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FIRST QUARTER, WEEK ELEVEN

FIRST QUARTER, WEEK ELEVEN

Man is hopeless without Gods love and His gift in Christ Jesus. God displayed His great love by sending His perfect Son, His only Son, to die on a cross for us. This is the glorious truth of the Gospel. Through Christ, we have hope. Through Christ, we have eternal life. Through Christ, we have a relationship with God our Father, the Creator of the universe.

Written by: Kimberly Davidson & Steve Wright Graphic Design by: Michele Castillo | www.sonscapecommunications.com Art Design by: Amy Torcasso Editor: Jennifer Sharpe Music: Daniel Renstrom Website: http://www.treasuringchristonline.org | 919-326-3000 | Email: tcc@pray.org
Copyright 2011 by Providence Baptist Church. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means for profit via electronic, mechanical, recording or any other except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher. All Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Dear Sunday School Teacher, Your ministry as a teacher for our Lord has eternal value! When we view our ministry in light of eternity, we see its importance and the privilege that God has entrusted to us. In Psalm 78, the Bible also reminds us of this great calling: One generation commending the Gospel to the next. Treasuring Christ Curriculum: The ministry resource that you hold in your hand is produced and shaped by the local churchThe Bride of Christ. We have three primary strategies that guide us. First, we desire to produce a Gospel-centered curriculum that allows every child, babies to high school students, to study the same Scripture passage each week. Second, we seek to equip parents to thrive in their God-given role as their childs primary discipler. We want this resource, therefore, to connect the church and the home by providing the Connecting Church and Home resource within the curriculum. Third, we want to respond to the desperate need for curriculum resources around the world. We desire to bless the nations with a tool that will help them reach the world with the Gospel of Christ. Quarter One: God on Display Every relationship begins with an introduction. God introducing Himself to us is the heartbeat of this study. God on Display is a major theme that runs throughout all of Scripture. Gods desire to have communion with those He created is seen from cover to cover of the Bible. In the first few pages, we see God communing in the Garden of Eden with Adam and Eve. The theme of communion continues to be seen through the role of the Old Testament tabernacle and temple. In the New Testament, God became incarnate in Jesus, God with us. After Jesus, the Father gives the Holy Spirit to believers and institutes the Church. Fellowship in the Church breeds community, both with God and others made in His likeness. As believers, we are guaranteed that we will spend eternity in communion with God, dwelling in His presence. God is on display: everywhere; in the past, present and future; and in our lives as believers. Let us live continually to display Gods greatness and love.

The Greatest Love


QUARTER THEME | GOD ON DISPLAY John 3:1-21

WEEK ELEVEN
OVERVIEW FOR YOUR EDIFICATION EARLY CHILDHOOD ELEMENTARY PRE-TEEN/MIDDLE SCHOOL HIGH SCHOOL CONNECTING CHURCH AND HOME RESOURCES

4 5-12 13-15 16-19 20-23 24-29 30 31-33

The Greatest Love


John 3:1-21

OVERVIEW

EARLY CHILDHOOD Treasure Verse


John 3:16 God loves you.

ELEMENTARY

PRE-TEEN/ MIDDLE SCHOOL


John 3:16-18 God shows His costly love to us by sending Jesus to die on a cross. Price Is Right

HIGH SCHOOL

John 3:16-17 God loves you so much that He sent His Son Jesus to die on a cross. Board games, Auction, Cutout heart, Globe resource page, Song time

John 3:16-21 Gods costly love and Jesus death on the cross should motivate us to live for Him. Adoption video, Encouragement letters

Treasure Point

Teaching Activities

God hearts, God So Loved resource page, Song time, Thank you cards, Birthday snacks, Cutout heart

Supplies Needed

Birthday party Board games, items decorations, tape, for an auction, red or pink stickers for price construction paper, tags, play money markers, Froot Loops from a board game, (or other circular marker, butcher cereal or candy), paper, tape, Globe glue, God So Loved resource page, resource page, craycrayons, pencils, ons, CD player and CD player and CD, CD, construction Jesus Paid It All paper (any color), resource page stickers, birthday snacks such as birthday cupcakes, birthday napkins, birthday hats, birthday cups and plates, butcher paper

Price Is Right items such as dice and grocery store items, ticket to heaven

Laptop, note cards, pens

OVERVIEW

FIRST QUARTER, WEEK ELEVEN | GOD ON DISPLAY

The Greatest Love


John 3:1-212

FOR YOUR EDIFICATION


Enter the Story Birthdays. Some people love them and some dont (usually those of us on the older side want to avoid them). But all of us enjoy celebrating the birthday of people who are special to usthis is the day God chose for them to be born into this world. One of the ways we celebrate birthdays is by going out to eat as a family. The person with the birthday gets to pick a favorite or new restaurant and someone else picks up the tab. Thats how my family celebrates; how does yours? When babies are soon-to-arrive or do arrive, we host baby showers, pass out cigars, video the special moment and post the news on social media outlets for all to seesome even open trust funds. Baby registries at stores are all the rage, and even grocery stores now have entire departments dedicated to blowing up balloons and displaying birthday cakes and cookies. We celebrate well and rightly so because God created us. It is by Him that we have life. This is a Treasure Story about being born again. No, its not about having another birthday but about being spiritually born again into the family of God. The Holy Spirit works in our hearts, and we become new creations. This is indeed cause for a greater celebration! The Gospel of Luke says the angels rejoice over one sinner who repents and believes in God (Luke 15:10).

