Kids - Basic Training
What Does Being "Saved" Mean? - Week 3
June 15-16, 2019 |
This four-week, interactive-video series will set kids up to explore how to use their Bible, who God is, what following Jesus means and how they can grow in their faith. They will learn that while physical training is important, training their souls is the most important thing they could do. Our souls live forever, after all!
WORSHiP
BIBLE VERSE
“Training your body helps you in some ways. But devotion to God helps you in every way," 1 Timothy 4:8.
GROUP Q&A
- Those stories of Mike and Brooklyn and Jesus and Peter were all wild! What would you have done if you were there at the swimming pool with Mike and Brooklyn?
- What would you do if you were Peter and Jesus said you could walk on water to him?
- How did God save us, and what does being “saved” mean? (He sent us Jesus to die on the cross for our sins. If we believe that Jesus did that for us, accept the gift, and follow him, we’re saved.)
- Do you think God forces us to say yes and follow Jesus? (No, we're not forced; being saved is a gift we can choose to accept. Also Jesus' invitation is always out there, even if we're not ready to say yes right now.)
- Take some time to share with your child how you decided to follow Jesus. This is a great time to share pieces of your story with your kids.
PARENT BIBLE STUDY
Read: John 1:1-14
Think back to the first time someone told you about Jesus. You probably had a ton of questions. Who is he, anyway? How is he more than an ordinary man? Jesus was God in the flesh, fully God and fully human, and nothing made Jesus’ critics angrier or more uncomfortable than his claim that he was God. Why is it so important to believe Jesus is God?
Maybe the best way to look at this question is from the opposite perspective. What if he is not? If Jesus isn’t God, then the gospel holds no power. His bold claim to be God leaves us no room to settle in a comfortable middle ground and say he is just a good man or great teacher. He is either the God of the universe, or we must dismiss everything he says as crazy. C.S. Lewis puts it clearly:
“You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon; or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God. But let us not come up with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that option open to us. He did not intend to."
The chasm of sin, death, and shame was so deep that only a sinless, perfect human could fill it. Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross and resurrection from the dead set us free from our slavery to sin and death and gives us abundant life. If Jesus were any less than fully God and fully human, the sacrifice wouldn’t have been enough. Only Jesus was sufficient.
Jesus sets Christianity apart from any other religion. While we were powerless, and further from God than ever, God came TO US in Jesus. In any other religion, it is our job to work our way towards a god or godlike status. Not so with Jesus. God loves us so much that he sent his only son Jesus to us, as a human like us in every way except sin. It's the best news because it means: Jesus had a human body so he could heal our bodies. He had a human will so he could set ours free. He experienced every emotion so ours don’t have to control us. He had a human mind so he could save our minds. He took on a human heart to redeem ours.
Because Jesus was fully God and fully human, we are free and fully saved.
Do you believe that the sacrifice of Jesus was enough to set you free from shame? Do you live like you are free?
What questions did you have about Jesus when you first started following him?
