Salvation: What is it and why do I need it?

~ SECOND QUARTER ~

 Salvation: What is it and Why do I Need It

Lesson 1 – What does it mean to be saved?

Scripture: “You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly…But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! For if, when we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life.” - Romans 5:6-10

RIGHT ON TIME! 

Tommy was always getting in trouble. His family would often say “trouble is Tommy’s middle name.” Tommy’s father would often tell Tommy to stay out of trouble or else he might find himself in a situation he could not handle. Tommy heard what his father said, but he often shrugged it off as “old people” simply worried too much.

One day, as Tommy was on his way home from the store, he saw some construction work going on and it drew his attention to the men working. Tommy went over to the site and asked the men what they were doing. They told him to move back. Tommy didn’t listen. He kept moving forward to peek into the hole in the ground.

As Tommy was leaning forward, he lost his footing and began to slip. But before his words could even leave his mouth, he felt a large hand reaching out and grabbing him. The large hand pulled him back up. He then heard a familiar voice.

“Tommy, I told you to stay out of trouble.”

It was his dad! “But how did you know…”

Tommy’s dad looked at his son and simply said, “Son, I’m always watching out for you. I saw you coming this way instead of coming to the house. Something inside told me I should check up on you, and I’m glad I did.”

“Yeah, you were right on time!”

~Examine the Word~

This bridge represents the relationship with God before sin

The scripture verses tell us that at the right time, Christ came to save us from sin. What is sin? Sin is doing something we shouldn't do.  That includes bad thoughts, bad actions, being jealous of others, using language badly, and overall behaving in a way or manner that is against God (and all have sinned)!  The trouble is that God can't stand sin because He is perfect!  Ever since Adam and Eve ate from the tree in the garden, God couldn't have the same relationship with us. Before, there wasn’t anything that separated God and men. It’s like the bridge above. People on the bridge above can connect with the other people on the other side freely because the bridge connects to the other side. Man could connect with God freely before sin.

This bridge represents the relationship with God after sin. 

Broken!               Separated!           Torn Apart!

When Adam and Eve sinned, they damaged the connection (the bridge) between man and God. Now man had no way of getting to the other side, to God.  So we needed a way to be able to have fellowship or friendship with God.

In the Old Testament part of the Bible, we are told that the people had to give offerings for their sins. The priest would take the animals that were without spot or blemish and sacrifice their blood on the altar for the people’s sins. But this had to be done again and again. Some of the people of the Bible thought they could do “things” that would help them reach God. But as the picture above shows, they still could not do anything to reach God because man’s righteousness is not good enough (Isaiah 64:6; Titus 3:5).

Jesus’ came and offered himself as the perfect sacrifice, the perfect lamb without any blemishes or marks (because he was without sin). Jesus’ sacrifice would now do what the other sacrifices could not; it would wash away sin forever. God sent his Son at the right time to save us from falling into a pit that we could not get out of. That pit represents sin. We could not stop sinning because we wanted to. We needed God to help us and to forgive us for the sins we committed.

 ⁶ Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.  – John 14:6

 To Be Saved Means:

·         I have been saved from all the wrong things I do (acting, thinking, etc.) against God.

·         I am no longer disconnected from God because of the “bridge” being gone.

·         Jesus became the bridge for me so that I could reach God.

·         I am no longer separated from God or his provisions.

·         I accepted Jesus as MY SAVIOR, the perfect sacrifice for my sins.

·         I want to obey God and His purpose for my life.

 ~Discovering the Truth~

We learned, in the first quarter, that God loves us unconditionally. That means that He loves us not because we do things right, but simply because He created us. Our sin separates us from having a friendship/relationship with God. So we needed something to help us bridge that gap. Jesus is the one that keeps us from slipping into the danger of sin and suffering the consequences for it. Tommy’s father watched over him and saw that his son might need him, and he did. His father’s strength was able to pull his son from trouble. God is able to pull us from the trouble we would find ourselves in because of our disobedient to His commands, through Jesus Christ.

  Before a person can accept the gift of salvation, they first have to understand that they are in need of salvation or saving (as we explained in the illustration of bridge). This lesson today helps  us understand that even though we are children of God by creation, we have to make a choice to accept God’s gift of being his child by redemption (salvation). After we understand what salvation is, our next step is accepting OUR NEED to be Saved. We hope that today you have gained that understanding that you need to be saved (if you are not). In our next lesson, we will study “how do you get saved,” what is required.

