Module 4, Unit 2, Lesson 1 the Soldier As a Disciple

Module 4, Unit 2, Lesson 1 The soldier as a disciple

Guiding Principle: Being a junior soldier means being on the move and following Jesus.

Memory Verse: “But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do.” 1 Peter 1:15 (NIV)

Leader’s Background Information: In this unit, we will be learning about the movement of The Salvation Army. We will ask questions like: what makes it move, how does it keep moving and what is my part as a junior soldier in making The Salvation Army move? In Lesson One, we are going to explore the idea that being a junior soldier is not simply changing into a uniform or adopting The Salvation Army as your church. It is more about making a statement that you are a disciple of Jesus and are following Him in soldier- like fashion. Being a junior soldier is about finding out where Jesus is going, joining Him, and moving with Him. Guiding Principle: Being a junior soldier means being on the move and following Jesus. Scripture: 1 Peter 1:15 (NIV)

Activity What Kids Do Preparation Materials

DISCIPLE TAG: Place boundary markers for Junior soldiers play a game IMPACT the area junior soldiers will where the numbers grow • Boundary markers (10 min) play in. as they get tagged.

Junior soldiers learn Review lesson. ILLUMINATE that following Jesus means • Bibles (10-15 min) Review verse. being on the move.

Junior soldiers watch Kat try to build a bicycle • Video Have video ready to play. INVEST from scratch all by herself. • Small group questions (10-15 min) Read through the questions Junior soldiers reflect on the • Small notebook ahead of time. lesson and the things God • Small reward may be saying.

• Small canvas or cardboard • Cardboard • Drywall compound • Wax paper • Household items for texturing Have a sample prepared. • Acrylic craft paints SKYLINE SCULPTURE: Place the cardboard on one • Paintbrushes Junior soldiers make a table and the other materials • Assorted screws, washers INSPIRE skyline of their city as a needed for constructing on (10-15 min) • Colored paper, book pages, reminder that we are to be another table. newspaper soldiers everywhere we go. Copy Worksheets #1-11. • Scissors Copy Take Home Worksheet. • Tacky Glue • Mod Podge® • Sharpies® • Wooden craft sticks • Copies of Worksheet #1-11 • Take Home Worksheet

Teachers: If you are printing out the lessons for teaching, be sure to select “Fit” under Page Size.

One idea to keep the junior soldiers engaged is to set up stations! If you have a large group, play the game and teach the lesson with the junior soldiers all together, then divide into two groups. The first group will watch the video and go through the small group questions and the second can work on the Inspire project, then switch. IMPACT

DISCIPLE TAG1 Group size: 8+ Preparation Time: 15 minutes Time Needed for Activity: 10 minutes

Materials: • Boundary markers

Preparation: • Prior to class create an open space for play. If you are indoors, put chairs around the perimeter of the room. If you are outside, find an open space to play that is free of debris or obstacles.

Directions: 1. Set up marker cones at two different ends of a playing field or basketball court. 2. Have the junior soldiers stand on one side of the field behind a starting line. Make sure everyone can see and hear you. 3. Identify where the finish line is. 4. Designate one junior soldier to start out in the middle of the playing area as the Tagger. 5. This game will have several rounds. 6. Round 1: At your command, (GO!) everyone will run across the field and try to make it across the finish line without getting tagged by the Tagger. If anyone gets tagged by the Tagger, they will join hands with the Tagger and become part of the Tagger team for Round 2. 7. Round 2: If your Tagger was able to tag a few players, the Tagger Team is now bigger and has a larger span. At your command, (GO!) everyone runs across the field again and tries to cross the finish line without getting tagged. Anyone who was tagged by the Tagger Team would be absorbed into the Tagger Team for Round 3. 8. This continues until everyone is absorbed into the Tagger Team.

Say: Please come and stand behind this starting line to hear the directions for our game. This game is called Disciple Tag. Everyone will start behind this line here except for one person who will be our Tagger. The Tagger will start out in the middle of the field/court. Can everyone see the finish line across the field/court? We will play several rounds of this game. I will start the first round by saying, “Go!” As soon as you hear me say, “Go,” everyone will

1 Adapted from the game Blob Tag. New Games Book. (San Francisco, CA: The Headlands Press, Ind., 1976), p. 107.

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run across the field and try to make it across the finish line without getting tagged by the Tagger. If you get tagged by the Tagger, you join hands with him or her and become part of the Tagger team for Round 2. Then I will say, “GO” to start Round 2. Again, everyone will try and run across the field/court without getting tagged. If you do get tagged, you hold hands with the Tagger team and we will begin Round 3. Are there any questions? (Choose your first Tagger.) Let’s begin with as our first Tagger. Ready, GO! (Play several rounds until eventually everyone is absorbed into the Tagger team.)

Safety: Encourage children to tag others without hurting them. With any running game there is risk of a collision.

After the game, say: In today’s lesson we are going to talk about the Holiness Movement and how The Salvation Army spread very quickly when it first began. For example in 1882, five Salvationists landed in Australia. In two years time, there were over 20,000 soldiers and adherents in 46 corps! That’s a lot of people in a short amount of time. Just like in this game, we started out with one person as the Tagger, and in only a few short rounds we absorbed everyone in the group. That’s what we do as disciples; we tell others about God until everyone has heard the news! Let’s take our seats and learn a little bit more about being on the move with Jesus.

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Say: When The Salvation Army first began, it spread quickly. People were intrigued by the idea that Jesus was concerned with the people who were not welcome in church buildings. It was, and still is, a movement. What is a movement? A movement is a group of people “on the move.” They are not stationary; they do not sit still. Rather, they have constant activity because they believe in their cause and their mission. Remember the example I just told you about The Salvation Army’s movement in Australia in 1882? Only five Salvationists landed in Australia and, in two years time, there were over 20,000 soldiers and adherents in 46 corps. That was an Army on the move!

Being a junior soldier is not simply showing up on Sunday or wearing your junior soldier uniform. (Ask your junior soldiers to stand up.) Being a junior soldier means that you are part of a movement that stretches across the globe. There are junior soldiers in over 128 countries that stand with you. We are a movement being led by Jesus. (Junior soldiers can take their seats.) Here are a few key truths that help us understand what it means to be a part of this movement.

Because these key truths are all about Jesus on the move, a movement activity has been added to each key truth.

Say: Key Truth 1: Jesus is on the move. (Have the junior soldiers stand up behind their chairs and walk in a circle around the table.) John 1:14 (NIV) says, “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.” Another way to look at this is that Jesus moved into the neighborhood. Now, that verse is talking about when Jesus put on human skin and bones and became a human like us. But the idea behind it is that He MOVED from heaven to Earth. He changed His address to be near us. And now He moves all over the earth to teach, love, and heal people.

Do you think it was hard for Jesus to move from heaven to Earth? Why or why not?

Key Truth 2: Jesus moves in unexpected places. (Have the junior soldiers and yourself stand on their chairs.) Luke 5:27-31 (NIV) says: “After this, Jesus went out and saw a tax collector by the name of Levi sitting at his tax booth. ‘Follow me,’ Jesus said to him, and Levi got up, left everything and followed him. Then Levi held a great banquet for Jesus at his house, and a large crowd of tax collectors and others were eating with them. But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law who belonged to their sect complained to his disciples, ‘Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?’ Jesus answered them, ‘It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.’”

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What did you notice about Jesus in these verses? We will find Jesus pursuing friendship with people who you wouldn’t think He should pursue friendship with. Jesus’s movement is different from anyone else’s!

• Who are some people you think Jesus is interested in being with or some places where you think Jesus is interested in going? • Of all the people out there, why would Jesus go after the hardest ones?

Key Truth 3: Jesus calls us to follow Him or move with Him wherever He goes. (Have the junior soldiers hide under the table with you.) Matthew 4:18-22 (NIV) says: “As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. ‘Come, follow me,’ Jesus said, ‘and I will send you out to fish for people.’ At once they left their nets and followed him. Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets. Jesus called them, and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.”

Let’s also look up Mark 8:34 (NIV). “Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: ‘Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.’”

Being a junior soldier is the same thing as being a disciple of Jesus. In the days when Jesus lived, being a disciple would be similar to the process of putting yourself under a famous coach so that he or she could teach you how to play a sport better. You would follow their instructions; they would practice with you and give you tips. They would help you understand the mental game as well as get you prepared for the physical game. In much the same way, being a disciple was like that and involved following a master teacher around and learning from him.

