Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Our God Comes to Save

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Light three candles.

Pray this prayer. Have your child repeat phrase by phrase.
Dear Jesus,
Thank you for coming
to save me and everyone else.
Help us let others know!

Read this Bible thought from Isaiah 45:21-22.
Have your child repeat phrase by phrase, perhaps in rhythm?
Africa, China, America, Asia -
No matter where,
only one savior.
Is God's love big enough
for everyone everywhere?
YES! and He says
"Come to me everyone!"
Come and be saved!

Ask your child...
What's your name?
They'll probably tell you their first name or first and last names.
What's your whole name?

How many ___ ___ ___ (child's first middle last names)
do you know?
If perchance they know more with that name, add something like "5 year old ___ ___ ___" or "blonde ___ ___ ___"... so they'll say "only one."

Do the same thing with your name...
What's my name?
What's my whole name?
How many ___ ___ ___ (your first middle last names)
do you know?
Again, add something to it if you think they know more than one, like "moms" or "dads" who are named ___ ___ ___ ...

Is there anyone exactly like you?

There are people who are kind of like us, but not completely.

What about God? How many Gods are there?

There's only one God, isn't there. God made the world and the stars...
(add your own list of other things God made…)
And God came to earth ONE time as a baby...

What was his name?
Jesus

In the world there are some other people who have the name "Jesus."
If you want to, tell them about people like in Mexico who have that name...
but just like there is only YOU, there is only ONE Jesus who is the Savior, one Jesus who came at Christmas, one Jesus who died on the cross for EVERYONE.
Talk about how amazing it is that ONE Savior can save everyone! If you know about missionaries or churches in other countries you can tell them that they tell people about the same Jesus that your child is learning about...

Who do you think we might tell about Jesus...? (or invite to church, or invite to Sunday school, or invite to your house for devotions tomorrow, or...)
God wants everyone to know him as their savior, the one who loves not just me, not just you, but everyone! We can let them know!

Pray this prayer. Have your child repeat phrase by phrase.
Dear Jesus,
Thank you for coming
to save me and everyone else.
Help us let others know!
Add your own thoughts and prayers, including for anyone who needs to know Jesus as their Savior.

Read this Bible thought from Isaiah 45:21-22.

Have your child repeat phrase by phrase, perhaps in rhythm?
Africa, China, America, Asia -
No matter where,
only one savior.
Is God's love big enough
for everyone everywhere?
YES! and He says
"Come to me everyone!"
Come and be saved!

Put out the candles.

4 comments:

Adam Pastor said...

Greetings Pastor Steve

Let's look again at the creed of Jesus
[Mark 12.28ff],
the creed he would have been taught as a child ...

(Deu 6:4-7) Hear, O Israel:
The LORD our God is one LORD:
5 And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. 6 And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart:
7 And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.

As confirmed in Mark 12:28ff,
this is Jesus' creed; and hence, seeing that he is our Master,
this ought to be our creed, and the creed we should teach to children!
And how did the scribe understand Jesus?

(Mark 12:32) And the scribe said unto him, Well, Master, thou hast said the truth: for there is one God; and there is none other but he:

The scribe therefore did not think the man before him was his GOD?!?

Likewise, Jesus the Messiah
identified the Father
as the only true GOD.
John 17.3
and the only GOD
John 5.44


So yes, we ought to teach children, that there is indeed solely one GOD!

Yet both Jesus and Paul his disciple, clearly identifies the ONE GOD as the Father.
(1 Cor 8:4) ... that there is none other God but one.
(1 Cor 8:6) But to us there is but one God, the Father, ...

So we should not teach children things such as
God came to earth ONE time as a baby... and his name is Jesus

That is not what Scriptures say and it is not what Gabriel who stands in the presence of the ONE GOD [Luke 1.19] said to Mary!

NASB Luke 1.35:
The angel answered and said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son of God."

What we ought to teach children then is that the ONE GOD has a Son whose name is Jesus.
Mary gave birth to GOD's Son.

So there is ONE GOD the Father,
and Jesus is His Son.
Thus,
(1 Tim 2:5) For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men,
the man Christ Jesus;

A child can indeed understand that.
All children have fathers.
So they can understand the difference between a father & a son.

Let's stay with Scriptures and avoid post-biblical developments which confused the identities of the ONE GOD and His Son.

The Bible clearly teaches solely ONE GOD, the Father.
Jesus the Messiah is His human Son.
Any child can understand that.

For more info on this awesome subject, Pastor Steve, I recommend this video:
The Human Jesus

Take a couple of hours to watch it; and prayerfully it will aid you in your quest for truth.

Yours In Messiah
Adam Pastor

Steve Thorson said...

Interesting "Adam Pastor," that you found my devotions for children. I didn't know much anyone was looking at them, except a few people in my congregation! If we're going to have a theological discussion, perhaps you could email me at celcpastor@embarqmail.com. What Christian community do you belong to?

Adam Pastor said...

Please watch the video first; and then we can discuss your thoughts about it.

As for communities, I am a Christian! :-)

Yours In Messiah
Adam Pastor
The Human Jesus

Steve Thorson said...

I prefer to "chat" first before I take my time to watch a video that may or may not be from a trustworthy source. I believe every Christian needs to be in accountable relationships with others. That's what I mean by what Christian community you belong to. Since we don't know each other, it would be important to get some sort of reference as to your reliability as a Christian witness. I am accountable to my local Christian church, Evangelical Lutheran Church of Cokato, MN, and to my brothers and sisters in Christ in other denominations locally, and to the wider Christian church through the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and the Word Alone network. Who are you accountable to? Or are you a lone ranger?