China Sunday School Lesson Plan

Published on September 28th, 2012

China

Use the following suggestions to teach a Sunday school class or other group a lesson about the persecution of Christians.

Feedback: Tell us what you think about it and share with us other ways you used it. You can include your comments about your experience in the comment section or send a message on the contact page.

Objectives
Students will learn that Christians can praise God even when they are afraid, and that they can trust God in the midst of trials and struggles.

Introduction
Teach the children to say “Jesus loves me” in Chinese (Yeh-soo ai woh; “ai” is pronounced like the word “eye.”) Sing the song “Jesus Loves Me,” substituting the Chinese words for the parts of the song that use those words.

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Text Message Fellowship

Published on September 27th, 2012

Text Message

“At that time a great persecution arose against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria….Therefore those who were scattered went everywhere preaching the word” (Acts 8:1,4).

War and persecution have driven many people from Afghanistan. “Thousands of Afghans now live all over the world,” said a recent report from a VOM contact. As a result, Afghans now help Christians in eight countries produce radio programs to reach other Afghans with the good news of Jesus. (Almost all the people in Afghanistan are Muslims.)

Some Afghan listeners are coming to Christ after listening to the programs. But since so few Afghans are Christians, the new believers often don’t have fellowship with other Christians. “To address this need, we send Bible verses by text messages to listeners,” said the VOM contact. “These texts become their ‘daily bread’. Some tell us they share them with their friends.”

To Think About: What would it be like if none of your friends or neighbors were Christians? What if none of them knew about Christmas, the Bible, or Christian songs? What if you also did not have a church to attend? That is the situation for some Afghan Christians. Pray that God will encourage them in their faith.

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“Guns Are Our Laws”

Published on September 25th, 2012

Blessed are the peacemakers

The Voice of the Martyrs received the following report from a Christian in a Muslim country.

Two Muslim tribes live in different villages. They have been enemies for many years. There is just one road to the second tribe’s village, and it passes through the area where the first tribe lives.

For several years, the first tribe has not allowed people from the second tribe to pass through their territory to get to a city. The second tribe could not go buy food or medicine. So the second tribe hired some helpers from outside the area to deliver goods to them.

Christians from outside the villages visited the tribes to try to help them. “Guns are our laws,” they told the visitors. The Christians also noticed that women in the tribes have particularly hard lives.

“Do remember these people in your prayers,” the Christians asked VOM.

Pray that the tribes will open their roads to their neighbors and their hearts to God’s love.

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Perpetua

Published on September 24th, 2012

Long ago, Roman rulers persecuted early Christians in Africa. Perpetua, a Christian woman in her 20s, was imprisoned in Carthage with other Christians. Her father did not follow Christ. He begged her to sacrifice to Roman idols as the rulers demanded. “Have pity, my daughter, on my gray hairs,” he pleaded.Perpetua tried to comfort her father, but she refused to sacrifice to idols. In A.D. 203, she and her friends died for their faith in Christ.

Note: The Torchlighters: The Perpetua Story is a children’s DVD. Find out more about Torchlighters DVDs here. Preview is recommended before showing to younger children.

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Making Friends

Published on September 21st, 2012

Some Christians in a Muslim country wanted to visit a village where Muslims lived. The area had been closed to outsiders “for centuries.” There seemed to be no way for visitors to get the Muslims to trust them.

But then a natural disaster damaged the land in the area. Outside groups tried to take food and help to the area, but the local people robbed their trucks. No one wanted to help the unfriendly villagers.

A group of Christians decided to walk to the village. They wanted to make friends with the Muslims and take a prayer walk around the region, asking God to help the people. They walked for about seven hours to reach the village. The residents were surprised that anyone would go to so much trouble to visit them.

Please pray for the villagers.

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