A junior soldier is really a disciple under Jesus. He is our Great Captain and the General of God’s Army. Of course, The Salvation Army has a human General, but all officers and soldiers in God’s army are ultimately under Jesus Christ, who is the HEAD of the Church.

Key Truth 4: As a junior soldier or disciple of Jesus, we are training to be good warriors for God’s Truth. (Have the junior soldiers do ten jumping jacks.) We learn from Jesus’s boldness, and His boldness becomes ours. We learn from Jesus the way to defeat the devil and sin, and His death and resurrection becomes ours too. We learn from Jesus to move into hard places, and His Spirit of love becomes ours.

Being a soldier in The Salvation Army is the same thing as being a disciple who is ready to move when Jesus moves. We not only study Jesus’s

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movements, but we seek to copy Him, to move like He moves, to keep in step with Him. Being a junior soldier means being on the move and following Jesus.

If you have a small group of junior soldiers, say: Now we’re going to watch a video to teach us more.

If you have a large group of junior soldiers, say: Now we’re going to divide into two groups. Half of you will watch a video to teach us more, and the other half will work on the project. Then, we’ll switch.

If applicable, divide your junior soldiers into two groups. Settle one group in front of the TV or tablet to watch the Invest video and the others can begin working on the Inspire project. If you have only one leader, try following these instructions: while the video is playing, go over the instructions for the project with the project group. When the video ends, go through the small group questions with the video group. After both groups have completed their activity, switch. .

M4U2L1: The soldier as a disciple 7 INVEST

Memory Verse: “But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do.” 1 Peter 1:15 (NIV)

Say: This unit’s Scripture memory verse is 1 Peter 1:15. Let’s read it together. Does anyone want to try to say it from memory?

Allow a time for junior soldiers to recite this verse from memory. Review it again, providing a small reward for those who have memorized the verse. This verse will be reviewed each week throughout this unit.

Say: This week Kat tries to build a bicycle from scratch all by herself. Let’s see how it’s going.

Play Video

Small Group Questions Say: Small Group Tip: As you teach Now we are going to take some time to think about what we learned children about holiness, remember today. I’m going to ask a few questions. Try to answer each question the goal is not perfection. honestly, and respect one another by listening to each other with Holiness is a lifelong journey patience and without judgment. to become more and more like Jesus, and for the fruit of the • What was Kat using to build her bike? Was it working? Why or Spirit (love, joy, peace, patience, why not? kindness, goodness, faithfulness, • What did Mr. B say we need when we are working on something? gentleness, and self-control) to • How have you seen Jesus at work around you? How is He moving? become evident in each child. If • What do you think are the unexpected places around you that God children are worried about their has not given up on? behavior, or getting everything • Have you ever asked Jesus if you can join Him in His work? How right in order to find favor with would we ask? God, encourage them by saying, • Let’s spend some time this week looking for where Jesus might be “We will make mistakes on our moving in unexpected ways. road to holiness, but God gives us grace and strength to try again. His love for us never runs out!”

8 M4U2L1: The soldier as a disciple INSPIRE

SKYLINE SCULPTURE

Note: This project is designed to be completed over the course of three lessons. All of the junior soldiers will work together to build a cityscape of your town. As you look over the directions decide how you want to divide the project over the course of the next three weeks.

Materials: • Copies of Worksheets #1-11 (for reference) • Small canvases or cardboard • Cardboard, chipboard, heavy corrugated cardboard, Styrofoam or packing material • Drywall compound • Wax paper • Household items for texturing (combs, toothpicks, Lego®, straws, old gift cards, etc.) • Acrylic craft paints/paint pallet or paper plates • Paintbrushes • Assorted screws, washers, whatever excess hardware is on hand • Colored paper, book pages, newspaper • Scissors • Tacky glue • Mod Podge® acrylic medium, or sealer • Sharpies® • Wooden craft sticks • Take Home Worksheet

Preparation: • Have a sample prepared. • Place the cardboard on one table and the other materials needed for constructing on another table. • Copy Take Home Worksheet.

Directions: 1. Pass out a canvas to each junior soldier. Have the junior soldiers write their names on the back of their canvas. 2. Have your junior soldiers cut some rectangles out of the cardboard and work together so they have an idea of how many buildings will be in their cityscape. 3. Give each junior soldier a piece of wax paper and wooden craft stick. They will use the wax paper as a placemat. Apply the drywall compound onto the cardboard with the wooden craft stick. Have the junior soldiers

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do some texturing on their pieces of cardboard. Use a spatula from the hardware store or even an old gift card to make texture lines. Make sure to apply the drywall compound to just the front for the thin pieces and include the sides for the thicker pieces. You can use some household items for other texturing. 4. After the junior soldiers are done with the drywall compound they can use some washers, screws or whatever odds and ends on their buildings to add a little extra texture. This will give it a more 3D effect. 5. Let everything dry overnight. 6. Have the junior soldiers paint their canvas. This will be their background. Then have them set it aside. 7. Have the junior soldiers paint their buildings with acrylic paint. Let them dry. 8. Have the junior soldiers glue on some windows with colored paper, book pages, or newspaper. 9. Then glue the buildings on the canvas with tacky glue. 10. Pass out the Take Home Worksheet.

Say: The next few weeks we are going to focus on holiness and what it means to be a soldier in The Salvation Army in the Holiness Movement. We are going to create a city, neighborhood, or some sort of skyline using pieces of cardboard. We will work on it each week. At the end, we will have a model of a skyline that can be kept in our classroom as a sign that we are to be soldiers everywhere we go.

10 M4U2L1: The soldier as a disciple School -Copy on cardstock -Color with markers or colored pencils -Cut around building on solid lines. - Fold bottom flaps on dotted lines. -Put glue on the pieces you folded -Place it on the foundation of your city. M4U2L1, Worksheet #1: The soldier as adisciple as M4U2L1, #1: soldier The Worksheet M4U2L1, Worksheet #2: The soldier as a disciple M4U2L1, as #2: Worksheet soldier The

Apartment Building/Hospital and Sky Scraper -Copy on cardstock -Color with markers or colored pencils -Cut around building on solid lines. - Fold bottom flaps on dotted lines. -Put glue on the pieces you folded -Place it on the foundation of your city. Restaurant Building -Copy on cardstock -Color with markers or colored pencils -Cut around building on solid lines. - Fold bottom flaps on dotted lines. -Put glue on the pieces you folded -Place it on the foundation of your city. M4U2L1, Worksheet #3: The soldier as adisciple as M4U2L1, #3: Worksheet soldier The M4U2L1, Worksheet #4: The soldier as adisciple as M4U2L1, #4: Worksheet soldier The

Library Building -Copy on cardstock -Color with markers or colored pencils -Cut around building on solid lines. - Fold bottom flaps on dotted lines. -Put glue on the pieces you folded -Place it on the foundation of your city. Town House Buildings -Copy on cardstock -Color with markers or colored pencils -Cut around building on solid lines. - Fold bottom flaps on dotted lines. -Put glue on the pieces you folded -Place it on the foundation of your city. M4U2L1, Worksheet #5: The soldier as a disciple as M4U2L1, #5: Worksheet soldier The M4U2L1, Worksheet #6: The soldier as adisciple as M4U2L1, #6: soldier The Worksheet

Salvation Army Store Building -Copy on cardstock -Color with markers or colored pencils -Cut around building on solid lines. - Fold bottom flaps on dotted lines. -Put glue on the pieces you folded -Place it on the foundation of your city. Church -Copy on cardstock -Color with markers or colored pencils -Cut around building on solid lines. - Fold bottom flaps on dotted lines. -Put glue on the pieces you folded -Place it on the foundation of your city. M4U2L1, Worksheet #7: The soldier as adisciple as M4U2L1, #7: Worksheet soldier The M4U2L1, Worksheet #8 The soldier as adisciple as M4U2L1, #8 soldier The Worksheet

Post Office Building -Copy on cardstock -Color with markers or colored pencils -Cut around building on solid lines. - Fold bottom flaps on dotted lines. -Put glue on the pieces you folded -Place it on the foundation of your city.

