The Kingdom and Its Enemies

The Kingdom and Its Enemies Grade 5, Quarter 3, Student Book

Betty Burton Choate

Into Gods WorldBible Class Curriculum

Written by Christians, for ChristiansChurches of Christ

Copyright 2014

Into Gods World Bible class curricula written by Christians for Christians

Churches of Christ

All Quotes from the New King James Version of Scripture

World Evangelism PublicationsP.O. Box 72

Winona, MS 38967Phone: 662-283-1192

Email: [email protected] sites: WorldEvangelism.org

Into Gods World.

Table of ContentsLesson Page

1. Who Is Satan? ......................................................................................... 1

2. Satans Kind of World ............................................................................. 7

3. What Did Jesus Do for Us? .................................................................. 13

4. The Gospel The Good News ............................................................ 18

5. Gods Circle of Salvation ...................................................................... 24

6. The Beginning of Gods Family The Church .................................. 31

7. The Family .............................................................................................. 38

8. Our Fathers Care for His Family .......................................................... 46

9. Gods Providence at Work Today ......................................................... 53

10. Satan Invades! ...................................................................................... 59

11. Other gods and Other Religions ..................................................... 65

12. Satans Tricks ....................................................................................... 73.13. Lets Look Back .................................................................................... 79

A Word of Explanation: This student class book is designed also as a tool for family Bible studies. The format is in narrative form: a Daddy, Mother, son and daughter, studying and discussing the lessons together. Daddy leads the discussions and does most of the talking. His statements are not enclosed with quotation marks, avoiding the repetitious Daddy said..., Daddy answered..., Daddy asked... So when you are read-ing text without quotation marks, keep in mind that Daddy is talking....

For Teachers and Parents: We hope that you will find these materials useful, in full agreement with Gods word, and interesting to study. We ask that in the classroom you teach with astuteness and compassion, aware that this ideal family shown in the lessons will not be the home situation of some of your stu-dents. As teachers, get to know the children and their specific needs. In this way you will be better able to instill in their minds what God wants the family and home to be, without alienating them with the painful contrast to their own lives. When divorce and broken homes are as prevalent in the church as in the world, we as a body will either concede defeat and let ruination continue, or we will bravely rise to the painful task of teaching the clear message of Gods word so that things can be turned around. Only true knowledge and humble obedience can save us from destruction.

For decades, many of the Bible class materials provided for the Lords church were adapted from literature written for interdenominational use. For that reason, no definitive doctrine was taught.

We cannot remain strong as Gods Family without knowledge of all that He says in His message to mankind. Partial truths are not enough to save us and secure our faithfulness to Him. We understand that the mar-ket in the church is not large enough for literature to be developed as a business, hiring people to do all the writing, artwork, graphic design, editing, and printing, and still to be offered at an affordable price. This explains the logic behind companies buying the rights to reproduce and edit materials designed initially for use in the denominational world. They were providing what they could afford to do.

But this lack of definitive teaching has opened the door to a major apostasy that is already well underway. The only course for preventing the loss of maybe 85% of the American church, following the death of the older generations, is through literature. This is a vital work the church needs to do for the church. We have asked volunteers to write and prepare the materials, so that the finished products will be biblically sound, appealing to the eye, offering the needed component parts, and yet remaining within reason in cost.

To complete such an enormous job four quarters for every year from the cradle through adult ages will take time. We pray that you will keep in touch with us, to be aware of new materials as they are completed, to use them, to offer your suggestions for improvement, and to volunteer your talents in the work yet to be done. Most of all, pray for Gods people.

1. Can we see Satan with our eyes?

2. Did God create an evil spirit that He called Satan? [God created all beings, and all that He created was good. He did not cause Satan to choose to do wrong. Satan made that choice himself, and because he rebelled against God, he was thrown out of heaven Revelation 12:7-12.]

A Little Man with Horns?

Laura was helping her mother with the dishes after lunch. Youre quiet today! Mother exclaimed. Whats on your mind?

Oh, I dont know, Laura answered hesitantly. Something that was said in our Bible class this morning, I guess.

What was that? Mother asked.

Well, Tommy asked if Satan is a little man in a red suit, with horns and a pitchfork, or is he just the bad things around us, or the influence of our friends trying to get us to do wrong or is he a real spirit person who is working in the world?

What do you think? Mother turned the question around. Maybe we

havent studied enough about him for you to really know what the Bible teaches.

Does it say much about Satan?

Oh, yes! And by paying attention to what God says about him, we can be warned so that well know how to protect ourselves!

Can he just take over our minds you know, like they say some people are possessed by the devil?

Thats a good question, Mother smiled. And did you know theres only one place where we can find the true answers about God and about Satan? in Gods word!

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Our World..... Lesson 1

Into Gods World.....Who Is Satan?

Have you ever wondered who Satan is and what he looks like? We often hear people speak about Satan or the devil. Is he just a bad influence or is he a real being? Where did he come from? Has he always existed, or did someone make him? Is he a bad god, equal with the true God, or is he less than God?

In Ezekiel 28:12-17, God speaks to someone, whom He calls a cherub an angel and He says, You were the seal of perfection, full of wis-dom and perfect in beauty. You were in Eden, the garden of God; ... you were the anointed cherub who covers; I established you; you were on the holy mountain of God; you walked back and forth in the midst of fiery stones. You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created, till iniquity was found in you...

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Memory Verse: Revelation 12:9: So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

In Isaiah 14:12-15, we read of God speaking to Sa-tan again: How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! ... For you said in your heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God. ... I will be like the Most High. These are small glimpses of Satan or Lucifer, before he chose to try to make himself greater than God. He was a spirit being, called a cherub, and he was described as being the anointed cherub so he must have been an angel with great authority. God described him as perfect, as being on the holy mountain of God, and in the Garden of Eden. But pride filled his heart, and he decided to make his throne higher than the stars, even to be like God!

What happened when Satan rebelled? We see other glimpses in other verses:

And the angels who did not keep their prop-er domain, but left their own habitation, He [God] has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness for the judgment of the great day ... (Jude 6). Then He will also say to those on the left hand, Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels ... (Matthew 25:41). Evidently, when Satan rebelled, he had influence over other angels, and he led many to follow him in re-bellion against God. These verses show us that angels have the choice to obey or disobey God, but when they disobeyed, God prepared a place for them. All of us should keep in mind that hell was originally planned for Satan and his fallen angels, not for humans.

God cannot allow sin in heaven, though, and so the angels were cast out of the presence of God.

And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the drag-on and his angels fought, But they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any lon-ger. So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

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Vocabulary

Spirit being: an immortal life form which cannot be seen with the human eye. Being invisible to us does not mean that it is not real; in fact the spirit world is more real in the sense of being a permanent world than ours is because those beings do not die as we do.

Angels: spirit beings who were created by God before He made the world and everything in it. They are above man, and are doing the bidding of God. Part of their work is to serve those who are heirs of salva-tion. (Hebrews 1:14)

Michael: the archangel; the only angel in the scriptures to be designated as archangel. Michael seems to serve now as the commander of Gods host of angels. See Jude 9.

The Devil: also called Satan; an evil spirit being who wants to lead us to be evil. Jesus said. I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. (Luke 10:18)

Demons: spirit beings who are enemies of God; they are servants of Satan.

Song:

Get Behind Me, Satan!

When temptations trouble you, say,

Get behind me, Satan!

When the wrong road faces you, say,

Get behind me, Satan!

Christ will lead you all the way,He will guide you day by day, When temptations trouble you,

say,Get behind me, Satan!

Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down (Revelation 12:7-10). These verses show that there was a war in heaven. Satan and his angels were overpowered by Michael and his angels, and the disobedient spirits were cast out of heaven. Satan now roams the earth, going about, looking for ways to deceive all who will listen to his temptations to do wrong.

