We read Romans 3:23-26 and asked the kids how they felt about this passage and what they feel Jesus' redemption is all about according to these verses. We had the kids look at their fingerprints and discussed the uniqueness of them. We are all different, yet we all share something in common - we sin. Fortunately, we have another thing in common - we are all offered freedom from our sin. We talked about what is required of us to gain this freedom. We also talked about how "fair and just" it is that Jesus, who lived a perfect life, died for all the rest of us who sin. We emphasized that we cannot earn Jesus' redemption, but we do take action by believing in Him to receive His favor. It doesn't seem fair, but our sins require blood, and Jesus offered that blood so that we could have a relationship with Him. He died a brutal death on the cross for our sins. He took the punishment we each deserved and has "bought" or "redeemed" our lives.
While we considered all of this, we used a red ink pad and our fingerprints to make a cross on poster board while listening to "Redeemer" by Nicole C. Mullen.
Believing in the Messiah is more than just acknowledging the facts about His life - it is recognizing our part in His death and suffering. It's understanding what He did for us and what it means in our lives. True belief in the Messiah, the Redeemer, means your life changes. Being a Christian in name only doesn't cut it; calling yourself a Christian isn't what it's all about. It means your whole identity is changed.
We read 2 Corinthians 5:16-18 and talked about the words "new person", "new life", and "reconciling". What does it mean to have new life? What does it mean that we need to reconcile others to God? We talked about what needs to be renewed or be in our new nature according to Ephesians 4:22-24. Once Jesus has redeemed us, what things are we supposed to remove from our old way of life according to Colossians 3:5-14? What new things are we supposed to put on.
We gave the kids fabric bookmarks to decorate with markers and asked them to write down at least one of the qualities from the verses we read that they need to clothe themselves with.
Paul described taking off our old actions and putting on the new self. How good does it feel to take off clothes once they get dirty and grimy? Those of us who roofed the house on the missions trip last year could really relate! Putting on new clean clothes feels good. And that's the same feeling we should get as we respond to Jesus. Because Jesus died, we are no longer grimy and dirty. We have the chance to put on new clothes! And these clothes will identify us with Jesus.
So dress appropriately - in other words, put on spiritual items that honor Jesus. He has tailor-made your new spiritual clothes to fit you perfectly...and He's pursuing you to wear them. What does your wardrobe look like?
