1. How do some believers refuse the God’s gift of authority?
2. Give one example of the correct way to use the authority given to us by God.
3. James 4:7 says, “ _________ yourselves, then, to God. ________ the devil, and he will ______ from you.
Answers
1. By living unholy and disobedient lives.
2. Any one out of the following three: Rebuking and commanding sickness to leave when we pray for the sick. Commanding demons to leave in the name of Jesus. Resisting Satan in the Name of Jesus, when he tempts us.
3. submit, resist, flee.
“Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no
authority except that which God has established. The authorities
that exist have been established by God.”
Romans 13:1
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Sin – Its Origins Romans 5:12
Materials: A machete, a knife, a bow (and arrows) and piece of wood carved to look like a gun. If you cannot get the items, bring pictures of them.
Lesson: The things in front of you are weapons that are used very often during battle. (Show the students the weapons.) Many times, wars are started by one person who decides to not obey the law or not follow the rules or regulations that have been set. (You may give an example of a war your students might be familiar with and explain how it started.)
Sin also has a beginning. The Word of God explains that the rebellion of Satan was the beginning of sin (read Revelation 12:7-9). The Bible teaches that in the beginning, Satan was a very beautiful angel. He lived in heaven with God, but later he wanted to be equal with God. He was filled with jealousy and pride, and because of that he rebelled. When he did that, God expelled him from heaven, and he was able to influence about a third of the angels in heaven to follow him. These became demons who now do the work of Satan. So Satan became the origin of sin in the earth. Sin entered the earth when Satan tempted Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden, and they broke the command of God by eating fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (read Genesis 3:1-7). When sin entered the world, it became the source of all evil and wickedness that we see today. But, it is not enough to talk about the origins of sin and how it began on the earth. We need to also understand the origin of sin in every human being. The Bible teaches us that we are all sinners (read Romans 5:12). Because of that first sin, we have been born sinners and all of us have committed sin individually at some point.
Okay, so we have seen the origin of sin, how it entered the world and how it began in every human being. Maybe we would like to blame Satan or Adam and Eve, thinking that they are the ones who did wrong. It’s true that they started this, but eventually we must also agree that we too are sinners. We are not innocent. But like we have already learned in past lessons, Jesus is the answer to overcoming sin, and to our forgiveness of sin.
Life Application: I trust that now you understand the origin of sin. I am sure you would not want to start anything bad, like a war or a fight. And in the same way I know that you don’t want to sin. Remember that Jesus is the answer to this problem. He is the only one who can stop this sinful condition in our lives. Let’s ask Jesus to help us live like he wants us to, free
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Sin – Its Consequences Revelation 21:8
Materials: A machete, a knife, a bow (and arrows) and a carved gun, or pictures of these weapons.
Lesson: When weapons are used in war, bad things happen. (Show them the weapons and explain a little how they cause problems. You might even give an example of some devastation that was caused through the use of weapons. Be sure that your explanation is age appropriate.)
There is something else which has even worse consequences than weapons of war, and that is sin. The results of sin in society also can be very, very bad. The Bible tells us that sin destroys the image of God that is in each one of us because we were created by God (read Ephesians 4:22). When God created human beings, He created them in a perfect condition. Sin has ruined that perfect condition in man. And it was not man only who was ruined by sin. Sin brings a curse upon creation as a whole. This universe was created in a good and perfect state, but now because of sin, things are not the same any more. Instead, we have problems, suffering, destruction and death (read Genesis 3:14-19). Disease and eventual death are other bad results of sin (read Romans 5:12; Revelation 21:8.) All those consequences are bad, but the most negative result of all is that sin destroys the relationship between man and God (read Isaiah 59:2). Being separated from our God is the most negative consequence of sin that has happened to us. And this is not a temporary consequence but an eternal one. God cannot live with sin, and so sinners cannot come close to Him. As you can see, the outcomes of sin are very, very severe and terrible.
We cannot ignore sin because its consequences are bad and affect us severely. Nor is it good to lose hope and say, “This is how we are. There is nothing we can do.” God Himself has a solution. He has sent His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to be a sacrifice for our sins. And because of Jesus we can be forgiven of our sins and live with God in heaven forever and ever.
Life Application: We have seen how terrible the consequences of sin are, in society and on the earth. These results affect all of us. But we have also been reminded of how Jesus can remove those consequences and enable us to live with our God in heaven forever. Let’s thank God for His wonderful grace, for solving the problems that came about because of sin. (If you would like, you can invite students to receive Christ as their Savior. It is also appropriate to lead the students in a general prayer of repentance, encouraging them to avoid sin so that
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Questions from Lessons on Sin
Lesson 1: Sin — Its Origins