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Leader Guide

Teaching

  • Flashlight with batteries
  • Bible or device with the Superbook Bible app

Discipleship Challenge materials:

  • Heart Challenge Page
  • Flame Page
  • Cardstock––2 sheets per child, plus extra
  • Children's scissors
  • Glue sticks to share
  • Pencils
  • Optional: orange, red, yellow crayons, colored pencils, or washable markers
  • Bibles or the Superbook Bible App
  • GizmoNote (optional take-home note)

    Remove the batteries from the flashlight and place them out of view.
    Optional: Print the GizmoNote, one per child to take home after class.

    Discipleship Challenge:
    Make a sample Heart Challenge Page with 2-3 flames glued in a heart to display in class.
    Make one copy of a Heart Challenge Page and a Flame Page in color or black and white on cardstock for each child plus extras.


 

Let’s say our SuperTruth together: “I am a witness for Christ.”

 

As we follow Jesus, He calls us to be His witnesses. What does that mean? We tell others about Him.

 

A witness is a person who sees or hears something, or who has personal knowledge of something or someone. Because we follow Jesus, we have personal knowledge and experiences with Him that we need to share with others so they can know the Good News of Jesus and choose to follow Him.   

 

One way to witness is by our words. We can simply tell others what we have experienced through our relationship with Christ. We can witness about His love, forgiveness, joy, strength, and how He gives us eternal life. We can tell people about the hope and peace He gives us even when things seem to be going wrong.

 

We don’t want to keep these wonderful experiences to ourselves; we want to share them with others so they can experience these things, too! Romans 10:14 says:

 

But how can they call on Him to save them unless they believe in Him? And how can they believe in Him if they have never heard about Him? And how can they hear about Him unless someone tells them?

 

Jesus has given us the task of sharing the Good News so others can choose to believe by faith! 

 

And we don’t just tell others about His love, we show it! Jesus said this to His disciples in John 13:34–35:

 

34“So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. 35Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are My disciples.”

 

Actions speak louder than words! When we love others as Jesus loves us, people take notice! What a powerful witness!  

 

At times, being a witness may seem too difficult to do on our own. The fantastic news is that we don’t have to, we have help! Who helps us? The answer is in our SuperVerse.

 

Let’s say it together; Acts 1:8:

 

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be My witnesses, telling people about Me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”   

 

Jesus encouraged His disciples with these words right before He ascended to Heaven. He told them that they would receive power to do what? To witness about Him everywhere, to the end of the earth.

 

His words are also for us today; He gives us the power to be His witnesses wherever we go!

 

Chris wasn’t successful witnessing at first because he was trying to do it by his own ability and power. It also seemed like he was trying to impress Joy and Gizmo. Jesus wants us to witness by His power, 

not ours. The focus needs to be on Jesus and not us! The power of the Holy Spirit can do what we can’t—prepare people to receive Jesus as their Savior.

 

In our video, we saw how Mary was empowered by her encounter with Jesus outside the tomb. She ran to tell—or to witness to—the disciples. The two men walking on the road to Emmaus said their hearts were burning within them because of what Jesus was saying. They could not wait to witness to the other disciples about their encounter with Jesus!   

 

Dim the lights a bit if possible. Hold up the flashlight and keep the batteries out of sight. This flashlight has a specific purpose—what is it? To provide light when it’s dark.

 

Attempt to turn it on, look at the front of the flashlight and look a bit confused. Well, something must be wrong. I don’t see any light, do you? No.

 

What do you think the problem could be? The batteries are dead, it doesn’t have batteries, or no power. 

 

Open the battery compartment and look inside. Oh, you are exactly right! The flashlight can’t light up without batteries.

Insert the batteries and try it again. There we go! The flashlight can’t do what it was made to do unless it has the power to do it! The batteries provide power for a purpose.   

 

Turn lights up again if they were dimmed.

 

The Apostle Paul said in Ephesians 3:7:

 
By God’s grace and mighty power, I have been given the privilege of serving Him by spreading this Good News. 

 

To be a witness for Christ isn’t just a task, it is a privilege He gives to each of us. He provides the power to us for this purpose! Just like the batteries for the flashlight, without the power of the Holy Spirit, we cannot do what we are called to do. Jesus has called us to be His witnesses and to be a bright light in a dark world. (See Ephesians 5:8.) He provides all we need to do it!

 

Let’s go to our Discipleship Challenge and talk more about the power we are given to live for Him and be an effective witness!

Discipleship Challenge/Practical Application

 

Give each child a Heart Challenge Page and a Flame Page, pencil, children’s scissors, and a glue stick.

Have children write their names on each page with a pencil.

Optional: If using black and white copies, give children orange, red and yellow crayons, colored pencils, or washable markers to color the flames. If time permits, have the children color their flames or instruct them to color them at home.  

 

Display the sample challenge pages. Have each child carefully cut out one flame and glue it in the heart labeled “Challenge #1.”

 

After Jesus rose from the dead, two believers were walking along a road to a village named Emmaus. As the men discussed the events that had just taken place, Jesus joined them—although they didn’t recognize Him! Then Jesus explained how the Scriptures predicted all that had just happened with His suffering, death and resurrection. 

 

What did the men say about their hearts after Jesus disappeared? They said that as He shared the Scriptures, their hearts burned inside them. (See Luke 24:13–34.)

 

That is the key to today’s Discipleship Challenge. It is called the “Heart Challenge.” 

Refer to the children’s challenge pages. There are three hearts on your challenge page, one for each lesson of the Doubting Thomas Adventure. Your challenge is to read and learn the verse for each heart, then pray and, with God’s help, try your best to complete each challenge. Each time you do this, you can cut out a flame and glue it to that heart. The more faithful you are to each challenge, the sooner your heart will be set ablaze. As we fill our hearts with His Word and spend time in prayer, we will experience Jesus in powerful ways that we will want to share with others! 

 

The Old Testament prophet named Jeremiah described His experience this way in Jeremiah 20:9:

 

But if I say I’ll never mention the LORD or speak in His name, His word burns in my heart like a fire. It’s like a fire in my bones! I am worn out trying to hold it in! I can’t do it!

             

Optional: What is the verse written for the Challenge #1 heart? Acts 1:8a.

 

Read the verse aloud:

 

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be My witnesses, telling people about Me everywhere.”

 

Jesus gives us power to witness about Him! The first challenge is to pray daily for opportunities and power to witness and to learn Acts 1:8a. You already have a head start; Heart #1 has started to burn, so don’t let it go out, set it ablaze!      

 

When we meet again, you will have a chance to share your experience with this challenge.