Primary Class 1-3
Coach Daniel
(Asst. Fenny & Dedy)
Primary Class 1-3
Coach Daniel
(Asst. Fenny & Dedy)
Primary Class 4-6
Coach Joel
(Asst. Arlene & Kent)
A 5-week series on Gospel truths in cartoons/movies.
Week 4: Jesus' Love Transforms
HOOK
VIDEO: Beauty & The Beast
An
arrogant young prince and his castle's servants fall under the spell of a
wicked enchantress, who turns him into the hideous Beast. He would remain like
this forever until he learns to love and be loved in return … before the last
petal of the magical rose falls.
The
spirited, headstrong village girl Belle enters the Beast's castle after he
imprisons her father Maurice. Slowly, Belle begins to draw the cold-hearted
Beast out of his isolation.
When the
villagers, led by Gaston, go on a Beast hunt, the Beast ends up wounded. As the
final petal fell, Belle professed her love for the Beast, transforming him into
a handsome prince.
LESSON
JESUS' LOVE SAVED US
When the
theme song speaks of a “tale as old as time,” it is correct. Beauty and the
Beast is a story about a curse that must be broken. It reminds us of the
grandest story of the world — where we were trapped in our sinful, cursed
condition, and how Jesus’ love rescued us.
The
Beast and the characters in his castle are under a spell. The Beast himself is
hideous and unkind, his princely glory long gone. The others are ridiculous
shadows of what they once were. They live as teacups and napkins and
furnishings, resembling their true selves in some ways but unable to be what
humans were made to be. And they will be stuck this way forever, eternally dead
to true humanness, if love doesn’t break the spell soon. Similarly, due to sin,
we too are dying and are not the God-honouring creatures we were made to be. We
couldn’t live our true purpose as the full, glorious, pride-of-the-universe
humans.
Then
Belle enters the castle, light streaming in as she opens the door. The
candlestick Lumiére asks, “What if she is the one, the one who will break the
spell?” It reminds me of when the whole world was waiting for the Savior to be
revealed. “The people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those
living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.” (Matthew
4:16).
We, like
the Beast, are mean, nasty, selfish monsters, wallowing in our sin and
incapable of escaping that condition on our own. Christ, like Belle, comes from
outside of ourselves, from outside of the cursed castles of this world, to
bring the salvation we cannot accomplish on our own.
When we were still powerless, Christ died for the
ungodly. “Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though
for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his
own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans
5:6-7).
Just as
Belle’s love for the Beast broke the power of the curse on the Beast and the
castle, Jesus’ death and resurrection break the power of sin and death over us,
and we become children of God. Once we are adopted as God’s sons and daughters,
nothing we do — past, present, future — can ever change that status and our
standing before Him.
Jesus’
love saves us!
JESUS' LOVE TRANSFORMS
Jesus’ love doesn’t just save us. It
transforms us from the inside out.
Let me tell you about the story of a
very terrifying man. (Acts 9:1-22) This man was a very proud and intelligent
man, powerful and religious. He hated Jesus. He hated Jesus’ disciples. He
wanted to get rid of them.
In fact, one day, he went to the high
priest and asked for letters that will allow him to search for and catch Jesus’
believers and throw them into prison — doesn’t matter if they are men or women.
So off he went, with his men, to a town called Damascus.
As he
came near to Damascus, ready to pounce on his victims, suddenly … a light from
heaven flashed around him! It was so bright! So frightening! The man fell to
the ground.
And then he heard a voice say to him,
“Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”
“Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked.
“I am
Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” he replied. “Now get up and go into the city,
and you will be told what you must do.”
The men
traveling with Saul stood there speechless; they heard the sound but did not
see anyone. Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could
see nothing. So they led him by the hand into Damascus. For three days he was
blind, and did not eat or drink anything.
In Damascus there was a disciple
named Ananias. The Lord called to him in a vision, “Ananias!”
“Yes, Lord,” he answered.
The Lord told him, “Go to the house
of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is
praying. In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands
on him to restore his sight.”
