A Map for the Gospel Using the Romans Road

STICKY STATEMENT

The Gospel is God’s greatest gift.

LESSON OBJECTIVE

Children will develop a clear understanding of the Gospel message for salvation which can lead to a salvation decision and an expression of gratefulness.

LESSON OVERVIEW

Through the verses used in the Romans Road, the Gospel message is clear. Because we are all sinners, we are separated from God. God’s gift, through Christ’s death, is salvation. Those who believe in Jesus receive salvation. In this lesson, children will be given the opportunity to believe in Jesus. Christian children will be given an opportunity to express their thankfulness to God for their salvation.

KEY VERSE

Romans 5:8

DEFINITIONS

Righteous: “right with God”

Sin: “anything we think, say, or do that disobeys God”

Eternal Life: “living forever with God in heaven”

Confess: “to tell God what you already believe”

TEACHER’S CHECKLIST

A PowerPoint is available for this lesson.

Index cards (one for each child) (Hook)

Pencils (one for each child) (Hook and Next Steps)

A ruler (Hook)

Romans Road sign (Lesson Content)

Five “mailboxes” (Lesson Content)

The mailbox addresses (Lesson Content)

Five envelopes (Lesson Content)

The envelope address labels (Lesson Content)

Romans Road verse slips (one for each envelope) (Lesson Content)

The Romans Road map (Lesson Content and Connection)

Optional: A roll of plastic tablecloth (Lesson Content)

Optional: White duct tape (Lesson Content)

Custom Romans Road postcards (Next Steps)

GENERAL LESSON INSTRUCTIONS

Teacher’s Note: This lesson is the first of two lessons in a series called “Gospel: The Greatest Gift of God.” This lesson is designed to share the truth of the Gospel so children can trust Christ as Savior. The second lesson is designed to help the children use what they learned to share the Gospel with others. This lesson suggests the use of many props. Some will need to be created. Feel free to be as simple or elaborate as you would like with your props. Since both of the lessons in this series use similar props, it is recommended that the two lessons be taught back to back and that you use the props for both lessons.

Begin by posting the Romans Road sign in the room. In this lesson, you will be traveling along the “Romans Road” and stopping at five different mailboxes to discover a verse and explain its meaning. For a visual effect, either bring five mailboxes (if available) or create five mailboxes from cardboard boxes. Again, be as simple or elaborate as you wish.

Use the grey address cards to label each mailbox with an “address” that corresponds with the verses from the Romans Road (i.e., 310 Romans Rd., 323 Romans Rd., 58 Romans Rd., 623 Romans Rd., 10910 Romans Rd.). The address cards are available at the end of this lesson.

Address labels to place on the envelopes have been provided for you. They have been formatted to fit on Avery template #94207 (2" x 4" labels) so you could print them and stick them on an envelope. If you choose not to use the labels, write the five addresses on five different envelopes and draw the symbols on the envelopes as well. Print out the Romans Road verse slips in the version of your choice and cut them apart. Place the Romans Road verse slips into the corresponding envelope, place the envelopes in the appropriate mailbox, and lift the flag to indicate there is mail in the box.

If you choose not to have mailboxes, you could have someone deliver the letters to you throughout the lesson drawing attention to the return address as the Scripture reference. You could say something like, “The return address on this envelope says it came from 323 Romans Rd. Let’s see what it says.”

Optional: If your budget allows, set up a more creative environment for both of the lessons in this Gospel series. In addition to the mailboxes, use a roll of black plastic tablecloth to create a “road” on the floor of your room. Tape the tablecloth to the floor and use white duct tape to create the dashes on the road. Place your mailboxes along the road.

Fun Fact: The QR code located on the artwork for this Gospel series is a live link that will take you to a website with a “4-minute Crash Course Video” designed to teach you how to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

HOOK

We are going to start our lesson tonight with a fun little activity. Everyone needs an index card and a pencil. [Give an index card and pencil to each child.]

How many of you think you can draw a perfectly straight line? [Allow for responses.] The challenge for tonight is to draw a perfectly straight line that is exactly 2.75 inches (6.985 cm) in length. You cannot use anything but the notecard and your writing utensil to accomplish the task. So, draw the best 2.75-inch (6.985 cm) line that you can. We will check and see how some of you did when you are done.

You have about 30 seconds to draw your line. Go! [Allow the children to draw for thirty seconds.]

Does anyone think they were able to draw a straight line that is exactly 2.75 inches (6.985 cm) in length?

Teacher’s Note: Allow a few to come up and measure their attempts. Remember, on the off chance that a child actually drew a line 2.75 inches (6.985 cm) in length, you asked them to draw one that is perfectly straight.

