Elementary Kids & Families

ELEMENTARY KIDS & FAMILIES Summer Date:______Lesson 11

This resource is designed to allow your family to have time in God’s Word DID YOU KNOW? BEFORE your children attend church. Because God’s plan is for parents to be • In the beginning, it was God who created the celestial heavens and the earth the primary spiritual nurturers of their children’s faith, we want YOU to be the we now inhabit. one to introduce this part of The Big God Story to them. • At the end of the age, the heavens and earth will be destroyed, and it will be HomeFront: A Spiritual Parenting Resource This monthly magazine gives God who creates a new heaven and a new earth. your family ideas for creating fun, spiritually forming times in your home—setting • What we refer to as heaven will actually be the new earth that God is preparing aside sacred space in the midst of your active, everyday lives. for us. Visit www.HomeFrontMag.com to subscribe to the print edition or to have a • The new earth will be perfect, unmarred by sin. There will be no weeping, digital copy sent directly to your inbox. mourning, or crying.

GOD IS THE BEGINNING AND THE END YOUNGER KIDS Revelation: New Heaven and New Earth Your child can listen to and recall the stories he hears. Tell your child the ending Revelation 21—22 to a familiar story or fairy tale. Allow him to guess what the story is. Remind him God gives John a vision of a new heaven and a new earth. John sees what the that from beginning to end, the Bible is The Big God Story. world will look like at Jesus’ return, with no more death, mourning, crying, or pain. OLDER KIDS JUST FOR FUN Your child has a sophisticated vocabulary and is capable of telling inventive and Spend some time cleaning up litter in a local park or in your neighborhood. entertaining stories. Create a fun story together by giving her the beginning of a Imagine with your children how different the earth might be without all the ways story and then allowing her to make up her own ending. Discuss with her how we have destroyed it. Read Revelation 21:5–7. God was at the beginning and He will be at the end with His gift of a new heaven and a new earth. REMEMBER VERSE BLESSING But these were written that you may believe that Jesus is A blessing can be a spoken prayer of commission, a portion of Scripture, or the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may words of encouragement and guidance over your child. For more information have life in his name. about blessing your child, see the Blessing section in HomeFront: A Spiritual John 20:31 Parenting Resource @ HomeFrontMag.com

A blessing to pray over your child: TEACHABLE MOMENTS (Child’s name), May you know God loves you and wants to spend forever After reading the Scripture passage, discuss the following together: with you. May you accept His free gift of everlasting life. • What will it be like to be with God forever? • What are you most looking forward to about heaven? Share with your children that God desires to be with them forever in heaven. Remind them that it is Jesus’ death and resurrection that makes it possible for this to happen.