RCCG LOWER JUNIOR ZEAL FOR 2023/2024 AGE 6-8 TEACHER’S MANUAL SUNDAY 7TH OF JULY, 2024 LESSON FORTY FIVE (45) TOPIC: REVISION 7/SUMMARY

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RCCG LOWER JUNIOR ZEAL FOR 2023/2024
AGE 6-8 TEACHER’S MANUAL
SUNDAY 7TH OF JULY, 2024
LESSON FORTY FIVE (45)
TOPIC: REVISION 7/SUMMARY

Teachers should:

• Revise the previous lessons with the children.
• Ask them questions to ensure lessons have been well understood.
• Tell your class to review the previous lesson during the week before the revision.

SUMMARY OF LESSONS 40-41

LESSON FORTY (40)
TOPIC: BENEFITS OF A GRATEFUL HEART:
MERCY

BIBLE TEXT: Psalm 51, 2 Samuel 10-11.

MEMORY VERSE: Psalm 51:19 “Then You shall be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness, With burnt offering and whole burnt offering: Then shall they offer bullocks upon their altar.”

LESSON AIM: The children will reflect upon the sinfulness of their hearts and how Jesus can give them clean hearts because of His mercy.

CHILD-RELATED TRUTH: Depend on Jesus for mercy.

INTRODUCTION: Children of God! What do you think God sees when He looks at your heart? Does He see a heart full of sin or a heart that has been washed clean? Psalm 51 tells us that our hearts are sinful and that we need God to cleanse them because of His mercy toward us. A long time ago, King David knew that the sin he committed deserved death but it is only through God’s mercy He can be forgiven.

PROGRESSION OF EVENT

1. During the springtime when the kings were at wall, King David remained at home.
2. One night while standing on the balcony, King David saw a beautiful woman taking a bath.
3. He asked about her and was told she was Bathsheba the wife of Uriah and King David sent for and slept with her.
4. Sometime later Bethseba sent and told David that she was pregnant and he was the father.
5. David sent and brought Uriah from the war front and tried, by all means, to make him sleep with his wife but Uriah could not do it because his fellow soldiers were still at the war front.
6. David’s plans were not working so he decided to have Uriah killed and sent to Joab to put him in the hottest part of the battle, Uriah died during the battle.
7. David sent and married Bathsheba and the Lord was not happy so He sent Prophet Nathan to King David.
8. The Prophet told King David how a rich man oppressed a poor man and David was furious and pronounced that the oppressor should die. The Prophet told David that he was the one.

GOSPEL CONNECTION: Because of our sins, like King David, we know that we deserve to die. The Bible says in Romans 6:23 that the punishment for sin is death. Someone must die to pay for our sins but God loves so much that He sent His only begotten Son Jesus to die for our sins. Jesus willingly went to the cross to die, He was buried and came alive again on the third day. God forgives us when we put our trust in Jesus, follow Him, and repent of our sins. Just like David prayed, we too can pray and ask God for mercy.

CLIMAX: David realized that the punishment for his sin was death but God promised that David will not die but the child he and Bethseha had will die. David confessed his sins and asked God to forgive him.

CONCLUSION: David responded to God’s mercy by writing Psalm 51.

CHALLENGE: David had done something wrong and realized that he needed to come to God in repentance. God wants you and me to come to Him in repentance when we do wrong. When we do something wrong, our first thought is to try to hide it. There is no need to try to hide from God but God’s love for us is so much that He wants to restore us even when sin.

CARRY-OVER ACTIVITY: When you see yourself doing the wrong things, quickly confess your wrongdoing, ask God to have mercy on you and forgive you.

INVITATION: You can only ask God for mercy if you call upon the Lord to save you (Romans 10:13).

LESSON FORTY ONE (41)
TOPIC: BENEFITS OF A GRATEFUL HEART 11: FAVOUR

BIBLE TEXT: Esther 1-2.

