Who Is Jesus?

What if Jesus Is Lord? Key Faith Foundation: Jesus Is God Key Scriptures: Psalm 110; Acts 2:34-36 Bible basis for teachers Psalm 110; Acts 2:34-36

O GRAPPLE QUESTION: What If Jesus Is Lord? O KEY FAITH FOUNDATION: Jesus Is God

esus isn’t a liar, a lunatic, or a loser. He’s Lord! Use this lesson to help kids Jthink of an area in their lives where they’re not letting Jesus be in charge. Help kids understand that Jesus is God, and as a result, every aspect of their lives should demonstrate that fact. In Psalm 110, the psalmist describes how God talked to Jesus and gives us a better picture of what the word Lord means. God said that Jesus would sit at his right hand, rule like a king, and be a priest forever. God was making it clear that Jesus was called not only to die for our sins but also to be Lord of our lives. We are to follow Jesus’ example and obey him in all things. Use this passage to help kids understand what it means that Jesus is Lord over all. Encourage kids What if Jesus Is Lord?

4. to talk about what it means to make Jesus Lord of their lives. Even before Jesus came to earth, the psalmist described Jesus as Lord. After Jesus died and then came back to life, Peter referred to Psalm 110 in Acts 2:34-36. God made Jesus “both Lord and Messiah.” Jesus has always been, and will always be, the Son of God. However, Jesus chose also to be the Savior of the world when he came to earth to die for our sins. Spend time talking with kids about what Jesus’ sacrifice means for them personally. Encourage them to make a commitment to follow Christ and make Jesus Lord of their lives (if they have not already done so).

understanding preteens Preteens are more consciously beginning to develop their identities—all the more reason to help kids see that their true identity is in Christ. When preteens know that Christ is to be Lord of their lives, they can use that as a foundation to make other decisions about who they are and who they want to be.

64 the lesson at a glance

LESSON SEQUENCE WHAT KIDS WILL DO SUPPLIES 1 grapple Build relationships. • DVD player community • snacks (5 minutes) • Christian music CD • CD player 2 grapple games Choose two games to play. • blindfold (10-15 minutes) 3 grapple time Play the Word of the Day • sticky notes (10 minutes) game with sticky notes, and learn about Jesus’ true name, “Lord.” 4 grapple team Draw pictures to show what • Bibles time “Lord” means. Discuss • paper What if Jesus Is Lord?

(15 minutes) what “Jesus is Lord” • pencils 4. means. • copy of the Grapple Team Guide for each person 5 grapple team Report what they learned reports from the Bible passage they (10 minutes) studied. 6 grapple prayer Choose a prayer option. • Bibles (5 minutes) • pencils • paper 7 grapple dare Hear the Grapple dare.

65 1 grapple community

Play Christian music as kids enjoy snacks and friendship. Give kids this discussion starter as they eat. Say: Find out what jobs all the people in our group would like when they grow up.

2 grapple games Say: We’re going to play a game, but you’ll get to choose. Would you rather play Shoe Sort (p. 105), where you all try to sort yourselves by shoe size with your eyes closed? Or would you like to play Human Knot (p. 104), where you create a knot by holding hands with the people in your group, then you work as a team to untangle the knot without letting go of the others’ hands? Have kids vote on the game they’d like to play. Then lead kids in playing the game. Say: Now we’ll play another game. Would you rather play Back-to-Back

What if Jesus Is Lord? (p. 103), where you sit back-to-back with one or more people and try to 4. stand without letting your hands touch the ground? Or would you like to play Blind Bump (p. 103), where one person who’s blindfolded tries to make It across the room without bumping into the human obstacles? Have kids vote on the game they’d like to play. Then lead kids in playing the game.

