What's All the Fuss About the Bible?

WHAT'S ALL THE FUSS ABOUT THE BIBLE? When you arrived tonight and checked in, one of the questions you were asked was: Did you bring your Bible. Maybe you didn’t even think about why we asked that question. You just said “yes” or “no.” But why the fuss about a Bible? For the next 4 weeks, you and I will be looking at this book. We will think together about what’s in this book. We’ll think together about how it got to be written. That is an amazing story. We’ll think about why we believe the Bible is God’s own words. And finally we’ll talk about how to read such a big book. Tonight we’ll make a beginning. I want you to get out your Bible and open it up to the very beginning - even before the first words of the Bible. Look for the Table of Contents. As you look at this, there are many names of what we call books of the Bible. Sometimes this gets confusing. Books inside of a book. That’s part of the wonder of the Bible. It was written by over 40 different people. Parts of it were written in at least 3 different languages. It was written over 1400 years. Do you know of any other book that is like this? Lots of writers, lots of languages, and a long long time. You could feel a little confused by all this. And so tonight I want to look at this book and try to make it a little clearer. The question I want to ask tonight is - how does the Bible hold together? Or, what’s the BIG IDEA in the Bible? And the way I want to begin this is by having you and I think of some of the most famous people in the Bible. I am going to need your help to guess who they are, and I’m going to need volunteers to help us describe them. I need 8 helpers. I want you to read your card nice and loud, and slowly. When you’re done, let’s see who can guess who you are. Now we have these 8 people, who lived in many different places and times. Some lived before Jesus, some at the same time. They have incredible things to tell. But is there something that holds them all together. What if we thought the Bible was just stories about many people with no BIG IDEA behind it. What would that be like? Let’s find out. Volunteers, I want you to read your card at the same time as everyone else who has a card, and you and I will try to listen for what they are saying. (NOISE) Now that wasn’t very helpful. I think we need to dig a little deeper. So let’s think about these important people one by one: A&E: When they sinned, they didn’t believe God when He told them not to eat the fruit. He had mercy on them any way. They learned a hard lesson - that God is to be believed. Noah: When God spoke to him about destroying the earth, what would have happened if Noah thought it was a really crazy idea and that his neighbors and friends would think he was crazy? When he built the ark, he showed that he Believed God Abraham left his home and didn’t even know where God was leading him. God promised him a huge family and all this land, but Abraham didn’t live long enough to see God answer this promise. Abraham is honored in the Bible because of his faith in God. Moses too must have thought: who am I to go before the most powerful ruler in the world, Pharoah, and tell him what to do? Why will he listen to me? Would Moses believe God? King David saw many times of danger. I don’t think you and I can imagine what it feels like for someone to be after you to kill you, but David spent many years hiding in caves away from King Saul. He was frightened, but he also prayed prayers of great trust that God would help him. David believed God. God spoke to the prophet Isaiah and told him things that God would do hundreds of years in the future. Who would believe Isaiah? Would he be laughed at? But Isaiah was a man who believed God in a powerful way. He spoke God’s words and many people believed him. Many years passed. People began to doubt if God would speak again, and then a new man came on the scene. He appeared at the Jordan River, telling people to be watching because the Lord was coming. Did people believe, or were they doubtful? Even after Jesus came, many wondered - who is this man Jesus? Is he really God’s Son. Paul didn’t believe it. He thought Jesus was someone he must not believe. But that all changed. So what is the BIG IDEA through all these events? Can you guess? (Use strip for “Believe God”) Let me read you some of Jesus’ words. He is speaking to people who know the Bible VERY, VERY well. Listen to what he says to them: “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life. It is these that testify about me.” From the very beginning with Adam and Eve, God began to show that He had a plan. His plan became clearer and clearer through Abraham and Moses and David and Isaiah. And by the time John the Baptist came, the time had come. What the whole Bible was pointing towards - God’s own Son come to earth to crush sin. Thank you volunteers. As you come to know more about the Bible, even when you are old and have read it for 50 years, you will never come to the point where you know it all. You will know some things when you are 10, but others when you are 20, and more when you are 30, and more when you are 50, or 60 or 80. But you will never get to the point where you know it all - because God is just too big! But one thing is true. As you read and learn, you can know the BIG IDEA that runs through every book of the Bible. And that will help you understand God’s purpose in giving us this incredible Book.

