BIG IDEA: Jesus is the only way to Heaven.
This free Bible lesson, Jesus’s Free Gift of Salvation, will teach preschool and elementary students about how to be saved by Jesus.
FOCUS BIBLE PASSAGE: Romans 10:9-13
All of the printable activities and digital slides needed for the lesson, as well as a full printable lesson plan for both elementary and preschool are available.
Below is the outline of the free elementary Bible lesson.
PREP & SUPPLIES
- printed, trimmed, & hole punched Galatians 5:22-23 Memory Verse Cards
- box wrapped like a gift
- gift tag (printable option is included)
- several Bibles for kids
- printed and trimmed “Price is Right Guessing Sheet” for each student
- pencils
- items for Price is Right game & printed price tags (see below) OR SLIDES 10-30
- IF USING PHYSICAL ITEMS: Bible, and printed “Jesus and Heaven” page
- printed “Romans 10:9-10” pages for each student
- printed “hearts and mouths” for each student
- scissors, glue, coloring supplies
MEMORY VERSE: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.” Galatians 5:22-23 (ESV)
THIS WEEK’S MEMORY VERSE ACTIVITY:
- Students will get a new card for their Memory Verse Collection today.
- Leaders may choose to:
- allow students to break into tables for 5-10 minutes to decorate their cards and reflect on the memory verse, and then come back to large group
- wait until small group time to pass out memory verse cards and allow students 5-10 minutes to decorate and reflect on the memory verse.
- ALTERNATIVELY: Allow students to get into groups and make up motions for the words of the memory verse and then present them to the large group. This should take 5-10 minutes.
- Leaders: Remind students and parents to add their card to their ring at home.
- If students need to get “caught up” with their collection, please be sure to send home (1) a binder ring, (2) a “title page” cover card, and (3) all of the cards up to this week.
LESSON HOOK ACTIVITY
Have a wrapped gift box as an illustration or show the picture on the slide.
(SLIDE 1) What do you see here in front of you and/or on the screen? (a gift from Jesus)
If someone has a gift for you like this one (hold up the wrapped gift, or point to the picture on the screen), what do you have to do to be able to have it? (allow responses)
All you have to do is accept it. You have to say, “yes, I want to take this gift that you are GIVING to me”. You don’t have to do anything to EARN a GIFT. You just accept it!
Before class, ask 5 student volunteers to look up the following passages. It would be a good idea to have students look up the verses all at the same time, and then be instructed to mark the place in the Bible, so they are not distracted while the other passages are being read and discussed. Keep in mind that some kids will be nervous reading aloud and that feeling may distract them from concentrating on the message.
- Romans 6:23
- Romans 5:15
- Romans 5:16
- Ephesians 2:8
- Ephesians 4:7
BIBLE LESSON
Invite students to read the passages aloud to the group one at a time. Pause to discuss each passage using the prompts that follow.
(SLIDE 3) ROMANS 6:23 [When you sin, the pay you get is death. But God gives you the gift of eternal life. That’s because of what Christ Jesus our Lord has done. NIrV]
We have talked about this verse a lot. Can anyone tell me what you know about what this verse is saying to us? (allow responses)
Everyone sins, and the punishment for sin is to be separated from God after we die. But this verse tells us that God will give us eternal life because of what Jesus did.
What did Jesus do? (lived a sinless life, died on the cross for our sins, and rose back to life)
What is eternal life? (life forever with Jesus; it never ends)
Jesus Christ, or Christ, is another name for Jesus. It means “chosen one”.
(SLIDE 4) ROMANS 5:15 [God’s gift can’t be compared with Adam’s sin. Many people died because of the sin of that one man. But it was even more sure that God’s grace would also come through one man. That man is Jesus Christ. God’s gift of grace was more than enough for the whole world. NIrV]
What was Adam’s sin? (he and Eve disobeyed God in the Garden of Eden when they ate the forbidden fruit – their disobedience brought sin into the world)
Adam’s disobedience brought sin into the world, so we are all born into a world of sin because of the sin of that one man. But the Bible tells us here in this verse that God’s gift also comes through one man. Who is that one man? (Jesus)
What gift did Jesus give the world? (allow responses)
The gift that Jesus offers us is to take our sin away. He died on the cross, was buried, and rose again back to life. He took the punishment that we deserve for our sins and He offers us a free gift of eternal life.
