James, 1 & 2 Peter, 1 & 2 & 3 John, Jude
***denotes visual lesson
James
**James 1:5 - Godly Wisdom aka Using the Resources at Hand to Accomplish Your Goal
**James 1:12 - Withstand the Test
**James 1:17 - Shadow of Turning
**James 1:17 - Every Good and Perfect Gift (Holy Day Lesson - Pentecost)
**James 4:14 - But a Mist
I Peter
**1 Peter 1:5 - Power You Can't See
**1 Peter 2:3 - The Lord is Good
**1 Peter 3:3 - What Should You Wear?
1 Peter 3:15 - Honor Christ the Lord as Holy
1 John
**1 John 1:8 - Missing the Mark
**1 John 1:9 - To Cleanse Us From All Unrighteousness
**2 John 2:1 - So That You Will Not Sin
**1 John 2:15 - Separate From the World
**1 John 3:2 - Be Like Jesus
**1 John 3:2b - We Will See Him (Holy Day Lesson - Trumpets)
**1 John 3:3 - Purify Yourself
Jude
***Jude 1:4 - Crept in Unnoticed
**Godly Wisdom
aka Using the Resources at Hand to Accomplish Your Goal
If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. James 1:5 (ESV)
Materials needed: beans or marshmallows, dixie cups, balloons, scissors
https://www.123homeschool4me.com/marshmallow-shooter-kids-activity-over_50/
Have you ever had a job to do and wondered how in the world you were going to accomplish it with the resources you had on hand? For instance, how in the world could you get a marshmallow (or bean or Cheerio) to the other side of the room without walking it over there? Hmm. What if you made a marshmallow shooter? So you look around at what you have? Let’s say you had a marshmallow (or bean), a balloon, a cup, and a pair of scissors in with a whole lot of other things because rarely do you see a balloon, cup, scissors, and marshmallow all by themselves in a room. Is that helpful? Can you make a marshmallow shooter out of a cup and balloon? Instructions here: https://www.123homeschool4me.com/marshmallow-shooter-kids-activity-over_50/
Many people might look at the things they have and not see any way they could use them. So they give up. But James 1:5 says, If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. So when you need help solving a problem, accomplishing a task, reaching a goal - take it to God and ask Him for help.
It’s amazing what you can accomplish when God shows you how. It makes you think of God empowering Bezalel from the tribe of Judah and Oholiab from the tribe of Dan to build the tabernacle in the wilderness (Exodus 31).
I would never have considered that you could make a marshmallow shooter out of a cup and balloon? To think of the skill that these two men had to have to fashion the holy things of God is mind-blowing. So, again, when you have a problem to solve, something that needs Godly wisdom, go to God.
***Withstand the Test
. . . when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life . . . James 1:12
Materials: stickers, balls, “rewards”
What is the first commandment with a promise? To honor your father and your mother. And what was the promise? That your days may be long in the land the Lord your God is giving you. How do you honor your parents? You demonstrate how much you love and honor them by being respectful and obedient. Why do you love them? Because they first loved you enough to bring you into the world and to provide everything you need.
Don’t you find the parallel between our earthly parents and our Heavenly Parent interesting?! God first loved us, creating us and then redeeming us from our sins through the death of Jesus Christ. Do we appreciate that? Do we love God for what He’s already done for us? If we love Him, He tells us how to demonstrate our love for Him: keep His commandments.
Our obedience demonstrates that we love God, that we want to please Him. That’s much like the fifth commandment language: Honor your father and your mother that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you (Exodus 20:12, ESV). God gave them the land. God chose them out of all the nations on the face of the earth to be His (Deuteronomy 14:2)! He rescued them from slavery, He gave them the Promised Land, and He blessed them with His presence. They, in turn, demonstrated their devotion to Him by obeying His commandments - commandments which were given for their good.
In the same way, God chose each of us. He rescued us from slavery to sin. He brings us into fellowship with Him through the death and resurrection of His Son. We, in turn, demonstrate our devotion to Him by obeying His commandments - commandments which are given for our good.
But this is not just one and done. We persevere in keeping His commandments until they become our way of life. We keep them automatically because they are increasingly part of who we are. There is a reward at the end of persevering and overcoming: we are given eternal life with God. Eternal life is a free gift from God. Our obedience to Him in this life demonstrates that we are honoring our Father, the King of the Universe. We can’t earn eternal life, but we demonstrate in our actions that it has been given to us through Jesus Christ.
***No Shadow of Turning
Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. James 1:17
Materials needed: book of hand shadows (The Classic Art of Hand Shadows, Algrove Publishing), light source, candle, match
As long as there have been films, slides, or projectors used, there have been kids trying to make recognizable animal shadows with their hands. There are some very cool ones. With some practice, it’s a lot of fun to see if people can guess what you’re making as the light hits your hand and casts a shadow.
So what happens when a candle is lit? Does the candle cast a shadow? Yes, of course. But does the flame? No, it doesn’t. Why? It’s light! Light shining on light doesn’t make a shadow.
Romans 1:20 says, For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities - his eternal power and divine nature - have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse. So what is it that we learn about God when we’re looking at shadows and light?
First of all, when God shines in our life, we cast a shadow of God’s interaction with us. We need to be very careful to be as accurate as we can about who He is. And we need to give Him the glory. Whatever we accomplish or achieve is because of His grace in our lives, not because we are so mighty and wise.
Secondly, God never changes. He doesn’t turn from Who He is - thereby casting a shadow of something different from what He is now. Hebrews 13:8 says, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” What He says, He means. What He says, He will do. His laws are not here today, gone tomorrow. His laws reflect who He is, and they do not change.
I can move my hands in the light and get a different shadow. I can move the light and get a different shadow. But the light stays the same. How very comforting it is to know that God is good and that doesn’t change.
**I didn't get to do this at church because we had no little ones, but since I was using the same verse both days, I can't go back and repeat it again.
**Every Good and Perfect Gift (Pentecost lesson)
Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. James 1:17
Materials: Small gifts
We all like receiving gifts. Something new, something useful, something beautiful, something that lets us know how much someone likes us - there are many good reasons for liking gifts.
On the day of Pentecost, the first Pentecost after Jesus Christ had been crucified and then resurrected from the dead, God gave His believers a gift: the Holy Spirit was poured out. What an incredible gift!!
It was something new - or at least, it makes us into something new. The Holy Spirit guides us into all truth. John 16:13 says, “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.” I like knowing that, for those who believe in God, the Holy Spirit helps us make the right choices.
The Holy Spirit also helps us pray to God. When we don’t know what to say, the Spirit intercedes for us. Romans 8:26, “Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.” It’s very nice to know that we don’t have to have exactly the right words - that the Holy Spirit goes before us in God’s presence.
The Holy Spirit gives us hope. May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope. Romans 15:13
And hope is just one of the fruit of the Holy Spirit! Having the Holy Spirit working in your life means that as you grow closer to God the more you will exhibit the fruit of the Holy Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. (Galatians 5:22-23)
And the Holy Spirit is called the Comforter. We are in this world where we will have trouble, but the Holy Spirit gives us hope, shows us God’s love, helps us make good decisions, and the Holy Spirit within us assures us that we are God’s children. (Romans 8:16 - The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,)
What a good and perfect gift God poured out on the believers on that first Pentecost in Jerusalem!!!
Note: I had the parents pick out the gifts to give to the children, just as the Father gives us gifts; we don't choose.
***But a Mist
For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. James 4:14
Materials needed: a spray bottle of water
One morning a couple of weeks ago, we had a thick fog when I took the dogs out for their morning walk. The cat came along, too, just for fun. It was fun for me, at least, as I watched this long-haired cat daintily stepping, now leaping, along the path, trying to keep her feet from getting wet. When we finished our lap around the field, I picked her up. I expected her feet and her belly fur to be quite wet. And it was. What was not readily apparent until I picked her up was the amount of water all over her. In walking through the mist, she’d accumulated quite a bit! So we got out a towel and rubbed her mostly dry. It wasn’t as if she’d gone swimming in the pond. So she wasn’t soaked. But she was more wet than I wanted her to be, especially knowing her proclivity to sleeping on the couch while we are working on school work.
