The Creed for Kids Lenten lessons based on The Apostles Creed First Alliance Church Kids Ministries Where God changes kids who change the world
The Apostles Creed? What s that? What s a creed?! So glad you asked! A creed is a statement of what you believe is true or important. You see creeds all the time, but you probably don t call them that. Advertisements, speeches people give, or even a song or a movie can be a kind of creed someone saying something important that they want you to remember. The Apostles Creed has been around since about the year 700! That s a long time ago. But the words of this creed are still very true, and they are a great way to remind us of who God is, what He is like, and what He has done. The creed goes like this: I believe in God the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth; And in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord: who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried; the third day he rose from the dead; he ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from there he shall come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen. This booklet is a great way during Lent (the time of getting ready for Easter) to learn what the Apostles Creed says, AND to understand what it means. A man once said What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us. Hopefully by the end of this journey, you ll have more thoughts about God, new thoughts about God, and very true and powerful thoughts about God. Enjoy your journey through the Apostles Creed! 1
WEEK ONE, DAY ONE: I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Creator of Heaven and Earth Everyone likes superheroes. We like to see how they use their super powers to fight crime. Superman can fly. Spiderman can swing from webs. Batman has a cool car and special weapons. Superheroes are fun, but they aren t real. The good news for you and me is that our God is real. And He is more powerful than any superhero you or I can imagine. We often say that God is Almighty, which means He can do anything He wants. 2
God s Word: In the book of Job, Job s friend Elihu reminds Job that God is almighty. Read Job 37:1-13 with an adult. Quiet Time: In the space below, make a list of all the words you can think of that describe God. Spend time praising God by telling Him who He is. Be sure to thank God for the powerful things He does in our world. 3
WEEK ONE, DAY TWO: I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Creator of Heaven and Earth You have probably played with Legos before. In fact, you probably love Legos. Legos give us the chance to create new things like houses, spaceships, and monsters. People get joy out of creating things. They don t always use Legos. They also might use food or words or music. Our God also loves to create new things. He doesn t need Legos, though. He can do anything. God only has to say a word, and He is able to create something new! Everything you can see is something God created! 4
God s Word: At the very beginning of the Bible, God shows Himself as the Creator. Read Genesis 1:1-8 and Genesis 2:1-3 with an adult. Quiet Time: God is the Creator. Everything that you and I can see in the world is something that God created. The Bible says that God saw everything He made and called it good. Draw pictures of some of the things that God made that you think are good. Praise God by telling Him about the wonderful things He made. 5
WEEK ONE, DAY THREE: I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Creator of Heaven and Earth God created everything, which means He not only made the earth, but He also created Heaven! Imagine a place where there is no sickness, hurting, fighting, crying, bullying, or death. If you think of just about anything bad, it WON T be in heaven. I don t know about brussel sprouts, though. There are not a lot of details in the Bible about Heaven. We do know that God s glory there is amazing. Just the presence of God there is what makes it light in Heaven. We do know that it will be a very special place. If we love Jesus, God promises us that someday, we ll get to be with Him forever. No matter what kind of place heaven is, the best part is that God is always there! 6
God s Word: Isaiah had a sort of dream where he got to see a little bit of what heaven would be like. Read about his dream with a grown up in Isaiah 6:1-8. Quiet Time: What kinds of things did Isaiah say that he saw in heaven? Make a list of them here. It s hard for us to picture what heaven might look like, but Isaiah s description tells us some strange things, some amazing things, and maybe even some scary sounding things. Don t worry! Heaven will be a great place. Thank God that someday, we will get to be with Him forever. Thank Him for creating such an amazing place for us to be with Him! 7
