A Gospel Refresher
So this week I wrote out the Gospel story with the intent of sharing it with 5th and 6th graders. As I wrote, I was incredibly encouraged and reminded why it is so important to "preach the Gospel to ourselves daily." How amazing that 1) the Gospel is simple enough to be understood by a child but deep enough for me to still be amazed, and 2) the Gospel is not just a story, but a life-changing, heart-changing, true and trustworthy reality. It is very Good News indeed. If you haven't been preaching the Gospel to yourself lately, or just need to spend some focused time thinking about it, I pray that you'll read the following post and be encouraged, convicted and moved to live in light of the truth of the Gospel.
"At the beginning of time, GOD made the entire universe- stars, planets, galaxies upon galaxies- from the blazing sun to the tiny specks of dust on the moon. Then He made something very special; He made Earth. The earth would be special, because on it, GOD would create life. GOD made plants and animals, from the smallest to the largest. He just spoke, and they were created... out of nothing! He created them with a word! And when GOD had made all that he saw fit to make, He called it good. But He was not finished. He still had more that He wanted to make. He wanted to make a creature that could speak and reason and love, like He speaks and reasons and loves; He wanted to make a creature that reflected Him. And so He made a man. The man’s name was Adam. God didn't just speak Adam into being though, like he had the seas and skies and animals, He made Him with His own hands from the dust of the earth, and then He breathed His own life into him. And knowing that there were no animals fit for Adam and that it was not good for Adam to be alone, GOD caused Adam to fall into a deep sleep and taking one of Adam’s ribs, He made a woman named Eve. And when the LORD saw what He had made then, He called it very good.
It was very good because, first of all, everything God does is good. And then of course it was good because GOD is good, and these people were images of GOD. Like little mirrors, the people were a reflection of what GOD is like in the way that they loved, spoke, played, cared, thought, and exercised creativity. They didn’t have any sin or do any wrong things. They loved GOD and He spoke with them face to face and walked along with them in the garden until in one awful moment everything changed.
Satan, disguised as a crafty serpent, began to speak to Eve and led her to question GOD’s promises. GOD’s words got twisted, and Eve began to see other things, in this case a fruit, as more desirable than GOD. Sometimes we too twist GOD’s words and promises and see other things as more beautiful and desirable than Him. This is the essence of all sin, we exchange the glory of GOD for something else, for something not as good, much like we are tempted to drink coke rather than water.
Why was this exchange so terrible? Why is sin so terrible? Because sin broke our fellowship with GOD. No longer did Adam and Eve walk and talk freely with GOD in the garden. Instead they hid when they heard Him coming and were afraid of GOD. For the first time, they were deserving of His anger, and they feared it. By sinning, they had introduced death into the world. Death is the ending consequence for any and all sin. They were so ashamed.
But GOD still had a plan. To hide Adam and Eve’s nakedness and shame, GOD killed an animal and used it to make clothes for them. They had already tried to make clothes to cover their shame themselves, but they weren’t enough. GOD needed to provide them with a covering. And so Adam and Eve knew that even though they had rebelled against GOD’s law and broken His heart by choosing something else over Him, that He still loved them and cared for them. And this was only a little taste of the great length to which GOD would one day go to prove His love and save His people from their sin and shame.
Over time, people on the earth grew and multiplied and began to spread out all over the earth, and as they grew, so did their wickedness. In Noah’s day, GOD looked at humans and saw that “every intention of the thoughts of their heart was only evil all the time.” And that’s how our hearts are too. We have been born with a sinful nature that seeks other things besides GOD. Still, GOD always kept and had a relationship at least a few people people who loved and feared Him, like Noah, and Abraham, and Jacob. Eventually, GOD even made the people that followed Him into a nation called Israel. He loved Israel and gave His Law to them, He revealed Himself to them, spoke to them, performed miracles for them, provided for them, and delivered them from their enemies, and yet they still wandered from GOD. They kept going back and forth between worshipping Him and then worshipping false gods, often we act the same way. Sometimes their sin brought terrible consequences and pain, but GOD kept on loving them. He even made them a promise that one day He would send them a Savior for His people and give them new hearts and put His Spirit inside of them. He knew that their hearts were wicked, and it broke His heart when the people rebelled, but he had a plan to change everything.
After hundreds and hundreds of years of GOD’s people sinning and rebelling against Him, news came of a special child born in Bethlehem. He was born of a woman, but He was GOD’s Son. His name was Jesus. He grew up on earth just like the rest of us. He was tempted just like the rest of us, and yet He never did anything wrong. In fact, He did everything right. He did everything that every Bible verse had ever predicted about Him. Jesus was the Savior that GOD had promised all those years ago, the one that would give GOD’s people a new heart. Jesus was GOD.
