The Biblical Path of Life

Tag: Lesson 9

  • Lesson 9: Jesus’ Final Journey: The Four Gospels

    Key Verse

    And it came to pass, when the time was come that he should be received up, he stedfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem.

    —Luke 9:51

    Key Verse Thought: Read today’s Key Verse. Recognize that Jesus understood He only had a set amount of time to do what God sent Him to do. He knew it was time that He should be “received up.” Received up means “the act of taking up (only found in Luke 9:51).” And steadfastly set means “to set fast or to fix firmly.” In other words, Jesus set forth with fixed purpose. Jesus was on His way to Jerusalem with a particular purpose in mind – He knew it was time to pay the penalty for mankind’s sin by laying down His life, and then taking it up again (“15. … and I lay down my life for the sheep… 17. Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. 18. No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father” John 10:15-16). Jesus understood that He was on the way to Jerusalem to die.

    Emphasis: We are to understand why Jesus came. Jesus said, “I lay down my life” (John 10:15 and 17). Knowing that, we are to understand the importance of Jesus going to Jerusalem that final time – and the obedience to His Father that took.

    Lesson Summary: In our last lesson, we learned of many personal encounters Jesus had with different people. Some believed in Jesus. However, a few refused to believe.

    As we begin this lesson, we find that although many believed in Jesus after Lazarus was raised from the dead, there were some who went and reported to the religious leaders what had happened. They began to spread word that they wanted someone to tell them where Jesus was. They made a plan to take Jesus by subtlety and kill Him. In this lesson, we will learn of one of Jesus’ own disciples who met with those religious leaders, promising to deliver Jesus to them.

    As Jesus made his final trip to Jerusalem, there were many who received Him, declaring Him as “the King of Israel that cometh in the name of the Lord” and throwing palm branches down in His path. During Jesus final supper with His disciples, He had much to teach them. Jesus was preparing them for His death – but they did not understand. As they went to the Garden of Gethsemane after that dinner, Jesus took three aside to watch with Him as He prayed. Shortly thereafter, Judas led the religious leaders to Jesus, betraying Him with a kiss. Jesus was arrested.

    There was an illegal trial by night where the religious leaders declared Jesus was guilty of death. When they took Jesus before Pilate, Pilate declared that he found no fault in Jesus. Nevertheless, the religious leaders insisted upon Jesus death, and Pilate delivered Jesus to be crucified.

    Y3Q1 – Lesson 9 Questions

    Y3Q1 – Lesson 9 Children’s Worksheets

    If you are teaching this to children, the following is a craft idea to help them remember what you learn in this lesson:

    One time we added stickers and a verse to a large foam palm leaf.

    Another time we cut out palm leaves from construction paper, glued verses on them, then attached them to straws to wave as palm branches.

    Purchase Y3Q1 of The Biblical Path of Life.

  • Lesson 9: Nehemiah 1-6 Rebuilding the Walls

    Key Verse

    … and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear.

    —1 Peter 3:15b

    Key Verse Thought: Read the Key Verse and understand that the way to have a ready answer comes by much prayer. In this lesson, we will learn of a mighty man of prayer named Nehemiah. When the people in Jerusalem did not know what to do, Nehemiah was always ready with a word of hope and encouragement for God’s people

    Emphasis: Today, we will learn that prayer is not only important for our own personal life to know what God wants us to do, but to also be an encouragement to others with a word of hope. 

    Lesson Summary: Zerubbabel led the first of the people back into the land of Israel. We then learned that Ezra led a second group from the land of Babylon into Israel. The Temple of the Lord had been rebuilt, but we will learn today that the walls of Jerusalem were broken down and the gates were burned. No one had begun to reinforce the city of Jerusalem.

    A message of the condition of Jerusalem was delivered to a man named Nehemiah. He was the cupbearer in King Artaxerxes court. (Remember that King Artaxerxes allowed Ezra to lead a group into Israel.) When Nehemiah received the message, he immediately prayed. When the king recognized he was troubled and asked what it was, Nehemiah told the king his heart’s desire – to return to the city of Jerusalem and rebuild the walls and gates. Not only did the king send him, but gave him many supplies.