Why Did God Give Us the Bible?

WHY GOD GAVE US THE BIBLE (Have copy of Candyland directions or Powerpoint of Candyland directions) I want you to think back to when you were about 4 or so years old. Can you remember if you played any board games? (ask clubbers) So let’s imagine you have a friend over, and you’re trying to explain how to play Candy Land. You COULD try to explain it just by what you remember. What’s good about that approach? What’s not so good? (we forget things, we can be confusing) So if you’re little, maybe you ask Mom or Dad to help you by taking something out of the box, or maybe it’s on the lid of the box – (take out directions). Maybe something like this…(start powerpoint) So why are directions a good idea? • It keeps you from getting all mixed up • It lets you know how to win the game • It keeps arguments from happening When I know the directions, I have more fun, I don’t get into a big argument with my friends, I know how to win, and why I might loose. It’s good to know directions. Now I went to the Milton Bradley website and downloaded these directions. They let you download the instructions to any game they make. Sometimes don’t you wish that life had instructions? Don’t you wish you knew how to win at life? Well, there isn’t something like these Candyland instructions, but maybe there’s something even better. We talk a lot at AWANA about the Bible. The Bible is the only book that is written by God. And he wrote it for you and me. Inside are important things that keep us from getting all mixed up, and it keeps us from having arguments and fights. It helps us know how to live a life that is great!! I want to give you 4 ways the Bible can be a real help to you, and I have 4 things inside this bag to help. First, (get out food) So what is this? Right, food. Why is food important to things that are alive? What happens to people when they don’t get ANY food? Right, finally they get weaker and weaker, and if we get no food at all, we finally die. One way God talks about the Bible si that it is food, not for our bodies, but for our spirits – who we are on the inside. Just like your body gets hungry and needs food, you rspirit desperately needs food. People’s spirits can be horribly hungry, and when we are hungry inside, we sometimes try to fill ourselves up with other things – maybe food, or maybe computer games. Adults choose some things like alcohol. One way God talks about his book, the Bible, is that it is food for our spirits. God says – fill up with this! It’s the best food. And it’s delicious Psalm 119:103 (give our Hershey kisses) Okay, here’s another way the Bible can help you (get out teddy bear). Even though you aren’t adults yet, you know that there are sad things in life. Maybe you heard about the Hurricane that hit Texas last weekend. Life has lots of happy times, but Jesus said in this world, there will be sad times. And when we’re sad, or something ad happens to us, we need comfort. And God gave us the Bible to help us feel better. When bad stuff happens, we sometimes forget that nothing – nothing at all – can keep God’s love from us – Psalm 119:64. Here’s another way the bible can help you and me. (Lantern) When you watch tv, do you ever feel that all commercials want to do is sell you more and more stuff? They seem to want you to believe that if you have lots and lots of stuff, you’ll really be happy and have lots of friends, and feel great. But I think you’re smart enough to figure out that isn’t true. But what WOULD make us happy? How can we figure out what is stupid stuff and what is really, really solid? We can feel in the dark about this. (turn on lantern). God gave you and me the Bible so we wouldn’t have to be in the dark. You learn verses from the Bible to help you trust that what God says is really, really true. You can count on it. It will light your way so you won’t fall. If you don’t have a Bible, we want you to have one, so please talk with me afterwards. If you don’t have a bible with you, please reach in front of you and get one out of the slot in the chair in front of you. If you Do have your own Bible, please get it out. I want you to put one hand under the Bible and another above it, like 2 pieces of bread in a sandwich, and I’m going to close us with prayer. Dear God, you must really love us to take the time to give us a book like the Bible. But we have to tell you that sometimes it’s hard to understand, and it’s hard to read it. Please help us not to get discouraged, but to ask for your help. We also want you to know that sometimes we feel sad about bad things in the world. Please help us to believe what the Bible says – that you love us no matter what. Finally, we also want to tell you that sometimes we feel like we’re walking in the dark. We don’t know what to do. We’re like someone playing Candyland without any directions. Please be that light to us that helps us each day to know what’s important and what’s not. Thanks, God, that you want to help us, and we put our trust in you today. Amen.

