9.8.2024 Sunday school
Matthew 3:2
"Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near."
1. Introduction
Hello, Friends!
Welcome to Sunday School. Do you remember we learned about Zechariah last week?
Today, we are going to learn about his son. His son is John the Baptist.
Look at these noisy letters!
This is what he said: “REPENT!” Let’s listen to his story.
2. Bible Verse
Let’s read today’s verse:
“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” (Matthew 3:2)
3. The Waiting Israelites
The Israelites were waiting for the Messiah for a long, long time...
From Moses to Malachi, many prophets said that the Messiah was coming soon!
But after 100 years, then 200 years, then 300 years…
Even after 400 years had passed, the Messiah hadn’t come.
They almost forgot about the words of God.
And they lived hopeless lives, feeling sad and lost.
4. John the Baptist Appears
But one day, a very strange man appeared!
He was John the Baptist. You remember, he is the son of Zechariah.
Zechariah was a priest, so John could have lived in a nice, comfortable house.
But this John was a very unusual person!
His address was the wilderness of Judea—right in the middle of nowhere.
There were no restaurants, no grocery stores, and no neighbors.
And look at his outfit—he wore clothes made of camel’s hair, which was rough and itchy, like wearing almost nothing!
And the strangest thing? He only ate wild honey and locusts.
What are locusts? They are like grasshoppers!
They might have some protein, but they don’t look delicious at all!
John would dip grasshoppers in wild honey and eat them.
He lived far from other people, far from the news, and spent his days meditating on God’s word.
And one day, he shouted to the people, “REPENT!” (with a loud voice)
“REPENT! EVERYONE! LISTEN TO ME! REPENT!”
5. The Surprised Israelites
The Israelites were so surprised!
They had almost forgotten about the Messiah and were living hopeless lives.
6. Recognizing Their Sins
But when they heard John’s surprising, shouting voice,
they started to realize their sins:
Not listening to God’s word, not obeying their parents,
Not being kind to others, being selfish, lying, not helping those in need, hurting others with mean words, stealing, and more…
These were all the things that were inside their hearts, making them feel sad and troubled.
We need to get rid of these sins, too.
But how can we be forgiven for our sins?
7. The Lamb of God
John the Baptist said that Jesus is “the Lamb of God.”
To be forgiven of our sins, we need Jesus.
Only Jesus can take away our sins.
Thanks to John the Baptist, we learned about our sins.
And we learned about repentance, which means turning away from doing wrong and trying to do right.
Let’s repent before Jesus for our sins.
Closing Prayer
Let’s pray.
Dear God,
We repent of our sins.
Thank You for the grace of the Lamb of God, Jesus.
Help us to bring all our sins before Jesus and truly repent.
In Jesus’ name, we pray, Amen.
