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3. Peace (Galatians 5:22)

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Lesson1

PPT CUE

Main Point: Peace comes from knowing that God is in control.

Key Verse: You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in You, all whose thoughts are fixed on You! – Isaiah 26:3 NLT

Props: An easel, a few markers; optional: hamster or gerbil

Background/Review

PPT CUE

Say: For the past couple of weeks, we have been talking about the fruit of the Spirit. Can anyone tell me what the fruit of the Spirit are? Listen for answers. That’s right! “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. (NIV)” The fruit of the Spirit are some of God’s characteristics. They grow in us when we are filled with the Holy Spirit. So far, we have talked about love and joy.

Last week, we saw how Jesus had joy even in the most difficult part of His life here on earth. He had this joy because He was never separated from God, His Father. Today, we are going to talk about peace.

Intro

Say: I need a few volunteers today. I have an easel and some markers with me. Can I get some volunteers to come up and draw what peace looks like for you? Choose two or three volunteers. Just draw a picture of what you think peace looks like. Thank volunteers and have them sit down when they finish. Ask group if they agree with these pictures.

Say: I once heard a story where a teacher asked some students to do what our volunteers just did – to draw a picture of what they think peace looked like. One student drew a picture of a large field. Another drew a picture of a sunset. But one student drew a picture of a huge, raging waterfall, with gallons of water crashing on the rocks below. Does that sound peaceful to you? What made the picture peaceful was that above the waterfall, there was a bird sound asleep in its nest! Even though there was danger below, the bird knew he was safe in the tree branch that held him – he was at peace.

PEACE

PPT CUE

So what is peace? Some people would say that peace is the opposite of war, when there is no fighting or violence. There is peace in our homes when nobody is arguing or fighting. That is having peace with others. There are two other types of peace.

There is also peace with God. When Adam and Eve started out in the Garden of Eden, they had peace with God. They walked with Him and spent time with Him (Genesis 3:8a). But when Adam and Eve chose to sin by trusting Satan instead of God, the peace that they had with God was broken (Genesis 3:10). The Bible says every person has sinned (Romans 3:23), and every person has lost the peace that God wanted to have with him or her (Isaiah 57:21).

But God wanted to restore the peace we had with Him, so He promised to send a Savior to restore that peace (Genesis 3:15).

The Savior that God promised was Jesus! God fulfilled His promise when He sent Jesus, His Son, to earth. The prophet Isaiah called Jesus the Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6). Anyone who believes in Jesus is made right with God; their peace with God is restored!

“There is peace with God through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all.” – Acts 10:36b NLT

Thirdly, there is peace within our own hearts. This is something we deal with every day, so this is what we’ll talk about the most today. We have peace in our hearts when we are not worried, upset, angry, or afraid. This is something that people may not be able to see on the outside, but we know it’s there on the inside. When we don’t have peace we feel sort of like this (do a hand motion to show unrest) on the inside. We think about all the things that can go wrong. Our mind races and our heart beats quickly. God does not want His people to live without peace in their hearts and minds.

Peace In Jesus

During His time on earth, Jesus restored peace everywhere He went. One day, after Jesus had been teaching parables to a large crowd, He and His disciples were on a boat crossing the Sea of Galilee. Suddenly, a huge, wild, raging storm appeared! The disciples of Jesus were terrified, but Jesus was so calm that He was asleep in the bottom of the boat. His disciples woke Him up because they were afraid they would drown in the storm (Mark 4:38, Luke 8:24).

“He got up and ordered the wind to stop. He said to the waves, ‘Quiet! Be still!’ Then the wind died down. And it was completely calm.” – Mark 4:39

Wow! Use your hands to show me what you think the water looked like during the storm. (Wave hands wildly.) Then what did it look like after Jesus spoke? (Make a smooth motion.) God loves to give us word pictures. Calming the raging sea was a picture of what Jesus can do to a person’s heart. Sometimes people feel stormy inside their hearts. (Wave hands wildly.) The disciples felt that way in the boat. These professional fishermen were so overwhelmed with fear that they didn’t know what to do. They were sure that they would drown in the storm. Jesus not only calmed down a huge storm outside, but He also brought peace to His disciples in their hearts. (Make a smooth motion.)

Optional for Older Kids

A little while later, a man named Jairus asked Jesus to come help his daughter. She was dying. On His way to help her, a huge crowd was following Jesus. In the crowd, there was a woman with a terrible disease. She came up behind Jesus and touched his clothes, because she believed that if she could touch Him, she would be healed. She touched him, and she was healed because of her faith (Luke 8:48)!

