Theme: Jesus alone is able to remove our sin and restore us to God.
Color Theme: RED
Key Scriptures:
- I John 3:5
- I Peter 2:24
- Revelation 1:18
Red Thread Memory Verse:
I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
John 14:6
Items you will need:
- A red item such as a bandana, balloon, piece of card stock, etc.
- A small red item such as a stamp, sticker or gum ball
- Poster board with Gospel Threads illustration used from Days 1 and 2
- Small, smooth black rocks – one per child; or if you have too many students for this to be feasible, use 1 or 2 representative rocks
- Small bag with handles for holding the rocks
- Cross (1-2 feet in height)
Bible Lesson:
During the Bible teaching time, you will add to the drawing of the Gospel Threads outline on the poster board. For instructions on the Gospel Threads presentation board, go HERE.
Ask students if they remember the previous color themes and what they represent. White Thread – God is Holy. Black Thread – Man is sinful.
Hold up the red item you have that represents today’s color theme.
Tell students that RED is the theme color for the day, and you want them to listen and see if they can figure out why.
Review the dilemma established from Day 1 and Day 2 teaching: Refer to the presentation board as you go through the following points.
- God is holy, just and gracious
- Man is sinful and rebellious
- Man’s sin has created a barrier between man and God
- Because of man’s sin, man cannot get to God
- And because of God’s holiness, God cannot dwell with man
- We need a bridge (point to illustration) – a way across the gap
Is there a solution?
Tell the children you are going to look in the Bible, God’s true Word, to see if God has a solution for our sin problem.
Read the following verse aloud:
“You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.”
Romans 5:6
Ask the students who the ungodly are? The answer is us. We know this from the verses we read yesterday: we are ALL sinners and we all have turned aside from God.
This verse says that Christ died for the ungodly. Why Christ? Let’s see why He is the one that could die for us.
He lived the life we could not live.
Add the word “Life” in the middle portion of the illustration and write the Scripture reference I John 3:5 if desired.
You know that he appeared to take away sin, and in him there is no sin.
I John 3:5
Who is the “he” in this verse? Jesus
Was Jesus a sinner? Did He have sins? No, this verse says that in him there is no sin. Jesus lived a perfect life. This verse also says He appeared to take away sin. So whose sins did he take away? Ours!
But how does Jesus take away our sins?
The next verse we’re going to read answers that question for us.
He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.
I Peter 2:24
WE should have been on that cross, because they are OUR sins, but HE died instead of us. So, not only did Jesus live the life we could not live (a perfect and sinless life), but the Bible also says that
He died the death we deserved to die.
Add the word “Death” to the illustration. Add the reference I Peter 2:24 if desired.
Optional Illustration:
Items you need:
Tell students that you are going to illustrate what Jesus did for us another way.
At this time, hand out the small black stones – one per child. Or hold up a couple of representative stones while you explain the illustration.
Ask students to look at the stones they are holding and think about a sin they have committed. Tell them we are going to let the black stones represent our sins.
Now ask students to place their black rock – representing their sin – in the bag you have. As you pick up the stones, you might mention different types of sins that Jesus died for: lack of love, unkindness, selfishness, pride, jealousy, apathy, etc. Also, make it personal. “(Student name) – Jesus died for your sins.” Make sure students understand that the rocks represent OUR various sins.
So the black rocks in this bag represent my sins and your sins. The verses we read said that Jesus took our sins on Himself when he died on the cross so that we could live and be healed and forgiven of our sins.
Place the bag of rocks on the cross while saying this.
The verse we read a few minutes ago ended with this line: “By His wounds you have been healed.” Ask the students now if they can guess why the color for today is red? Right, it represents His blood that was shed for us.
Explain to the children, however, that many people have died, so why is Jesus’ death more important than anyone else’s?
Because of all of the people that have ever died, Jesus is the only one that didn’t stay dead!!
Add the word “Resurrection” on the illustration under the word “death”. Add the reference Rev. 1:18 if desired.
I died, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades.
Rev. 1:18
Jesus rose from the dead and conquered sin and death. He is resurrected and He is alive!
In other words,
He conquered the enemy we cannot conquer.
No other religion in this world is founded on a risen Savior. And this is a very important point.
Christianity is the ONLY faith in which God came to earth in the form of a man – a man who lived a perfect, sinless life. (Point to the word “LIFE” on the board.) He then sacrificed and substituted His life for ours. That means we should have been on the cross, but he took our place. (Point to the word “DEATH”.) But three days later he rose from the grave and conquered sin and death. He is resurrected! (Point to the word “RESURRECTION”.) Today, He is in Heaven praying for us to the Father.
For all these reasons……….
Jesus alone is able to remove our sin and restore us to God.
So the cross became the bridge!!! It is the way God came to us!
Place the cross on the board and point from the “GOD” side to the “MAN” side.
When Jesus took our sin on himself and died on the cross, he satisfied the wrath of God and paid the punishment for our sin.
And the cross is also the bridge for us to come to God!!! Point from the “MAN” side to the “GOD” side.
John 14:6 says:
I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
Jesus, through the cross, is the ONLY way we can be reconciled to God.
So here you are (Add “person” next to the word “MAN” on the presentation board.) on this side.
What can you do to cross to the other side?
If you’re standing at the edge of a river by a bridge and want to get to the other side, what are you going to do?
Walk across the bridge, right?
So the question is, HOW do we cross the bridge to God?
Tomorrow we are going to talk about HOW you cross the bridge from death to life.
End by handing out the small red item you have for each student. (Note: I really like the idea of using a chalk pen or washable marker and drawing a cross on each student’s hand. This highlights both the color and the point of the lesson!) While you do this, reinforce the idea that red stands for Jesus’ shed blood on the cross. Jesus is enough! He alone is able to remove our sin and restore us to God by living the life we could not live, dying the death we deserved to die, and conquering the enemy we cannot conquer.
Download hard copy of this lesson HERE.
Progress to Sewing Gospel Threads Day 4 HERE.