The One and Only True God

GOD GAVE US THE BIBLE SO WE CAN KNOW HE’S THE ONE AND ONLY TRUE GOD America welcomes people from all over the world – we don’t just welcome Christians. And in many ways, having people from every country makes America an amazing place! You can hear people speaking languages from anywhere! You hear all different types of music and get to eat all different types of food. America is a richer culture because of all these different people. I would imagine your neighborhood may have children from different backgrounds, or maybe you go to school with kids who may not speak English as their first language, or maybe you have friends or classmates who are from many different backgrounds. (Ask children) You probably know children who are Jewish, or Muslim, or Hindu. Maybe some of these children have become your friends. I hope so. We can learn so much from people who are different from us! At AWANA we learn that one reason God gave us the bible was so we can know He is the one and only true God. Do you have friends who believe in another god – perhaps Allah or Buddah? . What do you do, then, when you learn that your friends don’t believe in Jesus? So how can Christians say that other gods are false gods, and there is only one God, and it is the one of the Bible? Who are we to say our God is the only God? Let’s try to help understand this important question by thinking about medicine. (bottles of medicine & candy) Have any of you every gotten very, very sick? What do your parents do when you don’t just have a cold, but you have a really high fever? (take me to the doctor) Why do they do that? (Because the doctor understands about being sick and can help). When you see the doctor, sometimes he or she will write a prescription on a blue pad. What is that for? (to get medicine to help me get better). Amoxicillin? Strong medicine to fight the infection and help you get better. Have you ever been to CVS or Rite Aid? When you look at the pharmacy, do they have just one bottle of medicine for every type of sickness? No! They have hundreds of different types of medicine – medicine for infections, medicine for asthma, medicine for people with bad hearts, medicine for allergies. Your doctor has hopefully rightly figured out what’s wrong with you and prescribed just the right medicine to make your fever go down and start to get you well. Now what if your mom took the prescription to the drug store and the pharmacist said – all medicines are the same – so the pharmacist just grabs any bottle behind her and maybe that bottle is full of medicine for someone with really bad skin infections and she says – use this – it will make your child’s fever better? Is this a good pharmacist? What’s wrong with that? Or what if she says – oh, just grab a package of starbursts and have your child eat one at night and one in the morning. Really, anything will work? Is that true?? When we are in serious danger of being sick, we need the right medicine – not just anything will work. In fact, a doctor or pharmacist who would say anything will make you better would be a very evil person indeed and could do lots of harm, not good! Sometimes people think about God that way – that it doesn’t matter what God you believe in as long as you believe in some type of God. They say you don’t have to believe in Jesus or the God of the bible. In fact, some may say you are being mean if you say one God is real and the others gods people believe in are not real. Are we being unkind if we say that there is only one true God? Would a doctor be mean if she said – there’s only one medicine that will make you well, and I will write a prescription for only that medicine? No! She would be a good doctor to do that. But what if the God of the Bible is the one and only God? And what if he has written a book so everybody can who He is. You learned 2 verses that say just that Why did God give us the Bible? So we can know he is the one and only true God. Acts 16:31- Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved. Jeremiah 10:10a – But the LORD is the true God; He is the living God Some of you know another verse: Acts 4:12 – there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved. The Bible teaches that every human being has sinned – and the wages of sin is what? Death is far worse than any kind of infection that your doctor would look at The Bible also tells us that God has made a way for sinners to be forgiven – and that is by faith in Jesus – (repeat Acts 4:12). But the Bible says there is salvation in no one else. There is salvation only in Jesus. If I were making that up, perhaps you could say I was being mean to people who don’t believe in Jesus. But if God Himself is saying it, that means it is the truth and it is absolutely important that people believe in the real, true God. God calls us to love all people – whether they are Christians or not. And one way to love them is to tell them the Bible says there is only one true God.