United States Post Office House Building -Copy on cardstock -Color with markers or colored pencils -Cut around building on solid lines. - Fold bottom flaps on dotted lines. -Put glue on the pieces you folded -Place it on the foundation of your city. M4U2L1, Worksheet #9: The soldier as adisciple as M4U2L1, #9: soldier The Worksheet M4U2L1, Worksheet #10: The soldier as adisciple as M4U2L1, #10: soldier The Worksheet

Mercy Seat/Alter -Copy on cardstock -Color with markers or colored pencils -Cut around building on solid lines. - Fold bottom flaps on dotted lines. -Put glue on the pieces you folded -Place it on the foundation of your city. People Template -Copy on cardstock -Color with markers or colored pencils -Cut around building on solid lines. - Fold bottom flaps on dotted lines. -Put glue on the pieces you folded -Place it on the foundation of your city. M4U2L1, Worksheet #11: The soldier as adisciple as M4U2L1, #11: soldier The Worksheet Take Home Worksheet Word Mosaic Module 4, Unit 2, Lesson 1 Can you find the hidden word in this mosaic? The soldier as a disciple

Key Truth 1: Jesus is on the move. Key Truth 2:Jesusmoves in unexpected places. the footsteps of Jesus. the footsteps boldly and sacrifice their lives in their lives boldly and sacrifice Key Truth 4: True warriors move move warriors 4: True Truth Key

Key Truth 3: Jesus calls us to move with Him wherever He goes. Family Bible Reading Plan This week, junior soldiers learned that The Salvation Army is a movement led by Jesus Christ and we are a part of it.

Read through the following verses with your junior soldier this week.

DAY ONE John 1:14 Who do you think is the “Word” in this verse? How did He come to us?

DAY TWO Luke 5:27-31 In these verses, who did Jesus DAY THREE call to follow Him? Why did Jesus Matthew 4:18-22 become friends with the tax These verses tell the story of Jesus collectors and sinners? calling His disciples to follow Him. At that time, a rabbi was like a sports coach, someone who would teach and guide you, not into playing a sport in the right way, but into a right DAY FOUR way of living. What do you think it Galatians 2:20 was about Jesus that made Peter Being a follower of Jesus means and Andrew drop their nets and that we live by faith. What are some follow Him immediately? ways you can live by faith this week? Module 4, Unit 2, Lesson 2 The Salvation Army and the Holiness Movement

Guiding Principle: The Salvation Army is called to be a holy people.

Memory Verse: “But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do.” 1 Peter 1:15 (NIV)

Leader’s Background Information: So what is holiness exactly and what do the Scriptures say about holiness? Erwin Lutzer says the following:

“Holiness, when applied to God, means that He is ‘separate’ from His creation; He is ‘wholly other,’ unlike anything or anyone that you and I know. When applied to us it means that we are ‘separated unto God.’ That means that we are separate from worldly values and thinking; we are increasingly intolerant of sin and increasingly more dependent on Christ, who represents us to the Father and meets God’s ultimate standard of holiness on our behalf.”1

Just as Jesus calls us to be holy, The Salvation Army is part of the Holiness Movement. If we stop chasing after God’s holiness, then we will stop being The Salvation Army. It is important that this lesson not only teaches the concept of holiness to our junior soldiers, but that they are able to see the importance of The Salvation Army as part of the Holiness Movement.

1 Lutzer, Erwin W. Covering Your Life in Prayer: Discover a Life-Changing Conversation with God. (Eugene, OR: Harvest House Pub., 2013), 41. Guiding Principle: The Salvation Army is called to be a holy people. Scripture: 1 Peter 1:15 (NIV)

Activity What Kids Do Preparation Materials FAMILY TREE REACH: Junior soldiers play a game Create an open space IMPACT of freeze tag where they • Boundary markers for play. (10 min) become tree branches that can then tag others out. • Bibles Junior soldiers learn about • Index cards the history of The Salvation Review lesson. • Pencils or pens ILLUMINATE Army and the Holiness Review verse. • Copies of Worksheet #1 (10-15 min) Movement and discuss what Copy Worksheet #1. (one per junior soldier) it means when the Bible tells Write verses on index cards. • Chalkboard and chalk us to be holy. or Dry erase board and markers Junior soldiers watch the SRT talk about the beginnings of our • Video Holiness Movement Have video ready to play. INVEST • Small group questions (10-15 min) and highlight John Wesley Read through the questions • Small notebook and Samuel Logan Brengle. ahead of time. • Small reward Junior soldiers reflect on the lesson and the things God may be saying. • Small canvas or cardboard • Cardboard • Drywall compound • Wax paper • Household items for texturing Have a sample prepared. SKYLINE SCULPTURE: • Acrylic craft paints/paint Place the cardboard one one Junior soldiers continue to pallet or paper plates table and the other materials INSPIRE make a skyline of their city as • Paintbrushes (10-15 min) needed for constructing a reminder that we are to be • Assorted screws, washers on another table. soldiers everywhere we go. • Colored paper, book pages, Copy Take Home Worksheet. newspaper • Scissors • Tacky Glue • Mod Podge® • Sharpies® • Take Home Worksheet

Teachers: If you are printing out the lessons for teaching, be sure to select “Fit” under Page Size.

FAMILY TREE REACH Group size: 8+ Preparation Time: 5 minutes Time Needed for Activity: 10 minutes

Materials: • Boundary markers of some kind

Directions: 1. Set up marker cones at two different ends of a playing field or basketball court. 2. Have the junior soldiers stand on one side of the field behind a starting line. Make sure everyone can see and hear you. 3. Identify where the finish line is. 4. Designate one person to start out in the middle of the playing area (the Forest) as the Tagger. 5. This game will have several rounds. 6. Round 1: At your command, (GO!) everyone will run across the field and try to make it across the finish line without getting tagged by the Tagger. If anyone gets tagged by the Tagger, they will stand in the spot where they were tagged and become Tree Branches for Round 2. 7. Round 2: At your command, (GO!) everyone runs across the field again and tries to cross the finish line without getting tagged. The Tagger can still run freely in the forest tagging players running by. New Tree Branches can also tag runners, however they must stay in the spot they were tagged, leaving one foot planted as they try to also tag players running by. Any player they tag also becomes a Tree Branch for the next round. Anyone who was tagged by the Tree Branches would become Tree Branches for Round 3. 8. This continues until everyone becomes a Tree Branch.

Say: Please come and stand behind this starting line to hear the directions for our game. This game is called Family Tree Reach. Everyone will start behind this line here except for one person who will be our Tagger. The Tagger will start out in the middle of the field/court, which will be our Forest. Can everyone see the finish line across the field/court? We will play several rounds of this game. In a minute I will start the first round by saying, “Go!”

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As soon as you hear me say, “Go” everyone will run across the field and try to make it across the finish line without getting tagged by the Tagger. If you get tagged by the Tagger, you will become a Tree Branch for the next round. A Tree Branch must stand in the spot where they were tagged and they have to have one foot planted in one spot. They can reach out with their arms and try to tag people as they run by, but they cannot move their planted foot. (Demonstrate this.) Once everyone is in place I will say, “GO” to start Round 2. Again, everyone will try and run across the field/court without getting tagged. If you do get tagged, you become a Tree Branch for Round 3. Are there any questions? (Choose your first Tagger.) Let’s begin with as our first Tagger. Ready, GO! (Play several rounds until eventually everyone is a Tree Branch.)

After the game, say: In today’s lesson we are going to talk about The Salvation Army and the Holiness Movement. As members of The Salvation Army, we are called to be a holy people. The Salvation Army started because of the teachings of John Wesley. William and Catherine Booth were both moved by his teaching and the souls that were changed and started teaching others as well. In this game, let’s pretend that the first tagger was John Wesley. Every person he tagged became someone who had heard of his teachings, who then became more branches on the Family Tree of The Salvation Army. Then each person that the branches tagged became more and more people that had heard the teachings passed down from John Wesley. This is how The Salvation Army fits into the Holiness Movement. Let’s take our seats and learn more about The Salvation Army and the Holiness Movement.

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Make copies of Worksheet #1 (one per junior soldier) for use in the lesson.

Note to teachers: Some of the kids in your junior soldier brigade may not have intact families or know anything about their families. Please be sensitive to this when teaching this part of the lesson.

Say: How well do you know your family? Do you know about your great- great-great-grandfather? Or, do you know about your 3rd cousin on your mom’s side of the family? Sometimes we use the idea of a family tree to understand who we are related to and when they lived. Take a moment to look at this Salvation Army family tree and see if you can fill in the blanks. (Pass out copies of Worksheet #1.)