In Ephesians 2:1-3 we learn that Satan is the spirit that now works in the sons of disobedience. So God teaches us in His word that Satan is an evil spirit being, which means that he does not have a physical body that we can see with our human eyes. But this verse also tells us that Satan is leading people to be disobedi-ent to God. It is his goal to turn each of us away from God! We can always know that Satan is the one who has been at work whenever people disobey God.

Satan is powerful but he does not have the same powers as God. He doesnt know everything, as God does, and he isnt all-powerful, as God is. He can do only what God and humans allow him to do. This means that he cant move into our bodies and force us to do anything. He can only tempt us to listen to him. God says in James 4:7 that we are to resist the devil, and he will leave us. Our power to resist the devil comes from God and from a knowledge of the Bible.

All of us know the story of Satans first battle with humans, and of his victory. Eve was in the beautiful Garden of Eden, the perfect home that God had made for Adam and his wife. There, among the fruit trees, Satan, in the form of a snake, asked Eve, Has God indeed said, You shall not eat of the fruit of every tree of the garden? Eve knew what God had said. He had warned Adam that if they ate of the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil, they would die. Eve understood Gods words, but she foolishly listened to Satan. He convinced her that they wouldnt die that the fruit would actually make them as wise as God! And, besides, it would taste so good!

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Picture used with permission: (c)2006 www.TheGloryStory.com

So Eve ate the fruit (and, no, the Bible doesnt say it was an apple!) and she gave some to Adam who was with her! Now, why wasnt Adam telling Eve, No, Honey, we cant do this! We cant disobey God!? He just took what she gave him and he ate it the first failure of a man as the spiritual leader in the family! Be smart, boys, and grow up to be the leaders God wants you to be, so that you can protect your wife and children from Satans lies.

You know the rest of the story. Adam and Eve had to leave the Garden, and God placed cherubim as guards so that they could never return to that perfect home.

There are many examples in the Bible of Satans attacks on men and wom-en. When he appeared to Eve, he added only a few words to Gods instructions, but through that first lie he was able to deceive her and to persuade her to disobey God. Deceit is one of his greatest tools, and he uses it every day, even now. Satan tried to deceive Job into denying God, through bringing all kinds of problems into his life. Job had strong faith, though, and he did not turn away from God as Satan wanted him to do (Job 1, 2). Problems are still some of the devils best tools for discouraging people and getting them to doubt and disobey God. We read of Judas and of Ananias who did not resist Satans temptations to do wrong. Satan led Judas to betray Gods own Son! (John 13:2). Later Satan tempted one of the first Christians to lie to the Holy Spirit (Acts 5:3). Lying is a tool that Satan uses every day, knowing that God has said that every liar will

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have his own place in hell. Of course, what Satan wants is to take as many with him as he can so he convinces people that a little white lie wont hurt! But hes lying! Satan even tempted Jesus in the wilderness, but Jesus answered each temp-tation with a scripture. (Luke 4:1-13). If we follow Jesus example we will learn Gods word so well that it will become our answer whenever Satan trails thoughts of temp-tations through our minds.

We are warned that Satan will transform himself into an angel of light. This means that he will make wrong things appear to be right (Read 2 Corinthians 11:13-15). We must study Gods word so that we will know the real truths. This is the only way we will be able to tell when Satan is pretending to be good and trying to lead us away from God through his lies.

In the New Testament, Christians are warned that Satan will try to destroy us. In 1 Peter 5:8 we read, ...your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. For our own protection, we must study Gods word every day, so that we will be prepared with the right answers when Satan slips into our hearts with tempta-tions. Gods word is our shield and protection.

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To Do at Home Begin a collection of newspaper and magazine articles reporting Satan worship, cases of witchcraft, cult activities, crime, and religious conflict and division. This will help the entire family to be more aware of Satans work in the everyday world around us.

In your mind, do you picture the devil and angels something like this?

Cartoon drawings like this one are at work in two ways: they take away some of our fear of Satan, because they make him seem to be a joke. And they lessen our respect and awe of spiritual angelic beings. Angels are special workers for God, helping and caring for those who will be saved (Hebrews 1:14).

Can you answer these questions from the lesson?1. Who is Satan?2. Is he as powerful as God?3. Why were Satan and his angels cast out of heaven? 4. The terrible place called hell was made for ________ and ____ _________.5. What lie did Satan tell Eve?6. How did Jesus answer Satans temptations?7. How can Satan seem to be an angel of light?

Additional Scriptures: Matthew 4:1-11 Matthew 12:24-30 Matthew 25:41Job 2:72 Corinthians 11:3 2 Corinthians 12:7 Ephesians 6:1 Psalm 119:11

A World of Hurt Anthony and Laura were watching TV when suddenly they heard sirens! A police car was rac-ing down their street! Whats that? Anthony asked, jumping up to go to the door. The police car pulled into the driveway just next door. Ooh, Laura whispered. Whats wrong at Bobbys house? Just then, Daddy and Mother ran into the living room and out the front door, concerned about what was happening at their neigh-bors house. Stay inside! Mother shouted to Anthony and Laura. Well see whats going on! More sirens screamed down the street, and an ambulance stopped at the Browns house. It seemed like a long time before Daddy and Mother finally came home. They sat down on the couch, tears in their eyes. Laura ... Anthony, come here, Daddy said. What happened at Bobbys house? Laura asked, almost afraid to hear the answer. Something terrible, Laura, Daddy answered. Bobbys Dad was drunk and he got mad at Bobbys mother and hit her. The ambulance took her to the hospital. Bobby and Brenda have gone to their grandparents house, and their Dad is in jail. Laura began crying softly. Why would their Daddy do that? she asked.

Honey, Mother spoke up. Do you remember asking about Satan, and if he is real or is just a little cartoon character with horns and a pitchfork?

Yes. You said hes real and he wants people to do bad things.

Thats right, Laura, Daddy answered. Lets talk about the kind of world Satan wants.

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Our World..... Lesson 2

Into Gods World.....Satans Kind of World

When God created Adam and Eve and placed them in the beautiful world He had made, everything was perfect. Have you seen pictures on the TV of a town that has been blown away by a tornado? Have you seen pictures of people on the roofs of their houses because of terrible rains and flooding? Have you seen cars all piled up and wrecked because of an ice and snow storm? When God made the world, none of these bad things happened. The flowers bloomed, the trees had luscious fruit, the skies were clear, and every night a gentle dew watered the ground. There were no storms and no dangers. There was nothing to be afraid of, not even lions and bears and dinosaurs!

We dont know how long Adam and Eve lived in the Garden of Eden, in that perfect world where nothing died and there was no fear in any heart. But one day Satan came along and tempted Eve to disobey God by eating the fruit that grew on the tree of knowledge. God had said, Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die (Genesis 2:16,17).

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Memory Verse: John 8:44: You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.

But Satan said, You wont die, but God knows that when you eat it you will be wise like He is! Eve listened to Satan and she even gave Adam some of the fruit, and he ate it too.

Have you ever been in the middle of taking a shower, and the bathroom door suddenly opened? Did you quICk grab a towel to cover up?

It was that same shock that Adam and Eve had when they ate the fruit. Suddenly they realized that they were naked, and they were ashamed and ran to hide themselves. No one told them that they needed to cover their bodies, but they took leaves and stitched them together to make the first clothes. Do you think they might have looked something like this?

Do people and especially girls today wear clothes that dont cover enough of their bodies? Do you know what the word modest means? It means clothes that are not so tight they look like they are molded to your skin. It means covering your body so that your top is not low or your skirt is not short and your clothes are not see through.

Do you know what? God wants us to wear clothes. He knows that many sins are caused by showing too much of our bodies, so from the very beginning He taught a lesson about His standards of modesty. When He came into the garden He did a surprising thing. He caused the very first death! He killed animals and then took their skins and made clothes for Adam and Eve! That means that God is not satisfied with just some skimpy little thing on our bodies, but He wants us to be modest.

