DISCOVER (15 - 20 Minutes) God loves you so much. You are very special to Him. God loves you and He loves all the people of the world. God made a promise a long, long time ago. He promised to make a way for all the people of the world to live with Him now and forever. And when God makes a promise He keeps it! Today, in Discovery time, we are going to read a booklet together and look at some pictures that tell about The Greatest Promise. [Note to Leaders: The Greatest Promise booklet is an educational tool created to help children understand the story of Jesus and to make a choice about Him. Please make sure when teaching this lesson that your children are allowed a voluntary commitment. If Christianity or any belief system is forced upon children, their individual lives will not change. Anger and rebellion are the consequences of forced belief.] [Give each child a copy of The Greatest Promise booklet.] [Guided Conversation] Please look at the cover of your booklet. Who are the people in the picture? [Allow children's responses.] Notice the letters are in red. Please read the red letters with me: "The Greatest Promise." Turn the page and look at the picture and listen while I read the black letters: "This booklet tells about the greatest promise ever made, and what God did to keep that promise." Now you (group or individual) read the red letters: "God loves you and He keeps His promises." [Leader reads the black wording without any discussion.] "Ever since God made the world, He promised to love and care for the people of the world. Sometimes people break promises . . . but when God makes a promise, He keeps it!" Please turn the page and read the red letters: "People break their promises by doing wrong things:" [Leader reads the black letters without any discussion.] "They forget about God. They disobey God. They hurt each other. God says that our punishment for doing these wrong things is that we cannot live with Him." You are reading so well, please read the black words in the yellow box. These words are from God's book, the Bible. "For all have sinned (done wrong things) and have not lived up to the perfect goodness of God" (Romans 3:23). [Continue in the same manner to page 15.] [On page 15 the leader reads the black letters:] "Jesus returned to be with God. Before He left, He made other promises. . . . Jesus promises to be with you even though you cannot see Him. Jesus promises to be your closest friend. Jesus promises to forgive you for all the wrong things you have done. Jesus promises to live in you . . . where you love and hurt, . . . where you feel glad and sad. Jesus promises that when you die you can live with Him forever." Read the black Bible words in the yellow: "I am with you always" (Matthew 28:20). "I will never leave you" (Hebrews 13:5). Would you like to ask Jesus to be with you and in you now? Your answer could be, "I don't understand," or "I would like to talk to my Mom or Dad first." Maybe you are just not ready yet. Your answer could be, "Yes, I want to ask Jesus to live in me right now. I want Jesus to forgive my sins." Whenever you choose to say "Yes," you need to talk to God, using your own words, or a prayer like this. Please turn the page and listen to this prayer: "Dear God, I believe Jesus is Your Son. Thank You that Jesus died on the cross for the wrong things I have done. Please forgive me for doing wrong. I ask that Jesus will be with me and in me always. Help me to be the kind of person You want me to be. Thank You for answering my prayer." Would you like to pray this prayer right now? If your answer is "yes," talk to God with me now. Make it your own prayer to God. You may read it aloud with me as I read, or pray it silently, inside, where only God can hear you. I will pray slowly. You can pray after me phrase by phrase. If your answer is "no" or "I'm still not ready," that is fine. "Dear God, I believe Jesus is Your Son . . . " [Repeat the prayer phrase by phrase to the end.] "Trust God's promise that He loves you and that Jesus will be with you." Please read the black Bible words in the yellow box with me. [Continue reading black and yellow together through page 23 to the blue box.] The words in the blue box on this page tell about what you may or may not have done as you read the booklet. Please read it with me: "Today when I asked, God forgave me for the wrong things I have thought and done. Jesus is now with me and in me. I want to be the kind of person God wants me to be. I want to grow in loving God and other people." If you prayed today to ask Jesus to live in you, you may sign your name and put today's date on the line provided. This is a way for you to remember the day you chose to ask Jesus to live in you! Each of you may take your copy of the booklet with you. If you chose not to pray the prayer today, you will have the booklet to help you talk to God when you are ready. DISCUSS/APPLY (15-20 Minutes) Here is a song to help us discuss and think more about what happens to a person who asks Jesus to live in them. It is called "Spirit of God." When people make the choice to ask Jesus to live in them, they become children of God, according to the Bible verse John 1:12, "All people (men, women, girls, boys) who receive Jesus and believe in Him become children of God." Another Bible verse, Galatians 4:6, says: ". . . you are God's children, that is why God sent the Spirit of His Son into you." The Spirit of His Son is the Holy Spirit of God. The next song will help us learn about the Spirit of God.

The following Bible verses are referred to in The Greatest Promise booklet: Romans 3:23 "For all have sinned and have not lived up to the perfect goodness of God." 1 John 4:9 "God showed His love to us; He sent His only Son to the world." Luke 18:16 "Jesus called the children and told His friends, 'Let the little children come to me. Don't stop them.'" John 3:16 "God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, Jesus. Whoever trusts in God's Son will not be lost, but will have life that lasts forever." John 10:10 "I came so that you may live, and live the best life possible." Matthew 28:20 "I am with you always." Hebrews 13:5 "I will never leave you." John 1:12 "All people who receive Jesus and believe in Him become children of God." Galatians 3:26 "You are a child of God by faith in Christ Jesus." 1 John 1:9 "If we confess our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive us and to make us clean from the wrong we did." Galatians 4:6 "And you are God's children. That is why God sent the Spirit of His Son into your hearts." THEME THOUGHTS ABOUT JESUS "Jesus was with God in the beginning." John 1:1 "Jesus is God in human form." ". . . We have Jesus Christ to help us." 1 John 2:1 When you get tired and want to stop trying, think of Jesus' life and His example.   THEME THOUGHTS about CHARACTER VIRTUES: God's compassion for the people of the world is so great He sent His Son Jesus to tell them He loves every man, woman, boy and girl. God forgives the wrong things people think, say and do. People who keep promises are people of integrity.

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