Trailblazers: 2nd Quarter 2014

By R.H. Boyd Publishing Corp.

Trailblazers (ages 9-11). This book is geared for older elementary, ages 9-11. Its purpose is to encourage Christian and spiritual nurturing through interactive learning while aiding in the development of cognitive learning.

• Language: English
• Publisher: R.H. Boyd Publishing Corporation
• Release date: Jan 23, 2014
• ISBN: 9781589427839

Book preview

SESSION 1

SELECTED SCRIPTURE:

EPHESIANS 2:1-10

SAVED BY GRACE

04-06-14

LESSON OUTLINE

I. We Were Dead in Trespasses and Sins

II. We Are Saved by God’s Grace

III. We Are Saved for God’s Glory

LEARNING SESSION

Some books and movies can take us away from reality for a moment and give us the opportunity to explore our imaginations. Movies such as The Matrix and The Chronicles of Narnia take us to other worlds. In these movies, we get to see the journey of how the forces of good and evil fight to overcome one another. In the end, for the most part, good always defeats evil. Those same forces exist in our world today.

Making the decision to do the right thing can be very difficult especially when there are so many bad influences encouraging us to do the wrong things. For example, if someone bumps into you, there might be a person nearby encouraging you to bump the person back. Whether the bump was an accident or not, you have a decision to make about how you will deal with this situation. You will have to think about the consequences of your actions.

In our lesson today, the Apostle Paul writes to the church in Ephesus, a wealthy port city in the Roman territory of Asia Minor. Today’s verses illustrate how life is before we are saved. When we accept Jesus as our Savior, we are able to live our lives for Him.

I. We Were Dead in Trespasses and Sins

Paul writes to the Ephesian church while in prison in Rome. Paul wanted the church to turn away from a life in which they had fallen away from God’s will. How can we live according to God’s will? We can avoid participating in things we know are wrong. For example, if you decide to make up a story that is not the truth in order to get yourself out of trouble, you have made a decision to go against the will of God. In Ephesians 2:1-10, Paul taught about the life we used to live as sinners, and how we should be living now as Christians.

In The Chronicles of Narnia, the evil White Witch convinces Edmund to betray his siblings and join her in her attempt to rule Narnia. The White Witch tempts Edmund into helping her by using the things he likes to get him to join her. In the same way, evil forces try to tempt us into a life of sin.

In Ephesians 2:1-2, Paul says we were all dead while we lived in sin because we followed the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work among those who are disobedient (NRSV). The Bible says that we were dead during the time we allowed sin to take over our lives. Edmund finally realizes that he made the wrong decisions when he helped the White Witch trick his siblings. He was later forgiven.

We all fall short of making the right decisions. However, God gives us a chance to make things right again. Only through our faith in Jesus Christ do we have that special chance. We can decide as kids to remain loyal to Jesus. One way to do that is to think about what Jesus would do in certain situations. Another way is to pray and ask God for His guidance. Can you think of some other ways to avoid sinful