Have you ever thought about how amazing it is that we all know a lot about what is right and what is wrong? Is it right to love your little brother? Is it wrong to hit him? Is it right to tell Mother the truth? Is it wrong to disobey? How do you feel when you do something thats good? You feel really happy inside, dont you? How do you feel when you do something thats bad? You may feel ashamed or mad, but deep inside you know you are wrong, dont you?

When God made Adam in His own image, part of that gift was the knowl-edge of what is right and good. But when Adam and Eve disobeyed God and ate of the forbidden fruit, they gained new knowledge of wrong and bad thinking. They were learning to think like Satan, and they now felt shame and fear.

Satan is still working every day to make people in his image, so they will do bad, hurtful things. In Bobbys family, his dad got drunk and then he was so angry with Bobbys mother that he hit her.

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VocabularyModest: dressing so that our bodies are fully covered, in clothes that are not skin-tight.

Lust: the bad thoughts boys often have when girls dress immodestly or behave immodestly.

Conscience: the voice in our minds that tells us when we are right or wrong.

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We were all afraid when we heard the sirens. We knew something was really wrong in our neighborhood. Thats the kind of mess Satan wants everywhere in the world!

He wants kids to be bullies in school and to cheat on tests. He wants them to learn curse words and to be disrespectful to their parents and teachers. He knows if he can get them to do these things when they are your age, theyll keep on listening to him when they get to be high school age and when they go off to college. Then it will be easy to tempt them to get drunk and to take drugs, so that they wont even know what bad things they are doing. They will lie and steal and hate each other, and they may get into fights and hurt people or even take a gun and kill someone.

When people are not studying the Bible and learning how God wants us to live, they dont have protection from Satans lies. He will make so much anger in families that mothers and daddys will divorce, and their children will never have the kind of love they need. Right now, Laura and Anthony, its so important for you to be thinking, Ill be a strong Christian, because thats the best way to live in this world, and Ill marry a strong Christian. Together, well raise our children to love God and to live so that all of us can be in Heaven together.

Laura, maybe youre thinking, Im just in the fifth grade, Daddy! I dont even have a boyfriend, so you dont have to talk to me about getting married! But right now is the time when we need to talk about who you will date and then who you will marry. If you make the promise NOW that youll either date only good Christian boys, or that youll teach and convert to Jesus anyone you might date whos not a Christian, and that you will never once even think of marrying anybody who doesnt love God more than he loves you, then you will be protect-ing yourself from one of the biggest mistakes Christians make.

What is that? Marrying someone who cant help you get to heaven. Let me ask you a question. Suppose that soldiers were fighting in a field, shooting back and forth in a war, and eight out of ten people who tried to sneak across that field were shot. Would you want to try it? I think youre smarter than that. But when a Christian marries outside the Lords church, eight out of ten lose their

faith. Thats why your Mother and I want to teach you now to listen to what God says in 2 Corinthians 6:14: Do not be unequally yoked together with unbe-lievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? In that verse we can see again the clash between Gods kind of world and Satans kind of world. God wants us to be His children, to think like He thinks and to live like He teaches in the Bible. Satan wants us not to believe in God and then he can lead us into all kinds of trouble. The words God uses to show the difference between the two kinds of lives is righteousness contrasted with law-lessness, and light contrasted with darkness. Christians are looking forward to the time When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him... (Matthew 25:31).

Would you want to be alive in this world when He comes back, Anthony? I used to think that would be just wonderful! But then one day I paid attention to what Jesus said in Matthew 24:37-39: But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. But what was it like in the days of Noah? Genesis 6:5 says, Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. What does that verse tell us about the world Noah lived in? That Satan had turned it into his kind of world! Everything was wrong, and even though Noah is called a preacher of righteousness, in all his years of preaching nobody listened to him except his family!

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To Do at Home Watch the news an hour a day for a week. Make a list of the reports that are made about crimes committed and the bad things people did each day. Is the world a good place? a safe place?

Can you answer these questions? 1. When Adam and Eve sinned, was even nature affected, so that natural disasters began to occur? 2. Were animals dangerous before the fall? 3. Because we were created in Gods image, we recognize right and wrong. True or false 4. When we let our minds be shaped by Satan, does wrong seem to be right? 5. When we follow God, will we be loving, forgiving, and hard working? 6. When we follow Satan, how will we act toward others? 7. How should Christians dress? 8. Christians should marry ___________. Why? 9. What does God want in our lives? What does Satan want?10. What was the world like in the days of Noah?11. What will the world be like when Jesus returns?12. What did Jesus teach us to do, to protect ourselves from Satan? 1. Love _____. 2. Love our neighbor ___ _________. 3. Do unto others as _____________________________. 4. Seek first the _________ of God and His _____________. 5. Believe in _________. 6. Be __________.

We want you to learn something from Noah: Your Mother and I want to teach you what God says in the Bible about the kind of person He wants you to be. Then, even if you live to see the whole world lying and stealing and hating and divorcing and fighting and killing and doing every other bad thing you can think of, you wont live like that! Youll be protected by the light of Jesus words:L You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. (Matthew 22:37)L You shall love your neighbor as yourself. (Matthew 22:39)L And just as you want men to do to you, you also do to them likewise. (Luke 6:31)

L But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. (Matthew 6:33)L ... if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins. (John 8:24)L Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life. (Revelation 2:10)

When Mother picked up Laura and Anthony from school, Laura was bursting with eagerness to tell what

had happened during recess. Mother, Bobby got into bad trouble today! He had to go to the Principals office and they expelled him for a week!

Thats terrible, Laura! What was he doing?

He came onto campus with an older boy and both of them were smoking something. The older boy ran away when one of the teachers saw them, but they

caught Bobby. He was fighting and crying when they took him inside.

Promise me, Laura, that you wont be making friends with trouble-makers.

Yes, there are some kids that stay in trouble a lot, Laura answered. Yes-terday four of the boys got into a fight in the computer lab and knocked one of the computers off the desk and broke it. Why do they do things like that, Mother?

Do you remember our Bible study last week when we talked about the kind of world Satan wants to make, Laura?

Yes, but what I dont understand is why anybody would want to be like that! Whats the fun in fighting and smoking and talking in ugly language? It just gets people in trouble, and thats no fun, Laura answered, puzzled.

Youre right, Hon. Just like we said, Satan tells whopper lies about fun things because he wants people to have all kinds of trouble.

But, Mother, you said God is stron-ger than Satan. Does He have some way to protect us, so we wont fall into Satans traps?

Im glad you asked that question, Laura. Youre getting old enough to be learning what God does to help us live safely in this dangerous world. Tonight in our Bible study well see just what God has done to make a wall of protection around us.

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Our World..... Lesson 3 A Messed-up World

Into Gods World.....

What Did Jesus Do for Us?

Laura, maybe you and Anthony feel afraid sometimes of dangerous things in this world, because you are children yet, and children cant do much to defend themselves. But even grown-ups live in danger. Ever since Adam and Eve sinned and Gods perfect world was broken, humans have faced danger from storms and earthquakes and other disasters in nature. We hear every day of terrible wrecks, and we know that people are hurt in all kinds of accidents.

These are physical dangers that all of us face, but the greater danger is the kind that Satan brings. He wants to cause problems in this world, but even worse he wants to take us to that terrible place called hell that God made especially for Satan and his angels.

Weve been reading from the Bible to learn how God wants us to live, that He wants us to be loving and helpful and honest, and to be His lights in a dark world. Jesus said, Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven (Matthew 5:16). But chil-dren dont come into the world knowing how to read the Bible and knowing the right things to do.

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Memory Verse: Matthew 1:21: And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.

Laura, what did God do so that you and Anthony would learn about Him?

Well.... I guess it was that He gave us a Daddy and a Mother.

