Seekers for Jesus 4Q 2017 Online Activities Lesson 1 Sideline Question taken from page 6. How has God s covenant with Abraham affected us? When God told Abraham that he would be the father of His people, Abraham had no idea how large of a family God was talking about. From Abraham s family came the Hebrews, who were later called the Israelites, who were later called the Jews, which is what they are called today. But there was a very special person who came from Abraham s family: Jesus. When God told Abraham that he would be the father of many people, he had no idea that some of those people would not even be in his family. After Jesus died on the cross, God s holy people expanded to all of those who believe in Him. If you are a Christian, you are a part of the family and of that covenant that God made with Abraham so long ago. Lesson 2 Sideline Question taken from page 10. How does God reveal His presence? When was the last time that you saw a mountain covered in smoke and shaken because God s presence was on it? Probably never. But if you asked the Israelites if they d ever read the Bible, they d say no to that as well. Throughout history, people have experienced God s presence in different ways. That doesn t mean that one way is right and one is wrong. They re just different methods of experiencing the same presence of God. During the days of the Old Testament, God had to reveal Himself through physical means, whether it was through smoke on a mountain, or fire coming down from heaven. Today, we experience God s presence differently. God reveals Himself to us through His Word and speaks to us directly and personally, and we can speak back to Him. He is the same perfect, loving God as He has always been. Lesson 3 Sideline Question taken from page 14. How can we talk to God? Before Jesus died on the cross, there were very few people who had the opportunity to speak to God directly. Most of the time, it was a prophet or a priest or someone whom God chose to be His mediator. After Jesus died on the cross, anyone could speak to God because Jesus tore down any barriers that stood in the way between us and God. Today, we can simply pray to Him. He instantly hears all of our prayers and gives us answers to those prayers through the Holy Spirit and through His Word. All we have to do is seek His wisdom and ask Him to show us the way, and He will hear us and guide us. The answer may not come immediately, or be the answer that we wanted, but we can rest assured that God s will and timing is the best for us.
Lesson 4 Sideline Question taken from page 18. How does God show His perfect timing? Throughout the Bible, there are many stories that show how God s perfect timing came into play. Whether it was God coming through to save His people in Egypt, or giving David the strength he needed to defeat Goliath, God s timing has proven to be perfect. Think through your life where something happened to you that was unexpected, but that you needed. You may not have realized it, but that was God s timing coming through in a time of need. When God s timing does not seem perfect, like when Abraham thought He was waiting too long to give him a son, it is all a part of His plan. He has plans for us much greater than we can ever imagine, and even when He seems to be taking a long time to answer a prayer, or doesn t answer it at all, we must remember that God s plan is greater than ours. Lesson 5 Sideline Question taken from page 22. How should we confess our sins? Confessing our sins is very important because even though we have forgiveness of our sins, God wants us to acknowledge them and turn away from them. The best way to confess our sins is to simply pray and tell God that we have done wrong and then tell Him that we are going to turn away from it. This means that we should not do the same sin anymore because we know it is wrong. The Bible says that we should also confess our sins to one another (James 5:16). By doing this, we are humbling ourselves and telling others our problems so that we can have someone to whom we are held accountable. We should certainly confess our sins if we have done wrong to someone else. They may be angry, but at least you ve done your part to make it right and you can begin to mend that friendship. Lesson 6 Sideline Question taken from page 26. What promises should we make to God? If we read in the Old Testament, we find many stories where God s people broke their promises to Him. They would continually tell God that they were sorry for their sins after they messed up and act according to God s will, but then they would turn their backs on God. So what promises should we make to God? We should promise God only things that we know we can realistically keep. If you promise God you will never eat chocolate or candy again for the rest of your life, there s a possibility that that promise will be broken. The best promise we can make to God is that we will always trust in Him and believe in Him. Promises aren t about giving up something that we love or promising something to God just for the sake of saying that we made a promise, but it s about the condition of our heart. If you know that you value candy more than God, then it would be right to promise to give that up. We can promise God that we will strive to live our lives for Him and keep Him first.