Was anyone able to measure up to the task? No, we all fell short. Well, some of your lines were too long, but you fell short of perfection. Hold onto your cards because we will be talking about them later.

Tonight’s lesson is the first lesson in a two-part series called “Gospel: The Greatest Gift of God.” The two lessons in this series are designed to help you know the truth about the Good News of Jesus and then be able to share that Good News with someone else.

LESSON CONTENT

[Show visual #1: the picture of a road map.] Can someone tell me what this is? [Allow children to answer.] That’s right; it’s a map. What are maps used for? [Allow for a few responses.] Those are some good answers. People often use maps to get to unfamiliar places.

[Show visual #2: The Romans Road map and/or hold up your actual Romans Road map.] Here is a special map with a special road on it that includes some interesting stops. In the Bible, God has provided us a map, of sorts, that leads us to God’s greatest gift. We will be following the map and discovering what God’s Word says about the greatest gift anyone could receive.

According to our map, our first address is 310 Romans Rd. [Go to the first mailbox labeled 310 Romans Rd. and pull out the envelope.] Let’s see what we find in the box. There is a letter in here. Do you want to see what’s inside? Who would like to open and read this letter to us?

Teacher’s Note: Choose a child to open the envelope and read Romans 3:10. When the child is done reading, have him/her return to his/her seat. If you are using the Younger Adaptation, ask a child what symbol is on the envelope, and then read the verse yourself. After you read the verse, ask the children why they think that symbol is on the envelope.

Our first stop on the Romans Road doesn’t really say anything about the Gospel being God’s greatest gift, does it? It seems to be the opposite. When we read this verse, it just gives us some bad news. There is no one who is righteous. [Show visual #3: the definition of righteous.] The word “righteous” just means “right with God.” Romans 3:10 tells us no one is right with God.

[Show the children how long 2.75 inches (6.985 cm) is on the ruler.] This is how long 2.75 inches (6.985 cm) is. Were any of you able to draw your line exactly 2.75 inches (6.985 cm) long on your own? [Allow them to answer.] Nope, none of the lines were perfect.

How many of you were close to drawing a line 2.75 inches (6.985 cm) long? [Allow for responses.] How many of you were way off? [Allow for responses.] No one was able to do it, so no matter how close you got to 2.75 inches (6.985 cm), your line wasn’t perfect; it wasn’t right.

When it comes to being right in life, none of us are 100% perfect all the time; we don’t measure up to God’s standard. That is what this verse is saying. No one is righteous; no one is right with God.

Let’s move to the next stop on our map to see if it will give us some more information.

Our map says the next address is 323 Romans Rd. Let’s see what we find in this box. [Go to the mailbox labeled 323 Romans Road and pull out the envelope.] This doesn’t look like a gift either. Let’s see what this letter has to say.

Teacher’s Note: Choose a child to open the envelope and read Romans 3:23. When the child is done reading, have him/her return to his/her seat. If you are using the Younger Adaptation, ask a child what symbol is on the envelope, and then read the verse yourself. After you read the verse, ask the children why they think that symbol is on the envelope.

Romans 3:23 tells us that everyone is a sinner. Have you ever done something you weren’t supposed to do? Have you ever not done something you were supposed to do? Of course, you have; we all have sinned. [Show visual #4: the definition of sin.] “Sin” is “anything we think, say, or do that disobeys God.”

We are all sinners, and we have all sinned. Because that is true, that means we are not perfect. We understood that from Romans 3:10. This verse, Romans 3:23, says that we “fall short.” Fall short of what? [Allow for an answer.] We all fall short of the glory of God. Maybe an illustration will help.

How many of you think that you could jump all the way across a basketball court in one jump? How about across this room in one jump? Who would like to try? [Have volunteers see how far they can jump.] No one could, not even the best athlete in the world. If jumping across this room was the goal, and each of us tried, we would all fall short of that goal. Some would jump farther than others, but we would all fall short of the goal. In life, we all fall short of the glory of God; none of us are perfect.

Let’s see what the next stop on our map tells us. The address is 58 Romans Rd. [Go to the mailbox labeled 58 Romans Road and pull out the envelope.] Would someone be willing to read this one?

Teacher’s Note: Choose a child to open the envelope and read Romans 5:8. When the child is done reading, have him/her return to his/her seat. If you are using the Younger Adaptation, ask a child what symbol is on the envelope, and then read the verse yourself. After you read the verse, ask the children why they think that symbol is on the envelope.

Romans 5:8 tells us that God loves us and sent His Son Jesus to die on the cross to pay for our sin. He died for us even though we are sinners. Jesus died, but He didn’t stay dead. He came back to life three days later. Listen to what 1 Corinthians 15:3-4 says about Jesus. [Read 1 Corinthians 15:3-4.] Jesus died, He was buried, and He rose again the third day.