MEMORY VERSE: Proverbs 8:35 “For whoso findeth me findeth life, and shall obtains favour of the Lord;”

LESSON AIM: The children will learn that God favors those who are blameless before Him.

CHILD-RELATED TRUTH: Be blameless before God.

INTRODUCTION: Children! Have you ever hear someone say, I sure was lucky to pass my exams or it was luck. Many people think when something good happen to them that it is by luck. Good things do not just happen like that. God’s hands are always there directing the affairs of our lives. There was once a Queen who lived that was not qualified to be one but through God’s favor, she became a Queen.

PROGRESSION OF EVENT

1. King Ahasuerus who ruled over 127 provinces from India to Ethiopia threw a banquet for 180 days to show the wealth of his kingdom.
2. Queen Vashti also threw a banquet for the women and the king sent for her to come to his own banquet to show off her beauty but she refused to go.
3. The king was furious and his wise men advise him to dethrone Vashti as queen and replace her with another so that the women of their kingdom will respect their husbands.
4. They also advised the king to hold a beauty pageant for young virgins to select a new queen and the king was pleased with the idea.
5. Esther the cousin of Mordecai whom he raised after her parents died was also a participant in the beauty pageant and she pleased the keeper of the women, Hegal and he favored her.
6. Mordecai told Esther not to tell the people that she was a Jew and she obeyed.
7. The preparation for the young women to meet with the king was twelve months and they were to take with them anything they wanted.
8. Esther did not take anything except what Hegal suggested for her to take along.

GOSPEL CONNECTION: Esther did things that pleased Hegal and he favored her. You and I can find favor with God if we do things that please Him. No one is truly blameless before God because we are all sinners and the punishment for our sin is death which is separation from God for all eternity (Romans 6:23). It is only if you believe in the sacrifice of Jesus for sin (He died on the cross, was buried and rose again on the third day that we can have our sins forgiven.

CLIMAX: The king was attracted to Esther more than any other of the young women and she won his favor and approval and he made her queen in place of Vashti.

CONCLUSION: The king gave a great banquet and named it the “Esther Banquet.” He proclaimed a holiday and distributed gifts.

CHALLENGE: If you already receive Jesus as Lord and Saviour, God will give you favor. Luke 2:52 says that Jesus found favor before God and man. You too can find favor wherever you go as long as your faith is in Jesus and you live a blameless life.

CARRY-OVER ACTIVITY: Always try to live a blameless life.

INVITATION: Accept Jesus as Lord and Saviour so that He can give you favor (John 1:12).

LESSON FORTY ONE (42)
TOPIC: BENEFITS OF A GRATEFUL HEART:
UNPRECEDENTED WISDOM

BIBLE TEXT: 1 Kings 3:1-16.

MEMORY VERSE: Job 12:13 “With Him are wisdom and strength, He hath counsel and understanding.”

LESSON AIM: The children will know that wisdom comes from God.

CHILD-RELATED TRUTH: God wants you to have wisdom.

INTRODUCTION: Children! What is wisdom? Wisdom is knowledge applied That means that you can be smart without being wise, but you can not be wise without being smart. Wisdom is making the right decisions and knowing what things you know. How do we know what choices are best for us? Can we make ourselves wise? The story of King Solomon is a great opportunity to contemplate wisdom and recognize that it is a treasure from God.

PROGRESSION OF EVENT
1 The people of Israel sacrificed at the high places because there was no house built for the Lord.
2 King Solomon loved the Lord and walked in the ways of his father David except that he sacrificed and burnt incense in high places.

3. King Solomon went to Gibeon to sacrifice to the Lord there because that was the great high place.
4. Solomon offered a thousand burnt offerings on the altar there.
5. One night while King Solomon was sleeping. something very wonderful happened, God spoke to him in a dream.
6. Solomon was very young and knew he did not have the experience or the wisdom to govern a nation of people.
7. God was very pleased with Solomon’s humility and request.

