God’s Calling in the New Testament – The Church in New York City

God's Calling in the New Testament

Summary of Citywide Children’s Meeting
Regarding the next few God’s Calling Lessons

April 10, 2022

God’s Calling in the NT: In the Gospels – John the Baptist

In this lesson, our focus is to follow the Lord, who called us, rather than merely following traditions or the way other people are doing things. Both John the Baptist and his parents, Zachariah and Elizabeth, did things God’s way.

Briefly explain the OT vs. NT. The OT is the part of the Bible that tells about God and His people before the Lord Jesus was born. The NT covers the period when the Lord Jesus was born and afterwards. God had called His people in the OT. Now in the NT, God’s people, the Jews, had again turned their hearts away from Him. They had become disobedient, sinful, hard-hearted, and rebellious.
Explain that John would be called to help people turn back to God and that this was foretold hundreds of years earlier in the Old Testament. (Isaiah 40:3-4)
Isaiah was a prophet in the OT. The prophets spoke for God and sometimes that speaking told about something that would happen later.
Introduce John’s righteous parents, Zachariah and Elizabeth. Not all of God’s people had become hard-hearted, and God uses those who have responded to His call.
Briefly tell the facts of the story with simple language, e.g., that the angel told Zachariah and Elizabeth that they would have a special son who would help people turn their hearts to God. No need to go into being filled with the Holy Spirit, Nazarite, etc. Cover the second application about responding to God’s call as you share the example of this couple.
Zachariah and Elizabeth responded to God’s call and obeyed His voice by naming their son John. Everyone expected them to name their son Zachariah following tradition. But John’s parents were not afraid to be different in order to obey God.
John also learned to live differently than those around him. He turned his heart fully to the Lord so that he could help others to turn their hearts to the Lord. Share details.
It may be helpful to share a practical example from a serving one’s experience of how we made a choice that was following God, but maybe was unpopular among the people around us.
If there is time and burden you can touch on the first application about praying for those around us to know the Lord. However, there will be ample opportunity for this application in the coming lessons.

April 17, 2022

God’s Calling in the NT: In the Gospels – The First Disciples of the Lord Jesus

Present a simple background/review. John had responded to God’s call, not worrying about being different. He told people to repent and be baptized. John’s preaching prepared many to follow the Lord. John had been called to do this and he carried out his calling.
When the Lord Jesus came preaching (he had been born about 6 months after John) John pointed people to the Lord Jesus. Share the details of the paragraphs in the content.
Emphasize that the disciples followed right away and began to invite others to follow too. Bring in the points from the last application that the way they helped to call people was simple. They invited them to come and see.
The first application can be brought in when sharing about Nathaniel. The Lord knew him already and He knows us already too. The Lord is calling us to follow Him. Impress and inspire the children that God knows them, loves them and is calling us.

April 24, 2022

In the Gospels – The Calling of Simon, Andrew, James and John to be Fishers of Men

We can use a visual illustration of a fishing net from that time period to show the children. (The suggested Approach asks the children about fishing, but some of our children who grew up in the city may never have gone fishing or seen it, so it will help them visualize.)
The Lord Jesus compares people to fish. Like catching fish, the Lord wants us to be “fishers of men.” (Some translations say “catch men alive,” but this may be misunderstood by the children, so we can just use the phrase “fishers of men.”) The Lord cares for all people, and wants people to believe into Him and love Him like we do. Maybe there are some people we don’t think could ever believe in the Lord Jesus because they seem a certain way outwardly. But we should not judge people by what we think — the Lord’s heart is for all people.
The Lord knows where the fish are. Just like He told some disciples (expert fishermen) where to cast the net, we should obey the Lord to pray for those around us and to speak to them what we know.
Focus on practical ways the children can pray and speak about the Lord. At this age, they are not necessarily “preaching the gospel” so we should avoid using these spiritual terms. Rather, at this age, the children can testify of the Lord in simple ways. For example, they can mention that their conscience bothered them when they were talking back to their parents, and so they apologized. They can also testify of the Lord by being kind to their siblings and by being honest. They can invite their friends to children’s meeting, and pray for friends who are going through a difficult situation.

