Scripture

Selected Scriptures

Memory Verse

“He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” 2 Corinthians 5:21

Objective Of The Lesson

The Gospel explains to us how we can receive the forgiveness of our sins and obtain everlasting life, that is being reconciled to God. 

Sharing the Gospel, the Great Commission, is one of the main purposes of the Church and as children’s ministry leaders we must preach the Gospel to the children that attend our congregations.

Teacher Exhortations

• You have the constant responsibility of praying for the salvation of your children.
• This will be the most important lesson that you will ever give. We are talking about the eternal destination of the kids that God has placed before you. Make sure that you have a complete understanding of the Gospel message so that you can teach it in a clear and concise manner.
• Preach the Gospel message to your kids at every opportunity that you receive from God this year; whether this is a structured lesson, during play or snack time, a group activity or a one on one interaction.
• Do not be afraid to talk about the following topics: God’s wrath, sin, hell…. We should adapt the lesson to meet the intellectual comprehension of the child, but the Gospel should never be changed, whether that is by adding to it or leaving a part of the message out.
• Understand that faith, as well as repentance, are both granted by God Himself. It is not your job to bring conviction of sin. That is the work of the Holy Spirit (John 16:8). Our responsibility lies in faithfully sharing the Gospel message and urging those that hear the message to repent.

Introduction

The word Gospel means good news. The Gospel is the greatest message that any man can receive.

The Gospel explains to us how we can receive the forgiveness of our sins and obtain everlasting life.

The Gospel also explains to us the perfect sacrifice of Jesus Christ and the responsibility of every person to respond to it.

The Gospel Begins With God

In the Bible we find a God who has always been God, that is all-knowing, that can do anything, that has created everything, who is a just judge, and who is holy.

God is the creator and sustainer of the universe.

“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” Genesis 1:1

Since God is the creator and sustainer of the universe, He is the legitimate owner of everything created and deserves absolute worship and obedience from every human being.

The Bible also shows us that God is holy and just.

“The Lord is a mighty rock, and he never does wrong. God can always be trusted to bring justice.” Deuteronomy 32:4

“That’s why the Scriptures say, “I am the holy God, and you must be holy too.” 1 Peter 1:16

God is completely holy, this means that He is morally pure, uncorrupted, and totally separated from sin.

God cannot be touched or reached by sin. This means that no sinful thing can enter heaven.

This is a problem for all humans because no human is capable of getting close or reaching God by his or her own methods. This is because all men are sinful and unrighteous in all their actions.

The biggest problem we have as humans has nothing to do with (poverty, hunger, racism, war, health, work, pollution, or family problems), but rather it has to do with our separation from God because of our sin.

Depravity, The True Condition Of Man

The earth and man were created originally without sin and without evil until the first man and woman named Adam and Eve disobeyed God. This first sin introduced evil, suffering and death to the world. This contaminated all human beings because we are all descendants of Adam.

“Adam sinned, and that sin brought death into the world. Now everyone has sinned, and so everyone must die.”Romans 5:12

“I have sinned and done wrong since the day I was born.” Psalm 51:5

This doesn’t mean that we are incapable of showing acts of human kindness. Yet every person who has ever lived with the exception of Jesus Christ is a sinner by nature and by choice.

“All of us have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory.” Romans 3:23

There are many consequences of human sin, but we’ll be going over the main two: Physical Death and Spiritual Death

Physical Death

Some people think that because things like illness, suffering, and death exist, this must mean that there is no God. But the Bible has a very good explanation for the origin of death. Before Adam sinned there was no death. Death is a result of the sin of man.  Everyone who has ever lived has sinned and is worthy of death.

“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 6:23

Spiritual Death

This is the death of eternal punishment in hell that separates us from God for all eternity. Instead of spending eternity in heaven we deserve to be forever separated from God in hell.

“But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, And your sins have hidden His face from you so that He does not hear.” Isaiah 59:2

“These will pay the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power” 2 Thessalonians 1:9

Some people might try to come up with excuses like:

• I’ve never sinned. “If we say that we have not sinned, we are fooling ourselves, and the truth isn’t in our hearts.” 1 John 1:8
• I’m not a bad person. “The Scriptures tell us, No one is acceptable to God. Not one of them understands or even searches for God. They have all turned away and are worthless. There isn’t one person who does right.” Romans 3:10-12
• I have tried to keep Gods commandments. “If you obey every law except one, you are still guilty of breaking them all.”James 2:10
• I can do good works to be saved. “He saved us because of his mercy, and not because of any good things that we have done.” Titus 3:5
• God is love and does not punish, but merely forgives. God is, in fact, love, but He is also just and righteous. If God is just and righteous, He MUST punish wickedness in the same way that a judge in a court must punish for crimes. If the judge is a good judge, the judge can’t just forgive a kidnapper or a murder no matter how sorry they are. A just human judge must pronounce judgment on the criminal. In the same way, God cannot leave sin unpunished otherwise He would be unjust and unrighteous.