So think about the difference between a mist, a good steady rain, and a pond. The mist burns off quickly as the sun gets stronger. In a few hours, the cat could have walked all the way and not have had to suffer the indignity of being towel-dried. A steady rain would have soaked her to the skin in a matter of moments. She would have to have quite a bit of attention before she was allowed to roam freely in the house! And had she actually chosen to swim in the pond, she’d have found herself an outside cat for several more hours. A mist is just a little bit, not very significant, not long-lasting.
We would like to think that we are more important than a mist. We would like to think that when we are gone that we will be greatly missed (no pun intended). But in the large scheme of things, each person is really rather insignificant. In contrast, the Being Who is significant is our Eternal King, the Creator of the Universe. We only exist because He wills us to exist! He, Who spoke all things into existence, sustains all things by His will. So here’s the really cool part: I’m an insignificant mist, yet God loves me so much that He gave His Son to die for my sins that I can be adopted into the Family of God. God looked on an insignificant mist and made it significant because He said it is!
The next time you don’t think you’re very important, just remember that you are loved and fully known by our Great God - and He says you’re important to Him.
***Power You Can’t See
you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 1 Peter 1:5
Materials: large piece of paper, ruler
If I put a ruler on the edge of a table, how easily can I flip it off the table by hitting the end of it? Pretty easily. But what happens if I put a large piece of paper over the top of the ruler. Is it any more difficult to flip the ruler? Yes! The weight of the air pressing down on the paper creates a resistance to the paper flying up when I hit the end of the ruler.
Just because I can’t see the air doesn’t mean that it isn’t there.
And just because I can’t see the air doesn’t mean that the air doesn’t have a huge impact on the ruler and the paper - and what I can do with them.
This is just a simple reminder that just because we can’t see God doesn’t mean He isn’t there. He is there. He has great power. As Creator of the Universe, what is there that He can’t do?!!
He saves us. He protects us. He provides for us. He keeps us from trouble. He heals us. The list goes on and on. And in the end, God grants us salvation, the gift of living with Him forever in His kingdom. He’s our great God.
We just need to put our trust in Him and know that He loves us, wants the very best for us, and will bless us enormously. It doesn’t mean we won’t experience troubles and sadness and pain in this life. It just means that He wants us to believe, in spite of everything that happens, that He is good all the time. There’s nothing too big in our lives that He cannot handle. The Great God of the Universe has a plan for you and He will accomplish His purpose in your life.
The next time you feel overwhelmed or stressed or hurting or saddened by what’s going on, remember the power of our God. It’s there.
***The Lord is Good
if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good. 1 Peter 2:3
Materials needed: orange pieces, baking soda
Can you think of something that God has done in your life? Perhaps it was healing. Perhaps it was protection. Perhaps it was guidance so that you’d know which direction you should go.
My mom was driving on icy streets in Casper one winter. As she approached an intersection, she saw a pickup coming on the cross street. She stepped on the brakes and started sliding. She saw that he stepped on the brakes, but he was also sliding. The collision was inevitable. She closed her eyes, said a prayer, and when she opened her eyes, both cars were through the intersection without a collision.
If you can think of something that God did for you, did it happen the way you thought it would?
In my mom’s case, her prayer was for God’s help. And if you’d asked her, she probably would have said that she wanted both cars to stop short of the impact. What God gave her, however, was no stop and no collision - and an indelible memory of God’s rescue.
It’s kind of like eating an orange piece. You expect it to taste a certain way. But if you dip it into baking soda, you get something different. The acid from the orange and the baking soda combine to make an orange fizz in your mouth. It’s totally unexpected. That is, you don’t get that reaction from the orange by itself or the baking soda by itself. But when you put them together, an amazing thing happens.
God’s provision, His protection, the way He answers our prayers is often unexpected. It’s often different from what we thought it would look like. But that doesn’t make it bad. It actually, in the end, turns out better than we could have imagined - not so much because we got what we wanted, but because we did what we should always do: put our trust in God and know that He hears our prayers. Even if the answer is no, we have exercised our faith, and that’s a very good thing.
The next time you eat an orange, try dipping it in baking soda first. The orange fizz can remind you of the unexpected blessings we can receive from our Father.
Resource: www.sciencefun.org
***What Should You Wear?
Do not let your adorning be external—the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear— 1 Peter 3:3
Materials: pins, necklaces, paper crowns, etc.
Have you ever heard the phrase, “It’s like putting lipstick on a pig?” That’s a very evocative mental picture which illuminates how little outward dressing really impacts the character, integrity, and behavior of the pig. That is, just because you put lipstick on a pig doesn’t mean the pig won’t go wallow in the mud. The pig still grunts and squeals when he eats. And he shovels his food around as he roots around for the “best” slop. It wouldn’t matter if the pig were wearing a diamond necklace or a royal robe. The pig would still do what pigs do by nature.
In a very similar way, what we do reflects who we are, truly, on the inside. It really doesn’t matter whether you’re talking about a big rough-looking man or a tiny, frail little old lady. That’s just the outside. They could be wearing raggedy clothes with more holes than not holes. Or they could be wearing the most expensively tailored suits money can buy. The outward appearance really doesn’t tell you anything about the relationship the person has with God, how much he loves truth, how she treats animals, and so on.
So Peter tells his readers not to put so much time thinking about the outward appearance - braiding your hair, wearing gold jewelry or expensive clothing. In reality, we must put on the Lord Jesus Christ; that is, what people see when they look at us should be the actions they’d expect to see from a follower of Jesus. We should stand for truth and justice, love and kindness, mercy and compassion, respect and humility.
So, does that mean your appearance doesn’t matter at all? No! Our outward appearance, whether we are clean and neat, speaks volumes to the people around us. It tells them whether you’re a good steward of what God has given you. It tells them that you are diligent in your responsibilities - like staying clean and neat. And especially when we come to church, we dress in our best clothes, not to impress the people in our church family, but as an outward expression of the respect we have for our Holy God. He deserves our best: our best clothes, our best attention, our best thoughts, our best actions. He is God. He is our God, and what we wear reflects on Him when we wear His name.
We need to think carefully about what we wear - both physical clothes and our actions. We are showing our love and reverence for God. And we are representing Him to the people around us. Let’s not act like a bunch of pigs wearing lipstick.
Honor Christ the Lord as Holy
but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect. 1 Peter 3:15
Do you know anyone who did not honor God as holy? I can. It’s Moses. In Deuteronomy 32:51, the second half of the verse says, “and because you did not treat me as holy in the midst of the people of Israel.” Moses had been told to speak to the rock to bring forth the water, but Moses struck the rock twice. Numbers 20:12 uses the same language. God says Moses did not “uphold me as holy in the eyes of the people of Israel.” The consequence of Moses not honoring God as holy in the sight of the Israelites meant that Moses was not going to be allowed to go into the Promised Land. Big consequences. God must take it very seriously when His people do not honor Him as holy!
But we’re not leading a nation of people. We’re not striking a rock to bring forth water. Can we apply what Moses failed to do to our own lives? Yes. Look at these passages again. In Deut 32:51, God says that Moses broke faith with him. In Numbers 20:11-13, God says that Moses did not believe in Him. In Numbers 27:14, God says that Moses rebelled against His word. The lack of belief, the faithlessness, the rebellion - it’s all tied together. It caused Moses to not honor God as holy.
Remember when we talked about “the sin which clings so closely”? That unbelief in God causes us not only to rebel against Him, but it causes us to fail to honor Him as holy. This is serious. We don’t want to experience the serious consequences that Moses experienced! We have to believe in Him, obey Him and have the faith that He will do as He has promised! The word “Lord” in 1 Peter 3:15 emphasizes this. It’s kyrios (#2962) and is a respectful title which means “supreme in authority.” Jesus is worthy of having honor shown to Him because He is “supreme in authority;” He is Lord!
So, how do we honor Him as holy? One way is to demonstrate our faith in Him by being prepared to make a defense for why we believe the way we do. That word “defense” is the Greek word apologia (#627) which means answer, clearing of self, defense. It’s the opposite of the word in Romans 1:20 where it says they are without excuse. That’s anapologetos (#379). So we make an apologia, a defense, being ready to give a reason for the hope that is in us. The word that is translated here “reason” is one you are familiar with. It is used in John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The word translated “Word” is the same one translated “reason” in 1 Peter 3:15. It’s logos (#3056) and means “something said, reasoning, motive, account, cause.” So we are to give an apologia to anyone who asks us for a logos for the hope that is in us! And that hope is the godly hope, the hope which means to anticipate (usually with pleasure), expectation, confidence, faith. Here we are back at faith again!
