Splinks for the week of December 29, 2019 – January 4, 2020
A Gift of Hope
Celebrating Jesus should not stop with His birth. Because Jesus came to earth and was willing to be the Savior for this world, we can all have hope. But do you realize there are people who do not know about Jesus? This hope is not just for us.
Read John 3:16. Who does this verse remind us God loves enough to send His Son? God loves every person He created.
God’s plan for those who do not know Jesus and the hope He gives is for His followers to spread the good news about Jesus to everyone. God’s story will be told by God’s people.
Pray together with your family and ask the Lord to help you know how to plug in to what He is doing in your neighborhood and around the world to help others find hope in Him.
I Hope…
Ask kids to complete the sentence: I hope __________.
What is hope? (A confident expectation)
What are the chances that our hopes will come true? (It depends on the person we are hoping will fulfill it; it depends on what we are hoping for; etc.)
The ‘hope that I get a new game for my birthday’ depends on the people who know you and might give you a new game.
What does it mean to put our ‘hope in God’? (To believe that He will do what He says He will; to believe He will do what is best; etc.)
We must put our hope in God’s words. If He has promised it, we can be sure He will do it.
Read one of His promises in John 14:1-3. (Jesus promised to make a place for those who believe in Him and bring them to that place, His Father’s house, someday.)
If we place our hope in God’s words, we can have peace and joy because we know what will happen when we die. We will go to live with God in Heaven.
What Is That?
Items Needed: various items that will fit inside a bag (sock, key, small stuffed animal, nail clippers, glue stick, half-eaten candy bar, the more unusual the better)
Kids will hold the bag (but not put their hand inside it or look inside it) one at a time to try to guess the item. (You can put the item in the bag just before each kid has a turn or have several bags ready with an item already in each one.) After a short time, remove the item to reveal its identity.
Why was it hard to guess the item? (I couldn’t see it, it felt like something else, etc.)
Not seeing inside the bag made it harder to guess it. Not seeing or knowing exactly what will happen when we die can make us feel unsure or afraid. Because Jesus died and came to life again, we don’t have to be afraid of death. We can have hope because He was a winner over death. As we pray and thank God for the hope we have in Jesus and what He did for us, lets also remember to help others learn about that hope in Him.