FIRST QUARTER, WEEK TWELVE

FIRST QUARTER, WEEK TWELVE

In heaven, God is adored and worshiped and on display for forever in His grandeur and majesty. He allowed, through the finished work of Christ on the cross, for redeemed man to be included in that eternal praise. Heaven, therefore, is not about us and our comfort, but ultimately about the worship of God forever. The truth is that there is nothing more satisfying than being in the presence of God who is the source of all good. This is a pleasure we cant even begin to imagine.

Written by: Kimberly Davidson & Steve Wright Graphic Design by: Michele Castillo | www.sonscapecommunications.com Art Design by: Amy Torcasso Editor: Jennifer Sharpe Music: Daniel Renstrom Website: http://www.treasuringchristonline.org | 919-326-3000 | Email: tcc@pray.org
Copyright 2011 by Providence Baptist Church. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means for profit via electronic, mechanical, recording or any other except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher. All Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Dear Sunday School Teacher, Your ministry as a teacher for our Lord has eternal value! When we view our ministry in light of eternity, we see its importance and the privilege that God has entrusted to us. In Psalm 78, the Bible also reminds us of this great calling: One generation commending the Gospel to the next. Treasuring Christ Curriculum: The ministry resource that you hold in your hand is produced and shaped by the local churchThe Bride of Christ. We have three primary strategies that guide us. First, we desire to produce a Gospel-centered curriculum that allows every child, babies to high school students, to study the same Scripture passage each week. Second, we seek to equip parents to thrive in their God-given role as their childs primary discipler. We want this resource, therefore, to connect the church and the home by providing the Connecting Church and Home resource within the curriculum. Third, we want to respond to the desperate need for curriculum resources around the world. We desire to bless the nations with a tool that will help them reach the world with the Gospel of Christ. Quarter One: God on Display Every relationship begins with an introduction. God introducing Himself to us is the heartbeat of this study. God on Display is a major theme that runs throughout all of Scripture. Gods desire to have communion with those He created is seen from cover to cover of the Bible. In the first few pages, we see God communing in the Garden of Eden with Adam and Eve. The theme of communion continues to be seen through the role of the Old Testament tabernacle and temple. In the New Testament, God became incarnate in Jesus, God with us. After Jesus, the Father gives the Holy Spirit to believers and institutes the Church. Fellowship in the Church breeds community, both with God and others made in His likeness. As believers, we are guaranteed that we will spend eternity in communion with God, dwelling in His presence. God is on display: everywhere; in the past, present and future; and in our lives as believers. Let us live continually to display Gods greatness and love.

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QUARTER THEME | GOD ON DISPLAY Revelation 4

W E E K T W E LV E
OVERVIEW FOR YOUR EDIFICATION EARLY CHILDHOOD ELEMENTARY PRE-TEEN/MIDDLE SCHOOL HIGH SCHOOL CONNECTING CHURCH AND HOME RESOURCES

4 5-10 11-15 16-20 21-24 25-29 30 31-34

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OVERVIEW

EARLY CHILDHOOD Treasure Verse Treasure Point

Revelation 4:11 Heaven is about God.

ELEMENTARY

PRE-TEEN/ MIDDLE SCHOOL

Revelation 4:8-11 God displays His glory forever in a place called heaven. One minute, Heaven notes

HIGH SCHOOL

Revelation 4:8c, 11 Heaven is forever, and God gets all the glory. Heaven resource page, Heaven questions, Different kinds of worship, Song time, Weekly Praise resource page, Thank you notes Heaven resource page, gold-colored construction paper, glue sticks or liquid glue, kids scissors, markers, butcher paper, marker, CD player and CD, Weekly Praise resource page, pencils, paper

Revelation 4:6-11 Heaven is about God and how we get to worship Him forever. Disney video, Worship styles video

Jesus Is the Lamb resource page; How long can you go game; Teaching Activities Glory, honor and power; Song time; Crowns resource page Jesus Is the Lamb resource page, cotton balls, liquid glue, wiggly eyes, glitter, markers, watch or timer, CD player and CD, Crowns resource page, crayons, sticker jewels

Watch or timer, notebook paper, pens

Laptop, DVD player, notebook paper, pens

Supplies Needed

OVERVIEW

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FOR YOUR EDIFICATION

Enter the Story Corrie ten Boom was a Holocaust survivor from World War II. This is one of her stories. In her book The Hiding Place, Corrie ten Boom tells of the time she and her sister were forced to remove their clothes and stand naked during a typical Nazi inspection. Corrie stood there feeling defiled and forsaken. Then she remembered something. Jesus hung naked on the cross. Suddenly her emotion turned to wonder and worship when she thought of how Jesus chose to do what they were being forced to do. She leaned forward and whispered to her sister, Betsie, they took His clothes, too. Betsie gasped and said, Oh, Corrie, thats right, and I never thanked Him. Not all worship is easy and entails sitting on a comfortable pew in an air-conditioned building. Through their circumstances, these two young women came to realize this truth. Jesus knew this too. Worship should always be focused on Jesus with a grateful heart for all that He has done for us.