Can you think of anything you could tell someone about why you believe the way you do? Do you have any stories about God’s hand in your life? Have you prepared a defense of what you could say to someone who wanted to know why you celebrate the Holy Days, why you eat unleavened bread, why you go to the Feast of Tabernacles, why you worship on the Sabbath, why you eat a clean diet? Peter indicates that being prepared to make that defense is evidence that you honor Christ as holy in your heart!
But there’s one more thing Peter tells us: we have to be ready to make that defense, not from a condemnatory stance, not belligerent or superior, not prideful or arrogant. We make our defense, give our answer, our apologia, with gentleness and respect.
The word “gentleness” has the same root as the word in Matthew 11:28-30 where it describes Jesus has being gentle and lowly in heart. He’s our model. If anyone had reason to be condemnatory and superior, it was Christ. But He wasn’t, and we have no right to be prideful either!
The word “respect” means “to be put in fear, alarm or fright, to be afraid exceedingly, terror.” It’s the Greek word (#5401) phobos. Can you think of the English word derived from phobos? It’s phobia. We must be very aware that the knowledge and position we have in Christ is only through the grace and mercy of God. We don’t deserve it. We didn’t earn it. We have no reason to boast. So when we share our reason, our logos, for the hope we have in Christ, we must be very careful to honor Christ as Lord, giving Him the glory due Him. It’s not about us; it’s about Him!
It’s very important to honor Christ the Lord as holy. Think about it!
***Missing the Mark
If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 1 John 1:8
Materials: marshmallows, popsicle catapults (https://academy.animaljam.com/posts/marshmallow-catapult)
There's something very compelling about hitting a target: darts, basketball, golf, skeet shooting, archery . . . and catapults come to mind! It takes skill to hit the bulls-eye consistently time after time. Who doesn’t like the call: nothing but net!! It has even become part of our language. If someone is describing something, we might say, “You nailed it” or “You hit that dead center.” The slang term of “right on” derives from the concept of having your sights right on the target. You are accurate.
Because we have this concept in our culture, it helps us enormously to understand the concept of sin. Literally, the word sin in the Greek means “missing the mark.” What a mental picture this creates for us!! Our desire is to hit the target, to hit dead center, to hit the mark. Nowhere is this more important than when we’re talking about obedience to God. We want our actions to be right on, to nail God’s commandments, to be on target with every one of our actions.
How do people get better at archery or catapulting? Practice. Attention to detail. Desire to hit the mark. The same applies to not sinning, aka obedience to God’s law. We practice. When we fail, we repent and we try again. We pay attention to the details, seeking out God’s will to do it exactly as He desires. And we earnestly desire to do what is right in God’s sight. If we have the desire, if we pay attention, and if we persevere, we may get closer to obedience and avoiding sinning (missing the mark). We also need God’s guidance - through the Holy Spirit and reading God’s word.
Some people miss the mark repeatedly, so they want to move the target. God doesn’t change; His laws don’t change. We cannot change the law just because we feel like it - and we cannot move the target just because we can’t hit it with our marshmallow catapult.
Read your Bible. Pay attention to what it says. And greatly desire to hit the mark!
***To Cleanse Us From All Unrighteousness
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9
Materials: pencils, erasers
Do you ever make mistakes? That’s a silly question, isn’t it? We all make mistakes. Some are just poor decisions. Others are bad choices which are contrary to God’s ways. Those mistakes are called sins. Sometimes we make mistakes without realizing it. Sometimes we make mistakes because we just can’t help ourselves. Those are sins of weakness.
A pencil can help us understand how this works. Have you ever added numbers together and written down the wrong answer? That’s a mistake that you made because you weren’t thinking, you were distracted, or you just don’t know your addition facts very well. Sins are like that. You can sin because you weren’t thinking, you were distracted, or you just don’t know God’s law very well.
Think about your pencil again. Have you ever intended to write one thing but your fingers just didn’t form the letter or number correctly? That’s a mistake that you made out of weakness. Some sins are like that too. You know you shouldn’t do something, but you still make the wrong choice.
The thing is: when you make a mistake out of weakness, you have to fix it. With the pencil, you use the eraser to wipe out that mistake and put something else in its place. The only thing is - sometimes you can’t completely erase the mark. You can still see some of the mistake that you made. Sin is like that. You can try to make things right, but there’s still evidence that you made a wrong choice.
There’s another very curious thing about pencils. If a pencil is brand new, the eraser usually works pretty well. But when a pencil has been around for a while, the eraser gets harder and harder and less and less able to erase like it should. There are some things you can do to fix that. They kinda work. You can put your pencil in a plastic bag with a little bit of water. Sometimes that helps. Or you can use a cutting board and a big knife to cut the eraser in half. You don’t have as much eraser to use anymore, but at least you’ve taken off the part that is hard and unusable.
It’s an interesting thing about people and the mistakes we make. When a mistake is fresh and new, it’s easier to rectify - to fix. That’s kind of like the new pencil. But when we get into the habit of sinning, pretty soon we get hardened to our mistakes. It isn’t as easy to change our behavior.
But it’s important to realize that there are consequences for every mistake, for every sin. Romans 6:23 says that wages of sin is death. You are not getting away with doing anything against God’s law. However, God has made a way - through Jesus Christ - for us to be forgiven. When we acknowledge Jesus as Savior and God, He takes the penalty for our sin. Better than any eraser could wipe out the mistake, Jesus cleanses us from all unrighteousness.
It’s something to think about the next time you use an eraser.
Based on : https://www.creativekidswork.com/all-ideas/117-77-five-lessons-a-pencil-can-teach-us
***So That You Will Not Sin
My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. , , , 1 John 2:1 (NIV)
Materials: apple, banana, grapes; can of mandarin oranges, pineapple, cherry pie filling; frozen blueberries, strawberries, cantaloupe; pecans
What happens when Mom or Dad tell you to do something and you disobey? There are consequences, aren’t there!! Sometimes it’s a swat. Sometimes it’s time out. Sometimes it’s no tv or being grounded. Sometimes it’s just Mom and Dad are mad at you. And as you get older, having Mom and Dad mad at you is worse than any other punishment. Or actually, it is worse when Mom and Dad are disappointed in you. If you are blessed to have this kind of relationship with your parents, then you have a much better understanding of how serious it is to disobey God, aka sin. There are consequences. Sometimes it’s a physical consequence, a punishment. Sometimes it’s knowing that God is mad at me, or, worse yet, disappointed in me. I don’t even like to think about that!!!
So when John writes that he scribed this letter to God’s people so that they would not sin, it is something to pay attention to. This whole passage is a great encouragement to obey God to the best of our ability, but to know that if we fail, if we make a mistake, Jesus Christ is there to forgive us when we repent. Then He restores our relationship with the Father. There might still be a consequence, but God is not alienated from us anymore.
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if you had something you could do to encourage God’s people not to sin?! Oh, but there is!!! Hebrews 10:24-25 says that we need to think about how to spur one another on to love and good works and to encourage one another. We definitely do have something we can do to help one another. Maybe it’s a phone call. Maybe it’s making a card or drawing a picture. Maybe it’s a hug or a smile on sabbath. Sometimes just being at church is a great encouragement to the church family. We miss each one of you when you’re not here.
We are a family, the Lord’s army, a team. And a team, a family, an army works best when they work together. Here’s what that looks like: Let’s say I have an apple. An apple is good, but it doesn’t make a fruit salad. So let’s add a banana. That’s good! Now we have crunch and tangy along with smooth and subtle. Hmm. Let’s add some sweet - like a can of mandarin oranges. How about a complement of chunks of pineapple. We need something small and round for texture and color - how about some frozen blueberries. Let’s add some frozen strawberries and frozen chunks of cantaloupe. Now we need a can of cherry pie filling. The filling will coat the apples and keep them from turning brown, even while it ties all the fruit together. Oh, and let’s add some nuts. Every team needs someone who nuts. Each one of these pieces in the fruit salad has a role in making the fruit salad stronger, more appealing, more able to be the best fruit salad it can be. Alone each ingredient is good, but together, it’s better.
In the same way, we can come alongside our church family and help to make each person stronger. Spend some time this week thinking about how you can encourage our church family, so they will be stronger in the Lord to do His will, so they will not sin.
