April 26, 2020

Worship, Communion, and Lesson:

Offering:

For Reflection:

  • Name at least one trial that you are facing right now.
  • How have you seen God work through difficult times in the past?
  • What does Romans 5:3-4 and James 1:2-3 teach us about trials?
  • From our text, what do we learn is true about the trials we face?
  • What does the illustration of the refining fire teach us?


Preschool and Elementary Songs and Lesson:

Think about it:

  1. When you get hurt or are scared, who do you call for help? Probably a parent or grandparent right? We feel better when we get a hug from someone who we love. Just like that, God wants us to call on Him for help. He wants us to trust Him and love Him no matter what is happening in our lives.
  2. Romans 8:28 tells us that “we know that in ALL things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” God doesn’t cause the bad things to happen, but he uses them to help make things better for us! Do you believe that God wants the best for you? Do you believe he will be with you and lead you no matter what is happening in your life?

Activities:

  1. We can praise God no matter what is going on. Draw a picture showing you praising God when you are happy, sad, scared, or afraid. You could make it a game instead and show each other your sad face, your excited face, your scared face, etc.
  2. If you have the ingredients, do a little cooking. Look at all the different things that go into your recipe. Some of them are good on their own, like sugar. Some of them are not good on their own, like raw eggs or flour. Remember that life will have lots of good times and some bad times. God uses the good and the bad times to help us become who he wants us to be.


Middle School Songs and Lesson:

Verse: 1 Peter 1:6

Songs:

Lesson:

Questions:

  1. If we are going through bad things, does that mean that God is mad at us?
  2. Think about a hard time you have had in your life. Did anything good come from it? Did you learn anything or do you see things differently now?
  3. Just like we saw in the example with the carrot, the egg, and the hot chocolate, we can choose how we are affected by our trials. Which one are you most like? Pray that God can use your hard times to strengthen your faith.
  4. Sometimes we get ourselves into trouble through disobedience. How can disobedience sometimes lead to hard times? Read 1 Corinthians 10:13.
  5. Here are just a few other verses that go with this lesson if you want to check them out.
    1. James 1:2-4
    2. John 16:33
    3. Romans 12:12
    4. James 1:12
    5. Romans 5:3-5