? ? 12 What is the CHURCH doing today ?

The church (Christians) are spreading the Gospel

? ? 1 WHAT i s a Christian?

Gospel beads -the first knot: You are unique, you matter to God and he cares deeply about you.

BLACK Each of us has a big problem; we are spoiled by sin. We haven’t always followed God’s ways and we haven’t always trusted and obeyed him. Sin spoils our relationship with God. Our relationship needs mending.

BLACK symbolises our sin. Romans 3:23 All of us have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory.

RED Jesus, God’s Son, came to earth to deal with the problem of sin. He did this by living a perfect life, dying in our place and being raised to life. Jesus shed his blood on the cross when he died in our place.

RED symbolises Jesus’ blood. Romans 3:25 God sent Christ to be our sacrifice. Christ offered his life’s blood, so that by faith in him we could come to God.

WHITE When we accept what Jesus has done and put our trust in him we are made clean from our sin. God forgives us freely and our relationship with him is made right.

WHITE symbolises being clean from our sin. Romans 3:24 But God treats us much better than we deserve, and because of Christ Jesus, he freely accepts us and sets us free from our sins.

BLUE Everyone who is forgiven becomes a follower of Jesus and receives the Holy Spirit. The Spirit is God with us, helping us, reminding us of God’s love for us and changing us to be more like Jesus.

BLUE symbolises the Holy Spirit in us. Romans 5:5 God has given us the Holy Spirit, who fills our hearts with his love.

GREEN We grow as followers of Jesus, as we pray, read God’s word, and meet with other Christians. God has promised to help us to grow.

GREEN symbolises our growth as followers of Jesus. 2 Peter 3:18 Let the wonderful kindness and the understanding that come from our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ help you to keep on growing. Praise Jesus now and for ever! Amen.

YELLOW As Christians we have a hope for the future. We know Jesus will return to make everything right and do away with sin forever. We trust God’s promise that we will enjoy eternal life with him.

YELLOW symbolises eternal life, full of joy and all that is good. Romans 5:2 Christ has also introduced us to God’s undeserved kindness on which we take our stand. So we are happy, as we look forward to sharing in the glory of God.

End knot: God is faithful to all his promises to us. Christians trust that God is with us, looking after us and working all things together for good in our lives.

John 3:16 (CEV) God loved the people of this world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who has faith in him will have eternal life and never really die.

? ? 1 WHAT i s the Gospel?

Video – The Gospel Message (10 mins)

In your books…Why is this message so important?

This message is so important because Jesus came to say that the only way to have a relationship with God who created us, is through Him.

Matthew 28:18-20 (CEV) Jesus came to them and said: I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth! Go to the people of all nations and make them my disciples. Baptise them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and teach them to do everything I have told you. I will be with you always, even until the end of the world.

Video: What Is Baptism?

In your books… If you wanted to spread this message around the world, how would you do it?

Questions based on Matthew 28:18-20 (CEV) 1.What did Jesus tell His disciples to do? 2.What did Jesus promise His disciples? 3.Can you think of examples of when Jesus’ followers did this? 4.Jesus spoke these words almost 2000 years ago. How do we know people have been spreading the news about Jesus ever since?

Class memory quiz (pages 22 and 23 of Big Questions) Listen to your teacher read about what the church is doing in 4 different countries around the world (Chile, Ethiopia, France and China) then try to answer the questions you are asked based on what you can remember.