***Separate From the World
Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 1 John 2:15
Materials: bottle, water, oil, red food coloring, spoon, flashlight
One of the things that Jesus prayed about His disciples to His Father that last night before He died was this: I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world (John 17:14). Here’s what that looks like.
(Pour water into a jar.) The water represents the world. But we are not of this world. In John’s words, we don’t love the world or the things in the world. In terms of water and oil (Pour oil into the jar with the water), they don’t mix.
Jesus went on to pray to His Father, I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one (John 17:15). I think that Jesus knew that Christians would not feel at home in this world. We feel like we don’t belong. Because we’re Christians, we want to do what pleases God . . . and there’s way too much sin in the world and in the things of the world for us to want to be part of it. (Pour in red food coloring.) The red food coloring represents sin. Where does it go? It goes through the oil and doesn’t stick. It goes straight to the water. When Christians are seeking God and trying to follow His ways, God keeps us from the evil one, from Satan, and his schemes to deceive us and cause us to sin. Just like the food coloring doesn’t stick to the oil, sin doesn’t stick to us. We live in this world, but we don’t have to sin just because we live here.
Of course, occasionally we do sin. (Stir the jar with the spoon.) When that happens, we look just like the world. No one can tell the difference between who is a Christian and who is not because sin is right there with us. That’s sad.
So what do we do? We repent, telling God that we’re sorry and that we’re not going to disobey Him (called sin) again. It might take a little while for us to reclaim our reputation with the people around us. They want to see that we are truly different than all other people in the world who don’t love God. But eventually, just as it takes some time for the oil and water to separate in the jar, eventually we are again distinct from unbelievers.
Let me put it a different way: When we are following this command to not love the world or anything in the world, we can let the light of God shine through our lives to the people around us. That is, we’re a good witness for Jesus Christ. (Shine the flashlight through the jar.) Notice that the light doesn’t shine through the water contaminated with food coloring any better than God’s light shines through someone’s life completely contaminated with sin. But see how the light can shine through the oil? Without sin impeding the light beams, God’s light - His ways, His goodness, and His love - can shine through the life of a Christian.
John says, Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. We not only want the love of the Father in us, we want others to see the love of God shining in our lives.
That’s why we separate ourselves from the world and the things in the world that are not Godly.
Adapted from: http://yourlifeuncommon.blogspot.com/2010/04/jakes-object-lesson.html
***Be Like Jesus
. . but we know that when he appears we shall be like him,. . . 1 John 3:2 (ESV)
Materials needed: different kinds/color/textures of yarns, buttons, fabric
If you lose a button off your shirt, you need to try to match a new button to it. If you tear a hole in your jeans, your mom tries to find some denim that will match it to patch it. If you are crocheting a blanket and run out of one skein of yarn, you want to find a new skein that has yarn similar in color, texture, and weight. You want to match these things as closely as possible.
In a similar way, we are told that God is transforming us into the image of His Son. (2 Corinthians 3:18) We want to be like Jesus. We want to like the things He likes. We want to do the things He does. We want to think about things the way He thinks about them. We want to have the same goals and values. We want to be like Christ.
How does that happen? It’s a daily choice. We read the Bible to find out how God feels about things. We pray and ask for wisdom and guidance. We come to church and talk with Godly people about God and about how to live a Godly life. And then, we have to put it into practice. When we’re faced with decisions, we have to choose to do things God’s way. We have to train our minds to view things the way God would view them. We have to desire to be like Christ more than we desire to have our own way.
We are not ever going to be perfect in this life. But when Jesus returns, 1 John 3:2 tells us, “We know that when he appears we shall be like him for we shall see him as he is.”
Do you think that you look like Jesus right now? Right now is a good time to start making some choices that will draw you closer to Him.
***We Will See Him (Holy Day Lesson - Trumpets)
but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. 1 John 3:2b
Materials: drawing paper, pencils, crayons, markers, a photo of a person
What if I described someone to you, and you had to draw them based on what you heard me say? Do you think your drawing would look like the actual person? What if you looked at the drawing the person next to you made? Would your drawing look like his drawing? Not likely. You might not even think it was a drawing of the same person.
When we talk about Trumpets, the first of the fall Holy Days of God, we talk about trumpets and judgment on this world. Because of verses like 1 Corinthians 15:52 . . .For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, . . .
we think about people being resurrected, getting to see people we haven’t seen for a long time!
Because of verses like Joel 2:1 Blow a trumpet in Zion; sound an alarm on my holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble, for the day of the Lord is coming; it is near, we think of a huge battle against the returning Lord of lord and King of kings, Jesus Christ.
And maybe we think about getting to see Jesus Christ face to face because of songs like “I Can Only Imagine.” “I can only imagine what my eyes will see when Your face is before me.” And we think about our actions - falling on our face in worship before Him, dancing for joy, and shouting a great shout of victory!
But 1 John 3:2 says something very important for the people of God: but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.
When Jesus Christ comes back, we’re not only going to see Him as He is, we are going to be like Him. That boggles my mind. I’m instantly going to be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye. And I’m going to be like Jesus.
Truly!! There’s a great day coming!!
**Purify Yourself
All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure. 1 John 3:3 (NIV)
Materials Needed: wash cloth, basin, hand sanitizer, 2-L bottle of sand, alcohol swabs
Have you ever liked someone so much that you started picking up their habits or some of their speech patterns? Perhaps you start dressing the way they dress. Perhaps you start eating the things they eat, doing the things they do, liking the things they like. There’s a saying: imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. In other words, when you try to be like someone else, you are demonstrating with your actions just how very much you respect, like, and admire them.
In this epistle, John says that when we have this hope - what hope is that? It’s the previous verse that we memorized last week: we know that when He appears we will be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. That’s the hope, the firm foundation upon which we build our life. We’re going to see Jesus at His return. We’re going to be changed into His likeness.
But that’s then -when He returns. What should we be doing now? John says we should purify ourselves. What do we purify ourselves from? Paul says that we “purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God” (2 Corinthians 7:1).
So how do you clean yourself up? What do you use to purify yourself? Wash cloth and basin, hand sanitizer, bottle of sand, alcohol swabs? All of these things are used to clean, but is it really what Paul and John are talking about? These things all clean the outside, and that’s good. But what about the inside? How do we clean our hearts?
That’s a work of God. You have to first devote yourself to God, acknowledging that He is your God. Then you can pray, as David did, “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me” (Psalm 51:10).
***Crept in Unnoticed
. . . For certain people have crept in unnoticed . . . Jude 1:4
Materials: paper, pencil, quarter (HAS to be a quarter)
I remember the first time that my older brother pulled this gag on me: First, challenge your mark (pun intended, as you will see) that they can’t roll a quarter down their nose while keeping three fingers in circles on the piece of paper. Once they’ve accepted the challenge, draw dark circles with the pencil around the quarter - making reasonably spaced circles for their fingers. Then with one hand, they pick up the quarter and roll it down their nose. Because it’s a quarter, it will have picked up graphite from the pencil. As they roll the quarter down their nose, the graphite will leave a nice mark all the way down. (Of course, I don’t plan to run the quarter down the children’s noses. We’ll run the quarter across the paper.) The point is this: a great deal of distraction was employed to achieve an outcome that they didn’t even see coming, literally! For my brother, it was a trick to have me walking around the house with marks on my face without even realizing it, so that he could laugh at me.
It’s a prank.But it does tend to illuminate the idea that if someone wants to pull something over on you, they’re going to try to do it when you aren’t paying attention. If they’re afraid you might be paying attention, they’ll employ some sort of distraction to get your attention somewhere else.
So when Jude says that certain people have crept in unnoticed - ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ - there are two possibilities. Either God’s people didn’t care enough about the faith that had been delivered to them to pay close attention to people who were coming in, or they were distracted by other things in their lives. In either case, Jude tells them to earnestly contend for the faith - in other words, the good news of Jesus Christ is worth paying attention to, it’s worth studying and meditating on so that you can give a solid reason for the hope that you have in Christ Jesus! Knowing what God’s word says is important. It’s valuable. It’s worthy of your time and energy.
I once had the kids count how many Bibles we have in our home. Not counting the ones online that can be accessed with the click of a mouse, we had 40-some physical copies of the Bible! But just having the Bible isn’t enough. You have to read it, think about it, digest it, and know it so well that you can defend your beliefs that are based upon it. Otherwise, people can creep in unnoticed and get you to believe things that just aren’t so. Stay on your guard. Value the gift that God has given. Make it part of who you are!!!
