Memory Verse

“For a child will born for us, a son will be given to us, and the government will be on his shoulders. He will be named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.” Isaiah 9:6 (CSB)

Day 1-Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace

• Pray.
• Practice the memory verse.
• Read Isaiah 9:6.
• Two chapters earlier in Isaiah 7:14, we learned that the Messiah, the long-awaited Savior, would be called Immanuel. Do you remember what Immanuel means? It means God with us (Matthew 1:23). We learned that Jesus is Immanuel. The verse we just read (our memory verse for the month) is speaking of Jesus.
• Let’s see how Jesus fits each of the names He is given.
  • Wonderful Counselor
    • How is He wonderful?
    • Can you think of a synonym for the word wonderful?
      • Something wonderful is something out of the ordinary and hard to explain. It means marvelous and extraordinary; a miracle; amazing.
    • What is a counselor?
      • A counselor is someone we go to for help to solve a problem; they listen and give wisdom and help us find a solution. They help us understand the situation better.
    • How does Jesus fit the description of a counselor?
      • He knows us. (Psalm 139)
      • He has all wisdom because He is God. (Colossians 2:3)
      • He has all the answers. (Isaiah 11:1-2, Romans 11:33-34)
      • He gives a place to turn (the Bible). (John 17:17)
  • Mighty God
    • Do you think of a superhero when you hear the word mighty? Jesus is mightier than any superhero. He is God, so He has no weakness. Luke 1:37 tells us that nothing is impossible with God. We haven’t even see yet all that Jesus will do. When He returns, He will completely defeat Satan and all evil. (1 Corinthians 15:24-28, 55-56)
    • How is Jesus the “Mighty God”?
      • He created all things out of nothing. (John 1:3)
      • He performed miracles (things only God can do).
      • He suffered and died on the cross for us and rose from the dead. (1 Corinthians 15:3-4)
  • Everlasting Father
    • What does everlasting mean?
      • Remember- Jesus is the I Am, the beginning and end, the One who is, and was and always will be. (Revelation 1:8, 22:13)
    • How does Jesus show that He is a Father?
      • He loves us. (John 15:9)
      • He cares for us. (John 10:14-15)
      • He provides what we need. (John 14:13-14)
      • He corrects us. (like He did with His disciples in Luke 9:46-48)
      • He disciplines us. (Hebrews 12:6)
  • Prince of Peace
    • What feelings come to your mind when you think of peace?
      • Jesus is Peace. He is our rest, our calm, our joy, our harmony, our comfort.
    • Do you ever feel like you need peace?
      • Because we have sinned, we all are unsettled and stirred-up due to our separation from God, but Jesus came so that we can have peace with God.
      • Will there always be things that cause us to worry and fear and be extra emotional about? Yes! BUT when we trust in the Prince of Peace, Jesus, we can have calm hearts and joy in the midst of the crazy. (Isaiah 53:5, John 14:27, John 16:33, Philippians 4:7, 9)
• Which name of Jesus that we learned about today stands out to you the most? Why?

Day 2-The Way, The Truth, and The Life

• Pray.
• Practice the memory verse. Sometime standing up and walking around while you say the verse helps with memorization.
• The verses we will read today take place during the Last Supper. Jesus and His disciples had come to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover, and Jesus knew that He was about to die. He used the last night He had with His disciples to teach them even more and to comfort them.
• Read John 14:1-6.
• Talk about it
  • Where was Jesus saying He was going?
    • He was speaking of Heaven with the Father, with God.
  • Jesus said that they would know the way to get where He was going, but how did Thomas respond to that (verse 5)?
  • How did Jesus answer him?
    • I am the _______, the ________, and the _______.
  • Jesus called Himself three things: The Way, The Truth, and the Life.
  • Jesus was saying that He is the only way to the Father, to God, because He is the truth of God and the life of God.
  • Did Jesus say there are many ways to get to Heaven, to get to God?
  • What is the only way to God? JESUS.
  • How does this affect you? Why is this in the Bible? What does God want you to understand today?