Let’s see if we can learn some more about this. Maybe our next stop can help us understand it even better. [Pull out the map and look at it.] According to the map, our next stop is 623 Romans Rd.

[Go to the mailbox labeled 623 Romans Road and pull out the envelope.] I think we might have found our gift. Let’s see what’s inside.

Teacher’s Note: Choose a child to open the envelope and read Romans 6:23. When the child is done reading, have him/her return to his/her seat. If you are using the Younger Adaptation, ask a child what symbol is on the envelope, and then read the verse yourself. After you read the verse, ask the children why they think that symbol is on the envelope.

The gift of God is eternal life. [Show visual #5: the definition of eternal life.] “Eternal life” means “living forever with God in heaven.” But that is not how the verse begins, is it? The verse starts with bad news. Because we are not righteous and we all fall short of God’s glory, we have to be separated from God. We cannot have a relationship with God because we are not perfect. It says that there is a cost for our sin, and that cost is death.

But Jesus was (and is) perfect and when He died for us, He made the payment for sin. He died in our place. That is the Gospel; that is good news! The Gospel is God’s greatest gift. Jesus paid for our sin so that we wouldn’t have to pay for it on our own. God knew that we could never pay that price. We would always fall short! Jesus was the only One Who could do it for us; He died for us because He loves us.

On your birthday you probably enjoy getting presents, right? [Allow time for the children to answer.] What if someone gave you a gift and you did not take it? What if you just let it sit in the box and never opened it? Did you really accept the gift? What if you tried to pay the person for the gift they gave you? If you paid for it, it wouldn’t be a gift. We can’t do anything to earn this gift or pay for this gift of eternal life.

There is one more mailbox left, but we already found out that the Gospel is God’s greatest gift. Do you think there might be something else we should know about? Let’s look and see. [Go to the mailbox labeled 10910 Romans Road and pull out the envelope.] Would someone like to read what’s in the last envelope?

Teacher’s Note: Choose a child to open the envelope and read Romans 10:9-10. When the child is done reading, have him/her return to his/her seat. If you are using the Younger Adaptation, ask a child what symbol is on the envelope, and then read the verse yourself. After you read the verse, ask the children why they think that symbol is on the envelope.

In order to truly accept God’s greatest gift, Romans 10:9-10 says we must confess with our mouth and believe in our heart. [Show visual #6: the definition of confess.] “Confess” means “to tell God what you already believe.” The truth we confess and accept is that Jesus died for your sins and that He is the only way for you to have eternal life.

One way to remember this is to think about your ABC’s.

●“A” stands for admit; admit that you are a sinner.

●“B” stands for believe; believe that Jesus died and rose again.

●“C” stands for confess or call; confess to God that you are a sinner and that you believe that Jesus died for your sin. Call on Him to save you from your sin; tell Him that you accept His gift of salvation.

The ABC’s will not save you, but they do help us understand how we can believe in Jesus. Remember, the Gospel is God’s greatest gift.

CONNECTION

[Show visual #2 again: The Romans Road Map and/or hold up your Romans Road map.]

Remember, the map that we used tonight comes from the Bible. Following the map, we were able to discover that the Gospel is God’s greatest gift. We learned in Romans 3:10 and 23 that no one is right before God because we are all sinners. We did not deserve to be saved. Do you believe you are a sinner?

In Romans 5:8, we learned that Jesus died for us even though we are sinners. He did this for each of us. Do you realize that this message is for you?

When we got to Romans 6:23, we discovered that the payment for sin is death, but Jesus’ death on the cross made that payment for us. The gift of God is eternal life; this is good news! Did you know God loved you enough to send His Son Jesus to pay the debt for your sin?

Romans 10:9-10 challenged us to believe. Do you believe that Jesus is the only way to have eternal life?

CHOICE

Teacher’s Note: This lesson is designed to share the Gospel message with children. For more help in this matter, reference the file at https://teachersource.wol.org/resource/OBS20/14-3/.

The Gospel is God’s greatest gift. It is amazing, but it’s not yours until you have accepted it for yourself. If you haven’t, what is keeping you from believing today?

With heads bowed and eyes closed, are you willing to admit you are a sinner, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and call upon Him to save you from your sin? If you have never trusted Christ, will you trust Christ today? If you believe in Jesus, will you call on Him right now and tell Him what you believe in your heart and ask Him to be your Savior? [Allow some time for the children to pray.]

Teacher’s Note: If the children need help in verbalizing what they already believe in their hearts, you could help them call on Jesus with the following invitation.

