Teaching

A Pattern to Follow: Discuss praying as Jesus did.

What did the disciples tell the religious leaders who ordered them to stop talking about Jesus? They had to obey God rather than any human authority.

They refused to be silent even when their lives were in danger. Because the disciples boldly preached the Gospel, many people came to know Jesus. Then those people shared the Gospel with others, and then those people shared the Gospel with even more people. And so it continued for about 2,000 years until people told us about Jesus! And now it’s our turn to pass along the Good News to others!

Let’s say our SuperTruth together: “God has a mission for me.”

Our mission is the same one that Jesus gave the disciples. He gathered His followers together and assigned them a very important mission. When you give someone an important task, you “commission” them to do it. And so this important mission that Jesus gave His followers is called “The Great Commission.” And since we are His followers today, it is our mission, too! Are you curious about what Jesus tells us to do?

Let’s all open our Bibles to Matthew 28:18–20 (NLT):

Jesus commissions His followers to make disciples, teaching them to obey Him. Jesus also gives His followers a wonderful promise—that He is always with us!

John was one of the disciples who heard Jesus say this. He wrote about what it means to be a witness in his letter, 1 John 1:1–2 (NLT):

John was telling people what he saw, heard, touched, and experienced while he was with Jesus. He wanted other people to know about Jesus so they could be saved!

Show children the Mission: Witness file folder. In this folder are five things that we can tell others about Jesus.

Hold up each page from the file folder and choose a volunteer to read it aloud.

Page 1: Love—1 John 3:16 (NLT):

We can tell others that Jesus loves us so much, He died to save us and give us eternal life with Him forever in heaven.

Page 2: Forgiveness—1 John 1:9 (NLT):

We can tell others that, no matter what we’ve done wrong, we simply need to confess what we’ve done to Him. He will always forgive us and cleanse us of our sins.

Page 3: New Life—2 Corinthians 5:17 (NLT):

We can tell others about our exciting new life when we ask Jesus into our hearts. We get a fresh start and begin a new journey as we follow God’s wonderful plan for our lives.

Page 4: Joy—John 15:11 (NLT):

We can tell others about the joy that Jesus gives us, no matter what problems we may face.

Page 5: Strength—Philippians 4:13 (NLT):

We can tell others how Jesus gives us strength to face any situation, and that nothing is impossible when we trust Him!

When we ask Jesus into our hearts, He gives us many spiritual blessings. We don’t want to keep all of these wonderful blessings to ourselves—we want to share the Good News with others. This is God’s mission for us—to witness about Him.

Optional discussion for Grades 4–6, if time allows: Witnessing for Christ doesn’t have to be hard. The Bible tells us that Jesus healed a man who was blind. The religious leaders kept asking the man who Jesus was, and whether Jesus was a sinner and how Jesus could heal. 

He did not have answers to all of their questions; he simply told them what Jesus did for him. We don’t need to have all of the answers either. Our witnessing can be as simple as saying, “This is what Jesus did for me.” Or, “This is what Jesus is doing in my life.”

Raise your hand if you have heard the saying, “Actions speak louder than words?” Children respond.

Our actions, not just our words, can be a powerful and effective witness to shine Jesus’ light for others to see. The Apostle Paul said in Philippians 4:9:

“Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me–everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you.”

When our words and actions reflect Jesus, others will see Him in us.

Discipleship Challenge/Practical Application

Paul and Barnabas were on a mission from God—to preach the Good News and help new believers grow in their faith. How did they travel to the Island of Cyprus? They sailed on a ship.

That is what our Discipleship craft is—a ship! Give a Mission Ship Craft and pencil to each child, along with glue or tape to share. If crafts were copied in black and white, provide crayons, colored pencils, or washable markers to color their ships. The sails should remain white, so the text is readable. Display the finished craft for children to see as they follow the instructions on the page to make their craft. Be prepared to assist as necessary.

Let’s say the SuperTruth together from memory—no peeking at your ship! “God has a mission for me.”

Your mission—should you choose to accept!—is the same one Jesus gave the disciples.

Choose a volunteer to read Sail #1: WITNESS–Read Psalm 96:3 and tell someone how Jesus helps you.

We are to be Christ’s witnesses. The definition of the word “witness” is a person who sees or has personal knowledge of something or someone. Your mission challenge is to tell someone about how you know Jesus.

Name some things we discussed about Christ that we can witness about. Love, forgiveness, new life, joy, strength.

Can you name any more? Salvation, friends, hope, family, etc.

We don’t want to keep these to ourselves; we want to share them with others! That’s called being a witness!

The second part of your mission is to read and memorize Psalm 96:3. Discuss the verse with your family if possible. Share with each other the amazing things Jesus has done and is doing in your lives.

Optional—read Psalm 96:3 (NLT):

Try to witness to at least one person before we meet again. And, if you want to take it up a notch, try to witness to one person each day! You will have a chance to share the success of your mission experience with us in the next class.