Did you know that The Salvation Army is also part of a bigger church family tree? The Salvation Army is a part of a church family called the Holiness Movement family and it is made up of many different churches and denominations. For example, the Methodist Church, the Nazarene Church, the Wesleyan Church, and The Salvation Army are all a part of the Holiness Movement and are part of the same family—the Holiness Movement family. Let’s talk numbers. According to some estimates, the Holiness Movement’s churches have spread to over 160 countries and are made up of nearly 12 million people.2

A key person in the Holiness Movement, some say he is the founding father, was John Wesley. He lived from 1703-1791. John Wesley believed that EVERY Christian was called to live a holy life. First Peter 1:15-16 (NIV) says, “But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: ‘Be holy, because I am holy.’” John Wesley believed that if God commands us to be holy in all we do, then He must also give us the power to be holy! After all, why would God command us to do something that was impossible? John Wesley believed that we must be made holy by God before we act like holy people. To be made holy was like having your heart flooded with a deep, deep love for God and other people that changes everything you are. Let’s look at it this way: if you love someone with God’s love, then you won’t sin against them, right? If you care about someone you won’t hurt them on purpose, right? If you are filled with God’s love, then you will want to be pure in your thoughts. In other words, when God’s awesome and holy love enters your heart, you have the power not to sin.

So how does The Salvation Army come into this family tree? William and Catherine Booth were greatly influenced by the teachings of John Wesley 2 https://www.oikoumene.org/en/church-families/holiness-churches

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and other preachers who taught holiness. William and Catherine believed that The Salvation Army was to be a holy people, made holy by God and then live holy lives in the world.

Therefore, The Salvation Army is called to be holy and pure, faithful and loving. If The Salvation Army and its people, including you and me, stop chasing God’s holiness, stop seeking Jesus’s character, and stop experiencing holy lives, then we will stop being The Salvation Army!

Last week we learned that being a soldier means being on the move with God. Let’s look up these verses about holiness and discuss.

Divide your junior soldiers into groups and give each group one verse on an index card to discuss what it means. After two minutes, ask each group to write their verse on the board and tell what they noticed in the verse.

“Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord.” Hebrews 12:14 (NIV)

“But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: ‘Be holy, because I am holy.’” 1 Peter 1:15-16 (NIV)

“He has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of His own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time.” 2 Timothy 1:9 (NIV)

“The night is about over, dawn is about to break. Be up and awake to what God is doing! God is putting the finishing touches on the salvation work he began when we first believed. We can’t afford to waste a minute, must not squander these precious daylight hours in frivolity and indulgence, in sleeping around and dissipation, in bickering and grabbing everything in sight. Get out of bed and get dressed! Don’t loiter and linger, waiting until the very last minute. Dress yourselves in Christ, and be up and about!” Romans 13:12-14 (The Message)

Say: Here are some characteristics of being made holy by God.

1. Being made holy is being made like God and the Holy Spirit makes you holy. 2. Jesus wants more than just to save you and forgive you, He wants to transform you into a soldier who loves God and loves others. He wants to give you His holiness! 3. When you are being made holy, you desire to be pure in your thoughts and language. 4. When you are being made holy, you have a deep love for God and other people.

6 M4U2L2: The Salvation Army and the Holiness Movement ILLUMINATE

5. When you are being made holy, God puts into your heart a desire to obey Him and surrender to Him.

Being holy means being a disciple and student of Jesus, becoming like Him in every way.

The Salvation Army is called to be a holy people. And you as junior soldiers are also called to be holy. How can we be a holy people? We must be made holy by God’s Holy Spirit.

If you have a small group of junior soldiers, say: Now we’re going to watch a video to teach us more.

M4U2L2: The Salvation Army and the Holiness Movement 7 INVEST

Memory Verse: “But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do.” 1 Peter 1:15 (NIV)

Say: This unit’s Scripture memory verse is 1 Peter 1:15. Let’s read it together.

Say: This week, members of the SRT dive deep into holiness and learn not only about John Wesley, but also about another holiness preacher, Samuel Logan Brengle.

Play Video

Small Group Questions Say: Now we are going to take some time to think about what we learned today. I’m going to ask a few questions. Try to answer each question honestly, and respect one another by listening to each other with patience and without judgment. Small Group Tip: As you teach children about holiness, remember • What does it mean to be holy? the goal is not perfection. • Have any of you ever felt God’s love so deeply that it kept you Holiness is a lifelong journey from sinning? to become more and more like • Who makes us holy? Jesus, and for the fruit of the • Who do we trust to make us holy? Spirit (love, joy, peace, patience,

kindness, goodness, faithfulness, Note: Be gentle with this topic. Holiness is a complex teaching. Kids who gentleness, and self-control) to learn what it means to be holy at a young age will be better prepared to become evident in each child. If face the enemy, as they get older. However, this is just the beginning of a children are worried about their lifelong journey with Jesus. Go over the following steps with your junior behavior, or getting everything soldiers so that they are reminded that holiness involves faith, trust, and right in order to find favor with obedience. God, encourage them by saying,

“We will make mistakes on our How to Experience Holiness: road to holiness, but God gives us • Ask God to show you any sin in your life. grace and strength to try again. • Confess it back to Him and ask Him to forgive you. Believe that He His love for us never runs out!” wants to forgive. He sent Jesus after all! • Ask Jesus to make your heart and mind pure, to set you apart for Him, and to fill you with His Spirit.

8 M4U2L2: The Salvation Army and the Holiness Movement INVEST

• Give your life and your future to God. Put everything you know in His hands. • Pray and accept the holiness of Jesus and expect that the Holy Spirit will make His presence known in the days and months ahead.

Lead the junior soldiers through these prayers:

Father, You are holy and You call me to be like You. Jesus, only Your holiness will make me holy. Only Your love can satisfy me. Holy Spirit, will You come into my heart like a flood and bring the holiness of Jesus?

Father, I pray that I might love holiness; show me the deceitfulness of sin that I might turn from it. I rejoice that Jesus is my holiness. Help me to draw from Him all that I need to follow Him in His love of righteousness. Give me a desire to turn from my sin by pursuing the disciplines of the Christian life that keep me connected with You all day long.

M4U2L2: The Salvation Army and the Holiness Movement 9 INSPIRE

SKYLINE SCULPTURE

Refer back to the directions from Lesson 1 to continue creating your cityscape.

Say: This week, we are going to continue to work on our cityscape project, making and painting buildings and landmarks of our city.

Pass out the Take Home Worksheet.

10 M4U2L2: The Salvation Army and the Holiness Movement Salvation Army Family Tree

Corps O cers Soldiers Divisional Commanders Territorial Commanders

Generals

Ballington Evangeline Booth Booth Bramwell Booth Other Booth Children Katie Booth William & Emma Booth Catherine Booth Herbert Booth Marie Booth Lucy Booth Salvation Army William Booth - 1865 Holiness Phoebe Palmer - 1800’s Movement James Caughy - 1800’s Methodists John Wesley - 1700’s

Anglicans - 1530’s Protestant Reformation 1500’s

New Testament Church

Apostles

JESUS CHRIST

M4U2L2, Worksheet #1: The Salvation Army and the Holiness Movement Take Home Worksheet Module 4, Unit 2, Lesson 2 The Salvation Army and the Holiness Movement

How to pray for Holiness:

Ask God to show you any sin 1. in your life.

Confess it back to Him and ask Him to forgive you. Believe that He wants to 2. forgive. He sent Jesus after all!

Ask Jesus to make your heart and mind pure, to set you apart for Him, and to 3. ﬁll you with His Spirit.

Give your life and your future to God. 4. Put everything you know in His hands.

Pray and accept the Holiness of Jesus and expect that the Holy Spirit will 5. make His presence known in the days and months ahead. Family Bible Reading Plan This week, junior soldiers learned what it means to be a holy people.

Read the following verses this week with your junior soldier.

DAY ONE Hebrews 12:14 How does living in peace with one another help us be holy?

DAY TWO 1 Peter 1:15-16 What are some ways we can try to be holy in our daily life? DAY THREE 2 Timothy 1:9 When Jesus saved us, He changed our hearts. Now, we are able to live in His power. How can this power help us to be holy? DAY FOUR Romans 13:12-14 What do these verses tell us about the things we should avoid? Module 4, Unit 2, Lesson 3 What are the mercy seat and the holiness table?

Guiding Principle: The mercy seat and the holiness table are places where we can meet God in a real and powerful way.

