Dear Parent,

The goal of this week’s lesson is to teach your child about God’s love and light.  As the scripture says, "It is a treasure, it is given to us, and it so very resilient.

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Materials Needed: Clay and 2 flameless candles

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Bible Scripture: 2 Corinthians 4:6-7

For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness”, made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.  But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.  We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; stuck down, but not destroyed. 

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Today’s Script:

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What does this candle make you think of?

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(Let your child answer.)

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Yes – light helps us TO SEE.  Light GUIDES our way.  Do you know what else this candle makes me think of?

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Jesus!!!

 

Jesus helps me TO SEE God’s love and forgiveness.  Jesus GUIDES my way as I make decisions throughout the day.

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One of my favorite scriptures is, “For God, who said, 'Let light shine out of darkness', made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ". 

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What does that mean?

 

Well, everywhere we go during the day, God gives us His light that shines in our hearts.  As we open the door for someone, as we brighten a friend’s day, as we work hard at school and at our jobs, as we talk to people we encounter throughout our day, we are actually shining God’s light, right?

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So, if the candle reminds us of God's light and love, where should we keep it that will remind us of our hearts? 

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The bible has an answer for that question too.

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It says, “we have this treasure <God's light and love> in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.”

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Can we make a jar of clay together? 

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Let’s get started!

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(Make a jar together.  Decorate the sides by carving designs in them.  Make sure that the flameless candle fits inside the jar.)

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 Now, we can put our light in our jar of clay - just like God put His light and love in our hearts.  

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It is beautiful!  Let's learn some more about this jar of clay too.

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In fact, the bible says that, like the sides of the jar, our hearts will “be hard-pressed but not crushed”, which means we will have hard days but not so hard that we can’t handle it.

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If we look at some more of the clay that we made the jar from, we can press it and push it, but it can't be crushed or shattered, can it? 

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(Press and push on the clay.)

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Well, neither can our hearts be crushed or shattered when they hold God's love and light.

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So, on good days, we can look at our jar of clay and notice how bright God’s light is.

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And, on hard days, we can look at our jar of clay and notice how bright God’s light still is!

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Finally, on any day, we can look at the jar, be reminded of our hearts and know that we won’t be crushed or destroyed or alone away from God...EVER!

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The jar of clay is quite a good place to keep this candle - just like our hearts are quite a good place to keep God's love and light.

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Should we make another jar of clay with a light?  Who should we give it to as a reminder of our hearts with God's light and love? 

 

 (Let your child answer.  Have fun and Godspeed as you make another jar of clay and distribute it with the flameless candle, accordingly.)