BIG PICTURE QUESTION & ANSWER HOW IS JESUS THE PERFECT PROPHET? Jesus perfectly reveals God the Father and fulfills what the prophets spoke. When the religious leaders questioned Jesus, He answered with wisdom and power. Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God. He is the Word of God, who came to show us exactly what God is like. Memory Verse: Read the Story:
Matthew 22 recounts an instance of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming together to try to test, trick, and teach Jesus a lesson. They had heard and witnessed so much about this man from Nazareth but were determined to be the ones to put Him in His place. They sought to do so by means of their own worldly wisdom. How do we see Christ’s wisdom on display throughout this story? What kinds of warnings does Jesus give to the religious leaders, and to us, in the text? This was not His first run-in with these men, and it would not be His last. Time and time again, they used what they knew of Jesus’ teaching to find fault with His ministry. Though they sought to criticize and condemn Jesus, they found no real means to do so, as all wisdom and truth are derived from Him alone. While the religious leaders wanted to trick Jesus through flawed earthly insight, they missed the true wisdom that all Scripture speaks to: Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. We know from Proverbs 9:10 that true knowledge and power come from the fear of the Lord, as it is the beginning of wisdom and understanding. How heartbreaking it was that they saw Wisdom with their own eyes yet failed to believe and cling to His words of life! As you reflect on this chapter, consider what it means to seek and find His truth, though it may appear as folly to the eyes of the world. The leaders who went up against Jesus in the temple sought to stun Him into submission. Yet in the end, they were the ones whose logic had failed and astonished them into silence. Christ offers us a warning against misunderstanding both the Scriptures and the power of God here in this chapter. As you share this story with kids, point in the direction of Jesus—the One whose power and understanding are unlimited and unwavering, never silenced or made to bow down to the whims of the world. GOSPEL APPLICATION
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BIG PICTURE QUESTION & ANSWER WHY DO PEOPLE REJECT JESUS? People reject Jesus because all people are born with a sin nature and want to please themselves rather than obey God. Paul told believers to be ready to fight a spiritual battle every day. People and powers who are against God will be against us too. But Jesus died and rose from the dead. He had victory over evil. We can fight the battle against evil, knowing Jesus already won the war. Memory Verse: Read the Story:
Each year, numerous local churches fill backpacks for children in their communities who have limited access to school supplies. They may schedule a Saturday morning to pack hundreds of backpacks full of pencils, paper, notebooks, scissors, erasers, and more to ensure that children are well-equipped for school. Imagine if they filled the backpacks with candy, toys, tools, and dirt. Imagine that instead of paper and pencils, kids received empty soda cans and grass seed. Sure, those children may be ready to swing by the recycling center and start a landscaping project, but they would not be ready for what was in front of them. In Ephesians 6, at the conclusion of Paul’s letter to his friends in Ephesus, Paul reminded the Ephesians of the tools they needed to remain faithful in the combative culture they were living in. The tools Paul described are not a hammer and nails. In fact, the tools that Paul exhorts them to use are metaphors for the spiritual characteristics and disciplines that are essential to guarding against the spiritual attacks of the devil and actively combating the lies of the evil one. Paul reminded the Christians at Ephesus to put on truth, righteousness, readiness to take the gospel, faith, salvation, and the Word of God. We can pursue and hold tightly to these distinctive characteristics of those whose hope is in the gospel of Jesus Christ; and in so doing, we’ll be equipped to stand firm in the faith. Why are these things so essential? As Paul says in Ephesians 6:12, “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this darkness, against evil, spiritual forces in the heavens.” Paul says you’re not fighting a physical battle, but a spiritual one. Be sure you are equipped with the right tools for the task at hand. In the same way, the kids in our communities need pencils and paper to be equipped for school, we need these spiritual characteristics and disciplines to grow and be equipped for the spiritual battle that we are facing each day. Be sure you gather the right supplies; it will make all the difference. GOSPEL APPLICATION
BIG PICTURE QUESTION & ANSWER WHY DO PEOPLE REJECT JESUS? People reject Jesus because all people are born with a sin nature and want to please themselves rather than obey God. When Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, He showed that He has power over death. Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life.” Jesus died on the cross for our sins and rose from the dead. He gives eternal life to those who trust in Him. Memory Verse: Read the Story:
The account of Jesus’ raising Lazarus from the dead is a foundational passage in the New Testament. Not only was a dead man brought back to life, this passage in John 11 also contains the shortest verse in the Bible and a glimpse into the humanity of Jesus. John 11:35 says, “Jesus wept.” In this historical account of the death of Jesus’ dear friend, Jesus is questioned three times for not arriving sooner. The primary reason He is questioned can be found in the words of both Mary and Martha: “Lord, if you had been here, my brother wouldn’t have died.” (John 11:21,32) Mary, Martha, and others around them had seen and heard of the miraculous things that Jesus was doing. They had only seen Him miraculously prevent death. Their framework for how Jesus worked was limited to their experience with Him. Martha showed a glimmer of hope in John 11:22 when she said, “Yet even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you.” However, she still seemed to limit what Jesus could do to her previous experience. It can be easy to put God inside of a box, to limit what we believe He can do to what we’ve seen Him do before. Yet Jesus’ delay served a greater purpose: to give Him the opportunity to perform an even greater miracle—and thus display God’s glory. Today, we often struggle to pray with confidence that God could heal physical ailments or save those that seem most unlikely to repent. In our minds, we limit what God can do to what we have seen or can explain. What if we prayed with the confidence that God is a wonder worker, doing more than we could ever ask or imagine? What if we believed that God isn’t bound by our opinions or perspectives? What if we demonstrated our confidence in a God who is beyond our full comprehension, but is always within our reach? Not only would this type of faith change us, but it would also greatly impact those around us. GOSPEL APPLICATION
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December 2023
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