3 grapple time Lead the entire group in the following: Say: We’ve been grappling with who Jesus is. Is he a liar, a lunatic, or a loser? Absolutely not! So what is he? Maybe, just maybe, he’s Lord. In the Old Testament, the Lord’s name was so holy, so amaz- ing, and so special that no one was allowed to say it. Every time people talked about the Lord, they used a different word. They wouldn’t even write the Lord’s name! Let’s see what that might have been like with our Word of the Day game. You’ll each have five sticky notes. In a moment, I’ll tell you our word of the day. If you say the word of the day, the person who catches you saying it can take away one of your sticky notes. Let’s see who can end up with the most sticky notes. 66 Give each person five sticky notes. Say: Your goal in this game is to find out one new thing about three other people. Remember: While you get to know others, you can’t use the word of the day, which is I. If you say “I,” you lose a sticky note. Let’s play! Play the game for three minutes. How easy or difficult was it to keep from saying the word of the day? How easy or difficult would it be to talk about Jesus but not use his name? Think of five words that mean the same thing as Lord. What words did you come up with? Say: What if Jesus really is [fill in words kids came up with for Lord]? What does that mean for you? Let’s grapple with that!

grapple team time

4 What if Jesus Is Lord? 4. Break into Grapple Teams. Encourage Grapple Team leaders to check in with kids about their week. Grapple Team leaders will facilitate discussion, using the Grapple Team Guide on pages 69-70.

5 grapple team reports At the end of Grapple Team Time, have kids work with their team to choose one of the options below to report what they discovered. Option 1: Act It Out Create a mini-skit to demonstrate what you discovered. Option 2: High Five Give high fives as you tell others, one-on-one, what you discovered. Match Grapple Teams that chose Option 1 with Grapple Teams that chose Option 2. Have teams present their reports. (Do this one team at a time if you have only two Grapple Teams.)

67 6 grapple prayer Read the Grapple Prayer options. Have the group choose one prayer option that everyone will do. Allow kids time to pray about what they discovered. Then close in prayer. Option 1: Letter Prayers Write a personal letter to God. Ask God questions about things you don’t understand. Thank God for sending Jesus to be Lord of your life. Option 2: This I Know Prayers Designate one person in your Grapple Team to be the recorder. Have the recorder make a list of ways Jesus can be Lord of our lives. Then praise God together.

7 grapple dare

What if Jesus Is Lord? Say: Jesus isn’t a liar, a lunatic, or a loser. He’s Lord! What difference does 4. that make in your life? The Grapple Dare today is one you’ll have to think about. I dare you to think of an area of your life where you’re not letting Jesus be Lord, in charge of your life. Maybe you’re not being very kind to someone at school, or maybe you’re doing something wrong that nobody but Jesus knows about. I dare you to let Jesus be the Lord of that area of your life.

(Find the Parent Page for this lesson on the enhanced DVD. Have each child give a copy to his or her parent. Alternatively, send the file to parents via e-mail.)

68 grapple team guide

In your Grapple Team, use this guide to grapple with today’s question.

Lord is not a word we use a lot these days, so what does it mean? Let’s get a picture of what Lord means.

Read Psalm 110. Draw a picture of what this psalm is describing. (By the way, David is telling how God talked to Jesus.) Both of you must contribute to the picture. As a team, make a list of all the details from each picture—and don’t leave any out. Beside each detail, write what that detail might reveal about what Lord means. For example, beside “sit in honor,” you might write, “like a king.” Or beside “at my right hand,” you

might write, “equal to God.” What if Jesus Is Lord? 4.

______

______What did you learn about what Lord means? Based on every- thing else you know about Jesus, what would you add to this description of Jesus as Lord? Jesus used this psalm to make the point that he is Lord—and so did Peter in the book of Acts. Dig into this passage to learn more.

Read Acts 2:34-36. How does what we read in this Scripture give you con- fidence about who God made Jesus to be? Why do you think it’s significant that the word Messiah is used? What do you think about what the Scripture said about what Jesus had to do to be Lord? What does it mean to you that Jesus is Lord? Write your answer here.

______

grapple team reports With your team, choose one of the options below to report what you discovered.

Option 1: Act It Out Create a mini-skit to demonstrate what you discovered. Option 2: High Five Give high fives as you tell others, one-on-one, what you discovered. What if Jesus Is Lord? 4.

W grapple team guide