankful?



Now, ask them if that same person has ever failed them in another occasion. Maybe their parent has lost their temper at them when it wasn�t their fault, maybe a friend who once said � Call me if you need me� was not really there when they needed them the most, maybe someone got chosen over them when they thought they mattered more than that.



Did this make them doubt the sincerity of the giver? Did those incidents make them feel like the gift wasn�t as valuable before?



Theme verse: Colossians 1:13-14

For He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son He loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.



Now, ask them what is the gift that God has given us. (Forgiveness from sins)

Can we trust in this, and are we able to accept it?

What is the difference between this gift and those that people have given us?



So what is so great about this gift?

1. Could anyone other than Jesus have died to save us?

a. (no, because only Jesus was perfect)

2. What was the price Jesus paid?

a. Pain, humiliation

b. He felt so much pain that in Matthew 27:45-46, it says, "Now from the sixth hour darkness fell upon all the land until the ninth hour. 46And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, "Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?" that is, "My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?" He felt pain just like a normal human would.

c. If Jesus is God, why would He say this? (Go to qn.3)

3. Did Jesus have a choice?

a. Yes. Luke 22:42

i. "Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done." Why did he do that? It was so painful.



And all this was for us.

He didn�t have an obligation; He chose to.



We are among the scoffers that caused His pain on the cross.

So should we feel guilty about this?

Read:

Hebrews 10:2, "For then would they not have ceased to be offered? because that the worshipers once purged should have had no more conscience of sins."

Romans 8:1, "There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus..."

Satan uses guilt as a weapon to draw us away from God. Do not be fooled!

Let�s look at a short story from a video titled The Gods Aren�t Angry:

Once upon a time in a small town there lived a woman who claimed she saw God in her dreams. People didn�t believe her, and the pastor went to talk to her. He, too, was doubtful. So he decided to test her. He told her, �The next time you see God, ask him what sins I confessed to him the last time I went to Him in prayer.�

Sometime later, the woman started having visions again, and the pastor heard people talking about it. So he asked her, �Did you ask God what I told you to?�

She said, � Yes I did, and God�s exact words were: I don�t remember.�



God keeps no record of our wrongs. When we confess our sins, forgiveness comes freely. There is no more debt. We are set free, just like that.

Since forgiveness is free, the next question to ask ourselves is: Can we accept it?

Or conversely, does that mean we can keep sinning and just keep confessing? Afterall, we�re forgiven no matter what.. right?

Sin is refusal of God�s grace. By choosing to keep sin in your life, you�re saying that heaven is not the place for you. It is like a person going into a Japanese restaurant even though he hates Japanese food. (or some other analogy :P)

So at the end of the day, we have to pick a side and stick with it, keeping in mind that our life here on Earth isn�t all. It is a preparation for eternity. Do we claim this gift that has been paid at a great cost, or do we live the way we like?

done by gaily