12 July 2015

Kelas Balita

Coach Susan

Asst 1 : Tasya

Asst 2 : Felianti

Kelas 1 - 3

Coaches : Lily Bun & Santi

Kelas 4 - 6

Coaches : Lusiana & Theresia

Nehemiah: The Gospel in the Gates 
– East Gate (Neh 3i) –

1. HOOK:

• Song: From the Rising of the Sun (with actions)

•  The Lord of the Rings (optional)
  How many of you have read or watched the Lord of the Rings? What is it about? <get answers>A group (Fellowship of the Ring) whose mission is to destroy a powerful ring, and the evil one who made it.In the story, there is also a man who is heir to the throne of the kingdom of Gondor; his name is Aragorn. After their last king died, the human population in Middle Earth waned and were nearly forgotten and extinct. At the end of the third book/movie, which was titled “The return of the King”, Aragorn defeated the evil one’s enemy and claimed his right to the throne. He returned as the King of Gondor and Arnor, reuniting and preserving the people of his kingdom.Just as the people looked forward to the return of their king, we also can look forward to the return of the King of kings! His name is … Jesus!

2. STORY: Gospel in the Gates – East Gate (Nehemiah 3:29)

• Recap
  • We’re following the adventures of Nehemiah as he and the people of Israel work together to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem
  • There were 10 gates mentioned in the rebuilding of the walls. We looked at what these gates were used for and how they remind us of Jesus and His finished work on the Cross!
  • So far, we’ve covered the: <refer kids to slides or the posters on the wall during review>
    • Sheep Gate: Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.
    • Fish Gate: Jesus died and resurrected after 3 days (just as Jonah was in the belly of the big fish for 3 days).
    • Old Gate: Jesus makes us New Creations
    • Valley Gate: Jesus is always with us, even in the valleys
    • Rubbish Gate: All our good is rubbish compared to knowing Jesus (Jesus + nothing = everything!)
    • Fountain Gate: Jesus gave us the Holy Spirit
    • Water Gate: Jesus washes us clean with His word
    • Horse Gate: Jesus has won the victory

• Today, we are looking at the 9th gate — the East Gate
• Nehemiah 3:29 Next to him, Shemaiah son of Shekaniah, the guard at the East Gate, made repairs. 
• The East Gate is located opposite of the Mount of Olives.
• When Jesus was on earth, the week before He was going to die on the cross, He entered Jerusalem through the East Gate, riding on a donkey.
• After Jesus died on the cross, He was buried and then rose again. He appeared to His disciples and many others and told them to tell others about Him. While He was talking to them, He started to go up into the sky! The people watched Him go up into the clouds and disappear! While they were still staring into the sky, an angel appeared and said, “Why are you looking up into the sky? This same Jesus will come back in the same way you have seen him go up into heaven.”

3. LESSON

What does the East Gate remind us of? Jesus is coming again.

• East = the direction from which the sun rises
• East = the direction from which the SON of Man (Jesus) will come again
  • Matt 24:27 For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.

• <for older kids>According to prophecy, when Jesus returns again, His feet will touch first the Mount of Olives, causing a great earthquake, and splitting the Mount of Olives in two. Then He will enter Jerusalem through the East Gate (Zech 14:4). Many years later, in 1530AD, the Arabs (Ottoman Turks) sealed up the East Gate. They believe that the Jews expected their Messiah to come through this gate, so they sealed it up to prevent His return. They even planted a cemetery in front of it, thinking that a Jewish Messiah will not set foot into a cemetery because it was not “holy”. But the Arabs didn’t know that a sealed gate will not prevent the return of the King. And by sealing the gate, they are actually fulfilling a prophecy by Ezekiel (Ezekiel 44:1-3) who has said that the East Gate will be shut.

• <for younger kids>How many of you go to kindergarten? Who sends you to school? Mummy? Daddy?
  When your parents drop you off at school, will they also pick you back after school?
  Yes! They won’t leave you behind. They will say, “See you later, alligator!” and they’ll promise to come back for you. And when school is over, mummy and daddy are there, just as they promised!
  After Jesus died and rose again, He went back to heaven. But do you know that He promised to come back for us? And He will. Every time we see the sun rise in the east, we remember Jesus’ promise and know that He will come again soon!

