Growing Kids in Grace: Because of Jesus, I am a SAINT of GOD (Eph 1)

1. Lesson

Eph 1:1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints who are in Ephesus, and faithful in Christ Jesus ...

The apostle Paul visited a place called Ephesus and taught about Jesus. Later on, He wrote a letter to the believers there. He wanted to remind them about what Jesus has done for them, and who they are.
Isn’t that funny? Reminding someone about who they are. Imagine someone coming up to me and saying, “Hi. You are Anne/Joanna etc.” Who will forget who they are?
But many people do. When they look at themselves, they see the physical. They see the short, fat person, or the one who didn’t do well in exams, or the one with a pimple, or the one with a bad temper.
They don’t see the person whom God sees. They focus on what is outside and forget who they really are.
So today we’re going to remind ourselves of who we are in Jesus. Who God sees when He looks at us.

A saint is not a goody-goody two shoes who walks around in a long robe with a halo on the top of his head.
A saint is someone who is holy, set apart for God.

When Jesus died, He took all our sins, our “badness”, and gave us His goodness. He gave us His life.
So today, when God sees me, He sees Jesus’ perfection and holiness.
You and I are holy saints because Jesus lives in us and through us.
Tell your friend, “Because of Jesus, I am a saint.”
Because we are saint, we don’t have to do be stuck doing things that are not good. We are free to live the life that God wants us to live and experience.
We don’t have to work hard to be good. We don’t have to try with our own strength to be good.
We just need to remember: Jesus is living in me. And He makes me good!
So when we feel like doing naughty things, or we think of doing something that will make our mummy and daddy sad, remember that you are a saint — Jesus has made you good — so you can be good; you don’t have to do that naughty thing or make your mummy and daddy sad anymore.
And even when you do something bad, it doesn’t change who you are. You may make mistakes, but God still sees you as good.
Just remind yourself of who you are and what Jesus has done for you. You can pray, “Lord Jesus, sorry for the naughty thing I did. I thank you that you have forgiven my sins. Thank you that I am holy and that I am Your righteousness. Thank you that I am a saint because of You.
Memory Verse: Hebrews 10:10 “We have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.”

2. Activity Ideas

Get kids to make nametags with the words: <Name> is a Saint of God
You may cut out name tags in different shapes and colours, and put a safety pin behind card.

Prepare 2 sets of memory verse cards (one word per card) and put each set in an envelope each. Divide kids into 2 groups. Hand each group and envelope to sort and arrange memory verse on the floor. First group to finish correctly wins.
Using same sets of cards: put blue tack behind cards and place face down on floor in 2 piles. Kids line up in 2 rows. First kid from each group runs forward, picks up a card, and sticks on wall to form memory verse. First group to finish correctly wins.

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Growing Kids in Grace