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. SCRIPTURE PASSAGE:
Jesus
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 away from sin and live in obedience, and He gives His Holy Spirit to give us 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. WHAT WE LEARNED ABOUT GOD:
God will forgive my sin. LET’S TALK ABOUT WHAT WE LEARNED:
1.
Who did God send to prepare the people to meet Jesus? (He sent John the Baptist. John lived in the dessert, wore clothes of camel’s hair with a belt of leather, and he ate locust and wild honey.) 2. What was God’s message that John gave the people? (Prepare the way for the Lord.) 3. What did that mean? (The people should be ready to meet Jesus.) 4. What did the people need to do to be prepared to meet Jesus? (They needed to repent their sins.) 5. After they repented, what did John do for them? (He baptized them in water.) 6. When they saw Jesus, what did John say to his friends? (Look, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.) 7. What did John’s friends do? (They followed Jesus.) 8. What made them follow Jesus? (They had confessed their sins and repented. They turned away from sin and chose to be obedient to God.) 9. Will you ask God to show you the sin in your life? 10. Will you confess that sin and repent?
the One I Must Follow
God Calls Me to Turn Away from Sin
John The Baptist Tells About Jesus This Week’s Memory Verse:
Copyright 2008 Berean Baptist Church 309 E County Road 42 Burnsville, Minnesota 55306 952.432.7168
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 our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:8-9 January 12, 2014
Monday—Who is John?
Read Mark 1:1-8, Luke 1:36-37 and 2:41-44
Saturday—This Weeks Puzzle
Jesus grew from the baby the Magi worshiped into a child. Luke tells us that He became strong, wise, and found favor with God and those around Him. He honored His parents, was kind to those He met, and lived His life as God wanted Him to live. Shortly before Jesus was born, His mother’s relative had a very special child. It is possible that the two boys grew up as cousins—playing together at the holidays and festivals.
What was the other special child’s name?________________ What do we call him?
________ the _______________ After reading Luke 1:36-37 and 2:41-44, do you think John and Jesus were together in Jerusalem when they were 12 years old?
Yes No We can only guess
As John became old enough to live by himself, where did he live?
________________________ John’s clothing was unusual for that day. What was it made of?
______________________________________ What did he wear around his waist?
__________________
What unusual things did John eat?
_____________ and ____________________ Did God have a plan for John?
Yes No
In Mark 1:2, which prophet’s word’s did John’s life fulfill?
__________________
Across 2. The animal that John’s clothes were made from 3. The type of paths we are to prepare for Him 5. What we do to ourselves if we think we don’t sin 7. Where John lived 8. What Jesus will do if we confess our sin Down 1. What someone with extra clothes should do 2. A soldier should not do this 4. Turning from sin to obedience 6. Where the Kingdom of God is
Say 1 John 1:8-9
Read 1 John 1:8-10, John 1:29-30 & 35—37
Friday—Following Jesus Through Repentance Some of John’s friends believed in him and the things he was telling others about. They were probably with him many days. Do you think they . . .
helped explain his message? lived in the desert? knew about Jesus? told others of him? had big homes? confessed their sins? liked fishing? started to do good things? had been baptized with water?
yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes
maybe maybe maybe maybe maybe maybe maybe maybe maybe
no no no no no no no no no
Before we repent, we need to
c ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ our sins. Then we must turn a ___ ___ ___ from s ___ ___ and choose to live in o ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___
Tuesday—John’s Message
Read Matthew 3:1-3
As an adult, John had a very important message to tell. Without looking at your Bible, can you remember John’s message?
R________________ for the k ____________ of h_____________ is n _____________ . Isaiah said there would be a voice of one calling in the desert. Isaiah was talking about John the Baptist. He would announce that Jesus was coming soon. What would he tell the people to do?
P___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ the W ___ ___ for the L ___ ___ ___ , make S ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ p ___ ___ ___ ___ for H ___ ___ .
to God.
Being washed clean of our unrighteousness is a very special thing. Can you write down some ways that a kid your age should obey God?
______________________________________ ______________________________________ ______________________________________ ______________________________________ ______________________________________
There are some big ideas here! With help from your mom or dad, write down what the following words mean? Repent: ______________________________________
______________________________________ Kingdom of Heaven:
______________________________________ ______________________________________ Prepare the way of the Lord:
______________________________________ ______________________________________
Read Luke 3:6 and 10—14
Wednesday—John’s Message Explained John was telling anyone who would listen to repent. He told them to live their lives the right way, God’s way. What did he tell them they could see? (Luke 3:6) God’s
______________________
People still had trouble understanding what he meant, so John gave them some suggestions. Draw a picture of what the man with extra clothes should do?
Thursday—Washing Away Sin
Read Matthew 3:4—6 & 11
John was living out in the desert, where it was dry and dusty. Water was very important. It was harder to find water there than here in the land of running water and 10,000 lakes. What special thing was John doing with the water?
___________________________________ What do you like to use water for?
Quenching thirst Getting clean Helping things grow Having fun ________________ What were the people doing that made John decide to baptize them? What did John tell the tax collector to do?
______________________________________ And, what did he talk to the soldiers about?
______________________________________ Repentance is to turn away from sin and choose to do the things that are right in God’s sight. Can you think of some ways to show repentance?
______________________________________ ______________________________________ ______________________________________ ______________________________________ ______________________________________
C ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ their s ___ ___ ___ John knew that baptizing people did not wash away their sin (see verse 11), but it was an outward way to show others that their hearts were changed. Do you know who was coming that would be the important one who pay the penalty for sin?
________________________
Later, John wrote the verses of 1 John 1:8-9. See if you can place the words in the correct order. ____ and will forgive us our sins ____ if we claim to be ____ if we confess our sins ____ we deceive ourselves ____ from all unrighteousness ____ without sin ____ He is faithful and just ____ is not in us ____ and purify us
____ and the truth