Note that we have separated the worship and Sunday school materials into separate posts to keep things organized. You can find the Sunday morning sermon here.
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Family Sunday School Devotion for June 7
“Jesus Healed Ten Men” from Luke 17
Listen to- “Books of the Bible (New Testament)” from Seeds Family Worship here:
And “By His Stripes We are Healed (Isaiah 53:3-7)” from Esther Mui here:
Later, during the Missions Moment, watch “Selfless: Amy Carmichael” from All Nations Church here:
Supplies Needed- For younger kids: paper, basket/bag; for all kids: paper and pencils OR building blocks
Summary- Jesus healed ten men, and one was saved.
Introduction Younger Kid Activity- Count and Gather Cut 10 paper strips. Print the numbers 1-10 on each strip (different number on each strip) and place them in a basket or bag. Invite a child to choose a strip. Say the number and ask the child to gather items from around the room to correspond with that number. Count the items. Call special attention to the numbers 1, 9, and 10. Say, “Thank you for gathering 10 [item name]. In today’s Bible story, Jesus healed ten men with a skin disease. You gathered 9 [item name]. This reminds me that 9 of the men Jesus healed who did not come back. You have 1 [item name]. One man returned to Jesus to thank Him and give glory to God.”
Introduction Older Kid Activity- Spot the Difference Instruct each family member to face each other and study one another. After a few moments, everyone needs to turn away (one at a time) and change one aspect of their appearance (examples- untie a shoe, raise an eyebrow, remove glasses, etc.). Then, see if the differences can be spotted. Say, “That was tricky! In our story today, we will learn about a group of ten men who seemed pretty similar. All of them were suffering with the same skin disease. When Jesus healed them, it changed their lives. One man had an even bigger change in his life besides just being healed.”
Big Picture Question- Say, “When you hear about the people in our Bible story, I want you to think about our new Big Picture Question: Why did God create people? Do you have any ideas? The answer to our question is: God created people to worship Him, love Him, and show His glory.”
Bible Story- Timeline Say, “In the beginning, God created everything, and everything was perfect. Part of God’s perfect creation was a man, Adam, and a woman, Eve. Sadly, they chose to disobey God, and ever since then the world has been broken by sin. Thankfully, God had a wonderful plan to fix sin. God sent Jesus. When Jesus was grown, He began His ministry. He traveled around healing, doing miracles, and teaching people about God. For the next few weeks, we will look closely at the wonderful ways Jesus healed people.” Open a Bible to Luke 17:11-19. Say, “The Bible is God’s Word. Today’s story is from the New Testament book of Luke. The Book of Luke tells about what happened when Jesus lived on the earth. This story, like all the stories in the Bible, is true! All the stories in the Bible fit together to tell an even bigger story. The Bible tells us the big story of how God rescues sinners through His Son, Jesus.” Tell the story in your own words from this passage (this story is not included in the Big Picture Interactive Bible Storybook-the Bible storybook your younger child received from Sunday School).
Christ Connection- Say, “Jesus healed the ten men who cried out to Him. The one who had faith was saved. When we trust in Jesus by faith, He heals us from something greater than a disease; He saves us from our sins. We can give Him thanks and worship Him for making us new. Worshiping Jesus is something we were made to do. Before we have salvation, we cannot worship God, but when we are saved by grace through faith, our hearts are transform. We begin to love and worship God. Everything we do can be worship if we do it with hearts that love God and want to glorify Him.”
Key Passage- Open a Bible to Isaiah 53:4-5. Read the verses aloud. Say, “This key passage teaches us that long before Jesus came to earth as a human, prophets like Isaiah spoke about Him as a healer. When Jesus was on earth healing people, He was proving who He is: the Messiah. When Jesus died on the cross, He did the most important healing: He made the way for us to be saved from sin and healed from the damage sin causes in our lives.”
