The Big Rescue by Resources for Children

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Do you know that the One True God knows all about you and loves you? He wants you to know all about him too!

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In t m

In the beginning, God made everything. He made the earth, sun, moon, and stars. He made all of the plants and animals, too.

God also made Adam and Eve. They were the first man and woman. God said everything he made was good.

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God gave Adam and Eve a rule to protect them. Satan, who tells lies about God, told them to break the rule.

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Adam and Eve listened to Satan. They broke Godâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s rule. They sinned against God. Sin is anything we think, say, or do that disobeys God.

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God gave people rules so they would know how to live. But people still chose to disobey God.

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People needed help. Because God still loved them, he had a plan to help them.

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God sent his Son, Jesus, to earth. He was born to Mary and Joseph in a stable.

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Angels came and told shepherds that Jesus had been born. The shepherds went to worship him.

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As Jesus grew up, he became wise and strong.

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Jesus loved his God, who is his Father. He loved to talk about him with others.

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Jesus was washed in water to show that he would remove sin from people. God spoke from heaven and said he was pleased with his Son, Jesus.

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Then Satan tried to make Jesus sin. Satan told Jesus to disobey God, but Jesus did not. He never sinned and always obeyed God.

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Jesus chose twelve men to follow him. These men went everywhere with Jesus. They were called his disciples.

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Jesus taught his disciples about his Father. He taught them to love God and to love others. Many others came to hear Jesus teach.

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One day Jesus was on a boat with the disciples, sleeping. There was a big storm. The disciples were afraid!

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They asked Jesus to help. Jesus told the storm to stop, and it did!

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A man named Jairus came to Jesus. Jairus was an important man in his town. His little girl was dying. He begged Jesus to help her.

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When Jesus arrived at Jairus’ house, people said that the girl had died. But Jesus went in and said, “Little girl, get up!” She did!

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Another time, a man asked Jesus to heal his son who had an evil spirit inside of him. The evil spirit made the boy shake and roll on the ground.

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Jesus told the evil spirit to leave. It did! Jesus did many other miracles, but the religious leaders were angry with him. They did not believe that Jesus was the Son of God.

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The religious leaders told lies about Jesus. They had him killed on a cross.

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On the cross, Jesus prayed, “Father, forgive them!” Then he gave a loud cry and died.

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Jesus’ body was put in a tomb. Some of Jesus’ followers went to see his body.

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When they arrived, his body was gone! An angel told them, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Jesus is alive!â&#x20AC;?

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Jesus met his disciples on a mountain. He said it was time for him to return to his Father in heaven. He told them to go and tell everyone about God.

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Jesus said his Father would send the Spirit of God to help them. Then Jesus went to heaven. But Jesus is going to return someday!

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Jesusâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; followers waited for the Spirit of God to come and he did! His followers began telling everyone about Jesus!

The Spirit of God lives inside all people who choose to follow Jesus. The Spirit of God helps us know and obey God.

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God loves you very much, but sin separates us from God. God sent his Son, Jesus, to take the punishment we deserve for our sins.

Jesus died so our sins can be forgiven and we can become children of God. He is in heaven today. He will come back. Then he will take all of Godâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s children to live in heaven, too!

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Summary The Bible says God made everything. He made people. They sinned against God, and this separated them from God. God does not want us to be separated from him. God sent his Son, Jesus, to live on earth. He lived a perfect life. Jesus died to take our punishment for sin and to bring us back together with God. Three days after Jesus died, he came back to life. He returned to heaven to make a place for us to be with him forever. Everyone who believes in him will be with him there someday. The Spirit of God lives inside Jesus’ followers and helps them love and obey God. Ask Jesus to forgive you and to help you live correctly. He wants to make everything right again between you and God. You can ask God to forgive you for your sins and to help you live right. You can do this in a prayer. “Prayer” is just talking to God. You can pray a prayer like this one:

Dear God, thank you for sending Jesus to die for my sins. I am sorry for the wrong things I have done. Please forgive me. Thank you for making me your child and giving me your Holy Spirit. I love you. Amen.

God loves you!

There is nothing you can do to make God love you more or less. God will never stop loving you.

God made you his disciple!

You are God’s disciple. God wants you to grow to know and love him more. Join a church that teaches God’s Word, the Bible. As a disciple, it is important that you tell others about Jesus too!

Invite God to be part of your daily life!