WEEK ONE, DAY FOUR: I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Creator of Heaven and Earth Do you like to play in the mud? It is fun to get really dirty sometimes. If you were really muddy, would your dad like it if you sat on the couch? Would your mom like a great big hug? They probably wouldn t like that, but they would still love you. Everyone has sinned. We aren t perfect and we don t always love God and other people the way God wants us to. But even when we sin, our God still loves us. He wants us to be His Children and wants us to call Him Daddy! Can you believe it? The Almighty God who created mountains and whales and the sun wants to be your Daddy! He is not afraid of muddy hands or sinful hearts. 8
God s Word: It is amazing that our Holy God loves you and me so much. Even though He is perfect and we are sinners, God calls us His children. Read Galatians 4:1-7 with an adult. Quiet Time: Our God is a big, big God. He made the stars and planets and the oceans and mountains. But He also made YOU. Our big, big God wants you to be His child and He wants to be your Father. He loves you more than you will ever know! Think about all the wonderful things you love about God. Draw or make God a Valentine, telling Him why you love Him. 9
WEEK TWO, DAY ONE: I believe in Jesus Christ, His Only Son, Our Lord When you or I say that we are Christians it means that we believe in Jesus Christ. We believe that Jesus came to our world, and we also believe that Jesus was God. The ice and the water in the glass above are two separate things. They are made of the same material, but have different forms. They look different and do different things but both of them are water. Jesus and the Father are kind of like that, too. Jesus and the Father are different, yet they are both one God. This is confusing, I know. It is okay if this is hard to understand. People have been trying to figure this out for 2000 years! 10
God s Word: The Gospel of John sometimes calls Jesus the Word. John begins by describing Jesus relationship with the Father. Read John 1:1-14 with an adult. Quiet Time: Our God is very big. It is sometimes hard for us humans to fully understand who God is and what He is like. It is okay to feel confused when we talk about God. God wants His children to come to Him with their questions. Write down some of the questions you have about God. Talk about them with your parents or with a pastor. Also, spend some time talking to God about Him. You might hear God answer! 11
WEEK TWO, DAY TWO: I believe in Jesus Christ, His Only Son, Our Lord Christmas is an exciting time! Kids get excited about their Christmas presents for weeks before Christmas. While they wait to open them, they dream about what their presents might be like. For hundreds of years before Jesus was born, God s people waited for the Savior God promised them. They knew that God would send someone to rescue them from their imperfect world. The Old Testament talks a lot about the Savior God was going to send. We know that they were waiting for Jesus! The word Christ is Greek for our English word Savior. When we say Jesus Christ, we are saying that we believe that Jesus was the One God sent into our world to save us. He is the one God s people had waited for and wrote about in the Old Testament. 12
God s Word: Almost 700 years before Jesus was born, Isaiah wrote a prophecy about Him. God had told His people to wait for the Savior that God would send and they were excited for Him to come. Read this prophecy in Isaiah 9:1-7 with an adult. Quiet Time: It is exciting to think that 700 years before Jesus was born, people already knew about Him! They were waiting for Him to come as the Savior and rescue the world. Jesus will come back to our world as the Savior again someday. He will make our world perfect again. That is something to get excited about! Draw a picture of what that new, perfect world might be like. Share it with your mom or dad. 13
WEEK TWO, DAY THREE: I believe in Jesus Christ, His Only Son, Our Lord God wants to be our Daddy. Everyone who loves Jesus becomes God s son or daughter. God has many, many sons and daughters who love Jesus and can call Him their father. But sometimes we say that Jesus is God s only Son (or His only begotten Son). What is that all about? When we say that Jesus is God s only Son, it means that Jesus is different than the rest of us humans. Jesus is different because He is God. He is not part of Creation because He is part of the Creator! Saying Jesus was God s Only Son does not mean that you and I aren t God s children too! It just means that Jesus was special. He came as a human to rescue you, me, and all of Creation from sin. 14