ICHTHUS - Sinless, Human, God

More Icthus: YEAR ONE – ICHTHUS – SAVIOR Supply you'll need: TUBE OF EPOXY INTRODUCTION We’ve been looking at the old Christian symbol, the fish, to help us understand some very important things about Jesus. Today we’re going to pull them together by looking at the final word “Savior”, and I think you’ll see that all that we’ve learned so far – that Jesus is the Son of God and that he was fully human – are absolutely necessary for him to be our Savior. Let’s first look at the word Savior. Let me read you a sentence, and tell me what you think the word “savior” means in it. As the fireman pulled the woman out of the burning building and safely down the latter to an ambulance, she began to cry and said – you’re my savior! So some of the important ideas of savior are: Rescuer someone in real trouble You know from all we learned this fall that the greatest danger that you and I, and every human being is the danger of eternity without God. Sometimes that is called condemnation, or hell. That’s what we have earned for ourselves when we sin. And the Bible is clear that every human being is a sinner – well, except just one human being – and we’ll talk about that in a minute. But you look around this room, to both kids and adults, and we are all sinners. Sin is anything we think, say or do that breaks God’s word. Now God would have been a totally just judge if he just made us take the consequences of our sins. That’s justice. You get what you deserve. That’s life. Don’t do your homework – what happens? Rob a bank? What happens? And justice is a good thing. Imagine if evil happened and there was nothing to stop it! What if someone hurt you horribly and you had no hope that that person would ever have to face the consequences of what he or she did. That would be a horrible world to live in! But God is just, and he promises that he sees everything that happens, and he will judge every evil deed and will punish evil. Now on one hand, that’s great. But on the other hand, that’s a hard truth. Sin isn’t just what other people do – it’s what I do. But there is a wonderful, and totally unexpected part of God and that is that He is amazingly merciful. He is just, but he also finds a way for mercy to happen. And we see that wonderful mercy of God most clearly in (point to IXTHUS) Jesus, who is Savior. Now what if I – Mary McCormack - said to you – Andrea, I love you so much. I know you’re a sinner, and that God must punish sin. I know that the wages of sin is death. But because I love you, I will rescue you and I will take all the punishment for your sins. What’s wrong with trying to do this? • I have my own sins to die for • It’s a nice idea, but it’s my idea, not God’s – I’m powerless to do this So a sinner cannot die for a sinner. So that means the only way some kind of switch or substitute could work is if God put a plan into motion and found a substitute who is acceptable – someone who is a human and is not a sinner. That kind of narrows down who might be eligible, doesn’t it? That kind of eliminates me, and you and you and you. We humans were helpless to help ourselves. (Hebrews 4:15) But if Jesus were just human and sinless, how could he possibly bear the condemnation of not just one person’s sins but the sins of every human being who has ever lived? The only way Jesus could do this is if he was so mighty, so powerful. Here’s a simple example – I have a special kind of glue here called epoxy. Epoxy is really really strong glue. But it has an unusual thing about it. You can see from these 2 tubes that there are 2 parts to the glue. You create this strong glue, you have to mix these 2 parts, and you can only do that when you’re ready to use the glue. Now this epoxy mix is so super strong that it can actually hold 4,000 lbs. If I tried to use just one of these parts of the glue to hold something, it wouldn’t work at all. The two parts have to be mixed to create the super glue The only way that Jesus could bear our sins away was if he was a special mix, kind of like the epoxy. He had to be human – but a one-of-a-kind human – one who never sinned. But he also had to be God. That’s exactly why Jesus came to earth. Does this mean it was easy for Jesus? (How do you know it wasn’t – Garden of Gethsemane suffering, truly human and felt pain, what must it have been like for God the Father to pour out all the punishment for sins upon Jesus?) Was Jesus able to take away the punishment for my sins, your sins, everybody’s sins? Jesus tells us himself. Look at John 19:30 – Jesus’ final words tell us that Jesus said, it is finished. Here’s another way we know that Jesus did take the sins of the world away – his Resurrection is proof that he was stronger than sin and death. So first of all, as we finish with ICHTHUS, I want you to think about God’s great gift of Jesus when you see that fish in different places. I also want you to remember how this sign began – as a way for Christians who lived long ago to identify other Christians in a time when they risked their lives to believe in Jesus. Finally, I want to ask you – have you put your trust in Jesus as the one who alone can take away your sins.