Memory Verse: “But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do.” 1 Peter 1:15 (NIV)

Leader’s Background Information: Enter into almost any Salvation Army sanctuary and in the front at the very center (usually below and in front of the pulpit) stand the mercy seat and the holiness table. Wait until the sanctuary is empty, then go on a little field trip with the junior soldiers and let them see the mercy seat and holiness table. What are they, and why are they important? We will look up some Scripture verses about them, learn about how The Salvation Army is linked to the mercy seat and the holiness table, and see why we should commit in our own lives to meet God at the mercy seat and the holiness table. Guiding Principle: The mercy seat and the holiness table are places where we can meet God in a real and powerful way. Scripture: 1 Peter 1:15 (NIV)

Activity What Kids Do Preparation Materials

PARTNER TAG & EYE CONTACT TAG: Create an open space IMPACT • None (10 min) Junior soldiers try to tag for play one another out by making eye contact. Junior soldiers learn Review lesson. • Copies of Worksheet #1 about the mercy seat and the ILLUMINATE Review verse. • Bibles (10-15 min) holiness table from the Copy Worksheet #1. Old and New Testaments. Junior soldiers watch Mr. B explain the purpose • Video of the mercy seat and Have video ready to play. INVEST • Small group questions (10-15 min) holiness table. Read through the questions • Small notebook Junior soldiers reflect on the ahead of time. • Small reward lesson and the things God may be saying. • Small canvas or cardboard • Cardboard • Drywall compound • Wax paper • Household items for texturing Have a sample prepared. SKYLINE SCULPTURE: • Acrylic craft paints/paint Place the cardboard one one Junior soldiers continue to pallet or paper plates table and the other materials INSPIRE make a skyline of their city as • Paintbrushes (10-15 min) needed for constructing a reminder that we are to be • Assorted screws, washers on another table. soldiers everywhere we go. • Colored paper, book pages, Copy Take Home Worksheet. newspaper • Scissors • Tacky Glue • Mod Podge® • Sharpies® • Take Home Worksheet

Teachers: If you are printing out the lessons for teaching, be sure to select “Fit” under Page Size.

PARTNER TAG & EYE CONTACT TAG Group size: 8+ Preparation Time: 5 minutes Time Needed for Activity: 10 minutes

Materials: • None

Directions: 1. Have the junior soldiers find a partner and stand next to them in a circle. Include yourself in the circle. 2. Once partners are established, have each pair decide who is going to be the Tagger first and who is going to be chased first. 3. Emphasize that no running is allowed; only a “fast walking pace” is acceptable. 4. Round 1: When the teacher says, “Go,” the Tagger must turn 360 degrees in a circle before slowly walking towards their partner. If the Tagger tags their partner, their roles reverse. As soon as the “It” is transferred, the new Tagger must turn 360 degrees before chasing after their partner. 5. This continues for the duration of the game. 6. Play the game for 2 minutes. 7. Round 2: Safety: Implement Heel Toe Walking. Junior soldiers may not have followed the “slow walking” speed in the first round, so for Round 2, implement Heel Toe walking. Heel Toe walking means with each step you take you have to touch your heel of one foot to the toe of your other foot. This will slow the pace down and make the game safer. 8. Round 3: Eye Contact Tag: The third round of this game is played as Eye Contact Tag. The only thing that changes is the mode of tagging. To tag your partner you must make eye contact with her or him. You and your partner will know when you make eye contact with one another – it is obvious. You must be honest. When you know you have made eye contact with your partner, the roles reverse. With eye contact tag, there is one additional rule. All junior soldiers must keep their eyes open. The person being “chased” must keep their eyes open (it’s okay to blink) at head level. To start the game, decide which partner will be the Tagger first.

M4U2L3: What are the mercy seat and the holiness table? 3 IMPACT

Say: Please come and stand in a circle to hear the directions for our game. I need everyone to find a partner and stand next to them in the circle. (Wait for this to happen. If you have an odd number you can be a partner.) This game is called Partner Tag, so you are essentially going to be playing tag with just one person, your partner. Here is how it will play out. (Demonstrate this.) If were my partner, we would first decide who is going to be the Tagger first. I’ll be the Tagger first, so I’m going to be chasing . However, when I use the word “chase” we are not running. This is a fast walking game, no running allowed. In a moment I will start a countdown to begin the game. I will countdown from three, two, one and then say, “GO!” As soon as I start my countdown, can start walking away from me. As soon as I say, “GO!” I have to turn around in a circle before I can start walking after . As soon as I tag , the roles reverse. (Demonstrate this process.) Now is the Tagger and I am the one who will be chased. Before can start walking towards me, he has to turn around in a circle. While he does that, I am going to be walking away from to try and get away from him as fast as I can without running. If tags me, then the roles reverse again. I would have to turn around in a circle before I could start walking after . Are there any questions about this? Let’s play one round and see how it goes. Decide who is going to be the Tagger first and who will be chased first. Is everyone ready? Three, two, one, Go!

Let this round play for about two minutes. Be sure to state, “WALKING PACE, WALKING PACE” several times to encourage the slower pace. There will still be some runners, which is why you implement Heel Toe Walking in Round Two.

Round 2: Great! We’re going to play this game again, however this time we’re going to restrict the way you can move. We’re going to implement Heel Toe Walking. (Demonstrate this.) Heel Toe Walking looks like this: with every step you take you have to touch your heel to your toe. This will slow everyone down and it is a little bit harder! Are there any questions? Decide who is going to be the Tagger first. Ready? Three, Two, One, GO! (Play this round for one minute. They will start to get tired after this round.)

Round 3: We’re going to change this game one more time. This time we are going to play Eye Contact Tag. The game is played the same way, where one person will start out as the Tagger and the other person is being chased, however the way you tag someone is by making eye contact with them. What does it mean to make eye contact with someone? (Wait for responses.) That’s right. Eye contact is when you look directly into another’s eyes. So when your eyes meet one another, that means you’ve been tagged. You and your partner will know when you’ve made eye contact, and you must be honest with one another. As soon as you make eye contact, the new Tagger will turn in a circle and then start walking towards your partner. There is one additional rule for

4 M4U2L3: What are the mercy seat and the holiness table? IMPACT

this round, you must keep your eyes open and at head level. You cannot close your eyes or lay down on the floor and stare at the floor. Play the game the same way as you did in Round 1 and Round 2. Only the tagging is different. Are there any questions? Decide who is going to be the Tagger first. Ready? THREE, TWO, ONE, GO!

Safety: Encourage a “fast walking” pace. No running allowed to avoid collisions. Implement Heel Toe Walking if a safe speed is not maintained.

After the game, say: In today’s lesson we are going to talk about the mercy seat and the holiness table. These are special places in a Salvation Army sanctuary where we can go to talk to God. However, we can also talk to God anywhere we are. In this game, you knew when you made eye contact with your partner. It’s the same thing when you talk to God. God knows when are you communicating with Him. Let’s take our seats and learn more about these special places in The Salvation Army sanctuary: the mercy seat and the holiness table.

M4U2L3: What are the mercy seat and the holiness table? 5 ILLUMINATE

Say: Do you have a favorite place where you and a friend like to meet? (Pause for response.) Maybe your favorite place is the playground or the school cafeteria. Maybe your favorite place is a tree swing, a lake, or creek where you can go swimming. What makes this place special? You can be with your friend.

Did you know that there are places in your corps where you and Jesus can meet and talk? It’s called the holiness table and the mercy seat. They are usually in the same space, and they can look different depending on your corps. Where are the mercy seat and holiness table in our corps?

You might say, “Jesus doesn’t need the mercy seat or holiness table to meet me does He? We can meet anywhere right?” You would be correct. The mercy seat and holiness table is not a magical place, but it is a holy place where God often meets you in a real and powerful way.

What does the Bible say about the mercy seat and the holiness table? Since the Bible is our number one authority, we should see what God says about the mercy seat and holiness table. Did you know that both of these ideas are found in the Bible? Let’s look first in the Old Testament and then see how they are talked about in the New Testament.

Pass out Worksheet #1 and have the junior soldiers color the images and add any words that they hear while you are describing the mercy seat and holiness table. We will have time for them to share their drawings later.