“Lord,”
Ananias answered, “I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he
has done to your holy people in Jerusalem. And he has come here with authority
from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name.” If you knew
someone was coming to catch you and put you in prison, wouldn’t you feel the
same as Ananias? You would be scared to come out of hiding.
But the
Lord said to Ananias, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name
to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel. I will show him
how much he must suffer for my name. ”
So
Ananias obeyed. He went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul,
he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord—Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you
were coming here—has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the
Holy Spirit.” Immediately, something like scales fell from
Saul’s
eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized, and after taking some
food, he regained his strength.
Saul
spent several days with the disciples in Damascus. At once he began to preach
in the synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God. All those who heard him were
astonished and asked, “Isn’t he the man who raised havoc in Jerusalem among
those who call on this name? And hasn’t he come here to take them as prisoners
to the chief priests?” Yet Saul grew more and more powerful and baffled the
Jews living in Damascus by proving that Jesus is the Messiah.
Everyone
loves a good before-and-after story. Beast’s monstrous exterior was a
reflection of the cruelty in his heart, but he was made human again by
experiencing Belle’s selfless love.
Saul of
Tarsus was a “beastly” figure transformed into a saint by the love of Christ. He
went from one who wanted to murder and arrest anyone who spoke about Jesus … to
someone who couldn’t stop talking about Him.
As in
Beauty and the Beast, the motivating force behind our desire to change as well
as the means to change itself come only our Heavenly Father and Saviour’s love,
and the work of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit still works in us today to
soften our hearts and help us embody the love of Christ in a hurting world.
SUMMARY
Like the Beast and those in his
castle, we were under a curse due to sin — hopeless, purposeless.
Like
Belle, Jesus is the One who breaks the spell. By His love and sacrifice on the
Cross, He saved us from death to give us new life in Him.
And Jesus’ love transforms us from
the inside out to be who God made us to be.
ACTIVITY SUGGESTIONS
HUDDLE TIME
Get into small groups. Invite the
children to accept Jesus’ love to save and transform them. Pray for one
another.
Primary Class 4-6
Coach Joel
(Asst. Arlene & Kent)
A 5-week series on Gospel truths in cartoons/movies.
Week 4: Jesus' Love Transforms
HOOK
VIDEO: Beauty & The Beast
An
arrogant young prince and his castle's servants fall under the spell of a
wicked enchantress, who turns him into the hideous Beast. He would remain like
this forever until he learns to love and be loved in return … before the last
petal of the magical rose falls.
The
spirited, headstrong village girl Belle enters the Beast's castle after he
imprisons her father Maurice. Slowly, Belle begins to draw the cold-hearted
Beast out of his isolation.
When the
villagers, led by Gaston, go on a Beast hunt, the Beast ends up wounded. As the
final petal fell, Belle professed her love for the Beast, transforming him into
a handsome prince.
LESSON
JESUS' LOVE SAVED US
JESUS' LOVE SAVED US
When the
theme song speaks of a “tale as old as time,” it is correct. Beauty and the
Beast is a story about a curse that must be broken. It reminds us of the
grandest story of the world — where we were trapped in our sinful, cursed
condition, and how Jesus’ love rescued us.
The
Beast and the characters in his castle are under a spell. The Beast himself is
hideous and unkind, his princely glory long gone. The others are ridiculous
shadows of what they once were. They live as teacups and napkins and
furnishings, resembling their true selves in some ways but unable to be what
humans were made to be. And they will be stuck this way forever, eternally dead
to true humanness, if love doesn’t break the spell soon. Similarly, due to sin,
we too are dying and are not the God-honouring creatures we were made to be. We
couldn’t live our true purpose as the full, glorious, pride-of-the-universe
humans.
Then
Belle enters the castle, light streaming in as she opens the door. The
candlestick Lumiére asks, “What if she is the one, the one who will break the
spell?” It reminds me of when the whole world was waiting for the Savior to be
revealed. “The people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those
living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.” (Matthew
4:16).