• What does this mean for us?
  • When Jesus comes back, He will bring us back to be with the Father forever!
  • Have you ever had someone special come to your house for a visit like a grandparent or cousins, or good friends? Sometimes we make plans for people to come and visit. What kinds of things do you have to do to get ready for company? (Clean your room, get some snacks, help clean the house, etc.) I get really excited when someone is going to come and visit. As their visit gets closer, I start counting the days until they come.
  • Do you know that Jesus is busy preparing His home for our arrival? Jesus is in heaven now.  Before He died, Jesus told His disciples, “My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. “(John 14:1-3)
  • Jesus is preparing His place for us, and He is coming back to bring us with Him!
• How will we know when Jesus has come back again?
  • Because we will all see it (Matt 24:27; Rev 1:7 “… every eye will see Him”)
  • When Jesus first came as a little baby, not many people knew about it. There wasn’t a big fanfare, no newspapers or radio or Internet to announce His arrival. Only a bright star in the sky, and shepherds and wisemen who came to greet Him.
  • But when He comes again, it’ll be as bright and noticeable as the sun, or a lightning flashing through the sky. We don’t need to read about it on Facebook. We will all see it together.

• When will Jesus come again?
  • Jesus promised to come again. We can look forward to it just as people two thousand years ago looked forward the coming Messiah.
  • Jesus’ coming again = Satan’s time is up! He will be completely destroyed!
    Satan is scared that his time is up, so he tries to do as much damage as he can.
    The signs of the times — wars, famines, diseases etc — tell us that the time is near. So when we read of all these disasters, we shouldn’t be fearful. We just declare that Jesus is coming again soon!
  • We don’t know exactly when He will come; it isn’t marked on the calendar. But every day when we see the sun rising from the east, we remember that the SON of Man — Jesus — is coming again soon.
  • East Gate reminds us that Jesus is coming again!

4. ACTIVITY SUGGESTIONS:

• Poster: The East Gate

5 July 2015

Kelas Balita

Coach Ochie

Asst 1 : Laila

Asst 2 : Felicia

Kelas 1 - 3

Coaches : Susi Tjio (Asst. Fenny)

Kelas 4 - 6

Coaches : Kent & Swanky

Nehemiah: The Gospel in the Gates 
– Horse Gate (Neh 3h) –

1. HOOK:

• Pin the tail on the horse: Instead of donkey, have a picture of a horse. Blindfold kids and have them pin/stick the tail on the horse. The one who pins the tail closest to the correct spot wins.
• Arm wrestling match: Choose a representative from each group and get them to arm wrestle in front of the class. Idea is to show “victory”.
• Joke: The preacher and his horse
  • A preacher trained his horse to go when he said, “Praise the Lord,” and to stop when he said, “Amen.” The preacher mounted the horse, said, “Praise the Lord” and went for a ride. When he wanted to stop for lunch, he said, “Amen.” After lunch, he took off again, saying, “Praise the Lord.” The horse started trotting again. Clip, clop, clip, clop. Then there was a sudden loud noise! The loud noise startled the horse, setting it galloping off in a different direction — straight toward the edge of a cliff. As the cliff got closer and closer, the preacher got so scared that he forgot his key words. So he prayed out loud, “Lord Jesus, please make my horse stop! Amen!” When the horse heard the “Amen”, it stopped immediately, right at the edge of the cliff! The preacher was so relieved and grateful. He breathed deeply, looked up to heaven and shouted loudly, “Praise the Lord!”