The heart longs not for any of

Gods good gifts, but for God Himself. To see souls final feast. Beyond this there is no quest. Him and know Him and be in His presence is the Words fail. We call it pleasure, joy, delight. But these are weak pointers to the unspeakable experience. John Piper, Desiring God, pgs. 80-81

Story Outline John the Revelator, a man of God and author of the last book of the Bible, wrote a Spirit-directed vision of the worship of heaven. In this weeks Treasure Story, we will see how God is on display in heaven and how His majesty is seen forever. In Revelation 4, the worshipers of heavens throne room present a glorious display of eternal, neverending worship of God through Christ. Their joyful and unceasing praise of an all-glorious God also provides us with a pattern for worship today. Revelation 4:8, 11: And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all around and within, and day and night they never cease to say, Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come! Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.

That Lamb standing in the midst

of the throne of God is Christ our Savior, who was

slain for us. He is seen standing in the midst of the and works and the One who executes all Gods in All the Scriptures, pg. 615

throne because He is the center of Gods decrees purposes. Donald Fortner, Discovering Christ

FOR YOUR EDIFICATION

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WORSHIP IN HEAVEN IS ALL DIRECTED TO GOD THROUGH CHRIST. We learn many attributes of God by studying this chorus sang in Revelation 4:8, 11: God is holy. Holy means set apart, other, perfect. Isaiah, a prophet of God in the Old Testament, also had a vision of God in His throne room, and he described how heavenly creatures worshiped God by crying, Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts, the whole earth is full of His glory! (Isaiah 6:3) The beauty of the Hebrew language (which the Old Testament was written in) is the perfection of the word holy. If a word was repeated in succession three times, it perfects the sentiment being spoken. Jonathan Edwards, an eighteenthcentury preacher, wrote of how in heaven God so fully manifests Himself there [that He] is perfect with an absolute and infinite perfection (The Sermons of Jonathan Edwards, Heaven Is a World of Love, pg. 247). God is eternal. In Revelation 4:8, at the end of this first chorus of worship, the creatures shout of the eternality of God: who was (He is in the past, He created all things), who is (He is in the present, actuality, in the now), and who is to come (He will be present forever, He will continue, He has no end). God is worthy. Worthy means to ascribe worth to something, to put value to something or someone. We treasure so many things in life, but the elders in Revelation are saying that God alone is worthy to receive our praise. C. S. Lewis put it this way, Can anything be added to the conception of being with Christ? For it must be true, as an old writer says, that he who has God and everything else has no more than he who has God only (The Weight of Glory, pg. 34).
FOR YOUR EDIFICATION

God is worthy to receive glory and honor and power. God already has all these things, but as His people, we have the privilege of giving Him glory and honor and power through our worship of Him. He is the all-glorious, honoredabove-all, and all-powerful omnipotent God.

The

interlocked layers of meaning, each of which entails the other. praiseworthiness of the Creator; layer two is Layer one is the manifested

word

glory

carries

two

the praise that this draws from His creatures . . . That for which men give God glory is always something glorious, while the glories that God J. I. Packer, Praying the Lords Prayer, pg. 111 shows man are always intended to call forth praise.

God is the Creator of all things.You will remember that in the Treasuring Christ curriculum, the first part of Quarter One was dedicated to Gods supremacy and His ability and desire to create all things for His glory. The elders are worshiping Him now in part because of these characteristics of God. They exclaim that all things were created only by Him. Revelation 4:3: And He who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian, and around the throne was a rainbow that had the appearance of an emerald. WE SEE THE BEAUTY OF GOD. God is likened to jasper, carnelian, a rainbow and an emerald. Jasper is a hard opaque quartz mostly used in ornamentation and jewelry. Carnelian is a semi-precious red jewel that was used in rings by the Greeks and Romans. A rainbow is a beautiful display of an array of colors brought on by the suns rays. Emerald is a highly valued gemstone and was prized centuries before the time of Christ. With this description, John is not
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saying that God is these things, but he is trying to give us a picture of the beauty of the Lord. Because God cannot be described, the Holy Spirit gave John words and descriptive terms that his readers would understand. The beauty of God is incomprehensible. Revelation 4:5: From the throne came flashes of lightning, and rumblings and peals of thunder, and before the throne were burning seven torches of fire, which are the seven spirits of God. WE SEE THAT GODS PRESENCE IS TERRIFYING. Thunder and lightning are coming from the very throne of God, which implies that the presence of God is powerful and there is splendor in His glory. Moses, the leader of the Israelites out of the country of Egypt, also encountered the glory and splendor of God: On the morning of the third day there were thunders and lightnings and a thick cloud on the mountain and a very loud trumpet blast, so that all the people in the camp trembled (Exodus 19:16). Revelation 4:4, 10: Around the throne were twenty-four thrones, and seated on the thrones were twenty-four elders, clothed in white garments, with golden crowns on their heads. The twenty-four elders fall down before Him who is seated on the throne and worship Him who lives forever and ever. They cast their crowns before the throne.

WE SEE THE ELDERS CASTING DOWN THEIR CROWNS BEFORE THE THRONE OF GOD. This is not because God needs more crowns or is wanting for power. No, it is the elders way of showing humility, esteem and submission to their glorious God. Their crowns were nothing to them in light of the presence of God, the almighty and infinite Display of Heaven. Our greatest possessions will mean nothing to us when we realize that we possess and are possessed by the goodness of God.