Review Questions- Ask the following questions:
- *PreK- Why did the ten men cry out to Jesus for help? (they had a skin disease and wanted Jesus to help them)
- *PreK- How many men did Jesus heal? (10) How many returned to praise Jesus and thank Him? (1)
- Why did Jesus say the one Samaritan was saved? (Luke 17:19)
- How do you show God you are thankful to Him? (Guide kids to discuss the different ways we can give thanks to, glorify, and honor God. Help them see that we can worship God in our words and with our actions. Remind them that obedience to God, parents, and teachers is a great way to show God you trust and love Him. We can also show His love to others.)
- When might it be difficult to show God you love Him and are thankful? (Help kids see that when we are in the midst of difficult times, such as when we are sick or in pain, we might find it difficult to see God’s work around us. Encourage kids that everything God does is for His glory and our good, even in the middle of difficult or sad circumstances.)
- *PreK- Why did God create people? (God created people to worship Him, love Him, and show His glory.)
Say, “Jesus healed ten men, and one was saved. The man who was saved had faith in Jesus and glorified God for what He had done. We can glorify God, too.”
For Older Kids- Also, ask the following questions:
- What did the man who was healed realize about Jesus? (read Psalm 103:2-4)
- How should our lives change when we trust in Jesus for salvation? (Help kids identify that a believer’s life should be marked by gratitude and worship for what Jesus has done. Read Hebrews 12:28)
- What should we do when good things happen? What should we do when bad things happen? (Emphasize that when we experience God’s grace, the best way to respond is with worship, thanking Him for what He has done. When bad things happen, we should still put our faith in God. We might not understand why something happens, but we can trust that God is working. He is in control and does everything for His glory and our good. Read 1 Thessalonians 5:18)
Reflection- Ask older children to answer one of the following questions:
- What does this story teach me about God or the Gospel?
- What does the story teach me about myself?
- Whom can I tell about this story?
Missions Moment- Types of Houses Provide paper and pencils OR building blocks (could be Legos). Ask everyone to either draw or build their “dream” house. After a few minutes, stop to look at and comment about each person’s creation. Say, “A missionary named Amy Carmichael chose to live in the worst neighborhoods and the poorest slums. She wanted to live closest to the people she was trying to help. She lived in places no one else even wanted to visit and started Bible studies there. God used Amy Carmichael in powerful ways. She saw many people turn to Jesus and be saved.” (For older children, watch “Selfless: Amy Carmichael” video- see above.) “Would you be willing to obey if God called you somewhere to live in a house that isn’t very nice? It’s okay to feel unsure about giving up comforts and even safety for the sake of the Gospel. As you grow and become more like Jesus, He will change your heart to want to obey Him and go where He wants you to go. You can be a part of God’s mission to share the Gospel with the world!”
Pray- In closing, thank God for sending Jesus to save us from our sins. Praise Him for making all who trust in Him new. Ask Him to help us worship and love Him and to show Him glory by telling others about Jesus.
Adult Sunday School Devotion for June 7
“Jesus Heals the Ten Lepers” from Luke 17
Listen to- “While I Wait” from Lincoln Brewster here:
and- “Living Hope” from Phil Wickham here:
Summary- Jesus healed ten lepers who called for help but saved one who had faith.
Christ Connection- When ten lepers called out to Jesus for mercy, Jesus sent them to the priests and they were healed. Jesus declared that the one leper who returned to thank and worship Him was saved by His faith. Likewise, when we cry out in faith to Jesus, He saves us from our sin, a gift that prompts a life of gratitude and worship.
Point 1. Infirmity leads to desperate cries to Jesus for mercy (read aloud Luke 17:11-13).
Note- Today’s lepers are not like those in ancient times. Since 1995, the World Health Organization has been providing free medicine to treat the disease. It is, thankfully, no longer considered a public health threat. But during the time of Jesus, there was no medicine. Lepers were doomed to wait it out, to be relieved either by time or by death.
Note- When Jesus came walking their way, the lepers knew He was One who could heal them. But they did not run to Him. Instead, they stood at a distance and raised their voices. They understood their place and their plight. They were separated and exiled on account of their disease. While leprosy separated those with the disease from others, sin has created a greater division- one between us and God, and we’re all born into this separation because of Adam and Eve’s fall (see Genesis 3; Psalm 51:5). Therefore, because of sin, we all experience the exile of the fall, separated from God’s grace and living under His just wrath.