    When Nehemiah returned, he surveyed the damage. He reported to the people what needed to be done. The people agreed that the walls and gates needed to be rebuilt. So, they began. 

    And the enemies made themselves known. Today we will learn of the many troubles the enemies caused God’s people as they rebuilt the city walls and gates – and the many times the enemies plans were thwarted because of the prayers of Nehemiah and God’s people. 

    Even with the threats from the enemies to come in and kill God’s people, they remained to the task of building – many with sword or spear in hand. Nevertheless, God was with them, the gates were built, and then the walls were finished in fifty-two days.

    Y2Q4 Lesson 9 Questions

    Y2Q4 Lesson 9 Children’s Worksheets

    If you are teaching this to children, the following are a couple of ideas for a craft to help them remember Nehemiah:

    To help us remember that Nehemiah helped rebuild the walls in gates around Jerusalem, we built a “wall with gates” out of construction paper. We then added the verses Nehemiah 6:15-16 at the top.

  • Lesson 9: 2 Kings 23:31 – 25; 2 Chronicles 36: Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim, Jehoiachin, and Zedekiah

    Key Verse

    For mine eyes are upon all their ways: they are not hid from my face, neither is their iniquity hid from mine eyes.

    —Jeremiah 16:7

    Key Verse Thought: Read the Key Verse and understand that God sees and knows all.  God knows when His people do wrong. Nothing can be hidden from God. Keep that thought in mind as we remember the final kings of Judah today. God saw and knew of their wickedness, and He did not let it go unpunished.

    Emphasis: We are to understand that God sees and knows all – there is nothing hidden from God. He sees mankind’s sin. We will remember again in this lesson, that there is a penalty for sin. Nevertheless, God left them with hope.

    Lesson Summary: In our last lesson, we read of the last good king of Judah, King Josiah. He did that which was right in the sight of the Lord. King Josiah made many great reformations, including repairing the house of the Lord. While repairs were being made, a book of the Law was found. When the king heard the Words read, he rent his clothes in repentance. He led all of Judah to make a covenant with the Lord to obey His commands. King Josiah died, and we then come to the final four kings of Judah:  Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim, Jehoiachin, and Zedekiah. Jehoahaz did evil and only reigned for three months because the king of Egypt took him. Jehoahaz died in Egypt. The king of Egypt made his brother, Eliakim (changing his name to Jehoiakim) king instead. He too, was an evil king, and King Jehoiakim reigned for eleven years. During his reign, Babylon became known as their enemy, and King Jehoiakim served them for three years. “So Jehoiakim slept with his fathers: and Jehoiachin his son reigned in his stead” (2 Kings 24:6). Babylon began to besiege Jerusalem during his reign, “and the king of Babylon took him in the eighth year of his reign” (2 Kings 24:12). After carrying away everything of value (including the king, his family, princes, and servants), the king of Babylon made Jehoiakim’s brother, Mattaniah, the king – changing his name to Zedekiah. Zedekiah was a bad king and he reigned for eleven years. None of these men were good kings, and all of them led Judah further from God’s commands – until God allowed Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, to invade the land. He destroyed the house of the Lord, broke down the walls of Jerusalem and burned the city gates.  He killed many and took more hostages to his land, making them his servants.  Babylon besieged Judah in the 9th year of King Zedekiah, and then they took Judah captive. Nevertheless, we find a word of promise – God touched the heart of a king seventy years later, sending God’s people home to rebuild the house of the Lord.

    Y2Q3 – Lesson 9 Questions

    Y2Q3 – Lesson 9 Children’s Worksheets

    If you are teaching this lesson to younger children, the following is a craft idea to reinforce this leson:

    We made a door knocker with stickers and the verses from 2 Chronicles 36:22-23. Although they were carried captive, God left them with the hope of return to Jerusalem.