ICHTHUS Part 2 - Fully Human

Here's more of the ICTHUS theme: T&T – Year 1 – Jesus Christ (IXTHUS series) Let’s do a little review. Last week we talked about a very old symbol that Christians used when it was dangerous to follow Jesus. (Draw the fish). The word “fish” in Greek is “Ichthus”, and remember that each letter of the word fish stood for something important that Christians believed. Let’s see if we can remember: I – Jesus CH – Christ TH – of God Huios – Son S – Savior This was kind of an easy way to understand who Jesus was. Last week we looked at two of these letter – the “th” and the “H” – Son of God. We looked at Jesus in two ways – things that were told about him in the Bible by angels or prophets or later by the apostle Paul. Then we looked at 3 things that Jesus did that marked him out as being God. Who remembers the things told about Jesus in the Bible: 1. Angel Gabriel in Luke 2 2. Isaiah 9:6 – Mighty God 3. Philippians 2 and Hebrews 1 – by very nature God, the exact representation of God Things only God could do that Jesus did: 1. Forgive sins 2. Power over creation 3. Received worship Tonight we’re going to look at the first letter – what we would write in English – Jesus . Now let me just ask a few of you – please tell me your full name (ask 2 or 3 kids). Write the names down on the whiteboard. Now write down Jesus Christ. Some people hear the name Jesus Christ and they think that Jesus was his first name, and Christ was his last name. But actually, the word Christ tells about who he is, the way we talk about: Queen Elizabeth, or President Bush Christ isn’t really a name. It’s a title, the way King, or Queen, or President is. So with these two words: Jesus And Christ We learn 2 more very important things about who Jesus is. We’ll learn more about “Christ” next week. Let’s look at the word “Jesus” tonight. When a mom and dad know they are having a baby, sometimes they spend lots of time thinking about what to name that baby. They think about someone in the family they’d like to honor by naming the baby after them. Or maybe they want to name the baby a name they have always liked. Do any of you know how you got your first name? Now Jesus didn’t get his name from someone in the family, or even from his mom because she liked the name Jesus. Look at Matthew 1:20-21 Jesus – means Yahweh is salvation (Take out apple). Now let’s imagine that we are brilliant scientists, and we are looking at this interesting object (put apple out on table for all to see). How do we figure out what this object is? (use our senses) Ask volunteer to come forward to touch, see, touch, smell & finally taste. What is our conclusion? We look at physical appearance, Responses (the fact that the apple doesn’t move tells us something about this apple!) Life cycle – if we could go back in time and see how this apple began and grew, and if we could watch it over the next few weeks as it would shrivel and finally go bad – we would also know with almost total certainty that this is a true apple So when we think about Jesus – as he is described in the Bible – and we’re asking the question – was Jesus really a human being? We can use some of these same techniques to learn about Jesus. Let’s look at some verses: • Luke 2:6-8 – what does this tell us – that Jesus was born • Luke 23:46 – Jesus died • Luke 2:52 – he grew up – sounds normal for a human being • Matthew 4:2 – he got hungry • Mark 4:38 – he slept • Luke 14:1 – he ate • John 2:1-2 – he went to parties • He got angry (drive sellers out of Temple area), cried (Lazarus’ death), tenderness (Luke 7:13 – widow of Nain) • He was tempted – Luke 4 Now we examined this apple, and we concluded that it was as best as we could tell truly an apple. Let’s look at what we’ve discovered about Jesus and whether it gives us a real sense if Jesus was a human being. Now maybe you think it’s kind of silly to ask this question. You may be thinking – of COURSE Jesus was human! But remember, if Jesus was truly God and truly human, this is something no one else ever had been or ever will be. So he’s utterly unique – a one of a kind. And so we need to ask these questions.