***denotes visual lesson
James
**James 1:5 - Godly Wisdom aka Using the Resources at Hand to Accomplish Your Goal
**James 1:12 - Withstand the Test
**James 1:17 - Shadow of Turning
**James 1:17 - Every Good and Perfect Gift (Holy Day Lesson - Pentecost)
**James 4:14 - But a Mist
I Peter
**1 Peter 1:5 - Power You Can't See
**1 Peter 2:3 - The Lord is Good
**1 Peter 3:3 - What Should You Wear?
1 Peter 3:15 - Honor Christ the Lord as Holy
1 John
**1 John 1:8 - Missing the Mark
**1 John 1:9 - To Cleanse Us From All Unrighteousness
**2 John 2:1 - So That You Will Not Sin
**1 John 2:15 - Separate From the World
**1 John 3:2 - Be Like Jesus
**1 John 3:2b - We Will See Him (Holy Day Lesson - Trumpets)
**1 John 3:3 - Purify Yourself
Jude
***Jude 1:4 - Crept in Unnoticed
**Godly Wisdom
aka Using the Resources at Hand to Accomplish Your Goal
If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. James 1:5 (ESV)
Materials needed: beans or marshmallows, dixie cups, balloons, scissors
https://www.123homeschool4me.com/marshmallow-shooter-kids-activity-over_50/
Have you ever had a job to do and wondered how in the world you were going to accomplish it with the resources you had on hand? For instance, how in the world could you get a marshmallow (or bean or Cheerio) to the other side of the room without walking it over there? Hmm. What if you made a marshmallow shooter? So you look around at what you have? Let’s say you had a marshmallow (or bean), a balloon, a cup, and a pair of scissors in with a whole lot of other things because rarely do you see a balloon, cup, scissors, and marshmallow all by themselves in a room. Is that helpful? Can you make a marshmallow shooter out of a cup and balloon? Instructions here: https://www.123homeschool4me.com/marshmallow-shooter-kids-activity-over_50/
Many people might look at the things they have and not see any way they could use them. So they give up. But James 1:5 says, If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. So when you need help solving a problem, accomplishing a task, reaching a goal - take it to God and ask Him for help.
It’s amazing what you can accomplish when God shows you how. It makes you think of God empowering Bezalel from the tribe of Judah and Oholiab from the tribe of Dan to build the tabernacle in the wilderness (Exodus 31).
I would never have considered that you could make a marshmallow shooter out of a cup and balloon? To think of the skill that these two men had to have to fashion the holy things of God is mind-blowing. So, again, when you have a problem to solve, something that needs Godly wisdom, go to God.
***Withstand the Test
. . . when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life . . . James 1:12
Materials: stickers, balls, “rewards”
What is the first commandment with a promise? To honor your father and your mother. And what was the promise? That your days may be long in the land the Lord your God is giving you. How do you honor your parents? You demonstrate how much you love and honor them by being respectful and obedient. Why do you love them? Because they first loved you enough to bring you into the world and to provide everything you need.
Don’t you find the parallel between our earthly parents and our Heavenly Parent interesting?! God first loved us, creating us and then redeeming us from our sins through the death of Jesus Christ. Do we appreciate that? Do we love God for what He’s already done for us? If we love Him, He tells us how to demonstrate our love for Him: keep His commandments.
Our obedience demonstrates that we love God, that we want to please Him. That’s much like the fifth commandment language: Honor your father and your mother that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you (Exodus 20:12, ESV). God gave them the land. God chose them out of all the nations on the face of the earth to be His (Deuteronomy 14:2)! He rescued them from slavery, He gave them the Promised Land, and He blessed them with His presence. They, in turn, demonstrated their devotion to Him by obeying His commandments - commandments which were given for their good.
In the same way, God chose each of us. He rescued us from slavery to sin. He brings us into fellowship with Him through the death and resurrection of His Son. We, in turn, demonstrate our devotion to Him by obeying His commandments - commandments which are given for our good.
But this is not just one and done. We persevere in keeping His commandments until they become our way of life. We keep them automatically because they are increasingly part of who we are. There is a reward at the end of persevering and overcoming: we are given eternal life with God. Eternal life is a free gift from God. Our obedience to Him in this life demonstrates that we are honoring our Father, the King of the Universe. We can’t earn eternal life, but we demonstrate in our actions that it has been given to us through Jesus Christ.
***No Shadow of Turning
Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. James 1:17
Materials needed: book of hand shadows (The Classic Art of Hand Shadows, Algrove Publishing), light source, candle, match
As long as there have been films, slides, or projectors used, there have been kids trying to make recognizable animal shadows with their hands. There are some very cool ones. With some practice, it’s a lot of fun to see if people can guess what you’re making as the light hits your hand and casts a shadow.
So what happens when a candle is lit? Does the candle cast a shadow? Yes, of course. But does the flame? No, it doesn’t. Why? It’s light! Light shining on light doesn’t make a shadow.
Romans 1:20 says, For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities - his eternal power and divine nature - have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse. So what is it that we learn about God when we’re looking at shadows and light?
First of all, when God shines in our life, we cast a shadow of God’s interaction with us. We need to be very careful to be as accurate as we can about who He is. And we need to give Him the glory. Whatever we accomplish or achieve is because of His grace in our lives, not because we are so mighty and wise.
Secondly, God never changes. He doesn’t turn from Who He is - thereby casting a shadow of something different from what He is now. Hebrews 13:8 says, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” What He says, He means. What He says, He will do. His laws are not here today, gone tomorrow. His laws reflect who He is, and they do not change.
I can move my hands in the light and get a different shadow. I can move the light and get a different shadow. But the light stays the same. How very comforting it is to know that God is good and that doesn’t change.
**I didn't get to do this at church because we had no little ones, but since I was using the same verse both days, I can't go back and repeat it again.
**Every Good and Perfect Gift (Pentecost lesson)
Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. James 1:17
Materials: Small gifts
We all like receiving gifts. Something new, something useful, something beautiful, something that lets us know how much someone likes us - there are many good reasons for liking gifts.
On the day of Pentecost, the first Pentecost after Jesus Christ had been crucified and then resurrected from the dead, God gave His believers a gift: the Holy Spirit was poured out. What an incredible gift!!
It was something new - or at least, it makes us into something new. The Holy Spirit guides us into all truth. John 16:13 says, “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.” I like knowing that, for those who believe in God, the Holy Spirit helps us make the right choices.
The Holy Spirit also helps us pray to God. When we don’t know what to say, the Spirit intercedes for us. Romans 8:26, “Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.” It’s very nice to know that we don’t have to have exactly the right words - that the Holy Spirit goes before us in God’s presence.
The Holy Spirit gives us hope. May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope. Romans 15:13
And hope is just one of the fruit of the Holy Spirit! Having the Holy Spirit working in your life means that as you grow closer to God the more you will exhibit the fruit of the Holy Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. (Galatians 5:22-23)
And the Holy Spirit is called the Comforter. We are in this world where we will have trouble, but the Holy Spirit gives us hope, shows us God’s love, helps us make good decisions, and the Holy Spirit within us assures us that we are God’s children. (Romans 8:16 - The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,)
What a good and perfect gift God poured out on the believers on that first Pentecost in Jerusalem!!!
Note: I had the parents pick out the gifts to give to the children, just as the Father gives us gifts; we don't choose.
***But a Mist
For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. James 4:14
Materials needed: a spray bottle of water
One morning a couple of weeks ago, we had a thick fog when I took the dogs out for their morning walk. The cat came along, too, just for fun. It was fun for me, at least, as I watched this long-haired cat daintily stepping, now leaping, along the path, trying to keep her feet from getting wet. When we finished our lap around the field, I picked her up. I expected her feet and her belly fur to be quite wet. And it was. What was not readily apparent until I picked her up was the amount of water all over her. In walking through the mist, she’d accumulated quite a bit! So we got out a towel and rubbed her mostly dry. It wasn’t as if she’d gone swimming in the pond. So she wasn’t soaked. But she was more wet than I wanted her to be, especially knowing her proclivity to sleeping on the couch while we are working on school work.
So think about the difference between a mist, a good steady rain, and a pond. The mist burns off quickly as the sun gets stronger. In a few hours, the cat could have walked all the way and not have had to suffer the indignity of being towel-dried. A steady rain would have soaked her to the skin in a matter of moments. She would have to have quite a bit of attention before she was allowed to roam freely in the house! And had she actually chosen to swim in the pond, she’d have found herself an outside cat for several more hours. A mist is just a little bit, not very significant, not long-lasting.