~Additional Scripture~

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast. – Ephesians 2:8-9

Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved. – Acts 4:12

…but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a Lamb without defeat or blemish -1 Peter 1:18-19

Prayer: Lord, help us today to understand our need to be saved. It seems like such a large step.  However, you said you would do the work in us because of Jesus. Help us make that step to understanding our need for salvation. Amen.

Who Does God Say that I Am?

FIRST QUARTER ~ Who Am I

Lesson 3 – Who Does God Say That I Am?

Scripture: ¹You have searched me, LORD, and you know me. ² You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. ³ You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. ⁴ Before a word is on my tongue you, LORD, know it completely… ¹⁴ I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. Psalm 139:1-4, 14

I KNOW YOU!

Denise could not shake the dream she had a few days ago. She wondered why it had upset her so much. Denise decided to talk to her mother about her dream. That’s what she did as soon as she arrived home from school. She told her mother the dream. Her mother sat quietly listening. When Denise finished telling her about the dream, her mother nodded her head and sat quietly for a few moments.

When she spoke she asked, “Denise, why do you think this dream bothers you so much?”

“I don’t know mom, but it does,” Denise answered.

Denise’s mother smiled. “I think you do know, deep down. You have been hanging out with kids that have you acting in a way that is not who you are suppose to be. You have gotten so worried about being liked, that you’re starting not liking yourself.”

Her mother continued, “I think the dream was trying to tell you something. You are letting people put labels on you that God does not intend for you to be. You didn’t like the labels in the dream did you?”

“No,” Denise said as she shook her head.

“Well, Denise. You are trying to be someone that God didn’t make. He knows you and He knows this isn’t the person he wants you to be. You have to decide if you are going to keep trying to please these friends who really don’t know who you were meant to be, or are you going to be the person God knows. What are you going to do?”

Denise thought about what her mother said. Yes, she needed to make a decision. She needed the person that knew her, to help her make the right one.

~Examine the Word~

The psalmist, David is writing about how much God knows him. He says that God knows his heart and everything about him. God knows his thoughts, when he’s coming and going. God not only knows everything about David, but He is the one that created him. David says that he was made fearfully and wonderfully by God. In other words, God took time to make David unique and not like anyone else. No two people are completely the same, even Identical twins! David said he would praise God for making him. We should do the same.

~Discovering the Truth~

 Since God is the one that knows us, then we should go back to him to find out what we should be doing and who we should be. So when we ask the question of who does God say that we are, this is His answer:

Romans 5:8 - “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us”.

Ø  God loves me regardless of how I feel about myself or how I perform.

Ø  My identity is changed from what I was to what I am and what I am becoming.

Ø  God’s love is unconditional.

The truth is that God loves us right now, even if we are not doing everything right! He desires, however, to help us be who he has called for us to be and that is a child of God, his child by redemption (being saved). We are His by creation, because he created us. However, if we want to be with him in heaven we must be saved.

We answered the three questions:

1.     Who do you say that you are?

2.    Who do people say that you are?

3.    Who does God say that you are?

What are some answers that could be given for these questions?
What did we say was the one response that we should always go by?

Yes, we always want to know ourselves through what God says. This will help us as we move to the second quarter and talk about salvation. What is it and why do we need it?

Please remember that when people want to talk about you because you don’t go along with their mean or wicked plans, or use the language they use, or do the things they do, make the following statement in your mind, your heart, and out loud if necessary.

~Additional Scripture~

 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. – Philippians 4:8

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. – Jeremiah 29:11

Prayer: Lord, you are the one that made me and you know everything about me, my thoughts, my emotions, everything. Help me to look to you for the answers in life. I want to know what you want me to do with my life Amen.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            

Who Am I? - Who Do People Say That I am?

Lesson 2 – Who Do People Say that I Am?