May 1, 2022

In the Gospels – The Twelve Apostles

The Lord Jesus called 12 disciples and He took care in choosing each one of them.
One point that is mentioned briefly in the beginning, but is important, is that the Lord had compassion for people. He cared about others and cared for others. He needs helpers that also care for others.
Take some time to familiarize the children with the names of the 12 disciples. Are any of the children named after one of the 12?
As the Lord’s helpers, they needed certain characteristics. These points are very practical. The children may have fun acting out these situations. The first two – immediately and obedient are especially well-suited for this. During this role-play the application points can be emphasized. The last three points can be covered by giving an example as time allows.

May 8, 2022

In the Gospels – Matthew

Tie into previous weeks’ lessons: In the New Testament, God called people to follow Him. Those who followed His teachings and His ways were called disciples.
Before the Lord chose the disciples, He prayed. None of them were perfect, but they had some important character traits such as being willing to be corrected.
Help them understand that Matthew was not well-liked. (They probably know kids like this in school.) He was a tax collector. They didn’t like his job and probably some of the things he did. But the Lord’s heart is so big and He is so forgiving and this love can change people. Matthew was so happy when the Lord called him. Help the children aspire to have this kind of heart. They don’t have to be best friends with the naughty kid, but a kind word can go a long way to soften someone’s heart. We should not judge. There may be something difficult or sad going on in the child’s life.

May 15, 2022

In the Gospels – Mary the Magdalene

Connect to the previous week. Like Matthew, Mary the Magdalene did not have a perfect background and was not someone that you might pick to follow the Lord Jesus. The Lord healed her of many evils. We don’t want to make excuses for evil behavior, but our Lord is able to forgive and heal.
Ask the children if they noticed anything about the 12 Apostles….They were all men! Impress the children that the Lord had female followers too. Many of them took care of the Lord and His disciples. Mary the Magdalene is the first we will talk about. She was so happy that the Lord had set her free from her problems that she loved the Lord greatly.
Mary and the other sisters mentioned in the lesson took care of the brothers’ needs out of their own money. Emphasize that this was a noble and great deed. They loved the Lord’s word and their service enabled Him to continue to minister.
The last part of the lesson of Mary’s faithful and devoted love is very touching and should be told as a wonderful story. Let the word of God touch their heart. No sermonizing needed.

May 22, 2022

In the Gospels – Martha

In this lesson, we should not get too “spiritual” with the applications. Rather, tell the story and apply it to times that the children complain about doing more work than others. Without taking the time to connect with the Lord, as Mary did, we can be bitter in our service. The examples in the last application are very practical. Combine the “doing” with the “listening” aspect. If you listen to the instructions carefully and follow them you will make the asker very happy.
We need to be both Mary and Martha – listening and loving the Lord, and pleasing Him. In the case of children, they can relate to pleasing their parents.
You can play some games giving instructions for a drawing or task that children must follow.

May 29, 2022

In the Gospels – Mary of Bethany (the sister of Martha and Lazarus)

Mary from the previous week’s lesson shows that she really was listening to the Lord. She knew what was on His heart. As a result, she poured out completely in a way that pleased the Lord.This is a beautiful, touching story. Take the time to tell it with feeling and let the word speak to the children. There are many practical points in the applications, but in our fellowship we felt there is no need to keep preaching these things to the children. Trust the word to speak and operate and resist the desire to sermonize.

June 5, 2022

God’s Calling in the NT: In the Gospels – Zaccheus

There are many details in this lesson, and many applications, but we do not need to bring out all the details.
We can make a connection to Matthew, another tax collector, who was called by the Lord. We can remind/ask the children if they remember why tax collectors were not liked.
Zaccheus was happy when the Lord called Him. The Lord even knew his name already.
With Zaccheus, there was repentance + action. When he met the Lord, his conscience was touched, and he wanted to pay back those he stole from, and to give to the poor.
Sometimes the children may just say “sorry” but it is not from their heart. We need to repent and take action.
Other points (such as Zaccheus being determined to see the Lord) can be brought out as part of the story, rather than as a separate application point.

