Jesus Our Great High Priest. Hebrews 4:14-5:10

Transcription

1 Jesus Our Great High Priest Hebrews 4:14-5:10

2 MEMORY VERSE Hebrews 4:7b "Today if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts Hebrews 4:15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. What You Will Need: A Bible, paper and pencils Purple felt 1 ft. by 1 ft. squares Costume jewels and glue Gold ribbon 1 wide High Priest coloring sheets, one per child Crayons or magic markers Prizes for those who memorize Bible Verse or complete activity sheets Craft Activity: As children arrive for class, have them begin making a high priest breastplate together by gluing the costume jewels on the purple felt in four rows of three each [see coloring sheet]. Attach gold ribbon to top and bottom so it can be worm by a child later in the class. As children work together, ask them what they know about the high priest in the Old Testament. Share ideas to help them understand more about the office of the High Priest. Lesson Time Introduction: We learned some interesting things about the High Priest in the Old Testament. Who would like to share something you learned today? Be sure to share ideas like: the High Priest was chosen by God to represent the people, he went into the most holy place once a year to offer a sacrifice for the sins of the people, he wore special clothes God described to Moses, and he was always a man. Today we are going to learn that Jesus is our Great High Priest. Attention Grabber: Let s set up our classroom like the tabernacle in the Old Testament or the Temple in Jesus day. It had an outer court where anyone could go, an inner court where only Jewish men could go, then a Holy place where only the priests could go and last of all the Holy of Holies, where only the High Priest could go and only

3 once a year. Move tables and chairs to make a replica of the tabernacle [See handout]. Let s sit in the outer court and read about how Jesus is our Great High Priest. Hebrews 4:14-16 Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Jesus is our Great High Priest. He came to earth to live with us and show us what God is like. Then He died on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins. Each person has done things that separate us from God. Jesus came to show us what God is like and to bring us into His presence through His own sacrificial death. Just like in the Old Testament, the High Priest brought the blood of a lamb or a goat without any blemishes, Jesus was the perfect lamb. He gave His life to bring us back into God s presence. Hebrews 5:1-6 And For every high priest chosen from among men is appointed to act on behalf of men in relation to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. He can deal gently with the ignorant and wayward, since he himself is beset with weakness. Because of this he is obligated to offer sacrifice for his own sins just as he does for those of the people. And no one takes this honor for himself, but only when called by God, just as Aaron was. So also Christ did not exalt himself to be made a high priest, but was appointed by Him who said to him, You are my Son, today I have begotten you; as he says also in another place, You are a priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek. No man can choose to be the High Priest himself. God chose the sons of Aaron to be the priestly line. Aaron was the brother of Moses. God gave him the responsibility to offer sacrifices for the sins of the people. Once a year the High Priest would take the blood of the sacrifice into the Holy of Holies. Since he was going into the presence of the Lord, he had to have a rope tied on his leg. If he had sin in his he might die in the Holy of Holies and they would have to pull him out with the rope on his leg. This was a very sacred trust and responsibility. He would sanctify himself first by confessing his own sin before he went into God s presence. Jesus was perfect! He did not have to confess his sin because he was sinless. He was God s own son, yet he gave his life to bring us into the presence of the Lord. Jesus is our Great High Priest. Coloring Sheet:

4 Let s take some time now to color a picture of the High Priest. Let s talk about the different parts of his clothing and why they are significant. The breastplate we made earlier reminds us of the twelve tribes of Israel. The High Priest would carry them into the presence of God as a representation of carrying the whole Jewish nation into God s presence. Hebrews 5:7-10 In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to him who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence. Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered. And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him, being designated by God a high priest after the order of Melchizedek. The wonderful thing about Jesus is that he is ever living to make intercession for us in heaven. The Old Testament priest would die and a new priest would be appointed, but Jesus rose from the dead! He lives in heaven now praying for us. We can come boldly into God s presence because Jesus blood cleanses us from all our sins. Let s thank God for His wonderful forgiveness. Prayer: Dear Lord Jesus, thank you for being our great high priest. Thank you for dying on the cross to pay the price for our sins. You are a wonderful High Priest and we are so thankful to know your great love. Please forgive us our sins and bring us into God s Holy of Holies in heaven. Amen. Game: High Priest, May I? Have one student put on the breastplate you made earlier. He is the High Priest in this game. Start with all the children in the outer court and the High Priest in the Holy of Holies you set up in the classroom. The game is played like Mother, May I? One child at a time asks permission to come forward. The High Priest either says yes or no. The goal is to make it all the way into the Holy of Holies. Example: Child one asks, May I take three giant steps? High Priest, Yes, you may. Or No, you may take 1 giant and one baby step. Each child gets several turns before someone makes it to the Holy of Holies and becomes the new High Priest. When he gets to the Holy of Holies have him shout out: Jesus is our Great High Priest! Hebrews 5:11-14 About this we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing. For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food, for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil. What is the difference between milk and solid food? [Milk is a liquid and only babies can live on milk alone.] When you get older you need solid food. Jesus is reminding us that we need to study His Word and get to

5 know what it says about good and evil. God s Word is our standard for knowing what is right and wrong. Sometimes we are influenced by our friends to do something we know is not right. We need to practice standing up for righteousness, even if it means standing alone. That is how we exercise our powers of discernment. Each time you make a right choice it makes it easier to do it again and every time you give in to wrong, it makes it easier to do it again too. Let s pray for each other that we would be strong in the Lord and make wise decisions regarding right and wrong. Activity: Divide into pairs and have students pray for each other to be strong in the Lord this week at school, home or wherever we are.

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