John 2 – Cleansing the temple – Kids Bible lesson

This week’s children’s Bible lesson:

Jesus Cleanses God’s House, the Temple

John 2:13-25

Imagine you were in your home, and someone who didn’t like you came into your home. Imagine he brought animals you didn’t want right inside to sell. And imagine he set up his own business to make money, right inside your home without permission from you or your parents. Not only that, imagine his way of making money in your home was to tell lies about you to your friends when you invited them in, so that they would reject you. Then he would trick them, and steal money from them. If they complained, imagine he just lied, telling them it was your fault and you wanted them to do that to your friends.

How would that make you and your family feel?

Well, the temple in Jerusalem was God’s house for Israel. And when Jesus the Son of God arrived there one day in John 2, He found people God had not invited in, doing these very things in His house. His house was a place for prayer and for people coming to God. They were selling animals for sacrifices people were coming to make—trying to get rich from people’s need to have their sins covered. And they were exchanging money in a scam to get rich at God’s expense. When people brought their money offerings to God’s temple, these scammers would say, “No, you can’t give that money to God. You have to have our special money to give to God. Here, give us your money, and we will sell you our special money that you can then give in an offering to God. We will keep the money you brought for Him.” Liars and thieves, they were.

They had turned God’s house for prayer and fellowship between Him and His people into a place for lying and stealing from God’s people. God was rightly angry about that sinfulness. Jesus showed them God’s anger. He made a whip out of cords. He turned their business tables upside down forcefully. He used the whip to drive the animals and the dishonest people out of the temple. By Himself, He forced them all to leave. Jesus is no weakling; if something requires force, He can do it.

The Pharisees, who were the ones that should have already kept the temple clean from this sin, didn’t believe in Jesus. They demanded He give them a sign from heaven that He had authority to cleanse His Father’s house. He told them the sign they would be getting. “Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up again.” They didn’t know what He meant, and they didn’t ask Him, because they didn’t really care. They just wanted to argue with Him. “It took 46 years to build this temple,” they said, thinking they were wisely disputing Him. “And you’re gonna build it back up in 3 days?” People who disagree with God’s word like to argue with Him. And they are proud, thinking they are actually smart enough to debate God. People with that attitude never really hear and understand God’s word. Always be humble, not prideful. Always believe that God’s word is true, even in those times when you are having trouble understanding what He says.

What Jesus was really saying was a prophecy of something that they would do a few years later and what He would do in response. The temple He was talking about as a sign from God was His own body. He told them that because they didn’t believe God, they would destroy the temple of His body, having Him killed on a cross. And then in response, three days later, Jesus said He would rise from the dead. These things later happened exactly as Jesus had said they would.

Now, today God doesn’t live in a building made by humans. Now He lives by His Spirit inside the people of His church—all those who believe on Him. Now people God wants to forgive and make His children don’t meet Him at a temple. They meet Him through us, as He lives in us. And He wants us, as His house, to be cleansed from sin. He doesn’t want us using or abusing people. He wants us serving them and teaching them the truth, not lies, about God. Then they can–for free, not for giving us money–come to Jesus and be saved. If we as His children don’t fulfill that purpose, He may have to punish us to cleanse us His temple, just like He did with the whip in Jerusalem that day.

Let us praise God for saving us and forgiving us, and helping us to trust and live for Him now.

How long will you waver?

1 Kings 18–the story of Elijah calling a nation to decide which way they will go, and what God they will trust and obey. A pastor or servant of God’s important focus is proclaiming the Word, enabling the church’s people to trust God and follow Him, causing life to go well for them.

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Revelation 22 The Final Chapter

Revelation 22 The Final Chapter

The end of all things—eternal bliss and wonder with God

Sometimes when we read a great book, the last chapter is supremely good reading. The Bible is an example of that. Those Christians who study this closing chapter of God’s word will be filled with joy and wonder. Don’t miss this conclusion to our passage by passage study through the prophetic book of Revelation.