ICHTHUS Part 1

Who is Jesus? Intro to ICHTHUS Materials: White board Playdoh & coin Index cards with verses for kids Intro People put a lot of things on the back of their cars. I saw some funny bumper stickers – maybe you’ve been these: One has really, really small writing, and when you finally get your car close enough, it says If you’re close enough to read this bumper sticker, you’re TOO close! Another one reads – The more I am around people, the more I love my dog! People put lots if interesting things on their cars. One time I saw a little car and someone had put a big key on the back, as if you could wind the car up to make it go! Some people also put things on their cards to tell other people important things about them. Maybe you’ve seen the “baby on board” signs. There’s another thing I’ve seen on some cars, and it looks like this: Does anybody know what this thing means? There are a few very, very old symbols that Christians used. The fish is one of them. The Chi-Rho is another The Chi-Rho is made out of 2 Greek letters that are the first 2 letters of the word Christ in Greek. Other early symbols were a cross, and a shepherd. EARLY CHRISTIAN HISTORY Jesus lived about 2,000 years ago and died about 33AD. Slowly, more and more people heard about Jesus and believed He was God. These people becamse Christians. Some of you may not know that for about 300 years after Jesus died, Christians were in great danger for believing in Jesus. At this time, the great empire of Rome ruled a huge part of the world, and Rome would only allow certain “approved” religions to exist. And Christianity was NOT an approved religion. When Christians said that Jesus was Lord, the Roman Empire heard this as saying that Caesar, the Roman emperor, was NOT Lord. And so for many years, Christians were seen as troublemakers, and they were not allowed to get together to worship – at least not legally. Some Christians suffered horribly for their faith in Jesus. So Christians found ways of meeting in secret. Sometimes they met in places no one else wanted to go. They met in deep caves where people buried people. And they also had secret symbols to let other Christians know where to meet to worship. Imagine if we had to hide our AWANA clubs because we might be thrown in jail if we were caught here tonight. Imagine that we had to meet in a different place each week to be safe, and we had to draw a symbol to let people know where we’d be meeting tonight! Would you quit AWANA? Or would you still try to come? There still exists in Rome a huge network of caves called the Catacombs where Christians met to worship, and you can take a tour and see the places where Christians carved symbols into the stone. Years later, these caves became burial places for Christians too. The fish symbol is very interesting. Do any of you know what an acronym is? It’s a word and each letter of the word stands for another word. You may know many acronyms, so let’s see which you know: ATM ID PBJ SOS ICTHUS • Iasous • Christos • Theou Huios • Soter In this little phrase, Christians said the most important things about their faith in Jesus. And so we here at T&T are going to take 3 weeks to think about these 5 words and why they are so important. This is part of what you’re learning in Book 1 – who is Jesus? Tonight we’re going to take two of them - Theou Huios – what you have learned as the answer to the question “Who is Jesus?” - Jesus is God and the Son of God. You learned John 10:30 – I and the Father are one. We’re going to look at some more things the Bible teaches us about Jesus being God – because this is too important to get wrong! I’m going to need some help finding some things in the Bible to help us – hand out cards with: Luke 1:35 Isaiah 9:6 Philippians 2:6-7 Hebrews 1:3 Revelation 19:10 Son of God We’ve just celebrated Christmas so the story of Jesus’ birth should be pretty familiar to you. Think with me about the visit the angel Gabriel had with Mary before Jesus was born. Let’s all turn to Luke chapter 2. What did this angel say to Mary? Who has Luke 1:35? Please read it? What does this tell us about this baby’s mother? Would this baby have a regular father? How was this baby made? (Write on white board – Jesus Christ Human mother Holy Spirit/Most high – the child will be the Son of God Let’s look at another place, and look up a verse back in the Old Testament that we often hear around Christmas. Who has Isaiah 9:6? (write Mighty God/child) This doesn’t sound like any child I have ever known. 