2. STORY: Gospel in the Gates – Horse Gate (Nehemiah 3:28)

• Recap
  • We’re following the adventures of Nehemiah as he and the people of Israel work together to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem
  • There were 10 gates mentioned in the rebuilding of the walls. We looked at what these gates were used for and how they remind us of Jesus and His finished work on the Cross!
  • So far, we’ve covered the: <refer kids to slides or the posters on the wall during review>
    • Sheep Gate: Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.
    • Fish Gate: Jesus died and resurrected after 3 days (just as Jonah was in the belly of the big fish for 3 days).
    • Old Gate: Jesus makes us New Creations
    • Valley Gate: Jesus is always with us, even in the valleys
    • Rubbish Gate: All our good is rubbish compared to knowing Jesus (Jesus + nothing = everything!)
    • Fountain Gate: Jesus gave us the Holy Spirit
    • Water Gate: Jesus washes us clean with His word
• Today, we are looking at the 8th gate — the Horse Gate
• Nehemiah 3:28 28 Beyond the Horse Gate the priests made repairs, each in front of his own house.
• The Horse Gate was close to the King’s stables. The men of Jerusalem would ride their horses out of this gate to war, and after the war, the king’s chariots will pass through the gates on its way back into the city in triumphant procession.

3. LESSON:

What does the Horse Gate remind us of? Jesus has won the victory.

• In Revelations 19:11-12, Jesus is seen on a white horse and all the armies of heaven on white horses were behind him. He wears many crowns on His head to show that He has won the victory.

• What victory has Jesus won?
  • On the cross, Jesus defeated sin: His perfect life was sacrificed to pay the full punishment of sin. So sin — and its consequences (fear, worry, sadness etc) — no longer has any demand or hold over us anymore.
  • By His resurrection, Jesus defeated death: By raising from the dead, Jesus showed that even death could not hold Him anymore. He had defeated death!
  • Jesus = WINS! SIN = Lost! DEATH = Lost!

• When someone wins a competition, usually they win a prize. What did Jesus win?
  • Jesus won our righteousness and holiness — Because Jesus defeated sin, we can be right and good and clean — we can become God’s children and experience His blessings
  • Jesus won our eternal life — Because Jesus defeated death, we can always have His life in us. We don’t have to be afraid of death because we know we can be with Jesus forever.
• Horse Gate reminds us that Jesus has won the victory for us!

• Do you notice something? Jesus is the one who won the victory. Why is it we get all the prizes and blessings? That’s right! Jesus took all the bad we deserved (punishment and death) so that we can have all the good things that He deserved (blessings and favour). He won the victory so that we can enjoy the relationship with God and all the good things He has in store for us.
• That’s what the Bible means when it says we are “more than conquerors”.
• Rom 8:37  No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.
  • Story of the boxer (optional): There was a very famous boxer. He trained very hard, day and night. He took part in a very prestigious boxing competition. He beat many opponents, round after round, until finally, he won the final round and got the championship medal! He also received the prize money of a few thousand dollars. He was the champion, the conqueror!  Everybody cheered for him. But when he went home, the boxer greeted his wife and handed her his prize money so that she could go and buy herself something with it. The boxer was the conqueror; but his wife was “more than a conqueror” because she received the benefits of the prize money!

 4. ACTIVITY SUGGESTIONS:

• Memory Verse: Rom 8:37  No, in all these things we are more than conquerorsthrough him who loved us.
• Poster:  The Horse Gate

28 Juni 2015

Kelas Balita

Coach Susan

Asst 1 : Felianti

Asst 2 : Tasya

Kelas 1 - 3

Coaches : Shianty & Ci Dewi

Kelas 4 - 6

Coaches : Tjipto & Jeremy

Nehemiah: The Gospel in the Gates 

– Water Gate (Neh 3g) –

1. HOOK:

• What do you do when you wake up in the morning?
• Song (younger class):This is the way we wash our face, wash our face, wash our face,
  This is the way we wash our face,
  So early in the morning.
  This is the way we clean our hands, clean our hands, clean our hands,
  This is the way we clean our hands,
  So early in the morning.
  This is the way we brush our teeth, brush our teeth, brush our teeth,
  This is the way we brush our teeth
  So early in the morning.
  This is the way we comb our hair, comb our hair, comb our hair,
  This is the way we comb our hair,
  So early in the morning.