God not only provided the

regeneration by which we are born again, but also the authorization by which we can lay claim to our inheritance as children, even though we are sinners. And that is precisely where Jesus comes in. The moment you believe in Jesus, the moment you receive Him for who He really is, and see yourself for who you really are, in that moment He gives you not new birth, but the right and authority, as a sinner, to lay claim to your inheritance as a child of Godto become legally, as it were (with due authority), what you are by virtue of new birthbecause you were born of God. John Piper, sermon preached on December 17, 1989

Story Outline John 3:1-8: Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him. Jesus answered him, Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus said to Him, How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mothers womb and be born? Jesus answered, Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, You must be born again. The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.

The Kingdom is not achieved


by personal righteousness but by an act that God Himself makes possible. The new birth isnt something we do but something God does. Michael Card, The Parable of Joy, pgs. 36-37

FOR YOUR EDIFICATION

FIRST QUARTER, WEEK ELEVEN | GOD ON DISPLAY

The Greatest Love


John 3:1-21

Our Treasure Story this week has three main characters: God, Jesus, and a man named Nicodemus. Nicodemus was an older man in the Jewish community who belonged to a group called the Sanhedrin (the Jewish ruling council). Johns Gospel later makes clear that the Sanhedrin was the legal Jewish body that bore ultimate responsibility for Jesus death (Andreas Kostenberger, Encountering John, pg. 185). Nicodemus sought out Jesus to find out more about this rabbi, or teacher, of Gods Law. Nicodemus, being part of the ruling men among the Jews, had indeed heard (or heard of ) Jesus teaching and the crowds He was attracting when He spoke. Nicodemus also had heard of the miraculous healings and other wonders Jesus had done. When he first addressed Jesus in this Treasure Story, he called Him Rabbi. To use this title was a sign of respect, especially for one so young (Jesus was around the age of 30 at this time). Rabbis were men who had gone through extensive training under another rabbi and had been schooled in the Law. Jesus had no official training; He did not go to seminary or Bible college (John 7:15). He had no need to because He spoke with authority; Jesus was His own authority because He was God (Matthew 28:18, Ephesians 1:21, John 1:1-3). Nicodemus probably came to Jesus with mixed emotions: hope, confusion, anticipation, wonder and zeal. The conversation between Jesus and Nicodemus gets off to a confusing start. He told Jesus that they (the other members of the Sanhedrin) knew He was a teacher sent from God. Then Jesus responds that a person must be born again to see heaven. What? That didnt make sense! Not even Nicodemus, one who

knew the Law could comprehend this born again idea. Jesus expounded on this thought. He taught of being born of water and Spirit, which is a reference to spiritual rebirth found in the prophet Ezekiels writings (Ezekiel 36:22-36). Jesus meant that a person had to die to sin and be rebirthed by the Spirit into the family of God. Two key beliefs are discussed here: regeneration and adoption.

Regeneration: New birth, an

inner re-creating of fallen human nature by the gracious, sovereign action of the Holy Spirit (John 3:5-8). The Bible conceives salvation as the redemptive renewal of humans on the basis of a restored relationship with God in Christ, and presents it as involving a radical and complete transformation . . . by God the Holy Spirit, by virtue of which we become new men . . . no longer conformed to this world . . . but in knowledge and holiness of the truth created after the image of God. Evangelical Dictionary of Theology, pg. 1000

Adoption: We are now Gods

children in a special sense, members of His family . . . Adoption is an act of God whereby He makes us members of His family . . . The biblical teaching on adoption focuses much more on the personal relationships that salvation gives us with God. Wayne Grudem, Bible Doctrine, pg. 323

John 3:9-15: Nicodemus said to Him,How can these things be? Jesus answered him, Are you the teacher of Israel and yet you do not understand these things? Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know, and bear witness to

FOR YOUR EDIFICATION

FIRST QUARTER, WEEK ELEVEN | GOD ON DISPLAY

The Greatest Love


John 3:1-21

what we have seen, but you do not receive our testimony. If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you heavenly things? No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him may have eternal life. Jesus continues His dialogue with Nicodemus, referring him back to the Old Testament story of Moses and the bronze serpent. The Israelites had been wandering in the wilderness for years. They had been bitten by poisonous snakes, and Moses told them the only way to be healed was to look at a bronze serpent that had been made and lifted up for all to see (Numbers 21:4-9). Jesus tells Nicodemus that just as healing came through looking to the bronze serpent, so must the Son of Man (Jesus) be lifted up for all to see. Jesus is referring to His being hung on a cross to die, to bring ultimate healing from sin, to satisfy death and to ultimately glorify Himself. John 3:16-21: For God so loved the world, that He gave his only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him. Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were

evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God. At this point in the conversation, we see a brilliant display of the glorious Gospel. The key verseJohn 3:16is probably the most popular and visible verse in all the Bible, seen at football games, on billboards, bumper stickers, T-shirts, etc. John 3:16 is a lavish, simple telling of the love of God, so profound, yet so direct. For God SO loved the worldthis is not just a normal everyday love. This is a sacrificing, excruciating love. The simple telling of the Gospel is just this: believe in Jesus and do not suffer eternal death. Instead, experience life eternal with the Creator. What a beautiful reminder of the sinful state humans are in due to the Fall of Man (Genesis 3) and the hope we have in Jesus and His death and resurrection. The Apostle John says we are not condemned in Christ (Romans 8:1). Imagine a person on death row having the warden come in and say, You are not condemned to die any longer; someone paid your penalty. Imagine the feeling of finally being free! The relief from being released of that penalty! The hope renewed! The joy restored! The Gospel also gives the reality of the bad news: for those who choose not to believe comes condemnation, eternal death. This condemnation comes because of unbelief in the name of Jesus, the only name by which men can be saved (Acts 4:12).