3. Let’s look at another things the Bible teaches us about Jesus being the Son of God. Who has Philippians 2:6-7 This part of Philippians is teaching Christians about how much Jesus gave up to become human. What does the verse say – although He was in very nature …….. Now what does “nature” mean? I have a wonderful pet named Chari, who is a golden retriever, and she is in very nature a …dog I look around here and everyone I see is in very nature a … human being What what does this verse tell us about Jesus’ nature? That he was in very nature…God (write on white board) 4. Let’s look at one more – Hebrews 1:3. This verse helps us in another way to understand how Jesus could be God. The words “exact representation” is really a very special word in Greek. To help us understand, let me take some of this Playdoh. And here I have a coin. If I push the PlayDoh on the coin, would you say I get a good copy of the coin, or a poor one? It’s a really good one. And the word used here in Hebrews is the word people used to describe the way a mold was used to create exact copies of coins – perfect copies. Now don’t get confused. What Hebrews is saying is that when you see Jesus, you see exactly what God is. It’s a perfect image. Okay, those are really helpful words that help us understand Jesus’ nature as God. – Jesus is exactly like God JESUS DOES THINGS ONLY GOD CAN DO: The Bible tells us that Jesus is really human – and really God. And he’s not a little bit human and a little bit God. He’s 100% human and 100% God! So if this is true, can you think of things Jesus did while he was on earth that showed he was more than just a human being? Let’s think together about a wonderful miracle Jesus did while he was on earth. He was teaching in a house, and there were lots, and lots of people crowding in. Four friends had a friend who was paralyzed, and they wanted Jesus to heal their friend. Do you remember what happened? Do you remember what Jesus said? So you know that I have the authority to forgive sins, … Only God can forgive sins, and so Jesus was saying – I’m God. And as the people saw the man get up and walk, Jesus also taught them that he could forgive sins. (add forgives sins to white board) There were many times when Jesus showed that he had power over creation. Can you think of one? • Calming the storm • Walking on water • Healing sick people • Raising the dead • Feeding 5000 with hardly any food I don’t know about you (write on board – power over nature), but when I was little, I wished I could make a bird fly over to me and land on my finger, or wish I could make it snow really really hard so we could have a day off from school – but I coulnd’t do it. I did not have power over nature! Here’s one that is a little more difficult to understand, but I think you all can. The Bible is very, very clear that only God is worthy of being worshiped. The last book of the Bible is called Revelation, and in that book, the apostle John is being helped by an Angel to learn things about the end of time. Who has Revelation 19:10 What is happening here? The angel clearly tells John that he should not be worshipped, even though he was powerful and awesome. But earlier in Revelation 5:5-14 we have a glimpse of Jesus being worshiped by angels and everything in heaven and earth worshiping Jesus! So let’s think – If only God is worthy of worship, (hold up one thumb) and Jesus is being worshiped and he’s not saying – don’t do that like the angel said – (hold up other thumb) then we must conclude that Jesus is…God. (lock thumbs) Now maybe you’re thinking – I already know this. Of course Jesus is God. But boys and girls, there are many many people who do not believe this. They find it impossible to believe that any human being could be God. And if it were any one other than Jesus, they would be right. I’m not God, and neither are you. Believing that Jesus is the Son of God, or of the same nature as God, is one of the most basic things that Christians believe. The early Christians understood this and we need to as well. Don’t let yourself be confused. Christians believe that Jesus is God!