• Why do we do that? To make ourselves clean.
• What is one important thing we need to clean ourselves up? Water!
• Water is very important. It cleans us up inside (drinking) and outside (washing/bathing).
• Today we’re going to look at the Water Gate and what it reminds us about Jesus.

  

2. STORY: Gospel in the Gates – Water Gate (Nehemiah 3:15)

• Recap
  • We’re following the adventures of Nehemiah as he and the people of Israel work together to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem
  • There were 10 gates mentioned in the rebuilding of the walls. We looked at what these gates were used for and how they remind us of Jesus and His finished work on the Cross!
  • So far, we’ve covered the: <refer kids to slides or the posters on the wall during review>
    • Sheep Gate: Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.
    • Fish Gate: Jesus died and resurrected after 3 days (just as Jonah was in the belly of the big fish for 3 days).
    • Old Gate: Jesus makes us New Creations
    • Valley Gate: Jesus is always with us, even in the valleys
    • Rubbish Gate: All our good is rubbish compared to knowing Jesus (Jesus + nothing = everything!)
    • Fountain Gate: Jesus gave us the Holy Spirit
• Today, we are looking at the 7th gate — the Water Gate
• Nehemiah 3:26 26 Moreover the Nethinim who dwelt in Ophel made repairs as far as the place in front of the Water Gate toward the east
• Like the Fountain Gate, the Water Gate was close to the source of the city’s water supply (Gibeon spring).
• It opened up to where Solomon’s Temple was.
• The Water Gate was also where the Law of Moses was read by Ezra to the Israelites after the wall had been completed. (Neh 8:1)
  • Neh 8:1  Now all the people gathered together as one man in the open square that was in front of the Water Gate; and they told Ezra the scribe to bring the Book of the Law of Moses, which the Lord had commanded Israel.

3. LESSON:

What does the Water Gate remind us of? Jesus washes us clean with His word.

• Just as we use water to clean ourselves up physically, Jesus cleans us with His word.

• Imagine: Boys, one day you will grow up and get married. What happens if your bride turns up in the church looking very dirty and messy, as if she came out of a pig sty? That would be quite horrible, right? Girls, would you like to look like this on your wedding day?
• Well when Jesus came to look for us, He found us looking very dirty and grubby and smelly.
• Still He loved us soooo much that He gave His own life for us and rescued us from the dump that we were in.
• But Jesus didn’t rescue us and leave us in the same dirty, grubby and smelly condition.
• No. He took us, washed us, cleaned us up, dressed us in the finest garments, presenting us as a beautiful, perfect bride.
• Eph 5:25-27 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.
• The Bible tells us about Jesus and what He has done for us — He was the Lamb of God who took away the sins of the world; He died and rose again after 3 days; He made us New Creations; He is always with us; He is all we need; He gave us the Holy Spirit; and He washes us clean … <help kids associate with the different gates>
• The more we listen to the word about Christ and His finished work on the cross, we are being washed clean — our faith grows (Romans 10:17), our minds are renewed and our lives are transformed (Romans 12:2).
• Water gate reminds us that Jesus washed us clean — we are changed from dirty, smelly and grubby to become beautiful and perfect!

4. ACTIVITY SUGGESTIONS:

• Memory Verse: Eph 5:25-27 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word …
  <optional for additional challenge> and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.(younger kids: “Jesus loved me and washed me clean with His word.”)
• Poster: The Water Gate

Water painting for toddlers using crayon/wax

21 Juni 2015

Kelas Balita

Coach Ochie

Asst 1 : Adeline

Asst 2 : Kasey

Kelas 1 - 3

Coaches : Iwan & Shevica

Kelas 4 - 6

Coaches : Savitri & Miguel

Nehemiah: The Gospel in the Gates – Fountain Gate (Neh 3f)

Source By TNCC Children Church

1. HOOK:

• Song: Deep and wide
  
  • Teach actions; omit words at each round and go faster and faster and faster!
  • Can work for all ages
• Simple fountain-themed “experiment” (optional)  

