* Have a large card with The Bible – God’s Book written on it. Display each night
The Israelite people had escaped from Egypt. God had performed a miracle and made a path for them to walk across the Red Sea. They walked along, setting up camp wherever God said to stop. When they came to a place called Mt Sinai they again set up camp. God called to their leader Moses and said ‘Come up the mountain to me’. Moses talked with God, then shared what God had told him with the people of Israel. One day God also gave Moses something special to take back with him. Do you know what it was? Tablets of stone that God had written on. What we now call the 10 commandments. They were words from God for us.
How many of you have cell phones?
There would have been a little booklet with it to tell you how to operate it. Most of you probably play around with your phone to find out how it works – but the book gives you instructions and if you have a problem – it is where you will likely find the answer.
When Dad or Mum buys a car they always have an instruction manual that goes with it. That tells you what the knobs and dials are for, and helps the mechanic when he has to fix it.
It’s the same with many things. We get an instruction book when we buy and oven, a microwave, a TV, DVD, hair straightener, toaster, or even how to look after certain jewellery or clothing.
The instruction book knows how to make it’s creation work best.
When God chose the Israelites to be his special people, He gave them some instructions. Moses went up Mt Sinai and talked with God, then God gave him these special commandments, along with many other instructions about how to live and act.
Why did God need to give them these rules?
God set rules in place so we would know the best way to live – how to treat each other, rules for parents as well as children, for workers as well as bosses, for teachers as well as pupils. In fact rules for everyone. God created us all so he knows best how we should live.
You might not like to think there are rules from God that you have to obey – but how much does God know? (everything)
Does he know if our body is sick? (yes)
Does he know when we do something wrong? (yes)
Does he know what is happening in every country of the world? (yes)
Does He know even what I am thinking? (yes)
So then , if God wrote the 10 commandments for the Israelites, do you think they are fair and sensible commands that will help them?
After God gave these rules to Moses, there were many other prophets and leaders that God spoke to over the thousands of years of history. God asked them also to write special manuscripts and they have now all been put together into a book that we now call the BIBLE.
So, this book – the BIBLE – comes from God to us.
Therefore – it is important – God has written it
It is the truth – God cannot lie
It knows best – God created us so he knows how we should best live.
Do you read it?
THE BIBLE – GOD’S BOOK 2
Tonight I want to share some of the other things that the Bible tells us. Remember the Bible is Gods words to us. If we belong to him then we should read it to learn what he wants us to know – and it will also help us cope with the difficulties of life.
Last week we learnt about how to be born spiritually – to become a part of Gods’ family. What we call a ‘Christian’.
And once we are a Christian, it’s like we are on a new journey. A journey with God that eventually takes us to heaven when we die. But along the way
life has obstacles and problems which we have to face.
We might have trouble at school
- we don’t understand the work
- friends are mean to us
- our teacher picks on us
- other kids scare us
or at home
- mum and Dad fight
- not enough money for food and clothes
- you live with Mum and visit Dad
- your brother hurts you
- the boss might be unfair
- you might get caught stealing and lose your job
Or sad things happen
- someone might tell lies about you
- you might have an accident or get sick
- someone you love is killed or dies
There are lots of things that will happen in your life. If you are a Christian it means God will be there for you – he doesn’t take all the difficulties away – and he doesn’t make everything turn out like you want - but he does promise to be there to support you, comfort you and help you make the right decisions, and give you the courage to be honest and fair if you ask him.
We have been talking about Gods Word – The Bible, and how special it is.
So if you are going to face a lot of difficulties at times in your life, what does the Bible say that can help you….
- it has very wise words – it tells children to obey their parents and parents to care for their children. If both sides did this we would be happier wouldn’t we? And so would our parents!
- it encourages us to go to church where we can learn more about God
- it reminds us to pray – that is how we talk to God
- we meet other Christians at church who we can talk to and get help and advice from
- it tells you many stories about people and what they did – you can learn what to do or what not to do if you read their story and learn the lesson they did.
God has given the Bible to us – but we can only learn what God is telling us if we READ IT! It is the most special book in the world. Remember how he gave the first lot of instructions to Moses – we call them the 10 commandments – if we all obeyed them then there wouldn’t be the sad things happening in our country and sometimes in our own life. The Ten commandments tell us…..
- Only worship God
- Do not make idols or worship them (what are idols?) bow down to statue… or it could mean spend whole life chasing money, power…
- Do not use God’s name for evil (swearing is dishonouring to God)
- Honour our parents
- Remember to keep 1 day holy for worshipping God
- Do not murder
- Do not commit adultery – it means have only 1 husband or wife and be faithful to them.
- Do not steal
- Do not tells lies or accuse anyone falsely
- Do not desire to have what belongs to someone else
- Only worship God
- Do not make idols or worship them (what are idols?) bow down to statue… or it could mean spend whole life chasing money, power…
- Do not use God’s name for evil (swearing is dishonouring to God)
- Honour our parents
- Remember to keep 1 day holy for worshipping God
- Do not murder
- Do not commit adultery – it means have only 1 husband or wife and be faithful to them.
