Teaching

We just played a fun game to show how you can fulfill your purpose in a certain place at a certain time. Queen Esther and her cousin Mordecai both had a purpose. God placed them in their important positions to fulfill His purposes for them. Our SuperTruth says: “God created me for a purpose.”

Place the chair in front of the children. This chair was designed and built for a purpose. What is that purpose? For people to sit on.

Exactly—to sit on!

Choose a child to sit on the chair. Is the chair doing what it was created to do—is it fulfilling its purpose?

Yes, the chair’s purpose is to provide a place for someone to sit safely and comfortably—and that is exactly what it is doing. Child may return to the group. 

So what is our purpose; what did God create us to do?

Those are some good thoughts—let’s read a verse in the Bible. 

Have a volunteer read Ephesians 2:10:

For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things He planned for us long ago.

How exciting! We are God’s masterpiece! When we are born again, we become brand new creatures in Jesus to do good things that God planned for us from the beginning. So what are the good works that we are created for?

The Bible tells us in the book of Isaiah that God made us for His glory. See Isaiah 43:7. We want to bring glory and honor to God through everything we say, do and think. We want to place God far above everything else in our lives, and help others come to know Him, too.  

Think of it this way. Imagine people going to a museum to see a famous painting—a fantastic work of art that is truly a masterpiece. They look in wonder at the painting, appreciating its amazing beauty and the detail of the workmanship. They also think about how wonderfully talented the painter is. Well, we are God’s masterpiece, so people should be able to look upon our lives and see God’s workmanship in us! When they see how we live our lives, they should want to praise our Creator—the Lord of heaven and Earth!

Have a volunteer read Matthew 5:16b:

“Let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.”

We are to bring God’s glorious light to a world darkened by sin. Our main purpose is to glorify God with our lives—through our choices, through our obedience, our worship, and our service. Whatever God asks us to do, large or small, we must do it to glorify Him.  

Esther and Mordecai honored God by obeying Him. They trusted Him to help them and courageously did what was right to save God’s people.

Ask one child to bring a piece of the puzzle and hold it up for all to see. This doesn’t look like much, does it? Sometimes our purpose for a specific time may not seem very important in our own eyes. We may think, what can just one person do?

Ask the other five children with puzzle pieces to come forward. Hold up your puzzle pieces so the class can see them. Now, keep holding them up while you put them together so everyone can see the picture. Allow the children a few moments. Each piece is important to this puzzle! What if one person had thought, “This isn’t important; I’m going home.” Would our puzzle be complete? No.

You may not understand how your piece fits together with anything else, but God does. He always sees the big picture—and we are an important part of His plan.

You are God’s masterpiece, you are priceless to God, and He has created you for a purpose. On the count of three, turn to your neighbor and say the SuperTruth—1, 2, 3! “God created me for a purpose!”

That was great!

We live in a world that may make us feel unimportant. If we compare ourselves to other people, we may think we are not as popular, or smart, or athletic as others. But should we compare ourselves to others? No.

What does God think about us?

He loves us, and created us to be an important part of His plan! Yes, God created each of us for a wonderful purpose!

Discipleship Challenge/Practical Application

Distribute a Scepter Pattern and materials to any children who missed Lesson 1, and explain how they can assemble the craft at home.

Our scepters say that we can come boldly to God’s throne! We don’t have to be concerned, like Esther was when she approached King Xerxes with her request. There is no doubt that God will hear our prayers and accept our worship! I will read some different ways we can approach God’s throne in prayer, which are written on the challenge card. If you prayed like this, raise your hand to share your experience with us.

Read numbers 1–4 of the challenge card below and allow children to share their challenge results with the class.

1. For strength and courage to do the right thing in a difficult situation.

2. To praise, worship, and thank God.  

3. For wisdom and understanding to make a choice or decision.

4. For a specific need; for yourself, family, or someone else.

Let’s continue our Discipleship Challenge to come before God in prayer. The next time we meet, I will give you a chance to share your challenge experiences with the class. Remember to pray for understanding of the purpose God has given you and the courage to obey Him!