2. STORY: GOSPEL IN THE GATES – FOUNTAIN GATE (Nehemiah 3:15)

• Recap
  • We’re following the adventures of Nehemiah as he and the people of Israel work together to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem
  • There were 10 gates mentioned in the rebuilding of the walls. We looked at what these gates were used for and how they remind us of Jesus and His finished work on the Cross!
  • So far, we’ve covered the: <refer kids to slides or the posters on the wall during review>
    • Sheep Gate: reminds us that Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.
    • Fish Gate: reminds us that Jesus died and resurrected after 3 days (just as Jonah was in the belly of the big fish for 3 days).
    • Old Gate: reminds us that Jesus makes us New Creations
    • Valley Gate: reminds us that Jesus is always with us, even in the valleys
    • Rubbish Gate: reminds us that all our good is rubbish compared to knowing Jesus (Jesus + nothing = everything!)
  • Today, we are looking at the 6th gate — the Fountain Gate
    • Nehemiah 3:15 The Fountain Gate was repaired by Shallun son of Kol-Hozeh, ruler of the district of Mizpah. He rebuilt it, roofing it over and putting its doors and bolts and bars in place. He also repaired the wall of the Pool of Siloam, by the King’s Garden, as far as the steps going down from the City of David.
    • The Fountain Gate was the one most in ruins when Nehemiah first examined the wall.
    • It is located near the pool of Siloam (where Jesus later healed a blind man).
    • The Gate was named “Fountain Gate” as it was the primary access to the fountain, the Gihon Spring, from which the city of Jerusalem received its supply of fresh, clean water.

3. LESSON:

What does the Fountain Gate remind us of?

• Jesus gave me the Holy Spirit
  • In John 4, Jesus met a Samaritan woman at a well and asked for some water to drink. Jesus then told her about “living water” that only comes from God.
    “But whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.” (John 4:14)
  • The physical water we drink quenches us, refreshes us and cleanses our body’s system … but only temporarily. After a while, we will feel thirsty and dehydrated again and need to drink some more.
  • What is this living water Jesus speaks about and promised that we will not be thirsty again? What is it that will become a fountain of water?
  • This is the Holy Spirit.
  • When Jesus was on earth, He was in a man’s body. He could only be in one place at one time. After Jesus died and rose again, He went back to heaven. But He promised to send us the Holy Spirit to be our comforter and guide.
  • Because Jesus made us clean, today, this Holy Spirit can come and stay in us forever! All of us can have this Holy Spirit in our hearts always … wherever we are.
  • Like a glass of water, the Holy Spirit gives us life — God’s eternal life! Like a glass of water, the Holy Spirit satisfies us, refreshes us and cleanses us from all the dirt that we have.
  • Just like the Gihon Spring provides water (and life) to the whole city of Jerusalem, this Holy Spirit life springs up in us like a fountain, blessing all those around us.
  • Thank you Jesus for giving us your Holy Spirit!

• Memory Verse: John 4:14
  “But whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.”(younger kids: “The water Jesus gives me will become a fountain of water that gives me everlasting life.”)

4. ACTIVITY SUGGESTION:

• Poster: The Fountain Gate

14 Juni 2015

Kelas Balita

Coach Jemimah

Asst 1 : Laila

Asst 2 : Dewi K.

Kelas 1 - 3

Coaches : Lily Bun & Santi

Kelas 4 - 6

Coaches : Lusiana & Theresia

Nehemiah: The Gospel in the Gates – Rubbish Gate (Neh 3e)

Source By : TNCC Children Church

1. HOOK:

• My Achievements: (Materials: paper, pen/pencil, 2 waste paper baskets)
  Get kids to write down their greatest achievement on a piece of paper. Choose a few kids to share what they wrote down to the rest. Then get the kids to make aeroplanes out of their piece of paper. Divide them into 2 groups; 1 rep from each group to hold a wastepaper basket. The rest line up in their groups and try to fly their paper aeroplanes into their group’s wastepaper basket. The group with the most aeroplanes in their wastepaper basket wins.