We, like
the Beast, are mean, nasty, selfish monsters, wallowing in our sin and
incapable of escaping that condition on our own. Christ, like Belle, comes from
outside of ourselves, from outside of the cursed castles of this world, to
bring the salvation we cannot accomplish on our own.
When we were still powerless, Christ died for the
ungodly. “Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though
for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his
own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans
5:6-7).
Just as
Belle’s love for the Beast broke the power of the curse on the Beast and the
castle, Jesus’ death and resurrection break the power of sin and death over us,
and we become children of God. Once we are adopted as God’s sons and daughters,
nothing we do — past, present, future — can ever change that status and our
standing before Him.
Jesus’
love saves us!
JESUS' LOVE TRANSFORMS
Jesus’ love doesn’t just save us. It
transforms us from the inside out.
Let me tell you about the story of a
very terrifying man. (Acts 9:1-22) This man was a very proud and intelligent
man, powerful and religious. He hated Jesus. He hated Jesus’ disciples. He
wanted to get rid of them.
In fact, one day, he went to the high
priest and asked for letters that will allow him to search for and catch Jesus’
believers and throw them into prison — doesn’t matter if they are men or women.
So off he went, with his men, to a town called Damascus.
As he
came near to Damascus, ready to pounce on his victims, suddenly … a light from
heaven flashed around him! It was so bright! So frightening! The man fell to
the ground.
And then he heard a voice say to him,
“Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”
“Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked.
“I am
Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” he replied. “Now get up and go into the city,
and you will be told what you must do.”
The men
traveling with Saul stood there speechless; they heard the sound but did not
see anyone. Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could
see nothing. So they led him by the hand into Damascus. For three days he was
blind, and did not eat or drink anything.
In Damascus there was a disciple
named Ananias. The Lord called to him in a vision, “Ananias!”
“Yes, Lord,” he answered.
The Lord told him, “Go to the house
of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is
praying. In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands
on him to restore his sight.”
“Lord,”
Ananias answered, “I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he
has done to your holy people in Jerusalem. And he has come here with authority
from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name.” If you knew
someone was coming to catch you and put you in prison, wouldn’t you feel the
same as Ananias? You would be scared to come out of hiding.
But the
Lord said to Ananias, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name
to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel. I will show him
how much he must suffer for my name. ”
So
Ananias obeyed. He went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul,
he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord—Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you
were coming here—has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the
Holy Spirit.” Immediately, something like scales fell from
Saul’s
eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized, and after taking some
food, he regained his strength.
Saul
spent several days with the disciples in Damascus. At once he began to preach
in the synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God. All those who heard him were
astonished and asked, “Isn’t he the man who raised havoc in Jerusalem among
those who call on this name? And hasn’t he come here to take them as prisoners
to the chief priests?” Yet Saul grew more and more powerful and baffled the
Jews living in Damascus by proving that Jesus is the Messiah.
Everyone
loves a good before-and-after story. Beast’s monstrous exterior was a
reflection of the cruelty in his heart, but he was made human again by
experiencing Belle’s selfless love.
Saul of
Tarsus was a “beastly” figure transformed into a saint by the love of Christ. He
went from one who wanted to murder and arrest anyone who spoke about Jesus … to
someone who couldn’t stop talking about Him.
As in
Beauty and the Beast, the motivating force behind our desire to change as well
as the means to change itself come only our Heavenly Father and Saviour’s love,
and the work of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit still works in us today to
soften our hearts and help us embody the love of Christ in a hurting world.
SUMMARY
Like the Beast and those in his
castle, we were under a curse due to sin — hopeless, purposeless.
Like
Belle, Jesus is the One who breaks the spell. By His love and sacrifice on the
Cross, He saved us from death to give us new life in Him.
And Jesus’ love transforms us from
the inside out to be who God made us to be.
ACTIVITY SUGGESTIONS
HUDDLE TIME
Get into small groups. Invite the
children to accept Jesus’ love to save and transform them. Pray for one
another.
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