Day 3-The Door, the Vine, the Bread of Life

• Pray.
• Practice the memory verse.
• What three names of Jesus did we learn yesterday?
• Often times when Jesus would teach He would use metaphors. He would use things or ideas that were common to the people of His day in order to help them understand something better. The rest of the week we will be looking at some of these.
• Read John 10:7-10.
• The Door
  • What does Jesus say He is?
  • Explain that Jesus was referring to the door of a sheep fold or pen.
  • To understand what Jesus is saying, we need to think about a door. What is the purpose of a door?
  • The door or gate of a sheep’s pen would be the only way for the sheep to get into it. When they entered, they would find safety and good pasture.
  • Jesus wants us to understand that belief in Him is the only way to come to the Father and to salvation.
• Read John 15:5, 9-11.
• The Vine
  • What does Jesus call Himself?
  • What does He call those who have accepted Him as their Savior and Lord?
  • Can you picture a vine? Can the branches survive if they are cut off or fall off the vine? No.
  • Jesus wants us to abide with Him. What do you think that means? Abide means to remain or stay with Him.
  • What happens to branches that remain connected to a vine? They have fruit on them.
  • We stay connected to Jesus by obeying His Word, just as Jesus obeyed His Father. When we remain in the love that Jesus has for us, we have joy.
• Read John 6:35.
• The Bread of Life
  • What does Jesus call Himself?
  • Why do we eat bread? It satisfies our hunger. It fills a need we have. But the bread we eat is only temporary. It doesn’t last forever.
  • Think about the manna that God provided for the Israelites. God provided them “bread” but it didn’t last. He had to keep giving it anew each day and it spoiled if they didn’t eat it. (Exodus 16)
  • Jesus said He is the Bread of Life. He is the answer for what we need forever. He offers eternal life and He is our satisfaction forever.
• Which of these names stands out to you the most? Why? What is something you learned today?

Day 4-The Light of the World

• Pray.
• Practice the memory verse.
• Go to a dark room of your house, probably a closet in the daytime. Bring a match or a small flashlight with you but don’t turn it on yet. Shut the door. Talk about the darkness. Can you see anything? Do you know where you are going if you walk somewhere? Can you see obstacles in your way?
• Now, turn on a small light. What happened to the darkness? Can you see? Do you know where you are going if you walk somewhere? Can you see obstacles in your way?
• Light cuts through the darkness so you can see. Read what John says about Light and Jesus.
• Read John 1:4-5.
  • Who is John talking about?
  • Remember, this passage is the same passage we read when we learned that Jesus is called The Word, so the Light is Jesus.
  • Explain that in the Bible, we see that light refers to truth, holiness, purity, and Jesus while darkness refers to error, falsehood, sin, and Satan.
  • When Jesus came into the world, did people understand exactly Who He was?
• Read John 8:12.
  • What does Jesus call Himself?
  • What did Jesus mean when He called Himself the Light of the World?
  • Without Jesus, we are all in spiritual darkness. How?
  • When we follow Jesus, when we give our lives to Him, we have the Light of life! We can see the truth, the way to go; we recognize what is sin and are able to avoid going down a path of destruction.
• Read John 12:44-46.
  • Why did Jesus come as Light into the world? (verse 46)
  • Who does the Light point us to? God. (verse 44-45)
• Song
  • “Light of the World” by Lauren Daigle
• Extra Activities
  • Play Flashlight Tag tonight.
  • Remember to keep writing down the names of Jesus on your chain, poster, or banner.

Day 5-The Rock

• Pray.
• Practice the memory verse.
• Think about a really big rock you have seen. Maybe even think about a rock so big it’s more like a cliff. How would you describe the rock? What is it good for? Can you move it around? Does it change a lot or does it stay the same?
• Read Exodus 17:1-6.
  • Tell me about the rock. Why is it significant?
  • God provided what the people needed from the rock.
• Are you wondering what this has to do with the names of Jesus that we are studying?
• Now read 1 Corinthians 10:4. Pay close attention to the last four words.
  • What were the last four words?
  • Just like God provided what the Israelites needed from the rock, He provides all we need from the Rock, which is Jesus.
  • What do we need that only Jesus can provide?
  • How else is Jesus a Rock?
    • He is steady.
    • He is strong.
    • He provides protection.
    • He doesn’t change.
    • He is big and immovable.
• Read Isaiah 26:4.
• What will you remember about what we learned today?
• Pray. Thanking Jesus for being what need.
• Christmas Activity
  • These Nativity Story Stones are so cute and would be really fun to make! (Plus they are on rocks which is what we talked about today!!!) My oldest made these at a mother/daughter tea a few years ago and she really enjoyed it.

Have a great weekend!!!!