A Global View
“Yeshua summoned them, saying, ‘Allow the little children to come to me, and don’t hinder them, for the Kingdom of God belongs to such as these.’” Luke 18:16
In the summer months, when families travel and visitors arrive, it occurs that every week we have different children sitting in front of us. Such times are a great opportunity to do something different, and to look at our faith in a global and broader perspective.
We sometimes suffer from the harassment of people who do not like that we believe in Yeshua. There were times when our congregations were burned, we were spit upon, they tore up our notebooks or shouted at us as we walked down the street – and all because we believe that Yeshua is the Messiah. And yet, we can meet in the congregation without fear, we can have a Bible at home and read it whenever we want without fear, and we can sing songs of praise to God loudly without fear. This is our experience of faith here in the Land of Israel.
What’s it like to be a believer in other countries? What’s it like to be a believing child in other countries? Does everyone have the same experience as we do? In the process of researching for this lesson, we found the following song on YouTube which expresses what children in different places around the world experience because of their faith: “Kids of Courage: Persecuted Christian Teens around the World” – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wglHA4kW9EA
Use this summer to give the children a broader perspective and a deeper understanding concerning believers – children and adults – in different parts of the world, and about the need for people all over the world to know Yeshua as Lord and Savior. For this purpose, we’ve written a lesson on the believers in Afghanistan, a land that is sometimes heard about in the news. This lesson is a model for lessons about other countries that you can teach about. To make it easier for you to find the information needed for lessons, we’ve attached on our website a base for research on other countries. In addition, we added a few other sites below where we found useful information on congregations in different countries around the world and how to pray for them.
We also added a stencil of a passport that you can print for each child, so that every time the children come to class you can stamp it as if they had just gotten off the plane in a country you intend to teach about. The stamps will accumulate over the summer and will be a good reminder for the children about the countries you have learned about.
The guiding verses for these lessons, which are highly recommended that the children memorize, are:
- Matthew 28:19-20: “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
- Isaiah 2:3: “Many peoples will come and say, ‘Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the temple of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths.’ The law will go out from Zion, the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.”
Sources of information about the various countries:
- In the past, when the HaHotam Publishers issued the magazines ‘From Time to Time’, on the back of each booklet they talked about the believers and their congregations in different countries around the world. You can use this information as a basis for learning about the congregations in these countries, in addition to material that is very easy to find online.
- Websites
http://www.operationworld.org/country-lists
http://prayercast.com/nations.html
http://www.persecution.com/public/prayermap.aspx?clickfrom=%3d6d61696e5f6d656e75
An abbreviated version of the lesson
Lesson Aim
The children will learn about believers in different places in the world and will pray for the believing children in these countries.
Scripture Text
Matthew 28:19-20, Isaiah 2:3
Focus
Welcome the children with an Afghan welcome as they enter the classroom: take hold of their right hand, place your left hand on your heart and bow slightly. Say this Arabic blessing: “Ahala WaSahala”. Pretend as if you have to be careful not to be seen coming in. Make sure they are quiet. Stamp their “passport”.
Tell the kids they’re in Afghanistan right now. For older children you can show them on a map where Afghanistan is and its size.
Discover
The majority of the book of Acts talks about Saul the Apostle.
? What’s written about him there?
That he went to many cities to tell people about Yeshua.
Open your Bibles to the book of Acts chapter 16, and find some of the places where Saul preached the gospel. The children can browse through the rest of the book’s chapters and find other places that he visited.
Responding
God loves very much every person He created. He loves – pass from child to child and say his name – and died on the cross in order to forgive you of your sins. He also loves those in Afghanistan and died on the cross in order to forgive them of their sins, although they look different from us, speak a different language than ours, sing different songs than ours, and they sometimes have different opinions than ours.
Do you tell your friends about Yeshua?
Do you tell other children about what you are learning from the Word of God?