- Do not steal
- Do not tells lies or accuse anyone falsely
- Do not desire to have what belongs to someone else
The Bible - 3
MV – 2 Timothy 3:16.
The Bible – God’s Book
Remember last week we found
The Bible – It is important – it comes from God
it is the truth – God cannot lie
it knows best how we should live
The Bible comes from God who made us.
Someone came from God down to earth. Who was that? (Jesus) He came to tell us about God and show us how to live our lives in the best way.
Jesus came from God in Heaven. But God planted Jesus inside a lady a named Mary so that she gave birth to Jesus in the form of a baby – just like you and I were born. So Jesus had a human mother. She knew Jesus had come from God and that he was very special. When Jesus turned 30 years old it was time for him to start telling people about God. Jesus and some of his disciples as well as his mother Mary were invited to a wedding. They had wine to drink and food to eat to help celebrate these friends marriage.
But there wasn’t enough wine for all the people who came. How embarrassing. They had run out. Mary realised what had happened and wanted to help the family. So she told Jesus, “they have run out of wine”. Then Mary went to the servants and said to them, ‘whatever Jesus tells you to do – you do it’. Maybe the servants wondered what Jesus might come and say tot hem – but when He did come to them they must have thought he was crazy. He said, “fill the jars with water’. Well what a strange thing to ask us to do – I’m sure that’s what they thought.
But they remembered what Mary had said – WHATEVER he says to you, do it. So they filled these very large jars with water.
Now what?
Jesus then said, “now take some out and give it to the MC (the person organising and running the wedding). The servants thought this was rather strange, but again they remembered what Mary had said – whatever he tells you to do, do it. So they did it.
And when it was poured out it was wine. And the best they had tasted. Jesus had turned the water into wine- because the servants obeyed what he said.
Jesus wants to tell us many other things too. How do we find out what he wants us to know? (its in the Bible – we have to read it to find out)!
Exactly. We need to read the Bible and that is the way we hear God and Jesus speaking to us.
In our MV 2 Timothy 3 v 16 we find that the Bible is useful for
teaching us what is right
rebuking us when we get it wrong
correcting us by showing us the right way
and training us so we can do it well
the Bible also tells us the history of the Israelites, how the world was created, what Jesus did on earth, how God wants us to live, what God has planned for the future of the world, how we can become a child of God and receive eternal life when our human body dies…and much more.
It’s a great book to read. It is Gods book written to us.
The Bible - 4
We have learnt that God has given us the Bible. It is a special book from him to us.
Over the thousands of years that man has been on the earth, God spoke to people through special messengers. Sometimes it was angels, but mostly it was other men who came and told about God. There were prophets, judges, priests and kings. People like Noah, Joseph, Joshua and David.
We also learnt last week that finally God himself came down to earth in the form of a human – Jesus – so he could personally tell us about God, and how to live our lives in the best way.
When Jesus was here on earth, the religious leaders who studied the Old Testament part of the Bible were the ones who used to teach about God. They only had the 1st part of the Bible as that was all that had been written then. The rest of the bible was written after Jesus went back to heaven. These religious leaders knew a lot about God from the Old Testament part of the Bible, so they were very interested when Jesus started to do his teaching about God.
There was a man named Nicodemus. He was one of the leading religious men in the church. He wanted to know more about what Jesus was teaching. But he was a bit scared of what other people might think – so one night when It was all dark, Nicodemus crept out of his house, along the streets and knocked on the door where Jesus was staying. He had questions to ask Jesus – he especially wanted to know how to belong to God. Guess what Jesus said to him? (you must be born again!).
What? Become a baby again? No. Jesus meant you had to be born again to a NEW LIFE – a spiritual life.
I want to tell you what this means.
The Bible has the answers ….
It tells us God created us so he could enjoy our friendship, and so we could look after this earth he created.
But then Satan came along and destroyed that friendship we had with God. When Adam and Eve disobeyed God and followed Satan it meant the friendship with God was broken. Their disobedience is called SIN. So now we are all born with SIN as that was passed on to all humans.
Sin has to be punished. And the punishment that God has ordered is eternal death and separation from God.
But God wants to give us another chance. So he sent Jesus to earth to tell us about God and show us how we can resume a friendship with God again.
Jesus was willing to give his life – to die – so we could be saved. Jesus died on the cross – but because Jesus is also God, he was able to come alive again. Because God is all powerful it meant he had power over death too. It is hard for us to understand, but God just asks us to trust him and to believe that what he has told us is true.
So that means if we want to be born again spiritually like Nicodemus did, how can we do it?
One of the Bible verses we learn in our Rally members badge actually tells us. It is found in John 3 v 16.. ‘for God loved the world so much, that he have his only son, so that whoever believes in him should not die but have eternal life.’ If we do this, then we are born again spiritually into God’s family.
Here is a simple way to help you:
Say sorry – tell God you are sorry for the sin and wrong in your life. Ask him to forgive you.
Say please – Ask God to please come into your life and give you a new beginning. And ask him to please help you to obey him.
Say thank-you – Give thanks to God for loving you enough to send Jesus to die in your place. Thank him for forgiving you, and for giving you a home in heaven.
