The Biblical Path of Life

Tag: Gift

  • Christmas Time is Here

    “For unto you is born this day in the city of David
    a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord”
    Luke 2:11

    This has been a very crazy year. So much has happened. So much has changed. It is hard to believe that the year 2020 is almost over. And it doesn’t really feel like Christmas.

    Do you remember watching A Charlie Brown Christmas? As it opens, Charlie Brown is declaring to Linus, “I think there must be something wrong with me. Christmas is coming, but I’m not happy. I don’t feel the way I’m supposed to feel. I just don’t understand Christmas, I guess.” He then continues by telling Linus all of the things he likes about the Christmas season, but that he still isn’t happy. “I always end up feeling depressed,” declares Charlie Brown. Linus tells Charlie Brown that only he could turn a wonderful season like Christmas and turn it into a problem.

    If you remember how the show progresses, Charlie Brown is in charge of the Christmas program. He finds that everything he does turns into a disaster. In the midst of it all, he declares that he really doesn’t know what Christmas is all about. He then cries out, “Isn’t there anyone who can tell me what Christmas is all about?!”

    Linus steps up declaring that he knows what Christmas is all about. All should remember what Linus quotes to everyone: “And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men” (Luke 2:8-14).

    Most people in the world today seem to forget: What Christmas is all about. In the cartoon A Charlie Brown Christmas, the point is made. It is not the giving and receiving of Christmas gifts, the sending of Christmas cards, the commercialism that Christmas has become, and not even the Christmas programs that people try to make happen. The simplicity of the Christmas message is lost on the masses. It is purely what the angels told the shepherds in the field that night so long ago: “For, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. ” The good tiding of great joy was the birth of Jesus, the Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. One must understand that Christmas is about the greatest gift ever given: Jesus. God so loved us that He sent His only Son (see John 3:16). Then one must believe in what Jesus did when He came. He came to die (because of our sin). He came to give us life (because we cannot pay the penalty for our sin). Whoever will believe in Him, though they were dead in their sins and trespasses, yet shall he live. (Remember what Jesus declared to Martha, “Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live” John 11:25). Each person must understand that Christmas is remembering the giving of the greatest gift given by God. It is available to anyone. But it must be received.

    Do you know what Christmas is all about?

    Have you received God’s gift (Jesus) into your heart and life?

    How to be Saved

  • God’s Greatest Gift

    “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
    Romans 6:23

    “Remember the familiar Bible lessons of Jacob and one of his sons, Joseph. Joseph was the eleventh son and the last to be born to Jacob before he returned to the land promised to Abraham and Isaac. Joseph was a godly young man in spite of adverse circumstances in his life. God used him to save his family from starvation during a time of famine throughout the lands.

    “In the Old Testament, Joseph is one of the people we compare to a picture of Christ. … God promised to send One who would deliver a sinful people from their sins. The first time was when man sinned in the garden (Genesis 3:15), and then we saw God promise Abraham that all people would be blessed through his descendants (Genesis 22:18). We even saw a picture of what God would do—lay down the life of His Son. In this lesson, we see once again the promise of a mighty Deliverer who would come (Genesis 28:14). And better yet, we see a picture of a mighty deliverer in Jacob’s son, Joseph. When Joseph’s brothers sold him into slavery, they meant it for evil. ‘But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive’ (Genesis 50:20). God sent His Son, Jesus, to save the world from their sin. He was the greatest gift ever given. But sinful man crucified him (evil against Him), and God took what man intended to be evil and delivered us from our sins by Jesus’ death. Just as Joseph recognized that he was placed in a position to save the world from starvation, Jesus came to save the world from ‘the wages of sin … death’ and instead give us the ‘gift of God … eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.’ Notice the faithfulness of Joseph and the blessings of God upon him … for although he endured many problems (his brothers hated him; he was sold into slavery; he was falsely imprisoned and forgotten; and so on), he remained faithful to God. And God blessed Joseph’s life. …

    “Joseph is an excellent example of enduring hatred and rejection from family members and still walking with God. When he was sold as a slave, Joseph still lived as an upright young man, choosing to do what was right in God’s eyes. When falsely thrown into prison, God was still with Joseph, and Joseph honored God with his life.

    “… God promised to send One who would deliver a sinful people from their sins. …God planned to send His Son, Jesus, from the beginning, and he constantly reminded mankind that He would come, sometimes giving them a verbal promise and other times a physical picture (like Joseph) to help them (and us today) understand. Jesus is God’s greatest gift, for he came to save people from their sins. … Just as Joseph saved people from starvation, Jesus came to save mankind from sin.”

    “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:23).

    (Excerpt from Year One Quarter Two, Lesson 4 of The Biblical Path of Life)

    What is the greatest gift God ever gave? His Son, Jesus—to pay the penalty for our sins.