(SLIDE 5) ROMANS 5:16 [The result of God’s gift is different from the result of Adam’s sin. That one sin brought God’s judgment. But after many sins, God’s gift made people right with him. NIrV]
So, Adam’s sin brought judgment on the world. That judgment is separation from God. Before Adam sinned, people were able to be with God. After sin entered the world, people were not able to be with God. God is perfect and He can’t be in the presence (near to) of sin.
But the gift that God offers us through what Jesus did for us can make us right with God. When we accept the gift that Jesus offers us, we can be with God just like He wanted us to be in the very beginning before Adam sinned!
(SLIDE 6) EPHESIANS 2:8 [God’s grace has saved you because of your faith in Christ. Your salvation doesn’t come from anything you do. It is God’s gift. NIrV]
What is “salvation”? (allow responses)
Salvation, or “being saved”, is “being rescued from our sin so that we can have a relationship with God”, and so we can be with God after we die on this earth. Salvation is being made right with God. Before we are saved we cannot be with God, but after we are saved we can live with God forever!
Can we EARN the GIFT of salvation? (allow responses)
We cannot earn salvation. It is a GIFT that is given to us by Jesus because of what He did for us when He died on the cross and rose back to life.
Does anyone know what the word “grace” means? (allow responses)
Grace is when we get something good that is not deserved.
God gives us the gift of eternal life (life forever with Him) even when we don’t deserve it. That is grace: Getting something good that we don’t deserve.
We have not done anything, and can’t do anything, to earn the gift of eternal life. It is something that God offers us because He loves us so much. God’s gift is what Jesus did for us on the cross.
God loves us so much and He wants to have a relationship with us, so He sent Jesus to die on the cross, and raise back to life so that we can have life! (Ephesians 2:4-6)
Does anyone know what the word “faith” means? (allow responses)
The Bible tells us in Hebrews 11:1 “Faith is being sure of what we hope for. It is being sure of what we do not see.” (NIrV)
Faith is having complete trust or confidence in something or someone, even when you can’t see it with your eyes.
To receive the free gift of salvation, you must have FAITH in Jesus. You have to believe that He is God and that He came to save you from your sins so that you can have eternal life!
Before we read the last Bible verse, I want to ask you a question. Let’s look back at this gift that we have.
If someone has a gift for you like this one (hold up the wrapped gift, or point to the picture on the screen), what do you have to do to be able to have it? (allow responses)
All you have to do is accept it. You have to say, “yes, I want to take this gift that you are GIVING to me”. You don’t have to do anything to EARN a GIFT. You just accept it!
(SLIDE 7) EPHESIANS 4:7 [But each one of us has received a gift of grace. These gifts are given to us by Christ. NIrV]
Any person who wants the gift of eternal life that Jesus offers can have it! For free! Jesus is offering you the free gift of forgiveness for your sins. All you have to do is accept it!
(SLIDE 8)
The Bible tells us in the book of Romans: “Say with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord.’ Believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead. Then you will be saved. With your heart you believe and are made right with God. With your mouth you say what you believe. And so you are saved.” [Romans 10:9-10 NIrV]
This means that when you BELIEVE in Jesus,
and you BELIEVE that He came to the earth to live a sinless life,
you BELIEVE that He died on the cross,
you BELIEVE that He was buried in a tomb,
you BELIEVE that He was raised again to life on the third day,
and you ASK Him to FORGIVE you and SAVE you from your sins,
HE WILL!
And you will have ETERNAL LIFE, forever with God!
This is what it means to be BORN AGAIN!
(SLIDE 9)
Jesus is the ONLY way to Heaven. (BIG IDEA)
The only way to go to Heaven after you die is to trust in Jesus and ask Him to save you.
