More drama. More division. We find God's Word to be divisive in that it separates the faithful from the faithless, but we also find God's Word to be unifying if we are indeed part of His flock. The Jews have asked Jesus to speak plainly. He does, and yet, they do not accept Him. Jesus speaks very succinctly and clearly about His relationship to the Father (they are One - see Deut. 6:4) and the works that He is doing. The character of John the Baptist is mentioned again, and His faithful witness of the Christ. And in spite of all the division and foolishness, many believe at the end of this section.
There is something wonderful Jesus says today that has been a melody of Scripture from the very beginning. You can listen for these powerful and clear notes in every book of the Bible: God always keeps His own. God is always faithful to His people. God always keeps His promises. Jesus tells us that those who believe are given eternal life and NO ONE can snatch them out of God's hand. Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine (F. Crosby)! No power of hell... No scheme of man can every pluck me from His hand (K. Getty)!
We want to look for three things or types of characters in the passage today:
1. The foolish: those who refused to believe in Jesus or even view Him favorably
2. The faith-filled: the faith of some of those who heard Jesus' claims
3. The Christ: statements from Jesus about who he is.
Reading: John 10:22-42
Memory passage: John 1:1-14
Memory passage: Matthew 28:1-10 - I am going to begin reviewing the Resurrection passage with my children. We learned the story from Matthew, but you could also work any of the other Gospels.
Memory verse: John 10:27-30
Song: The King of Love My Shepherd Is or In Christ Alone
Activity: You might want to review Deuteronomy 6:4 or sing the doxology with your children and talk about the Trinity today because there is such an emphasis on God the Father and God the Son in the passage. I will put something in my hand (like a marble or maybe a cheerio or possibly a "gold" coin from our lego set) and ask the children to try to pry it out of my hand. They are young, so they shouldn't be able to. I will explain to them that just as I am keeping my treasure safe and no one can take it out of my hand. But God is so much more powerful and so much bigger than Mommy is or ever could be. If we believe in Jesus as our King, God gives us eternal life and holds us in His hand. He will never let go. He will never leave us or forsake us. He will not drop us, neither will He squash us. ... if, your children can pry open your hand, then tell them how much bigger and stronger and better God is than Mommy. Even when Mommy fails and disappoints, God will not and cannot. Isaiah tells us that all the waters cannot even be measured against the hollow of His hand ...wow! ... He is BIG! He is strong! He keeps His own!
Meditation: Psalm 23:1-6; Isaiah 40:1-31
More drama. More division. We find God's Word to be divisive in that it separates the faithful from the faithless, but we also find God's Word to be unifying if we are indeed part of His flock. The Jews have asked Jesus to speak plainly. He does, and yet, they do not accept Him. Jesus speaks very succinctly and clearly about His relationship to the Father (they are One - see Deut. 6:4) and the works that He is doing. The character of John the Baptist is mentioned again, and His faithful witness of the Christ. And in spite of all the division and foolishness, many believe at the end of this section.
There is something wonderful Jesus says today that has been a melody of Scripture from the very beginning. You can listen for these powerful and clear notes in every book of the Bible: God always keeps His own. God is always faithful to His people. God always keeps His promises. Jesus tells us that those who believe are given eternal life and NO ONE can snatch them out of God's hand. Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine (F. Crosby)! No power of hell... No scheme of man can every pluck me from His hand (K. Getty)!
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