Dear Parents, We hope the following summary of the Sunday School lesson will help you in discussing the lesson with your children and working through this booklet together.
Jesus
SCRIPTURE PASSAGE:
Matthew 3:1-12, Mark 1:1-8, Luke 3:1-18, John 1:6-8 & 15-36 BIBLE STORY SUMMARY: God sent John the Baptist to tell the people to prepare to meet Jesus. God calls people to turn from sin and live in obedience, and He gives His Holy Spirit to give us the power to repent. John was obedient and called people to repent. Many people repented and were baptized. LESSON FOCUS: To understand that I am a sinner and I must repent. To understand that if I confess my sin, God will forgive me. WHAT WE LEARNED ABOUT GOD: God will forgive my sin. LET’S TALK ABOUT WHAT WE LEARNED: 1. Who was the person God sent to prepare the people to meet Jesus? What was he like? (God sent John the Baptist. He lived in the desert. His clothes were made of camel’s hair, and he wore a leather belt.)
the One I Must Follow
2. The prophet Malachi had told the people God would one day send them a messenger. Who did he say the messenger would remind them of? (Elijah, who had worn clothing similar to John the Baptist’s and who came to turn the hearts of the people back to God.)
God Calls Me to Turn Away from Sin
3. John told the people to get ready to meet Jesus. What did they need to do? (Repent of sin—turn away from sin and choose to obey God.) 4. Why was he called John the Baptist? (John baptized people as a picture of a repentant heart. For these people baptism was a way to show they wanted to be clean from sin. John also pointed to Jesus, the Lamb of God, who would take away the sin of the world.)
John The Baptist Tells About Jesus This Week’s Memory Verse:
Will you ask God to show you the sin in your life? Will you confess that sin and repent?
If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us Copyright 2008
Berean Baptist Church 309 E County Road 42 Burnsville, Minnesota 55306 952.432.7168
our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:8-9 January 12, 2014
Mark 1:1-6
When Jesus was about 30 years old, it was time for Him to begin the work that God had sent Him to do. Jesus came to save people from their sin. God had already prepared another man to go to the people and get them ready to meet Jesus. He was called John the Baptist.
Circle the T by the things that are true about John the Baptist. Circle the F by the things that are false about him. T or F He preached in the desert. or
F
He wore a coat of many colors.
T
or
F
He ate locusts and wild honey.
T
or
F
After Jesus preached, John healed people of blindness.
T
or
F
His clothes were camel’s hair, and he wore a leather belt.
John told the people, “Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for Him.” The people were used to getting a road smooth and straight for a king to ride on. But John was not talking about roads! How did the people prepare the way for Jesus? (verse 5)
c ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ (admitted) their sins and
were b ___ Baptist.
___ ___ ___ ___ ___ by John the
They got their hearts ready to meet Jesus. John told them to repent of sin because sin would keep them from knowing Jesus.
Fill in the crossword puzzle with words from our memory verse. Then say the verse to someone in your family.
Repent means to turn away from sin
T
They
Saturday—This Week’s Puzzle
Monday—Prepare The Way
Read
Across 2. Opposite of what is false. 4. Someone who is this will do what they say 6. To lie 7. To admit something, to tell about it Down 1. To get really clean, take away guilt 3. This is something God says is wrong 5. What God does for us when we confess.
Friday—Jesus Wants Me To Repent
Say it! Say your verse 3 times today!
Sometimes we get so used to our sin that we don’t even see it! Does that seem strange to you? Match the sin listed below with the kind of thinking that tells us it’s OK.
Being selfish
I’m having a bad day, so it’s OK to yell at people.
Being Crabby
Nobody will care if I just take this one thing.
Stealing
They don’t deserve to have me share with them.
Read 1 John 1:8-9 Do you think that you ever sin?
Yes Maybe
What does the Bible tell us about saying we’ve never sinned?
Tuesday—Produce Fruit What do you think John meant when he said, “produce fruit in keeping with repentance”? (Mark any that are true)
John wanted the people to know that they each must decide for themselves to follow God. Good fruit in their lives would show that they wanted to follow God more than they wanted to sin. Fruit that grows when a person says, “No,” to sin is talked about another place in the Bible.
B. We lie to ourselves when we say that we’ve never sinned.
Read Galatians 5:22—23 God’s Spirit will help us grow good fruit in our lives.
C. Both A and B.
But the fruit of the Spirit is LOVE,
No
What are some ways that God can help us follow Him? Mark the things that you will ask God to help you do this week.
Luke 3:7-8
□Point out other peoples sin. □Stop living a sinful life □Grow acts of obedience to God in their lives. □Grow apples and oranges.
A. Saying we’ve never sinned is a lie.
Satan wants us to think that we don’t ever sin. God understands our problem and tells us to ask for His help!
Read
_________________ PATIENCE, _____________ FULNESS, GENTLENESS,
, PEACE,
, GOODNESS, FAITH-
____________________ ____________________. and
Pray and ask God to help you know when you’ve sinned. Read your Bible to know how to follow Jesus. Talk to your parents or your Sunday School Teacher.
Circle any of the fruit that you have shown in your life this past week.
Will you ask God to help you grow good fruit in your life? Practice saying all the lines of the memory verse so you can remember God’s promise to forgive you and make you clean!
Read Luke 3:10—14
Wednesday—What Should We Do Then? The people who came to hear John the Baptist were confused about what it meant to repent. John gave them ideas about how they could show that they had really turned from sin. Can you think of ways people can show that they have turned from sin and want to obey God?
Fill in the chart below, thinking about what each person would do if they needed to repent and what they would do if they obeyed God. The first one is already don for you. Who
What
How to Obey God
Man with two coats
Keeping both coats for himself
Share one of his coats
__________________ __________________ Tax Collectors Making people pay too much __________________ Soldiers Tricking people to pay money _____________ __________________ __________________ One who has food
Keeping all of it for themselves
Thursday—Play the Game of “Repent!” You will need:
Read Romans 6:23
1. A parent or a friend as your partner 2. A small toy car or truck 3. Something to use as a wall (such as a book) 4. A blindfold—take turns wearing this The blindfolded partner may drive his or her car along the table as fast as they wish. The other partner puts up the wall as a roadblock somewhere in the path of the car. Before the drive gets to the wall, the other partner yells out, “REPENT!” The driver must immediately turn the car around and drive the other way. If the car does not hit the wall, the drive scores a point. Each partner gets five turns to drive the car. The one with the most points wins the game.
(Your Name)
Why was it so important to turn your car around and What is a good question to ask yourself when you wonder about the right thing to do?
drive the other way when you heard someone say,
W________ w___________ J_____________ d_______?
“Repent”?
A changed life is the proof of a heart that has repented from sin!
__________________________________________________ Read Romans 6:23 If we don’t turn away from sin and trust Jesus to forgive us, we will have to pay the penalty for our sins—just like the driver will hit the wall if he does not turn away from it.
How many lines of our memory verse can you say without peeking?
Will you say, “Thank you, God, for sending Jesus to pay my penalty for sin”?