God s Word: Jesus is God s Son. You and I can be God s sons and daughters if we choose to love and serve God. But Jesus will always be different than other humans. Read about what makes Him so special in Colossians 1:15-23 with an adult. Quiet Time: There are more than 7 billion people in the world right now. Each person was created different. That means that God created you to be special. Make a list of all the wonderful things about you that makes you special. Jesus came into our world to be special as well. He was different than any other human because He was God and He lived a perfect life. Make a list of the things that made Jesus so special. Worship Jesus by telling Him about what you wrote. 15
WEEK TWO, DAY FOUR: I believe in Jesus Christ, His Only Son, Our Lord Long ago, kings ruled in kingdoms. They owned everything in their kingdom, including the people. The people were called subjects and had to do whatever the king told them to do. The people had to serve their king and call him their lord. Jesus is often called The Lord and The King. When Christians say that Jesus is our Lord, it means that they understand that they belong to Jesus. They want to do what Jesus tells them to do: love God, love others, and love themselves. Christians understand that their money, their bodies, and their families belong to Jesus. They want to serve their Lord by giving everything they have to Jesus. 16
God s Word: When we say Jesus is our Lord and King, it means we want to follow him and live just how he wants us to live. Read about what makes Him so special in 1 John 2:3-6 with an adult. Quiet Time: It is easy to love God and love others at church. It is not always easy to love God and love others at home or school. Take a moment to write down a place that it is hard for you to love others. Think of someone who is difficult to love. Jesus wants to be Lord of every part of your life. Ask Jesus to be the Lord of the places that loving is not so easy. Ask Him to help you love the person or people who are difficult to love. 17
WEEK THREE, DAY ONE: Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, Born of the Virgin Mary, Suffered under Pontius Pilate; Was Crucified, Died and Was Buried Jesus and the Father are God (remember the water and ice on page 10?) But Jesus and the Father are also different. They have a special relationship. When Jesus was born as a human, He had a mother and a father. He didn t have a human father like you or have. Instead, God was Jesus father. That is what it means when we say that Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit. Jesus came to earth and lived as a human. But Jesus was still ALL God. He healed the sick. He helped the blind to see. He walked on water. He fed 5,000 with 5 loaves of bread. He could even see into the future! Jesus was ALL human. And yet He was still ALL God. It s okay if this is hard to understand. People have been trying to totally understand what this means for almost 2,000 years! 18
God s Word: God sent the angel, Gabriel, to tell Mary some pretty confusing news. To find out more about it, read Luke 1:26-38 with an adult. Quiet Time: The Bible tells us about some of the amazing things that Jesus did in our world. There are many things that Jesus did that you or I couldn t do without God s help. That was because Jesus is fully God! Draw pictures or make a list of some of the great and powerful things that Jesus did. Praise Jesus by telling Him how amazing He is! 19
WEEK THREE, DAY TWO: Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, Born of the Virgin Mary, Suffered under Pontius Pilate; Was Crucified, Died and Was Buried Have you ever made Kool-Aid? First you fill a pitcher full of water. Then you mix in all of the powder from a packet. After it is made, the Kool-Aid has ALL of the water and ALL of the powder together at the same time. This kind of like Jesus. On page 18, we learned that Jesus was ALL God because His dad was God. But we also know that Jesus had a human mother named Mary. Jesus was also ALL human. Jesus lived as a human. He needed food. He needed sleep. He felt pain. He laughed and cried. He had friends and enemies. Jesus understands what it is like to live in our imperfect world. Jesus coming to earth as a human was God s great rescue plan to save His people from sin. 20
God s Word: Jesus did not have a human father, but He did have a human mother, Mary. In Jesus, God came as a human to live in our world. We celebrate this every Christmas. Read Luke 2:1-12 with an adult. Quiet Time: Jesus was fully God and He did amazing things in our world. But we also know that Jesus chose to be fully human in our world as well. He did this to rescue us from our sin. The Bible tells us that many things happened to Jesus because He was fully human. Make a list of some of the ways that Jesus showed He was human. Read the list to Him and thank Him for coming into our world to rescue you. 21
