Jesus Paid it All! Children’s Message on God’s Grace and Romans 5
Main Objective: What does it cost to get to Heaven? How can we achieve salvation? Well, the bad news is that we all fall short of God’s glory, and no one is capable of earning or buying grace. Because of Adam, we are born into sin, which bears the consequence of death. The good news is that through Jesus, we have eternal life and righteousness! Jesus pays the price and takes away our sin. Through one man, evil came, but through another man, we have hope. This message emphasizes the hope and wonder of grace, granted through God’s love. Use some simple and fun “reward and consequence” techniques to communicate the principle.
More Bible Teaching Ideas
- Romans 5:12-21 Sunday School Lesson
- Children’s Sermon Lesson on Adam’s Sin
- Bible Lesson for Kids on Romans 5
- Craft Ideas on Jesus Paid it All
Law/Gospel Theme: This is essentially the Gospel in a nutshell! The law points out our faults and sins, reminding us that all have inherited sinful nature from the Fall. Thanks be to God, we have salvation and redemption through Jesus Christ our Lord, who gives us His righteousness! We don’t get the punishment we deserve for our sins, but instead enjoy the free gift of God’s grace and eternal life.
Optional Materials: Some sort of small treat for children
Bible Passage: Romans 5:12-21
Children’s Sermon Lesson
Message: Note: As with most messages, the details of how you choose to communicate this are adaptable and should cater to timing as well as to your audience and student needs.
Greet children, and challenge them with an increasingly tough “high-stakes” task…
Hello, children of God!
I have a challenge for you. Are you ready? I am going to give you some questions, and I want you to answer them for me. (Alternatively, provide a simple physical challenge for students. I have a special treat for you if you can answer all of the questions correctly! Okay, now here’s a catch: if one person does not answer the question (or complete the task) correctly, no one will get the treat. Be careful! You don’t want to ruin it for all of your friends…
Take a minute to ask several questions of children, or provide simple tasks. Depending on timing, start with easier elements, and work up to more challenging ones. Eventually make it too tough to answer so that someone misses.
Oh no! You missed it…well, you know the rules. Nobody gets the treat now. Too bad you didn’t know the answer. Now everyone will miss out!
Well, you know what? I’m feeling generous right now. You didn’t earn the candy, but I think I’m going to give it to you anyway! I care about you enough to let you have this reward, even when you didn’t do what I originally asked. Here you go… (Pass out treats/candy)
So, instead of getting what you deserved (the punishment I warned), you got something good.
You know what? This is similar to the way it works with faith. We don’t get what we deserve, which is a great thing! The Bible tells us that we are sinful. Because of Adam, we are born with sin, and we naturally make mistakes. We do the things we shouldn’t. We should be punished for the mistakes that we make. But Jesus changes all that. Jesus lived a perfect life. He never sinned, because He lived the life we couldn’t. He never sinned, but then He took the weight of all our sin, and died in our place. Because of that, the bad things we do aren’t counted against us! That evil nature we “inherit” from Adam gets replaced by the goodness of Jesus. Sin came through one person, but righteousness was given through another! God gives us grace, which means we get what we don’t deserve. He gives us freedom and blessings in the midst of our sin and struggle.
I chose to give you the prize today, even though you didn’t “earn” it. We cannot earn salvation. One person messed things up and gave you a punishment, but I chose to give you good things anyway. One person messed up and gave humans sin, but God lets us receive gifts from Him, because of His Son Jesus. We can thank God every day for His forgiveness and love!
Why don’t we thank Him for that now?
Prayer:
(Have kids repeat each line)
Dear God,
Thank you for your mercy and grace
We don’t get the punishment we deserve
But the grace you give.
Help us to be comforted by your forgiveness
And to forgive others.
Thank you for your love
We love you, God!
In Jesus name, Amen!
Bible Verses/story to Reference:
Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned— 13 for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law. 14 Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come.
15 But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died through one man’s trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many. 16 And the free gift is not like the result of that one man’s sin. For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brought justification. 17 For if, because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ.
18 Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. 19 For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous. 20 Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, 21 so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
-Romans 5:12-21