We would like to think that we are more important than a mist. We would like to think that when we are gone that we will be greatly missed (no pun intended). But in the large scheme of things, each person is really rather insignificant. In contrast, the Being Who is significant is our Eternal King, the Creator of the Universe. We only exist because He wills us to exist! He, Who spoke all things into existence, sustains all things by His will. So here’s the really cool part: I’m an insignificant mist, yet God loves me so much that He gave His Son to die for my sins that I can be adopted into the Family of God. God looked on an insignificant mist and made it significant because He said it is!
The next time you don’t think you’re very important, just remember that you are loved and fully known by our Great God - and He says you’re important to Him.
***Power You Can’t See
you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 1 Peter 1:5
Materials: large piece of paper, ruler
If I put a ruler on the edge of a table, how easily can I flip it off the table by hitting the end of it? Pretty easily. But what happens if I put a large piece of paper over the top of the ruler. Is it any more difficult to flip the ruler? Yes! The weight of the air pressing down on the paper creates a resistance to the paper flying up when I hit the end of the ruler.
Just because I can’t see the air doesn’t mean that it isn’t there.
And just because I can’t see the air doesn’t mean that the air doesn’t have a huge impact on the ruler and the paper - and what I can do with them.
This is just a simple reminder that just because we can’t see God doesn’t mean He isn’t there. He is there. He has great power. As Creator of the Universe, what is there that He can’t do?!!
He saves us. He protects us. He provides for us. He keeps us from trouble. He heals us. The list goes on and on. And in the end, God grants us salvation, the gift of living with Him forever in His kingdom. He’s our great God.
We just need to put our trust in Him and know that He loves us, wants the very best for us, and will bless us enormously. It doesn’t mean we won’t experience troubles and sadness and pain in this life. It just means that He wants us to believe, in spite of everything that happens, that He is good all the time. There’s nothing too big in our lives that He cannot handle. The Great God of the Universe has a plan for you and He will accomplish His purpose in your life.
The next time you feel overwhelmed or stressed or hurting or saddened by what’s going on, remember the power of our God. It’s there.
***The Lord is Good
if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good. 1 Peter 2:3
Materials needed: orange pieces, baking soda
Can you think of something that God has done in your life? Perhaps it was healing. Perhaps it was protection. Perhaps it was guidance so that you’d know which direction you should go.
My mom was driving on icy streets in Casper one winter. As she approached an intersection, she saw a pickup coming on the cross street. She stepped on the brakes and started sliding. She saw that he stepped on the brakes, but he was also sliding. The collision was inevitable. She closed her eyes, said a prayer, and when she opened her eyes, both cars were through the intersection without a collision.
If you can think of something that God did for you, did it happen the way you thought it would?
In my mom’s case, her prayer was for God’s help. And if you’d asked her, she probably would have said that she wanted both cars to stop short of the impact. What God gave her, however, was no stop and no collision - and an indelible memory of God’s rescue.
It’s kind of like eating an orange piece. You expect it to taste a certain way. But if you dip it into baking soda, you get something different. The acid from the orange and the baking soda combine to make an orange fizz in your mouth. It’s totally unexpected. That is, you don’t get that reaction from the orange by itself or the baking soda by itself. But when you put them together, an amazing thing happens.
God’s provision, His protection, the way He answers our prayers is often unexpected. It’s often different from what we thought it would look like. But that doesn’t make it bad. It actually, in the end, turns out better than we could have imagined - not so much because we got what we wanted, but because we did what we should always do: put our trust in God and know that He hears our prayers. Even if the answer is no, we have exercised our faith, and that’s a very good thing.
The next time you eat an orange, try dipping it in baking soda first. The orange fizz can remind you of the unexpected blessings we can receive from our Father.
Resource: www.sciencefun.org
***What Should You Wear?
Do not let your adorning be external—the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear— 1 Peter 3:3
Materials: pins, necklaces, paper crowns, etc.
Have you ever heard the phrase, “It’s like putting lipstick on a pig?” That’s a very evocative mental picture which illuminates how little outward dressing really impacts the character, integrity, and behavior of the pig. That is, just because you put lipstick on a pig doesn’t mean the pig won’t go wallow in the mud. The pig still grunts and squeals when he eats. And he shovels his food around as he roots around for the “best” slop. It wouldn’t matter if the pig were wearing a diamond necklace or a royal robe. The pig would still do what pigs do by nature.
In a very similar way, what we do reflects who we are, truly, on the inside. It really doesn’t matter whether you’re talking about a big rough-looking man or a tiny, frail little old lady. That’s just the outside. They could be wearing raggedy clothes with more holes than not holes. Or they could be wearing the most expensively tailored suits money can buy. The outward appearance really doesn’t tell you anything about the relationship the person has with God, how much he loves truth, how she treats animals, and so on.
So Peter tells his readers not to put so much time thinking about the outward appearance - braiding your hair, wearing gold jewelry or expensive clothing. In reality, we must put on the Lord Jesus Christ; that is, what people see when they look at us should be the actions they’d expect to see from a follower of Jesus. We should stand for truth and justice, love and kindness, mercy and compassion, respect and humility.
So, does that mean your appearance doesn’t matter at all? No! Our outward appearance, whether we are clean and neat, speaks volumes to the people around us. It tells them whether you’re a good steward of what God has given you. It tells them that you are diligent in your responsibilities - like staying clean and neat. And especially when we come to church, we dress in our best clothes, not to impress the people in our church family, but as an outward expression of the respect we have for our Holy God. He deserves our best: our best clothes, our best attention, our best thoughts, our best actions. He is God. He is our God, and what we wear reflects on Him when we wear His name.
We need to think carefully about what we wear - both physical clothes and our actions. We are showing our love and reverence for God. And we are representing Him to the people around us. Let’s not act like a bunch of pigs wearing lipstick.
Honor Christ the Lord as Holy
but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect. 1 Peter 3:15
Do you know anyone who did not honor God as holy? I can. It’s Moses. In Deuteronomy 32:51, the second half of the verse says, “and because you did not treat me as holy in the midst of the people of Israel.” Moses had been told to speak to the rock to bring forth the water, but Moses struck the rock twice. Numbers 20:12 uses the same language. God says Moses did not “uphold me as holy in the eyes of the people of Israel.” The consequence of Moses not honoring God as holy in the sight of the Israelites meant that Moses was not going to be allowed to go into the Promised Land. Big consequences. God must take it very seriously when His people do not honor Him as holy!
But we’re not leading a nation of people. We’re not striking a rock to bring forth water. Can we apply what Moses failed to do to our own lives? Yes. Look at these passages again. In Deut 32:51, God says that Moses broke faith with him. In Numbers 20:11-13, God says that Moses did not believe in Him. In Numbers 27:14, God says that Moses rebelled against His word. The lack of belief, the faithlessness, the rebellion - it’s all tied together. It caused Moses to not honor God as holy.
Remember when we talked about “the sin which clings so closely”? That unbelief in God causes us not only to rebel against Him, but it causes us to fail to honor Him as holy. This is serious. We don’t want to experience the serious consequences that Moses experienced! We have to believe in Him, obey Him and have the faith that He will do as He has promised! The word “Lord” in 1 Peter 3:15 emphasizes this. It’s kyrios (#2962) and is a respectful title which means “supreme in authority.” Jesus is worthy of having honor shown to Him because He is “supreme in authority;” He is Lord!
So, how do we honor Him as holy? One way is to demonstrate our faith in Him by being prepared to make a defense for why we believe the way we do. That word “defense” is the Greek word apologia (#627) which means answer, clearing of self, defense. It’s the opposite of the word in Romans 1:20 where it says they are without excuse. That’s anapologetos (#379). So we make an apologia, a defense, being ready to give a reason for the hope that is in us. The word that is translated here “reason” is one you are familiar with. It is used in John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The word translated “Word” is the same one translated “reason” in 1 Peter 3:15. It’s logos (#3056) and means “something said, reasoning, motive, account, cause.” So we are to give an apologia to anyone who asks us for a logos for the hope that is in us! And that hope is the godly hope, the hope which means to anticipate (usually with pleasure), expectation, confidence, faith. Here we are back at faith again!