WEEK THREE, DAY THREE: Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, Born of the Virgin Mary, Suffered under Pontius Pilate; Was Crucified, Died and Was Buried Many people think that Jesus was just a character in a story, like Snow White or Hercules. They don t believe that Jesus was real or ever lived in our world. Most people do believe that a man named Pontius Pilate was the governor of Judea (where Jesus lived) from the years AD 26-36. The stone tablet in the picture was made during this time and has Pilate s name written on it. The Bible says that Jesus was brought to Pilate to be punished. When we say that Jesus suffered under Pontius Pilate, it means that Christians believe that Jesus lived at a certain time in history. Jesus lived during the reign of Pontius Pilate. 22
God s Word: The Bible talks about Jesus standing before Pontius Pilate. Read about it in Luke 23:13-25 with an adult. Quiet Time: Jesus was not just a storybook character. He really came into our world during a certain time in history. Imagine what it would have been like to sit down and talk to Jesus back then. Make a list of questions for Jesus or things you would like to tell Him. The amazing news is that we can still sit down and talk to Jesus! He isn t a human in our world anymore, but we can still talk to Him and He can still answer. Spend some time talking to Jesus about your list. Be sure to give Jesus the chance to answer. 23
WEEK THREE, DAY FOUR: Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, Born of the Virgin Mary, Suffered under Pontius Pilate; Was Crucified, Died and Was Buried God loves you and me more than we will ever know. He loves us even though He is perfect and we are not. God loves the people who sin, but He hates sin. Sin must be punished. From the very beginning, sin could only be washed away when something innocent died. This is why Jesus came to earth. This was how God was going to rescue His people! Jesus was punished the way people who broke the law in Bible times were punished. He was nailed to a cross and left there to die. But it was not the nails that held Jesus to the cross. He was Almighty God. It was His love for you and I that Jesus was willing to die for our sins. 24
God s Word: On Good Friday, we remember that Jesus died on the cross for us. It is a sad day because Jesus died. However, it was also part of God s wonderful plan to rescue us from sin! Read about Jesus death in Luke 23:44-54 with an adult. Quiet Time: Can you believe that Jesus died for you? The Bible says that the greatest way to show love for someone is to be willing to die for them. We know that Jesus died so that we could be rescued from our sins. God loves you so much that He was willing to die for you! Spend some time thanking Him for His love! Because you and I have been given so much love, we are called to give love to others. Talk with your parents about this love. Together, think about a person or people that need to be shown love. Come up with a way to share God s love to them. 25
WEEK FOUR, DAY ONE: The Third Day He Arose from the Dead. He Ascended into Heaven and Sits at the Right Hand of God the Father Almighty. From There, He Shall Come to Judge the Living and the Dead. Have you ever been completely surprised by something? Jesus friends were very surprised on the first Easter. Three days after Jesus body had been buried, they went to see the body. When they got there, the tomb was empty! Jesus had resurrected, which means that He became alive again after He died. Later, Jesus friends spoke with him, touched him, and ate with Jesus many times after His Resurrection. Jesus resurrection showed that God is more powerful than sin and death. Just as Jesus rose from the dead, someday Christians will also rise from the dead and have new life! We ll talk about that another day. 26
God s Word: Every Easter, we celebrate Jesus Resurrection- the fact that Jesus came back to life after He died. Read about how His followers found His empty tomb in Luke 24:1-12 with an adult. Quiet Time: Easter is a time of great joy as we remember how amazing our God is and how much He loves us. As you go about your day today, make a list of the things that make you feel the happiest. Every time you add something to your list, be sure to thank God for creating it! If your list isn t very long, ask God to help you see the good things He has put in your life. God blesses us more than we will ever know! 27
WEEK FOUR, DAY TWO: The Third Day He Arose from the Dead. He Ascended into Heaven and Sits at the Right Hand of God the Father Almighty. From There, He Shall Come to Judge the Living and the Dead. Christians believe that when Jesus left the earth, He didn t leave by dying. He left in a way that was special. After Jesus rose from the dead, He met with His disciples and continued to teach them how to love God, to love others, and to love themselves. But when the time was right, Jesus knew that He must say good-bye. Jesus disciples watched Jesus ascend, or go up, to Heaven to be with His Father. They saw Jesus no longer be human and become only God again. We believe that Jesus is now in Heaven with God the Father. 28