Dear God,
Thank you for the Bible that teaches us all of these Truths about You and Your love for us. Thank you for sending Jesus to earth to live a sinless life, and to die on the cross for our sins. We thank you that you raised Him back to life on the third day. Please guide us and help us to make good choices in our lives.
We love you and we pray all of these things in Jesus’ sweet name, Amen.
LARGE GROUP ACTIVITY
LEADER NOTE: You can choose to host this game with physical items, or you can use SLIDES 10-30) Each item has 2 slides (one with the fake price, and one with the real price).
Each student will need their own copy of “The Price is Right Guessing Sheet” and a pencil.
(SLIDE 10)
Has anyone ever seen the game show called “The Price is Right”?
It is a game that has been around for a long time where people try to win prizes by answering questions about the prices of everyday items, like groceries, furniture, tech equipment, and even big vacations and cars.
We are going to play a game today, and you are going to get to guess the prices of several items. Each item has a price tag next to it. Your job is to look at the price tag and then decide if you think the REAL price of that item is HIGHER or LOWER than the price on the tag.
Put a check mark in the column to choose. So, if you think the real price, or the actual price, is HIGHER than the one listed on the price tag, put a check mark in the “higher” column. If you think the actual price is LOWER than the one listed on the price tag, put a check mark in the “lower” column.
LEADER NOTE: When students get to items 9 and 10 be ready to discuss.
(#9, SLIDES 27-28) The listed price for the Bible is $51. The “actual price” is $1-300+. Use this time to discuss that even our printed Bible has a price tag and can be bought. It costs something for us to get it printed and bound into book form.
(#10, SLIDES 29-30) The listed price for Jesus and Heaven is $10,000. Many students will say that they believe the “actual price” is higher. What they will learn is that the “actual price” of Jesus and Heaven is $0 or FREE. Use this time to reiterate the lesson that Jesus’s gift of salvation is FREE to those who choose to accept it. Salvation cannot be bought or earned.
(SLIDE 9)
SMALL GROUP ACTIVITY
Today you will get to put together a reminder of Jesus’s free gift of eternal life using the verse we discussed found in Romans 10:9-10. [Say with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord.” Believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead. Then you will be saved. With your heart you believe and are made right with God. With your mouth you say what you believe. And so you are saved. NIrV]
Each student should get one “Romans 10:9-10 Reminder” page and one “Hearts and Mouths” page.
BREAK INTO SMALL GROUPS TO COMPLETE THE ACTIVITY.
Discussion Prompts for Leaders:
- What gift does Jesus offer to us? (eternal life with Him after we die; life that never ends)
- What did Jesus do for us? (came to earth to live a sinless life, die on the cross, be buried, and raise back to life to take the punishment for our sins and to save us)
- Why did Jesus die for you on the cross? (to save you from your sins; because He loves you so much)
- What is “salvation” or “being saved”? (being rescued from sin so that we can have a relationship with God; being made right with God)
- What happened that separated us from God? (Adam and Eve’s sin in the Garden of Eden brought sin into the world)
- What do you have to do to get Jesus’s free gift of salvation? (accept it; believe that Jesus is God, that He came to earth and lived a sinless life, died on the cross, was buried and rose back to life)
- What is this week’s Big Idea? (Jesus is the only way to Heaven.)
- What is this week’s memory verse? (Galatians 5:22-23)
CLOSING REFLECTION
We learned that the only way to Heaven is to trust in Jesus and believe that He came to earth to live a sinless life, die on the cross, and raise back to life. Jesus took our punishment for sin and offers us the free gift of eternal life. His sacrifice on the cross saves people who believe in Him, trust Him, and ask Him to forgive their sins.
Reflection Questions:
- What did Jesus do for us on the cross? (died for our sins and took our punishment)
- What free gift does Jesus offer to those who believe in Him and trust Him? (eternal life with Him after we die; life that never ends)
- Does anyone have any questions about today’s lesson?
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