Teaching

U-Turn to God! Discuss returning to God for salvation.

Let’s say the SuperTruth together: “God wants everyone to turn to Him.”

In our Superbook adventure today, God’s people had turned away from Him. They chose to go their own way and trust in idols instead of trusting in the Living God. In Isaiah 53:6, the prophet Isaiah compares people to sheep.

All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God’s paths to follow our own.

Hold up the STRAIGHT ONLY SIGN. They were like sheep who lowered their heads and did not look up and went their own way. Soon they found themselves far off the path, lost, and in danger. Now, the Assyrian army was threatening to destroy God’s people in Jerusalem.

God needed a faithful messenger to bring a message of repentance, so the people would turn away from sin and turn to Him. In doing this, they would be saved.

Hold up the U-TURN SIGN. You probably have seen this sign along the road; what does it mean? A U-turn.

Illustrate a U-Turn by pretending to drive a car one way, then making a U-turn to head in the opposite way. It means you can make a turn in the shape of the letter U and head in the opposite direction.

Hold up the STRAIGHT ONLY SIGN. God sent Isaiah to call the people to put on the brake, stop going their own way, and turn back to Him, like a U-turn. Cover the STRAIGHT ONLY SIGN with the U-TURN SIGN.

Place the NO U-TURN over the U-TURN SIGN. Who knows what this sign means? No U-turn allowed; U-turns are illegal or forbidden.

Be aware that the devil does not want us to turn to God. He may try to discourage you and say that you can’t turn to God because you’ve done too many bad things and that God won’t forgive you. Is the devil right? NO!

The devil is wrong! It’s never too late to turn back to God. He will forgive us for everything we’ve ever done, no matter how bad. The Bible promises us in 1 John 1:9:

What will He forgive and cleanse us of? All sins and wickedness.

Place the U-TURN SIGN over the NO U-TURN SIGN. When we decide to confess our sins, turn away from them, and turn back to God, He can always be trusted to forgive us!

Uncover NO U-TURN SIGN. In God’s eyes, this sign does not exist because if you’re going the wrong way, you can always turn back to Him! Toss aside the NO U-TURN SIGN.

Ask a volunteer to stand a few steps away from you, then place a chair between you. Let’s say that this person has decided to turn back to God. I will represent God. Have the child start walking toward you and stop at the chair. There is a big problem. No one can come to God on their own. Why? Sin; we can only come to God through Jesus and His forgiveness.

Exactly; the chair represents sin. Our sin is a barrier or wall that keeps us from coming to Him. We are helpless to remove our sin. So what did God do?

Choose another volunteer to be Jesus. Have him move the chair out of the way and walk with the first volunteer toward you as you hold out your arms to welcome them.

He sent His Son, Jesus, to take away our sins. He did this by dying on the cross. Only Jesus can remove the barrier between God and us. When we accept Him as our Lord and Savior, we can come into God’s presence, assured that we are clean and holy and acceptable to Him!

Hold up the U-TURN SIGN. This sign can be a reminder to stay on God’s path. If you ever stray, U-TURN back to Him and away from sin.

How difficult is it to turn to God? Have children stand up and then turn their bodies around to face the back of the room and the GOD SIGN on the wall.

It’s this easy!

Optional: If time permits, do the Object Lesson, “Erasing Sin,” from the lesson's Additional Activities section.

It’s time now for the Discipleship Challenge, where we will have an opportunity to share God’s message of repentance and salvation with others!

Discipleship Challenge/Practical Application

Give any child who missed Lesson 1 the Isaiah Send Me Gizmo Craft with the telescoping neck. Consider taping the four brass roundhead paper fasteners on a page corner to secure them. Show children the sample craft made in Lesson 1 and have them assemble the craft at home.

Use the model craft as you discuss the challenge. The challenge last time was to learn Isaiah 6:1b. Who can say it from memory? Children respond.

Isaiah 6:1b:

I hope you were able to spend time in prayer and think about our Mighty God, high and lifted up. If so, how did it encourage or help you? Children respond.

Let’s extend Gizmo’s neck another section to see today’s challenge. Slowly pull up Gizmo’s neck and have a child read the challenge aloud. Speak the truth in love. Ephesians 4:15a.

When the Holy Spirit gives us a word from God to share with someone, it may be difficult to share at times. Whether it is easy or difficult, one thing is always true: we must always speak everything with love. God sends us to help people and build them up, not to tear them down. His goal is to have them turn to Him, not away from Him. The key is to pray and be led by God’s Spirit and allow God’s love to flow from you as you deliver His message.

For this challenge, continue to pray and ask God to show you how He is high and lifted up above everything else! Next, look up and learn Ephesians 4:15. Then, be ready for God to send you to share His love and His Word with someone! We will discuss your experiences next time we meet!