If you’re here today and have never accepted this free gift of eternal life, I invite you to do that right now. If you would like to put your faith in Jesus Christ, I invite you to pray this prayer silently along with me right now. This is not a magic prayer, but simply a way to tell God verbally what you believe in your heart.

With every head bowed and every eye closed, you could tell God what you already believe. You could say,

“Dear God, I know that I am a sinner and fall short of your glory. Nothing I could ever do could change that. But right now, I believe that Jesus died in my place and rose again from the dead. I trust Him to forgive me for my sins. Through faith in Him, I am entering an eternal relationship with You. Thank You for this free gift! In Jesus’ name, amen.”

If you are a believer in Jesus, when was the last time you thanked God for His gift? Will you take the time to thank Him for His great gift right now? [Give the children a chance to pray and either make the choice to trust Jesus as their Savior or thank and praise Him for the gift of salvation.]

If you trusted Christ as Savior tonight, when you get to PT Huddle group, tell your PT coach that you want to share something with the group. Then, just say, “I trusted Jesus Christ tonight.”

NEXT STEPS

Teacher’s Note: Give each child a “Romans Road” postcard so they can share what they learned with a friend or family member.

If you have made the choice to trust Jesus tonight or any time before, one of the best things you can do is share with others how they can find this gift. You can use the Romans Road. Take one of the Romans Road postcards. On the back, write a message to a friend telling them that you believe in Jesus then mail it to them. Be sure to come back next week to learn a way to share with others how the Gospel is God’s greatest gift.

YOUNGER ADAPTATION: (Lesson Content)

Teacher’s Note: Instead of having the children read the verse for each stop along the road, have the children tell what the symbol is on the envelope and have a leader read the verse.

PERSONAL TRAINING TIME

The Goal of the Personal Training Huddle: To help the children articulate that the Gospel is God’s greatest gift through the truths of the Romans Road and understand how they can accept that gift and/or be grateful for the gift of salvation.

Discussion Questions

1. Why is Jesus’ sacrifice called God’s greatest gift to sinners? (Allow the children to share their ideas of why it is the greatest gift.)

2. What five verses are part of the Romans Road? (Answers: Romans 3:10; Romans 3:23; Romans 5:8; Romans 6:23; and Romans 10:9-10. Read each verse and see if any of the children can explain the verse in their own words.)

3. Who will be getting the Romans Road postcard from you? (Have the children think about the person who will receive their card. Have them write their name on the back. Take time to pray for each person who will receive the cards.)

PARENT CONNECTION

Tonight’s lesson was the first lesson in a two-part series called “Gospel: The Greatest Gift of God.” This lesson was designed to help your child know the truth about the Good News of Jesus. The second lesson is designed to help your child share that Good News with someone else.

This week your child learned about the map to the greatest gift. The map is known as the Romans Road and is found in several verses from the Book of Romans. Through their journey, they discovered that the Gospel is God’s greatest gift. The Gospel is the death and resurrection of Jesus!

As we followed the path down the Romans Road, we learned that no one is right before God because we are all sinners (Romans 3:10, 23). We also learned how God’s greatest gift was given to us when Jesus died on the cross for our sin (Romans 5:8).

As a family, this is a great opportunity to talk about how salvation is the Gospel is God’s greatest gift. If your child has not accepted this gift, talk with them about what is keeping them from doing so. If your child trusted Christ, talk to them about how they can be grateful for what God has done for them.

Each child was given a postcard that they can send to a friend with a simple message about how they believe in Jesus.

If you as a parent have not ever made that choice to trust Jesus as Savior and would like to know more, ask your son or daughter about the Romans Road. The verses are listed below. Have your child explain to you the verses they learned. The Romans Road: Romans 3:10; Romans 3:23; Romans 5:8; Romans 6:23; and Romans 10:9-10.

REVIEW QUESTIONS

1. True or False: Romans 3:10 teaches that no one is right before God. (True)

2. True or False: Some of us fall short of God’s glory, according to Romans 3:23. (False; all of us)

3. Romans 3:23 tells us that how many people have sinned? (All)

4. How did God show His love for us? (By sending Jesus to die on the cross for our sins)

5. True or False: Romans 5:8 teaches that Jesus died for us while we were good. (False; while we were sinners.)

6. What does it mean to confess our sins? (Telling God what you already believe)

7. According to Romans 6:23, what is God’s greatest gift? (Eternal life)

8. True or False: Romans 10:9-10 tells us we can be saved from our sin. (True)

9. God’s greatest gift costs us how much? (Nothing)

10. True or False: The A, B, C’s of salvation stand for Admit, Believe, and Confess. (True)

HolidayLesson 1: Celebrate the Gift of Jesus – 2