Jesus: The Real Life Lesson 1

Jesus: The Real Life Lesson 1 Writer: Chip Henderson Project Supervisor: Nick Diliberto Artwork: Creative Juice Editor: Sue Vernon Created by MinistryToYouth.com 2014 Copyright MinistryToYouth.com 1

JESUS: THE REAL LIFE Week 1: Jesus, the Man/God Bible Passage: John 1:1-2, Colossians 1:17, The four Gospels Bottom Line: Jesus was 100% God and 100% man, at the same time! SUPPLIES Opening Game: 4 Klondike Bars; various gross/hot items for each round Teach: None Supplies: Bibles, Man vs. God cards, writing utensils OPENING GAME: What Would You Do for A Klondike Bar? Supplies: 4 Klondike Bars; various gross items for each round (suggested items listed below. Before you begin: Explain to the students that since there are so many reality shows out there, you thought you d start up your own called, What Would You Do for a Klondike Bar? It will be kind of like the Survivor eating game. Explain that you are going to select four participants to come to the stage and then you will reveal something for them to eat. Participants will have to decide if they are willing to eat a food item that will be placed in front of them. They must decide quickly, because only the first student to eat the item will be rewarded - with a Klondike Bar. How to play: Select four students to come forward for each round, and have them stand behind a table. Place a plate (or cup) with a food item, covered with a napkin, in front of each participant. All participants should have the same food item in front of them. Instruct the students to remove the napkin on the count of three. Count to three, and then, while the participants are deciding if they will eat the food item, have the audience sing, What would you do-o-o for a Klondike Bar? Then say Go. Make sure they know they can not start until you say Go. The first person to eat the food in front of them is the winner and receives a Klondike Bar. Play four different rounds, selecting different participants each time. (I suggest trying to get both genders from different grades and have them cheer on their same gender/grade. For example, 9 th grade girls would cheer for the 9 th grade girl on the stage.) 2014 Copyright MinistryToYouth.com 2

Suggested food items (push the limit on this one, if you dare): can of anchovies, prune juice, Not-so-Happy Meal (blend up a Happy Meal), cat food, box of Hot Tamales, and super sour candies After the game, ask the following questions: 1. What is your favorite reality TV show? 2. Why do you like watching it? What makes a good reality TV show? 3. What do you think a reality show about Jesus would have been like? What might have made it fun to watch? TEACH Supplies: None Open by asking, Do any of you watch reality TV shows? Which ones? (Take answers). I think a lot of those shows are funny, because there isn t much reality to them. A lot of them are just scripted by the producers for entertainment. My family and I watch {insert and briefly talk about your favorite reality show if you have one} Duck Dynasty. It s great because it s a show built around a good Christian family in Louisiana who have lots of money, but haven t allowed money to change who they are and their hillbilly ways. Over the next six weeks, we are going to have our own reality series. Maybe you guessed: It s going to be about Jesus. We are going to call it Jesus: The Real Life. We are going to take a look at the amazing life of Jesus when He was here on Earth. We ll be taking a look at exactly who He is, the reality of the things He did while on Earth, and the things that He really said. But before we begin, let me ask you another question: What does it mean to be a Christian? (Take answers; if nobody else says it, suggest that a Christian is someone who believes in Jesus ) Did you know that, according to Wiki.Answers, there are around 2 Billion people in the world who claim to be Christians. That means 2 billion people claim to believe that Jesus was a real man who lived on Earth and died for their sins. Do you think that 2 billion people on Earth have truly chosen to be FOLLOWERS of Jesus, and believe what the Bible says, that He is the only way to eternal life? See, I think that if you are going to claim to be a follower of something, then you better know exactly who and what you are following. Your actions should definitely demonstrate that you really are a follower. 2014 Copyright MinistryToYouth.com 3