God s Word: Before Jesus returned to Heaven to be with His Father, Jesus gathered His disciples and gave them some special directions. Read about this in Acts 1:6-11 with an adult. Quiet Time: Read Acts 1:6-11 again. Did you know that Jesus wasn t only speaking to His disciples? He was also speaking to you and me. Ask God what He wants you to do today to tell others about Him. Draw a picture about what that might look like. 29
WEEK FOUR, DAY THREE: The Third Day He Arose from the Dead. He Ascended into Heaven and Sits at the Right Hand of God the Father Almighty. From There, He Shall Come to Judge the Living and the Dead. In Jesus day, if you were allowed to sit at the right hand of a king, you were lucky. It meant that people would treat you like the king. You would share in his honor and his power. When we say that Jesus sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty, it means that Jesus is now in Heaven with the Father. In Heaven, Jesus shares the Father s honor, glory, and power. Jesus is surrounded by the praise and worship of the angels. Someday, all of Creation will sing for Him as well. 30
God s Word: Stephen was the first person in the Bible killed because he believed in Jesus. As he died, Stephen saw a vision of Jesus receiving honor and praise in Heaven. Read Acts 7:54-60 with an adult. Quiet Time: Before he died, Stephen got to see Jesus being worshipped in Heaven. Can you imagine what that might look like? Read Acts 7:54-60 again and draw a picture of what you think it would look like. Why do you think that Jesus is worthy to be worshipped? Write a list of reasons below. Then worship Jesus by telling Him what you wrote. 31
WEEK FOUR, DAY FOUR: The Third Day He Arose from the Dead. He Ascended into Heaven and Sits at the Right Hand of God the Father Almighty. From There, He Shall Come to Judge the Living and the Dead. Jesus once came to live in our world as a human. He was born. He lived and died to rescue us as our Savior. Before He left, He promised that He would come back again, one day. But this time, it would be different. This time, Jesus will come as a King and a Judge. He will gather everyone who loves Him and calls Him their Lord together. He will invite these people to live in His Kingdom forever. (Look ahead to pages 52-55 if you want!) Those who don t know Jesus will not be a part of His Kingdom. 32
God s Word: Jesus often told stories, called parables, to help His followers understand His teaching. In Matthew, Jesus tells a parable describing His return to judge humans. Read Matthew 25:31-46 with an adult. Quiet Time: If you and I love Jesus and choose to follow Him, one day, we will get to live with Him in His Kingdom, Heaven, forever. Spend some time thinking about what it means to follow Jesus. You might want to look back at Matthew 25:31-46. Talk to your parents about ways that your family can be better followers of Jesus. Have them pray with you, asking God to teach your family how to be His children. 33
WEEK FIVE, DAY ONE: I Believe in the Holy Spirit (Who is the Holy Spirit?) On page 10, we talked about how Jesus and the Father are like a glass of ice water. The glass contains two different things- water and ice- that are made of the same stuff. Jesus and the Father are separate, and yet are both God. Remember, it is okay to feel confused by this! After a hot shower, you may have seen steam fill your bathroom. Or if your parents use a tea kettle, you may have seen steam rise as the water gets hotter. Steam is a third form of water. If the Father is like water, and Jesus is like ice, then the Holy Spirit is like steam. Christians believe in the Trinity. That means that we believe that there is one God that has three different persons. Over the next week, we will learn more about the Holy Spirit. 34
God s Word: Before Jesus death and resurrection, He told His disciples that God would send the Holy Spirit into our world. Read what Jesus says about the Holy Spirit in John 15:26-27 with an adult. Quiet Time: He is not a ghost- He is one of the persons of God. Like Jesus, He is sent into our world. Unlike Jesus, He is invisible. Learning about the Holy Spirit can be confusing. It is okay to feel confused about the Holy Spirit. Christians have argued about the Holy Spirit for thousands of years. You may have a lot of questions about the Holy Spirit. Make a list of questions below. Talk to your parents about them. Spend time asking God about the Holy Spirit. Be sure to give Him a chance to answer! 35
WEEK FIVE, DAY TWO: I Believe in the Holy Spirit (Where is the Holy Spirit?) You and I have many choices to make every day. You choose what to do at recess or what to write about in class. You decide what to say to your friends and to kid that picks on you. You decide whether or not you will do what God wants you to do. Sometimes it isn t easy to know what God wants us to do. God understands, and so He sent His children a special gift. After Jesus ascended into Heaven, God gave His people the Holy Spirit. The Bible says that the Holy Spirit lives inside the hearts of Christians. The Holy Spirit does many things inside Christians to help them know how to best love God and love others. We will learn more about what this means in the next couple days. 36