Scripture: 41 While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, 42 “What do you think about the Messiah? Whose son is he?” “The son of David,” they replied. 43 He said to them, “How is it then that David, speaking by the Spirit, calls him ‘Lord’? For he says, 44 ‘The Lord said to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand until I put your enemies under your feet.” 45If then David calls him ‘Lord,’ how can he be his son?” 46 No one could say a word in reply, and from that day on no one dared to ask him any more questions. – Matthew 22:41-45

THE NAME TAGS

Denise had worried about meeting friends, but she had managed to make a few friends. There was a problem, however. Some of Denise’s friends wanted her to do things she was not comfortable with doing. At first, it was only silly stuff. They picked on some of the quiet kids and played pranks on them. But now, the things they wanted her to do were getting beyond what Denise thought was right. In fact, she had felt awful about the pranks they had already been doing, but she went along with them anyway because she didn’t want them to think bad about her.

One evening as Denise was sitting in her room, she began to drift off to sleep. She began to dream. In her dream, she heard people talking about her. They were saying really awful things about her. She kept trying to yell and tell them that those things weren’t true. She wasn’t stupid or mean or any of the other things they were saying. What happened next was all the terrible things that were being said about her were being placed on her like name tags. When she looked at the tags, she began to feel really bad. Denise woke from her dream and began to wonder, “am I all those horrible things?”

~Examine the Word~

Jesus asked the Pharisees a question. He wanted to know what they thought about the Messiah. The specific question he asked was whose Son is he? They said He was the son of David. Jesus further asked if He is merely David’s son, why does David, speaking by the moving of the Holy Spirit call him Lord? They could not or better yet, would not answer Jesus.

The Pharisees were a group of religious individuals that were seeking to kill Jesus. They did not like Jesus’ teaching or the things He was saying. They did not want to accept the truth about Jesus.

Did you know that is true today? People do not want to believe the truth about Jesus. They do not believe that He came to save the world. They say He was only a good man, but not the Son of God. Yet, even though those wrong things were said about Jesus, did that stop Him from being the Messiah? No!

Did you know that people today will not believe the truth about you sometimes? Some people will not give the right answer when asked the question of who are you? Now, sometimes people do know some things about you, but do people know everything about you? Let’s take a little quiz to find out how much someone knows about you.

~Discovering the Truth~

The Pharisees did not know who Jesus was. Because of this, they missed receiving him as the Son of God sent to save them from their sins. However, this did not stop Jesus’ purpose or His understanding of why He came. He knew who He was based on His Father. God said that Jesus was His Son, and He was pleased with Him (Matthew 3:17, 17:5; 2 Peter 1:17). This helped Jesus to be able to go all the way to the cross because He knew who He was.



As we learned today, people will not always be right about who we are. Therefore, we can’t determine what God’s purpose for us is, based on what people think about us. Denise in our story had a dream where people were putting name tags (or labels) on her. She began to think that maybe those things were true. We have to be careful not to take labels on about ourselves, even good ones. If we are going to know who we really are, we can’t use others labels of us. What should we use then? Great question!

~Conclusion~

So what’s the answer to that great question? It is God that we have to ask to find out what He says about us. We learned that we can’t always trust ourselves to have the right answers about who we are to God. We also learned that sometimes we can’t depend on others either to tell us who we are to God. We need to always go to God about learning how to be the person he designed us to be.

~Additional Scriptures~

The poor are shunned even by their neighbors, but the rich have many friends. – Proverbs 14:20

With their mouths the godless destroy their neighbors, - Proverbs 11:9a

Do not go about spreading slander among your people. Do not do anything that endangers your neighbor’s life. I am the LORD. – Leviticus 19:16

Prayer: Lord, we cannot look to ourselves or to others to truly help us find out who YOU say that we are. Help us to see ourselves from YOUR eyes. Help us so that we can know like Jesus did, that we are YOURS and YOU love us, Amen.

Teaching Notes

I recently began doing a study I wrote for my home church. I decided to feature the first lesson we did. Read it and enjoy!

FIRST QUARTER ~ Who Am I

Lesson 1 – Who Do I Say That I Am?

Scripture: once when Jesus was praying in private and his disciples were with him, he asked them, “Who do the crowds say I am?” They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, that one of the prophets of long ago has come back to life.” “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” Peter answered, “God’s Messiah.” Luke 9:18-20 NIV

THE LOOKING GLASS

Denise sat glaring in the mirror. She had been sitting there for a long time; in fact, she wasn’t even aware of how much time had passed. Her mind kept going to the thought of who would be her friends in this new school. “What will people think about me?” Denise had been popular in her former school; but, now she wasn’t sure with moving to a new city and meeting new friends if she would still be popular.