Think about it, if I claimed to be a follower of the San Francisco Giants (insert any sports team), what would that mean about me? What would I wear? What things would I know? (Take answers) Right, if I was a follower of the Giants, then I would probably know a lot about them, I d root for them, know about their past and have strong emotions when they win and lose. Think about that in terms of Jesus and calling yourself a Christian. There was a man that lived on Earth 2000 years ago that claimed to be the Savior of the World and the only way to Heaven. By calling yourself a Christian, a follower of Jesus, it means you believe that Jesus was telling the truth. So, in this reality show over the next 6 weeks, we are going to examine the life of Jesus, get to know exactly what we believe and who we are following. In today s episode, we are going to first learn some basic facts about Jesus, to help us better understand the stories we will talk about in future weeks. Let s pray as we take our first look at His amazing life. [Pray] So, let s take a look at some of the important facts about Jesus: The Real Life. The Facts About Jesus 1: Jesus was indeed a real person that lived on Earth 2000 years ago. First, we know for a fact that Jesus was indeed a real person that lived on Earth 2000 years ago. Even the historians who don t believed that Jesus is the Savior of the world agree that Jesus did exist. He wasn t made up, or just a makebelieve character in a story. In fact, there is more evidence about the existence of Jesus than just about anybody else in the ancient world. There is more evidence about the existence of Jesus than just about anybody else in the ancient world. That means there is more physical evidence that Jesus lived on Earth than all the people of ancient times who you read about in your text books at school and we never question whether those people existed. We can read about a Jesus of Nazareth many more places than just the Bible, for instance a Roman Historian named Tacitus wrote about Jesus in his roman books. According to Wikipedia, Geoffrey Blainey, a prominent Australian historian, writes that Jesus life was in 2014 Copyright MinistryToYouth.com 4

fact astonishingly documented by the standards of the time more so than any of his contemporaries with numerous books, stories, and memoirs written about him. There is very little argument between historians about the existence of Jesus. Whether or not they believe in Him as the Son of God and Savior of the world, almost all serious historians agree that Jesus was a real person who lived a real life (see en.wikipedia.org/wiki/historicity_of_jesus). 2: We read about Jesus life on Earth through the four gospels. However, most of where we learn about the life of Jesus is from the Bible, specifically the first four book of the New Testament. Who can tell me what those four books are? (Have student answer) Right: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Each of the four gospels (gospel means good news ) were written by four different guys from four different perspectives. Matthew was a tax-collector who became a disciple of Jesus (Matthew 9:9). His original name was Levi before he traveled with Jesus and got to witness all that he wrote about Jesus. Mark knew the Apostle Peter, who was another disciple of Jesus. Mark s stories about Jesus were told to him by his buddy, Peter, who witnessed them. Luke was a doctor, who didn t witness the events of Jesus, but traveled around after Jesus went to Heaven and talked to people who witnessed everything and wrote down everything he learned. He wrote his findings in the book of Luke, which is about the life of Jesus, and then in the book of Acts, which is all about the early Church. John was also a disciple of Jesus and He witnessed all of Jesus life. His gospel is written very differently than the other three. John went on to write a few other books in the Bible including the book of Revelation. What s cool about having four gospels that were included in the Bible is that we get to see and hear about Jesus life in four different ways. Each book is unique and gives us different looks at different events of Jesus life. It s like having four written about the life of Abraham Lincoln, only we get to see all four in the same book, The Bible. But why did God include four books about the same thing? It s like this: imagine you went to a baseball game with three of your friends, and when you got picked up by your mom, she asked you to describe how the game went. Somebody might focus on the play on the field, or talk about certain 2014 Copyright MinistryToYouth.com 5

