Romans (Youth) 8B

The Hope Ahead!

Scripture: Romans 8:12-25

Exposure to Exposition & Exploring the Scriptures: (15-20 mins)

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

• Guide the children to Romans 8:12-25 in the Bible. (Help them as needed, NT vs OT)

• Say: We are going to continue through Paul's letter to the church 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 V12 and follow along)

Opening Question

Have you ever waited a long time for something good—like a birthday or a special trip—and it felt SO hard to wait? → Paul says Christians are also waiting… but for something even better! But in the waiting period, there will be suffering, pain trials.

Notes on Suffering
Now we enter the second half of Romans 8, where Paul talks about another big question: If God loves us and we belong to Him, why do we still suffer? Vv23-25 is about our personal suffering in our bodies.

Sometimes people think that only “bad people” should have hard times and “good people” should always have good things. But that’s not how God works. So we might wonder:

Does suffering mean God is upset with me?

Does it mean my salvation isn’t secure?

Why do Christians still face pain and problems?

Paul wants us to understand that suffering does not mean we’ve lost God’s love. Instead, he begins to explain God’s bigger plan — not just for us, but for all of Creation.

All of this proves that we are safe with God forever.

Romans 8:12-25 NLT
12 Therefore, dear brothers and sisters, you have no obligation to do what your sinful nature urges you to do. 13 For if you live by its dictates, you will die. But if through the power of the Spirit you put to death the deeds of your sinful nature, you will live. 14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God.
15 So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father.” 16 For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children. 17 And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory. But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering.
18 Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later. 19 For all creation is waiting eagerly for that future day when God will reveal who his children really are. 20 Against its will, all creation was subjected to God’s curse. But with eager hope, 21 the creation looks forward to the day when it will join God’s children in glorious freedom from death and decay. 22 For we know that all creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. 23 And we believers also groan, even though we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory, for we long for our bodies to be released from sin and suffering. We, too, wait with eager hope for the day when God will give us our full rights as his adopted children, including the new bodies he has promised us. 24 We were given this hope when we were saved. (If we already have something, we don’t need to hope for it. 25 But if we look forward to something we don’t yet have, we must wait patiently and confidently.)

• V12-14 God’s Spirit lives in me — and that means I’m truly His child.

  • Paul is telling believers, “You don’t have to obey your sinful desires anymore.”

  • People who follow only the sinful flesh — with no struggle, no guilt, no desire for God — are showing they don’t belong to Jesus.

  • But believers are different, by the Spirit:

  • We feel the battle.

    • We want to obey God.

    • The Holy Spirit won’t let us stay comfortable in sin.

  • How do we know someone really belongs to Jesus? How do we know someone really belongs to Jesus?

    • The battle between right and wrong inside your heart is proof that you are God’s child.

  • Kid Point: The struggle against sin is evidence that I’m God’s forever.

Romans 8:15-17 So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father.” 16 For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children. 17 And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory. But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering.

• V15-17 I’m an heir of the Most High King!

  • Before we knew Jesus, we had a spirit of slavery—meaning we lived in fear. Fear of death. Fear of bad things. Fear of not knowing our purpose. (Which is ultimately a fear of God, unknowingly)

  • But when we believed in Jesus, God replaced our fearful spirit with a new spirit that wants Him.

    • We don't fear death. We don't live in shame. We now have a purpose.

    • The Spirit communicates with us, guiding us towards God. v16

  • The Spirit guides us perfectly to God and with God.

  • If children of God, then heirs! (An heir is someone who receives a special gift or inheritance.)

  • Jesus died and rose again—and because we are in His family, we share everything God gives Him!

  • We have life NOW, we will rise to life again after death BUT we will also suffer in this life like Jesus.

  • Kid Point: We inherit everything Jesus did—perfection, new life, and suffering too.

Romans 8:18-22 Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later. 19 For all creation is waiting eagerly for that future day when God will reveal who his children really are. 20 Against its will, all creation was subjected to God’s curse. But with eager hope, 21 the creation looks forward to the day when it will join God’s children in glorious freedom from death and decay. 22 For we know that all creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.