God s Word: Jesus told His followers that the Holy Spirit would be sent into our world and lives within each person who believes in Jesus. Read about this in John 14:16-17 with an adult. Quiet Time: If you love Jesus and call Him your Lord, the Holy Spirit lives inside you! The Holy Spirit speaks to our hearts and minds, telling us the best ways to love God and other people. You can ask the Holy Spirit anything. Ask Him to help you show love to someone else. Wait quietly for several minutes and see what the Holy Spirit tells you to do. It is wonderful knowing that God, as the Holy Spirit, is always there to help us and speak to us. Spend time thanking God for this wonderful gift! 37
WEEK FIVE, DAY THREE: I Believe in the Holy Spirit (What does the Holy Spirit do?) We all know what windy days are like. You feel the wind on your face and see the wind blow things like leaves and pinwheels. Sometimes the wind will blow someone s hat right off! You can see what the wind does, but we can t see the wind itself. It is invisible! The same is true with the Holy Spirit. We can t see the Holy Spirit, but we can see what it does in the life of Christians. Since the Holy Spirit lives inside Christians, that means that the power of God is also inside of them. Even though Christians are humans, when God helps them do something, nothing is impossible! 38
God s Word: The Bible tells us many things that the Holy Spirit does. Read the following verses with an adult: John 14:16 John 16:8 John 16:13 Acts 13:2 Romans 8:26-27 Quiet Time: You now know lots of things that the Holy Spirit does. Draw a picture of something that the Holy Spirit has done for you, or for someone in your family. Take a little time to thank God for sending the Holy Spirit to do such awesome things. 39
WEEK FIVE, DAY FOUR: I Believe in the Holy Spirit (What does the Holy Spirit give?) The Holy Spirit does more than help Christians do things. The Holy Spirit is also a giver who gives good gifts to Christians. Isn t it exciting that the Almighty God who created the world wants to give you a present? The Holy Spirit wants to give us fruit. We aren t talking about apples and oranges, though. The Bible says that Christians are kind of like a peach tree. A healthy peach tree grows good peaches. Healthy Christians who try to love God and others grow a special kind of fruit called the Fruit of the Spirit. These fruits help Christians live lives that honor God. 40
God s Word: A healthy apple tree grows good apples. A healthy orange tree grows good oranges. Healthy Christians, through the power of the Holy Spirit, grow good fruit in their lives too! Read about this in Galatians 5:22-26 with an adult. Quiet Time: Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Talk about each of these Fruits of the Spirit with a parent. Which of these is easiest for you to show? Which of these is the hardest? Spend some time talking to the Holy Spirit asking for Him to help you grow more of this fruit. Be sure to thank the Holy Spirit for all He has done! 41
WEEK SIX, DAY ONE: The Holy Catholic Church, the Communion of Saints You and I go to a church called First Alliance. You probably have friends who go to other churches. Did you know there are over 400 different churches in the city of Lexington? That s a lot! But did you know that there s just one Church? When we talk about The Church (with the big C), we are talking about something bigger than First Alliance. We are talking about everyone in the world who loves God and wants to follow Him. There is no building big enough for us all to worship together, but together, we are the Church. Christians don t always agree on the best way of loving God or other people, but they still need to be unified. That means that we all are working together to love others and helping them love God. The Church is called the Body of Christ because it keeps doing the work that Jesus did when He was in our world. 42
God s Word: Jesus created One Church on Earth. Everyone in the Church is called to be His Body on Earth, continuing to do His work of loving others and helping others love God. Jesus last words in Matthew tell His followers what He wants them to do. Read Matthew 28:16-20 with an adult. Quiet Time: Spend some time thinking about our church, First Alliance. How has God used First Alliance church to help you love Him? How has God used First Alliance Church to help you love other people? What do you think God might want you to do to help others learn about God? Talk to God about your ideas. 43
