The Terrible Lie    

The focus of this family time is to use five easy steps to teach our children that even though we don’t always love God, he always loves us. God has a plan to solve the problem of sin, and the plan is Jesus

Learn the Memory Verse together and say it throughout the week to help your family remember and apply what they have learned.

MEMORY VERSE: 

The Lord saw (Make goggles with your hands)

that the human heart (make a heart with hands) 

was only evil. (Thumbs down) 

Genesis 6:5

STEP 1. GATHER!

1. Ask: “Do you ever feel sad or lonely or sick or afraid? Stand up and raise your hand if you have ever felt sad or lonely or sick or afraid?” 
2. You should raise your own hand along with the children. 
3. Say: “Stay standing if you like feeling sad or lonely or sick or afraid. If you don’t like feeling those things — sit down.” 
4. Say: “Everyone, show me using just your face and your hands—not your voice—what it would look like if you were sad.” 
5. Take turns having each person do it again for everyone to see. Pick a specific movement that they did to show they are sad and make everyone else repeat it (e.g., wiping tears from their eyes). Ask everyone to remember that movement. Ask the children to recite together the verse they learned last week about the story. “Genesis 1:1 — ‘In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.’ ” To lead into the theme of today’s story, ask: “Can you remember the last thing God created? Yes, it was people. It was Adam and Eve. God loved Adam and Eve and ‘nothing ever made them sad or lonely or sick or afraid.’ ” 
6. Repeat #5 with the words “lonely,” “sick,” and “afraid.” (Preschool: Stop here and discuss these feelings and skip to #8) 
7. Explain the game: You will go to the center of the circle and close your eyes. While your eyes are closed, each person should choose one of the four movements that represent sad, lonely, sick, or afraid and repeat that movement. You will then call out one of the words— “sad,” “lonely,” “sick,” “afraid”—and then open your eyes. The children who are doing the movement that represents the word you called out sit down. You will keep on doing this until no one is left standing. 
8. At the end of the activity, say: “When God first made the world, no one was sad or lonely or sick or afraid. But all that changed. Let’s read today’s story to find out why right after we worship.” 

STEP 2. WORSHIP!

Elementary:

Preschool:

• Sing and have fun while worshiping then pray. Take a moment here to thank God for your family and your time together!! 

STEP 3. BIBLE!

The Terrible Lie

Read aloud pages 28-36 from The Jesus Storybook Bible or Watch:

STEP 4. DISCUSSION! 

Use these questions and points to have a conversation with your children about the Bible story. 

• At the end of the story, say: “That is how it all changed. The world was perfect and then the world stopped being perfect. 
• God’s perfect world has been spoiled by sin. Now all creation is broken; everyone is sinning, which means they are running away from God and trying to be happy and live without God; nothing is perfect anymore.” 
• On a scale of 1 – 10, 10 being the highest, how much do you think God loved his people at the beginning, when the world was perfect? (Preschool: Do you think God loved his people at the beginning when the world was perfect?)God completely loved his people at the beginning.” 
• On a scale of 1 – 10, 10 being the highest, how much do you think God loves his people now, when the world is not perfect? (Preschool: Do you think God loves his people now, when the world is not perfect?) God still completely loves his people even though the world is not perfect.” 
• Say: “Even though we do not love God or his creation the way we should, even though we sin and make ourselves and others sad and lonely and sick and afraid, and even though we have broken our relationship with God, God still loves us with a ‘Never Stopping, Never Giving Up, Unbreaking, Always and Forever Love.’ ”
  

STEP 5. Pray!

• Pray aloud, thanking God for sending Jesus to solve the problem of sin and for one day making the world perfect again. 
• Ask the children to think of something they have done that is not what God wanted and to pray for forgiveness. At the end, say: “Thank you, God, that even when we sin and make mistakes, you love and forgive everyone who trusts in you—because of Jesus. Amen.”