BIG IDEA: God has a plan to save us from sin.
This free Bible lesson, God’s Plan of Redemption, will teach preschool and elementary students about God’s plan of salvation through Jesus.
FOCUS BIBLE PASSAGE: Genesis 12:1-3; Leviticus 17:11; 1 Peter 1:19
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 “God’s Rescue Plan” (front and back) for each student
- pencils/pens
- printed & trimmed “GOD’S PLAN” acrostic poems for each student
- coloring supplies
- extra blank paper
LESSON HOOK ACTIVITY
(SLIDE) Has anyone ever received a bill that shows how much money you owe for something that you bought?
In life, we have to pay for things that we want and need. Food costs money. Clothes cost money. Vacations and homes cost money.
Did you know that sin costs something too?
What is sin? (allow responses)
(SLIDE) Sin is anything that we think, say, or do that goes against what God wants us to do. Sin is doing things our way instead of God’s way.
(SLIDE) Sin separates us from God. God is perfect and He cannot be in the presence of sin.
How did sin enter into the world? (through the disobedience of Adam and Eve)
(SLIDE) This is a list of items on a bill that I received. What do you notice? (allow responses)
I owe a lot for these sins.
(SLIDE) What do you notice that is different about this bill? (allow responses)
Which bill would you rather have to pay?
Sins don’t really cost MONEY, do they?
No, sins don’t cost money. But sins do cost something.
Does anyone know what the cost of sin is? (allow responses)
Sin costs life!
(SLIDE) Romans 6:23 NIrV
[When you sin, the pay you get is death.]
Because of our sin, we OWE our LIFE!
Because of our sin, we DESERVE death.
We SHOULD have to PAY for our sins.
Did you know that God made a way for us to not have to pay for our sins? (allow responses)
(SLIDE) God has a plan to save us from sin. (Big Idea)
That is what our lesson from The Bible is about today.
BIBLE LESSON
Leader Note: The Bible Story and Large Group Activity are combined in this lesson due to the length and importance of the Truths that are being taught.
Students will follow along with the lesson, taking notes on their “God’s Rescue Plan“ paper.
Encourage students to completely fill in their notes page and KEEP THEIR PAPER INSIDE THEIR BIBLE, because the lesson they are going to learn today is so important for their lives.
HANDOUT: Each student should receive a copy of “God’s Rescue Plan” and a pencil/pen.
The title of our lesson today is “God’s Plan of Redemption”. Does anyone know what the word “redemption” means? (redemption: a release or rescue; being bought back or saved from something bad; trading bad for good; payment)
Sin entered the world through the first people, Adam and Eve, when they chose to disobey God by eating the forbidden fruit. Sin separates us from God, so God made a plan to REDEEM humanity, and save us from sin.
Does anyone know what God said to Satan as part of the curse for deceiving (tricking) Eve into disobedience and sin? (allow responses)
God said to Satan:
(SLIDE) Genesis 3:15 NIrV
[I will make you and the woman hate each other. Your children and her children will be enemies. Her son will crush your head. And you will bite his heel.]
God was making a promise that there will be a battle between good and evil, but good will win in the end!
God was talking about JESUS when he told Eve that her son would crush the head of Satan.
Jesus wasn’t actually Eve’s son, but Jesus was born many years later into the same family line as Adam and Eve.
A man named Abram (later called Abraham) was born into the same family line as Adam and Eve many years before Jesus came to the earth as a man.
(SLIDE) Genesis 12:1-3
[“The LORD had said to Abram, ‘Go from your country, your people and your father’s family. Go to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation. And I will bless you. I will make your name great. You will be a blessing to others. I will bless those who bless you. I will put a curse on anyone who puts a curse on you. All nations on earth will be blessed because of you.’”]
Abraham’s family was chosen and blessed by God. They became known as the Israelites. They are also known as the Jewish people, because they practice the religion of Judaism.
Jesus was born into this chosen family as God had promised.
We are living on the Earth AFTER Jesus came and died on the cross and rose back to life.