  • Lesson 9: 2 Kings 11-12; 2 Chronicles 22:10 – 24 Athaliah and Jehoash (Joash)

    Key Verse

    … Therefore put away from among yourselves that wicked person.

    —1 Corinthians 5:13b

    Key Verse Thought: Read today’s Key Verse. Can you describe a wicked person? Read the following definition to help you: wicked person means “of persons as in morally, meaning wicked, corrupt, or an evildoer.” Today we will see a very wicked person that God’s people “put away” (in the Old Testament they were often killed, whereas today we eliminate them from our lives). 

    Emphasis: We are to receive godly instruction, and eliminate the wicked from our lives.

    Lesson Summary: In our last lesson, we looked at the disappointing son of good King Jehoshaphat, Jehoram. He walked in the ways of the kings of Israel – for wicked King Ahab’s daughter, Athaliah, was his wife. He died of a sickness in his bowels because he rejected the Word of the Lord. We then remembered his son, Ahaziah who reigned only one year. He, too, was a bad king – walking in the ways of wicked King Ahab. Because Ahaziah visited the injured king of Israel at the same time God told Jehu to seek God’s revenge upon the household of wicked King Ahab, King Ahaziah was killed.

    At the death of King Ahaziah, his mother, Athaliah, killed all of the seed royal – or so she thought. King Ahaziah’s sister and a nurse hid one son in the house of the Lord for six years. They hid the child from Athaliah who had made herself queen over Judah. In the seventh year of Queen Athaliah’s reign, the priest Jehoiada revealed the king’s son, Jehoash, to the people as their king. Jehoiada commanded the people kill Athaliah – and they did. The new king, Joash (Jehoash), was seven years old when he began to reign doing good all of the days of Jehoiada.  “And Jehoash did that which was right in the sight of the LORD all his days wherein Jehoiada the priest instructed him” (2 Kings 2:2). Jehoash was a good king. Jehoash saw the breaches in the temple and had the people give money to repair them. After time, when the repairs had not been completed, Jehoiada bore a hole into the top of a chest to allow the people to put their money in the chest. The people brought the money, and the temple of the Lord was repaired.

    Although Joash made many reforms in Israel, when Jehoiada died, he forsook God’s Law, and God allowed the enemy to come up against Jerusalem. There was a conspiracy against King Joash, and he was killed.

    Y2Q2 – Lesson 9 Questions

    Y2Q2 – Lesson 9 Children’s Worksheets

    If you choose to do a craft with younger children, the following is an idea:

    We found these and colored them to remind us to “walk God’s way” to help us remember the good King Joash did when he read God’s Word. They had magnets that attach to the back to hang them.

  • Lesson 9: Hosea: God’s Enduring Love

    As he saith also in Osee, I will call them my people, which were not my people; and her beloved, which was not beloved.
    —Romans 9:25

    Key Verse Thought: After reading the key verse, understand that Osee in today’s memory verse is “Hosea.” As we will learn in our lesson today, God revealed to Hosea that one day the Gentiles would be included as His people. Understand that Gentiles are any peoples who are not Jews (Israelites.) This verse is in reference to Hosea 2:23: “And I will sow her unto me in the earth; and I will have mercy upon her that had not obtained mercy; and I will say to them which were not my people, Thou art my people; and they shall say, Thou art my God.” Today, we can be the beloved of God. The word beloved in this verse means “to love or delight in.”

    Emphasis: In today’s lesson, we are to recognize the call of the Lord and respond. “Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near” (Isaiah 55:6).

    Lesson Summary: In today’s lesson as we study the book of Hosea, we will learn that he suffered personal tragedy that God paralleled to Israel’s sin against God. But even with the great tragedy in his own life, we find that he understood God’s message to Israel — and he was willing to preach that truth.