Say: In the Old Testament, the Israelites used a portable sanctuary, or tabernacle, so they could worship in the desert. God told them how to build their worship center and what to put in it. One of the important pieces of furniture was called the mercy seat and it was supposed to be a place where God met His people and where the blood of animals was sprinkled so that there could be forgiveness of their sins. In fact, each year on a special day called the Day of Atonement, the High Priest entered a very special place called the Holy of Holies. A few months ago we had a diagram of the Temple taped to our floor and we all stood inside each space. Do you remember the diagram of the Temple when we were talking about Jesus becoming our ultimate sacrifice? Once a year, the High Priest would enter the Holy of Holies and sprinkle the blood of animals sacrificed for the forgiveness of the sins of God’s people. This blood was sprinkled on the mercy seat and nearly every other piece of furniture. Imagine how messy, but important, that would be!

6 M4U2L3: What are the mercy seat and the holiness table? ILLUMINATE

What can we learn about the mercy seat? 1. The mercy seat is a place to meet God. Look up Exodus 25:21-22 (NIV). “Place the cover on top of the ark and put in the ark the tablets of the covenant law that I will give you. There, above the cover between the two cherubim that are over the ark of the covenant law, I will meet with you and give you all my commands for the Israelites.”

2. The mercy seat is a place where God forgives sin with blood. Look up Leviticus 16:14-15 (NASB). (The NASB translation is listed because it uses the term “mercy seat.”) “Moreover, he shall take some of the blood of the bull and sprinkle it with his finger on the mercy seat on the east side; also in front of the mercy seat he shall sprinkle some of the blood with his finger seven times. Then he shall slaughter the goat of the sin offering which is for the people, and bring its blood inside the veil and do with its blood as he did with the blood of the bull, and sprinkle it on the mercy seat and in front of the mercy seat.”

Hebrews 9:22 (NIV) says, “In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.”

We see from these two verses that the mercy seat was a holy place where God met His people to forgive their sins. It was a place where God had mercy on people.

What about the New Testament? We have learned that if we are to be Jesus’s followers, we need our sins forgiven right? Well, how does that happen? We are not like the Israelites with High Priests and ancient laws and bloody sacrifices. That is because something changed with JESUS.

Look up Hebrews 9:13-14 (NIrV). “The blood of goats and bulls is sprinkled on people. So are the ashes of a young cow. They are sprinkled on people the law called ‘unclean.’ The people are sprinkled to make them holy. That makes them ‘clean’ on the outside. But Christ offered himself to God without any flaw. He did this through the power of the eternal Holy Spirit. So how much cleaner will the blood of Christ make us! It washes away our feelings of guilt for committing sin. Sin always leads to death. But now we can serve the living God.’”

Note: The spilling of blood may be too graphic for some of our younger junior soldiers. It is important to talk about how blood equals forgiveness, but the main point is that God forgave our sin in the Old Testament, and Jesus forgives our sin now.

M4U2L3: What are the mercy seat and the holiness table? 7 ILLUMINATE

3. The Bible tells us that Jesus is our mercy seat. He is the one whose blood was spilled. He was the eternal sacrifice that had to be made so that God the Father could forgive our sins. Remember, without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.

4. The mercy seat is a place where we can talk to God about anything and everything. God wants us to approach Him and has made a way for us to do that. It’s called prayer. At the mercy seat we pray, we think, we listen for God’s voice, and we pray for others. The mercy seat is all about getting close to God, letting Him have our burdens, fears, and hurts. It’s also about asking God to help us with ordinary things. In the next lesson, we will learn more about how we can pray at the mercy seat.

Let’s memorize this verse from Hebrews 4:16 (NIV): “Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”

The mercy seat in our corps is a place that symbolizes a place to meet Jesus. Sometimes we go there to ask forgiveness and other times we just go there to pray and meet with God. What would you like to pray to God about at the mercy seat?

Holiness table We have learned about the mercy seat, but what about the holiness table? The holiness table usually stands in the middle of the front of the chapel and has lots of decorations on it. Usually inscribed in the front somewhere is the phrase “Holiness unto the Lord.”

Is this just a nice piece of furniture that makes the sanctuary look decorated? Not really, although it does look nice. In fact, the holiness table is a second key ingredient in Salvation Army worship.

We learned in last week’s lesson, The Salvation Army and the Holiness Movement, that John Wesley taught that we should seek to be saved by Jesus, but that we should also seek to be made holy by Jesus as well. And often we think that we can be forgiven from our sins, but that it’s okay to just keep sinning and just keep asking for forgiveness. But God wants more for us. God calls us to be holy. Remember that God loves us as we are, but loves us too much to leave us that way. God wants to transform us from selfish, sinful, distracted kids to fully devoted followers who want to be holy like Jesus. This is where the holiness table comes in.

In Salvation Army tradition, the holiness table is a special place where a person seeks to be holy just like God is holy. The holiness table is a symbol taken from the Old Testament of a Holiness Altar where the priests would burn with fire the animal sacrifice. The fire would burn up EVERYTHING in its

8 M4U2L3: What are the mercy seat and the holiness table? ILLUMINATE

path and would make the altar clean again. The holiness table in our corps is meant to point to the reality that the fire of the Holy Spirit can burn up every sinful thought and behavior in your life and every impure and ugly thought in your mind. And even more, the Holy Spirit, when He comes to you, will give you a new power to keep you clean. He will be like a constant fire on the altar of your heart.

Who would like to share their pictures/words that describe the mercy seat and the holiness table?

The mercy seat and the holiness table are places where we can meet God in a real and powerful way.

If you have a small group of junior soldiers, say: Now we’re going to watch a video to teach us more.

M4U2L3: What are the mercy seat and the holiness table? 9 INVEST

Memory Verse: “But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do.” 1 Peter 1:15 (NIV)

Say: This unit’s Scripture memory verse is 1 Peter 1:15. Let’s read it together.

Say: This week, Mr. B teaches us some more details about the mercy seat and the holiness table.

Play Video

Small Group Questions Small Group Tip: As you teach Say: Now we are going to take some time to think about what we learned children about holiness, remember today. I’m going to ask a few questions. Try to answer each question the goal is not perfection. honestly, and respect one another by listening to each other with Holiness is a lifelong journey patience and without judgment. to become more and more like Jesus, and for the fruit of the • What kinds of things could you pray for at the mercy seat? Spirit (love, joy, peace, patience, • Why is the mercy seat important? kindness, goodness, faithfulness, • What did we learn about the holiness table? gentleness, and self-control) to • What happened to the holiness table with fire in the Old Testament? become evident in each child. If • How can you use the holiness table when you worship? children are worried about their behavior, or getting everything right in order to find favor with God, encourage them by saying, “We will make mistakes on our road to holiness, but God gives us grace and strength to try again. His love for us never runs out!”

10 M4U2L3: What are the mercy seat and the holiness table? INSPIRE

SKYLINE SCULPTURE

Refer back to the directions from Lesson 1 to continue creating your cityscape. This week, ask your junior soldiers about where around their city they may be able to meet God. It may be at school or in their neighborhood or in a park. Have them add the mercy seat and holiness table around the city, as they consider different places in their community where they may be able to meet with God.

Say: This week, we are going to continue to work on our cityscape project, making and painting buildings and landmarks of our city, and we will add the mercy seat and the holiness table around the city as we think about where we are able to meet with God.

Pass out the Take Home Worksheet.

M4U2L3: What are the mercy seat and the holiness table? 11 M4U2L3, Worksheet #1: What are the mercy seat and the holiness table? Take Home Worksheet Module 4, Unit 2, Lesson 3 What are the mercy seat and the holiness table?

Family Bible Reading Plan This week, junior soldiers learned that the mercy seat and the holiness table are places where we can meet God in a real and powerful way.

Read through the following verses this week with your junior soldier. DAY ONE Exodus 25:21-22 In these verses, God is instructing where to place the Ark of the Covenant, which held the Ten Commandments. God even created a specific place with Moses where He would choose to meet. God saw the importance of creating a place that was separate and special. What do you notice about the mercy seat?

DAY TWO Leviticus 16:14-15 In these verses, God is telling Moses DAY THREE how to account for the sins of the Hebrews 9:22 people. In the Old Testament, Jesus had Whose blood was shed so that not yet come to earth, so people had to we might be forgiven? How is sacrifice an animal to pay the price of this sacrifice like the sacrifice in their sin. Whose blood pays the sacrifice the verses we read on Day One of our sins? and Day Two?

DAY FOUR Hebrews 9:13-14 What does this verse tell us about Jesus’s death? What can we learn from this?

Module 4, Unit 2, Lesson 4 How do I pray at the mercy seat? How do I pray with someone at the mercy seat?

Guiding Principle: At the mercy seat, we can bring all of our requests to God.