Youre right, Honey. God made families, and daddys and mothers have important work to do, taking care of their children when theyre babies, and pro-tecting them in every way they can. Then as they grow older, there are so many things to teach them: how to brush your teeth, how to button your shirt, that its a good thing to take a bath! And then theres cleaning your room and helping with the dishes. When you get a little older, youll even get to learn how to run the lawn mower!

But we teach you other things that are even more important. When you fell the other day, Anthony, and scraped your knee, what did Mother do?

She washed off the dirt and put medicine on it, and a bandaid.

And didnt she wipe your tears away and give you a hug?

Yes sir. She said that would make me feel better, and it did!

Thats part of the family thing, Anthony. You know that your Mother and I are always there to do whatever you need us to do. Thats called security knowing that youre not alone in this world: that you always have family around you to love you and take care of you.

God knew how important our families are, so He made a bigger and very special family for us. In that family, God is our Father, and Jesus is our older Brother but, besides Him, we have lots and lots of brothers and sisters! Do you know what Gods family is called, Laura?

Sure, Daddy! Youve been telling us how important it is for us to worship God every Sunday with our spiritual family! See! I was listening!

Good, Honey! Yes, the church is Gods family, and in Ephesians 3:14,15, we read these words, I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named. So the church wears Jesus name, and it is in His name that we come together to worship and to pray. So we do everything in the name of our Brother we are called Chris-tians and the church is called the church of Christ or even the body of Christ because He is the head, telling us what to do, and we are the hands and feet to go around in the world and to do His work.

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1. God made husbands and wives, daddys and mothers. What does your Daddy do to help you? What does your Mother do to help you?

2. Do you have friends whose parents are divorced?

3. How does having a mother and a daddy help you to feel secure?

But not everybody is in Gods special family. Most of the people are outside, out there in Satans dangerous world of sin.

Satans world is scary, with lots of hurting and crying. We dont want to live like that. Tonight I want to teach you what God says about how we become a part of His family.

First, Anthony, how does God talk to us?

In the Bible?

Youre right. We dont hear a little voice telling us what to do. God has given us all of the directions in the Bible, and so thats why we study it. How often do we turn to the Bible to read what it says, Laura? Just on Sundays? or when we have a problem?

We have Bible study every night, Daddy.

And the reason we do that is to hear Gods words for us. I would be real-ly hurt if you let me talk to you only once or twice a week. Im your Daddy, and there are lots of things I want to say to you. God is our heavenly Father, and He has lots of things to say to us too, to help us every day.

So the first thing we have to do to learn how to become a part of Gods special family is to hear His word, His good news of the Gospel about Jesus. What have you learned about Jesus, Anthony?

Lots of things, Daddy. I know He was born in Bethlehem, and when He grew up He was teaching people about God.

Thats right, Anthony. We read about His sermon on the mountain where thou-sands of people came to listen. The sad thing was that the leaders of the Jews be-came jealous of Jesus. They didnt want people to follow Him instead of themselves, so they planned how they would get rid of Jesus. What finally happened, Laura?

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He was arrested.

Yes. The Jewish leaders arrested Jesus and had a trial, and then they took Him to Pilate, the Roman governor. They accused Jesus of claiming to be the king of the Jews, and they knew that the punishment for that kind of treason was crucifixion.

They were really mean to Him, werent they, Daddy?

Yes, He was beaten so badly that in Psalm 22:14-18 the Bible says, I am poured out like water, And all My bones are out of joint; My heart is like wax; It has melted within Me. My strength is dried up like a potsherd, And My tongue clings to My jaws; You have brought Me to the dust of death. For dogs have surrounded Me; The congregation of the wicked has en-closed Me. They pierced My hands and My feet; I can count all My bones. They look and stare at Me. They divide My garments among them, And for My clothing they cast lots.

But, Laura and Anthony, Mother spoke up, even though David the shepherd boy/king wrote many of the Psalms, the way this one is worded shows that the One of the Godhead who was born many centuries later as Jesus the Son of God and the Son of Mary was the One who was speaking those words. Already, He could look down through time and could see what humans would one day do to Him.

Then why did He let those mean things happen? asked Laura.

Thats a good question, and the answer is what we need to hear from Gods word. In Matthew 1:21, the angel told Jo-seph, And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins. Can you answer these questions? 1. What are some of the wrong things that happen that you know about? 2. How does God teach us the right things to do? 3. Can we know what God wants unless we study the Bible? 4. Give some reasons why God made Daddys and Mothers. 5. How does family make us strong and help us to feel secure? 6. What is Gods spiritual family called? 7. Who was talking in Psalm 22? Who was He talking about? How did He know so many hundreds of years before what was going to happen to Him? 8. Jesus died to save _____ __________ _______ _________ _______.

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Learn New Words:PROPHET: A person who, by inspiration, told beforehand of things that would happen. Also, the word was used for preachers men who brought the message of God to the church.PROPHESY: To speak of things that would happen in the future.PROPHECY: The statement of what would happen in the future.

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God and Satan are in a war. God wants everyone to love Him, to listen to His word, and to obey Him so He can take them home to heaven when they die.

Satan is not God. He is a spirit being who wanted to be greater than God, so he led some of the angels in a rebellion against God. Revelation 12:7-9 says that Satan and his angels were cast out of heaven, and that the horrible place called hell has been prepared for them. But Satan lies to people and deceives them because he wants everyone to go to hell with him. That is why there are so many bad things in this world. Satan is getting people to fight and lie and steal and kill. And when Jesus was crucified, Satan thought he was winning the war against God! But was he.....?

Our World..... Lesson 4The Great Gift

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The Gospel The Good News

Tonight, Daddy said as he and Mother settled down in the den for their Bible study with Laura and Anthony, we want to learn more about the special family God made for the ones who love Him. We talked last night about the ter-rible things that were done to Jesus. The soldiers crucified Him, and that was a horrible way to die.

Satan must have thought he was winning the war when he saw the only Son of God being nailed to a cross. He thought he had the whole world in his hands, but he was wrong! God was using that very thing the death of His Son as the weapon to defeat Satan!

Now, before we learn more about our part in this, I want to ask you, Laura, why did Jesus die for us? Do you know?

Ive heard the preacher say that He died for our sins...

Thats right. When people get old enough to understand what is right and what is wrong, we all sometimes choose to do the wrong things and that makes us sinners. Romans 3:23 says, ... for all have sinned and fall short of the

Memory Verse: John 3:16: For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not per-ish but have everlasting life.

glory of God. That means that everybody who has lived since Adam and Eve has sinned, and no one who practices sin can go to heaven. Thats really bad, because God loves us and wants us to live with Him eternally. But sin shuts the door, and we cant open it. Romans 6:23 says, For the wages of sin is death....

Then how can anybody go to heaven, Daddy?

The Bible tells us the answer: For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life (John 3:16). You see, we were under the sentence of death, and we didnt own anything precious enough that we could give it to God so that our sins would be taken away. Its sort of like when you go to a store and see something you really want, if you have enough money to pay for it, you can buy it. Well, what all of us want is to go to heaven, but our sins closed the door, and we didnt have anything to pay so that we could go there.

But Jesus was born as the Son of God and as the Son of Mary, so He became a human, our brother. And He never sinned. When He died on the cross, He ... bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness by whose stripes you were healed (1 Peter 2:24).

The question, now, is How do we die to sins, so that we can live in Christ as His brother or sister? Who can tell us what to do?

I know, Daddy! God tells us in the Bible!

Youre right, Honey. We have to hear what God teaches us in the Bible, and we have to believe it in our hearts. Romans 10:10 says, For with the heart one believes unto righteousness... So the first real step we can take toward being righteous is to believe what God says in His word.

We were saying that Jesus died on the cross, to pay the price for our sins. All that He did for us is called the Gospel, which means the good news. It really is good news that we can have our sins forgiven, so we need to know what Jesus did. But, after His death, what is the rest of the story?