It is manifest that these holy

persons in earth and heaven, in thus expressing their desires of the glory of God, have respect to it, not merely as a subordinate end, but as that which is in itself, valuable in the highthese ardent exclamations, they are only giv-

est degree. It would be absurd to say, that in ing vent to their vehement benevolence to their desire that God might be glorified, that so His

fellow-creatures, and expressing their earnest subjects may be made happy by that means. It is evident, it is not so much their love, either to themselves or their fellow-creatures, which they express, as their exalted and supreme regard to the most high and infinitely glorious Being. Created the World, Reason 169

Jonathan Edwards, The End for Which God

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Gospel Truths About God

God is worshiped forever. Heaven is all about God. God created us to worship Him, and He allows us the joy of worshiping Him forever in His presence. The elders, the crowns, the jewel references these are just human terms to help paint a picture of Gods infinite worth of worship.

Heaven is the place where God most fully makes known His
presence to bless . . . The greatest manifestation of Gods presence to bless is seen in heaven, where worship Him. Wayne Grudem, Bible Doctrine, pg. 466 He makes His glory known, and where angels, other heavenly creatures, and redeemed saints all

Gospel Truths About Man

Despite all of the songs that we hear and in some of the books that line the shelves of bookstores, heaven is not about us. Yes, heaven will be a place of no more pain or tears. But those wonderful traits of heaven are for us to ultimately worship the One who makes all of that possible. We are given heaven out of the precious grace of God, not of anything that we have done to earn heaven.

There is no need to be worried by facetious people who try to

make the Christian hope of Heaven ridiculous by saying they do not want to spend eternity symbolic attempt to express the inexpressible. C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity, pg. 137 playing harps . . . All the scriptural imagery (harps, crowns, gold, etc.) is, of course, a merely

Gospel Truths About Redemption

The beauty of redemption is seen in heaven. The Christ, who has completed His work, stands at the right hand of the Father, welcoming His beloved into enter His joy. Jesus made all of this possible for fallen, sinful man by His finished work on the cross. Now, He allows us to enter into His presence, to worship His Father, to know the everlasting effect of the painful cross. Death is defeated. Life is eternal in the presence of the Son.
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For Your Edification (continued)

Psalm 73:25-28 Isaiah 6:1-5 Philippians 2:9-11 Colossians 1:15-23 Psalm 73:25-28: Nevertheless, I am continually with you; you hold my right hand. You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will receive me to glory. Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. For behold, those who are far from you shall perish; you put an end to everyone who is unfaithful to you. But for me it is good to be near God; I have made the Lord GOD my refuge, that I may tell of all your works. Isaiah 6:1-5: In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of His robe filled the temple. Above Him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called to another and said: Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory! And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of Him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. And I said: Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!

Philippians 2:9-11: Therefore God has highly exalted Him and bestowed on Him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Colossians 1:15-23: He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by Him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authoritiesall things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. And He is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything He might be preeminent. For in Him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through Him to reconcile to Himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of His cross. And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, He has now reconciled in His body of flesh by His death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before Him, if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the Gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister.

FOR YOUR EDIFICATION

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In heaven, God is adored and worshiped and on display for forever in His grandeur and majesty. He allowed, through the finished work of Christ on the cross, for redeemed man to be included in that eternal praise. Heaven, therefore, is not about us and our comfort, but ultimately about the worship of God forever. The truth is that there is nothing more satisfying than being in the presence of God who is the source of all good. This is a pleasure we cant even begin to imagine.

My Mission As Teacher:
What crown do you hold on to too tightly? What do you not want to give at the feet of Jesus? Your job? Your wealth? Your position? Your status? Your abilities? Your possessions? God requires we give all (Matthew 10:38-39). Make a list this week of all the ways that God has shown Himself glorious to you. It might be a recent church service, a passage of Scripture that He showed to you in your devotional time or in the birth of a new child to your family. The list goes on and on. God is glorious.

Prayer Points:
Pray that God would allow you to see Him in all things. Find His glory in a brilliant sunset, in a twinkling star, in the roar of the ocean, in the lightning during a storm or in the calm of a cool, mountain morning. Pray that your students would encounter Christ in their own lives and give their lives to Him so they might experience the joy of heaven and the glory of God through Christ.