Memory Verse: “But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do.” 1 Peter 1:15 (NIV)

Leader’s Background Information: Depending on The Salvation Army corps, junior soldiers may or may not be in the Holiness Meeting on Sunday morning. If they are not, then teachers can plan on going to the mercy seat with their Junior Soldier class at another time, or they can arrange to be in the meeting or at a special service. The key is to make the mercy seat a part of the junior soldiers’ spiritual activity.

How amazing would it be if our junior soldiers became prayer warriors in our corps? Maybe take the entire class into the chapel to practice using the pocket guide found on Worksheet #1-2 while praying at the altar. Have them pray with each other, role playing so that they can gain practice and learn that praying for others is an important part of the Christian life. Guiding Principle: At the mercy seat, we can bring all of our requests to God. Scripture: 1 Peter 1:15 (NIV)

Activity What Kids Do Preparation Materials

SITTING IN THE MERCY Create an open space SEAT: Junior soldiers take for play. IMPACT • Chair (10-15 min) turns praying to Set out a chair in the front of Jesus from a mercy seat. the class.

• Chalkboard and chalk Review lesson. Junior soldiers learn or dry erase board and Review verse. ILLUMINATE how to pray for others at markers (10-15 min) Copy of the mercy seat. • Worksheet #1-2 Worksheets #1-2. • Bibles

Junior soldiers watch Bram in the chapel as he • Video explains how to use the Have video ready to play. INVEST • Small group questions (10-15 min) mercy seat. Read through the questions • Small notebook Junior soldiers reflect on the ahead of time. • Small reward lesson and the things God may be saying.

• Altoid® can • Colored pencils, Sharpies® • Ribbon, buttons, yarn, or Sand the tins to remove any other craft supplies the label. • Small stickers, sticker jewels ALTOID® PRAYER BOX: Place colored pencils on • Strong glue sticks Junior soldiers make a INSPIRE the table. • A pack of small Post-it® (10-15 min) prayer box from a used Have craft supplies on notes (one per junior Altoid® tin. the table. soldier) Copy Take Home Worksheet. • Sand paper • Small pencils or pens (one per junior soldier) • Take Home Worksheet

Teachers: If you are printing out the lessons for teaching, be sure to select “Fit” under Page Size.

SITTING IN THE MERCY SEAT Group size: 8+ Preparation Time: 15 minutes Time Needed for Activity: 10-15 minutes, depending on the size of your class

Materials: • A designated mercy seat. This could be a chair at the front of the room, or a portable mercy seat.

Preparation: • Place a chair at the front of the room. This will be the designated mercy seat for this activity. If your corps has a portable mercy seat, arrange for it to be brought into class.

Directions: 1. Have the junior soldiers sit in a circle. Include yourself in the circle. 2. Give each child an opportunity to sit in the designated mercy seat and say a prayer.

Say: Please come and sit in a circle to hear the directions for what we are going to do next. Today in class we are going to learn that the mercy seat is a place to meet Jesus and talk to Him about anything that is going on in our lives. We can meet Jesus for the first time at the mercy seat, but we can also go to the mercy seat to get to know Him deeper. How many of you have seen the mercy seat in our sanctuary? This chair is going to be our mercy seat. We want you each to experience what it might be like to come and sit in the mercy seat and say a prayer to Jesus. This way, when you want to visit the mercy seat in the chapel, it doesn’t seem scary or overwhelming. You can say a prayer for yourself, someone in your family, or even a friend that may need a prayer. I’d like each person to come up and sit in the mercy seat and say a prayer. You can say it out loud or you can say it silently. I will begin so you can understand what I mean. (Sit in the mercy seat and say a personal prayer out loud.) Are there any questions? Start thinking right now about what your prayer will be. That way you are prepared when it is your turn. (This is important to say, otherwise kids will sit in the chair and say, “Ummmmmm….” and take too much time.)

Safety: To ensure emotional safety, be sure to discourage any negative comments about someone’s prayer.

After everyone has sat in the mercy seat, say: Now that everyone has had a chance to practice a prayer in our mercy seat, you should feel prepared for

M4U2L4: How do I pray at the mercy seat? How do I pray with someone at the mercy seat? 3 ILLUMINATE

when you go to kneel at the mercy seat in the chapel. Jesus wants us to talk to Him about anything that is going on in our lives. You can also go with a friend to the mercy seat and pray with them. God teaches us in the Bible how we can pray and how we can expect Him to answer. Are there any additional questions about the mercy seat?

4 M4U2L4: How do I pray at the mercy seat? How do I pray with someone at the mercy seat? ILLUMINATE

Say: In the previous lesson we learned about the mercy seat, also called the altar. What do you remember from last week? We learned that it was a place where God the Father chooses to meet us. He chose to meet us through Jesus’s blood and the most important lesson learned is that Jesus is our mercy seat. But we also learned that the mercy seat is designed for us to talk with God about many different things. Now that we know what the mercy seat is for, how can we use it to be more like Jesus?

1. How should we use the mercy seat to be more like Jesus? (Allow response.) We should use the mercy seat to get into a habit of going to Jesus with our needs.

The mercy seat is a place to pray. So, how should we pray at the mercy seat? (Pause for response.) Well, it depends on what you go to the mercy seat f o r , r i g h t ?

In going to the mercy seat, we should always remember our verse for this lesson, which is Hebrews 4:16 “Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need” (NIV). Because Jesus’s blood gives us access to God’s throne, we can go the mercy seat confidently and ask of the Father what we need. Let’s make a list together of reasons a person may pray.

Below is a list you can use to help junior soldiers in coming up with suggestions.

• The person was invited by the corps officer to come and pray. • There is something wrong in that person’s life. • The person might feel bad about a sinful behavior that they did. • The person might want to ask Jesus for a favor. • The person might need to ask Jesus for help with a situation or a problem. • The person might want to ask Jesus to heal someone from sickness. • The person might want to hear God’s voice speaking to them. • The person might need help making an important decision. • The person might need to ask Jesus for His advice about a friendship that is not going well. • The person might want to thank Jesus for answering a prayer and to express a grateful heart.

2. How can we help pray for others when they go to the mercy seat? We can know some key Scripture verses that we can pray for them.

M4U2L4: How do I pray at the mercy seat? How do I pray with someone at the mercy seat? 5 ILLUMINATE

Have you ever seen an adult pray with someone who has gone to the mercy seat? After the corps officer preaches, often they will ask if anyone would like to come pray.

This part of the lesson addresses how junior soldiers can help pray for someone who has gone to the mercy seat and gives some practical tips to prepare for that. Here are some steps that you should talk about as a class.

Say: If you see someone at the mercy seat...

1. Ask God if you should go pray for that person. Sometimes you might know the person, they might be a friend, and other times you may not. If you do not know the person and they are not your age, then it will be wise to have an adult go with you. However, if the person is a friend of yours and/or is your age, then ask God and wait for His direction. 2. Once you decide to go, which takes courage, you can ask the Lord, “Help me know how to pray for this person.” This is a very key step because the Holy Spirit truly knows what a person needs. 3. Go to the person and ask them “How can I pray for you?” or “Can I pray with you about something?” or “What can I pray for you about?” Something like that. 4. Listen attentively. Often times, a person will give you a specific prayer request like: “My father is sick and I want God to heal him,” or “I want to pray that my brother makes it safely home.” Other times, they will be less specific and say, “I don’t really know.” 5. Pray for them the best you know how and use a Scripture verse. Memorize two or three to use when praying for someone. Also, you can personalize it.

Print out Worksheets #1-2 and go over it with your junior soldiers. This is a pocket guide they can keep in their Bibles and take with them when they go to the altar to pray.

Say: The mercy seat is a place to pray either on your own or with others. Remember: First, we must realize that the mercy seat is a place to meet Jesus and talk to Him about anything that is going on in our lives. We can meet Jesus for the first time at the mercy seat, but we can also go to the mercy seat to get to know Him deeper.

Second, use Scripture to pray. We can pray the Scripture truths for ourselves or others. It is important to use Scripture while we pray because it is the Truth. Also, God has taught us in the Bible how we can pray and how we can expect Him to answer.

Third, practice praying for others. In our own Junior Soldier class, we can get into a circle as a class and pray for the person sitting on our right or left, until

6 M4U2L4: How do I pray at the mercy seat? How do I pray with someone at the mercy seat? ILLUMINATE

everyone is prayed for. Don’t worry about saying the right things. Try using Scripture verses to guide your thoughts. When a friend or another child goes to the mercy seat, offer to go with them and pray with them. At the mercy seat, we can bring all of our requests to God.