He was buried, wasnt He?

Yes, near to the place where He was crucified was a tomb that belonged to a man named Joseph, and Jesus was buried there with guards to be sure that no one took His body away. You see, Jesus had said that after three days He would come alive again, and the Jewish leaders were afraid that His disciples would sneak in and take Him out of the tomb and then claim that He really had been resurrected. So the tomb was sealed and a Roman guard was posted. One day passed, and nothing happened, another day passed, and nothing happened

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but at daybreak on Sunday morning there was an earthquake. An angel rolled the stone from the entrance to the tomb, and Jesus came out alive!

Oh, that was a blow to Satan! When Jesus was on the cross and in the grave, Satan thought he had won the war, but when Jesus came alive again, old Satan was beaten. Do you know why?

Why?

Because when Jesus was resurrected, He was showing that all of Gods children will one day be resurrected too! Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed in a moment, in the twin-kling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed (1 Corinthians

15:51,52).So this is the good news we

talked about awhile ago. Isnt it good news that we can have our sins forgiv-en and that we can live for God and look forward to going to heaven when we die?

I want to go to heaven.

Yes, Laura, we do want to spend eternity with God. So the question is, If Jesus died for your sins and for mine, how do we get our sins erased? 1 Corinthians 15:1-4 answers that ques-tion: Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and

in which you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins accord-ing to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures.

This Scriptures tell us that the Gospel the good news is that Jesus

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RESURRECTED: to be made alive from death. God promises that when Jesus comes back at the end of the world, everyone will be resurrected from their graves. After the judgment, some will go to heaven and some will go to hell.

died for our sins, that He was buried, and that He rose from the grave. Romans 6:17 says, But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered.

So we have to obey a form of the Gospel, picturing what Jesus did for us. In the first verses of Romans 6, the inspired writer Paul explains clearly what God wants us to do: Do you not know that as many of us as were bap-tized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in

newness of life. But wait! Jesus died, so we have to picture His death in our

own lives! How do we do that? In Acts 2, when people were ask-ing how to be saved, they were told, Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of

sins... To repent means to turn around and go the other way. So when we repent it means that we are dying to sin so that we can live a new life in Jesus.

But theres another thing that we must do before we can be baptized to wash away our sins. Jesus said, Whoever confess-es Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven (Matthew 10:32). Would you be ready to do that, Laura?

Sure, Daddy! I believe in Jesus...

But would you be ready to say that if the police were arresting everyone who became a Christian? In those early days of Christianity and even now in some countries people are arrested and killed when they become Christians. Jesus warned us that we have to count the cost when we want to be His brother or sister.

That would be hard. And Id be afraid... but I want to love Him that much!

So those who love Him that much can be bap-tized buried in water like Jesus was buried in the grave and then they are raised up to be a new per-son in Christ. Romans 6:11 explains, ... reckon your-selves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

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The Gospel:1. Jesus died2. He was buried3. He was resurrected

The Form of the Gospel:1. The sinner dies to sin (Repents)2. He confesses his faith in Jesus3. He is buried in the grave of baptism4. He is resurrected to life in Jesus

Baptism is the dividing line for every person.

OKAY! Lets go over the Gospel commands together:We HEAR the good news that Jesus died for us!

We BELIEVE that Jesus is the Son of God!

We REPENT of our sins and make up our minds to live for God!

We CONFESS that we believe that Jesus is the Son of God!

We are BAPTIZED [immersed] into Christ, washing away our sins in His blood!

Before baptism, we are sinners, and the huge wall of sin separates us from God. Through our obedience to the Gospel, we are baptized into Christ. God becomes our Father, and Jesus becomes our Brother. Then the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord according to Romans 6:23.

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The Gospel of Christ

Match the Picture with the Verse

Then Philip said, If you believe with all your heart, you may. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. Acts 8:37

Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? There-fore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. Romans 6:3,4

For the hearts of this people have grown dull. Their ears are hard of hearing, And their eyes they have closed, Lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, So that I should heal them. Matthew 13:15

I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish. Luke 13:3

How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? Romans 10:4

Our World..... Lesson 5Am I Lost?

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Mother had come for a good-night kiss, but she could tell that Lau-ra was troubled about something. Whats wrong, Honey?

Mother, I do want to go to Heaven. Am I a sinner, like we stud-ied tonight? I know sometimes I fuss at Anthony, and sometimes I dont obey you. Yesterday when you told me to stop playing my game and to help you with the dishes instead, I was ugly and talked back to you. Im sorry about that. But I dont want you to be mad at me. Am I a sinner? Do I need to be baptized so I can go to heaven?

Laura, Im glad youre thinking about our study tonight. Mother sat

down on the bed and took Lauras hand. Sometimes when people are young like you, they are really concerned about being saved, but they dont feel that they are quite ready to be that good, and so they wait. Maybe in High School they get involved in things their friends are doing that they know are wrong, but their friendships are really important, and so they wait some more. Then maybe they marry somebody whos not a Christian, and they get busy making money, and they dont have time for God so they wait some more. And sometimes those people who actually knew about the Gospel and what they had to do to become one of Gods children sometimes those people die without ever decid-ing, Now is the time!

But sometimes children are baptized when theyre too young to really un-derstand what theyre doing, and thats not good either. I think this will help you to decide when youre ready: Right now, when youve done something wrong, do you think first about Daddy and me being upset with you, or do you think first that you have hurt God? If your first concern is about God and that you have disobeyed Him, then its time to be baptized. But as long as you are looking first to Daddy and me, I dont believe that God would be counting your growing up failures as sins written on His record.

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Into Gods World.....Gods Circle of Salvation

Daddy began the family Bible time: Were studying some really important things, kiddos! Ive made a picture of what weve learned. Lets start at the bottom of the page with HEARING THE GOSPEL:

Well have a little quiz.

Mother, what is the Gospel?

Its the death, burial, and resurrection of Gods Son, to pay the price for our sins.

And when we HEAR THE GOSPEL, what happens then, Anthony?

We BELIEVE what the Bible says.

Youre right! Then, because we want to obey God, what do we do, Laura?

Oh, I remember from your picture We have to WALk AWAY FROM SINNING [REPENT] and do the right things.

Now look at the picture again and tell me what we do next.

We SAY THAT WE BELIEVE [CONFESS] that Jesus is Gods Son.

Great! Now were ready for that BIG step that takes away our sins! What is that one?

Were buried in water [BAPTIZED] like Jesus was buried in the grave, and then we come out of the water. But, Daddy, what real difference does that make? Were still living in this world where Satans doing so much thats wrong!

Memory Verse: Acts 2:38: Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

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Aw, Honey! Everything is changed! A person who has been baptized is now a part of Gods special people that have turned away from the sins in this world and are living in Christ! You wear the name of Christ Christian just as the Family wears His name the church of Christ Youre a new baby in that Family.

Now therere THREE things you need to remember from the start:

(1) Satan is really mad because youve gotten away from him, so hell be trying to tempt you in all kinds of ways to leave God or to do wrong things.

(2) Now you belong to God. Jesus promised, I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you (John 14:18). Whatever we need, He will be there to help us through His providence, if we depend on Him.

(3) God knows that you are now just a new baby in His Family, so He surrounds you with your own Daddy and Mother and with the Christians in the church, so that they can help you to grow.

I think that tonight we need to talk about some of the things we do as a family, to help you to learn how to live when you become a Christian. What can you think of, Anthony?

We pray and thank God for our food. And we study like this. And we pray before we go to bed.

Thats right, and it is important for us to talk to God. But do you know what? We dont even have to talk out loud for God to hear the words in our hearts! All along through the day, you can be thinking, Father, please help me to do the right things, even when some of my friends are acting ugly. Or Thank you, Father, for helping me to study hard and to remember what Ive learned for the math test! Or Im so sorry, Father, that I lost my temper....