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Early Childhood
Treasure Story: Revelation 4 Treasure Verse: Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created (Revelation 4:11). Treasure Point: Heaven is about God.

engage
Early Arrival Activity: (15 minutes or until you are ready to begin) Pass out copies of the Jesus Is the Lamb resource page (see resources) to the children as they arrive. Have a large supply of cotton balls and liquid glue. Instruct the children to glue cotton balls to the paper, covering the outline of the lamb. The children can then add to the picture with wiggly eyes, glitter and markers. This activity will help the children know that heaven is where Jesus is. Supplies Needed: Jesus Is the Lamb resource page, cotton balls, liquid glue, wiggly eyes, glitter, markers

The greatest manifestation of Gods presence to

bless is seen in heaven, where He makes His glory known, and where angels, other heavenly creatures, and redeemed saints all worship Him. Wayne Grudem, Bible Doctrine, pg. 466

EARLY CHILDHOOD

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discover
Activity: (10 minutes) How Long Can You Go? See how long the kids can do the following activities: Stand on one leg without using their other foot. Hold their hands straight out to their sides. Not smile (you can try to get them to on this one). Stare without blinking their eyes. Spin around without falling down. Hold their breath. Before you start, have the kids guess how long they can do these activities. Time the kids on each activity and see how long they actually can go. Most will last far less than one minute. After the children have completed these activities, continue to talk with them about time. See if they can guess how long theyve been in the room. Tell them how many months in the current year have passed so far. Talk about how old they are and how old you are. Then tell them that compared with forever, none of these amounts of time are anything. Heaven is forever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever. Supplies Needed: Watch or timer Bible Story Time: (15 minutes) Teacher Note: The children need to see you reading the Treasure Story (Revelation 4) out of the Bible. Tell them that the Bible is Gods Word, and the Bible helps us know how to love and obey God. The following outline will help you as you tell the Treasure Story.

EARLY CHILDHOOD

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John (the author of Revelation, a book in the Bible) was given a vision of heaven. Revelation 4:1-2: After this I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven! And the first voice, which I had heard speaking to me like a trumpet, said,Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this. At once I was in the Spirit, and behold, a throne stood in heaven, with one seated on the throne. John saw God sitting on a throne. God sitting on a throne (like how kings and queens sit on a throne) tells us that God is the most important person in heaven. John beheld the beauty of God. He tells us that God was like pretty jewels and even a rainbow. Have any of the children ever seen a rainbow? Does their mom have a pretty diamond she wears on her hand or a sparkly necklace? Revelation 4:3: And He who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian, and around the throne was a rainbow that had the appearance of an emerald. John also saw others worshiping God. These were creatures and men who were praising God. God made everything to give Him glory, to worship Him. The men even got down on their knees before God. Revelation 4:4, 6, 10a: Around the throne were twenty-four thrones, and seated on the thrones were twenty-four elders, clothed in white garments, with golden crowns on their heads. And around the throne, on each side of the throne, are four living creatures, full of eyes in front and behind. The twenty-four elders fall down before Him who is seated on the throne and worship Him who lives forever and ever. John heard these others worshiping God. They said God is holy and perfect. There is no sin in God. God has never and can never do anything bad. They also said that God is forever. There is never a time when God will not be. He is always. These creatures and men said God is praiseworthy. He is worthy of their praise. Revelation 4:8c, 11: Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come! Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.

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Treasure Verse Learning Activity: (5 minutes) Separate your class into three groups: glory, honor and power. Repeat the Treasure Verse over and over, having each group shout their group name when you get to their word in the verse: Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive GLORY and HONOR and POWER, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created (Revelation 4:11).

Song Time: (10 minutes) Love, Love, Love is this quarters theme song. This song can be found on the Treasuring Christ website: www.treasuringchristonline.org. Supplies Needed: CD player, CD

Reinforcement Activity: (10 minutes) Pass out the Crowns resource page (see resources). Have the children decorate their crowns. Talk about how the people worshiping God in heaven laid their crowns at the feet of God. Supplies Needed: Crowns resource page, crayons, sticker jewels (in sticker aisle of a craft store), glitter, glue

Playground Time: (15 minutes) Center play or free play is useful here if there is no playground or if the weather is not conducive to playing outside.

Snack Time: (10 minutes)

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treasure
Treasure Point: Heaven is about God.

My Mission: (10 minutes)

Have the children sit in a circle with a chair in the middle of the circle. Each child should have the crown they colored from the earlier activity. Tell them that heaven will be a place where we lay our crowns at Jesus feet. Have them go around and say one thing they are thankful for or name one reason to praise God. When it is their turn, have them place their crown on the empty chair in the middle. At the end, talk with the children about how Jesus is in the middle, He is our focus, who we praise and to whom we give our crowns.

Prayer Time: (5 minutes)

Spend some time in prayer thanking God for heaven. Thank our Father in heaven that one day we can worship Him face-to-face and praise Him all the time.

EARLY CHILDHOOD

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Elementary
Treasure Story: Revelation 4 Treasure Verse: Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come! Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created (Revelation 4:8c, 11). Treasure Point: Heaven is forever, and God gets all the glory.

