UpStreet – Summer 2016
WHERE IN THE WORLD
This summer, we get to view the story of Jesus through a man whose life was radically changed when we encountered the story of Jesus. He went from a person who did whatever it took to stop the message of Jesus from spreading to one who ended up writing most of the New Testament of the Bible and dying for his faith in Jesus. This man, as you may have already guessed, is Paul. He went all over the known world preaching the Story of Jesus. We’ll explore where in the world Paul was and how we fit into his story too.
Faith is believing that what Jesus did can change me
Memory Verse: Hebrews 11:1 (NIrV), “Faith is being sure of what we hope for. It is being sure of what we do not see.”
June 5: We’ll kick off the summer with an overview of the four Gospels—Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. We want kids to understand that the Story of Jesus is not just a bunch of stories in the Bible; rather it’s a message of salvation He came to give the world. We’ll go through an overview of the Life of Jesus, discover why He needed to come, and discuss what putting our faith in Jesus means for us 2,000 years later after He walked on our planet.
Bottom Line: The story of Jesus changes everything. God Time Card June Week 1
June 12: We’ll see what happened in Acts 9:1-25 when Jesus appeared to Paul on the road to Damascus. Paul was on his way to stop the message of Jesus from spreading. But Jesus had different plans for Paul. Paul was about to become the one to take the story of Jesus to the rest of the world. This encounter with Jesus completely changed Paul’s life.
Bottom Line: The story of Jesus changes how I see him. God Time Card June Week 2
June 19: We’ll continue Paul’s story in Acts 9:26-31, as we find out what happens when he goes to join up with the other Jesus followers he was known for persecuting. As you can imagine, they were probably a bit frightened to trust Paul. But Barnabas convinced the rest of the disciples that Paul could be trusted. He stood up for Paul who used to be his enemy.
Bottom Line: The story of Jesus changes how I see others. God Time Card June Week 3
June 26: We’ll finish up June with passages in Acts 11 and 13. Paul and Barnabas head to Antioch as they discover that the message of Jesus is starting to spread to people outside of the Jewish community. Many of these new followers of Jesus are in need. The rest of the disciples send Paul and Barnabas on a journey to collect money that will be a huge help to those Jesus followers.
Bottom Line: The story of Jesus changes how I help others. God Time Card June Week 4
July 3: We continue our look at Paul’s journey in Acts 15:1-35 with an important meeting that happened in Jerusalem. Paul and the rest of the disciples were arguing about if people who weren’t Jewish had to become Jewish in order to follow Jesus. At the end, they decide that the story of Jesus is for everyone. Nothing should stand in the way of people coming to faith in Jesus.
Bottom Line: The story of Jesus is for everybody. God Time Card July Week 1
July 10: In Acts 21-36, 25:23-26:32, we find out more about an opportunity that Paul had to share his story with King Agrippa. Paul told King Agrippa that he believed Jesus was the Son of God. That truth was bigger than any other faith story because Jesus actually lived, died, and rose again to save us. This is proof that the Story of Jesus is way bigger than any other story.
Bottom Line: The story of Jesus is bigger than every other story. God Time Card July Week 2
July 17: In the third week, we’ll take a look at something Paul wrote while he was under house arrest. He was hoping to encourage the early churches in Ephesus. In Ephesians 4:32, Paul writes how we should forgive others because of the way God forgave us through Jesus.
Bottom Line: The story of Jesus changes how I forgive others. God Time Card July Week 3
July 24: Next we head to Acts 27:1–28:10 where we discover that Paul was shipwrecked on his way to Rome. This was obviously something Paul never planned, but his faith in God never wavered. God used that whole ordeal to help others put their faith in Jesus.
Bottom Line: The story of Jesus changes how I see my problems. God Time Card July Week 4
July 31: We’ll finish up our “Where in the World” series with something else that Paul wrote to the church at Ephesus. In Ephesians 4:4-6, 15b-16, Paul cast vision for how we need to work together to accomplish everything that God wants us to do.
Bottom Line: The story of Jesus changes how we work together. God Time Card July Week 5
