What ’s So Good About Good Friday?
Verse of the Day
Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.
—Luke 2:11
Scan to Read Luke 1:68–75
“Once upon a time, there lived a great king.”
Mom paused and turned the page. “I don’t like this kind of story!” Jude complained. “It always has princesses and kissing at the end. Yucks!”
“ You haven’t given this one a chance,” Mom insisted. “It has a monster and a hero who saves the kingdom. No princesses, I promise. Anyway, the very best story of all is about a hero who came to rescue a princess.”
“No way! I’ll never listen to that story.” Jude scowled.
Mom laughed. “You’ve already heard that story. It is the story of the hero, Jesus. Remember? Jesus defeated Satan and saved His people from sin, which is disobedience to God. He didn’t do it with a sword or in a battle, but on the cross. He took our punishment for sin, and
set us free—just like a superhero who defeats the bad guys and saves the city.”
Mom pulled out her Bible and turned to the Gospel of Luke. “In Luke 1, Zechariah praises God for sending Jesus ‘to rescue us’ and ‘to enable us to serve him without fear in holiness and righteousness’ (vv.74-75). With Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we become a part of God’s family and seek to please Him.”
“I get it .” Jude nodded. Then he looked puzzled. “But there are no princesses in that story.”
PRAYER
Father, thank You for sending Jesus to rescue me from my sin. I accept Him as my Lord and Savior.
“There is a princess.” Mom smiled. “The Bible says that Jesus rescued us. Now, we are waiting for Him to come again. When He does, there will be a real ‘happily ever after’ ending.”
“ Wait! We’re the princess!” Jude exclaimed.
“ We are,” Mom replied. “And Jesus is our hero, rescuer, Lord, and Savior.” —HLO
Reflection
The Bible tells us that all of us have sinned, meaning we have all disobeyed God. Yet, God sent a rescuer to save us: Jesus. Do you want Jesus to be your hero, rescuer, Lord, and Savior? Say today’s prayer.
What Is Sin?
Verse of the Day
“Although you wash yourself with soap and use an abundance of cleansing powder, the stain of your guilt is still before me,” declares the Sovereign LORD. —Jeremiah 2:22
Scan to Read
Jeremiah 2:23, 25
“Hey, did somebody step on your blouse?”
Bethany asked Sue-Ann.
Sue-Ann smiled and let Bethany examine the blouse she kept in her backpack as a spare.
“That is not a shoe print . It’s the print of an iron!” Sue-Ann replied. “My mom accidentally left the hot iron on the blouse for too long!”
While the dir t of a shoe print can be washed off, the scorch mark of a hot iron is almost impossible to remove. Likewise, sin is a mark that is almost impossible to remove from our hearts. Sin is disobeying God and not trusting Him. We are all stained by the permanent mark of sin .
We can try to cover up our sin (“I’m a good person. See how many good things I do?”), pretend it’s not there (“There’s no sin in me. I’m just tired and stressed, that’s all!”), or try to forget about it by focusing on happy things (“Just relax! Let’s have fun!”).
However, the scorch mark of sin remains. In Jeremiah 2:22, God said through the prophet Jeremiah to His people: “Although you wash yourself with soap and use an abundance of cleansing powder, the stain of your guilt is still before me.”
PRAYER
Father, I want Jesus to remove the stain of sin in my heart. I want Him to be my Lord and Savior.
But , don’t despair. God has provided us with a guaranteed way of removing sin, now and forever. It is the only way to remove sin: He sent His Son Jesus Christ to die for our sins on the cross. Jesus is God’s solution to removing sin. And He is 100-percent effective, no exceptions.
To remove the stain of sin, don’t cover it up. Don’t pretend it’s not there. Don’t forget about it. Invite Jesus to be Lord and Savior of your life. —RW
Reflection
Read John 3:36. If you believe in Jesus as your Lord and Savior, He will take away your sin and give you eternal life. Talk to your parents more about what this means.
God ’s Big Re scue Mission
Jesus came to earth to carry out God’s mission, which was to save us from sin and death. It was not an easy mission, because He had to die in order to save us! John, an eyewitness, tells us that after Jesus died, He was buried in a tomb.
“At the place where Jesus was crucified, there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had ever been laid. Because it was the Jewish day of Preparation and since the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there” (John 19:41–42).
Did Jesus’ life end in the tomb? No! On the third day, Jesus came back to life. He conquered death and accomplished His mission. This was confirmed by many people who saw Jesus alive.
There are many sayings about Jesus and what He has done for us. But not everything is true! Can you tell if these statements below are true (T) or false (F) ?
1. God sent Jesus to rescue us. T / F
2. Jesus was killed by a monster. T / F
3. We can remove sin by washing ourselves with soap. T / F
4. Jesus took the punishment for our sins. T / F
5. Jesus died and was buried in a tomb. T / F
6. We become God’s family when we believe in Jesus. T / F
7. Jesus rescues only good people. T / F
8. Jesus was punished because He sinned. T / F
9. We need to believe in Jesus to be saved. T / F
Did you manage to figure out the 9 statements? On the next page, use your answers to help the hero embark on his journey!
Save the People in the Burning House!
U se your answers on page 13 to help the the people trapped in the burning house. or gets injured, try changing your answer back on the right path!
fireman find his way to If he meets a dead end to help the fireman get