I see a throne. And on the throne is a King. And the

engage

King is Jesus. All around the throne people are bowing down. They are giving Him their treasures. Sally Lloyd-Jones, The Jesus Storybook Bible, pg. 344

Early Arrival Activity: (10-15 minutes or until all the children arrive) Pass out the Heaven resource page (see resources) to your students as they come in the room. Also give them a piece of construction paper. Instruct them to cut out the letters on the resource page and spell out the word Heaven on the construction paper and color it. Supplies Needed: Heaven Collage resource page, gold-colored construction paper, glue sticks or liquid glue, kids scissors, markers

discover
Introduction: (10 minutes) Cut out a cloud shape out of butcher paper and hang it on the wall. Ask the children questions about heaven: What happens in heaven? Who is in heaven? What do you think about when you think of heaven? Write their answers on the cloud and use it later in the story to help answer some of these questions. (Some answers might include angels, harps, a glassy sea, crowns, God, wings, clouds or chubby babies on a cloud.) Their answers will help you see what they think about heaven. Todays Treasure Story, Revelation 4, will show the students that heaven is all about God and His fame, glory and worship. Supplies Needed: Butcher paper, marker

ELEMENTARY

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Bible Story Time: (15 minutes) Teacher Note: Make sure the children see you reading the Treasure Story, Revelation 4, out of your Bible. Teach them the importance of the truth of Gods Word and that the Bible is beneficial for us. Todays Treasure Story will describe heaven and how God is worshiped forever. John, the author of Revelation, was given a vision of heaven from God. He saw creatures and people worshiping God in heaven. He wrote down these truths about what he saw so that we could read them and know them. John saw the beauty of God. Revelation 4:1-3: After this I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven! And the first voice, which I had heard speaking to me like a trumpet, said, Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this. At once I was in the Spirit, and behold, a throne stood in heaven, with one seated on the throne. And He who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian, and around the throne was a rainbow that had the appearance of an emerald. Ask your students to talk about things that are beautiful. If you have a diamond or emerald ring, bring it to class and pass it around or show it to them. Ask them to describe it to you. Have any of the students ever seen a rainbow? These descriptions of God in our Treasure Story are just ways of describing God. These are not actual descriptions of what God looks like. God is MORE beautiful than anything we can ever describe. John saw men worshiping God. Revelation 4:4, 6, 10a: Around the throne were twenty-four thrones, and seated on the thrones were twenty-four elders, clothed in white garments, with golden crowns on their heads. And around the throne, on each side of the throne, are four living creatures, full of eyes in front and behind. The twenty-four elders fall down before Him who is seated on the throne and worship Him who lives forever and ever.

ELEMENTARY

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These men, worshipers of God in heaven, knew that God was more important than they were. They worshiped God. They gave up everything they had for Him. They knelt before His throne in obedience, in submission to Gods authority (like how the children submit to their parents authority). They didnt keep their crowns, their possessions, but gave everything they had to worship God. In some countries, kings and queens are the rulers (rather than presidents and prime ministers). The citizens of those countries bow down to their king and queen. Bowing indicates that the other person is more important than the one who is bowing. John heard men and creatures saying great things to God. Revelation 4:8c, 11: Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come! Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created. God is holy. Holy means perfect. God is perfect; we are not. Ask the students if they are perfect. Have they ever done anything bad? If so, they are not perfect. God is perfect though. God is forever. He was and is and is to come. God created all things so He was before creation. He is now. He is present with us through His Holy Spirit, always with us (Hebrews 13:5b). He is also in the future. He is forever. God is worthy to receive glory and honor and power. We are to worship Him with everything we have because God is above all. He alone is supposed to be worshiped.

Treasure Verse Learning Activity: (5 minutes) Teacher Note: Write down all the created things God made on one side of a large piece of paper or a chalkboard/dry-erase board. On the other half, write down the childrens answers for how these creations worship God.

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Review with the children the Treasure Verse and talk about the ways the heavenly beings God created worship Him in heaven. Ask the children to name all the many things God has created. Then ask them to describe how all these thingsplants, animals, people, etc.worship God. For example, cats say meow; people live, work and pray; plants grow, give off oxygen and offer beauty. Have different children read the Treasure Verse between each statement someone says about worship. Supplies Needed: Butcher paper, marker

Playground Time/Center Activities/Free Play: (15 minutes)

Song Time: (10 minutes) Love, Love, Love is this quarters theme song. This song can be found on the Treasuring Christ website: www.treasuringchristonline.org. Supplies Needed: CD player, CD

Reinforcement Activity: (10 minutes) Give each child a piece of paper with the days of the week listed on it (see resources). Have them write down one thing they can praise God for on each day of the week. Have them take this home and begin putting in to practice praising God daily. Supplies Needed: Weekly Praise resource page, pencils

ELEMENTARY

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treasure
Treasure Point: Heaven is forever, and God gets all the glory.

My Mission: (10 minutes)

If you were in heaven right now, what would you be praising God for? Ask the students to write thank you notes to God today and share their praises with Him. Supplies Needed: Weekly Praise resource page, pencils

Prayer Time: (5 minutes)

Have your children spend time in praise to Godthanking Him for all that He has done for them and how wonderful He is. They can participate now in the praise that is going on in heaven.