“‘Who touched me?’ Jesus asked. They all said they didn't do it. Then Peter said, ‘Master, the people are crowding and pushing against you.’ But Jesus said, ‘Someone touched me. I know that power has gone out from Me.’ The woman realized that people would notice her. Shaking with fear, she came and fell at His feet. In front of everyone, she told why she had touched Him. She also told how she had been healed in an instant. Then He said to her, ‘Dear woman, your faith has healed you. Go in peace.’” – Luke 8:45-48

Jesus truly blessed this woman. She came to Jesus very upset about her disease. She had been to every doctor, but no human being could help her. She was worried and upset about her condition. Jesus healed her body and took away her suffering. But then, she was worried that she might get in trouble for touching Him without asking. She was actually shaking with fear. Have you ever been so afraid or worried that your body was shaking on the outside? Shaking on the outside is a sure sign that someone is shaking on the inside! But Jesus did not want her to live in fear and worry! He called her front-and-center to let her know that she was not in trouble. He was very pleased with her. He told her to go in peace. Not only did this woman receive the healing she was looking for, but she also received peace from Jesus.

Jesus can bring us this kind of inward peace.

Peace In Us

When He was about to leave His disciples, Jesus told His followers, “I am leaving you with a gift – peace of mind and heart.” (John 14:27a NLT) This peace stays with us even when we have something upsetting in our lives – like the raging waterfall under the sleeping bird.

For instance, what if my dad lost his job, and he didn’t know how we would pay our bills or buy food at the grocery store? That would be a pretty scary situation – I know I would tend to worry about that. But God does not want me to worry about it. He wants me to trust Him.

I want you to learn Romans 8:28a today. This verse is a promise from God, and God ALWAYS keeps His promises.

PPT CUE: Verse

We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him.

Repeat it after me. We know (We know) that in all things (that in all things) - God works (God works) - for the good (for the good) - of those who love Him (of those who love Him).

Let’s break this down:

We know. Does this mean we guess, we suppose? Maybe? No, we know. We are 100% certain.

That in all things. In how many things? Some things? Every once in a while? When God feels like it? In all things.

God. Who? You, or me, or your mom and dad? God. He is the focus – not us.

God works. What can God do? He can do anything! He is so powerful that He spoke and the Earth appeared. He spoke and the sun rose in the sky. He spoke and the human race began to breathe. He is all-powerful. When He works, watch out! Can anything stop God’s work? No way.

For the good: Is God good? Are the things He does good? Everything He does is very good!

Of those who love Him: Who is this talking about? It is each person who trusts Him! It is every person in the kingdom of God.

We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him. Our all-powerful, all-good God is in control. He won’t let anything happen to one of His kids that is not what’s best for them.

So, even if my dad loses his job, I do not have to worry about it. I can have peace knowing that God is working out the situation in the very best way for my family and me. Maybe He has a better job waiting for my dad. Maybe He wants us all to learn to trust Him more. I may not know what’s best, but God does. There are no surprises for God. No situation slips past Him. If I am worrying – if I don’t have inner peace – it’s because I don’t believe that God is able to take care of me, or I don’t believe that God wants to take care of me. If I am worried, I do not believe the promise of Romans 8:28.

But when I trust God and trust His promises, I won’t feel like this (motion) on the inside. When I trust God, I’ll have peace.

Optional: Bring in a hamster or gerbil. Hold him up for the class to see. I wish I could let this gerbil know that he has nothing to be afraid of while I’m holding him. Whenever I pick him up, I know that he’s afraid because he squirms and shakes, and his little heart is racing. I wish he knew that there’s no way that I would ever let anything happen to him. In fact, he’s way safer here in my hands than if I let him down to run around on his own. On his own, he could get lost or stepped on, or an animal outside might grab him. If he would just trust me, he could relax and have a really fun, peaceful ride while I carry him around.

Do you see how we are often like this little hamster? We worry and fret over things in our lives, while the entire time we should just relax because God is holding us in the palm of His hand.

Remember, Jesus was sleeping peacefully in the boat during that raging storm. The disciples panicked while Jesus slept. Jesus trusted His heavenly Father. Jesus knew that His dad had Him in the palm of His hand. Just like Jesus, we will have peace when we trust that God is in control of everything.

PPT CUE: Key Verse

Key Verse: You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in You, all whose thoughts are fixed on You! – Isaiah 26:3 NLT

PPT CUE: Main Point

Main Point: Peace comes from knowing that God is in control.


1 © 2010 BibleLessons4Kidz.com All rights reserved worldwide. May be reproduced for personal, nonprofit, and non-commercial uses only. Unless otherwise noted the Scriptures taken from: Holy Bible, New International Reader’s Version, (NIrV®) Copyright © 1995, 1996, 1998 by International Bible Society / Used by permission of IBS-STL.  All rights reserved worldwide.

Related Topics: Sanctification, Children, Children's Curriculum

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