2. STORY: The Gospel in the Gates (Nehemiah 3:14)

• Recap
  • We’re following the adventures of Nehemiah as he and the people of Israel work together to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem
  • There were 10 gates mentioned in the rebuilding of the walls. We looked at what these gates were used for and how they remind us of Jesus and His finished work on the Cross!
  • So far, we’ve covered the: <refer kids to the posters on the wall during review>
    • Sheep Gate: reminds us that Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.
    • Fish Gate: reminds us that Jesus died and resurrected after 3 days (just as Jonah was in the belly of the big fish for 3 days).
    • Old Gate: reminds us that Jesus makes us New Creations
    • Valley Gate: reminds us that Jesus is always with us, even in the valleys

• Today, we are looking at the 5th gate — the Refuse/Rubbish Gate (also known as the Dung Gate)
  • Nehemiah 3:14  Malchijah the son of Rechab, leader of the district of Beth Haccerem, repaired the Refuse Gate; he built it and hung its doors with its bolts and bars.
  • When Nehemiah first went to examine the walls of Jerusalem, he went out through the Valley Gate until the Refuse Gate (Neh 2:13), where he saw the broken walls and burnt gates.
  • The gate was named “Refuse” or “Rubbish” probably because it was where the garbage and ash from the temple was removed from the city in to the Valley of Hinnom, where they were burned.
  
  

3. LESSON:

• What does the Rubbish Gate remind us of?

• All our GOOD is like rubbish
  • Let me tell you about a man named Saul. Saul was a high achiever, no, an overachiever! Whatever he did, he had to be the best! And Saul wanted to be the best Jew — he wanted to live up to God’s high standard — dot all the “i”s, cross all the “t”s, check all the boxes. (Phil 3:4-6)
    • Saul was circumcised on the eighth day, like all good Jewish babies were.
    • He was a true blue Jew, from the tribe of Benjamin.
    • He was a Pharisee — a religious leader who prided themselves in keeping strictly to God’s laws; as far as the religious laws were concerned, he considered himself faultless. He thought by keeping the laws, he can be right before God — he can earn his place in heaven.
    • He was zealous for God — he persecuted the Christians and dragged them off to prisons because he considered them a threat to Judaism — how can Jesus claim to be God?!
  • (Acts 9) But one day, when Saul was on his way to Damascus to hunt down some Christians and take them as prisoners, suddenly, a bright light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”
    • “Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked.
    • “I am Jesus,” the voice said. Jesus told Saul to go to Damascus. When Saul got up from the ground, he realized he was blind! He had to be led by hand into Damascus. He didn’t eat or drink for 3 days.
    • Then God asked a believer, Ananias, to go see Saul and pray for him. Even though Ananias was afraid (he knew Saul came to hunt down Christians), he went and placed his hand on Saul. Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes and he could see again.
    • Saul later changed his name to Paul — he became the champion of the gospel of Jesus Christ to all the Gentiles (people who are not Jews).
  • Through all these, Paul realized that all his good, all his law-keeping, would not get him to heaven. Instead, only Jesus could make him really good. That’s why he wrote in Phil 3: 7 But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. 8 What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith.
  • All his merits, all his accomplishments, all the good things he did, all the laws he kept — Paul said he now considered them “rubbish”!
  • Just like how we wrote down our biggest accomplishments and threw them into the wastepaper basket/dustbin … Paul threw all his accomplishments into the dustbin too.
  • Jesus + nothing = everything!
  • This was because he realized that all he needed was Jesus. He could not become righteous on his own efforts. Only through faith in Jesus’ finished work on the cross could he be right before God.
  • Compared with knowing Jesus, all his other accomplishments were rubbish/dung! Jesus + nothing = everything!
• The Rubbish Gate reminds us that all our good is rubbish! Jesus + nothing = Everything!

4. ACTIVITY SUGGESTIONS:

• Memory Verse activity: Phil 3:7-9 “But whatever were gains to me … I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ.”(younger kids: “All my good are like rubbish compared to knowing Jesus.”)