• V18-22 Life can be hard, but God is preparing something so wonderful that nothing can compare!

  • Life can be hard, but Paul says God is preparing something so amazing that nothing we suffer now can compare.

  • God has promised His children Heaven, new bodies, and a perfect world with no pain or sin.

    • When Adam sinned, the whole world was cursed—that’s why we have storms, sickness, disasters, and death.

  • Creation didn’t choose this; God allowed the curse because He has a better future plan. He didn’t leave us in a sinful state forever after the fall (Gen. 3)

  • One day, creation will be set free from the curse, just like we will. (Gen. 3:17)

    • Paul says creation is “cries” like a mom giving birth:

    • Pain now → joy later. Suffering & Pain → New life.

    • The world’s “cries” remind us that God uses today’s suffering to bring something wonderful—His perfect kingdom and our future glory.

  • Kid Point: Suffering for now doesn't compare to the GLORY to come!

Romans 8:23-25 And we believers also groan, even though we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory, for we long for our bodies to be released from sin and suffering. We, too, wait with eager hope for the day when God will give us our full rights as his adopted children, including the new bodies he has promised us. 24 We were given this hope when we were saved. (If we already have something, we don’t need to hope for it. 25 But if we look forward to something we don’t yet have, we must wait patiently and confidently.)

• V23-25 Christians still feel sadness, sickness, and pain because our bodies are still part of the broken world.

  • V23: This verse shows that being a Christian doesn’t mean life is easy—we still suffer while we wait for God’s plan to be finished.

  • We feel the brokenness of the curse (from Genesis 3), but we also know it won’t last forever.

    • One day, God will give us brand-new bodies that never get sick, hurt, or die.

    • So we don’t expect everything to be perfect now—our hope is for what God will do in the future.

    • We can’t see our new bodies yet, but we believe God will give them to us. That’s what hope and faith are.

  • Hope helps us keep going, even when life is hard, because we know God always keeps His promises.

    • Just like a mom has pain before a baby is born, our suffering comes before the joy God promised.

    • That’s why we wait patiently—God’s timing is perfect.

  • Kid Point: Our hope in His promise helps us wait patiently.

Observation Questions (What did it say?)

1. According to Paul, what are Christians not obligated to live by? (We are not obligated to live according to the flesh. v.8:12)

2. What happens if someone lives according to the flesh, without having the Spirit? (Flesh is due a penalty- death. Rom. v.8:13)

3. What is all of creation, including our bodies, doing while it waits for God’s plan? (Creation is groaning and waiting eagerly for the sons of God to be revealed. vv.19-20)

Understanding Questions (What does it mean?)

1. Why does fighting sin show we belong to God? (Because the Holy Spirit in us leads us to fight against sin — only God’s children feel this inner battle. vv.13-14)

2. Why does Paul say we don’t fear God like slaves anymore? (Because we received the Spirit of adoption, and now we see God as our loving Father (“Abba”). vv.15-16)

3. Why does Paul say our suffering isn’t worth comparing to future glory? (Because the glory God will reveal to His children is far better and lasts forever, while suffering is temporary. v.18)

Application Questions (What should I do?)

1. When you struggle with sin, what should you remember? (That the struggle itself is proof the Holy Spirit lives in you — God is helping you fight. vv.13-14)

2. When life gets hard or painful, what perspective should you keep? (Remember that these trials are temporary, and God has prepared future glory that is far greater. vv.24-25)

3. How can we live with hope even when we don’t see God’s promises yet? (By waiting with perseverance, trusting God for what we cannot yet see. vv.24-25)

Activities

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For Older Kids

Romans (Youth) — Romans (Youth) 8B

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:

• God Gives Us the Strength to Fight Sin (Romans 8:12-13)

• Struggling Against Sin Shows We Belong to God (Romans 8:14)

• We Are God’s Real Children—Adopted Into His Family (Romans 8:15-16)

• One Day We Will Get New Perfect Bodies (Romans 8:23)

• Suffering Now Means Glory Later (Romans 8:18-22)

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.