40. Jesus Is Our Savior

Materials Needed

• small, beautifully wrapped box with slip of paper inside that reads, “Eternal Life - Heaven”
• plastic play food (or make your own play food with paper and crayons and a few cans from the cupboard)
• play money (or make your own play money with paper and crayons)

Setting The Stage

To help your children understand that a price had to be paid for us to get into Heaven, spend some time at a pretend grocery store. The whole issue really is that a price had to be paid for us to get into Heaven, but we could not pay the price ... Jesus had to pay the price for us. Jesus in turn gave Heaven to us as a gift ... we just need to say we are sorry for our sins and thank him for the gift.

Project

A mini grocery store needs to be established. Plastic or pretend food and money are the basics. The children get to go “shopping.” When they are finished making their choices, you ask them to “pay the price” (using those exact words). When they cannot produce the money to “pay the price”, one adult should bring out some pretend money and “pay the price” for them. After all the shopping is done, sit down and help them understand this principle: They wanted the groceries but couldn’t “pay the price” so you paid it for them. People want to go to Heaven but they can’t “pay the price” so Jesus paid it for them.

Ask them the following questions:

• Why did Jesus need to be the one paying the price? (Because he never sinned - he is perfect)
• What did Jesus do to pay the price? (He died on the cross)
• What does Jesus give to us? (The way to get to heaven if we accept the fact that he has paid the price for us).
• How do we accept the gift? (By saying sorry for our sins and thank you for the gift)

At this point bring out the previously wrapped gift. Hand it to your children but do not let go of the gift until the children say “Thank you” for it. Let the children open it and have the slip of paper read to them. Help the children make the connection with the gift they just received and the gift of eternal life Jesus offers to us. It is just as simple with Jesus’ gift ... we need to say thank you and make it our own.

Song

“Thank You Lord”

(use the original tune or “She’ll be Coming Around the Mountain”)

“Thank you Lord for saving my soul.
Thank you Lord for making me whole.
Thank you Lord for giving to me thy great salvation
so rich and free.

Memory Verse

John 3:16 (simplified)
God loved us so much that he gave Jesus to us, and whoever believes in Jesus will have eternal life. (regular)

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

Prayer

Now would be a good time to say thank you to Jesus for dying on the cross, for paying the price and for giving us the gift of eternal life.