God is with you always! Talk to him by praying often. Listen for his voice. Learn more about him by reading his Word, the Bible. Follow God’s will for your own life by making choices that please him.

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Storyteller’s Script As you read the storyteller’s script, ask the listeners to follow along on each page of their book. Ask each “Think About It!” question at the end of the page and have listeners answer. Make sure they understand the story before you continue.

Creation (page 1)

Do you wonder who created everything? In the beginning, God made everything. God said, “Let there be light.” And there was light! Then God made day and night. He made the heavens and earth. He made the seas and sky. He made land, plants and fruit. God made the sun, moon, planets and stars. He made every living thing in the sea and on land. God made all animals, from the biggest elephant to smallest bug. When God created everything, he saved the best for last. He made us! God made the first man from the dust of the ground. God called him Adam. He told Adam to name the animals and take care of all he had made. The garden that God made for Adam was a wonderful place, but Adam was alone. So God made a woman. Adam named her Eve. Adam and Eve were friends with God, and they were very happy. God walked with them in the Garden every day. Everything was perfect.

The Fall (pages 2-3)

Everything God made was good. Why isn’t everything good anymore? God told Adam and Eve that they could eat everything in the garden except the fruit from one tree. Satan, who was jealous of God and tells lies about God, appeared as a snake in the garden. Satan told Adam and Eve that they would be like God if they ate from the tree. Adam and Eve believed Satan’s lie and ate from the tree that God told them to stay away from. This was sin. Sin is anything we think, say, or do that does not please God. Adam and Eve tried to hide from God. Because of their sin, God made them leave the garden. The world was not perfect anymore. But God had a plan.

Think About It!

• What did God make? • Do you know that God wants to be friends with you? • How did sin enter the world?

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The Ten Commandments (pages 4-5) All of us sin. No one is perfect!

Sin entered the world when Adam and Eve disobeyed God. So God gave people rules to show them how to live. God used a man named Moses to give the rules. These rules help teach us how to treat one another and protect us from harm. God’s rules also show us that we all sin. We are all imperfect, and we all need God. People broke the rules. They hurt themselves and each other. They were far away from God. But God had a plan.

Jesus is Born (pages 6-7)

Sin separated people from God. How will God bring people back to him? Even though people were far away from God in their hearts, God still loved them. He wanted to bring people back to him and make everything right again. But our sins still had to be punished. Who could take the punishment for our sins? God’s Son Jesus was the perfect person. Because God’s love for us is so great and so strong, he decided to send his Son Jesus to earth to bring people back to God. Jesus was born to Mary and Joseph in a stable.

Jesus as a Boy (pages 8-9)

Jesus was fully human and fully God. Mary and Joseph took Jesus to a festival in another city. He was twelve years old. On the journey back home, Mary and Joseph realized Jesus was missing. They went back and looked everywhere for Jesus. They found him in the Temple where people worshipped God. Jesus was talking to the teachers about God’s ways. Everyone was amazed at how much Jesus knew about God’s Word. Jesus reminded his parents that he was not lost. He was in the house of his Father, God.

Think About It!

• Why did God give us rules? • Why did God send his Son, Jesus, to earth? • Why were people amazed by Jesus even when he was a child? • Why do you think Jesus wanted to be in God’s Temple?

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Jesus is Baptised (page 10)

We clean dirt off our bodies with water. Baptism is a way to show the cleaning of sin from our hearts. Jesus went to see his cousin, John the Baptist. John was called this because he baptised or washed people with water to show the washing away of sin. He was sent by God to tell people about Jesus. Even though Jesus was perfect and had not sinned, Jesus went with John into the river. John baptised him. Jesus came out of the water and the Spirit of God came to him like a dove. God told the people Jesus was his Son and he loved him.

Jesus is Tempted (page 11)

Temptation happens when we want to say or do something we know is wrong. Is it easy or hard to say no to temptation? Satan came to Jesus when he was tired and hungry. He told Jesus to disobey God. He told him to change a stone to bread. Satan took Jesus to the top of the Temple. He wanted Jesus to jump off. Satan said angels would catch Jesus before he fell. Satan told Jesus he could have anything in this world if Jesus would worship him. Jesus said, “Go away Satan! God is the only one we must worship!” Jesus never sinned. He was perfect.