players and how they did. Another friend might describe how the field looked and smelled, or about the food you ate. Maybe another would talk about the players outfits (must be a girl). Each of you would be describing the same event, but from four different perspectives each highlighting different things. But all of them would be true and from an eye-witness account. That s why God gave us the four different gospels that all highlight different angles and thoughts about the real life of Jesus: so that we could see four different perspectives. Now, here is another fact about Jesus history that is really cool. When do you think Jesus was created? (Take answers) It s a trick question, because Jesus began his earthly life about 2000 years ago but Jesus was never created. Jesus is the eternal God. Sometimes we think of Jesus as the man who was on Earth and died on the Cross. But the Bible Clearly shows that Jesus IS God. Jesus, the carpenter from Nazareth, said that he who has seen Him (Jesus) has seen the Father (John 14:9). He said that He existed before Abraham (John 8:58), and that He was equal with the Father (John 5:17, 18). Jesus claimed the ability to forgive sins (Mark 2:5 7), which the Bible teaches was something that God alone could do (Isaiah 43:25). The New Testament equated Jesus as the creator of the universe (John 1:3), and that He is the one who holds everything together (Colossians 1:17). John 1:1-2 We read in John 1:1-2 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. All of these verses help us to know that Jesus is God, that He and the Father are one, that He is the creator, and that He was never created Himself. So based on that, do you think Jesus existed in the Old Testament before He came to Earth? You bet! Here is something you can go home and teach your parents. 3: THE angel of the Lord in the Old Testament is Jesus before He came to Earth. Anytime you read in the Old Testament about THE angel of the Lord, like with Joshua in Joshua 2, or Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in Daniel 3, Abraham in Genesis 18 the angel of the Lord is the pre-incarnate Jesus. Pre-incarnate 2014 Copyright MinistryToYouth.com 6

means Jesus before He took human form on Earth. Prior to taking human form on Earth, Jesus appears as what? THE angel of the Lord. So wait a minute, let s back up for a second. How can Jesus be God and a man at the same time? Was He just partly God and partly a man? You need to understand this about Jesus, and it s going to be a little hard. This is super important and why I saved this point for last. Jesus was 100% man and 100% God. At the same time! 4: Jesus was 100% man and 100% God at the same time! That means that while He was on Earth, He was fully a human being. He felt pain like a man, had emotions like a man, was born from his mama s belly like a man, and He was tempted to sin, just like a man. He had a heart, lungs, eyes, ears (and yes, even that) all the parts of the body, because He was 100% man. But he was also 100% God and didn t give up being God just because He was down on Earth. He still had all of his heavenly powers, all of God s attributes and even put some of those on display while He was here (as we will talk about in a few weeks). Now, I know that some of these concepts about Jesus are a little heavy, but they are important to understand before we dig into the rest of His life. It s important to realize that the person Jesus really existed, that we can read about His story in the gospels of the Bible, that he was never created and is one with the Father, and that He was 100% man and 100% God while on Earth. Once we understand those things, it will help us understand His action and life that much better. Next week, we are going to dive into Jesus: The Early Years and take a look at when Jesus was a preteen. Scary I wonder if He got zits? [Pray and dismiss to small groups] 2014 Copyright MinistryToYouth.com 7

SMALL GROUP Activity: Man vs. God Supplies: Bibles, writing utensils, Jesus is Man card, Jesus is God card The Activity: Students will have a race between teams within a group to see who can find the most evidence of how we know Jesus was all man vs. how we know Jesus was all God. Before the Activity: Divide your small group into two different teams. Make sure each team has at least one Bible, or that each student has a Bible. Pass out the Jesus is Man card to one team, and the Jesus is God card to the other team. Have each team choose a captain who will write the answers on that teams card. What to do: On go, have each team look up the four verses listed on their card and in the blank space write in the answer to the question: How does this prove Jesus was God (or a man)? The first team to get all four answers on their paper wins. After the game, discuss the following questions: Jesus is Man team, what are the four answers that you found in the Bible that show us Jesus was all man while on Earth? Jesus is God team, what are the four answers that you found in the Bible that show us Jesus was all God while on Earth? Why do you think it s important to believe Jesus was 100% man and 100% God while on Earth? Does it make a difference if He wasn t? (Tell them that it does because Jesus didn t give up part of being God, and if He wasn t fully man He never could have been the perfect sacrifice for our sins) If someone were to ask you why you believe Jesus is God and the Savior of the world, how would you answer them? How would you explain to them that Jesus could be 100% man and 100% God at the same time? Do you have any other questions about the Jesus? (if you can, write these down, so that we can try to answer some later) 2014 Copyright MinistryToYouth.com 8