FOR YOUR EDIFICATION

FIRST QUARTER, WEEK ELEVEN | GOD ON DISPLAY

The Greatest Love


John 3:1-21

The story of Nicodemus and Jesus concludes with a description of what regeneration would look like lived out. People who are born again will do what is true. Their deeds will reflect the light and the hope which now live in them. God gave His only Son. God gave His only perfect Son to carry out the penalty for our sins, sins He didnt commit. God gave so we could live. He is the God who sent Light into a dark world.

The God who calls us to believe, to be adopted. The God who offers redemption. This is where our hope lies.

God is love and God is sovereign.


His love disposes Him to desire our everlasting welfare and His sovereignty enables Him to secure it. A. W. Tozer, The Knowledge of the Holy, pg. 99

Gospel Truths About God


God is a loving God. He created to show His glory. He loves to show His glory. He gives of Himself, and He gave His only Son to redeem a people who rejected and denied Hima people that sinned against Him and went their own way. His love is sacrificial. His love is eternal. His love is amazing. His love is undeserved. His love is expensive. His love is undeniable. His love is radical. His love is free. His love is costly. His love is rich.

The love of God is a holy and righteous love. To say that


God is love is to say that love is so much a part of the character of God and He is so loving that to express the depths of His love we must say He is love. R. C. Sproul, One Holy Passion, pg. 161

The wrath of God is as personal, and as potent, as His

love; and, just as blood-shedding of the Lord Jesus was the direct manifesting of His Fathers love toward us, so it was the direct averting of His Fathers wrath against us. J. I. Packer, In My Place Condemned He Stood, pg. 35

FOR YOUR EDIFICATION

FIRST QUARTER, WEEK ELEVEN | GOD ON DISPLAY

The Greatest Love


John 3:1-21

Gospel Truths About Man


Man is helpless. We need rescuing. Nicodemus was a leader among the Jews; he was a good, moral man. Yet he needed rescuing. No matter how good or moral we are, we still need help. We are dead and need new birth, new life, to be recreated (Ephesians 2:1, 2 Corinthians 5:17). According to John 3, we are condemned, lovers of darkness, doers of wickedness. There is no hope for man outside of the Gospel of God through Christ. None.

Look away from yourself. Seek from God what He alone can do

for you. Moral improvement of the old you is not what you need. New life is what the whole world needs. It is radical and supernatural. It is outside our control. The dead do not give themselves new life. We must be born again . . . This is what Jesus demands from the world. John Piper, What Jesus Demands from the World, pg. 39

Gospel Truths About Redemption


God gave His only perfect Son to carry out the penalty for our sins, sins He didnt commit. God gave so we could live. He is the God who sent Light into a dark world. The God who calls us to believe, to be adopted. The God who offers redemption. This is where our hope lies.

The doctrine of the propitiation is precisely this: that God

loved the objects of His wrath so much that He gave His own Son to the end that He by His blood should make provision for the removal of this wrath. It was Christs to deal with the wrath so that those loved would no longer be objects of wrath, and love would achieve its aim of making the children of wrath the children of Gods good pleasure. John Murray, The Atonement, pg. 15

To this day, peoples need for regeneration is not sufficiently


recognized, and a good, moral life is upheld as Gods sole expectation in many churches. But this neglectand the ensuing nominalismwill prove fatal if not remedied. For what applies to Nicodemus applies to every person:You must be born again. Andreas Kostenberger, Encountering John, pg. 85

FOR YOUR EDIFICATION

FIRST QUARTER, WEEK ELEVEN | GOD ON DISPLAY

The Greatest Love


John 3:1-21

Man is hopeless without Gods love and His gift in Christ Jesus. God displayed His great love by sending His perfect Son, His only Son, to die on a cross for us. This is the glorious truth of the Gospel. Through Christ, we have hope. Through Christ, we have eternal life. Through Christ, we have a relationship with God our Father, the Creator of the universe.

My Mission As Teacher:
Do our daily lives reflect the magnitude of this kind of love? Do we live in the reality of this love or do we live in the condemnation and chains of salvation by works? Do our lives reflect this God-giving love to our neighbors? Do we show this love to our coworkers, our spouses, our friends, our enemies? What can we do this week to show sacrificial love to others?

Prayer Points:
Pray for this Gospel truth of Gods lavish love to sink into your heart and mind this week. Pray that this wouldnt be a story that youve heard many times, but that you would see this Treasure Story and truth with new eyes and an open heart. Pray for your students this week who do not know the Gospel. Pray that the Holy Spirit would be working in their hearts to make them receptive to the truth of the Gospel of Christ.

