Romans 2A - Part 1

Trading God’s Truth for Lie #1 - Worship Creation

Scripture: Romans 1:18-32

Exposure to Exposition & Exploring the Scriptures: (10-15 mins)

• Bible Drills (Memorization of OT & NT Book order)

• Guide the children to Romans 1:18-32 in the Bible. (Help them as needed, NT vs OT)

• Say: We are going to continue through Paul's letter to the people of Rome.

• We will learn that the gospel is God’s power to save everyone who believes, and we should never be ashamed of Jesus.

• Read aloud. (Ask kids to start their pointer fingers on V18 and follow along)

Opening Question

“Have you ever traded something good for something not-so-good? Like trading a toy you love for one that breaks easily? Paul says people have done that with God- they traded the truth about Him for lies. Let’s see what happened.”

Romans 1:18-32 NLT
18 But God shows his anger from heaven against all sinful, wicked people who suppress the truth by their wickedness. 19 They know the truth about God because he has made it obvious to them. 20 For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God.
21 Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused. 22 Claiming to be wise, they instead became utter fools. 23 And instead of worshiping the glorious, ever-living God, they worshiped idols made to look like mere people and birds and animals and reptiles.
24 So God abandoned them to do whatever shameful things their hearts desired. As a result, they did vile and degrading things with each other’s bodies. 25 They traded the truth about God for a lie. So they worshiped and served the things God created instead of the Creator himself, who is worthy of eternal praise! Amen. 26 That is why God abandoned them to their shameful desires. Even the women turned against the natural way to have sex and instead indulged in sex with each other. 27 And the men, instead of having normal sexual relations with women, burned with lust for each other. Men did shameful things with other men, and as a result of this sin, they suffered within themselves the penalty they deserved.
28 Since they thought it foolish to acknowledge God, he abandoned them to their foolish thinking and let them do things that should never be done. 29 Their lives became full of every kind of wickedness, sin, greed, hate, envy, murder, quarreling, deception, malicious behavior, and gossip. 30 They are backstabbers, haters of God, insolent, proud, and boastful. They invent new ways of sinning, and they disobey their parents. 31 They refuse to understand, break their promises, are heartless, and have no mercy. 32 They know God’s justice requires that those who do these things deserve to die, yet they do them anyway. Worse yet, they encourage others to do them, too.

• V18 People Hide the Truth

  • Paul says people try to hide the truth about God by living in sin. v18b

  • But God sees everything, and His anger at sin is real. v18a

• Kid Point: We can’t hide the truth from God.

Romans 1:19-20 They know the truth about God because he has made it obvious to them. 20 For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God.

• V19-20 God made Himself known in the beautiful world around us.

  • God shows Himself in creation- stars, animals, mountains, even our hearts. v19-20

  • Nobody can say, “I didn’t know God was real.” v20

• Kid Point: Creation points to the Creator.

Romans 1:21-25 Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused. 22 Claiming to be wise, they instead became utter fools. 23 And instead of worshiping the glorious, ever-living God, they worshiped idols made to look like mere people and birds and animals and reptiles.
24 So God abandoned them to do whatever shameful things their hearts desired. As a result, they did vile and degrading things with each other’s bodies. 25 They traded the truth about God for a lie. So they worshiped and served the things God created instead of the Creator himself, who is worthy of eternal praise! Amen.

• V21-25 People Traded God for Idols

  • Instead of worshiping God, people worshiped statues, animals, and even bugs. v23

  • They traded the truth for a lie. v23 &25

  • God let them follow their sinful choices. v24

• Kid Point: Worship the Creator, not the creation.

Romans 1:26-27 That is why God abandoned them to their shameful desires. Even the women turned against the natural way to have sex and instead indulged in sex with each other. 27 And the men, instead of having normal sexual relations with women, burned with lust for each other. Men did shameful things with other men, and as a result of this sin, they suffered within themselves the penalty they deserved.

• V26-27 Sin Gets Worse When People Reject God

  • Paul says that when people ignore God, they begin to do shameful things. v26

  • God lets them go their own way, and sin grows worse. v27

  • This shows how much we need Jesus to save us.

• Kid Point: Turning away from God makes life broken- only Jesus can fix our sin problem.

Romans 1:28-32 Since they thought it foolish to acknowledge God, he abandoned them to their foolish thinking and let them do things that should never be done. 29 Their lives became full of every kind of wickedness, sin, greed, hate, envy, murder, quarreling, deception, malicious behavior, and gossip. 30 They are backstabbers, haters of God, insolent, proud, and boastful. They invent new ways of sinning, and they disobey their parents. 31 They refuse to understand, break their promises, are heartless, and have no mercy. 32 They know God’s justice requires that those who do these things deserve to die, yet they do them anyway. Worse yet, they encourage others to do them, too.

• V28-32 A World Full of Sin that Continues to Grow

  • Paul lists many sins: greed, envy, lying, disobedience to parents, hate, gossip, and more. v29-31

  • People not only do these things, but they also cheer others on when they sin. v32

  • God says all of this deserves death- separation from Him forever. v32

• Kid Point: Sin is serious, but Jesus came to save us from sin.

Observation Questions (What did it say?)

1. What does Paul say God’s wrath is revealed against? (Ungodliness and unrighteousness of people who hide the truth. v18)
2. How has God made Himself known to everyone? (Through creation and what He made. v20)
3. What did people do instead of worshiping God? (They worshiped created things like people, animals, and idols. v23)
4. What did Paul say people “exchanged” or traded? (The truth of God for a lie. v25)
5. What kinds of sins did Paul say filled the world? (Greed, envy, gossip, disobedience, arrogance, hate, etc. vv28-32)

Understanding Questions (What does it mean?)

1. What does it mean to “suppress the truth”? (To hide or ignore what we know about God. v18)
2. Why does Paul say people are “without excuse”? (Because creation makes it clear God is real. v20)
3. What happens when people keep rejecting God and His truth? (God gives them over to your sin- They fall deeper into sin and their hearts grow darker. v28-29a)
4. Why is approving of sin just as dangerous as doing it? (32 They know God’s justice requires that those who do these things deserve to die, yet they do them anyway. Worse yet, they encourage others to do them, too.)

Application Questions (What should I do?)

1. What are some ways kids might “trade God’s truth for a lie” today? (Examples: thinking toys, friends, or sports are more important than God)
2. When you see God’s creation (stars, animals, mountains), how can you respond in worship?
3. What should you do if you feel tempted to gossip, lie, or disobey your parents?

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Activity

Romans (Youth) — Romans 2A - Part 1

Remind them: What is the Gospel?

Jesus’ perfect life paid for the sins of all who believe. Jesus died on the cross as the punishment for sin. But Jesus did not stay dead, three days later He rose to life (resurrection) defeating the power of death. Believe, and you will be saved!

• We are all sinful. We all deserve the consequence of sin- death.

• Jesus is what saves us from the sin we all have in our bodies. And one day, he’ll even give us a new body.

Supporting Truths Kids Can Grasp:

• We can’t hide the truth about God. (Ignore God)

• Creation shows us God is real. (No excuse)

• People traded God’s truth for lies and began worshiping created things. (Idolatry)

• When we turn away from God, sin only grows worse. (Hearts grow dark)

• The good news: Jesus saves us from sin and makes us right with God. (God’s wrath/judgement)

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.