1. Shaping Hearts Series Vegas Drive Church of Christ High School Bible Class

2. STOP…LOOK…LISTEN Today’s Lesson: God prepared the world for Jesus Theme: For us to be impressed by God wisely and powerfully preparing the world for Jesus Memory verse: Luke 2:10-11 Objective: To examine the scriptures that prophesy of Jesus’ coming Key terms: Messiah, prophecy, mystery

3. STOP…LOOK…LISTEN What is a Messiah? – Hebrew word for “anointed one” or “chosen one” What is a prophecy? – A message that foretells a future event What is a mystery? – Something that has not been explained or revealed, a secret Where in the Bible is the first prophecy of the Messiah? – Genesis 3:15 Who was the last prophet to prophesy of the Messiah? – John the Baptizer

4. STOP…LOOK…LISTEN Approximately how many prophecies of the Messiah are in the Old Testament? – Over 300 What are the odds of 1 person fulfilling all of them? What specific details are revealed in those prophecies: – What He would do – Where He would be born – The period of time during which He would come – What would happen to Him – His role in the kingdom

5. STOP…LOOK…LISTEN Before God created the world, He looked ahead and planned. – What did God see when He looked ahead? – What did God plan to do about it? (Eph. 3:11; 2 Tim. 1:9; Gal. 3:8) From the beginning, God has made Himself and His will known to man. By what means has He done this? – Through the wonders of all of creation (Psalm 19:1-2) – Through His appearances to man (Adam & Eve, Abraham, etc.) – Through angels (Exo. 3:2; Num. 22:21-35; Judges 13) – Through prophets & apostles (Moses, Elijah, Isaiah, etc.) – Through miracles (Mark 16:20; John 3:2; Acts 14:3; Heb. 2:4) – Through His Son (Hebrews 1:1-12; John 1:18) – Through His Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 2:10-13;2 Pet. 1:20-21)

6. STOP…LOOK…LISTEN God chose freely to reveal Himself to us. He could have just turned away from the world once He foresaw how sinful man would be. Or He could have destroyed us all. Why do you think God has made Himself and His will known to man? – To attract us to Himself – To develop a relationship with us – To teach us how to behave in a holy way that does not compromise that relationship – To give us information about the future – To give us a choice (freewill) either to believe or not believe Next we will examine some of the prophecies God used to revealed Himself to us…

7. STOP…LOOK…LISTEN Did the prophets of the Old Testament fully understand the events they prophesied? – No (1 Pet. 1:10-12; 2 Pet. 1:20-21) Did the N.T. Jews understand the prophecies correctly? – No (Matt. 13:13-14; Matt. 22:29; Luke 7:30; John 8:42-43; 1 Cor. 2:6-8) Why did they not understand? (Mark 12:24) – Their hearts were dull (Matt. 13:13-15; Acts 28:16-28) – They were deceived by Satan (John 8:42-44;1 Cor. 2:14) Is it still a mystery today? – No (Rom. 16:25-26; Eph. 1:9; 3:8-10; Col. 1:25-27; Matt. 10:26) Can we understand the mystery today? – Yes (2 Cor. 1:13; Eph. 3:4; 2 Tim. 2:7; 1 John 5:20)

8. STOP…LOOK…LISTEN Who was the Messiah? – Jesus of Nazareth, the Christ How do we know that Jesus was the Messiah? – Because He fulfilled all the prophecies (Luke 22:44) – Because He worked miracles of God (John 20:30-31; Acts 2:22) Did Jesus meet the expectations the Jews had of their Messiah? – No, they sought a hero to build an earthly kingdom

9. STOP…LOOK…LISTEN Let’s examine some of the major prophecies about the Messiah… – Genesis 3:15 (His victory over Satan; 1 John 3:8) – Genesis 12 (His role and bloodline) – Isaiah 53 (What would happen to Him; Acts 4:27-28) – Micah 5:2 (place of birth)

10. STOP…LOOK…LISTEN