Mother spoke up: And do you remember that we said that Satan is not great like God? God knows our thoughts, but Satan doesnt! In tempting us to sin, Satan can trail thoughts through our minds, but he cant READ our minds.

Definitions:Tempt; temptations: Thoughts that cause you to want to do wrong things.

Providence: Gods help for us through people and things around us, not through miracles [illus-trate miracles as over-rul-ing the laws of nature, where providence works within those laws.]

1. What are the five things we do to be born into Gods Family?

2. When we become Christians, what does Jesus promise?

3. Does God know our thoughts? Does Satan know our thoughts?

4. What does temptation mean?

So we can follow the example of Jesus, when He said, Get behind Me, Satan! (Luke 4:8). Sometimes when Im having an exasperating problem, I just stop and shake my finger and talk to Satan! I say, You may lose things I need and waste my time in lots of ways, but you wont win! So just go on and leave me alone!

Thats funny, Mother! Laura laughed. Does he go away?

Well, I dont SEE him leaving, but I believe he does because then I depend on God to help me be strong against every temptation and aggravation. And there is peace in my heart.

So, since Satan knows that you are just a baby in Christ when you are newly baptized, and he knows you are not very strong yet, hell try to trip you up in every way. Maybe somebody at school will say something bad about you thats not true, or maybe somebody will try to pick a fight. What do you do?

Dont lose my temper? Try to be friends?

Thats a good answer, son. Christians are not cowards, but Jesus wants us to be peacemakers not looking for something to be mad about. Do you remember what He said about turning the other cheek and going the second mile? (Matthew 5:41,42)

But what does that mean, Daddy?

During those days when Jesus was in the world, the Romans controlled the people of Israel. It was a law that if a Roman soldier demanded that someone carry his gear for a mile, they had to do it. But Jesus told His followers a secret.

Now listen.... Daddy whispered: Jesus knew that if you do something because somebody MAkES you do it, youll be boiling mad inside, and thats bad for your health and bad for getting along with others. But if, in addition to what you HAVE to do, you volunteer out of your good heart to do even more, then youll have a good feeling inside. Two things will happen: being happy inside is good for your health, and that person who was being mean to you will be so surprised at your attitude that you might even turn an enemy into a friend! Try it! Youll see how smart Jesus was!

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So when Im supposed to help with the dishes, does that mean I ought to sweep the floor too? asked Laura.

That would be the idea of going the second mile of doing more than you were asked. There are lots of ways you can be helpful to your teacher at school, or here at home, that will show people you are trying to be like Jesus. Thats what He meant when He said, Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven (Matthew 5:16). When we try to live and think and talk like Jesus would do if He were here, people see Him shining through us. Often, thats how they begin to study our lives and then they may want to study the Bible to learn how they should live.

Jesus helped people who were sick or in trouble, too, Mother added. And you know that when someone in the church or in our neighborhood is sick or has some kind of problem, we take food and see what else we can do to help.

Weve been taking Jamie and his mother with us for Bible classes too, so they can learn about Jesus, Anthony added. And he wants to come to Vacation Bible School.

Thats the most important thing, son to help the people around us have better lives and to learn how to obey God and to go to heaven.

Besides the things we teach you at home about God and how to talk and think and live like He wants, what else do we do, Laura?

We always go to Bible classes and to worship.

Yes, Hon. When a person is baptized and is born into Gods spiritual family, hes beginning a new kind of relationship. In our physical families, we have parents, brothers and sisters, aunts and uncles and cousins lots of people who can help us if we stay close to them. That means we have to see them often and share our thinking with them. Its the same in Gods spiritual family. If were going to be a REAL family, we have to see each other often and to know whats going on in each others lives.

Thats one reason why the early church came together for worship every Sunday. They needed each other. Many of the Christians were poor, and some were being persecuted, imprisoned, and killed because of their faith. So they

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helped each other. Paul said about the churches in Macedonia, ... according to their ability, yes, and beyond their ability, they were freely willing, implor-ing us with much urgency that we would receive the gift and the fellowship of the ministering to the saints (2 Corinthians 8:3-5). And then he explained why they were willing to give so much to help the Christians in need: ... they first gave themselves to the Lord, and then to us by the will of God.

Its the same in Gods Family today. When we really have given ourselves first to God, then well do all we can to help each other get through the good times and the bad times in this world, so that we can all be in heaven together with God.

Lets read some verses in Revelation that show us a little picture of what heaven will be like: ... I was in the Spirit; and behold, a throne set in heaven, and One sat on the throne (Revelation 4:2). Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne, the living creatures, and the elders; and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands...

After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, stand-ing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, saying, Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb! All the angels stood around the throne and the elders and the four living creatures, and fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God... (Revelation 5:11; 7:9-11)

Laura and Anthony, as a part of Gods spiritual family, were strengthened and encour-aged when we come together on Sundays, but the REAL reason for our meeting is so that we can join the multitudes of angels and that great host of heaven in the worship of God and of His Son:

Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom,Thanksgiving and honor and power

and might,Be to our God forever and ever. Amen.Worthy is the Lamb who was slainTo receive power and riches and wisdom,And strength and honor and glory and

blessing!

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Our World..... Lesson 6Gods Plan for the Church

Gods Perfect Worldas He Wanted It to Be

Perfect weatherPerfection in everythingRich soil for bountiful cropsNo danger from anythingPerfect parents, perfect familiesLove, helpfulness, co-workersPerfect populations, working together in peace and harmonyNo sicknessImmortalityTalking, walking face-to-face with God

Our Broken Worldas Satan Has Wrecked It

Hurricanes, typhoons, tsunamisEarthquakes, volcanoesDanger on every sideCorruption, lying, cheating, stealingImmorality, broken homesSickness, disease, Deformities from genetic errorsMurder, deathWars and continual conflict among families, people, nationsNo visual relationship with God

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The Beginning of Gods Family, the Church

We cant begin to imagine what the world looked like when God finished His creation at the end of day six, but it was perfect. Nothing felt fear or danger, there was no death, no decay. The earth, the universe, were designed for beauty and for life.

God knew, even before the creation, that Adam and Eve would listen to Satan. He planned, even then, a way for those who would love Him to come back to Him. What was His plan? That Jesus would be born as His Son, and that He would save all those who would obey Him.

Do you know what Jesus taught to His followers? He taught them that He would call people out from the rest of the world, and that they would become His brothers and sisters. They would be His spiritual family, and the way they would live would be so different from others that the world would see His light shining through the Christ-like people. Now, how does He do that?

Memory Verse: 2 Corinthians 6:17: Therefore Come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean,And I will receive you.

Lets go over, again, how we are born into that special family, as new spiritu-al babies, and then well learn how that family is so different from the world:

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Gods Circle of SalvationWell look at the picture of what weve learned, and I want you to tell

me what each picture means. Lets start at the bottom of the page with HEARING THE GOSPEL:

What is the Gospel?

Its the death, burial, and resurrection of Gods Son, to pay the price for our sins.

And when we HEAR THE GOSPEL, what happens then?

We BELIEVE what the Bible says.

Youre right! Then, because we want to obey God, what do we do?

We have to WALk AWAY FROM SINNING [REPENT] and do the right things.

Now look at the picture again and tell me what we do next.

We SAY THAT WE BELIEVE [CONFESS] that Jesus is Gods Son.

Great! Now were ready for that BIG step that takes away our sins! What is that one?

Were buried in water [BAPTIZED] like Jesus was buried in the grave, and then we come out of the water. But what real difference does that make? Were still living in this world where Satans doing so much thats wrong!

The difference now, though, is that we have no more sins on our record. God is our Father, and even though we cant see Him, we have His Book. What is that, Laura?

The Bible!