    Have you accepted this gift?

    How to be Saved

  • God’s Promise

    “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
    John 3:16

    One of the most famous verses in the world is: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). But has anyone actually stopped to understand what this verse really means?

    God sent His Son, Jesus into the world. He gave His Beloved Son, Jesus, to pay the penalty for each individual person’s sin. The penalty for sin is death. However, because God is a loving and gracious God, He made provision for Jesus to pay for a person’s sin with His life. All one has to do is believe upon Jesus, receiving this great gift. Can you better understand this verse now? “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). Read the next verse in that passage to understand even more so as to why Jesus came: “For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved” (John 3:17).

    After reading both of those verses, understand that the gift of the pardon for sin is offered – all one has to do is receive it. God wanted each person in the world to be saved from the penalty of sin. This pardon from sin is understood as a promise from God – but only for those who accept that gift.

    What if one chooses to continue in sin, rejecting the gift God offered? “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him” (John 3:36). This, too, is a promise.

    No one knows what tomorrow may hold. Life is fleeting and short. It is up to each individual to decide. Choose life (with Jesus), or receive the penalty for sin – the wrath of God abiding on him.

    Have you chosen to receive the gift of salvation (life) by believing in Jesus?

    How to be Saved

  • God’s Enduring Love

    “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.”
    Romans 3:23

    ‘Just as the Israelites were told of their sin and called to repentance, the same call is extended to us today. “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). All are guilty of sin, and there is a penalty to pay. “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:23). In addition, God provided one who paid the penalty for us — if only we would receive. “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). Just as God extended a call to the Israelites, warning them before judgment would fall, God warns us today. “And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment” (Hebrews 9:27). What response does God require? “8. But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach; 9. That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. 10. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation” (Romans 10:8–10). What are we to do with that information? “Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near” (Isaiah 55:6).’

    Have you called upon the Lord while he is near?

    Excerpt from The Biblical Path of Life, Year Two Quarter One, Lesson 9; God’s Enduring Love. www.biblicalpath.com

  • Lesson 13 (Lesson 26): Jesus in the Old Testament: Jesus Fulfilled the Law

    Key Verse

    “2. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.  3. For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:”  Romans 8:2-3

    Read the Key Verse with them.  Help them understand that Jesus set us free from the law that condemned us to death because of our sins.  We could never fulfill that law, but Jesus did and paid the penalty to save our life.

    Summary:  We have been learning about the first five books in the Old Testament, the books we call The Law.  In those books we watched as God gradually, over time, revealed himself to mankind.  He allowed us to see that He is perfect and sinless, and also, we saw just how sinful man is.  God showed from the beginning that it took the shedding of blood to cover man’s sins.  He, at the same time, revealed that He would one day send the perfect once and for all sacrifice to take away man’s sin.  Today, we see in Hebrews 10, that that law was just a picture to help us understand just what it was that Jesus had to fulfill completely in order to take away our sins.  When we accept the gift God gave us in His Son, Jesus, he then writes His law on our hearts.  Then we have no excuse.  We know.  We are to live our lives pleasing God.

    Encourage your students to bring their Bibles and use them!

    Emphasis:  In the books of the law, we saw the importance of recognizing sin and even the cost of sin – the shedding of blood.  It was just a picture for us to understand what Jesus one day did on the cross.

     

    Optional Worksheets to be downloaded:

    Lesson 26 – Volume 1 Children’s Worksheet 1

    Lesson 26 – Volume 1 Children’s Reinforcement Worksheet

     

    Ideas for children:

    Stickers always work well with children. Often times I watch Wal-Mart or Oriental Trading Company for specials or deals on things I can use for crafts for Sunday School (i.e. foam sheets, Bible Story scene stickers, crowns, stick on jewels, construction paper, etc.).  I keep a stash and when I need something, I go search in my stash!  Pinterest always has great ideas!

    You could have a coloring sheet that goes with the lesson.

    One idea for today’s lesson:  (See picture below).  For this lesson I cut out a very large heart out of construction paper (as big as the whole sheet).  We then cut out some preprinted verses (that I had made) and glued them on the heart.  We then added stickers of different verses (purchased through Oriental Trading).  The idea is to remind them of the importance of hiding God’s Word in our hearts (memorizing Scripture verses).

    Mural idea:

    Refer to the wall in your classroom that has become a mural. Today, have them draw a large heart and write some of God’s commands on it to remind them that we are to write God’s Word on our heart so that we won’t sin against Him. You may also want to let them make a Bible marker with Psalm 119:11 on it to keep in their Bibles to help them remember to hide God’s word in their hearts.

    Have them each add anything else they may have brought to add to the wall.  Encourage everyone to participate.