    The book of Hosea begins with “The word of the LORD that came unto Hosea … in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel” (Hosea 1:1). We will find that God gave Hosea a very unusual command — to go and take a wife of the land, knowing she would be unfaithful to him. The wife he took and the relationship (including his children) that ensued was a perfect picture of the relationship that Israel had become to God — unfaithful at best. Hosea’s wife, Gomer, bore three children. The first was definitely Hosea’s child. We are not sure if the second child born to Gomer belonged to Hosea. The third child born was definitely not Hosea’s son. This was to be a picture of the gradual desertion of God’s people from the God who had chosen and set them apart as His own.

    When Hosea understood that Israel had turned from God, he cried for the people to return to the Lord. Hosea’s life was a message for God’s people. In that message was a revealing of the nation’s sin. It continued with a promise of punishment of that sin. However, God never left His people without hope. If they would only seek God, and reject the idolatrous practices they had established, God would return to them. Once it is revealed that Israel will not return, Hosea tells of the judgment that will fall. Nevertheless, God did not leave His people without one final invitation to return to Him. It was man’s choice whether to receive correction, or reject God’s Word.

    Y2Q1 – Lesson 9 Questions

    Y2Q1 – Lesson 9 Children’s Worksheets

    If you are doing these lessons with children and would like a craft idea, see the following:

    We decorated a frame and included the verse from Hosea 1:1a, and Hosea 14:1a.

  • Lesson 9: Five Major Prophets: Isaiah – Daniel

    Key Verse

    “Seek good, and not evil, that ye may live: and so the LORD, the God of hosts, shall be with you, as ye have spoken.”  Amos 5:14

    The word seek means “to search”.   We must seek good things in this world, not evil.  In our lesson today, we find that God’s people had quit seeking good and were continually doing evil.  Remember, God spoke to His people through prophets many years ago.  God sent his prophets to tell the people to seek God and follow His commands.

    If you think about it, the prophets had a fascinating role in history.  God sent His prophets to tell the people to seek God and follow His commands.  They were entrusted with God’s Words to be delivered to the people.  Exposing the sins of the people and revealing the need for repentance (turning a humble heart back to God), took much courage.  Although it was a difficult task, we see faithful men accomplish what God asked of them.  Even when the people refused to listen at the time, we see God working to fulfill His plan.  As students of the Bible, we should never be afraid to study the words written in the books of prophecy.  Remember, the prophets also reminded the people that the Promised One (Jesus) would come.  Take note:  God knew and chose these men.

    Keep in mind that much of the prophets’ message was to “seek good, and not evil.”  Seek means “to search”.   We must continue to seek good and learn to always obey God’s commands.

     

    Optional Worksheets to be downloaded:

    Lesson 9 – Volume 1 Children’s Worksheet 1

    Lesson 9 – Volume 1 Children’s Reinforcement Worksheet

     

    Ideas for children:

    In any lesson, you may want to work on your coloring timeline – especially when it relates to the lesson.

    Display the poster of the books of the Old Testament (may be downloaded from lesson 4 blog). Review the books of the Major Prophets (showing them on the poster).  You may have them draw a picture of their favorite event from the books of the Major Prophets.  Review the 3×5 cards if you made them, practicing the divisions.  Focus on putting the books of the Major Prophets in order for today’s lesson.

    Because Daniel’s life is such a popular event in the Bible, you may find some Daniel stickers to work on.  Or you may find a coloring picture that fits today’s lesson.  There are many free coloring sheets online.  Just type in a favorite and search away!

     

    Mural idea: 

    On the wall you have chosen in your classroom to become a huge mural:  For this week, have them each choose a Major Prophet.  Have them write a few things that they learned that helps identify them from the other prophets.  Encourage them to include the time God called them to become a spokesman for God.  Have them look for opportunities that God places before them (especially this week) to be a voice for God in this world.

    Continue having them bring a picture, a news article, a poem they have written, a picture they may have drawn, etc. of something that is relevant to each of the following week’s lessons.  Encourage everyone to participate.  Watch as it grows weekly, as they express what God is revealing to them through our study of how the Bible fits into His plan to help us become more like Him.

    Large OT Bible Bookshelf Puzzle