Dear Parents, We hope the following summary of the Sunday School lesson will help you in discussing the lesson with your children and in working through this booklet together. SCRIPTURE PASSAGE: Luke 1:26-38, 46-55; 2:1-20. Matthew 1:18-25 BIBLE STORY SUMMARY: As Israel struggled with sin, so has every person ever born. God sent His Son, Jesus, to rescue His people from their sin and to give them new hearts and the Holy Spirit to enable them to love and obey Him.
The Promised Land A New and Growing Relationship with Jesus
LESSON FOCUS: To understand that I was born with a sinful heart and need a new heart. To understand that God sent His Son, Jesus, to rescue me from my sin and to give me a new heart and His Holy Spirit so that I will be able to obey Him. WHAT WE LEARNED ABOUT GOD: God sent His Son to give people new hearts. LET’S TALK ABOUT WHAT WE’VE LEARNED: The Bible says that even before He created people, God had a plan to take away their sin. What is God’s plan to remove sin? To give a new heart and to put His Spirit in that new heart – by His power, people would love and obey Him. Mary gave her baby the name Jesus, just as the angel had told her to do. What does the name Jesus mean? “The Lord Saves.” He is the Son of God who came to save His people from their sin.
Promised Land
What does it mean to believe in Jesus? You accept His gift of forgiveness of sins, allowing Him to give you a new heart and the power to live in obedience to Him. What are the two gifts God has for us when we believe in Jesus? A new heart and His Holy Spirit to live in that new heart. Do you believe that Jesus, God’s Son, died for your sin to make you a child of God and to give you eternal life? Will you keep on asking God to give you His power to overcome the sin in your life and to give you a new and growing relationship with Jesus? Will you spend time each day from now until Christmas thanking God for His wonderful gift of eternal life?
See you on Sunday!
Copyright 2002 Berean Baptist Church, 309 E. Co. Rd. 42, Burnsville, MN 55306 952-432-7168
GOD GIVES HIS PEOPLE NEW HEARTS
The Birth of Jesus This Week’s Memory Verse: Ezekiel 36:26-27 “…I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.” December 9, 2012
MONDAY – TWO HEARTS
SATURDAY – THIS WEEK’S MEMORY VERSE
Over and over again, the Israelites turned away from the True and Living God to worship idols. They could not believe God loved them and would keep His promises to give them true happiness. They traded joy and freedom for sin and suffering.
Can you say this week’s memory verse? Unscramble the letters from the eight words below and write them in the blanks of our memory verse.
Read Ezekiel 36:26-27. What two kinds of hearts are there? 1) There are hearts that are made alive to God. These have the power of the Holy Spirit to help people obey God. These are hearts of __________________ 2) There are hearts that are hardened by sin. These are hearts of __________________ How would these two kinds of hearts make people act? Read each statement below. If it sounds like something said by someone who has a heart of flesh, draw a line to the heart shape. If it sounds like something said by someone who has a heart of stone, draw a line to the stone. “I only care about myself.” “I want to obey God.” “God doesn’t care about people.”
CREDEES _______________
WOOLLF _______________
MOVEER _______________
TAHER _______________
SHLEF
_______________
VIGE
SONET
_______________
PTIRIS _______________
_______________
“This is what the Sovereign Lord says, ‘. . . I will _______________ from you your _________________ of _______________ and _____________ you a heart of ________________. And I will put my _________________ in you
“I know God wants me to bring all of my worries to Him.”
and move you to ________________ my __________________ . . .’”
“Thank you God for everything!”
Ezekiel 36:26-27
“It doesn’t matter if what I do hurts others.” “Life is not fair. I deserve to have more things.” “God has forgiven me, so I can forgive others.” Just as a stone heart cannot move and pump blood through our bodies and give us life, sin-hardened hearts cannot give us eternal life.