Can you think of anything you could tell someone about why you believe the way you do? Do you have any stories about God’s hand in your life? Have you prepared a defense of what you could say to someone who wanted to know why you celebrate the Holy Days, why you eat unleavened bread, why you go to the Feast of Tabernacles, why you worship on the Sabbath, why you eat a clean diet? Peter indicates that being prepared to make that defense is evidence that you honor Christ as holy in your heart!
But there’s one more thing Peter tells us: we have to be ready to make that defense, not from a condemnatory stance, not belligerent or superior, not prideful or arrogant. We make our defense, give our answer, our apologia, with gentleness and respect.
The word “gentleness” has the same root as the word in Matthew 11:28-30 where it describes Jesus has being gentle and lowly in heart. He’s our model. If anyone had reason to be condemnatory and superior, it was Christ. But He wasn’t, and we have no right to be prideful either!
The word “respect” means “to be put in fear, alarm or fright, to be afraid exceedingly, terror.” It’s the Greek word (#5401) phobos. Can you think of the English word derived from phobos? It’s phobia. We must be very aware that the knowledge and position we have in Christ is only through the grace and mercy of God. We don’t deserve it. We didn’t earn it. We have no reason to boast. So when we share our reason, our logos, for the hope we have in Christ, we must be very careful to honor Christ as Lord, giving Him the glory due Him. It’s not about us; it’s about Him!
It’s very important to honor Christ the Lord as holy. Think about it!
***Missing the Mark
If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 1 John 1:8
Materials: marshmallows, popsicle catapults (https://academy.animaljam.com/posts/marshmallow-catapult)
There's something very compelling about hitting a target: darts, basketball, golf, skeet shooting, archery . . . and catapults come to mind! It takes skill to hit the bulls-eye consistently time after time. Who doesn’t like the call: nothing but net!! It has even become part of our language. If someone is describing something, we might say, “You nailed it” or “You hit that dead center.” The slang term of “right on” derives from the concept of having your sights right on the target. You are accurate.
Because we have this concept in our culture, it helps us enormously to understand the concept of sin. Literally, the word sin in the Greek means “missing the mark.” What a mental picture this creates for us!! Our desire is to hit the target, to hit dead center, to hit the mark. Nowhere is this more important than when we’re talking about obedience to God. We want our actions to be right on, to nail God’s commandments, to be on target with every one of our actions.
How do people get better at archery or catapulting? Practice. Attention to detail. Desire to hit the mark. The same applies to not sinning, aka obedience to God’s law. We practice. When we fail, we repent and we try again. We pay attention to the details, seeking out God’s will to do it exactly as He desires. And we earnestly desire to do what is right in God’s sight. If we have the desire, if we pay attention, and if we persevere, we may get closer to obedience and avoiding sinning (missing the mark). We also need God’s guidance - through the Holy Spirit and reading God’s word.
Some people miss the mark repeatedly, so they want to move the target. God doesn’t change; His laws don’t change. We cannot change the law just because we feel like it - and we cannot move the target just because we can’t hit it with our marshmallow catapult.
Read your Bible. Pay attention to what it says. And greatly desire to hit the mark!
***To Cleanse Us From All Unrighteousness
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9
Materials: pencils, erasers
Do you ever make mistakes? That’s a silly question, isn’t it? We all make mistakes. Some are just poor decisions. Others are bad choices which are contrary to God’s ways. Those mistakes are called sins. Sometimes we make mistakes without realizing it. Sometimes we make mistakes because we just can’t help ourselves. Those are sins of weakness.
A pencil can help us understand how this works. Have you ever added numbers together and written down the wrong answer? That’s a mistake that you made because you weren’t thinking, you were distracted, or you just don’t know your addition facts very well. Sins are like that. You can sin because you weren’t thinking, you were distracted, or you just don’t know God’s law very well.
Think about your pencil again. Have you ever intended to write one thing but your fingers just didn’t form the letter or number correctly? That’s a mistake that you made out of weakness. Some sins are like that too. You know you shouldn’t do something, but you still make the wrong choice.
The thing is: when you make a mistake out of weakness, you have to fix it. With the pencil, you use the eraser to wipe out that mistake and put something else in its place. The only thing is - sometimes you can’t completely erase the mark. You can still see some of the mistake that you made. Sin is like that. You can try to make things right, but there’s still evidence that you made a wrong choice.
There’s another very curious thing about pencils. If a pencil is brand new, the eraser usually works pretty well. But when a pencil has been around for a while, the eraser gets harder and harder and less and less able to erase like it should. There are some things you can do to fix that. They kinda work. You can put your pencil in a plastic bag with a little bit of water. Sometimes that helps. Or you can use a cutting board and a big knife to cut the eraser in half. You don’t have as much eraser to use anymore, but at least you’ve taken off the part that is hard and unusable.
It’s an interesting thing about people and the mistakes we make. When a mistake is fresh and new, it’s easier to rectify - to fix. That’s kind of like the new pencil. But when we get into the habit of sinning, pretty soon we get hardened to our mistakes. It isn’t as easy to change our behavior.
But it’s important to realize that there are consequences for every mistake, for every sin. Romans 6:23 says that wages of sin is death. You are not getting away with doing anything against God’s law. However, God has made a way - through Jesus Christ - for us to be forgiven. When we acknowledge Jesus as Savior and God, He takes the penalty for our sin. Better than any eraser could wipe out the mistake, Jesus cleanses us from all unrighteousness.
It’s something to think about the next time you use an eraser.
Based on : https://www.creativekidswork.com/all-ideas/117-77-five-lessons-a-pencil-can-teach-us
***So That You Will Not Sin
My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. , , , 1 John 2:1 (NIV)
Materials: apple, banana, grapes; can of mandarin oranges, pineapple, cherry pie filling; frozen blueberries, strawberries, cantaloupe; pecans
What happens when Mom or Dad tell you to do something and you disobey? There are consequences, aren’t there!! Sometimes it’s a swat. Sometimes it’s time out. Sometimes it’s no tv or being grounded. Sometimes it’s just Mom and Dad are mad at you. And as you get older, having Mom and Dad mad at you is worse than any other punishment. Or actually, it is worse when Mom and Dad are disappointed in you. If you are blessed to have this kind of relationship with your parents, then you have a much better understanding of how serious it is to disobey God, aka sin. There are consequences. Sometimes it’s a physical consequence, a punishment. Sometimes it’s knowing that God is mad at me, or, worse yet, disappointed in me. I don’t even like to think about that!!!
So when John writes that he scribed this letter to God’s people so that they would not sin, it is something to pay attention to. This whole passage is a great encouragement to obey God to the best of our ability, but to know that if we fail, if we make a mistake, Jesus Christ is there to forgive us when we repent. Then He restores our relationship with the Father. There might still be a consequence, but God is not alienated from us anymore.
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if you had something you could do to encourage God’s people not to sin?! Oh, but there is!!! Hebrews 10:24-25 says that we need to think about how to spur one another on to love and good works and to encourage one another. We definitely do have something we can do to help one another. Maybe it’s a phone call. Maybe it’s making a card or drawing a picture. Maybe it’s a hug or a smile on sabbath. Sometimes just being at church is a great encouragement to the church family. We miss each one of you when you’re not here.
We are a family, the Lord’s army, a team. And a team, a family, an army works best when they work together. Here’s what that looks like: Let’s say I have an apple. An apple is good, but it doesn’t make a fruit salad. So let’s add a banana. That’s good! Now we have crunch and tangy along with smooth and subtle. Hmm. Let’s add some sweet - like a can of mandarin oranges. How about a complement of chunks of pineapple. We need something small and round for texture and color - how about some frozen blueberries. Let’s add some frozen strawberries and frozen chunks of cantaloupe. Now we need a can of cherry pie filling. The filling will coat the apples and keep them from turning brown, even while it ties all the fruit together. Oh, and let’s add some nuts. Every team needs someone who nuts. Each one of these pieces in the fruit salad has a role in making the fruit salad stronger, more appealing, more able to be the best fruit salad it can be. Alone each ingredient is good, but together, it’s better.
In the same way, we can come alongside our church family and help to make each person stronger. Spend some time this week thinking about how you can encourage our church family, so they will be stronger in the Lord to do His will, so they will not sin.
***Separate From the World
Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 1 John 2:15
Materials: bottle, water, oil, red food coloring, spoon, flashlight
One of the things that Jesus prayed about His disciples to His Father that last night before He died was this: I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world (John 17:14). Here’s what that looks like.