Temptation of Christ (Children’s lesson of the week)

This week’s children’s Bible lesson

Jesus was tempted to sin and defeated the devil

Luke 4:1-14

When Jesus was 30 years old, it came time for Him to begin publicly teaching about God and calling all the people to believe and follow the Lord. Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist, and God the Father spoke out loud, identifying Jesus as His Son. John introduced Jesus as the Messiah to his followers, promising Christ would take away sins as the Lamb of God.

Jesus was filled with the Holy Spirit, and the Spirit brought Him into the wilderness then. Israel had failed to trust God’s word and obey Him in the wilderness. Now God would let Jesus be put to the test there. If Jesus failed like every one of us, and sinned when He was tempted, then He could never save us. Because He wouldn’t have been able to die for our sins if He had any of His own. So God the Father let Jesus be tempted and tested by the devil there in the wilderness for 40 days. The Bible tells us that in that time Jesus was in every way tempted just as we are. That means Satan tempted Him to commit every kind of sin that exists. Each time, though, Jesus resisted. The Bible then tells us about the last three temptations Satan came up with, to try to keep Jesus from accomplishing salvation for us.

During that time, Jesus never ate food, making Him very hungry after 40 days. Satan noticed His hunger and tried to get Jesus to forget His relationship with God the Father. “If you are the Son of God, turn these stones into bread,” the devil said. He was apparently hoping Jesus would do what you or I would do if we were that hungry from days with nothing to eat. We would probably think, “Is God really there for me? Why do I have to be so hungry? It’s not fair! If I have to sin to get the food I need, then I will, because God hasn’t given me what I need.” Satan was probably a little surprised that trick didn’t work. Because when he tricks people like you and me into doubting God’s love for us as His children, so often Satan is successful, and we sin.

Jesus didn’t though. He knew Who He was and knew His relationship with God was true. He knew that God would not let Him down. So He didn’t dishonor God the Father by making bread for Himself in rebellion against the Father. He quoted the word of God to Satan to defeat Him. “It is written,” Jesus said, “Man shall not live by bread alone.” Jesus knew that what our bodies need like food is not enough to give us life. We need a relationship with God to find true life. So Jesus didn’t get mad at the Father for letting Him be temporarily hungry. He still trusted God and obeyed Him.

Then Satan took Jesus up high to look over the kingdoms of the world. Satan said that he ruled over those kingdoms and that he would give them to Jesus if Jesus would worship Satan. Satan was tempting Jesus to become Lord of the world without first being our Savior. Tempting Jesus to escape going to the cross and dying. Jesus again refused to sin to get what He wanted. Jesus answered the devil, “It is written you shall worship the Lord your God and Him only shall you serve.” Instead of sinning to get what He wanted, Jesus quoted the word of God by faith, and conquered temptation. We need to do the same. Instead of sinning to get what we want, we should quote God’s commandments, trust Him, and obey.

Satan tried one more time. He took Jesus to Jerusalem to the top of the temple. He told Jesus to prove He is the Son of God by jumping off the temple and letting God keep His promise to protect Him. Satan was misusing God’s word there to make Jesus test God instead of trusting God. Jesus wasn’t fooled. He again answered Satan with the Bible, defeating the temptation. “You shall not put the Lord your God to the test,” Jesus quoted.

The devil had lost the battle to get Jesus to sin. Jesus had won, and proved Himself worthy to be our Savior.

Children’s lesson Exodus 32

Israel makes a golden calf idol to replace God

Exodus 32

After God gave the Israelites the 10 Commandments, Moses was away from the people up on Mt. Sinai with the Lord for several days. During that time, God was speaking to Moses, but the people didn’t hear Him. It caused them to grow impatient. They decided they didn’t want a god that they couldn’t see.

They had heard His voice give the commandments. They had seen Him do wonders for them. But they weren’t willing to wait to hear from Him. Unfortunately, sometimes Christians do that. Some of them even depart for churches that claim God is doing more miracles and speaking more prophecies than they are hearing at their own church. So they leave, wanting God to entertain them and thrill them. When they do that, they often end up listening to false teachings that didn’t come from God or His word at all. They become false worshipers then.

That’s what happened to Israel while Moses was on the mountain receiving all of the law of God. The people went to Aaron the priest. They said, “We don’t know what has become of this Moses. Maybe he is never coming back. You, Aaron, get up and work to make us a god in an image like the other nations worship. Make a god for us to follow who will go before us.”