ELEMENTARY

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Pre-Teen/Middle School
Treasure Story: Revelation 4 Treasure Verse: And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all around and within, and day and night they never cease to say, Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come! And whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to Him who is seated on the throne, who lives forever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall down before Him who is seated on the throne and worship Him who lives forever and ever. They cast their crowns before the throne, saying, Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created (Revelation 4:8-11). Treasure Point: God displays His glory forever in a place called heaven.

engage
Group Fellowship Time: (10 minutes) Opening Game/Skit: (3 minutes) One Minute

Worship is a continuous outpouring

of all that I am, all that I do and all that I can ever become in light of a chosen or choosing god. Harold Best, Unceasing Worship, pg. 211

This game works well with older kids and teens and takes almost no preparation time. Just have a watch with a second hand or stopwatch. You may want a sheet of paper as well. Tell the kids to stand. Then tell them to sit down after exactly one minute. Its that simple. Say Go and the game is on. Many of the kids will try to count it out, so if you choose, you can yell out random numbers just to mess them up. Then see when they sit down and jot down their times on paper. See who is closest to the exact minute. This game will illustrate well how long a minute is. Its a long time when you start paying attention to every second. Think about how much longer a minute is . . . an hour . . . a day . . . a week . . . a month . . . a year. In every day, there are 1,440 minutes. Just today the students could play that game 1,440 times. In a year, there are 525,600 minutes. In a lifetime, you could live 35 million minutes. And none of that even compares with eternity. When we think about heaven lasting forever, it shows us how far above God is from us. Time cant hold God. The earth cant hold Him. God is above everything. Supplies Needed: Stop watch, piece of paper, pen

PRE-TEEN/MIDDLE SCHOOL

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discover
Bible Story Time: (25 minutes) Teacher Note: The thrill of heaven is God and the Risen Christ. This is your joy to teach to your students today. Have your Bible open to Revelation 4. Ask your students to read the passage along with the points below (there are designated verses with each point). God is the focus of heaven. All worship is directed to God through Christ. We learn many attributes of God by listening to the words that are sung in this chorus: Revelation 4:8, 11: And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all around and within, and day and night they never cease to say, Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come! Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created. God is holy. Holy means set apart, other, perfect. Isaiah, a prophet of God in the Old Testament, also had a vision of God in His throne room where he saw heavenly creatures praising God and crying, Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts, the whole earth is full of His glory! (Isaiah 6:3) God is eternal. In Revelation 4:8, at the end of this first chorus of worship, the creatures shout of the eternality of God: who was (He is in the past, He created all things), who is (He is in the present, actuality, in the now), and who is to come (He will be present forever, He will continue, He has no end). This same truth is found in other passages of Scripture: Hebrews 13:5b: He [Jesus] has said, I will never leave you nor forsake you. 2 Peter 3:18: But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. God is worthy. Worthy means to ascribe worth to something, to put value to something or someone. We treasure so many things in life, but the elders in Revelation are saying that God alone is worthy to receive our praise. This truth is also found throughout the Scriptures: Revelation 4:11a: Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power. Hebrews 3:3: For Jesus has been counted worthy of more glory than Mosesas much more glory as the builder of a house has more honor than the house itself. Revelation 5:12: Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing. Psalm 147:5: Great is our Lord, and abundant in power; His understanding is beyond measure. Revelation 19:1b: Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God.

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God is the Creator of all things. You may remember that in the Treasuring Christ curriculum, the first part of Quarter One was dedicated to Gods supremacy and His ability and desire to create all things for His glory. The elders are worshiping Him now in part because of these characteristics of God. They exclaim that all things were created only by Him. Other Scripture passages also describe God as the Creator: Genesis 1:1: In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. John 1:1: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. Colossians 1:16: For by Him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authoritiesall things were created through Him and for Him. The beauty of God is on display in heaven. God is likened to jasper, carnelian, a rainbow, and an emerald. Jasper is a hard opaque quartz mostly used in ornamentation and jewelry. Carnelian is a semi-precious jewel that was used in rings by the Greeks and Romans. A rainbow is a beautiful display of an array of colors brought on by the suns rays. Emerald is a highly valued gemstone that was prized centuries before the time of Christ. With these descriptions, John is not saying that God is these things, but he is trying to give us a picture of the beauty of the Lord. Because God cannot be described, the Holy Spirit gave John words and descriptive terms his readers would understand. The beauty of God is incomprehensible. Revelation 4:3: And He who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian, and around the throne was a rainbow that had the appearance of an emerald. Psalm 27:4: One thing have I asked of the LORD, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to inquire in His temple. Psalm 96:6: Splendor and majesty are before Him, strength and beauty are in His sanctuary. Gods presence should fill us with fear and awe. We see that Gods presence is terrifying. Thunder and lightning are coming from the very throne of God, which implies that the presence of God is powerful and there is splendor in His glory. Moses, the leader of the Israelites out of the country of Egypt, also encountered the glory and splendor of God (Exodus 19:16). Revelation 4:5: From the throne came flashes of lightning, and rumblings and peals of thunder, and before the throne were burning seven torches of fire, which are the seven spirits of God. Exodus 19:16: On the morning of the third day there were thunders and lightnings and a thick cloud on the mountain and a very loud trumpet blast, so that all the people in the camp trembled.

PRE-TEEN/MIDDLE SCHOOL

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treasure
Treasure Point: God displays His glory forever in a place called heaven.

