SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSON 18 February 3, 2008

Receiving Jesus Personally
Theme: The Holy Spirit
Theme Verse: "'Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit', says the LORD of Hosts." Zechariah 4:6
Readings: Ephesians 2:12-22; Jeremiah 29:10-14; Ezekiel 18:30-32; Ezekiel 36:24-28; John 3:16
Memory Verse: But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ. Ephesians 2:13 (Pre-K to grade 3)
      The first theme is to remember how much God has done for us in Jesus. In Ephesians 2, Paul is reminding these Gentile (non-Jewish) Christians, and us, of how much God has done for them and us. Salvation, new life in Christ is a gift of God, which we receive by grace (unearned favor and kindness). Without Jesus Christ we are "without hope and without God in the world" (vs.12). Word received: I and I alone can bring hope to a dying world. There is no other way to be saved, to receive this new life. God wants us to remember what it is like without him. Word received: I want you to remember what your life was like without Me. If you already know Me and My love for you, then I want you to recommit your life to Me. Remember and see how you are different now. Rejoice--rejoice in the new life you have. Rejoice that you have been given the opportunity to live a new life.
      Not only are we now inheritors of the promises to Abraham but we are no longer outsiders but fellow citizens and members of God's household/family, by adoption (Romans 8:15). We have peace with God and are brought near to Him through the blood of Christ.(Ephesians 2:13) Now we are not divided from each other but made one body through the cross of Christ. He has broken down the dividing wall of hostility and through Jesus, we and those who were formerly hostile, are both given access to the Father through the one Spirit. (note reference to Trinity). PRAYER: Thank you Jesus, for all that you have done for us at such great cost to yourself.
      A second theme is repentance. God is pleading with His sinful people. (Ezekiel 36:24-28) Word received: Read My WORD. Over and over again I call you back to Me. Over and over again I tell you that I love you and want to renew you. I AM saying it again today. Repent, receive a new heart, come back to Me. Repentance is not only something we need to do at the start of our Christian life but something we need to do regularly since it is so easy for us to slip off of the narrow path of following Christ.       Listen to these passages from Ezekiel. "Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways," says the Lord GOD. "Repent, and turn from all your transgressions, so that iniquity will not be your ruin. (18:30) Word received: Turn to Me. I will judge you fairly and I will know if you are covered by My blood. Those who have been washed clean by My blood have nothing to fear. Turn to Me and be saved. We cannot save or clean up ourselves (Romans 8:1-6) Only God can give us a new heart and a new spirit and cause us to walk in his ways. Ezekiel 18:31 " Cast away from you all transgressions which you have committed, and get yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. For why should you die, O house of Israel? ( or the church!) Now look at Deut. 30: 19-20. "I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live; that you may love the LORD your God, that you may obey his voice, and that you may cling to him, for he is your life and the length of your days; and that you may dwell in the land which the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them." Word received: I want you to choose life. In order to do that you must cast away all that leads to death. You must confess your sins and repent. Remember My call to My people through John the Baptist. Remember My call to My people through Peter on the day of Pentecost. The choice is still the same: repent, return to Me and I will bless you.
      (Ezekiel 18:32) "For I have no pleasure in the death of one who dies,' says the Lord God. 'Therefore turn and live.'" Word received: Do not believe the lies that are told of Me. Do not believe them. I want My people to live, but only they can make that choice. I will not force it on you; you must turn to Me to live. Word received: I mourn when you do not repent and come back to Me. You are My children and I love you. You do have a choice----repent! Then just as I promise, you will receive a new heart and a new spirit. Repent and live!
      God has a plan for us, his people, he longs for his wandering sinful people to return/repent, make the choice to come back to their first love. "Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols." (Ezekiel 36:25) Word received: I long to wash you , I long to bind up every wound. Come to Me, turn to Me, and I will refresh you. "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh." (Ezekiel 36:26) Word received: I AM the only one who can do this: no science, no religion can restore a heart of flesh where there was a heart of stone. Turn to Me--I AM the living God and I will make you whole and new.
      "I will put my Spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statutes, and you will keep my judgments and do them." (Ezekiel 36:27) Word received: You can only keep My judgments with the help of My Holy Spirit. Turn to Me, ask to be filled up with My Holy Spirit. (STOP and give your life to Jesus or recommit and ask to be filled up anew with his Holy Spirit. The surrender to the Lord has to come before Jesus will pour out his Spirit.)
      "Then you shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; you shall be my people, and I will be your God." (Ezekiel 36:28) Word received: I long for you to enter into all My promises.
      "But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ". (Ephesians 2:13) Word received: After being so far away you now have opportunity to live in My love--because of the blood shed by My Son. (vs 14-18) Word received: See everything I have done to draw you near to Me again. See, receive and believe. I gave the very best I had for your life. How are you going to respond?
      Think what John 3:16 actually says about God's love for us , for you and me. "For God so loved the world that He gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." We can scarcely imagine that kind of love, by the Father and by Jesus himself!
      The third theme is what God is building. God is building a dwelling for Himself to dwell in,(vs21) "In Him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord (vs22) and in Him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by His Spirit."
      This temple is built on the "foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone ( the stone on which everything rests and which ties things together.) Word received: I want you to make Jesus the chief cornerstone in you life. I want your body to be the temple for My Holy Spirit. I long to have you near Me. I long to have you back. Respond and come to Me. Confess. I will forgive. Receive My love and joy. There is nothing like it anywhere else.
       Word received: I do have great and wonderful plans for you. You need to surrender yourself, your heart and your plans. Then seek Me and call on Me. I will hear you and you will follow Me.
      "See I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation. The one who trusts will never be dismayed." (Isaiah 28:16) Without a good cornerstone the foundation will not hold up. Without Jesus our lives will crumble. " As you come to him, the living Stone, rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him, you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ."

Note to teachers: This lesson is one of those times when we invite the children to give their hearts to Jesus--for the first time or again. Because we all stumble and fall into sin we need to choose to turn back to the Lord again and again.

Teaching Ideas for Lesson 18
Please read the Study Guide first. Go over Memory Verse to make sure the children understand it and then if they have memorized it.
      Remind them their parents need to sign a report slip monthly if they have read the lessons, so they will get credit at the end of the year.
      Make sure they know what happened in the story. Get them to tell you.

Basic points of the lesson for little ones:
      1.God wants us to REMEMBER what he has done for those who love him and invite him into their hearts. Because of Jesus' death and shed blood we are adopted into God's family and are not outsiders anymore.
       2. We need to stop doing those things that make God very sad (sin) and do things God's way and give our lives to Jesus again.. This is called REPENTANCE.
      3.God wants to build us (as living stones) into a place of worship for God to live in. Jesus is the chief CORNERSTONE of God's building.
      4. To meet Jesus, come and talk to him (prayer), tell him about what you did wrong and ask him to forgive you and come live in your heart as your best friend. Say thank you!
      THEN, talk to Jesus every day. You can hear him in your mind and as you read the book God wrote--the Bible. Get to know others who know Jesus. He has wonderful plans for you. Life will not always be easy or without trouble but Jesus will give you peace, strength and will walk with you and lead you.