WEEK SIX, DAY TWO: The Holy Catholic Church, the Communion of Saints I am not perfect. I sin we all do, right? I don t always love other people or myself in the right way. I don t always show God love either. The truth is that only one human has ever lived a perfect human life- Jesus! Jesus is perfect. One word we use for that is Holy. Holy means that He is so perfect that He was completely separate from sin! In the Bible, Jesus calls us to be holy, just like He is holy. That is something that you and I could never do without Jesus help. But Jesus gives us His holiness. He takes away our sins (see page 24) and calls His People to use their lives to show love. God sent the Holy Spirit (see page 36) to help the Church be Holy, too! 44
God s Word: Jesus tells His followers (the Church) that they must be like Him. Christians are still humans and not perfect like Jesus, but they are still called to live Holy lives. Read more about it in 1 Peter 1:13-23. Quiet Time: Being Holy isn t easy. Temptation makes it hard! Talk with a parent about what sins tempt you the most. Spend some time together praying to God for forgiveness and strength. 45
WEEK SIX, DAY THREE: The Holy Catholic Church, the Communion of Saints You might know people who are Catholic, and they probably go to the Catholic church. When Christians talk about the Catholic Church in the Apostles Creed, it means something different. Catholic is a big word that means world-wide or universal. When we say the Catholic Church, we are saying that the Church isn t just in Kentucky, or the United States. Christians believe that the Church is spread all over the world. Right now, the continent of North America is home to the most Christians. By the time you are an adult, Asia and Africa may have more Christians that North America. For you and I, this means that we need to be thinking and praying for people outside of Lexington. There are Christians everywhere, all over the world. 46
God s Word: God did not send Jesus to only rescue people from Kentucky, or even only from the United States. Jesus came for all people everywhere. Read of the way Jesus is worshipped in Heaven in Revelation 5:9-14 with an adult. Quiet Time: Spend some time looking at a globe or world map. Ask God to give you a country or countries to pray for. Spend some time praying for your Christian brothers and sisters in any country that comes to mind. 47
WEEK SIX, DAY FOUR: The Holy Catholic Church, the Communion of Saints God has given each one of us a family. All families are different, but God created all families to show love to one another. God has given you a bigger family than you may know. If all Christians are God s children, then everyone in the Church is your family, too. That is what we mean when we say Communion of Saints. In your local church, First Alliance, that means that we are called to love one another, pray for one another, worship together, and help each other. But your Christian family is bigger than First Alliance. We are called to love, pray for and help other Christians all over the world. There s more! Christians disagree on what this looks like, but Communion of Saints also means that our family also includes all of God s people throughout history. Abraham, Moses, Ruth, David, Peter, and Paul are in our family, and we are continuing their story! 48
God s Word: One of the best things about being a part of the Church is the friendship we have with other Christians. Read about the very first church in Acts 2:41-47 with an adult. Quiet Time: At First Alliance, you are blessed to have pastors, teachers, project leaders, shepherd group leaders, and friends at First Alliance. Make a list of all the people you can think of in your First Alliance family who show you God s love. Spend time thanking God for each person on the list and praying for them. 49
WEEK SEVEN, DAY ONE: The Forgiveness of Sins, the Resurrection of the Body, and the Life Everlasting. Amen. At our house, we do a lot of laundry. That is because I get a lot of stains on my clothes. We scrub and wash these clothes and they usually become clean again. But there is a stain that scrubbing and soap can t get out. The Bible says that our lives are stained by sin. All humans (except for Jesus) have sin in their lives. In order for them to become God s children, they have to be completely free from sin. The problem is that you and I cannot get rid of the sinful things that we have already done. But remember, God had a plan to rescue us from this sin. That is why Jesus died for us. He was already punished for our sin. If we ask Him, Jesus can forgive us for our sins. When Jesus forgives, that means that He washes away the sin. It is like our sin never happened! Your washing machine can t promise that! 50