My Mission: (20 minutes)

Worship is not merely an aspect of our being but the essence of

our being as Gods image bearers . . . All of life is ceaseless worship . . . Human beings are unceasing worshipers. We are not created to worship, but rather we are created worshiping. Mark Driscoll, Doctrine, pg. 339

Discuss the above quote. What do you worship other than God? What do you ascribe worth to? What do you value? What does your time say you value? What is the response to a right view of God? We see the elders casting down their crowns before the throne of God. This is not because God needs more crowns or is wanting for power. No, it is the elders way of showing humility, esteem and submission to their glorious God. Their crowns were nothing to them in light of the presence of God, the almighty and infinite Display of Heaven. Our greatest possessions will mean nothing to us when we realize that we possess and are possessed by the goodness of God. Ask the students to read and discuss the following verses: Revelation 4:4, 6, 10-11 Psalm 95:6 Philippians 2:10 Ask the students to write a note to their parents. The first line of the note should begin with Did you know that right now in heaven . . . Ask them to give this note to their parents as an encouragement to them in their faith and walk with God. (Examples: Did you know right now in heaven there are people from Ethiopia worshiping God? God is the focus of heaven! How can we live our lives in our family with God as the focus?) Supplies Needed: Paper, pens

Prayer Time: (5-10 minutes)

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High School
Treasure Story: Revelation 4 Treasure Verse: And before the throne there was as it were a sea of glass, like crystal. And around the throne, on each side of the throne, are four living creatures, full of eyes in front and behind: the first living creature like a lion, the second living creature like an ox, the third living creature with the face of a man, and the fourth living creature like an eagle in flight. And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all around and within, and day and night they never cease to say, Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come! And whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to Him who is seated on the throne, who lives forever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall down before Him who is seated on the throne and worship Him who lives forever and ever. They cast their crowns before the throne, saying, Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created (Revelation 4:6-11). Treasure Point: Heaven is about God and how we get to worship Him forever.

engage
Introduction Video: (10 minutes)

Our only hope for satisfaction of soul

and joy of heart in this life comes from looking intently at what we cant see. Sam Storms, sermon preached at 2003 Desiring God National Conference

Teacher Note: This video is under two minutes long. After the students watch it, go over these discussion questions with them. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8MIBxhh_R_w If Disney is supposed to be the greatest place in the world (supposedly all NFL Super Bowl champs want to go there), then speculate why these kids were not very excited about going there. Is this sometimes our response to going to heaven? Is heaven all about us or about God? Here is a true story of one middle school students response about being in heaven. This middle schooler had just finished singing a praise and worship song with 45 other students at his weekly youth group meeting. After the song and the group prayer was over, he raised his hand and asked, Is this what heaven is going to be like? Are we going to sing songs all the time? The youth pastor replied,Yes, we are going to be singing songs to Jesus in heaven. He then responded,I dont want to go; it will be boring. During the rest of the meeting, he sat there in silence with his arms folded.

HIGH SCHOOL

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Who knows what ever happened to that student, or if he is a Christian now, even alive, or where he is or what he is doing. But that comment has stuck with me for 14 years now. It will always be a reminder to me of the importance of heaven and how heaven is all about praising and magnifying Gods great glory. Have you ever wondered if heaven would be boring? What will we be doing? Eternity is a long time. For all of eternity, we get to live in complete worship of God, our Creator.

discover
Bible Story: (30 minutes) Teacher Note: What a privilege we have to teach on the eternal worship of God. Have the students read through the Treasure Story, Revelation 4, and share the specifics of this chapter. Use the points provided in the For Your Edification section to offer more background information. John, the writer of our Treasure Story today (Revelation 4), tells us of the eternal worship of God. Lets read it together and see what attributes we see about God (the following attributes should be discussed in class): God is beautiful. God is powerful and terrifying (like thunder and lightning), worthy to be feared. God is eternal. God is worthy to be worshiped. God receives all power, honor and glory. God receives all the crownsHe gets everything. Nothing is as important as Him. In our cultural Christianity, we often think of worship as something we do on Sunday or a type of music. In order to really know what worship is, well first see what worship is not. Here is what worship is not: Defined by whether it is contemporary, traditional or blended Something you do between 9:30-10:30 on Sunday mornings A style of music or a section in a music store So, what is it? Worship is a biblically faithful understanding of God combined with a biblically faithful response to Him (Mark Driscoll, Doctrine, pg. 341). Worship is praising God through the Son by the power of the Holy Spirit.

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God is the ultimate direction of our worship. John 4:24: God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth. Psalm 29:2: Ascribe to the LORD the glory due His name, worship the LORD in the splendor of holiness. We can only worship God through the Son. Jesus made it possible for us as believers to rightly worship God. We cant worship God through our works or our good deeds. Jesus had to die on a cross to make our worship acceptable to God. Isaiah 64:6a: We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment. Hebrews 13:15: Through Him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge His name. The Holy Spirit enables us to worship. John 4:24: God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth. John 16:13: When the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all the truth, for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak, and He will declare to you the things that are to come. How does worship come to life in our lives? How do we live this out? Can we practice heaven (eternal worshiping of God) here on earth? In Romans 12:1-2, the Apostle Paul urges the local church members to come together and present their lives as living sacrifices to God. This is reasonable and is also a directive for us. God sent Jesus to die for us, so we should be willing to sacrifice our lives for God. Romans 12:1-2: I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. In Exodus 34:13-14, God commands the Israelites to worship no other gods. This is called idolatry and it is spoken of much in the Bible because it was such a significant problem. It is still a problem today. What do teenagers worship today? Exodus 34:13-14: You shall tear down their altars and break their pillars and cut down their Asherim (for you shall worship no other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God).