Denise wondered if people would accept her values or would they make fun of her. That hadn’t mattered in the previous school because people wanted to be like her; so, no one made fun of what she believed. But what would they expect in this new place? Denise looked at her somber reflection again in the mirror and sighed. “I wonder when people meet me what they will say about me,” Denise said out loud as she gathered her things to go for her first day at her new school.

~Examine the Word~

Denise wanted to know what people would say about her. We all often wonder what people think about us. Will they like us? Will they think we are strange? This is a natural tendency. Even Jesus asked the question of what others thought about him. The difference however was it did not affect Jesus the way it affects us.

Jesus asks the question of his disciples to see if they knew the right answer. They answered that some thought he was one of the prophets that had been before and had come back. Some thought he was John the Baptist that had been beheaded. Finally, he asks, who do you think I am? Peter gave the right response; he said Jesus was the Messiah. There are some important points we can learn about ourselves from this scripture.

Jesus asked the question about what others thought about him. The first two responses were wrong. The final response was correct, He is the Messiah. This leads us to the fact that when we ask this question about ourselves, the first two responses are most likely wrong, the third one is correct. What are those three responses to the question of who am I that we give:

We often take the answer from three perspectives:

1. Who do I say that I am?

2. Who do people say that I am?

3. Who does God say that I am?

~Discovering the Truth~

Jesus knew the truth about who he was, and he wanted his disciples to also know the truth about who He was. Jesus also wants us to know the correct response about who He is. However, God knows that sometimes we can’t understand the truth about God until He helps us understand the truth about ourselves. The way that people respond to God often has to do with how they answer the three questions we listed above.

~Conclusion~

We often have many thoughts about ourselves. However, what we think about ourselves is not always in line with what God thinks about us. We can think things about ourselves because of how people mistreat us. If we have mean friends, we might even think God can be mean because he lets those things happen to us. We found out today that we sometimes can’t use our thoughts about ourselves to help us learn who we are from God’s perspective. In our next lesson, we will look at what others think about us to see if this is a good way to determine what God thinks about us.

Some areas that keep people from seeing themselves as God does are:

• Being abandoned by family/parents

• Loss of family or other loved ones

• Having been hurt or abused

• Feeling dumb, ugly, fat, or different

• Feeling like they can never be loved because others did not show them love

What other reasons can you think of?

~Additional Scriptures~

A person may think their own ways are right, but the LORD weighs the heart. – Proverbs 21:2

If anyone thinks they are something when they are not, they deceive themselves. – Galatians 6:3

For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he: - Proverbs 23:7a

Prayer: Lord, we do not always have the right thoughts about ourselves. Help us to have better thoughts about ourselves and who we are based on what you say that we are, in Jesus name, Amen.

Teaching Notes

TRUE LOVE

 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. - John 3:16

This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. - 1 John 3:16

If you ask what love is, you will get several different answers. Some may tell you about the love that a parent has for a child. Others may tell you about the love of one friend towards another. Yet another, would tell you about the love of a husband toward a wife. These answers are correct, but none of these examples of love express the purest form, which comes from God.

This month of February is a month set aside for us to express our love for each other. While we are doing that, let's also remember to express our thanks for the great love that God gives to all mankind.

The first scripture states love started with God. God loves mankind so much that he offered His own son to pay the penalty for our sins that we could not pay. Our good deeds, trying to be nice, all fall short of satisfying the judgment that is on our lives because of sin. God did not desire for mankind to perish so he made a way for us to be able to be with him. What Jesus did was offer to God His life so that we did not have to pay the price of being separated eternally from God. Jesus makes a way for us to be forgiven of our sins because He gave His life for ours.

This love is offered to us not because we are lovable, or good, or smart, or right. This love is in fact offered to us while we are sinful, unlovable, wrong, and foolish. God offers us this love and when we accept it, God then fills our hearts with His love, which allows us to fulfill the next scripture.