The sad truth about this is that no one can do absolutely anything to save themselves.

But here comes the good news.

The Substitutionary Death Of Christ

God, in His infinite mercy, has demonstrated His love by offering the forgiveness of sins. He knows that we can do nothing to save ourselves, for that reason He sent His only son Jesus Christ to die on the cross to save us.

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” John 3:16

Who is Jesus and what did He do?

“In the beginning was the one who is called the Word. The Word was with God and was truly God. From the very beginning, the Word was with God. And with this Word, God created all things. Nothing was made without the Word. Everything that was created. The Word became a human being and lived here with us. We saw his true glory, the glory of the only Son of the Father.” John 1:1-3; 14

Jesus Christ, being God; became flesh and lived a perfect life, to die on the cross paying the price for all sin. He was the perfect sacrifice and payment for our sins because He was sinless.

“Christ died once for our sins. An innocent person died for those who are guilty. Christ did this to bring you to God when His body was put to death and His spirit was made alive.” 1 Peter 3:18

Christ did not deserve to die because He never sinned. Nevertheless, He did this to take the place of the ones who could not save themselves. He suffered the shame and the pain on the cross that we deserved, in other words, He died a substitutionary death. He is our substitution.

“Christ never sinned! But God treated him as a sinner so that Christ could make us   acceptable to God.” 2 Corinthians 5:21

Christ’s death satisfied the demands of God’s justice.

As the only Savior of the world, He offers forgiveness and eternal life to all that come to Him in repentance and faith.

There is only salvation through Jesus Christ because He alone is the solution from God for our salvation.

“I am the way, the truth, and the life!” Jesus answered. “Without me, no one can go to the Father.” John 14:6

“And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.” Acts 4:12

God Demands A Response

Since salvation is only through faith in Jesus Christ, it cannot be obtained by good works.

“You were saved by faith in God, who treats us much better than we deserve. This is God’s gift to you, and not anything you have done on your own. It isn’t something you have earned, so there is nothing you can brag about.”Ephesians 2:8-9

Salvation is the work of God, not man. This is why God demands that all men at all times and in all places to repent and come to faith in Jesus Christ.

“… God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent…” Acts 17:30

What does repentance mean?

Repentance Means:

• A Change Of The Mind. It means you now see God as holy and yourself as sinful and condemned.  Before you thought that you weren’t that bad of a person. Now you see God as holy, yourself as sinful and deserving of death.
• A Change Of Heart. It means you have sorrow because of your sin. Before you loved to sin. Now you hate your sin.
• A Change Of Way. It means you willingly turn your back on your sin and walk in the direction towards God. Before you sinned as often as you could and took every opportunity to sin. Now you make the conscious choice to turn from sin and no longer continually practice it.

How will you respond to the Gospel?

The thing that divides all humans is that some people have repented and have put their faith in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of their sins and others have not.

For those that do not repent there will be devastating consequences for their sin. They will be separated and punished for all eternity because they will not have Jesus Christ as their Savior.

This doesn’t have to be so. God has provided the way for you to be saved through Jesus. If you truly repent and believe in Jesus you can be saved. Jesus will not reject anyone who truly repents of their sins and places their faith in Him.

“All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out.” John 6:37

Nobody knows when they will die. And once we die it is too late to repent. There are no second chances. (Luke 16:19-31).

Urge and exhort your kids to repent and place their faith in Christ. Once again let them know that if they repent and believe in Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord they will receive the forgiveness of their sins and receive the gift of eternal life.

 Review Questions

• What does the word Gospel mean?
• What are some of God’s characteristics?
• What is God’s relationship with sin?
• Who has sinned? Is everyone a sinner?
• What is physical death? What is spiritual death?
• Did Jesus deserve to die?
• Can salvation be earned?
• What does God command everyone to do?
• What does repentance mean?

Take some time to memorize the memory verse at the end of the lesson.

Bible Crafts

Gospel Cross
Proclaim Him Megaphone
Mosaic Cross
Keys Of Salvation
Give A Defense Shield
Go Into All The World And Preach The Gospel
Jesus Ascension
Cross Sun Catcher
He Is Risen
John 3:16 Door Hanger
Easter Picture Cross
John 3:16 Wheel

Coloring And Activity Pages

Christ’s Death And Resurrection Coloring Pages
He Is Risen Coloring Page
He Is Risen Puzzle
The Empty Tomb Coloring Page
The Empty Tomb Puzzle
Jesus Ascension Coloring Page
Jesus Ascension Puzzle
Nicodemus Puzzle 2
Nicodemus 2 Coloring Page
God So Loved The World Coloring Page
God So Loved The World Puzzle
Christ Death And Resurrection Coloring Pages