Lesson 7 Sideline Question taken from page 30. How are we affected by the new covenant? We have been talking a lot about covenants lately, but what about the covenant that we have with God now? This covenant is not so new anymore; in fact, it has been around since Jesus died on the cross. But it still affects millions of people all around the world every single day. The new covenant means that we can have eternal life. Jesus died on the cross for all of our sins and created the new covenant. These are the steps to partaking in the new covenant: turn away from your sins and stop living a sinful lifestyle; tell God you re sorry and that you need forgiveness of your sins; believe that Jesus is the only path to eternal life; dedicate your life to living by the standards God shows us in the Bible. By doing these things, we are taking part in the new covenant. Lesson 8 Sideline Question taken from page 34. How were the old and the new covenant different? It would be very different for us if we still lived in the old covenant. We would not be able to pray to God directly, and we would have to offer sacrifices for every sin that we committed. God takes our sin very seriously, and we needed a blood sacrifice to atone for our sins. In the days before Jesus death, people paid for their sins by sacrificing animals to God. When Jesus came to earth, He became the final Sacrifice for all sins because He was perfect in every way and had no sin. Yet, He took on the sins of the world when He was on the cross. The two covenants are different now because Jesus sacrifice was enough to replace the need for all future sacrifices, we no longer need a priest to act as a mediator for us, and we can pray to God anytime we want. Lesson 9 Sideline Question taken from page 38. When should we take the Lord s Supper? The Lord s Supper is very holy and a very special time. It is not something that we should do for fun or just to get a snack. We should only take the Lord s Supper when we have become a Christian and completely understand the importance of what we are doing. Paul tells us that we should purify our hearts and not be angry at anyone before partaking. We should confess all of our sins in prayer before taking it. Only then should we take the Lord s Supper. If there s something in your heart that s not right, or if you re not focused on the gravity of the ritual, then you can pray to the Lord and ask Him to make your heart right before you participate.
Lesson 10 Sideline Question taken from page 42. What does it mean to repent? You may hear the word repent a lot if you spend time in the church. It is a very important word that is commonly misused. Repenting does not just mean to say that you are sorry for something that you have done to God or to someone else. Repenting of your sin means that you should not only say you are sorry, but also make a conscious effort to never do that sin again. If we look at examples in the Bible, there are many people who are repentant of their sins, such as King David in Psalm 51. These people always tried to make sure that they did not commit the same sin again so that they could show God that their repentance was true. When we repent, we should also make sure to try and not commit the same sin against God. Lesson 11 Sideline Question taken from page 46. What does it mean to be sent by the Holy Spirit? The Holy Spirit can seem confusing. The Holy Spirit is a part of the holy Trinity of God: Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit. When we accept Christ, God gives us the Holy Spirit to protect us and guide us through our lives. He acts as our conscience in our hearts, letting us know when we ve done something wrong or nudging us to speak to someone about the Lord. When we are sent by the Holy Spirit, we feel called to go somewhere or to someone and tell them about Jesus, or do good works for the people in that area. He speaks to each of us in different ways and different people will be called to different tasks. That doesn t mean that one is better than the other, because all of the acts and godly words work together for the expansion of God s Kingdom. Lesson 12 Sideline Question taken from page 50. Why does God allow Christians to suffer? Before sin entered the world, Adam and Eve were perfect people who were on their way to living an eternal, perfect life. But God gave them one rule: they were not to eat of one tree, the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. God gave them a choice because He did not want people to be forced to love Him. We know that when Adam and Eve sinned, it changed the world and evil came into it. People suffer due to sin and an imperfect world. Sometimes suffering comes as punishment for a great sin, and sometimes it just happens because we live in a broken world. When sin entered the world, so did things like death and sickness, and that is why we experience suffering and death. One day, if we are Christians, we will go to a place where there is no sickness or death, and it will be like God intended it to be originally.
Lesson 13 Sideline Question taken from page 54. How can you worship God this Christmas? Christmas is one of the most special times of year, and a wonderful reason to worship God. The Christmas season can be a crazy busy time with parties, presents, and shopping. We can often forget that Jesus is the reason we have Christmas. So we must remember to worship Him during this time. There are many different ways we can worship God during Christmas. We can sing songs, read the Christmas story, and thank God for the birth of Jesus. The Bible says in Matthew 25:34 36 that when we do something for people who are less fortunate, we are doing it for the Lord. This means that by giving to others and helping those who may not have much this Christmas, we are worshiping the Lord. Lesson 14 Sideline Question taken from page 58. How can we show God s love to other Christians? We are often told that as Christians, our main job is tell others about Him and to love all His people. This includes loving our fellow Christians. There are many different ways that we can do this. You can show love to other Christians by providing discipleship and being there for them when they need counseling, or referring them to a trusted pastor/adult. You can help others who may be poor or sick by giving them food, shelter, or other necessities. Try donating old clothes to your local homeless shelter or giving extra food items to the local food pantry. By doing these things, you are helping to advance the Kingdom of God. When we are there for our fellow Christians, we can strengthen them and encourage them to keep up their good works in the community, and bolster their faith. Then when the time comes, they can do the same thing for you.