5 2 4 #
Golden Bells
Thanks be unto God for His unspeakable gift 2 Cor 9:15
Claires CoLumn #425
The God who Gives
God’s
He is R
He can give anything
He is W
He thinks of the best
He K
what we need most
He L
Rich
the gift of God gift
He owns everything
He is P
God’s gift
What God gave was His very own. It cost Him! When He gave this gift, He gave us everything!
His gift shows just how much
powerful
knows
loves
wise
He cannot give more. He cannot give better. lla fo tfig tsetaerg eht si sihT Tip: Hold this in front of a mirror!
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
readers and Australia
spel Hall
Dallarnil Go
Play an instrument? Try this nice tune...
Saying hi from Ghana
First Century Gospel Church
Missionarys Journey... There was once a missionary who went on a journey to a far away country. He was going to preach the Gospel.
First the missionary hopped onto a train. He sat next to a lady who was carrying a big bag. The missionary said (in Chinese of course) ‘What is in your bag?’ The lady showed him fresh fruit and some long incense sticks. The lady said, ‘I am taking these to my family graves to give them to the gods’. ‘A god that takes fruit and smelly sticks??’ thought the missionary ‘What sort of a god is that??’ After a long talk on the train, the lady with the big bag followed the missionary on his journey to a far away country…
Next, the missionary caught a bus. Just as he sat down, a beggar carrying a basket tapped him on the shoulder. The missionary turned around and said (in Hindi of course) ‘What would you like?’ The beggar said, ‘Please, I need food for my god’. Then he lifted the lid off his basket and out came a hissing cobra snake! It was his god! ‘A god that takes food??’ thought the missionary ‘What sort of a god is that??’ After a long talk on the bus, the beggar with the basket followed the missionary and the lady with the big bag on their journey to a far away country…
Then the missionary got a ride with a family on a donkey cart. The donkey cart was piled high with wood, tin, bricks & cement. The missionary asked the family (in Spanish of course) ‘What are you going to do with all this stuff?’ The family said, ‘We are building 2 houses, a big one for us and a little temple for our god’. ‘A god that takes a house??’ thought the missionary ‘What sort of a god is that??’ After a long talk on the donkey cart, the family followed the missionary, the beggar with the basket and the lady with the big bag on their journey to a far away country…
Finally the missionary had to walk. He walked into a village where he saw something very strange. A group of ladies were dancing around a bonfire! ‘What are you doing’, asked the missionary (in Afrikaans of course) ‘We are sacrificing our best pig to keep our god happy’, said the dancing ladies. ‘A god that takes a pig??’ thought the missionary ‘What sort of a god is that??’ After a long talk around the bonfire, the dancing ladies followed the missionary, the family, the beggar with the basket and the lady with the big bag on their journey to a far away country…
Finally the missionary arrived in the far away country. It was time for him to preach the Gospel…
On my journey I have met many people who give to different gods. These gods all take different things. I have come to tell you all about the One True God. He is different... He is the God who gives! Then the missionary opened his Bible and started to read from the very first book called Genesis. He told the people how God gave life, food, sunshine and rain. When he got to the book of Exodus he told how God gave The Ten Commandments. Right through the Old Testament he went on telling how God gave promises, blessings and prophets. Then the missionary came to the middle of his Bible… ‘Unto us a child is born, unto us a Son is given… The greatest gift God has given is His own Son… but He was hated, rejected, killed and nailed to a cross! Then some of the people started to cry. It seemed like a very sad story. How could people be so ungrateful, undeserving and so bad! But the missionary was still preaching. Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts… Jesus rose from the dead and God gave another gift… The Holy Spirit! This is the story of the God who gives and gives and gives again! It was getting dark and the missionary could not preach forever. He would tell the people about one last gift. A gift God had for them… a gift they could take right now… the missionary flicked over to one of the little books near the end of his Bible and read these words… ‘God has given us eternal life and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. These things I have preached to you so you may know that you have eternal life’ 1 John 5:11-13
Godsgifts
2 L___ H___S_____ S_______ F___ T__C___________ E______L___ R___ These gifts are written in bold on the opposite page
And the greatest gift of all...
JCSTESUHIRS 1
___________ B
L E B I
_____
1
Unscramble the torn letters to reveal another gift that lots of us have today...
1. Colour the spaces with dots in them to find out what the angels told the shepherds.
2 2 2
2. Help the shepherds get to their destination. 3. They went to........? (Circle the correct answer)
sleep Bethlehem
?