(SLIDE) Before Jesus came to live on the Earth, people did not have the option to be saved by believing in Jesus, because He had not died on the cross for their sins YET. But the people still sinned, right?
Of course! So God had to make a way for them to be forgiven for their sins.
(SLIDE) The Bible is divided into two big sections: The Old Testament, and The New Testament.
The Old Testament teaches us about the time BEFORE Jesus came to Earth.
The New Testament teaches us about the time of Jesus’s life on Earth and after He died, rose back to life, and went back to heaven.
During the time of the Old Testament, the people made “SACRIFICES” to God.
Raise your hand if you have ever heard the word “sacrifice”.
Does anyone know what the word “sacrifice” means? (To sacrifice means to “give up” something that is very valuable to show love.)
(SLIDE) A sacrifice is like an “offering” of something that we really love and that we feel is very valuable.
(SLIDE) The people who lived before Jesus came to the Earth gave offerings and sacrifices to God by giving Him their most valuable possessions. A lot of the valuable possessions that the people had were animals like lambs, goats, and bulls. Some people also sacrificed birds.
Remember what the price for sin is? (death)
The Book of Leviticus teaches us:
(SLIDE) Leviticus 17:11 NIrV
[“The life of each creature is in its blood. So I have given you the blood of animals to pay for your sin on the altar. Blood is life. That is why blood pays for your sin.”]
(SLIDE) Jesus paid the price for OUR SINS when He died on the cross and rose back to life. Our sins have been paid for by Jesus, but the people who lived before Jesus died on the cross, had to pay for their sin in a different way.
Since the price for sin is death, the people during the times of the Old Testament, offered SACRIFICES of their animals to God to pay for their sins. So the death of the animal paid the price for the sin of the people.
This is sometimes difficult for us to understand, but the people who lived at that time knew that it had to be done.
(SLIDE) God made this act of sacrifice into a system that the people used to give thanks to God, to show Him that they love Him, and to receive forgiveness for their sins.
(SLIDE) In the Old Testament Book of Leviticus, God told Moses to tell the people: “If someone brings an offering from the herd, they must offer a male animal. It must not have any flaws.” (Leviticus 1:3)
What does it mean when God said the animal “must not have any flaws”? (The animal has to be perfect. It can’t have any imperfections.)
(SLIDE) An animal “without any flaws” is one that is healthy, uninjured, and has nothing wrong with it. It is “spotless”.
When the person would sacrifice the “spotless” animal, that animal would die in the place of the person, because the price of sin is death. So, the animal would die instead of the person.
(SLIDE) Jesus is the “SPOTLESS LAMB” who DIED to PAY FOR OUR SINS.
How was Jesus “spotless”? What does that mean? (allow responses)
Jesus lived, and was tempted, and He NEVER sinned! He was the PERFECT SACRIFICE to pay for our sins.
Because Jesus died as the perfect sacrifice for our sins, the system of animal sacrifices was not needed any longer.
(SLIDE) The book of 1 Peter in the New Testament tells us “You were bought with the priceless blood of Jesus. He is a perfect lamb. He doesn’t have any flaws at all.” (1 Peter 1:19)
(SLIDE) Animal sacrifices we read about in the Old Testament were done to COVER the sins of the people TEMPORARILY (not forever).
Jesus’s sacrifice REMOVED sin from all who believe in Him FOREVER!
We know that because of our sin we OWE our LIFE, and because of our sin we DESERVE death.
(SLIDE) We SHOULD have to PAY for our sins, because WHEN WE SIN THE PAY WE GET IS DEATH.
But the verse doesn’t stop there, does it?
God made a way for us to not have to pay for our sins.
The rest of the verse in Romans 6:23 says: “But God gives you the gift of eternal life. That’s because of what Christ Jesus our Lord has done.”
Sin separates us from God, but God made a plan to rescue us from our sin and separation. He came as a man (Jesus) to earth to live a perfect life, die on the cross, and raise back to life.
His SACRIFICE paid the penalty for the sin of all humanity.