June 12, 2022

God’s Calling in the NT: In the Gospels – God’s Calling of the Paralytic Man

We can connect to the prior lesson. Just like Zaccheus thought of a way to solve his problem to see the Lord in the midst of a crowd, the paralytic man’s friends thought of a way to solve their problem of bringing their friend to the Lord in the midst of a crowd.
We should NOT highlight the connection between sickness and sin. This is a spiritual concept and we don’t want the children to mistakenly assume that sickness always relates to sin. Not all sickness is from sin.
Highlight instead, the point of being a good friend. The paralytic man was unable to get to the Lord himself. These friends were really good friends. They got him onto the roof on a mat, and even dug through the roof. They were determined to get their friend to the Lord.
We can mention the point of the Lord being able to forgive sins as part of the story, but this does not have to be the main point. The point of being a good friend may be more relatable to the children at this age.

June 19, 2022

God’s Calling in the NT: In Acts – The Twelve Apostles and other Disciples on the Day of Pentecost

For time context, tell the children that this story happens after the Lord already died and resurrected.
Because this is a long lesson with a lot of details, in the interest of time, we can cover the story, but leave out details. For example, we can leave out details about all the languages and the different peoples speaking various tongues.
Bring out point of not being embarrassed about believing in the Lord. After the Lord was arrested, the disciple Peter denied the Lord three times.
But later, after the Lord died and resurrected, and after ten days of Peter praying together with a group of about 120 disciples, Peter became bold to speak for the Lord. The Lord had strengthened them. He was bold to speak about the Lord in front of thousands of people!
We can also highlight the importance of prayer. We should not interrupt when others are praying. We can say “amen” (define this for the children as saying “I agree” with what the person is praying).
Main point is we are strengthened when we are with others who love the Lord and also through prayer.
Instead of craft about languages, to make the point clearer, we can make a craft on a popsicle stick. One side can be an embarrassed, ashamed face (as Peter was), and on the other side of the stick can be a group of lots of people happily speaking for the Lord.

June 26, 2022

God’s Calling in the NT: In Acts – Stephen

Stephen knew the Word of God very well, and was able to speak it accurately and from his heart. We also need to know God’s Word.
In covering the lesson, we should do so in a concise way. No need to give all the details of what Stephen spoke, just that he was able to talk in detail about so many Old Testament people.
We can talk about martyrdom, but define in a simple way…dying/being killed because of believing in the Lord.
Even though we may not be physically killed for our beliefs in this country, there are other countries where people are killed for believing in the Lord Jesus. We may still experience emotional persecution. For example, saying that we believe the Bible as the Word of God, or that God created male and female, may cause others (even adults) to make fun of us. But we need to be like Stephen to speak up for the Lord.
Stephen had both God’s Word and practical service (like Mary and Martha). He was a diligent serving one. He served in the practical matters of the church, and he also knew God’s Word very well.

July 3, 2022

In Acts – Cornelius

Need to define Gentile – someone who is not Jewish. To the Jews, Gentiles were unclean, not caring for God’s law, especially cleansing and diet.
Visual aid of Cornelius lesson will help focus children’s attention. E.g., printout pictures of clean and unclean animals, or bring a blanket and use toy animals as a demonstration.
Cornelius prayed to God at set times. He was godly, seeking God and also had a heart for others to know about God.
The Lord showed Peter to call no man unclean. God was not partial and did not show favoritism.
God’s heart is for all people to believe in Him.
Like Cornelius who had a heart for others, we should be kind and welcoming when we meet new children, whether in children’s meeting or elsewhere. The saints had a strong burden for this point. Help the children practice greeting new children.
“Being a true friend to all people” is a tricky point. We recently encouraged children to be careful in choosing friends. Here emphasize that we are friendly toward all, not mean or rude to others who are different than we are. While being careful about who we spend our time with, we should also be welcoming and approachable.
This is a good opportunity to emphasize having the habit of prayer. Ask the children if when they pray – we can suggest praying every morning, every night, at meal times.