FOR YOUR EDIFICATION

FIRST QUARTER, WEEK ELEVEN | GOD ON DISPLAY

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The Greatest Love


John 3:1-21

For Your Edification (continued)


Leviticus 17:11 Numbers 21:4-9 Ezekiel 36:22-36 John 1:9-13 John 15:14 John 19:39 Acts 4:12 Romans 8:1 Romans 8:14-17 Ephesians 2:1 2 Corinthians 5:17 1 John 4:7-9 Leviticus 17:11: For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it for you on the altar to make atonement for your souls, for it is the blood that makes atonement by the life. Numbers 21:4-9: From Mount Hor they set out by the way to the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom. And the people became impatient on the way. And the people spoke against God and against Moses, Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we loathe this worthless food. Then the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people, so that many people of Israel died. And the people came to Moses and said, We have sinned, for we have spoken against the LORD and against you. Pray to the LORD, that He take away the serpents from us. So Moses prayed for the people. And the LORD said to Moses, Make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole, and everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live. So Moses made a bronze

serpent and set it on a pole. And if a serpent bit anyone, he would look at the bronze serpent and live. Ezekiel 36:22-36: Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord GOD: It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations to which you came. And I will vindicate the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, and which you have profaned among them. And the nations will know that I am the LORD, declares the Lord GOD, when through you I vindicate my holiness before their eyes. I will take you from the nations and gather you from all the countries and bring you into your own land. I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules. You shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers, and you shall be my people, and I will be your God. And I will deliver you from all your uncleannesses. And I will summon the grain and make it abundant and lay no famine upon you. I will make the fruit of the tree and the increase of the field abundant, that you may never again suffer the disgrace of famine among the nations. Then you will remember your evil ways, and your deeds that were not good, and you will loathe yourselves for your

FOR YOUR EDIFICATION

FFIRST QUARTER, WEEK ELEVEN | GOD ON DISPLAY

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The Greatest Love


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iniquities and your abominations. It is not for your sake that I will act, declares the Lord GOD; let that be known to you. Be ashamed and confounded for your ways, O house of Israel. Thus says the Lord GOD: On the day that I cleanse you from all your iniquities, I will cause the cities to be inhabited, and the waste places shall be rebuilt. And the land that was desolate shall be tilled, instead of being the desolation that it was in the sight of all who passed by. And they will say, This land that was desolate has become like the garden of Eden, and the waste and desolate and ruined cities are now fortified and inhabited. Then the nations that are left all around you shall know that I am the LORD; I have rebuilt the ruined places and replanted that which was desolate. I am the LORD; I have spoken, and I will do it. John 1:9-13: The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, yet the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and His own people did not receive Him. But to all who did receive Him, who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. John 15:14: You are my friends if you do what I command you. John 19:39: Nicodemus also, who earlier had come to Jesus by night, came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds in weight.

Acts 4:12: And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved. Romans 8:1: There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Romans 8:14-17: For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, Abba! Father! The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirsheirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with Him in order that we may also be glorified with Him. Ephesians 2:1: And you were dead in the trespasses and sins. 2 Corinthians 5:17: Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. 1 John 4:7-9: Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent His only Son into the world, so that we might live through Him.

FOR YOUR EDIFICATION

FIRST QUARTER, WEEK ELEVEN | GOD ON DISPLAY

12

The Greatest Love


John 3:1-21

Early Childhood
Treasure Story: John 3:1-21 Treasure Verse: For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16). Treasure Point: God loves you.

engage
Early Arrival Activity: (15 minutes or until you are ready to begin) Teacher Note: Decorate your room in a birthday motif today. Have balloons and streamers, birthday hats, etc. As the children enter the room and ask about the birthday theme, remind them of how gifts are often given at birthday parties. In todays Treasure Story, they will learn about the gift that God gave us. Supplies Needed: Birthday party decorations, tape

Create God hearts. This activity will work for any preschool age with the younger children needing more help. Pass out pink or red construction paper to the children as they enter. Have a big heart drawn on the paper and the name GOD written inside the heart. The children can trace God in any color marker they want but encourage them to make it dark and bold. Then have the children glue Froot Loops, Cheerios, Life Savers, etc. on the heart to trace the heart. Supplies Needed: Red or pink construction paper, markers, Froot Loops (or other circular cereal or candy), glue

1 John 4:9: In this the love of God was made manifest


among us, that God sent His only Son into the world, so that we might live through Him.

EARLY CHILDHOOD

FIRST QUARTER, WEEK ELEVEN | GOD ON DISPLAY

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The Greatest Love


John 3:1-21

discover
Bible Story Time: (15 minutes) Teacher Note: Make sure the children see you reading the Treasure Story (John 3:1-21) out of the Bible. The following outline/points will help you as you tell the story. N icodemus was a man who came to see Jesus. He had heard of all the good things Jesus was doing. W hat do you do to celebrate your birthday? Whats the best gift youve gotten for your birthday? Did you know that God loves us and that He gives us gifts? The best gift He gave us is Jesus. Jesus came into the world as a baby (thats why we celebrate Christmas), grew up, became a man, and died on the cross so that we could know God (thats why we celebrate Easter). J esus is the way we have eternal life. It is because of Him that we can live in heaven forever with God. I f we know Jesus, if we are Christians, then our lives should look like how Jesus lived. We should help others and obey our parents. We should be nice to our brothers and sisters and friends. We should give to others. We should tell others about Jesus and pray to God. We should do these things because God loves us and we love God.

