BIG PICTURE QUESTION & ANSWER HOW DID GOD PLAN TO FIX WHAT SIN BROKE? Before He created the world, God planned to send the Messiah to save sinners. Apart from Jesus, we are like the dry bones Ezekiel saw. God showed Ezekiel His power to make dead people alive. MEMORY VERSE READ THE STORY:
Ezekiel had a tough job: ministering to people who had rejected God and suffered the consequences. The exiled people of Judah were eager to blame God for their circumstances. “It’s not fair!” they argued. (See Ezek. 18:25.) Ezekiel told the people that they were at fault for their exile; their faithlessness had provoked God’s wrath. The people were getting what they deserved. “I take no pleasure in anyone’s death,” God said. “So repent and live!” (Ezek. 18:32). God gave Ezekiel a vision. In this vision, God showed Ezekiel a valley of dry bones. The bones represented Israel. Ezekiel prophesied that God would put tendons, flesh, and skin on the bones. He would put breath in them so they would come to life. Ezekiel encouraged the exiles. Apart from God, they were dead. But God was offering them life. He would restore their future. “My dwelling place will be with them,” God said. “I will be their God, and they will be my people” (Ezek. 37:27). We too are dead in our sin. (Eph. 2:1) Sin separates us from God because He is holy. We are apart from God’s presence. But God does not delight in our death. He is patient and wants us to repent and live! This week, help your kids see that apart from Jesus, we are like the dry bones Ezekiel saw. God showed Ezekiel His power to make dead people alive. We see God’s power at the cross. Jesus died to save sinners. God raised Jesus from the dead, and He gives us eternal life. Hundreds of years after Ezekiel died, God’s presence came to His people through Jesus Christ, Immanuel—meaning, “God with us.” Jesus is the source of life; He offers us living water. (John 4:10,14) If we do not drink of it, we will be like the dry bones. No life will be in us. Jesus changes that. He brings life to the spiritually dead. God saves us by grace, making us alive with Christ through the Holy Spirit. (Eph. 2:4-5) GOSPEL APPLICATION K-2nd:
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BIG PICTURE QUESTION & ANSWER HOW DID GOD PLAN TO FIX WHAT SIN BROKE? Before He created the world, God planned to send the Messiah to save sinners. God was right to punish His people for their sin, but He kept His promise to provide a king through David’s family. MEMORY VERSE READ THE STORY:
Warnings had come from the prophets for decades. God patiently waited for His people to turn from their sin. The Northern Kingdom of Israel had fallen to Assyria, and the prophet Jeremiah spared few details when he warned Judah what would happen if they did not turn from their evil ways. (See Jer. 25:1-14.) But the people of Judah did not change their ways. The kingdom had been declining for years, despite King Hezekiah’s—and later, Josiah’s—efforts to prompt nationwide repentance. When King Josiah died, the people went back to their old ways, worshiping idols and disobeying the Lord. The time of judgment had come. God used Nebuchadnezzar—the king of Babylon—to deport the people from Judah to Babylon where they would live in exile for 70 years. Nebuchadnezzar went to Judah when Jehoiakim was king. He put Jehoiakim in chains and took him to Babylon. Jehoiachin became king, and Nebuchadnezzar came back for him too. Many of the people in Judah were taken, along with treasures from the Lord’s temple. Nebuchadnezzar put Zedekiah on the throne in Jerusalem. The people of Judah were unfaithful to God. Zedekiah rebelled against Nebuchadnezzar, and God poured out His wrath on Judah. Nebuchadnezzar showed no mercy to the people of Jerusalem. The Babylonians set fire to the Lord’s temple and the king’s palace. They destroyed the wall around Jerusalem. Nebuchadnezzar’s armies carried most of the people away to Babylon as prisoners; only poor farmers were allowed to stay and work the land. The people were held captive in Babylon, serving the king for 70 years. As you share with your kids this week, let them know that God was right to punish His people for their sin, but He kept His promise to provide a king through David’s family. Ultimately, God punished our sin through His Son, Jesus, and made Him our King forever. The prophet Jeremiah told what would happen next: “The days are coming … when I will restore the fortunes of my people Israel and Judah” (Jer. 30:3). God was going to save His people from captivity and raise up a new King—a forever King—from the line of David. (See Jer. 30:9.) GOSPEL APPLICATION K-2nd:
BIG PICTURE QUESTION & ANSWER HOW DID GOD PLAN TO FIX WHAT SIN BROKE? Before He created the world, God planned to send the Messiah to save sinners. Habakkuk lived at a time when evil seemed to be everywhere. By faith, he trusted God's promise that God would deliver His people. MEMORY VERSE READ THE STORY: How much time do you spend waiting? Think about it. Waiting for a traffic light to turn green, waiting at the doctor’s office, waiting at the drive-thru, waiting for a phone call, waiting for a birthday, waiting on someone else.
The fact is, we spend a lot of our time waiting. Why do we wait? We know something is coming. A major factor in waiting is faith—“the reality of what is hoped for, the proof of what is not seen” (Heb. 11:1). This is precisely what the prophet Habakkuk addressed. Habakkuk was a contemporary of the prophet Jeremiah, living in Judah shortly before it was taken into captivity. He found himself in a period of waiting, first for judgment and then for revival. All around him, people were oppressed and violence escalated. The Book of Habakkuk records the prophet’s dialogue with the Lord. “How long, Lord, must I call for help?” Habakkuk asked. “Why do You tolerate wrongdoing?” God answered. He was going to raise up the Babylonians, and they would hold captive the people of Judah. Habakkuk prayed again. Judah deserved to be punished, but the Babylonians were even more wicked than Judah; how could God, in essence, bless them? God answered. The Babylonian captivity would not last forever. After some time, God was going to rescue His people and punish the Babylonians. As you talk with your kids about the Bible story this week, remind them that God’s people waited to be delivered from captivity, and those who are in Christ are waiting for the fulfillment of Christ’s return. Habakkuk lived at a time when evil seemed to be everywhere. By faith, he trusted God's promise that God would deliver His people. Injustice, violence, and wickedness surround us today, but we can live by faith and trust that Jesus will return to make all things right. Until then, we live by faith. (See Heb. 10:35-38.) We can trust that God is sovereign over the future, so “though the fig tree does not bud and there is no fruit on the vines … yet I will celebrate in the LORD; I will rejoice in the God of my salvation!” (Hab. 3:17-18). GOSPEL APPLICATION K-2nd:
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