I’ve got terrible news for you: Aaron didn’t tell the people “NO” like he should have. He told them to bring the gold jewelry that God had made the Egyptians give them to pay for their years of slavery. He molded all that gold into the shape of a calf. Then he told the people a lie. He said, “Here are the gods that brought you out of Egypt,” pointing to the calf he had made. Aaron said, “Tomorrow we’ll have a feast to God, celebrating the calf.” The people got up early in the morning to celebrate the calf. They ate and drank and got drunk. And they had a wild party, with sinful activities, all to celebrate the calf, pretending it was God.

Now remember what they had heard God’s voice say from the mountain in the 10 Commandments. “You will have no other gods.” They now had taken another god. “Do not make any images or idols for worship.” They now were worshiping an idol shaped like a cow. “Do not lie” and they were lying about who God was. “Do not covet what someone else has.” And they were coveting the false gods of the Egyptians. God had told them such things were sinful, and because they didn’t want to wait for God to lead them, they followed Aaron and the false god he made with his own hands.

God told Moses to go down the mountain because the people were rebelling and worshiping an idol. God even offered to wipe them out and make a new nation from Moses’ descendants. Moses passed the test before him, though. He pleaded with God to forgive them and keep His promises to the nation of Israel. Moses didn’t want God to honor Moses. He wanted God to honor His own name so that all might believe. This is exactly what God did.

When Moses got down the mountain, all of the sinfulness he saw made him angry like God was angry. He destroyed the idol and burned it. He demanded an explanation from Aaron. And Aaron lied. He claimed the idol formed itself in the fire. (People who worship idols like to lie about the idols and claim they can do miracles. But only God can actually do those miracles.)

Then Moses and the tribe of Levi who were God’s real priests, punished with death the worst offenders of the nation, who had done the most vile things in worship of the idols. And a plague of sickness from God came on the people, and many suffered.

This is what sin and rebellion against God can bring. It is very important to learn that after God has saved us and made us His children by faith in Christ, that we must obey Him. We must try not to sin. And when we do fail and commit sin, we must confess it to God and receive His forgiveness. God is worthy of our obedience. And we learn that today from what the Bible just told us about the nation of Israel and their golden calf idol to replace God.

Revelation 21 – The new earth and New Jerusalem

As the Bible approaches its last words for us, our ongoing Revelation study shows us our eternal destiny after the rapture and the millennial kingdom of Christ. Coming: The new heavens and new earth where righteousness dwells, and the holy city, the New Jerusalem. After listening to this message, you will, like never before, obey Jesus and “rejoice that your names are written in heaven.” Hallelujah.