Treasure Verse Learning Activity: (5 minutes) Pass out copies of the God So Loved resource page (see resources). Have the children color this page while you retell the highlights of the story and discuss the Treasure Verse. Supplies Needed: God So Loved resource page, crayons

Song Time: (10 minutes) Love, Love, Love is this quarters theme song. This song can be found on the Treasuring Christ website: www.treasuringchristonline.org. Supplies Needed: CD player, CD

EARLY CHILDHOOD

FIRST QUARTER, WEEK ELEVEN | GOD ON DISPLAY

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John 3:1-21

Reinforcement Activity: (10 minutes) Ask the children to make thank you cards for God for sending His Son Jesus to us. Supplies Needed: Construction paper (any color), markers, stickers Playground Time: (15 minutes) Center play or free play is useful here if there is no playground or if the weather is not conducive to playing outside. Snack Time: (10 minutes) Have birthday cupcakes, a giant birthday cookie or birthday cake for todays snack time. Pass out birthday hats and have birthday napkins, cups and plates. Celebrate with enthusiasm and remind the students of the gift God gave to us all! Supplies Needed: Birthday snacks such as birthday cupcakes, birthday napkins, birthday hats, birthday cups and plates

treasure
Treasure Point: God loves you.

My Mission: (5-10 minutes)


Hang up or tape a big cutout heart made out of butcher paper onto the wall. Ask the children to name ways that God loves them. Write/draw their answers on the butcher paper. Explain to them that we need to be thankful for all of the ways that God loves us. Supplies Needed: Butcher paper cut out into a heart, marker, tape

Prayer Time: (5 minutes)

EARLY CHILDHOOD

FIRST QUARTER, WEEK ELEVEN | GOD ON DISPLAY

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John 3:1-21

Elementary
Treasure Story: John 3:1-21 Treasure Verse: For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him (John 3:16-17). Treasure Point: God loves you so much that He sent His Son Jesus to die on a cross.

engage

Sin is so strong in our hearts that we cannot


become children of God unless the Holy Spirit does the work in our hearts. Marian Schoolland, Leading Little Ones to God, pg. 104

Early Arrival Activity: (10-15 minutes or until all the children arrive) Have two board games going, such as the kids versions of Monopoly or Life. With these two games, most of the students will be familiar with the rules. When you are finished playing and ready to begin class, talk with the children about which items were the most expensive to purchase: hotels, certain streets, cars, etc. Later in todays Treasure Story, the children will learn that the gift God gave us was so costly that we cant pay for it no matter how much money we have. Because of the high cost, God made it a free gift to us. Supplies Needed: Board games involving money, such as Monopoly or Life Jr.

Introduction: (10 minutes) Have an auction. Set up some items on the auction table and hide more expensive items in the back or under a tablecloth. Give each child $50 in play money. Have random items from your home or your classroom up for sale. These can be funny items such as an old picture frame, a travel-size bottle of shampoo from a hotel, more serious items like food or water bottles, etc. Bring in a few big and expensive items hidden for the end, such as a lamp, a nice dish or bowl, a radio. Put price tags on the items and see what the children choose to buy. When they spend all their money, they wont be able to buy what is at the end. Talk to them about how important things can be costly and how in the following Treasure Story God gave up Someone very costly to Him to pay our way into heaven. Supplies Needed: Items from home to have at an auction, play money from a board game, stickers for price tags

ELEMENTARY

FIRST QUARTER, WEEK ELEVEN | GOD ON DISPLAY

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John 3:1-21

discover
Bible Story Time: (15 minutes) Teacher Note: Make sure the children see you reading the Treasure Story (John 3:1-21) out of the Bible. The following outline/points will help you as you tell the story. Nicodemus was a Jewish leader who came to see Jesus. He had heard of all the good things Jesus was doing. Nicodemus was one of the Jewish rulers in Galilee, and these rulers didnt like Jesus very much. Nicodemus came to see Jesus at night in secret. Why do you think Nicodemus wanted to be secretive? (Possible Answers: If the rest of the Jewish rulers knew that Nicodemus was talking to Jesus, they may not let him stay a leader. He may not be liked very much among his friends.) Do your friends know you know Jesus? Do they treat you differently because you do know Jesus? Jesus told Nicodemus he must be born again to go to heaven. What do you do to celebrate your birthday? Whats the best gift youve gotten for your birthday? Review what Jesus told Nicodemus. Can you be born again? (Physically, you cannot be born again.) What was Jesus saying? He was talking about being born again spiritually, knowing Him as your Savior. Did you know that the Holy Spirit makes us new creations? Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come (2 Corinthians 5:17). God loves us. He loves us by giving us Jesus. Jesus came into the world as a baby (thats why we celebrate Christmas), grew up, became a man, and died on the cross so we could know God (thats why we celebrate Easter). Teacher Note: Have a big cutout heart on the wall. Ask the children to write inside the heart words that describe the love of God. Supplies Needed: Marker, heart cut out of butcher paper, tape (for sticking to the wall or door)

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Jesus is the way we have eternal life. Because of Him we can live in heaven forever with God. How many ways are there to God? The answer is only one. Ask the children to look up the verses on the following page and read them aloud to the class: John 14:6: Jesus said to them, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. Acts 16:31a: And they said, Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved. Acts 4:12: And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved. If we know Jesus, if we are Christians, our lives should look like how Jesus lived. We should help others. We should obey our parents: Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right (Ephesians 6:1). We should also be nice to our brothers and sisters and friends: Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you (Ephesians 4:32). We should give to others: Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver (2 Corinthians 9:7). We also should tell others about Jesus: Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven (Matthew 5:16b). We should pray to God: Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full (John 16:24b). We should do these things because God loves us and we love God. Doing all of these actions will not make us right with God; Jesus death on the cross is the only action that will make us right with God. But by doing the things that God tells you to do, you will show others that you love God:You are my friends if you do what I command you (John 15:14).