1 John 3:16 has always been an interesting scripture to me. The reason is the similarity to the scripture address of John 3:16. I do not believe this was just an accident or something that just happened. I believe these addresses are so close because their purpose is so closely linked together.

They in a sense sum up the message of the Christian life. We are saved by the love of God through Christ so that we can go and love the world to God through Christ. That's the essence of true love. God loved us first, therefore we are now equipped to do and live out 1 John 3:16. We are to go and become living sacrifices for others by giving up our rights so that someone else has the right to meet Jesus through us.

While you are buying your candies, cards and flowers for Valentine's Day, give someone a sweet treat of the truth of God's love, write on the heart of someone the Lord's love song and deliver to someone a sweet arrangement of the salvation message. This February go and spread the message about true love, the love that originated with God.

Teaching Notes

Psalm 38 - Penitential Psalms



LORD, do not forsake me; do not be far from me, my God. Come quickly to help me, my Lord and my Savior. - Psalm 38:21-22


Penitential psalms express sorrow for sin. Basically the psalm expresses sorrow for sin and asks God for forgiveness. In this psalm, David describes the guilt that overwhelmed him as he dealt with sin. 

David express how his sin has brought him so low and how he is feeling the disconnect with God because of his sin. In this last verses of this chapter, David ask God to see about him. He expresses that God is his Lord and Savior. 

What is significant for us to understand is that no matter how our sins have effected us, we must be like David and turn to the only one that can heal our situation and our condition. That is God. David as God not to forsake him and not to leave him where he is, in his sin. The beauty is God will not leave us in our sinful condition if we ask him to help us. 

What do you need God to forgive you of? Did you know that all you have to do is ask him and he will see about you. But the only way that can happen is if you do as David did and seek him as your Lord and savior.

Is God the head of your life? If not, make the decision today to release the control of your life into His capable hands. 

Prayer: Lord, today help me to release the control of myself into your hands. I need you to help me. I need you to forgive me for the sins I have done against you. Lord, I need you to come quickly to rescue me from myself because you are my Lord and savior. Help me Jesus, amen.

Teaching Notes

Lesson in the Psalms

The book of Psalms is divided into five books. The division of the psalms  are Psalms 1-41, 42-72, 73-89, 90-106, and 107-150. The closing verses of the last psalm in each collection typically contains some kind of doxology or ascription of praise to the Lord that serves to "tie off" that part of the book of Psalms. There are different types of psalms. Hymns, penitential, wisdom, royal, messianic, imprecatory and lament.

Hymn - writers praised the Lord and offered him thanksgiving for who he was and what he had done.

Penitential - express sorrow for sin.

Wisdom - related general observations about life.

Royal - focus on Israel's king.

Messianic - describe the Messiah, God's anointed one.

Imprecatory - call for God's judgment on the psalmist's enemies.

Lament - They typically containe three elements: bemoan one's condition, the psalmist confesses trust in God, and the psalmish usually ends with some kind of praise.

Now let's take a look at one of the psalms. This psalm is in the 4th book and is a hymn because it is a song that talks about the goodness of God. It offers praise.

Psalm 100

Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth. Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. Know that the LORD is God. It is he who made us, and we are his[a]; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.

This isn't a long psalm it is only 5 verses, but it expresses to the reader the psalmist message. The psalmist wants the reader (listener because it was song) to understand something about God. Let's look at the points the psalmist wanted us to know:

* God is worthy of praise from all people.
* When you worship the Lord, you should do it with gladness.
*The people of God should sing songs that honor him.
*The people of God should have an understanding of who God is.
*The people of God were created and called by God. He formed us and he redeems us.
*The people of God should go to worship God with a thankful heart.
*God's love for his people will last forever.

I pray during this holiday month as you prepare for Christmas that you fill your life with music. Music that reminds you like the psalmist did of who God is. Go to worship him with a grateful heart and with gladness for the opportunity to do so. Remember who you belong to and that God's love for you is forever. I pray that you would also share this Good News with someone else.

Prayer: Lord help us during this month of December to tell everyone we meet about you. Help us to radiate the joy of the Lord in our lives so that someone else would want to know what is it that makes us different? Then we can tell them it is the light of Christ shining brightly in our souls. Help us bring the real reason for Christmas to someone this season, amen.