Revisiting Pride Month


Pride is never a virtuous thing. But pride in things that we should be ashamed of is pride of the worst kind. Our world today isn’t in need of more pride—there was never a time in history with a shortage of pride. When we follow our basest, darkest desires, we do things that should humiliate us. Our sexual sins of any kind or degree should be things we want to keep hidden because of shame. We shouldn’t want our nakedness exposed, nor our moral failings known. If as an individual, one of us reaches the point where he or she can engage in the worst behaviors their flesh is capable of desiring, and he or she feels no shame, that’s a level of lostness that should make him or her very sad. Because at that moment, there’s no reason for hope. Not hope of happiness. Not hope of life. Not hope of honor. Not hope of joy. Not hope of satisfaction. It’s just wallowing in darkness, and celebrating the condition of hopelessness. We’re all sinners, but we should all want our sins covered, not exposed and celebrated. We’re celebrating the very things that destroy us. That’s not sane. And it isn’t just happening to individuals anymore. Our whole world is joining in, not just doing these things, but celebrating those who do them. There is no lower point for our world to sink to. There is no reason for hope for society. But for individuals in darkness who seek hope, there is one place for it to be found. You see, the God who made us wants us to be cleansed and made whole. To have hope for satisfaction, joy, peace, love, honor, and glory. For most of human history, God provided a system of sacrifices that would cover the sins of those who believed. Their shame was covered and their lives could have hope for eternity. Then, when the time was right, God stepped into humanity, as the eternal Son of God made Himself flesh and walked among us in the person of Jesus Christ. Christ lived a sinless life without need of shame. He lived that perfect life on our behalf, in our place, so that His righteousness could earn us eternal life and joy with Him. Then, He took our shame upon Himself, along with all of our sin. He hung on a cross, naked and bleeding, exposed to the world, bearing the guilt and shame for all that we have done in our rebellion and the hopeless darkness of our depraved minds. He suffered in our place, because of our guilt. He bore our shame upon His own back. Then He died for us. He paid the price for our sins. He absorbed every ounce of the punishment we had earned. It was in our place, instead of us, that He died. He deflected God’s judgment from us by taking it Himself. Then three days later, He rose again to life, proving Himself to be God and proving He had paid the full price for our sins. He rose to life and promised eternal life, abundant life, salvation from condemnation in hell, peace, and eternal joy in heaven to everyone who believes on Him. Unlike the animal sacrifices that only temporarily covered sin and shame, He had become “the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.” When you trust Jesus Christ to save you from your sins and the punishment for them, He doesn’t just cover your sin and shame; He takes it away—forever. Whatever kind of sexual activity or desire or identity has been yours up until this moment, don’t take pride or try to persuade yourself that you are fine as you are. God made you. He loves you, even though you’ve done wrong. He wants to give you life today. Let Him. Don’t listen to the voices of those who want you to stay in darkness and never-ending cravings that can never satisfy your heart. Come to Jesus. Drink of His living water by believing in Him and His promise: “I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish.” Don’t be lost anymore. Let Him rescue you today.

Revelation 20:1-10 – The Second Coming of Christ pt II — Millennial Kingdom

Revelation 20:1-10 – The Second Coming of Christ pt II — Millennial Kingdom

Christ’s Kingdom comes and God’s will is done on earth as it is in heaven, beginning with Christ’s reign over the earth from Jerusalem for 1,000 years. .

The chapter also covers Satan’s imprisonment in the bottomless pit, his temporary release, the final rebellion, and him being cast into the lake of fire to be tormented forever.

The stage is set for the eternal joy of God’s eternal kingdom.

Children’s Bible lesson Exodus 17 pt 2

Children’s Bible lesson for this week

God gives His people the victory when Moses worships Him

Exodus 17:8-16

After God had provided for His people with water from the rock, something frightening happened to them. Something that the nation of Israel, as God’s chosen nation, has faced throughout history. Another nation, called Amalek, came with its army to fight a war against Israel.

God had saved them from slavery in Egypt, provided food for them in the wilderness, and given them water even in places where there was none. But could He also help them defeat an army in war, even though none of them had ever fought a war before, nor been trained to use weapons?

The next day they would find out, and learn another new reason to worship God.

Moses told Joshua in the night to gather men who would go out and fight against Amalek in the morning. “I will go up on the hill tomorrow, and hold my staff in the air to the Lord.”

Joshua gathered the army, and Moses climbed the high hill overlooking the valley where the battle would happen. Moses had his brother Aaron the priest, and a man named Hur, with him. When the battle began, Moses worshiped God for all to see, holding his staff up high. Whenever this act was done, Israel was overwhelming their enemies on the battle field. But Moses was old, and his arms were so tired that he couldn’t hold them up all day. Whenever he took his hands down to rest, Amalek was stronger than Israel and started to defeat them.

So Aaron and Hur brought a large stone for Moses to sit down on, and they each stood beside him, to his right and his left. They held Moses’ arms up for him, and he was able to worship with his hands raised until the sun went down that night. Israel completely defeated Amalek, wiping them out entirely.

Moses built an altar there for worshiping God. He named the altar “The Lord is our Banner.” By this Moses declared that we win battles by praising God and depending on Him for the victory. One way to worship the Lord and let others see and know you are praising Him and relying on Him, is to lift up your hands so that all can see. That’s what Moses did, and God responded to Moses’ prayer and praise. He made the nation victorious over an enemy that was stronger than they were!

So there is power from God to help us when we praise Him and pray to Him for help.