(Pour water into a jar.) The water represents the world. But we are not of this world. In John’s words, we don’t love the world or the things in the world. In terms of water and oil (Pour oil into the jar with the water), they don’t mix.
Jesus went on to pray to His Father, I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one (John 17:15). I think that Jesus knew that Christians would not feel at home in this world. We feel like we don’t belong. Because we’re Christians, we want to do what pleases God . . . and there’s way too much sin in the world and in the things of the world for us to want to be part of it. (Pour in red food coloring.) The red food coloring represents sin. Where does it go? It goes through the oil and doesn’t stick. It goes straight to the water. When Christians are seeking God and trying to follow His ways, God keeps us from the evil one, from Satan, and his schemes to deceive us and cause us to sin. Just like the food coloring doesn’t stick to the oil, sin doesn’t stick to us. We live in this world, but we don’t have to sin just because we live here.
Of course, occasionally we do sin. (Stir the jar with the spoon.) When that happens, we look just like the world. No one can tell the difference between who is a Christian and who is not because sin is right there with us. That’s sad.
So what do we do? We repent, telling God that we’re sorry and that we’re not going to disobey Him (called sin) again. It might take a little while for us to reclaim our reputation with the people around us. They want to see that we are truly different than all other people in the world who don’t love God. But eventually, just as it takes some time for the oil and water to separate in the jar, eventually we are again distinct from unbelievers.
Let me put it a different way: When we are following this command to not love the world or anything in the world, we can let the light of God shine through our lives to the people around us. That is, we’re a good witness for Jesus Christ. (Shine the flashlight through the jar.) Notice that the light doesn’t shine through the water contaminated with food coloring any better than God’s light shines through someone’s life completely contaminated with sin. But see how the light can shine through the oil? Without sin impeding the light beams, God’s light - His ways, His goodness, and His love - can shine through the life of a Christian.
John says, Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. We not only want the love of the Father in us, we want others to see the love of God shining in our lives.
That’s why we separate ourselves from the world and the things in the world that are not Godly.
Adapted from: http://yourlifeuncommon.blogspot.com/2010/04/jakes-object-lesson.html
***Be Like Jesus
. . but we know that when he appears we shall be like him,. . . 1 John 3:2 (ESV)
Materials needed: different kinds/color/textures of yarns, buttons, fabric
If you lose a button off your shirt, you need to try to match a new button to it. If you tear a hole in your jeans, your mom tries to find some denim that will match it to patch it. If you are crocheting a blanket and run out of one skein of yarn, you want to find a new skein that has yarn similar in color, texture, and weight. You want to match these things as closely as possible.
In a similar way, we are told that God is transforming us into the image of His Son. (2 Corinthians 3:18) We want to be like Jesus. We want to like the things He likes. We want to do the things He does. We want to think about things the way He thinks about them. We want to have the same goals and values. We want to be like Christ.
How does that happen? It’s a daily choice. We read the Bible to find out how God feels about things. We pray and ask for wisdom and guidance. We come to church and talk with Godly people about God and about how to live a Godly life. And then, we have to put it into practice. When we’re faced with decisions, we have to choose to do things God’s way. We have to train our minds to view things the way God would view them. We have to desire to be like Christ more than we desire to have our own way.
We are not ever going to be perfect in this life. But when Jesus returns, 1 John 3:2 tells us, “We know that when he appears we shall be like him for we shall see him as he is.”
Do you think that you look like Jesus right now? Right now is a good time to start making some choices that will draw you closer to Him.
***We Will See Him (Holy Day Lesson - Trumpets)
but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. 1 John 3:2b
Materials: drawing paper, pencils, crayons, markers, a photo of a person
What if I described someone to you, and you had to draw them based on what you heard me say? Do you think your drawing would look like the actual person? What if you looked at the drawing the person next to you made? Would your drawing look like his drawing? Not likely. You might not even think it was a drawing of the same person.
When we talk about Trumpets, the first of the fall Holy Days of God, we talk about trumpets and judgment on this world. Because of verses like 1 Corinthians 15:52 . . .For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, . . .
we think about people being resurrected, getting to see people we haven’t seen for a long time!
Because of verses like Joel 2:1 Blow a trumpet in Zion; sound an alarm on my holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble, for the day of the Lord is coming; it is near, we think of a huge battle against the returning Lord of lord and King of kings, Jesus Christ.
And maybe we think about getting to see Jesus Christ face to face because of songs like “I Can Only Imagine.” “I can only imagine what my eyes will see when Your face is before me.” And we think about our actions - falling on our face in worship before Him, dancing for joy, and shouting a great shout of victory!
But 1 John 3:2 says something very important for the people of God: but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.
When Jesus Christ comes back, we’re not only going to see Him as He is, we are going to be like Him. That boggles my mind. I’m instantly going to be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye. And I’m going to be like Jesus.
Truly!! There’s a great day coming!!
**Purify Yourself
All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure. 1 John 3:3 (NIV)
Materials Needed: wash cloth, basin, hand sanitizer, 2-L bottle of sand, alcohol swabs
Have you ever liked someone so much that you started picking up their habits or some of their speech patterns? Perhaps you start dressing the way they dress. Perhaps you start eating the things they eat, doing the things they do, liking the things they like. There’s a saying: imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. In other words, when you try to be like someone else, you are demonstrating with your actions just how very much you respect, like, and admire them.
In this epistle, John says that when we have this hope - what hope is that? It’s the previous verse that we memorized last week: we know that when He appears we will be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. That’s the hope, the firm foundation upon which we build our life. We’re going to see Jesus at His return. We’re going to be changed into His likeness.
But that’s then -when He returns. What should we be doing now? John says we should purify ourselves. What do we purify ourselves from? Paul says that we “purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God” (2 Corinthians 7:1).
So how do you clean yourself up? What do you use to purify yourself? Wash cloth and basin, hand sanitizer, bottle of sand, alcohol swabs? All of these things are used to clean, but is it really what Paul and John are talking about? These things all clean the outside, and that’s good. But what about the inside? How do we clean our hearts?
That’s a work of God. You have to first devote yourself to God, acknowledging that He is your God. Then you can pray, as David did, “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me” (Psalm 51:10).
***Crept in Unnoticed
. . . For certain people have crept in unnoticed . . . Jude 1:4
Materials: paper, pencil, quarter (HAS to be a quarter)
I remember the first time that my older brother pulled this gag on me: First, challenge your mark (pun intended, as you will see) that they can’t roll a quarter down their nose while keeping three fingers in circles on the piece of paper. Once they’ve accepted the challenge, draw dark circles with the pencil around the quarter - making reasonably spaced circles for their fingers. Then with one hand, they pick up the quarter and roll it down their nose. Because it’s a quarter, it will have picked up graphite from the pencil. As they roll the quarter down their nose, the graphite will leave a nice mark all the way down. (Of course, I don’t plan to run the quarter down the children’s noses. We’ll run the quarter across the paper.) The point is this: a great deal of distraction was employed to achieve an outcome that they didn’t even see coming, literally! For my brother, it was a trick to have me walking around the house with marks on my face without even realizing it, so that he could laugh at me.
It’s a prank.But it does tend to illuminate the idea that if someone wants to pull something over on you, they’re going to try to do it when you aren’t paying attention. If they’re afraid you might be paying attention, they’ll employ some sort of distraction to get your attention somewhere else.
So when Jude says that certain people have crept in unnoticed - ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ - there are two possibilities. Either God’s people didn’t care enough about the faith that had been delivered to them to pay close attention to people who were coming in, or they were distracted by other things in their lives. In either case, Jude tells them to earnestly contend for the faith - in other words, the good news of Jesus Christ is worth paying attention to, it’s worth studying and meditating on so that you can give a solid reason for the hope that you have in Christ Jesus! Knowing what God’s word says is important. It’s valuable. It’s worthy of your time and energy.
I once had the kids count how many Bibles we have in our home. Not counting the ones online that can be accessed with the click of a mouse, we had 40-some physical copies of the Bible! But just having the Bible isn’t enough. You have to read it, think about it, digest it, and know it so well that you can defend your beliefs that are based upon it. Otherwise, people can creep in unnoticed and get you to believe things that just aren’t so. Stay on your guard. Value the gift that God has given. Make it part of who you are!!!