Yes, and the more we read the Bible, the more we know about God His love His power His promises. Do you remember the story of Job, the man Sa-tan said would curse God if God just took away the hedge of protection around him? Well, after Job still held onto his faith in spite of the terrible things Satan did to him, in Job 38:1 we read: Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind...

Can you imagine that??? It was like a mighty storm blowing up, and then Job heard the very voice of God! And what was God saying? He was talking about all the things in the world things He had created and He was asking Job, What do you know about all that I have done?

Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?Tell Me, if you have understanding. Who determined its measurements?Surely you know! Or who stretched the line upon it? To what were its foundations fastened? Or who laid its cornerstone,When the morning stars sang together,And all the sons of God shouted for joy?Or who shut in the sea with doors... When I fixed My limit for it, And set bars and doors; When I said, This far you may come, but no farther, And here your proud waves must stop!Have you commanded the morning since your days began, And caused the dawn to know its place, That it might take hold of the ends of the earth... Have you entered the springs of the sea? Or have you walked in search of the depths? Have you comprehended the breadth of the earth?Tell Me, if you know all this.... (Job 1:4-18).The more we understand about God, the more sure we feel that He loves

us and will take care of us. Today, He doesnt talk to us like He did to Job, but we have another advantage: Job didnt have the Bible!

Did you know that? The Bible was written over a period of about 1600 years, by about 40 different men! Most of those writers never met any of the

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others, but they wrote what God was telling them to write, so the Bible is true. 2 Timothy 3:16 says, All Scripture is given by inspiration of God...

There are many statements in the Bible that prove it was from God be-cause humans didnt understand those things at that time. God challenged Job, Who knows the size of the earth? Who set the boundaries of the sea? No one knew those things. He said in Job 26:7, He stretches out the north over empty space; He hangs the earth on nothing.... But in Jobs day, some thought the earth was resting on the back of an elephant, and some thought it was on a turtle! And did you know that there is an area of the sky in the north where there are no stars? So it is empty space!

It was centuries after Psalm 8 was written that an oceanographer by the name of Murray read the verse that talks about the fish that pass through the paths of the seas. Mr. Murray believed that if the Bible said there were paths in the sea, it must be right, and he would find them. He did, and today the great oceanliners sail those paths because the currents help them move along.

All through the Bible there are statements that were beyond the knowledge of the age in which they were written. Only God could have told the writers those things, so we can believe with-out any doubt that whatever that book says is the truth!

When we read the Bible, we can learn not only a lot about the history of the world since the creation, but we learn how God has worked with people. We learn about Cain and Abel, and how God punishes the ones who are evil. We read about Noah and the great flood that completely re-made the surface of the earth. We learn about Abraham and Moses and all the prophets and the kings of Israel. Its a long story 4,000 years long! And all of it is true!

Because of the revelations in the Bible that prove God was the one who told the men what to write, we can be sure that every promise made will be kept.

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Promises Jesus MadeCome to Me, all you who labor

and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest (Matthew 11:28).

Let not your heart be trou-bled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Fathers house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also (John 14:1-3).

I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you (John 14:18).

Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid (John 14:27).

Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you (2 Corinthians 6:17).

If you love Me, keep My com-mandments (John 14:15).

Ye are the salt of the earth...Ye are the light of the world....Let your light so shine before

men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven (Matthew 5:13-16).

And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His pur-pose (Romans 8:28).

Weve studied a lot about Jesus. Where was He born?

In Bethlehem!

And where did He grow up?

In Nazareth!

After John baptized Him in the Jordan River, Jesus began to gather followers we call them His apostles and to teach them all about how He wanted them to live. He said, Dont be like the hypocrites or the other world-ly people! Be separate! Be salt that keeps things from ruining! Be light that shows the way out of a dark world! If you love Me, keep my commandments! Be at peace...

In all of Jesus lessons, He was teaching us to be different from the world around us. He said, Love your enemies and do good to them! If someone is mean to you, dont fight back! Be forgiving to those who wrong you! Trust God to take care of you, just like He takes care of unimportant things like the sparrows. Dont worry and dont be afraid!

These are the lessons Jesus taught and the promises He made. So, Laura and Anthony, when we are bap-tized, we are born as new babies into Jesus special family the church those people who dont live like Satans world.

Before Jesus death, burial, and resurrection He had told His disciples to wait in Jerusalem until the special day arrived. On that day a Jewish feast day called Pentecost when Jews from all over the world were gathered

in Jerusalem, ... suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance (Acts 2:2-4).

What a great day! This was the day God had been working for from before the creation! This was the day when the good news would begin to be taught everywhere in the world, when people would learn that Jesus had died for their sins. They would learn how to be forgiven, and how to be born new as spiritual babies in Gods new family, the church!

A huge crowd gath-ered because of all the noise, and Peter and the other apostles began to explain what was happening: Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a Man attested by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs which God did through Him in your midst, as you yourselves also know Him, being deliv-ered by the determined purpose and foreknowl-edge of God, you have tak-en by lawless hands, have crucified, and put to death; whom God raised up, having loosed the pains of death, because it was not

possible that He should be held by it (Acts 2:22-24).The sermon convinced the people that Jesus really was Gods Son, and

that they had done a terrible sin by wanting Him to be crucified. So they cried out, Men and brethren, what shall we do? (Acts 2:37).

Then Peter said to them, Repent, and let every one of you be bap-tized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38).

A wonderful thing happened then. About three thousand people in that crowd decided to become Christians!

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Those people were baptized just as we are today being buried in water, like Christ was buried in the tomb, to have their sins washed away.

The story in Acts 2 goes on to explain what happened then:

And they continued steadfastly in the apostles doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers. Then fear came upon every soul, and many wonders

and signs were done through the apostles. Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common,

and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need. So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved (Acts 2:42-47).

So, reading those words, it sounds like the early Christians moved into one place together and that they shared everything. Some people today say we should do that, but we have to remember that this was an unusual time. People had come from many different countries, expecting to stay only a short time in Jerusalem. Now, their lives have been changed! They have become baby Christians, and they know they have a lot more to learn. So they stayed on in Jerusalem, and the Christians who lived there shared whatever they had with their new brothers and sisters.

For those first weeks, or months, the Christians were so focused on God and being saved that they met every day in the temple the place of worship for the Jews and they were praising and thanking God that they knew about Jesus and that they were now a part of His church.

How did they learn and grow? What did the verse say? That they were in fellowship with each other, and I feel sure that they were talking all the time about this new religion, they were listening to the apostles as they taught the many things Jesus had taught.

The verse also says that they were praying, and that they were breaking bread. In chapter 20, when Paul came to Troas, he met with the Christians on the first day of the week Sunday to break bread. They were doing then just what we do today, as the church they were taking the Lords Supper!

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Our World..... Lesson 7Separate from the World

Among any crowd of people would be problems that satan has brought into the world: broken homes, orphans, deserted children, lying, stealing, drug abuse, alcoholism, brutality, pagan religions, divisions among those who claim to follow Christ, persecution, and many other terrible wrongs. Read this letter from a young girl:

Dear Sir/Madam,I am a girl of about fifteen years of age. Please sir, I am an orphan girl,

and right now my grandmother that I am staying with had died also. And so my parents properties has been taken away from me by my fathers relatives.

They have locked me from the house that rightfully belongs to me and now I am homeless. Everywhere I would lay my head has become a problem for me. Sometimes I get little to eat because I cannot do any work. And so, nor-mally, I eat leftovers of people food at canteens and other places where I could get something to eat.

Please, I would kindly request some favours from you. I would need some clothes to enable me to go to church, and also some Holy Bible which I can take it to the church. And some little amount of money which can enable me to go back to school and learn....

