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NOTE TO PARENTS: Each of the main points can be taught/discussed over different days throughout the week.
MORE FROM THIS LESSON:
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POINT #2 – 3 EXPRESSIONS OF GOD’S PRESENCE
This lesson is about the PRESENCE of God. What does the word PRESENCE mean? (Allow your child to answer: being in a certain place, or close to someone.) God has 3 expressions of His presence: 1) Omin-presence, 2) Indwelling presence and 3) manifest presence.
OMNI-PRESENCE means that God is everywhere. He is in Heaven. He is in the room with us now. He is with your family and friends in their house. He is with the President at the White House. He is with people all across the world. He is also in our hearts. How can He be everywhere at once? Because He is God and He is Omni-present. In Psalms 139:7-8 (NLT) David is speaking about God’s omni-presence. He says, “I can never escape from your Spirit! I can never get away from your presence! If I go up to heaven, you are there; if I go down to the grave, you are there.” There is no where we will be that Jesus isn’t right there with us.
The INDWELLING PRESENCE means that God is IN us, living inside of each one of us. Romans 8:11 (NLT) says, “The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Jesus Christ from the dead, He will give life to your mortal bodies by the same Spirit living within you.” God lives inside of us when we ask Jesus to be our Lord and Savior and then we ask for the Holy Spirit to come live in our hearts. Jesus promised that when we ask for Him and the Holy Spirit to live inside of us, He will be faithful and will do what He promises. If you remember, we talked about the Holy Spirit living inside of us in point 1 when we talked about liberty. We need the Holy Spirit inside of us to have life and to live in liberty and freedom.
The last one is the MANIFEST PRESENCE of God, and that is the functional glory of God. Functional glory means that His presence can be used. It can also be seen. John 2:11 (NKJV) says, “This beginning of signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and manifested His glory; and His disciples believed in Him.” Signs, wonders, miracles, and healings all come from the MANIFEST presence of God. Others are able to see the presence of God when they see these things. The Bible tells us that many believed in Jesus because of the signs, wonders and miracles they saw Him perform.
Discussion Questions
- The Bible says that Moses’s face glowed with the Glory of God. Have you ever seen anything like that before? Do you think that would be pretty cool to see?
- Have you ever seen the MANIFEST presence of God? Explain. (maybe you’ve seen someone healed?)
- Has God ever used you to show His MANIFEST glory to others? Explain.
Prayer
Jesus, we are so thankful that you are everywhere, always. We are so thankful that there is not once place that we will ever go that you are not there. We are thankful for your omni-presence. Holy Spirit, we ask you to come fill us up with your presence. We want your presence living inside of us. We want others to see your glory, God. We want them to KNOW, like we do, that you love them, and that YOU are the one, true, living God. We want to partner with You to bring heaven to earth. We love you Jesus, and it’s in Your name that we pray, amen.
Scripture Memory Verse
“I can never escape from your Spirit! I can never get away from your presence! If I go up to heaven, you are there; if I go down to the grave, you are there.” Psalms 139:7-8 (NLT)
Application/Activity
- If your child has not asked Jesus into their heart and they want to, we encourage you to lead them in prayer. Please see the New Life Prayer below.
- “God Is Everywhere” activities : http://dg4kids.com/activity/activity-god-is-everywhere/index.html
Worship Song
“I Just Need U.”