Added on 09 Mar 2009
Aim
To explore how God cares so much for people that He sent Jesus.
Introduction
Good to see you all – been a little while since we were here – we heard you’ve got the topic of ‘caring’ this month – so what do you think ‘caring’ is all about?
[ Discuss definition of 'caring' – Loving, looking after, etc..]
Illustration – Jumping
But first we need to see how good some of you are at jumping [move whole school back, line up five children to jump from standing start]
So – why did we do that? You all did well, some of you jumped further than others, but then some of you were bigger – but no-one reached the line, so if crossing the line had been the way to win a competition, none of you would have won.
There’s a verse in the Bible that says that every single person has fallen short of the high standard that God expects of us.
Every single person has messed up and done wrong stuff, and that’s what the Bible calls sin. It doesn’t matter if it’s big things or little things – it’s all sin to God. It’s like no-one reaching that line on the floor – no-one reaches God’s standard.
Easter
Now, we’ve got Easter coming up, so what’s good about Easter? [Discuss]
We thought this would be a really good opportunity to tell you about why Christians get so excited about Easter.
What can you remember about what happened at Easter ? [Discuss Crucifixion, etc, two robbers]
Use board and black/white crosses to explain about Jesus, who had done no wrong, between two criminals, common form of torture and execution, and what God saw at the point of their death.
As Christians, we believe what the Bible tells us, that three days later God raised his son from the dead, and he did it because he cares so much for each one of us that he wants us to have a relationship, a friendship with him.
The Cross
So – how does that work? I’m going to show you something now that will help to explain it, and after that we’ll have a chance to pray together.
[Use props of boxes and cross to illustrate the way that the cross forms a bridge to repair the broken relationship between man and God]