If you have a small group of junior soldiers, say: Now we’re going to watch a video to teach us more.

M4U2L4: How do I pray at the mercy seat? How do I pray with someone at the mercy seat? 7 INVEST

Memory Verse: “But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do.” 1 Peter 1:15 (NIV)

Say: This unit’s Scripture memory verse is 1 Peter 1:15. Let’s read it together.

Allow a time for junior soldiers to recite this verse from memory. Review it again, providing a small reward for those who have memorized the verse. Since this is the last lesson of the unit, take a few extra minutes, if needed, to be sure all of the junior soldiers have memorized the verse.

Say: Let’s watch as Bram takes us through all the steps necessary to use the Mercy Seat.

Play Video

Small Group Questions Small Group Tip: As you teach Say: Now we are going to take some time to think about what we learned children about holiness, remember today. I’m going to ask a few questions. Try to answer each question the goal is not perfection. honestly, and respect one another by listening to each other with Holiness is a lifelong journey patience and without judgment. to become more and more like Jesus, and for the fruit of the • Has someone ever prayed with you at the mercy seat? What was Spirit (love, joy, peace, patience, i t l i k e? kindness, goodness, faithfulness, • Have you ever gone up to pray with someone? Tell us how it felt to gentleness, and self-control) to pray with someone in need. become evident in each child. If • Who meets us at the mercy seat when we go to pray? children are worried about their • What are some reasons a person might go to the mercy seat? behavior, or getting everything • What are some things you would like to pray for at the mercy seat? right in order to find favor with God, encourage them by saying, “We will make mistakes on our road to holiness, but God gives us grace and strength to try again. His love for us never runs out!”

8 M4U2L4: How do I pray at the mercy seat? How do I pray with someone at the mercy seat? INSPIRE

ALTOID® PRAYER BOX

Materials: • Altoid® tin • Colored pencils, Sharpies® • Ribbon, buttons, yarn or any other craft supplies • Small stickers, sticker jewels • Strong glue sticks • A pack of small Post-it® notes that fits in the Altoid® tin (one pack per junior soldier) • Sand paper • Small pencils or pens (one per junior soldier) • Take Home Worksheet

Preparation: • Sand the tins to get rid of dusty residue, which may cause things to not glue properly. • Place Sharpies and colored pencils on the tables. • Place a tub of craft supplies on each table. • Copy Take Home Worksheet.

Directions: 1. Pass out the tins to each junior soldier. 2. Have the junior soldiers write the words “Prayer Box” somewhere on their tin. 3. Instruct the junior soldiers to decorate their prayer boxes any way t h e y w a n t . 4. When they have finished, give them a pack of Post-it notes and a small pencil to keep in their box. 5. Pass out the Take Home Worksheet.

Say: You can use these boxes to write down the prayers of others that you want to pray for beyond the mercy seat.

M4U2L4: How do I pray at the mercy seat? How do I pray with someone at the mercy seat? 9

In Jesus’s name, Amen. Amen. name, Jesus’s In

seeking you. In Jesus’s name, Amen. Amen. name, Jesus’s In you. seeking not to be sad anymore. anymore. sad be to not

fears in this situation. We are here here are We situation. this in fears this time and help her or him him or her help and time this

that you will deliver her from her her from her deliver will you that in in pray that you will sustain sustain will you that pray

(insert name), name), (insert fear. I pray for for pray I fear.

want to cast our cares upon you. I I you. upon cares our cast to want

will answer and deliver us from our our from us deliver and answer will Lord, I am here with with here am I Lord, and we we and

Lord, you said that if we seek you, you you you, seek we if that said you Lord, You can pray: can You

You can pray: can You

will sustain you.” Psalm 55:22 (NIV) 55:22 Psalm you.” sustain will

all my fears.” Psalm 34:4 (NIV) 34:4 Psalm fears.” my all “Cast your cares on the Lord and he he and Lord the on cares your “Cast

answered me; he delivered me from from me delivered he me; answered

or Sad or

“I sought the LORD, and he he and LORD, the sought “I

You're Discouraged Discouraged You're afraid: You're

You need to ask forgiveness for a sin that you've committed: "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9 (NIV)

You can pray: Lord, you promised that you will forgive our sins if we confess them to you. Lord I pray that you will help know that they are forgiven because of Jesus's blood and that you have taken away their guilt. Give them strength not to do it again. In Jesus’s name, Amen.

M4U2L4, Worksheet #1: How do I pray at the mercy seat? How do I pray with someone at the mercy seat?

In Jesus’s name, Amen. Amen. name, Jesus’s In

seeking you. In Jesus’s name, Amen. Amen. name, Jesus’s In you. seeking not to be sad anymore. anymore. sad be to not

fears in this situation. We are here here are We situation. this in fears this time and help her or him him or her help and time this

that you will deliver her from her her from her deliver will you that in in pray that you will sustain sustain will you that pray

(insert name), name), (insert for pray I fear. want to cast our cares upon you. I I you. upon cares our cast to want

will answer and deliver us from our our from us deliver and answer will

Lord, I am here with with here am I Lord, and we we and

Lord, you said that if we seek you, you you you, seek we if that said you Lord, You need God's protection: You want to become You can pray: can You

You can pray: can You “‘Because he loves me,’ says the LORD, a Jesus-follower will sustain you.” Psalm 55:22 (NIV) 55:22 Psalm you.” sustain will ‘I will rescue him;

(in other words, you want all my fears.” Psalm 34:4 (NIV) 34:4 Psalm fears.” my all

“Cast your cares on the Lord and he he and Lord the on cares your “Cast I will protect him, for he

to become a Christian) answered me; he delivered me from from me delivered he me; answered acknowledges my name. or Sad or

“I sought the LORD, and he he and LORD, the sought “I He will call on me, Hopefully, you will have a chance to

and I will answer him; You're Discouraged Discouraged You're You're afraid: You're pray with someone who wants to I will be with him in trouble, become a Jesus follower. This is a very I will deliver him and honor him. special occasion and as God's junior With long life I will satisfy him soldier you will need to be prepared. and show him my salvation.’” The simplest way is to lead your friend Psalm 91:14-16 (NIV) through the ABC's of salvation. You can pray: A. Admit. Admit honestly Lord, you promised that if we call on that you are a sinner and your name, you will answer and you will have not obeyed or loved be with when they have God with all your heart. trouble. I pray that you do this today! Romans 3:23 (NIV) “For all have sinned In Jesus’s name, Amen. and fall short of the glory of God.”

B. Believe. Believe and trust that Jesus is God’s Son and that He died on the cross for you and became alive again. You need to ask forgiveness He died for your sins so that you can be forgiven. Romans 5:8 (NIV) “But God for a sin that you've committed: demonstrates his own love for us in this: "If we confess our sins, he is faithful While we were still sinners, Christ died and just and will forgive us our sins and for us.” purify us from all unrighteousness.” C. Choose. Choose to trust 1 John 1:9 (NIV) Jesus to forgive your sins and believe that He does forgive You can pray: you. Choose to follow Him as Lord, you promised that you will forgive best as you know how using your Bible, our sins if we confess them to you. Lord I other believers, and your corps officer/ pray that you will help know pastor to help you. Romans 10:13 (NIV) that they are forgiven because of Jesus's “[F]or, ‘Everyone who calls on the name blood and that you have taken away of the Lord will be saved.’” their guilt. Give them strength not to do it again. In Jesus’s name, Amen.

M4U2L4, Worksheet #2: How do I pray at the mercy seat? How do I pray with someone at the mercy seat? Take Home Worksheet Module 4, Unit 2, Lesson 4 How do I pray at the mercy seat? How do I pray with someone at the mercy seat?

Word Search Use the list below and find the words that we discussed this week. Family Bible Reading Plan This week, junior soldiers learned that at the mercy seat, we can bring all of our requests to God.

Read through these verses this week with your junior soldier.

DAY ONE Hebrews 4:16 What kind of attitude should we have when we go to the mercy seat?

DAY TWO Psalm 34:4 What does this verse tell us? When DAY THREE could we use this verse when praying for Psalm 91:14-16 someone at the mercy seat? What does this verse tell us? When could we use this verse when praying for someone at the mercy seat?

DAY FOUR Psalm 55:22 What does this verse tell us? When could we use this verse when praying for someone at the mercy seat?