Locations & Times

Preschoolers help Howie with his everyday troubles in a fun, video gameshow. Then they hear four stories about Jesus helping people by healing them. Through video teaching, kids learn that God always helps us.

WORSHIP

BIBLE VERSE

“... God always helps us in times of trouble,” Psalm 46:1.

GROUP Q&A

What was wrong with the man in our story today? (He couldn’t walk.)
What did Jesus do when he saw him? (He told him to get up and walk He healed him.)
Who always helps in times of trouble? (God)

PARENT BIBLE STUDY

Read: Luke 5:17-26

Intercede: to intervene on behalf of another; to step in; to advocate.

The paralyzed man needed someone to intercede. He was stuck in a body that wouldn’t respond. But one day Jesus came to town, and because this man had four good friends with great faith, everything was about to change. His friends picked him up on his mat and carried him to Jesus. And when they were blocked by the crowds from getting as close to Jesus as possible, they went to great lengths to make it happen. They climbed to the roof with the man and dug a hole to lower him down! Nothing stopped them because they expected Jesus to heal and restore. It’s all they’d heard, and they had no reason to doubt that Jesus could heal their friend too.

The paralyzed man and his friends didn’t have a backup plan. Jesus was their only hope. And they trusted the power of Jesus with such expectancy that it moved them to action that may have seemed reckless to everyone else in the room. Jesus encouraged and accepted the faith of these men and because of it he healed the paralyzed man from the inside out. First he healed the man spiritually, by forgiving his sins, and then physically when Jesus commanded him to get up and walk. A newly healed man, he got up on stable legs, praising God. He was forever changed in every way, and the intercession of his friends saved his life.

We have an intercessor too. We have Jesus. Jesus did something for us when we could do nothing for ourselves. Spiritually, we were powerless. Sick. Broken and dying. And at just the right time, Jesus went to the cross for us and performed the ultimate intercession, reaching out to save us. (Romans 5:6) His intercession brings us healing, from the inside out. His death makes us whole and accepted. His act of love for us changes us forever.

Where in your life do you need to respond to Jesus’ command to get up and walk?

Where in your life do you need Jesus to intercede?