FRIDAY – WHAT KIND OF HEART? God sent Jesus into the world for ALL people. But to receive a new heart, people must believe Jesus is God’s Son and trust in Him for forgiveness. The Bible tells us what certain people did when they heard about the birth of Jesus. What did Joseph do when the angel appeared to him? (Matthew 1:18-25) Said, “I don’t want to do what he said. I’ll do things my own way.” Obeyed God by taking Mary as his wife and naming the baby Jesus Did Joseph have a HEART OF FLESH or a HEART OF STONE? (Circle one.) What did Mary do when she heard God’s message to her? (Luke 1:26-38, 46) Told the angel to come back later because she was busy Believed God and praised Him Did Mary have a HEART OF FLESH or a HEART OF STONE? (Circle one.) What did the Shepherds do after the angels appeared to them? (Luke 2:8-20) Ignored the angels and went to sleep Hurried to see what the angels had told them about. Then they told others about Jesus. Did the shepherds have HEARTS OF FLESH or HEARTS OF STONE?
TUESDAY – GOOD NEWS! Think back to times when you’ve had to admit that you did something wrong. What are some words that describe how you felt? GUILTY
FOOLISH
ANGRY WITH MYSELF
SAD
HOPELESS
EMBARRASSED
Other ________________
__________________
The Israelites might have felt the same way. No matter how hard they tried, they kept sinning over and over again. “Trying harder” did not work – they needed a new plan. Six hundred years before Jesus was born in Bethlehem, God sent a man named Ezekiel with good news. Ezekiel told about God’s plan for Jesus to pay the penalty for sin so that people could have new hearts. Read Ezekiel 36:26-27 (this week’s memory verse!). What did God say about hearts that are hardened by sin? “I will remove from you your heart of __________________” What did God say about a heart that is full of new life because sin has been removed? “I will give you a heart of ____________________” What did God say He would put in the new hearts to help his people obey His commands? “I will put My __________________ in you.”
Do you have a heart of flesh or a heart of stone? Do you believe that Jesus, God’s son, died for your sin to give you eternal life? Will you keep asking God to give you His power against sin in your life and to help you grow to know Jesus better? From now until Christmas, will you spend time each day thanking God for His wonderful gift of a new heart to love Him forever? Hearts of flesh are hearts that worship!
A decree is a rule or command. God will give us His Spirit to help us follow His commands. Will you start memorizing the good news of Ezekiel 36:26-27 today so you can keep reminding yourself of this good news? Good News! God takes away our old hard hearts and gives us each a new heart!
WEDNESDAY – GOD’S PLAN
THURSDAY – CHANGING OLD TO NEW
The Israelites were not the only people who had hard hearts and could not love and obey God.
Yes
Read Romans 3:23. Who else has sinful, hard hearts? Every person on earth People who don’t go to church.
No
“For God ____ __________________ the ___________________ that He _________________ His one and only Son, that whoever ____________________ in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” What does it mean to “believe in Jesus”? A. To accept His gift of a new heart and the power to obey Him B. To know facts about Jesus: He was born to Mary, He performed many miracles, and He died on a cross. C. To agree with God that I sin, I need to be forgiven, and I trust that Jesus’ death paid the sin penalty for me D. Both A and C
Read Matthew 1:18-22. Fill in the missing words from Matthew 1:21. “You are to give Him the name ______________________ , because He will _____________ His people from their ________________.”
Read II Corinthians 5:17. What happens to you when you “believe in Jesus”? If you believe in Jesus, you can write your name in the spaces below.
Why do you think God told Joseph what to name Mary’s baby? He liked the sound of the name Jesus. He had a very special purpose for Jesus to be born. He was afraid Joseph might pick out a name He didn’t like. Yes
I don’t know
Read John 3:16 (You might even know it from memory!), and fill in the blanks.
It is not very pleasant to think about when people keep turning away from God because their hearts are hardened with sin. But God was not surprised by sin. In fact, God made a plan to change our hearts even before He created Adam and Eve!
Did God know ahead of time that Jesus would die on the cross?
Do you think it was easy for God to send His son Jesus into the world, knowing that He would someday die on the cross?
“Therefore, if ________________________ is in Christ, _________________________ is a new creation; No
When the time was just right God sent Jesus, knowing that He would die on the cross to take the penalty for our sin. Through Jesus’ death on the cross, God took away the sin of His people and gave them hearts that are able to believe in Him. The whole reason for Christmas is God’s plan to give people new hearts!
the old has gone, (“I will remove from you your heart of stone”) the new has come!” (“I will give you a heart of flesh”) Toys, games, clothes, and any other present we can think of will get old and broken and useless. But God’s gift of a new heart that obeys Him will bring us happiness now and forever and ever!