God s Word: The Bible talks a lot about forgiveness. Read what John says about it in 1 John 1:5-10 with an adult. Take a look also at John 13:34-35 with an adult. Quiet Time: God s forgiveness is a beautiful thing! Thank our perfect and holy God for loving us so much that He will forgive all of our mistakes if we ask. Tell God how wonderful He is! Because we have been loved by God and forgiven by Him, we are called to love and forgive others. That isn t always easy, but God will help us. Is there anyone who you need to forgive? Spend some time talking to God about it. 51
WEEK SEVEN, DAY TWO: The Forgiveness of Sins, the Resurrection of the Body, and the Life Everlasting. Amen. God created a good and perfect world. But humans disobeyed God and sin came into our world. That sin changed everything and made it not perfect. Humans feel sad, fight with each other, and our bodies can become sick, or we may get hurt, and even die. But our world will not always be like this! The Bible says that one day Jesus will come back to our world as a King. As the King, He will make our world new and perfect again. There will be no more sin! Everyone who loves Jesus will have the resurrection of the body. This is a big way of saying that Christians will have new, perfect bodies in Jesus Kingdom. Unlike our human bodies, these bodies will be perfect. Our new bodies will not grow old or tired, get sick or hurt, and will never, ever die! We don t know everything about Heaven, but God promises that it will be better than you or I can imagine. 52
God s Word: The disciple John is given a vision of the new heaven and the new earth in Revelation. Read about it in Revelation 21:1-7. Quiet Time: What makes you excited the most about having a new body that will be perfect? What makes you the most glad that we will NOT have to deal with any more when we have new bodies? Write some of them down here. Do you ever think about what Heaven will be like? Imagine the best day you ever had. Now multiply that by one million. Heaven is even better than that! What excites you about going to heaven? Praise God by telling Him about what makes you most excited! 53
WEEK SEVEN, DAY THREE: The Forgiveness of Sins, the Resurrection of the Body, and the Life Everlasting. Amen. Can you find the beginning of the curvy line above? How about the end? That is a trick question! There isn t a beginning or an end. The line has no beginning and no end, just like our God. God was not created. He always was there. God will never die. He always will be there. God has no beginning and no end. We say that He is eternal or everlasting. The Bible says that all who love Jesus will have everlasting life. When Christians are resurrected and live with Jesus in Heaven, they will never, ever die. They will live forever with God. That will be one, BIG party!!! 54
God s Word: One of the first verses you ever learned was probably John 3:16. Think about what it is truly saying by reading John 3:16-17 with an adult. Quiet Time: The Bible says that everyone who loves Jesus will have eternal life in God s Kingdom one day. But Jesus had to die so that you and I might live forever in God s presence. Spend time thanking God for His great love for us and for sending Jesus to die for us. 55
WEEK SEVEN, DAY FOUR: The Forgiveness of Sins, the Resurrection of the Body, and the Life Everlasting. Amen. When I was a kid, my Sunday school teacher taught my class how to say the Lord s Prayer and the Apostles Creed. My best friend and I learned them both very well. We began racing each other to see who could say it the fastest. We would say the words without thinking about what they meant. But Christians need to think about what these words mean! The Apostles Creed was written to remind Christians all the wonderful things the Bible said about God and His love for people. We need to be reminded, because there are many people in our world who don t agree with the Bible. It is easy for Christians to forget who they are and what they believe. That is why we say Amen at the end of prayers and the Apostles Creed. When Christians say Amen we are saying I agree. Saying Amen is your chance to show that you aren t just saying the words. Saying Amen means that you believe and agree with all that the Bible says! 56
God s Word: Read over the Apostles Creed again. As you read it, think about all that we have learned through this journey. I believe in God the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth; And in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord: who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried; the third day he rose from the dead; he ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from there he shall come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen. Quiet Time: You ve made it through the Apostles Creed! I hope you have learned a lot of new things about who God is, what He has done for us, and how much He loves you! If you can think of some specific things you learned, write some of them down here: 57