1 True Story from the Bible:
This is a summary story of the Most High God’s relationship with the world. This story is from a book called the Bible. Men did not make up the Bible. It is the word of the Most High God. The Most High God is more powerful than any ancestor, person, government or god that people worship. This story is true and reliable because it is the word of the Most High God.
2 Created for a Relationship with God
There is only one God, and He is the Most High God. He existed in the beginning before there was anything else. The Most High God is the Creator. He created everything on earth and in heaven and is all powerful over everything. When God began to create things, He just used His words. He spoke and everything came to being. He created angels to worship and serve Him. They were very beautiful. He also created everything we can see — the sky, land, water, mountains, oceans, sun, moon, stars, all plant and animals. Finally, He created man according to His image. God created man to enjoy all that He has created. God created everything and saw that it was good.
3 God and man in Relationship
God placed the man and woman in a beautiful garden to live. They had a very good relationship with Him and with each other. He told them to take care of the garden and enjoy everything. He gave them a special command: they could eat from every tree in the garden except one. If they ate from that one tree, they would be punished and die. The man and woman listened to God and had a wonderful relationship with Him in the garden. God created us to have a wonderful relationship with Him forever!
4 Fall of the Devil
However, do you remember the angels God created? One of the angels was very smart and beautiful. This angel became very proud. He wanted to be like God and to have the other angels to worship him instead of God. Only God deserves all the worship and service. Therefore God cast the disobedient angel, the devil, and the other angels who listened to him out of heaven. These bad angels are known as demons.
5 People are Separated from God
One day, the devil tempted woman to eat the food from the tree that was forbidden. The woman listened to the devil and ate the fruit. Then she gave it to her husband to eat. Both of them disobeyed God’s command. Disobeying God’s command is sin. God is righteous and holy. He must punish sin. God cast the man and the woman out of the garden, and their relationship with God was broken. Human beings and God were now separated forever.
All Have Sinned:
Like the first man and the woman, all people like us since then have sinned by not listening to God’s commands and are separated from God. The result of sin is eternal punishment in hell. We cannot live forever with God as we were designed.
6 People Can’t Come Back to God
10 Commands: Over time, the number of people on earth multiplied. Yet God loved them very much and wanted them to have a relationship with Him. He gave them 10 commandments to follow. Remember God is perfect and holy, so we must be perfect and holy to live with him. The 10 commandments teach people how to relate to God and how to relate to people. Some of the commands were: do not worship other gods or make idols; honor your parents; do not lie, steal, murder or commit adultery. However, no one was able to obey all of these commands.
7 Sacrifices
So, each time they sinned, God allowed them to repent of their sins and offer a blood sacrifice to take the place of their punishment. This sacrifice was shedding the blood of a perfect animal like a lamb. If they would repent and offer the blood sacrifice, God would forgive them and let the animal die in their place. Only by the shedding of blood can a person’s sin be forgiven. However, people kept sinning and the sin sacrifice became a ritual rather than something from their heart. God became tired of their insincere acts. People were still separated from God. We cannot come back to God on our own no matter what we do.
8 Jesus Comes to Earth
God Sends Jesus: However, God still loved us very much. Therefore He gave us a perfect way to reconnect to Him. God sent Jesus to show us the way back to Himself. Who is Jesus? Jesus is God’s one and only son.
9 Teacher
When Jesus was on earth, He was a wise teacher. Many people would come to hear Him teach about how they could return to God.
10 Storm
Jesus was also a powerful miracle worker. On one occasion, He was with some of His followers crossing a large lake on a boat. It was late at night. While Jesus was sleeping, a powerful storm arose on the lake. Jesus’ followers were very afraid. They awakened Jesus and said, “We are about to die!” Jesus rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Immediately the wind and rained stopped. Jesus’ power is greater than the powers of the world
11 Feeding the 5000
On another occasion over 5,000 people came to listen to Jesus teach about God. When evening came they had not eaten and were hungry. Altogether they only had five loaves of bread and two fish. Jesus used the five loaves of bread and two fish to feed over 5,000 people. Jesus’ power is able to satisfy man’s needs
12 Demon-possessed Man
Another time, Jesus saw a man with many demons inside him. The man was very powerful and dangerous. Yet Jesus loved the man and cast the demons out of him. Jesus is more powerful than the evil spiritual world.
13 Raising the Dead
Finally, on another occasion, Jesus’ good friend became sick and died. Jesus was not with him. Several days later Jesus arrived at His friend’s house. Jesus felt very sad. His friend was already in the tomb. Jesus went to the front of the tomb and said, “Friend, come out.” His friend was rose up and walked out of the tomb alive! Jesus’ power is greater than death.
Love: Jesus did all these things because He loves people and wants us all to come back to God
14 Jesus, the Perfect Sacrifice
Perfect: Unlike us, Jesus never sinned. He obeyed His Father in heaven perfectly. He alone never deserved to be punished.
Cross: Therefore most people loved Jesus. However, there some religious leaders were jealous of Jesus. These men arrested Jesus and decided to kill Him. They placed Jesus on a large cross which is two large pieces of wood shaped in a “T”. They took His hands and His feet and nailed them to the cross. His precious blood flowed from His hands, feet and body. Jesus suffered much pain on the cross.
Substitute: Jesus is the perfect sacrifice. Jesus was perfect and did not deserve to die. Instead, Jesus died for all mankind. God loves us and allowed Jesus to die on the cross in our place. Only through the shedding of Jesus’ precious blood was God able to forgive our sin. Jesus death demonstrates God’s love towards us.
15 Reurrection
After Jesus died, he was placed in a secure tomb. However this story doesn’t end here. On the third day Jesus rose from the dead and showed Himself to His followers! Then He returned to His Father in heaven. Jesus took our punishment and now provides a way for us to come back to God!
16 The Wandering Son
Before He left the earth, Jesus told a story to his followers about a father and his sons.
A Son Leaves: The father had two sons. The younger one said to his father, “Father, give me my share of the inheritance.” So he divided his property between them. The younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there wasted his wealth in wild living.
17 Comes to His Senses
After he had spent everything, he began to be in need. So he went and got a lowly job feeding pigs. He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything. One day he came to his senses. He said, “How many of my father’s hired men have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired men.’”
18 Repents
So he got up and went to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him. He ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him. The son said to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.”
Restored: But the father said to his servants, “Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.” So they began to celebrate
19 How to Come Back to God
Jesus Brings Us Back: We are all like the younger son. We all have left God and are forever separated from Him. We all must repent of our sins and return to God. Only Jesus can lead us back to God’s side and make us His son or daughter. We can live with Him forever in heaven.
Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6
20 Living Forever with God
Question: We must go through Jesus to return to God. How can we go through Jesus? You must admit to God that you have sinned against Him. You must believe that Jesus died in your place. You put your trust in Jesus to bring you back and give you eternal life as God’s son or daughter. From that point on, you let Jesus be your Master and obey His word
Do you want to let Jesus bring you back to God?
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