Disciples (pages 12-13)

Jesus chose twelve men to be with him wherever he went. They were called his disciples. Jesus taught them about God and they helped him tell others. Jesus told people that God loved them very much. He wanted everyone to know God and learn to love and obey him. He told them not to be afraid, but to trust God for everything. He said to be kind to others and to forgive them like God forgives us. Jesus said, “Let the children come to me!” That means you too!

Jesus Calms the Storm (pages 14-15)

Have you ever been afraid during a storm? What did you do? The disciples and Jesus were on a boat. A storm came and the disciples were afraid. Jesus was asleep. They woke Jesus up and asked him to help. Jesus said to the wind and the waves, “Be still!” And the storm stopped! He showed his followers that he was God. He wanted them to believe in his power over all things.

Think About It!

• What did God say from heaven when Jesus was baptised? • When Jesus was tempted to do wrong, what did he do? • Who loves you very much and wants you to know him?

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A Girl Raised from the Dead (pages 16-17) Jesus had the power to heal people’s bodies. He even brought people back to life!

Jairus’ daughter was sick. So Jairus went to Jesus to ask for help. Jairus fell at Jesus’ feet. He begged Jesus to come heal his daughter. On the way to Jairus’ house, a man told them the daughter had died. When they arrived at Jairus’ house, everyone was crying. Jesus told them to stop crying. He took the girl by the hand and said, “Get up!” The little girl came back to life. Jesus has power over sickness and death!

A Boy Has a Demon (pages 18-19)

Jesus is God’s Son and is very powerful. He is more powerful than any evil force or demon. A man came to Jesus. He asked Jesus to heal his son. The boy had a demon and was sick. A demon is an evil spirit that lives in a person. The boy began to shake and roll on the ground. Jesus told the demon to leave. It left the boy right away and the boy was healed! Jesus has power over demons.

Jesus Dies (pages 20-21)

Jesus didn’t deserve to die, but he loved all of us so much that he died willingly in our place. Jesus died to create a way back to God for each of us. Jesus did many good things. But the religious leaders did not believe that Jesus was God’s Son. They were angry with Jesus and jealous of him. They decided to kill Jesus by nailing him to a cross. Jesus prayed on the cross, “Father forgive them.” Jesus gave up his life willingly. He knew it was God’s plan. A soldier who saw Jesus die said, “Surely this was God’s Son.” Jesus chose to take the punishment for our sin. He had done no wrong. He was God’s Son and he was perfect. Jesus died on the cross so we could know God and live with him forever.

Think About It!

• What does Jesus have power over? • What did Jesus pray on the cross? • Why did Jesus die?

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Jesus Comes Back to Life! (pages 22-23)

Jesus didn’t just defeat sickness and demons. He defeated death, too! After Jesus died, his friends took his body and placed it in a tomb. A huge stone was rolled in front of the entrance to the tomb. After three days, some of the followers went to the tomb. The huge stone had been rolled away. They did not find Jesus’ body. An angel said, “Do not be afraid! I know you are looking for Jesus. He is not here! He has come back to life.”

Jesus Returns to Heaven (pages 24-25) Jesus gave his disciples a very important job.

Jesus spent forty days with his followers until he told them it was time for him to go back to Heaven to live with God. Jesus told them that he would give them a helper – the Spirit of God would come to them. Jesus told his followers to go everywhere and tell others about him. He said, “Teach people God’s ways.” Then Jesus was taken to heaven. An angel came and told them, “Go and wait for the Spirit of God to come!”

The Spirit of God Comes (page 26)

God didn’t leave his followers alone. He sent a very special helper! The disciples waited in a room and prayed. Then a strong wind came from heaven. They saw something that looked like tongues of fire. The disciples started speaking in different languages. All of them were given the Spirit of God. Jesus’ promise had come true! They now had God’s power. They began speaking God’s words everywhere. Many more people began to believe in Jesus. The Spirit of God lives inside all who believe that Jesus died for their sins. The Spirit of God helps us love and obey God.

Today (page 27)

God loves people and wants them to know him. That includes YOU! We can learn about God in the Bible. Today people still follow Jesus. God still makes disciples. They believe Jesus took the punishment they deserved for their sin by dying on the cross. They believe that Jesus loves them. They follow his words in the Bible.

Think About It!

• Did Jesus stay dead? • Where did Jesus go? • Who did Jesus promise to send? • Do you believe that Jesus loves you?

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