BIG PICTURE QUESTION & ANSWER WHY DID GOD CREATE PEOPLE? God created people to worship Him, love Him, and show His glory! Jesus healed a man who had been blind from birth and later addressed the greater problem people have: spiritual blindness. READ THE STORY:
In the Old Testament, Isaiah prophesied about the coming Messiah. Isaiah 35:5-6 tells about a time when “the eyes of the blind will be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped. Then the lame will leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute will sing for joy.” When God the Son came to earth, He came as a Healer—removing skin diseases, raising the dead to life, making the lame walk, and giving sight to the blind. John 9 gives us a glimpse of the kingdom of God, where creation is redeemed, and opens our eyes to the greater purpose of suffering in our lives. The disciples asked Jesus a question that many still wrestle with today: Why is this person suffering? (In this case, why was this man born blind?) Was it because of sin? Jesus’ answer gives hope to anyone facing suffering: “Neither this man nor his parents sinned. This came about so that God’s works might be displayed in him” (John 9:3). Because Jesus is Lord over everything, all suffering in this life has meaning and purpose. Miraculously, Jesus gave sight to the man who was blind. The man’s neighbors noticed the change, and he told them what Jesus had done for him. But the reaction of the religious leaders—skepticism and unbelief—reveals a different kind of blindness: spiritual blindness. Sin keeps us from seeing what is true about God. Jesus came as light into a dark world. He helps us see what is true so we can know God. Our sin makes us unable to see the truth about God. Jesus came as a light in a dark world. He came to give us sight—true understanding of God and His kingdom. Those who trust in Jesus see who He is and worship Him. Those who trust in Jesus are freed from sin and worship Jesus as Lord. We can live fully in the light of Jesus as we seek to make Him known to others so that their eyes might be opened to the truth of the gospel as well. GOSPEL APPLICATION K-2nd:
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BIG PICTURE QUESTION & ANSWER WHY DID GOD CREATE PEOPLE? God created people to worship Him, love Him, and show His glory! We are unable to free ourselves from sin. Jesus calls us to trust in Him. When we trust in Jesus, He frees us from the power of sin and death so we can follow Him and obey Him. READ THE STORY:
Located in the city of Jerusalem, the pool of Bethesda was a place many believed to possess healing powers. People who were sick or disabled went to the pool in hopes of being made whole. They believed an angel would stir up the waters, and the first person to get in would be healed. (Some translations include this detail in verse 4; but since the earliest and most accurate manuscripts do not include the detail, most contemporary translations omit it as well.) Jesus sought out a man at the pool of Bethesda who had been disabled for 38 years. Jesus asked the man, “Do you want to get well?” The man, not recognizing who was talking to him (see John 5:13), explained his inability to get to the pool in time. Filled with compassion, Jesus commanded this man: “Get up, pick up your mat, and walk.” After decades of helplessness, the man was instantly healed. He picked up his mat and walked. At this time, Jesus slipped away through the crowd. So when the Jewish leaders approached the man, asking questions about the healing and accusing the man of breaking the law by picking up his mat on the Sabbath, the man could not even identify who healed him. Yet Jesus sought out the man a second time. Jesus found the man in the temple and warned him, “Do not sin anymore, so that something worse doesn’t happen to you.” Jesus cared about the man’s body; He had healed it. But Jesus also cared about the man’s soul. As you teach kids, emphasize that the man at the pool was unable to help himself. Jesus healed him, and he obeyed Jesus’ commands. In a similar way, we are unable to free ourselves from sin. Jesus calls us to trust in Him. When we trust in Jesus, He frees us from the power of sin and death so we can follow Him and obey Him. GOSPEL APPLICATION K-2nd:
BIG PICTURE QUESTION & ANSWER WHY DID GOD CREATE PEOPLE? God created people to worship Him, love Him, and show His glory! By healing the woman and raising the little girl from the dead, Jesus showed His power as the Messiah. READ THE STORY:
Jesus had just returned from the region of the Gerasenes, where He had healed a man with an unclean spirit. He crossed the Sea of Galilee and came on shore, where He was surrounded by a large crowd of people. News of Jesus’ teachings and healings was spreading, and people wanted to see Jesus. They wanted to learn from Him and be healed. Jairus, a leader in the synagogue, came to Jesus in crisis. His daughter was at the point of death. Without Jesus’ help, she would surely die. Jesus went with Jairus, but as He walked, a woman in the crowd came up behind Him and touched His robes. She too was desperate for healing. The woman believed that Jesus’ power was strong enough to heal her even if all she did was touch His robes. Because she had faith, Jesus healed her. Imagine Jairus’s devastation when he heard that his daughter had died. The people suggested that Jesus was too late to help her, but Jesus proved them wrong. He went to Jairus’s house and raised the little girl from the dead. By healing the woman and raising the little girl from the dead, Jesus showed His power as the Messiah. Jesus died on the cross and rose again to save people from sin and death. When we trust in Jesus, God forgives our sins and changes us to be more like His Son. As you talk with your kids, point out that the woman and the father of the little girl came to Jesus in faith. They needed Jesus’ help, and they trusted in Jesus’ power to heal. After Jesus died on the cross and rose from the dead, He ascended to heaven. Even though Jesus is not physically on earth today, we can pray and ask God to heal people who are sick. Whether or not God grants physical healing, we can rest knowing that He brings ultimate healing through His Son, Jesus. GOSPEL APPLICATION K-2nd:
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December 2023
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