Treasure Verse Learning Activity: (5 minutes) Pass out the Globe resource page. Have the children color, draw, fill it in with country names, etc. Use this time to tell them that Jesus died for people all over the world, not just people in the state or country you live in. Supplies Needed: Globe resource page, crayons

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Playground Time/Center Activities/Free Play: (15 minutes)

Song Time: (10 minutes) Love, Love, Love is this quarters theme song. This song can be found on the Treasuring Christ website: www.treasuringchristonline.org. Jesus Paid It All would also correspond with todays Treasure Story (lyrics are in the resource section). Supplies Needed: CD player, CD, Jesus Paid it All resource page

treasure
Treasure Point: God loves you so much that He sent His Son Jesus to die on a cross.

My Mission: (10 minutes) Allow time for sharing.


ow can you show your classmates or your family the love of God through Jesus this week? H ave you trusted in Jesus as your personal Savior yet? Take this opportunity to tell your stuH dents about the hope of the Gospel.

Prayer Time: (5 minutes)


Pray for any of the children that may not be there this weekwhether they are sick, traveling or just havent attended the class recently.

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Pre-Teen/Middle School
Treasure Story: John 3:1-21 Treasure Verse: For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him. Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because He has not believed in the name of the only Son of God (John 3:16-18). Treasure Point: God shows His costly love to us by sending Jesus to die on a cross.

Ezekiel 36:26-27: And I will give you a new heart,


within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey

and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a new heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit

engage
Opening Game/Skit: (10 minutes)

my rules.

Group Fellowship Time: (10 minutes)

Play the Price Is Right! You can find all the games that are played on this game show at this website: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_The_Price_Is_Right_pricing_games Go to the grocery store, purchase various items and write down their exact prices. These items and prices will be used with the Price Is Right games as well as for prizes for the winners. Here are three Price Is Right games the students may enjoy:

Dice Game: Choose an item where all the digits of the price are made up of numbers on dice, such
as $2.15 or $6.55. Give the student three dice. The first die is the dollar value. Have the student roll it and then guess if the amount is that number or if the number is higher or lower. If the student guesses correctly, change the die to the correct number (or keep it the same if the number guessed was the number that was rolled) and he keeps going. After the third wrong guess, he is out. If the student figures out all three digits, he gets the prize.

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Pick a Number: Have an item with one number of the price missing. If the student guesses the
right number, she gets the prize. If not, let another student try. The student who guesses correctly gets the prize.

Safe Crackers: Give one of the students all the numbers in the price in a random order. He would
then place the digits in the correct order to crack the safe and get the prize. If he guesses incorrectly, let another student try. After playing one or more of these games, give the class one more item to price correctly. Make that item a ticket to heaven. The point of this illustration is that there isnt enough money in the world to pay our way to heaven because of our enormous debt. We are sinners and in way over our heads. We owe a debt we could never pay. But by the grace of God, Christ paid our debt even though it wasnt His to pay. He took our punishment. He died for our sin. He rose again proving that the price had been paid. The cost for sinners like us to be in Gods presence was the life of His Son. God literally paid the highest possible price by giving us His only Son so that we could have eternal life in heaven. Supplies Needed: Items for Price Is Right game(s) (will vary depending on the game you choose), ticket to heaven

discover
Bible Story: (30 minutes) Teacher Note: Have the students read John 3:1-21 aloud. The following notes will help you as you teach them the story. In this weeks Bible passage, three charactersNicodemus, Jesus and God are discussed and their stories connect in a brilliant display of love that God wants us to read, know and live. Nicodemus was curious about Jesus. He was an older man who was respected among the Jews. He was part of the rulers of the Jews called the Sanhedrin, an assembly of 23 judges appointed in every city in the land of Israel. Nicodemus sought out Jesus by night to find out more about this rabbi, or teacher, of Gods Word. In Johns Gospel, night is used to illustrate unbelief or secrecy.

