RCCG LOWER JUNIOR ZEAL FOR 2022/2023 1 JANUARY 2023, Lesson 18

RCCG LOWER JUNIOR ZEAL FOR 2022/2023 1 JANUARY 2023, Lesson 18 – UNSPEAKABLE JOY

RCCG LOWER JUNIOR ZEAL FOR 2022/2023
AGE 6-8 TEACHER’S MANUAL
SUNDAY 1ST OF JANUARY, 2023
LESSON EIGHTEEN (18)
TOPIC: UNSPEAKABLE JOY

BIBLE TEXT: Acts 16:15-28
[15]And when she was baptized, and her household, she besought us, saying, If ye have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house, and abide there. And she constrained us.
[16]And it came to pass, as we went to prayer, a certain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination met us, which brought her masters much gain by soothsaying:
[17]The same followed Paul and us, and cried, saying, These men are the servants of the most high God, which shew unto us the way of salvation.
[18]And this did she many days. But Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the spirit, I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came out the same hour.
[19]And when her masters saw that the hope of their gains was gone, they caught Paul and Silas, and drew them into the marketplace unto the rulers,
[20]And brought them to the magistrates, saying, These men, being Jews, do exceedingly trouble our city,
[21]And teach customs, which are not lawful for us to receive, neither to observe, being Romans.
[22]And the multitude rose up together against them: and the magistrates rent off their clothes, and commanded to beat them.
[23]And when they had laid many stripes upon them, they cast them into prison, charging the jailor to keep them safely:
[24]Who, having received such a charge, thrust them into the inner prison, and made their feet fast in the stocks.
[25]And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them.
[26]And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one’s bands were loosed.
[27]And the keeper of the prison awaking out of his sleep, and seeing the prison doors open, he drew out his sword, and would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled.
[28]But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm: for we are all here.

MEMORY VERSE: Philippians 4:4 “Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice.”

LESSON AIM: The children will learn that the Holy Spirit will enable them to be joyful in times of difficulties.

CHILD-RELATED TRUTH: God wants you to have joy everywhere and every day.

INTRODUCTION:
Young boys and girls! Do you know when I think about joy in the Bible, I think of that old Sunday School classic song that says; I’ve got the joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart! What a sweet song of praise. And yet, sometimes joy seems so hard to capture. It’s more than happiness, but it is the deep and abiding presence of contentment, peace, and pleasure especially when we find our true joy in Jesus. Paul and Silas experienced such joy in prison

PROGRESSION OF EVENT: ACTS 16:15-28

Paul and Silas traveled to a place called Philippi where they taught the people about Christ.
A fortune teller followed them every day saying that they were the servants of the most high God.
Feeling very sorrowful, Paul commanded the Holy Spirit out of her in the name of Jesus.
The owners of the girl were very angry because they could no longer make money, and took Paul and Silas to the officials accusing them of teaching against the law.
The crowd not only attack Paul and Silas, but the officials also ordered them to be beaten and put in Prison
At midnight, while other prisoners were listening, Paul and Silas prayed and praised God when an earthquake shook the prison doors opened.
The jailer thinking that the prisoners had escaped took his sword to kill himself but Paul stopped him
The jailer then ran to Paul and Silas asking how he can have salvation
Paul told him to believe in the Lord Jesus and he will be saved with his household

GOSPEL CONNECTION: Anyone who belongs to God has a reason to praise Him everywhere, every day in good times and in bad because of His love for us. God loves you and me very much that He sent His Son Jesus to take the punishment.for our sins. Jesus willingly died on the cross using His life’s blood to pay for your sins. You can be saved from your sins when you believe that Jesus died for you.

CLIMAX: God turned Paul and Silas’s pain into unspeakable joy as the jailer and his household accepted Jesus as their Lord and Saviour

CONCLUSION: When they had eaten, the jailer freed them and they went back to where they were staying and continue to tell others about Christ.

CHALLENGE: Paul and Silas were able to rejoice even in the midst of such trials because they had unspeakable joy. If we truly love Jesus with our whole being. The blessing we receive is joy unspeakable. This unspeakable joy is based upon many other blessings: past, present, and future, and enables us to joyfully persevere through all kinds of trials in this life. But again, this blessing is only for those who truly love Jesus and believe in Him. Do you love Jesus? If you do, will you keep His commandments? Do you believe in Jesus? If you do, you will do what He says.

INVITATION: But if you do not love nor believe in Jesus as Lord and Saviour, you cannot have this blessing (Acts 16:31 ).

DAILY DEVOTION
SUNDAY – ACTS 11:1-3
MONDAY – ACTS 11:4-6
TUESDAY – ACTS 11:7-9
WEDNESDAY – ACTS 11:10-12
THURSDAY – ACTS 11:13-15
FRIDAY – ACTS 11:16-18
SATURDAY – ACTS 11:19-21

Open Heavens 2021 Daily Devotional guide was written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye, the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, one of the largest evangelical church in the world and also the President of Christ the Redeemer’s Ministries. The Open Heavens devotional application is available across all mobile platforms and operating systems: iOS, Android, Blackberry, Nokia, Windows Mobile and PC.

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