Jerusalem Egypt
Across 5. They spoke to Mary, Joseph and the shepherds. 6. A prophet who named the town where Jesus would be born* 8. The time when we celebrate Jesus’ birth 9. The wise men were guided by this 10. A brave king who was Jesus’ ancestor* 11. Jesus was the ___ of God Down 1. Before Jesus was born, God told these special men that He was coming 2. The town where Jesus was born 3. The first people to visit Jesus in the stable 4. The name of Jesus’ mother 7. A prophet in the Old Testament who spoke about Jesus*
Clues marked * are worth bonus points
P
3 2
B
s
nu
bo
S I
A C S
D S
Some of the things people give to false gods are below - label them (read the missionary story for some help)
2
I
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activities
1 3 1 = Green|2 = Brown|3 = Red|4 = Yellow|5 = Blue|6 = Orange|7 = Pink|8 = Black
true story
go
sp e l
The
story The story of God who gave His Son
LOVE
it really happend
where the loved one is ugly and unlovely
Story
the innocent are punished story and the guilty go free
crime
parts cannot Mystery some be solved even
Story
when fully investigated it contains the
Horror most horrific story scene the world has ever seen
action war a classic
about a man who gives His life for others
about the King fighting for His subjects an international bestseller for over 2,000yrs
unfinished
the sequel is yet to happen
God’s Gift... Heaven probably burst open and God’s great Gift floated down for everyone on earth to see! Was God’s Gift really big?
x
Did God send His Gift to a King or an Emperor or someone really important?
x
x x
Did God send His gift to the biggest city in the world?
God’s Gift came straight out of heaven so it must have looked rich, impressive and been beautifully wrapped!
x
...Arrives It was very small and it seemed very weak… God’s Gift arrived as a tiny, little baby!
The Gift of God arrived in a little, unknown town called Bethlehem. It was so little that it was not even marked on some maps.
The person who brought God’s Gift into the world was an unknown teenager. A girl called Mary. God’s Gift was wrapped in swaddling clothes (bits of cloth like bandages) and laid in a manger (a rough, dirty cattle feeding box).Most people did not think it was grand or impressive at all. Most of the world didn’t even notice that God’s Gift had come! Nobody saw or heard anything except for a few shepherds on a hill in the middle of nowhere.
It seemed strange. It was unexpected. But what a wonderful surprise!
G s ’ d i o f t G U n wra p pe d
G N I N
!
ou e y nce k a O n ll t wi rap! eps o t f gi nw ke d’s r to u just ! o G ve , it ng i t e for star com u yo
R A W God is a God who gives; a giving God; a God of love. His great gift is Jesus Christ and in Him is blessing after blessing after blessing. This is one huge gift containing many, many gifts which you discover when you receive Him.
Forgiveness o f sin s Ephesians 1:7
I needed this so badly because sin made me guilty and condemned. I was under the sentence of death and the judgment of hell. I could not escape. Jesus Christ paid my penalty and removed my guilt. He has the power to forgive my sins. ‘In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of His grace’
Cleansing 1 John 1:7
Peace Eph 2:14
Joy Romans 5:11
Holy s p irit John 14:26
Eternal L if e Rom 6:23
Sin had left a stain on me. Not just on the outside but right through to the inside. My heart, my nature was unclean. I was completely sinful, spoiled and ruined. ‘The blood of Jesus Christ God’s Son cleanses us from all sin’
I have been forgiven, my sins are gone. I have no more fear about my past. I know to whom I belong. He keeps me. I am peaceful about the present. I know where I am going. My destiny is certain. I am peaceful about the future. ‘He Himself is our peace’
Deep down inside I know I am a child of God. My sins are forgiven. My home is in heaven. Nothing can separate me from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus my Lord. ‘We also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ’
The Spirit of God has come to live in me forever. He was given from heaven by the Lord Jesus Christ. He is God. I have God’s power, God’s presence in me making me a new creature, giving me a new nature. I have a new life and power to overcome sin and live for God. ‘The Holy Spirit whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things’
I got my physical life from my parents. I get eternal life from God. It is spiritual life with spiritual power. It links me with God. It is the life of God. It will never end. It is in Jesus Christ. ‘The gift of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord’
God who did not spare His Son but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?
Romans 8:32
e l b i B its B ught 7 And Mary bro firstborn forth her pped Him in Son, and wra Him ths, and laid no swaddling clo ause there was ec b r, ge an m there in a e inn. 8 Now th in em th r s living room fo try shepherd n u co e m sa flock by were in the ch over their at w g in ep ke d before ds, the Lord stoo out in the fiel f o l ge an an , and behold, e around them n o sh night. 9 And rd Lo e “Do e glory of th said to them, l ge an e them, and th th en h f great joy tly afraid. 10 T good tidings o u they were grea yo g n ri b I , is day for behold born to you th is e er th not be afraid, r Fo 11 this to all people. Lord. 12 And e th st ri h C is which will be r, who in swaddling David a Savio abe wrapped B a d in the city of n fi ill w with the to you: You ly there was en d d su d will be the sign n A 3 g: 14 a manger.” 1 God and sayin in g in g is in ra ly p s, st th o clo venly h ward men!” ude of the hea ce, goodwill to ea p h rt ea angel a multit n o d the highest, an Glory to God in
JV
NK Luke 2:7-14 |
goldenbellsmag.com.au is a free, online kids Bible teaching magazine and a resources website for religious education teachers. If you would like to order printed copies of this magazine, please contact us (minimum quantities apply). We also welcome your ongoing feedback. goldenbellsmag.com.au mail@goldenbellsmag.com.au