July 10, 2022

In Acts – Saul of Tarsus

Calling Saul – We should use the term “Saul of Tarsus” and tell them that this is NOT the same as King Saul in the Old Testament. Saul of Tarsus was born much later.
This is an excellent story. Take time to be familiar with the details so that you can tell it well.
Include Saul’s upbringing and training in a positive way because God eventually is able to use that after his conversion.
Take the opportunity to connect to the recent lesson on Stephen. Saul was holding the coats and approving of such a killing.
God called Saul in a dramatic way. Include all the details to impress the children. Saul’s response was to fast and pray.
Ananias was obedient to go to Saul and lay his hands on him, indicating the oneness with the brothers. Saul’s response was to be baptized calling on the name of the Lord. This was a strong testimony that Saul had changed.

July 17, 2022

In Acts – Paul, Called to Serve Together with Barnabas and Other Brothers and Sisters

[We decided to move this lesson up to follow Saul of Tarsus]

After his conversion Saul is referred to more often as Paul (though not exclusively)
Just like Ananias was reluctant to go to Paul, some of the brothers in Jerusalem were reluctant to fellowship with Paul.
Barnabas was the welcoming one. (Connect to the role play from 7/3 lesson on welcoming new ones.)
Paul and Baranbas served together a lot. As you go over the details in the content, you may want to bring in modern day equivalents: we never serve alone. In children’s meeting we always have at least two serving ones, not just one.
Paul took instructions from the brothers in Jerusalem, even though he may have been older or more highly educated.
Paul was willing to do what he was asked to do. Maybe you would rather pass out snack, but you are asked to put away chairs, etc.

July 24, 2022

In Acts – Timothy

This lesson will be shared once during Family Bible Camp on Saturday 7/23, then again on 7/24 during children’s meeting.
The emphasis on 7/23 during Family Bible Camp will be the FAMILY. Timothy was raised knowing the word from a young age thanks to his grandmother and mother.
Timothy was diligent and faithful by following the patterns of his grandmother and mother, family members in different generations. He did not look down on his grandmother but received instruction from her in the word of God.
We don’t hear about Timothy’s father. He was not in the picture concerning his spiritual upbringing at least. But his grandmother and mother positively influenced him. (This can be an encouragement to those in single family homes or those with a parent not in the church life.)
The emphasis on 7/24 children’s meeting will be serving and working with many others.
Timothy worked with Paul who was older than Timothy and also more bold than Timothy. Again emphasize serving with those in different generations. Give some current examples – younger and older saints serving together. A practical example is older sibling and younger sibling both helping their parents carry groceries.
Timothy learned from those around him and followed them as his pattern. Eventually Paul charged Timothy to be a pattern. Encourage the children that they are a pattern and example to the children younger than they are. They can even be a pattern to those older in age.

July 31, 2022

In Acts – Lydia and the Jailer of Philippi

We decided to split this lesson into two separate weeks to separate the stories of Lydia and the jailer. Cover only the story of Lydia in this week’s lesson time.
The details in “facts for teachers” concerning purple dyed cloth are both interesting and relevant. Because the process was difficult, the resulting cloth was expensive. Lydia therefore made a good living.
The apostles trusted the Lord to lead them to those he had prepared. The Lord had prepared the hearts of those the disciples would meet and arranged that they would be there at the same time.
Paul, Silas, Timothy and Luke served together. Reinforce the points from earlier lessons on Paul and Timothy concerning serving together. Imagine 4 people agreeing to go to a different place than originally planned! They had really learned to follow the Lord’s leading.
Remember this lesson, though it does talk about Paul, is about God’s calling and His working all things together in His sovereign arrangement to call people. Lydia’s heart was prepared by the Lord. She was baptized and her whole household, then opened her home.
The first, third and last applications go with this half of the lesson.

Aug 7, 2022