HIGH SCHOOL

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Psalms 95 and 96 are great hymns to sing and worship unto the Lord. What are some of the commands the psalmist gives us that we can put into practice today? Psalms 95-96: Oh come, let us sing to the LORD; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation! Let us come into His presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to Him with songs of praise! For the LORD is a great God, and a great King above all gods. In His hand are the depths of the earth; the heights of the mountains are His also. The sea is His, for He made it, and His hands formed the dry land. Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the LORD, our Maker! For He is our God, and we are the people of His pasture, and the sheep of His hand. Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah, as on the day at Massah in the wilderness, when your fathers put me to the test and put me to the proof, though they had seen my work. For forty years I loathed that generation and said, They are a people who go astray in their heart, and they have not known my ways. Therefore I swore in my wrath, They shall not enter my rest. Oh sing to the LORD a new song; sing to the LORD, all the earth! Sing to the LORD, bless His name; tell of His salvation from day to day. Declare His glory among the nations, His marvelous works among all the peoples! For great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; He is to be feared above all gods. For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols, but the LORD made the heavens. Splendor and majesty are before Him; strength and beauty are in His sanctuary. Ascribe to the LORD, O families of the peoples, ascribe to the LORD glory and strength! Ascribe to the LORD the glory due His name; bring an offering, and come into His courts! Worship the LORD in the splendor of holiness; tremble before Him, all the earth! Say among the nations, The LORD reigns! Yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved; He will judge the peoples with equity. Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice; let the sea roar, and all that fills it; let the field exult, and everything in it! Then shall all the trees of the forest sing for joy before the LORD, for He comes, for He comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness, and the peoples in His faithfulness. What are some ways we can worship God? We can sing, make a joyful noise and come into His presence. We can bow down in worship, listen to Gods voice and bless His name. We can declare His name among the nations, ascribe or tell of all He has done and bring an offering to Him. Who do these two psalms say we worship as believers? We worship the LORD, the rock of our salvation and the great God. We worship the great King above all gods, the owner of all the earth and our Maker, Creator. We worship our shepherd and guide, one greatly to be praised and the righteous Judge.

HIGH SCHOOL

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treasure
Treasure Point: Heaven is about God and how we get to worship Him forever.

My Mission: (15 minutes)

The test is to ask yourself how pleased, or how displeased, you
Packer, Praying the Lords Prayer, pg. 114 become if God is praised while you are not, and equally if you are praised while God is not. J. I.

Discuss the above quote. What areas of your life do you struggle with accepting and keeping all the glory for yourself and not turning back the praise to God and God alone? Watch this video with your students. Have students journal (write down their thoughts) through this song about how they feel comfortable worshiping God. In what ways will they enjoy praising God in heaven? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v84-hP2jvUs

Supplies Needed: DVD player, laptop, paper, pens

Prayer Time: (10 minutes)

HIGH SCHOOL

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connecting church and home

I will never forget riding down the road with my six-year-old son when he asked me, Dad, what are we going to be doing in heaven because eternity seems like a long time? There is a song played often on the radio that describes the thoughts that many have toward heaven: Everybody wants to go to heaven / Get their wings and fly around / But nobody wanna go now / It beats the other place there aint no doubt / Im havin fun down here / I think I speak for the crowd. Would the words of this song speak for you and your family? A distorted view of heaven certainly does not help us or our children see Gods ultimate plan of displaying His glory for eternity. The following are five key truths that my wife Tina and I have sought to encourage our three children with in regards to heaven and eternity. Our citizenship is in heaven (Philippians 3:20). This world is not our home (2 Corinthians 5:1). Friendship with this world makes us enemies with God (James 4:4). This life is a vapor (James 4:14). Heaven awaits those who have repented and claimed Christ as Lord (Romans 8:12-17).

connect
This upcoming Sundays topic will revolve around heaven being more about God and His glory than it is about us. We will be studying Revelation 4, which declares that God is indisputably worthy to receive glory and honor and power (Revelation 4:11). We can gain a proper biblical understanding of Gods majesty from this chapter. Read with your family Revelation 4. What do you think heaven will be like? Treasure Verse: Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come! Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created (Revelation 4:8c, 11).

Place your finger on your pulse and say

If this stopand any second it may stopI am instantly in heaven or hell! John Angell James, The Young Man Leaving Home, pg. 155

CONNECTING CHURCH AND HOME

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RESOURCES: JESUS IS THE LAMB RESOURCE PAGE | Early Childhood

TREASURING CHRIST CURRICULUM | www.treasuringchristonline.org

RESOURCES: CROWNS RESOURCE PAGE | Early Childhood

TREASURING CHRIST CURRICULUM | www.treasuringchristonline.org

RESOURCES: HEAVEN RESOURCE PAGE | Elementary

TREASURING CHRIST CURRICULUM | www.treasuringchristonline.org

RESOURCES: WEEKLY PRAISE RESOURCE PAGE | Elementary

TREASURING CHRIST CURRICULUM | www.treasuringchristonline.org