GOSPEL CONNECTION: God knows everything and what we need and His love towards us is so great that He sent His Son Jesus to the earth to live a perfect life and die a perfect death by shedding His life blood so that we can be set free from our sins if we accept Him as our Lord and Saviour (1 Corinthians 15:3-4). Solomon wanted to know how to rule well.

CLIMAX: I will give it to you. You shall be the wisest man who ever lived.

CONCLUSION: And, I am going to give you the things you did not ask for which included riches and long life.

CHALLENGE: We may think we are wise, but in our own eyes that just amounts to pride. True wisdom comes from God and He wants to desire and ask for it. Wisdom comes from paying attention to God and thinking of His will. God is happy to grant us wisdom. As a child who has put his/her trust in Jesus as Saviour, when you pray, listen to God, and study His word of truth(the Bible), you will know more about making positive choices and doing things that will be a blessing to yourself and others.

CARRY-OVERACTIVITY: Before going to bed every night this week, pray for something that you will do to benefit others.

INVITATION: You need to put your trust in Jesus as Saviour to get wisdom from God (John 5:24).

LESSON FORTY THREE(43)
TOPIC: BENEFITS OF A GRATEFUL HEART 13: PERFORMANCE OF EXPLOITS

BIBLE TEXT: 1 Samuel 17:1-51

MEMORY VERSE: 1 John 4:4 “Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them because He who is in you is greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world”.

LESSON AIM: Children will rely on God’s power to do mighty and wonderful things.

CHILD-RELATED TRUTH: God wants you to do wonderful things through Jesus.

INTRODUCTION
Can you imagine being an anointed King and you cannot rule? David has been chosen to be King but it is not God’s time for him to be King over Israel. In today’s story, Saul is still the King of Israel and David spends some of the time with King Saul and the rest of his time in Bethlehem tending his father’s sheep.

PROGRESSION OF EVENT

1. While David was in his father’s field tending his sheep, King Saul and his army were preparing for a battle against the Philistines.
2. Each army sat still to see which one will make the first move and the army of Israel got entertainment from the Philistines every day.
3. Goliath the leader of the Philistines’ army was taunting Israel and challenging one person to fight him.
4. The army of Israel lived in fear every day because Goliath came out every morning and evening for forty days shouting and challenging Israel to fight him.
5. Back in Bethlehem Jesse was thinking of his three oldest sons and sent David to give them provisions.
6. When David arrived at the army’s camp in time for Goliath’s daily taunt.
7. David must have been surprised by the fear of Saul’s army and began to questions, then decided he was going to fight Goliath.
8. David stood before King Saul bravely and told of his exploits in killing a lion and a bear who tried to kill the sheep he was taking care of.
9. King Saul agreed for David to fight Goliath and gave him his armor to wear but David was unable to move around in the armor and wore his own clothes.
10. David chose five smooth stones from a stream and place them in his shepherd’s bag.
11. Goliath mocked David for coming to fight him in the name of the Lord.

GOSPEL CONNECTION: Mocking is a sin and sin is your biggest enemy and it separates you from God. We all have sinned and are separated from God forever. Jesus fought the battle against sin when He was nailed to the cross for your and mine sins. Jesus died in our place to take the punishment for our sins. The battle against sin was won when Jesus died on the cross, was buried, and rose again on the third day. Today, you can now have your sin forgiven if you believe in the Lord Jesus as Saviour. (Romans 6:23).

CLIMAX: Goliath came to meet David, David took one smooth stone from his bag and placed it in his sling, and wound it up, the stone hit Goliath in the middle of his forehead and he fell down and died.

CONCLUSION: David took off Goliath’s sword and caught off his head. CHALLENGE: David was willing to trust God and His power. God used David to fight against the enemy of Israel. Sometimes we all have some enemy that either causes us to be afraid, sad, angry etc. Just as God gave David the power to fight the enemy of Israel, the Holy Spirit living in your heart will give you the power to fight whatever battle that comes to your life and do exploits.

