VERSES: John 12:20- 50
MEMORY VERSE: John 12:48 "...the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day."
BOOK TO REMEMBER: Job. Write "Job" on small slips of paper and hand out at the end of Bible class, so the students may memorize another Old Testament book at home. Note: "Job" is pronounced with a long "o" sound and rhymes with "robe."
PRAYER: Thank God for being a just God and for His perfect Word that will judge us in the last day. Pray that we will read the Bible every day and apply all that we learn to our lives.
SPECIAL SONG: Read, Read Every Day (see February 2014 - Songs We Sing In Bible Class #1 on this blog. Click orange circle for tune.), The Bible, The Bible (see February 2014 - Songs We Sing In Bible Class #3 on this blog. Click orange circle for tune.), The B-I-B-L-E (see February 2014 - Songs We Sing In Bible Class #3 on this blog. Click on orange circle for tune).
VISUAL AID: Drawing of the Activity on the white board or chalkboard. (see below)
LESSON POINTS:
- Many people today may have heard that there is a Judgment at the end of time, but few believe that it will happen, some live in fear of an "unknown" outcome, and others do not think that it is necessary to live any differently than they are living now since God is a loving God. Has God left us on our own without any true guidance until that day? Must we live in fear and be afraid of what our judgment will be? Must we change our life?
- Jesus had just finished talking about the death that He was going to endure in a few days. He talked to the Greek men that Philip and Andrew had brought to Him. Jesus said that His hour had come. He wanted everyone to serve and follow Him. Jesus said that anyone who would serve Him would be honored by His Father in Heaven. All that people had to do was to obey Jesus' commands.
- While Jesus was saying these things, there came a voice from heaven that said, "I have both glorified it and will glorify it again." All the people who stood by and heard it thought that it sounded like thunder. Other people said that an angel spoke to Jesus. But Jesus said that the voice came for the people's behalf, not because of Him. Jesus said that He would be lifted up from the earth and all men would be drawn to Him. Jesus was telling the people how He was going to die, but the people did not understand.
- The people had seen many miracles that Jesus had performed. He had healed many, many different sick people during the three and a half years that Jesus had been preaching and teaching, but some still did not believe that He was the Son of God. Isaiah had prophesied about Jesus and all of his prophesies were coming true. Many of the chief rulers or important people believed on Jesus, but they were afraid that the Pharisees would throw them out of the synagogue because they loved the praise of men rather than the praise of God.
- Jesus said that the person who rejected His words had one that would judge him. The words that Jesus had spoken would judge him in the last day. What did Jesus say would judge every person? HIS WORDS! It will not be a surprise or a secret what we will be held accountable to at the end of time. We know what standard to which the Lord will hold us. HIS WORDS. All the things that Jesus had spoken came from God, His Father, and in this lesson, we learn that HIS WORDS will be what will judge us in the last day. We will be accountable for doing the Lord's Will, and we know where all of those things written. They are written in the Bible.
- God is definitely a loving God, but He is also a just God.
- He tells us that there will be a Judgment Day where we will account for all the things we have done in this life, the good and the bad.
- We do not need to live in fear if we are living the way that the Lord wants us to live and we have obeyed Him.
- We must live the way God wants us to live in order to please Him. If we are not living that way, then, yes, we need to change the way that we are living. God's way is best.
"Older Student" Tips:
- People will tell us that we only need to live by what we feel is right. They say that the Bible is just another book. They say it does not matter how we live, we only need to feel that is the right way. Not true! The Bible is from God and is inspired by God (2 Timothy 3:16, 17). We will not be judged by "what I feel is right"; we will be judged by the Word of God as it says in our lesson today. Do we believe what people say or do we believe what God says in the Bible?
- God has given us warning! We need to live in a way that is accordance to His Will which we find in the Bible. Many people will be disappointed on that last great day. It will be a worse feeling than arriving at school and discovering there will be a very important test that day and we haven't studied a bit. There is more to lose by not living God's way. We can lose our soul's salvation.
- Read 2 Corinthians 5:10. Discuss the words "must," "all," and "whether it be good or bad."
ACTIVITY: "What Will Judge Us In The Last Day?"
Materials needed: 8.5" x 11" white paper, markers, crayons.
- Hand out white paper.
- Fold white paper in half.
- On the outside of the folded paper, write "What Will Judge Us In The Last Day?"
- Open paper.
- With a crayon or marker, round corners and draw a line down the fold.
- With crayon or markers, draw parallel lines on the left and right sides of the unfolded paper. This should resemble a book.
- Draw curved lines, so the age looks like an open book.
- Draw small black lines between parallel lines to resemble pages.
- Color pages yellow.
- In the middle of the unfolded paper, write "John 12:48" and "...the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day."
- Fold paper to the back.
- On the back of the paper, write "There should be no surprises! It's not 'what I feel is right'--it's God's Word!"
- Fold paper to take home.
