My
Story
- Asela Jayarathne -
My
c
Story
Asela Jayarathne 2008
Unless otherwise indicated, all quotations from the Bible are from the Holy Bible - New Century Version. Design by Asela Jayarathne Asela Jayarathne No. 70 Yalegoda Handessa Sri Lanka aselaja@gmail.com +94(0)779196588
ME
My
Story
My Name is I am
years old
My Favorite things are :
My Sunday school is
At my church, I learned that God loves me very much and has a special plan for my life. In the Bible, God says, “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, . . . plans to give you hope and a future” (Jeremiah 29:11). I want to tell you about part of God’s plan for my life.
This is my story.
Meand
LE
B BI
GOD
I learned that God is perfect. He always does good things. That is why God is called holy. The Bible says, “the Lord our God is holy� (Psalm 99:9). Here are some other things I learned about God.
God wants to be with me forever and I want to be with Him forever, but I learned that I had a problem. That problem is sin
My
Story
Meand MY SIN
My
Story
Sins are bad things that people do that God does not like. A sin can be an action or a thought. When we sin we disobey God. Sadly, I learned that sin is a part of my life. The Bible says, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God� (Romans 3:23). God wants to be with me, but my sin pushes me away from Him. To be with God I realized I needed a change in my life.
Hate Stealing Selfish Lies Bad r e p m e T
Me JESUS and
My
Story
Even though I sin, I learned that God still loves me. He has provided a way for my sins to be forgiven so that He could be with me and I could be with Him forever.
That way is Jesus. The Bible says, “Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he wasburied, that he was raised (came back to life) on the third day� (1 Corinthians 15:3-4). Here are some things I know about Jesus.
I learned that Jesus died on the cross to take the punishment for my sin. Then He came back to life. So Jesus is the way for my sins to be forgiven.
MeMY NEW LIFE and
My
Story
Even though Jesus died on the cross for my sins, I learned that just knowing about Jesus was not enough for God to be with me forever. Jesus wanted to give me a new life. He described it in the Bible. “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full” (John 10:10). But to have that new life, the Bible told me I must do three things. 1. Repent of my sins-“Repent, then and turn to God so that your sins may be wiped out” (Acts 3:19). Repenting meant that I had to turnfrom those things I was doing that were not pleasing to God. I had to ask God to forgive me for those things, promise Him that I would avoid doing them, and then asked Him to help me do what is right. 2. Believe-“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). Believing meant that I recognized Jesus died for me and that He is the only way for me, and for all of us, to get to heaven. 3. Receive-“Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God” (John 1:12). Receiving Him meant that I had to invite Him into my life to be my Lord and Savior.
MeMY NEW LIFE and
My
Story
I knew I needed a change in my life. I wanted God to be with me and I wanted to be with Him forever in heaven. I wanted to have the new life Jesus talked about. So I did what the Bible told me to do and I did it with all my heart. God then forgave my sin and gave me eternal life. Now I know that God is with me and will be with me forever. I now have a new life.
YOU and
My
Story
YOUR NEW LIFE
? Is my story clear to you? ? Do you have the new life I just told you about? ? Have you ever done anything like this? were to die today, would you go to heaven to ? Ifbeyou with God and Jesus? ? Would you like to have the new life I just told you about? If you truly want to do this with all your heart, then pray this
Dear God, Thank You that You love me. I believe Jesus died for me and is alive today. I know Jesus is the only way for me to get to heaven. I know that I sin, and that my sin is against You. I want to turn from my sin. Please forgive me of all my sins. Help me to obey and please You the rest of my life. Jesus, I invite You to come into my life to be my Lord and Savior. I choose to live for You instead of myself. Thank You for hearing me and answering this prayer. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Forgiving
Loving
Praying
Following Jesus
Joy
Peace
Kind
l u f h t Tru
I Belong to JESUS
My
Story Basic Instructions How to Use this Booklet ? 1. Make a copy of the “My Story� booklet for each child. 2. Have each child complete the first section (ME) of this booklet with the appropriate information. This section lists basic personal information about the child. This section is designed to help the child transition a conversation from personal information to spiritual information. 3. The second section (ME AND GOD) allows the child to list some qualities and characteristics of God that he learned at church. The child may need some help here so suggest items such as, God is Creator (God made the earth, people, animals, etc.), God answers prayer (the child can list examples of how God answered their prayers), God knows everything, God loves everyone, etc. 4. The third section (ME AND MY SIN) has the child list individual sins. Instruct the child to list one or two sins that he has committed. Also have him record how those sins made him feel and how those sins effected others. The purpose of this section is to explain sin and help children see their sinfulness before God. 5. The fourth section (ME AND JESUS) asks the child to list information about Jesus. Instruct them to identify and record items about the life and ministry of Jesus. Some of these may include: healing people from all kinds of sicknesses and deformities, details of His teachings, His kindness and compassion toward people, etc. 6. The fifth section (ME AND MY NEW LIFE). Explain them that how children came to Jesus. Share your personnel story with the children that how you accepted Jesus as your BEST friend, who helped you to take that decision, how you felt after you invited Jesus to your life etc. 7. The sixth (and final) section (YOU AND YOUR NEW LIFE) helps to challenge your children to accept Jesus as their BEST friend. Encourage them that they can have the new life you experienced after you accepted Jesus in to your life. After that you can guild your children to salvation having a prayer time with them. You can use a short prayer like in this section. Encourage them to use this booklet and share their story with their family and friends.
Asela Jayarathne No. 70 Yalegoda Handessa Sri Lanka aselaja@gmail.com/ +94(0)779196588