Jesus spent about three years traveling around Israel and Judea, teaching and healing and preaching. He taught GOD’s Word with wisdom and authority like the people had never seen. He did that because he was the Word. He was GOD in flesh, with all the power and wisdom and knowledge of GOD, yet living humbly as a human. Many people followed Jesus and loved Jesus, but some people were jealous of Him and hated Him. Some of them made a plan to have Jesus killed, but it was no surprise to GOD; that had been in His plan all along. Jesus was sent on a mission, and His mission was to die the death that all people, including us, deserve.
One night, one of Jesus’ disciples, one of His best friends, betrayed Him and handed Him over to the people in charge of Israel at that time. Jesus was beaten and made fun of and spit on. He was taken to court and given a chance to defend Himself, but He didn’t say anything. He didn’t even explain that his attackers were wrong. He knew the promise GOD had made 600 years earlier about the Savior, that He would be “oppressed and afflicted, yet not open His mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so He did not open His mouth.” And so Jesus, the GOD of the whole universe, who could have called on a thousand angels to rescue Him said nothing. Jesus was led to a hill carrying his own heavy cross. Some people were very upset, but some were still making fun of Him, telling Him that if He was really GOD He should take Himself down off that cross. The people didn’t realize that by staying there, He was about to prove that He really was GOD. As the people made fun of Him, Jesus cried out to GOD and asked Him to forgive them. He said, “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.” And after six hours of hanging on the cross in pain and humiliation, Jesus died saying, “It is finished.” And at that moment the sky went dark and rumbled, and the earth shook, and the thick curtain in the temple that used to separate us from GOD’s presence was torn in two.
But what exactly was finished? The payment that had to be made for sin. Remember, the consequence for sin is death. We all deserve it. Jesus was the only one who didn’t because He was sinless. And yet He still died. No one else could have paid the debt off but Jesus. No one else could have made things right with GOD. A perfect sacrifice was needed, and Jesus was the only perfect sacrifice that ever lived. Just like GOD had sacrificed a lamb in the garden to cover Adam and Eve and hide their shame, now Jesus’ even better sacrifice could cover the sin and shame of all of GOD’s people.
But amazingly enough, there is much more to this story, because Jesus not only died paying for our sin, but He lives today, defeating death and making it possible for us to have eternal life. Three days after Jesus died and was buried, some of His followers, women actually, came to visit His tomb. When they arrived they found it empty. At first they were sad, they thought someone had taken Jesus’ body away, but soon Jesus appeared to them, and they were filled with joy. Jesus spent time with His friends before leaving the earth. He taught them and left them with the task of telling as many people as they could about Him, and about the good news that Jesus had provided a way for us to have new hearts, hearts that desire GOD instead of breaking GOD’s heart. After Jesus had done all that He intended to do, He returned to Heaven. But we were not left alone; He sent His Holy Spirit to live inside of us. He is the One who changes our hearts and makes us more like Jesus. And one day, Jesus is coming back, to take all of His people with Him to be with Him forever, just like GOD had always intended and promised.
"At the beginning of time, GOD made the entire universe- stars, planets, galaxies upon galaxies- from the blazing sun to the tiny specks of dust on the moon. Then He made something very special; He made Earth. The earth would be special, because on it, GOD would create life. GOD made plants and animals, from the smallest to the largest. He just spoke, and they were created... out of nothing! He created them with a word! And when GOD had made all that he saw fit to make, He called it good. But He was not finished. He still had more that He wanted to make. He wanted to make a creature that could speak and reason and love, like He speaks and reasons and loves; He wanted to make a creature that reflected Him. And so He made a man. The man’s name was Adam. God didn't just speak Adam into being though, like he had the seas and skies and animals, He made Him with His own hands from the dust of the earth, and then He breathed His own life into him. And knowing that there were no animals fit for Adam and that it was not good for Adam to be alone, GOD caused Adam to fall into a deep sleep and taking one of Adam’s ribs, He made a woman named Eve. And when the LORD saw what He had made then, He called it very good.
It was very good because, first of all, everything God does is good. And then of course it was good because GOD is good, and these people were images of GOD. Like little mirrors, the people were a reflection of what GOD is like in the way that they loved, spoke, played, cared, thought, and exercised creativity. They didn’t have any sin or do any wrong things. They loved GOD and He spoke with them face to face and walked along with them in the garden until in one awful moment everything changed.
Satan, disguised as a crafty serpent, began to speak to Eve and led her to question GOD’s promises. GOD’s words got twisted, and Eve began to see other things, in this case a fruit, as more desirable than GOD. Sometimes we too twist GOD’s words and promises and see other things as more beautiful and desirable than Him. This is the essence of all sin, we exchange the glory of GOD for something else, for something not as good, much like we are tempted to drink coke rather than water.
Why was this exchange so terrible? Why is sin so terrible? Because sin broke our fellowship with GOD. No longer did Adam and Eve walk and talk freely with GOD in the garden. Instead they hid when they heard Him coming and were afraid of GOD. For the first time, they were deserving of His anger, and they feared it. By sinning, they had introduced death into the world. Death is the ending consequence for any and all sin. They were so ashamed.
