CHILDREN’S SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSON,
ASSEMBLIES OF GOD CHURCH, NIGERIA LESSON 12 JANUARY – JUNE, 2023 SUNDAY, 19TH MARCH, 2023.
TOPIC: JESUS TEACHES ABOUT WORRY
BIBLE TEXT: Luke 12:22-34
MEMORY VERSE:
Your Father knows what you need before you ask him. Matthew 6:8 (NIV).
TARGET:
To help the child understand that Jesus is the greatest and the best Teacher that ever lived a good, caring, and loving life.
OBJECTIVES:
During and after the lesson, each child will show that he or she understands the lesson by:
1. Saying what kind of teacher Jesus was.
2. Identifying the things children in general tend to worry about.
3. Singing a chorus to buttress the lesson.
OUTLINE:
1. What to Avoid – Luke 12:22-23
2. What to Consider – Luke 12:24-30
3. What to Do – Luke 12:31
INTRODUCTION
What in your opinion, makes a good teacher? Has there been any situation that made you worry? Jesus taught many important lessons to His disciples and to other people when He lived in this world. He used many methods in His teaching like parables, object lesson, illustration, question and answer etc. to teach people. And more importantly, He took personal interest in the people He taught. One of the issues He taught about is worry which has to do with feeling uneasy or troubled about what may happen. There are so many things that can make people get worried in life, but through today’s lesson, you will learn not to worry or bother about life.
LESSON COMMENTARY
1. WHAT TO AVOID – Luke 12:22-23
Jesus had just finished talking to His as disciples about the rich fool – the man who put all his trust in riches and laid up treasure for himself on earth. He then went on and taught a very important lesson on worry. He started with telling them not to worry about their lives – what to eat or about their bodies – what to wear. Life, He said, is more than food and the body, more than clothes. In order to help them understand clearly what He was talking about, Jesus used very apt illustrations. He illustrated with everyday objects that were familiar to the disciples. He told them to consider two objects.
2. WHAT TO CONSIDER – Luke 12: 24-30
First, He asked them to consider the birds of the air. The birds do not cultivate the ground. They do not plant crops. They do not harvest crops. They do not even have stores and barns where they keep their harvested products. Yet their heavenly Father takes care of them and feeds them. Jesus said that the disciples, and of course, all of us are more valuable than birds. And then He asked His disciples whether any of them could add an inch or a centimetre to his height by worrying. And if they could not do that then why worry and be anxious about food and clothes.
Second, Jesus told His disciples to consider the way the lilies (flowers) of the field grow. They do not work. They do not spin threads and weave clothes. Yet they are so beautifully clothed that even King Solomon in all his glory never was dressed as beautifully as one of the lilies. Then Jesus asked an all-important, faith-raising question. He asked, “If God so clothes the grass of the field which today is in the field and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will He clothe you. O you of little faith?”
Finally, He then told them not to be anxious about what they should eat or what they should drink. These are the things the unbelievers rush after. But their Father in heaven knows they need all those things.
3. WHAT TO DO – Luke 12:31
Jesus knew that “nature abhors vacuum”. He has just told His disciples what they should not do. But what about what they should do. It takes both positive and negative to form a complete picture. So as a Master Teacher, He told them what they should use to replace worry. He said they should do the first things first, and that is, set their priorities right and then the heavenly Father would give them food, clothes, and other necessities. So what is this first thing?
The first thing to do is to seek the kingdom of God and His righteousness. This means that they are to seek the things of God more than the things of the world (material things). True security lies in always doing the will of God not in the gathering material possessions. God will take care of His own people. He will provide them all that they need.
APPLICATION:
We should trust God completely for all our needs, be it food, clothing, or possessions. Christ is against putting our minds completely on the things of the world. God knows our needs and He is ever ready to supply them. When we put our mind, body, and soul on earthly things, we forget God. Our worry can bring sadness, anger, sickness and death.
QUESTIONS:
1. What kind of Teacher is Jesus?
(A) A sadist
(B) A bad Teacher
(C) Average Teacher
(D) A good and caring Teacher.
2. What two things did Jesus tell His followers to consider?
(A) The birds of the air and the lilies of the field
(B) The birds of the air and the elephants of the forest
(C) The birds of the air and the lions in the jungle
(D) The birds of the air and the fishes in the ocean.
3. Why did Jesus tell His followers not to rush after the things unbelievers rush after?
(A) Because their Father in heaven knows they need all those things
(B) Because they can never get those things
(C) Because they may be too expensive for them
(D) Because they may die while trying to get those things.
4. What is the first thing God wants His followers to do?
(A) To seek money
(B) To seek fame
(C) To seek friends
(D) To seek the kingdom of God and His righteousness.
DAILY BIBLE DOSE:
Monday: Do Not Worry about Life – Luke 12:22
Tuesday: Life Is More Than Food – Luke 12:23
Wednesday: Consider the Lilies – Luke 12:27, 28
Thursday: Seek the Kingdom of God – Luke 12:29, 31
Friday: It’s God’s Pleasure to Give You the Kingdom – Luke 12:32
Saturday: Lord Teach Us to Pray – Luke 11:1-4