• Poster: The Rubbish Gate

  

7 Juni 2015

Kelas Balita

Coach Carrie

Asst 1 : Awan

Asst 2 : Felicia

Kelas 1 - 3

Coaches : Susi Tjio (Asst. Fenny)

Kelas 4 - 6

Coaches : Kent & Swanky

Nehemiah: The Gospel in the Gates – Valley Gate (Neh 3d)

Tags: CC: Book of Nehemiah

Source By : TNCC Children Church

1. HOOK:

• Dark in the Valley:Stack chairs in 2 rows to create a valley in between, where the kids will sit. Turn off the lights to illustrate how dark it is in the valley.
• Dodge ball (older kids)
  Get kids to line up in 2 lines, facing each other, forming a long “valley”. Get 1 kid to try to get from one end of the “valley” to the other. Give kids 1-2 plastic balls; they have to try to throw the balls at the kid in the “valley” (below knees only). The kid in the “valley” has to get from one end to the other without getting hit. Once the kid is “hit”, he’s out.

2. STORY: The Gospel in the Gates (Nehemiah 3:13)

• Recap
  • We’re following the adventures of Nehemiah as he and the people of Israel work together to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem
  • There were 10 gates mentioned in the rebuilding of the walls. We looked at what these gates were used for and how they remind us of Jesus and His finished work on the Cross!
  • So far, we’ve covered the:
    • Sheep Gate: reminds us that Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.
    • Fish Gate: reminds us that Jesus died and resurrected after 3 days (just as Jonah was in the belly of the big fish for 3 days).
    • Old Gate: reminds us that Jesus makes us New Creations
  • Today, we are looking at the 4th gate — the Valley Gate
    • Nehemiah 3:13  13 Hanun and the inhabitants of Zanoah repaired theValley Gate. They built it, hung its doors with its bolts and bars,
    • When Nehemiah first went to examine the walls of Jerusalem, he went out through the Valley Gate (Neh 2:13)
    • The Valley Gate is probably named that because it overlooked the Hinnom Valley, one of the several valleys surrounding Jerusalem.

3. LESSON:

• What does the Valley Gate remind us of?

• Jesus is with us in the Valley
  • A valley is a low area of land between hills or mountains. It can be a beautiful place with streams of water, but it is often seen as a dangerous place too.
    • Dark: Sunlight is blocked by the surrounding hills/mountains, so it can get quite dark.
    • Dangerous: The sheep and people walking through the valley are often vulnerable to predators and robbers who are hiding in the hills/mountains.
    • When we talk about mountain tops, we usually associate them with victory or success or good times, e.g. “I’m on the top of the world!”
    • When we talk about valleys, we normally associate them with the low and tough times in life. All of us will go through difficult times. Our parents will go through difficult times. Sometimes it’s health issues, school issues, friends issues, parents issues, money issues. We’ll feel sad or tired or angry or afraid.
  • But in Psalm 23, David (the shepherd boy who became king) writes about the Good Shepherd and how He takes care of the sheep. Jesus is the Good Shepherd, and we are all like the helpless little sheep. The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want. The Good Shepherd takes care of the sheep, provides for their needs, brings them to green pastures and cool waters.
  • Then David writes, “Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.”  (Psalm 23:4)
  • Doesn’t the “valley of the shadow of death” sound scary? Not just valley, but a valley of shadows; not just shadows, but shadows of death! After all, death can be a really scary thought.
  • But did the sheep feel scared? No! Why not? Because the Good Shepherd is with Him.
  • Yes, we don’t have to be afraid when we go through valleys. Because Jesus is with us. His rod and His staff comfort us. Whatever difficult and tough times we go through, Jesus is there to take care of us and to protect us, and He will bring us through the valley!
  • The Valley Gate reminds us that Jesus is with us in the Valley!

4. ACTIVITY SUGGESTIONS:

• Memory Verse activity: Psalm 23:4 “Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.”
• Poster:  The Valley Gate