Who Am I In Christ?

Who Am I In Christ? – Ephesians 1 – I am a child of God Tomorrow is Valentine’s Day. And it’s a wonderful opportunity for people to tell someone they love them. Sometimes Valentines Day gets into gooey, lovey-dovey stuff, but it can also just be a way to tell someone they are very special to you. In the next 3 weeks, we are going to think more about a great I-love-you Valentine that God has sent the world. And to introduce it, I want to ask how many of you know the story of the Ugly Duckling? Who can tell me what the story is about? • Baby is in duck nest • Looks different • Is teased • Runs away • Sees swans – how beautiful! • Discovers he is not a duck, but a swan Everybody – kids too – wonders, just who am I? Here is a family tree my aunt made that includes photos of my family way way back. This family tree helps me know who I am – where my family came from, what they looked like. Sometimes what people say about us tells us who we are. Maybe your mom tells you that she thinks you’re special. Moms do that! And that is one way you know who you are. Sometimes the words other people use also tell us something – but not always true things. People hurt people with words. What are some words people use to hurt people? Use post-it notes and stick on me Do we use words to talk about who we really think we are. DO you ever call yourself names? Do you ever say – I’m dumb. I’m so stupid. I hate myself. Like the ugly duckling – we are asking – who are we? Clubbers, the valentine God gives the world is a huge, huge gift. It has lots of parts to it. One part is that God loves the world and sent his son to die on a cross so that you and I don’t have to pay for our own sins – so we can be forgiven. That is a HUGE piece. But God’s valentine doesn’t end there. God gives you a new identity. Will someone turn to John 1:12 And Someone else turn to Eph. 1:5 These verses tell us that if we trust in Christ – admit we are sinners, believe that He has died for our sins – we change. We become what… Children of God – or in Ephesians – adopted sons. We aren’t strangers any more to God, but we have become family. Now let’s imagine that you have never met me and one day I come and knock on your door. You come to the door and what would happen? You’d ask what I want Would you invite me in? Maybe Would you hug me? No But what if I am your absolute favorite aunt and it’s Christmas and I ring the doorbell? The door would swing wide open, I’d get hugs and kisses, and maybe you’d even say – why did you bother to ring the doorbell? You know you can always just walk right in? And there’s a place set at the table for me at dinner, and presents under the tree with my name on it. That’s what it means to be family. And boys and girls – that is a gift God gives any who believe in Jesus. Not only are you forgiven, but you are joyfully welcomed into God’s family. Known by name – Here is another wonderful part – you are just in a huge group of boys and girls and adults who belong to God. You aren’t lost in God’s big family. Someone look up John 8:2-3 – Jesus calls each one of us by name. He knows (name 3 kids). Abba One part of your new family is that God invites you to call HIM by a very special name – Look at Romans 8:15 Some fathers insist their children call them by a formal Father. But God invites us not to call him Father – formal and stiff – but Abba – Daddy. Another part of this gift - And God has given you brothers and sisters all over the world. God’s family is full of every kind of person – every nation, every group, every age. You can meet your family wherever you go in the world. Next week we’ll look at another part of God’s wonderful valentine to all who are His. Boys and girls, if you have not yet put your trust in Jesus, I urge you to. And if you have put your trust in Christ, I urge you to begin to learn that being God’s child is so much more than just going to heaven. It’s a gift with lots and lots of parts! Prayer