When sin entered the world through Adam and Eve, it created separation between God and humans, but God had a plan to defeat sin.
God always loves us, and He never stops caring for us. Even when we sin and disobey Him, God is faithful to forgive us when we say we are sorry and ask Him for forgiveness.
(SLIDE) When we believe in Jesus we are no longer separated from God!
The first people brought sin into the world.
Sin brought pain and death into the world.
Jesus took care of the sin in the world when He died on the cross and rose from the dead.
When we choose to believe in Jesus and turn away from sin, He saves us.
Then when we die on this earth, we get to live forever with Jesus in heaven!
Jesus takes away our sin and gives us eternal life!
Dear God,
Thank You for making a plan to save us by sending Your Son, Jesus, to die on the cross for our sins because You love us so much. We thank You that He rose from the dead and that He is now back in heaven. Help us to continue to learn more about You and grow as we learn. Please help us to make good choices and forgive us when we sin against You.
We love you and we pray all of these things in Jesus’ sweet name, Amen.
SMALL GROUP ACTIVITY
Today to help us remember God’s plan of redemption, you are going to write a poem. An “acrostic poem” is a type of poem where the first letter of each line spells out a word when you read it vertically (up and down).
(SLIDE) For example, look at these acrostic poems.
The phrase we are all going to use is GOD’S PLAN. If you finish early, you can choose another word or phrase and write another one if you like. You can also color your paper and add pictures after you write your poem.
You may choose to allow younger students to draw a picture rather than write a poem.
BREAK INTO SMALL GROUPS TO COMPLETE THE ACTIVITY.
Discussion Prompts for Leaders:
- What is the price for sin? (death)
- How did sin enter the world? (through Adam and Eve when they disobeyed God and ate the forbidden fruit; all humans are born sinners because of their disobedience)
- Who was God talking about when He told Satan that the woman’s son would crush his head in Genesis 3:15? (Jesus)
- What do we learn about in The Old Testament of The Bible? (the time before Jesus came to earth as a human)
- What do we learn about in The New Testament of The Bible? (Jesus’s birth, life and ministry on earth, after He died, rose back to life, and went back to heaven)
- What is a sacrifice? (an offering of something that we really love and that we feel is very valuable – OT people gave animals as sacrifices to God)
- Why did the people who lived during Old Testament times offer sacrifices to God? (to give thanks to God; to show God that they love Him; to receive forgiveness for sins; the death of the animal paid the price for the sin of the people)
- Who did God send to save us from our sins? (Jesus)
- Why did Jesus have to die to save us from our sins? (the punishment for sin is death; Jesus’s blood takes away our sins)
- Who paid the price for sin? (Jesus)
- Why does sin separate us from God? (God is perfect; He can’t be in the presence of sin; all people are born sinners)
- What do we need to do to have a relationship with God? (know that you are a sinner; believe that Jesus is God, that He lived a sinless life, He died to pay for sin, & He rose back to life; then ask Jesus to forgive your sins and save you)
- What kind of life does Jesus offer to people who believe in Him? (eternal; spiritual)
- Does anyone have any questions about today’s lesson?
- Use any extra time to discuss the lesson and/or the memory verse.
CLOSING REFLECTION
We learned that God made a plan to save us from our sins. Sin entered the world through the first people, Adam and Eve, when they disobeyed God. God made a promise that He would someday defeat sin and evil. God sent Jesus, who is fully God and fully human to be born through the family line of Abraham. Jesus lived a sinless life on earth, died on the cross to pay the price for our sins, and rose back to life to offer us eternal life through His free gift of salvation. Sin separates us from God, but when we believe in Jesus and choose to follow Him, we are no longer separated from God!
Reflection Questions:
- Who did God send to save us from our sins? (Jesus)
- Why did Jesus have to die to save us from our sins? (the punishment for sin is death; Jesus’s blood takes away our sins)
- What kind of life does Jesus offer to people who believe in Him? (eternal; spiritual)
- Does anyone have any questions about today’s lesson?
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