CARRY-OVER ACTIVITY: Allow God to give you the power to have faith in Him to do exploits.

INVITATION: Put your trust in Jesus and receive Him as Lord and Saviour (John 1:12).

LESSON FORTY FOUR (44)
TOPIC: BENEFITS OF A GRATEFUL HEART 13:
FULFILMENT OF DESTINY

BIBLE TEXT: Genesis 41:12-40.

MEMORY VERSE: Habakkuk 2:3 “For the vision is yet for an appointed time; But at the end it shall speak, and shall not lie. Though it tarries, wait for it; Because it will. surely come, It will not tarry.”

LESSON AIM: The children will know that it is only God that can fulfill everything in their lives.

CHILD-RELATED TRUTH: God wants you to rely on Jesus for everything.

INTRODUCTION: Class! Can some of you tell us the craziest dream you have ever had? (Give each child room to answer). Do you usually know what your dream means? Joseph even from childhood had always had dreams which he told his brothers that made them very jealous of him. They plotted to kill him but instead they sold him into slavery. Joseph was thrown into prison when Poitiphar’s wife told lies about him. Joseph met Pharaoh’s cupbearer and baker in prison and interpreted their dreams correctly. How many obstacles were between Joseph and the promise of the dreams he had as a youth? (He was a slave, he was in prison, he was in a foreign country, and the cupbearer forgot him). Let us find out how long it took Joseph to overcome all those obstacles.

PROGRESSION OF EVENT

1. The cupbearer that was restored to his job in Pharaoh’s palace forgot all about Joseph until years later.
2. Pharaoh had two strange dreams, and all the wise men sorcerers, and magicians could not interpret the dreams.
3. When the cupbearer heard, and suddenly remembered how Joseph in prison interpreted his dream and that of the baker two years earlier.
4. He went to Pharaoh and told him about Joseph, who was then brought before Pharaoh to hear the dream.
5. Joseph gave God all the credit for helping him interpret dreams when Pharaoh told him that he heard that he could tell him the meaning of his dreams.
6. Pharaoh described his dreams to Joseph that he was standing by the river Nile when suddenly seven fat healthy cows came out of the water, then came seven thin ones and ate up the healthy ones.
7. In Pharaoh’s second dream, he saw a stalk of wheat with seven healthy heads of grain growing and suddenly dried-up heads of grain grew up and swallowed up the healthy ones.
8. Joseph interpreted the dreams as the same that there would be seven years of abundance in Egypt and seven years of famine and advised that in the seven years of abundance, food should be stored up.

GOSPEL CONNECTION: There were many people in Joseph’s life who wanted to cause him harm, either by killing him or putting him in prison but God never left Joseph because He loved Joseph. God is always with you and me because He loves us.

CLIMAX: Pharaoh liked the idea so much that he put Joseph in a government high position in Egypt as second in command and in charge of storing food for the years of famine and feeding the people during those years.

CONCLUSION: Pharaoh told Joseph that it is only in his house that he would be greater than Joseph.

CHALLENGE: Remember God was always with Joseph even during his suffering. God used what people planned for evil and brought good things from it. We should remember Joseph when the odds seem against us in life. God will still work on His plan, and we can overcome all obstacles.

CARRY-OVER ACTIVITY: This week, anytime you notice God directing you to do something, praise Him for showing you the way.

INVITATION: God can only direct or show you things if you call upon the name of Jesus and be saved (Romans 10:13).

DAILY DEVOTIONAL
Sunday: Psalms 78:33-36
Monday: Psalms 78:37-40
Tuesday: Psalms 78:41-44
Wednesday: Psalms 78:45-48
Thursday: Psalms 78:49-52
Friday: Psalms 78:53-56
Saturday: Psalms 78:57-60

Open Heavens 2024 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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