Respond- What are some ways people experience separation from God and others because of sin?
Point 2. Healing leads to a grateful heart for what Jesus had done (read aloud Luke 17:14-16).
Note- Leviticus 13-14 addresses the role of the priest in a leper’s life. Essentially, the priest would take a good look at a person’s affected areas of skin and determine if the person was clean or unclean. If clean, they could rejoin the community. If unclean, he sent them away until their situation changed.
Note- When Jesus calls us to do something, we must obey His command, even if we might not understand it at the time. As they took those first steps, the lepers would not have understood how they could find healing in the way. They surely knew the way to the priest, hoping for the day they could see him and be declared clean, but they didn’t know what would happen by the time they arrived. In the path Jesus has called us to go, we don’t know what He might do on the way either. But we know this: when Jesus commands us clearly, we must act quickly.
Respond- What are some commands in Scripture that require obedience in faith?
Note- We pray for little things and big things. We ask the Lord to help with a conversation, for wisdom to make progress on a project, to grant patience with children at home after a long day at work. The Lord is so kind and comes through in so many ways. But how often do we return to Him to offer thanks? We might say we are thankful, but do our actions prove otherwise? Do we take God’s gifts for granted, too often returning for a follow-up conversation only to file a complaint?
Respond- What are some reasons you have for thanking God?
Point 3. Faith leads to a greater salvation in Christ (read aloud Luke 17:17-19).
Note- That this Samaritan leper was living with Jewish lepers points to the total reduction of social standing that leprosy caused. The Jews and Samaritans were not on friendly terms because the Samaritans were the descendants of Israelites who had intermarried with the peoples around them, which led to a mixing of faiths, compromising their worship of the one true God. While Samaritans claimed to worship God, the Jews would not worship alongside them. They were spiritually unclean in Jewish eyes, even without leprosy. The Jewish lepers received the gift of healing and went on to the priest to return to normal life. The Samaritan turned from that path to run back to Jesus in thanks. Of the ten, true gratitude- the kind of thankfulness that is not just a show- pierced his heart only, so he ended up at a greater temple. He fell at the feet of Jesus, the true temple, to give thanks and to give glory to God, praising Him for His healing and salvation.
Respond- Why should a heightened sense of our own unworthiness lead to a grateful attitude and worship of God for our salvation in Jesus?
Note- Many people make an initial response to Jesus at the height of an intense experience, but it is the one who returns to Him in faith whose heart is changed. We need more than a one-time interaction. We need a continual relationship. The faith that saves is the faith that wants more than a gift or healing from Jesus. The faith that saves is the faith that wants Jesus Himself and is constantly thankful for a relationship with Him because He is our way to God.
Justification by Faith: Justification refers to the moment when a person is objectively declared righteous before God based on the righteousness of Christ’s atoning death (see Romans 8:33-34). This act of declaration takes place through faith in Christ and not as a result of human works or effort (see Ephesians 2:8-9). Through justification, a person is made to be in right standing before God, changing what was once an estranged and hostile relationship to one of adoption into the family of God.
Conclusion- We stand needy for Christ, and no amount of sin or separation is too great for His mercy to meet us. We can do nothing to earn our way into heaven. Salvation is a gift of grace from start to finish. God sets us right with Him as we look to Jesus to meet our every need. Though the lepers show us the initial mercy of Christ in healing, the Samaritan leper shows us that we have a constant need of Him. Jesus knows that and stands to worship. As we gather before the throne of grace, we find our hearts singing in thanksgiving. He heals. He justifies. He saves.
Apply- Because we have been saved from our sin through Jesus we live each day with deep gratitude and worship for what Jesus has done.
-What will you give God glory for today?
-What are some ways your family can help others find community that honestly addresses sin without shame?
-How can your gratitude and worship to God for salvation by faith in Jesus help you share the Gospel with others?
(Take some time to pray for opportunities to share the Gospel with family, friends, and neighbors. Give thanks to God for His work in your life- healing you of your sin problem and making you right with Himself.)
