BIG PICTURE QUESTION & ANSWER WHY DOES SIN SEPARATE US FROM GOD? Because God is holy, sin has broken our relationship with God. God intended for a heavenly king to rule over Israel, but the Israelites did not trust God’s plan. They wanted a king like the nations around them. God had a better plan: to eventually send His Son, Jesus, to be the perfect King forever. MEMORY VERSE READ THE STORY:
It can happen to any of us: we look at our circumstances, forecast a coming trial or opportunity, and act accordingly—only to find out that the situation doesn’t play out quite like we expected. This is precisely what happened in 1 Samuel 8–10. The people of Israel, while assessing their circumstances, discerned that Samuel’s days were numbered. They recognized that his sons, Joel and Abijah, had turned to dishonesty and against the ways of their father. So, they predicted that they would soon have no one to lead them and that something must be done. The elders of Israel believed they knew what was best and demanded that Samuel appoint a new king who would judge them “the same as all the other nations” (1 Sam. 8:5). We can do the same. Even with the best of intentions, we can hastily seek what we believe is best without consideration of the Lord’s plans, desires, or wisdom. This may happen in search of a new job, in response to conflict, in making family decisions, or even in determining how to best minister to people in our church or community. How do we know that our decisions, desires, and actions align with what God wants? Be encouraged to do three things as you seek the Lord’s wisdom in these moments of decision: pray, read God’s Word, and seek counsel. When we pray, we humble ourselves before the Almighty God and submit our desires to Him. When we read God’s Word, we discover His desires, plans, and will in the most clearly revealed way so that we might walk in them. And when we seek counsel, we open ourselves to the community of believers to be shaped, formed, sharpened, and corrected. Proverbs 3:5-6 reminds us, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding; in all your ways know him, and he will make your paths straight.” Taking the time to pray, read the Bible, and seek the counsel of brothers and sisters in Christ are ways we choose to submit ourselves to God and not rely on our own understanding. GOSPEL APPLICATION
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BIG PICTURE QUESTION & ANSWER WHAT IS THE FAIR PAYMENT FOR SIN? The fair payment for sin is death. God takes sin seriously. People deserve to die for their sins, but God loves us and sent His Son, Jesus, to defeat death by dying on the cross for our sins and rising from the dead. Everyone who trusts in Jesus has eternal life. MEMORY VERSE READ THE STORY:
What comes to mind when you think about sin? Consider your emotions—does the thought of sin make you sad? Angry? Indifferent? To fully understand the beauty of salvation and the power of grace, you must take sin seriously. Consider what our sin says about God. Sin says God may be powerful, but not enough to deserve ultimate authority in our lives. Sin exploits God’s mercy and disrespects His patience. Sin says God is not worthy of our obedience. Sin isn’t just a mistake; it is serious. Why? Our sins are first and foremost against an infinitely holy God. In Ephesians 2, Paul describes our state apart from Christ not merely as broken or flawed; he says we are dead in our sin. We are not simply wrong people who need to do better; rather, we are dead people who need to be made alive. God confronts this bad news with a surprising response. Look at Ephesians 2:4-5: “But God, who is rich in mercy, because of his great love that he had for us, made us alive with Christ even though we were dead in trespasses.” The good news of the gospel increases in its gravity as our awareness and hatred of sin increases. If sin seems like no big deal, the cross is not very impressive. When we have a right understanding of the seriousness of our sin, the gospel is good news—the revelation that we who are dead in our sin can have true life as a free gift in Christ. As you prepare to teach, take a moment to reflect on your sin and to thank God for His mercy. Pray that God would graciously reveal to kids their sinful nature and desperate need for salvation as well as His holiness and provision of Jesus as the Savior they need. GOSPEL APPLICATION
BIG PICTURE QUESTION & ANSWER WHAT IS THE FAIR PAYMENT FOR SIN? The fair payment for sin is death. The ark of God reminded the Israelites that God was with them. Years later, God gave His people something greater than a sign that He was with them; God gave them His Son, Jesus—God in the flesh. One of Jesus’ names is Immanuel, which means “God with us.” MEMORY VERSE READ THE STORY:
The ark of the covenant was a physical reminder of God’s tangible presence with His people. Rather than treat the ark with reverence, they treated the ark as a sort of good luck charm. In our Bible story today, we see what happened when the ark was taken from the people of Israel. Except in times of war or when the people of Israel were on the move, the ark was kept in the holy of holies in the tabernacle. Once a year, a priest would approach the ark and sprinkle blood on the mercy seat on the ark’s top for the forgiveness of the people’s sins. The ark and what it represented was temporal and pointed forward to the substantial reality of God who would come and live among His people. When we realize that Jesus lived a perfect life and then died in our place, we see that Jesus is better than the ark because He is always with us. We are filled with thankfulness. Jesus is better than the bulls and goats whose blood was sprinkled on the ark because His sacrifice is once, for all time (Heb. 10:10). This should move us to worship. Finally, we should be humbled and filled with confidence when we realize that Jesus, who lived perfectly in human flesh, died and then was resurrected and ascended into heaven where He, in His glorified human body, prays for us. This should give you confidence in this life that no matter what we face, God’s Holy Spirit is with us. The Son is interceding for us. Because Jesus stands between the Father and us, we can “approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us at the proper time” (Heb. 4:16). We can go before God daily because of Jesus. GOSPEL APPLICATION
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December 2023
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