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Nicodemus did not want the other Sanhedrin members knowing he was coming to visit with Jesus. Nicodemus had respect for Jesus as a teacher because he called Jesus Rabbi (John 7:15). But this didnt mean that he trusted in Jesus as his Savior. Nicodemus asked Jesus questions, which again showed respect for Him as a teacher of the Law. However, he did not understand Jesus answers. Jesus pointed Nicodemus to the love of God. Ask the students these questions: How many of you have seen a T-shirt, sign or billboard that has John 3:16 on it? Who can quote the verse? It is probably the most well-known verse of the Bible. Even many who dont attend church know this verse. Why do you think that so many know the verse but not everyone who knows it is a Christian? John 3:16 says that God SO loved the world, a love that is more than just a normal everyday love. This is a sacrificing, excruciating love. How many of you love your parents? Siblings? Friends? Girlfriend/boyfriend? Pets? How do you sacrifice for those you love? Do you let them watch their favorite television show when you really want to watch yours? Do they use your allowance to buy a gift when really you wanted the money to purchase a new sweater or video game? What other ways do you sacrifice for those you love? Teacher Note: Encourage a lively discussion by asking the students to name the most sacrificial act anyone has done for them or to name something they did for someone that was over the top. The love that God the Father has for us is nothing like what we feel for the people we love. God loved us first when we didnt love Him back. God gave His only Son to die for people who hated Him. God knew this was the only way to save man. He was willing. God and His great love will change us. Ask the students to discuss the following verses: 2 Corinthians 5:17: Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. Psalm 51:10-12: Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from Your presence, and take not Your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit. God changes our hearts in order for us to love Him.

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Psalm 37:4: Delight yourself in the LORD, and He will give you the desires of your heart. He changes our desires and actions. 1 John 4:7-9: Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent His only Son into the world, so that we might live through Him. We are adopted into Gods family as His sons and daughters.

treasure
Treasure Point: God shows His costly love to us by sending Jesus to die on a cross.

My Mission: (10 minutes) Allow for group discussion.


If you have believed in Jesus as your Savior, then how has your life been different because of that relationship? The Apostle John is clear that we will walk in the light and not in the dark if we are followers of Christ. ow are you telling your friends about Jesus? Are you ashamed of Him? Do you boldly tell H them? Why or why not? How can you show your school, family, friends and neighbors that you Treasure Christ?

Prayer Time: (5-10 minutes)

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High School
Treasure Story: John 3:1-21 Treasure Verse: For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him. Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because He has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God (John 3:16-21). Treasure Point: Gods costly love and Jesus death on the cross should motivate us to live for Him.

engage
Introduction Video: (10 minutes) Watch this video clip with your students: http://vimeo.com/12678494 Teacher Note: This is a two-minute video of one familys adoption story of two boys. This video will spark conversation about adoption into Gods family and putting Jesus on display. What does it mean to be adopted? What does it mean to be adopted as Gods children? Supplies Needed: Laptop

discover
Bible Story: (30 minutes) Teacher Note: Allow your students to tell you the story of how Nicodemus first came to Jesus. Have them read the Treasure Story (John 3:1-21) aloud and work through the story as a class. This should be a familiar story to some. If need be, go back through the For Your Edification section of this lesson to help you tell the story to your students.

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After they tell the story, discuss these points with the students: The Apostle John, the writer of this story, gives us the why and the how of Gods great love for us. The Why. God loved us. He loved the world and wanted to see the world in relationship with Him: For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16). The How. God sent Jesus. Jesus came to earth and lived as a man for about 33 years. He lived perfectly. He committed no sin. He then died on a cross for the sins that we (you and me and every other person on this earth) would commit. He knew that this was the only way people could be in relationship with God the Father. He obeyed willingly: For our sake He made Him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God (2 Corinthians 5:21).

so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured

Hebrews 12:1-3: Therefore, since we are surrounded by

so tightly, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. may not grow weary or fainthearted.

Consider Him who endured from sinners such hostility against Himself so that you

What do these truths of the why and how of Gods love do for us?

IF WE BELIEVE IN JESUS, WE ARE REGENERATED AND ADOPTED INTO THE FAMILY OF GOD: Regenerated. We are made fully alive. Nicodemus thought that Jesus meant we had to be physically born again, but He meant something else entirely. This regeneration (being made alive in Christ by the Holy Spirit) will look like sanctification (becoming more Christlike) in our lives: 2 Corinthians 5:17: Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. Philippians 3:12-14: Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me His own. Brother, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

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Ephesians 4:17-5:2: Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity. But that is not the way you learned Christ!assuming that you have heard about Him and were taught in Him, as the truth is in Jesus, to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness. Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another. Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil. Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need. Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. Ephesians 2:2-10: And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedienceamong whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christby grace you have been savedand raised us up with Him and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages He might show the immeasurable riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. Galatians 5:16-26: But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.
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We get a glimpse of this process of regeneration by observing Nicodemus throughout the Gospel of John. While it is never clear if Nicodemus trusted in Christ as his personal Savior, we do see three revealing scenes into his life: In John 3, he is questioning, puzzled, wondering, asking the tough questions and remaining persistent about wanting answers to his questions. In John 7:50-51, he is asking the Sanhedrin questions that might have been offensive to some. The members of the Sanhedrin had grown increasingly hostile toward Jesus and the Gospel He was preaching. In these verses, Nicodemus seemed to not trust them: Nicodemus, who had gone to Him before, and who was one of them said to them, Does our law judge a man without first giving him a hearing and learning what he does? In John 19:39, he was one of the ones who prepared Jesus body for burial: Nicodemus also, who earlier had come to Jesus by night, came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds in weight. This portrait shows an act of faith that demonstrates Nicodemus most likely trusted Christ as his Savior.

Adopted. We were not children of God. If we believe in Jesus as the Son of God, as our Savior who
died for our sins, then we can be adopted as Gods children, born into the family of God. Teacher Note: Talk about the similarities and differences between earthly fathers and God as their heavenly Father. Some of your students may not have fathers who are godly role models. This truth that God is a loving and faithful Father might be difficult for them to grasp because of the absence of a father in their lives. John 1:12-13: But to all who did receive Him, who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. Galatians 3:26: For in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith.