But GOD still had a plan. To hide Adam and Eve’s nakedness and shame, GOD killed an animal and used it to make clothes for them. They had already tried to make clothes to cover their shame themselves, but they weren’t enough. GOD needed to provide them with a covering. And so Adam and Eve knew that even though they had rebelled against GOD’s law and broken His heart by choosing something else over Him, that He still loved them and cared for them. And this was only a little taste of the great length to which GOD would one day go to prove His love and save His people from their sin and shame.
Over time, people on the earth grew and multiplied and began to spread out all over the earth, and as they grew, so did their wickedness. In Noah’s day, GOD looked at humans and saw that “every intention of the thoughts of their heart was only evil all the time.” And that’s how our hearts are too. We have been born with a sinful nature that seeks other things besides GOD. Still, GOD always kept and had a relationship at least a few people people who loved and feared Him, like Noah, and Abraham, and Jacob. Eventually, GOD even made the people that followed Him into a nation called Israel. He loved Israel and gave His Law to them, He revealed Himself to them, spoke to them, performed miracles for them, provided for them, and delivered them from their enemies, and yet they still wandered from GOD. They kept going back and forth between worshipping Him and then worshipping false gods, often we act the same way. Sometimes their sin brought terrible consequences and pain, but GOD kept on loving them. He even made them a promise that one day He would send them a Savior for His people and give them new hearts and put His Spirit inside of them. He knew that their hearts were wicked, and it broke His heart when the people rebelled, but he had a plan to change everything.
After hundreds and hundreds of years of GOD’s people sinning and rebelling against Him, news came of a special child born in Bethlehem. He was born of a woman, but He was GOD’s Son. His name was Jesus. He grew up on earth just like the rest of us. He was tempted just like the rest of us, and yet He never did anything wrong. In fact, He did everything right. He did everything that every Bible verse had ever predicted about Him. Jesus was the Savior that GOD had promised all those years ago, the one that would give GOD’s people a new heart. Jesus was GOD.
Jesus spent about three years traveling around Israel and Judea, teaching and healing and preaching. He taught GOD’s Word with wisdom and authority like the people had never seen. He did that because he was the Word. He was GOD in flesh, with all the power and wisdom and knowledge of GOD, yet living humbly as a human. Many people followed Jesus and loved Jesus, but some people were jealous of Him and hated Him. Some of them made a plan to have Jesus killed, but it was no surprise to GOD; that had been in His plan all along. Jesus was sent on a mission, and His mission was to die the death that all people, including us, deserve.
One night, one of Jesus’ disciples, one of His best friends, betrayed Him and handed Him over to the people in charge of Israel at that time. Jesus was beaten and made fun of and spit on. He was taken to court and given a chance to defend Himself, but He didn’t say anything. He didn’t even explain that his attackers were wrong. He knew the promise GOD had made 600 years earlier about the Savior, that He would be “oppressed and afflicted, yet not open His mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so He did not open His mouth.” And so Jesus, the GOD of the whole universe, who could have called on a thousand angels to rescue Him said nothing. Jesus was led to a hill carrying his own heavy cross. Some people were very upset, but some were still making fun of Him, telling Him that if He was really GOD He should take Himself down off that cross. The people didn’t realize that by staying there, He was about to prove that He really was GOD. As the people made fun of Him, Jesus cried out to GOD and asked Him to forgive them. He said, “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.” And after six hours of hanging on the cross in pain and humiliation, Jesus died saying, “It is finished.” And at that moment the sky went dark and rumbled, and the earth shook, and the thick curtain in the temple that used to separate us from GOD’s presence was torn in two.
But what exactly was finished? The payment that had to be made for sin. Remember, the consequence for sin is death. We all deserve it. Jesus was the only one who didn’t because He was sinless. And yet He still died. No one else could have paid the debt off but Jesus. No one else could have made things right with GOD. A perfect sacrifice was needed, and Jesus was the only perfect sacrifice that ever lived. Just like GOD had sacrificed a lamb in the garden to cover Adam and Eve and hide their shame, now Jesus’ even better sacrifice could cover the sin and shame of all of GOD’s people.
But amazingly enough, there is much more to this story, because Jesus not only died paying for our sin, but He lives today, defeating death and making it possible for us to have eternal life. Three days after Jesus died and was buried, some of His followers, women actually, came to visit His tomb. When they arrived they found it empty. At first they were sad, they thought someone had taken Jesus’ body away, but soon Jesus appeared to them, and they were filled with joy. Jesus spent time with His friends before leaving the earth. He taught them and left them with the task of telling as many people as they could about Him, and about the good news that Jesus had provided a way for us to have new hearts, hearts that desire GOD instead of breaking GOD’s heart. After Jesus had done all that He intended to do, He returned to Heaven. But we were not left alone; He sent His Holy Spirit to live inside of us. He is the One who changes our hearts and makes us more like Jesus. And one day, Jesus is coming back, to take all of His people with Him to be with Him forever, just like GOD had always intended and promised.
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