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The FamilyCan you imagine what a puzzling thing it was for those new Christians to

know just what they were supposed to do? They had learned that Jesus was the sacrifice for their sins, so they didnt have to make the animal sacrifices they had made under the law of Moses. They worshiped God now on the first day of the week the day when Christ was resurrected instead of on the seventh day under Judaism. Instead of the priests eating the shewbread, every Christian was now to eat the bread in remembrance of Jesus body, and drink the grape juice in memory of the blood He had shed for them.

Everything was so different, and they had a lot to learn before packing up their things and going back to their homes. It wasnt long, though, before the same Jewish leaders who had turned Jesus over to the Romans began to per-secute the Christians, Steven was the first one to die, and then everyone except the apostles moved out, but by the time they left Jerusalem they knew enough that, ... those who were scattered went everywhere preaching the word (Acts 8:4). We even read of the church existing in Rome, the capitol of the world, though no apostle had gone there to preach!

When the Christians were all in Jerusalem, we might think, Ok, Jesus had said Christians are to come out of the world and be separate, so they were like a separate little community. They could all live together and do the good things that the Bible teaches without getting all tangled up with the world. But then they were scattered, a few here, others there, maybe someone all alone in another place. How were they to be that special family then?

Can you tell me, Laura? What about you, Anthony?

I dont know. We live in this town, and I go to school with the other kids so were not separated, really. Of course, On Sundays and Wednesday nights, and some other times, the church gets together for worship and Bible study.

So, our being separate from the world is not that we live separately; its that we are different in the way we live! Do you ever hear the other kids use curse words?

Yes, but we dont talk like that.

And sometimes do the girls need to wear clothes that do a better job of covering their bodies?

Sometimes Im embarrassed, Daddy with how short the skirts are.

Memory Verse: Colossians 1:18: And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence.

So girls need to be careful with how they dress, but boys need to be careful too. Anthony, you may look around at what the other boys in school are wearing and think, Thats cool! Id like to have a shirt like that! And maybe its the kind of clothes gangs are wearing, so by the clothes themselves the boys are saying, Look at me! Im tough and youd better watch out!

Sometimes I see boys wearing such baggy pants that theyre about to fall off. Why would they do that?

Its an upside-down kind of thinking, son. Yes, theyre attracting attention to themselves, but their clothes say that theyre rebellious kids who want to shock ev-eryone who sees them, out of fear that theyre going to walk right out of their pants. I heard about a boy like that who was being chased by the police, and they caught him because he got all tripped up when his baggy pants really did fall down!

Sometimes you kids may think that your Mother and I are too picky about your clothes and your hair. Others in school may be having tatoos and ear pierc-ings and nose piercings and lip piercings all of these things make negative impressions on anyone who sees you. We want you to shine only the light of Christ not the rebellion of kids gone wild in a culture thats gone wild too.

Do you hear about parties, especially among the older kids, where drinking and drugs and other bad things go on?

Yes so all of these things are how were to be separate!Youre right, Laura! And, in contrast, when were with Christians were

worshiping or studying Gods word, or enjoying the fellowship, or going to a Bible camp together, or maybe door-knocking to sign up people for Bible courses, or doing a community project, or maybe even going with a group on a mission trip. All of these things keep our focus on God and the life He wants us to live. Thats very different from the world, and people watching us can see the difference.

Do you remember that in the early church, some of the Christians sold their things to help the ones in need? Thats another way were different. God teaches us to Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith (Galatians 6:10). Another command was, If any believing man or woman has widows, let them relieve them, and do not let the church be burdened, that it may relieve those who are really widows (1 Timothy 5:16).

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So Christians really care about people who are having problems. Do you remember when the terrible typhoon hit the Philippines and so many were killed and many others lost their homes and everything they had? We didnt know any of those people, but the church took up money to send to Christians over there so they could go out with food and clothes to help the victims.

Lets talk about some of the ways the church is a special spiritual family. Ev-ery family has a head. Who is the head of the church? Some man weve elected?

N-o-o-o... Wouldnt Jesus be the head of His church?

Colossians 1:18 says, And He [Christ] is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence. In the religions that men create, they usually have a powerful leader, but in the Lords church we are all under the leadership of Jesus. And under His leadership, following His directions in the Bible, who looks after the members of a local congregation?

We have a preacher!

Yes, but even the preacher is under the authority of men like brother Wat-kins and brother Samuels and brother Lewis. They are called elders or shep-herds, because they are supposed to look after the church like a shepherd takes care of a flock of sheep. Through Paul, special requirements were given for anyone who would be an elder. If a man desires the position of a bishop, he desires a good work. A bishop [elder] then must be:l blameless, [not doing wrong things to others]l the husband of one wife, [not divorced and remarried]l temperate, [a stable, reasonable person]l sober-minded, [serious and concerned about spiritual things]l of good behavior, [always being a good example]l hospitable, [showing care and concern to others; serving others]l able to teach; [a good knowledge of Scripture and desire to teach] l not given to wine, [not a drunkard]l not violent, [not easy to lose his temper]l not greedy for money, [realizing that earthly wealth is not important]l but gentle, [considerate, compassionate]l not quarrelsome, [a peacemaker, but not a compromiser]l not covetous; [not looking at others with envy for what they have]l one who rules his own house well, having his children in submis-sion with all reverence (for if a man does not know how to rule his own house, how will he take care of the church of God?);

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l not a novice, lest being puffed up with pride he fall into the same condemnation as the devil. [mature as a Christian, in knowledge and life] l Moreover he must have a good testimony among those who are out-side, lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil. [must have a good reputation among his neighbors and fellow-workers] (1 Timothy 3:1-7).

That may sound like a lot of rules, but Jesus knew that the leadership in local congregations was really important. Men can lead us to follow the Bible, or they can lead us away. And leading the church away from the truth means a lot of people would be lost eternally. Jesus was guarding against that.

So, following Jesus rules in the Bible, we have elders, and then under the elders are men called deacons. There are also rules in 1 Timothy about these men, and in order to safeguard the church we have to be careful to follow what God says.

Can women be elders and deacons, Daddy?

Im glad you asked that, Anthony, because women are doing lots of things in leadership in the world these days. Lets look back to 1 Timothy 2:11-13 and see what God says through Paul: Let a woman learn in silence with all submission. And I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man, but to be in silence, for Adam was formed first, then Eve. Going all the way back to the beginning, we see that the order of creation still holds true. God created men to be the leaders in the home and in the church and women are to be the helpers.

Nowdays, because of whats called the feminist movement women are taking over leadership in lots of things. Some churches even have women elders and preachers, but this is going against Gods law. If we want Gods approval in the day of judgment, we have to obey Him in everything.

Now, I want you to pretend that we are a part of the church that special family that belongs to God but pretend that theres nothing in the Bible about com-ing together every Sunday for worship or doing anything together. Do you think wed just lose track of each other, and finally there would be no church?

Tommy goes to a different school, so I never would see him if we didnt have Bible classes together.

And suppose there was no special day of worship. Suppose we just went through the weeks and months without ever coming to the church building for worship we probably wouldnt even have a church building! So God knew what He was doing when he divided time! A day is 24 hours time to work and eat and rest! We need all of those things! And a week gives us time to work and go to school and have a day for other things we need to do, and then have one day to worship God with the church! Then the cycle starts over and we have new strength to start a new week!

Lets think now about worship. What does that mean, Laura?

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Well... were all together and we sing and pray to God.Do you know who else is there with us? Lets read Hebrews 12:22-24 where

Paul is showing the whole picture when we come into Gods presence in worship:l ... You have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, l to an innumerable company of angels,l to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven, l to God the Judge of all, l to the spirits of just men made perfect, l to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, l and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things than that of Abel.

So, even though we are sitting in a church building, in spirit we are actual-ly worshiping at the very throne of God, with Jesus at His side, and the whole host of angels and all the other Christians all over the world who are there with us! Just think about that!

Wow! I didnt know that!And, Anthony, thats why

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The Kingdom and Its Enemies