Lesson: March 15

I. Power Point:
1.Today’s Scripture:
What actually took place is this: I tried keeping rules and working my head off to please God, and it didn't work. So I quit being a "law man" so that I could be God's man. Christ's life showed me how, and enabled me to do it. I identified myself completely with him. Indeed, I have been crucified with Christ. My ego is no longer central. It is no longer important that I appear righteous before you or have your good opinion, and I am no longer driven to impress God. Christ lives in me. The life you see me living is not "mine," but it is lived by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I am not going to go back on that.
Is it not clear to you that to go back to that old rule-keeping, peer-pleasing religion would be an abandonment of everything personal and free in my relationship with God? I refuse to do that, to repudiate God's grace. If a living relationship with God could come by rule-keeping, then Christ died unnecessarily. Galatians 2:19-21 (The Message)


II. Worship
III. Drama

IV. Personal Encounter Group
1. Read the scripture (Galatians 2:19-21) from The Message

Break it down and discuss these phrases from the scripture:
1. when have you tried “keeping the rules and working your head off to please God”, and then getting frustrated?
2. When have you tried to keep the rules to “please your peer group”:
3. How is a living relationship with Christ different from rule-keeping?
4. What does “grace” have to do with it?


2. Building the (Relationship)

How do you build a relationship with God?
Well, first think about how you build relationships with other people
-hanging out with them
-laughing with them
-going through hard times with them
-doing things together that help other people
You want to get to the same point with God that you are with your best friends: “What are we going to do next?” you ask in hopeful anticipation. You can’t wait to see what’s going to happen next!
You feel that way with a trusted friend because first, you love him/her, secondly, you’ve built a relationship with them, and thirdly, you genuinely like hanging out with them.

3. What you get out of the relationship (given you agree to go through the hard times as well as the easy ones!)
Have students take turns reading each of the following sentences from Romans 8:15 (The Message)
-This resurrection life you received from God is not a timid, grave-tending life.
-It's adventurously expectant, greeting God with a childlike "What's next, Daddy?"
-God's Spirit touches our spirits and confirms who we really are.
-We know who he is, and we know who we are: Father and children.
-And we know we are going to get what's coming to us—an unbelievable inheritance!
-We go through exactly what Christ goes through.
-If we go through the hard times with him, then we're certainly going to go through the good times with him!
Romans 8:15

4. Make the “Romans 8:15 Promise-Teller”If you remember making paper fortune tellers when you were younger, you will remember how to do this! These are fortune tellers with a twist. While the Bible warns against fortune telling, the Bible is full of promises for our good! This promise teller lets you choose a Bible promise instead of choosing a fortune! You might want to fill it with your favorite Bible promises instead of the ones from Romans 8:15
1
... ... Take a sheet of paper of the size A4 (8 1/2" x 11"). Paper used for ink jet printers will do.
Fold the upper half down on the red line.


2
... Cut off the lower strip.


3
... ... The result is a square.


4
... ... Fold upwards on the red line and unfold.
The centre of the square is marked in this way.


5
... ... Fold four times, so that the corners of the square meet in the centre.
Folding on the red lines upwards is the same.


6
.. .... It must look like this.


7
.. .... Turn the paper over. The folded middle lines of the square are seen.




8
.. .... Fold upwards again four times up to the centre. Open up after folding, and write a bible promise in each of the four triangle corners.


9
... ... There is a half size square with four (actually eight) triangles, which meet in the centre. Number the triangles 1-8


10
... ... Turn the paper over. Four squares meet in the centre. Color each square a different color, or write the name of a color on each square


11
.. .... Fold the paper backwards on the blue lines and unfold.


12
... ... Fold the square a last time. Hold the paper and push the upper corners in direction of the arrows.



13
... ...
The figure on the left develops, if you lay the square sheets outwards.
The Bible Promise Teller is finished.


Now, play the game. The Promise teller’s partner first chooses a color. The promise teller then opens and shuts the promise teller once for each letter of the color (r-e-d; three times for red).
The partner now chooses a number from those visible.
The Promise teller opens and shuts the promise teller the corresponding time (6 for choosing 6 and so on).
The partner now chooses a number from those visible.
The Promise teller opens the flap of that number and reads the Bible promise.

Closing: Walk with God in excitement and anticipation. Ask “What’s next Daddy?” and trust that the answer will be an unbelievable inheritance.

Join Hands, right over left:
The Lord bless you, and keep you;
The Lord make His face shine on you,
And be gracious to you;
The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.
Numbers 6:24-26