The biblical teaching on adoption focuses

much more on the personal relationships that salvation gives us with God and with His people. Wayne Grudem, Bible Doctrine, pg. 323

HIGH SCHOOL

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1 John 3:1-2: See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know Him. Beloved, we are Gods children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when He appears we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him as He is. John 8:41-44: You are doing the works your father did. They said to Him, We were not born of sexual immorality. We have one Fathereven God. Jesus said to them, If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and I am here. I came not of my own accord, but He sent me. Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my word. You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your fathers desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and has nothing to do with the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies. Romans 8:14-17: For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, Abba! Father! The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirsheirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with Him in order that we may also be glorified with Him. One of the last points made in John 3 is the exclusivity of the Gospel through Jesus Christ. Exclusivity is taught by Jesus when He references Moses and the bronze serpent. This story is found in Numbers and describes how the people of Israel were bitten by poisonous snakes. The only way healing would come was by looking to a bronze serpent that was held high up for the people to see. If they looked at the bronze snake, they would live. This was their only chance for survival just as Jesus is our only hope for eternity.Only is a repeated word in John 3:16-21. There are not many paths to Godthere is only one. Other Scriptures also affirm that Jesus is the only way we can come to know God the Father. John 3:18: Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. Acts 4:12: And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved. John 15:14: You are my friends if you do what I command you.

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Romans 3:20-26: For by works of the law no human being will be justified in His sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin. But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to itthe righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by His grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by His blood, to be received by faith. This was to show Gods righteousness, because in His divine forbearance He had passed over former sins. It was to show His righteousness at the present time, so that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. Numbers 21:4-9: From Mount Hor they set out by the way to the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom. And the people became impatient on the way. And the people spoke against God and against Moses, Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we loathe this worthless food. Then the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people, so that many people of Israel died. And the people came to Moses and said, We have sinned, for we have spoken against the LORD and against you. Pray to the LORD, that He take away the serpents from us. So Moses prayed for the people. And the LORD said to Moses, Make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole, and everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live. So Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on a pole. And if a serpent bit anyone, he would look at the bronze serpent and live.

treasure
Treasure Point: Gods costly love and Jesus death on the cross should motivate us
to live for Him.

My Mission: (15 minutes)


ow are you living the full life that God has given to you by walking in step with the Holy Spirit? H Truly, if you are living without Christ, you are not really living at all. sk the students to write a note of encouragement to a fellow student or friend. Encourage them A to include one of the verses that they discussed in class today in their note. Supplies Needed: Note cards, pens

Prayer Time: (10 minutes)


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connecting church and home


This upcoming Sunday, the Treasure Story will focus on a man who came to Jesus under the veil of night. Nicodemus was not only a Pharisee (one who kept the Law in order to find favor with God) but a member of the Sanhedrin, a ruler of the Jews (John 3:1, 10). This man of authority came to Jesus as one who was a good, moral man but Jesus said that Nicodemus would not see the kingdom of heaven unless he was born again. In order for Nicodemus to receive this new birth, it would require faith and not head knowledge. We do not know if Nicodemus became a believer or not, but he is mentioned two other times in the Gospel of John. In chapter seven, we see Nicodemus standing up for Jesus when the Sanhedrin (his peers) wanted Jesus arrested. Nicodemus asks, Does our law judge a man without first giving him a hearing and learning what he does? (John 7:51) After Jesus death, we see Nicodemus again risking his reputation and rank by being one of the first willing to care for the body of the man crucified for being the Christ: Nicodemus also, who earlier had come to Jesus by night, came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds in weight (John 19:39).

connect
Read John 3:1-21 to your family. Many times children believe that Christianity is a long list of rules or a checklist of dos and donts. Focus on verses 14-21. Jesus was taking Nicodemus faith beyond himself and the things he controlled (a man-centered faith). He was teaching Nicodemus that he would have to see Jesus as the Christ, the one who would be lifted up as Gods Son so that those who believe in Him may have eternal life (John 3:16). Conclude your familys discussion by asking these questions: What does this type of belief look like in us as individuals and as a family? How do we as a family need to live our lives with faith? Treasure Verse: For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16).the world, and people loved the darkness

Your parenting affects more than your childs

here and now. It affects generations to come and their eternity. Steve Wright and Chris Graves, ApParent Privilege, pg. 94

CONNECTING CHURCH AND HOME

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RESOURCES: GOD SO LOVED RESOURCE PAGE | Early Childhood

TREASURING CHRIST CURRICULUM | www.treasuringchristonline.org

RESOURCES: GLOBE RESOURCE PAGE | Elementary

TREASURING CHRIST CURRICULUM | www.treasuringchristonline.org

rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God

Jesus Paid it All


Words by Elvina Hall

I hear the Savior say, Thy strength indeed is small; Child of weakness, watch and pray, Find in Me thine all in all. Jesus paid it all, All to Him I owe; Sin had left a crimson stain, He washed it white as snow. For nothing good have I Whereby Thy grace to claim; Ill wash my garments white In the blood of Calvrys Lamb.

RESOURCES: JESUS PAID IT ALL RESOURCE PAGE | Elementary

TREASURING CHRIST CURRICULUM | www.treasuringchristonline.org

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