Four Friends Helped

 Don't forget to set your clocks back one hour Saturday night.
 
Matthew 9:1-8; Mark 2:1-12; Luke 5:17-26

 Thank you for continuing this journey of The Gospel Project^® for Kids. When was the last time someone cut a hole in the church roof while you were listening to your pastor? In Sunday’s Bible account, Jesus was in Capernaum, a city on the Sea of Galilee. The Pharisees and scribes—teachers of the law—came to listen to Jesus’ teaching. They were curious about His message and wanted to make sure He was teaching things that were true. So many people came that they crowded the house until there was no more room.

That day, four friends came to see Jesus. The four men carried their friend who was paralyzed. The men believed Jesus came from God and that He could heal people. Because the four could not get through the crowd, they carried their friend to the roof and lowered him down to Jesus.



Jesus’ words to the paralyzed man surprised the Pharisees and teachers of the law. Rather than saying, “Get up and walk,” Jesus said, “Your sins are forgiven.” The religious leaders kept quiet, but Jesus knew their thoughts. In their hearts, they accused Jesus of blasphemy, dishonoring God by claiming to do what only God can do.



Jesus asked them, “Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’?” Simply saying, “Your sins are forgiven,” seems to be the easier thing, but to actually forgive sins is harder, something only God can do. As God, Jesus has the power and authority to heal and forgive. And Jesus would take the man’s sins upon Himself on the cross. The man who was paralyzed needed to be healed. Jesus knew this and did something even greater; Jesus forgave his sins, and then He healed the man. Because Jesus is God, He has the power and authority to heal and forgive. Jesus offers forgiveness to those who trust in Him.

Jesus Cleansed a Leper

Matthew 8:1-4; Mark 1:40-45; Luke 5:12-16



Thank you for continuing this journey of The Gospel Project^® for Kids. In ancient Israel, living with a skin disease wasn’t easy. It was painful and isolating. Leprosy is a disease caused by bacteria, and it affects the skin, nerves, and mucous membranes. The disease can cause deformities in hands and feet and paralysis of some muscles. Leprosy is contagious, and the people of Israel had laws about what to do when a person becomes infected.


In Sunday’s Bible account, a man with a serious skin disease approached Jesus and fell down before Him. “If You are willing, You can make me clean,” he said to Jesus. The man’s words were more of a truthful declaration than a request. He clearly trusted in Jesus’ power to heal people, and he longed to be healed himself.

Jesus reached out and touched the man. “I am willing,” He said. Typically, no one touched a leper. Touching an unclean person would make you unclean too. But Jesus didn’t become unclean; instead, the diseased man was immediately healed.

Not only did Jesus have the power to make a leper clean, He also was willing to make him clean. Like the disease of leprosy, sin deeply affects all people and makes them spiritually dead. Jesus willingly died on the cross and rose from the dead to save us from our sin and give us new life.

Jesus Healed Peter's Mother-in-Law

Matthew 8:14-17; Mark 1:29-31; Luke 4:38-39

Thank you for continuing this journey of The Gospel Project^® for Kids. Jesus’ fame was increasing. His ministry had begun with the calling of His disciples. Now Jesus traveled with them in the region of Galilee, teaching and performing miracles. The people recognized that Jesus wasn’t like other teachers; He taught with authority. He had even demonstrated His power over evil spirits by healing a man in the synagogue. News about Jesus was spreading. The subject of conversation around Galilee was changing. Who was this Jesus?

Jesus was in Capernaum when He went into the house of Simon Peter and Andrew, two of His disciples. Peter’s mother-in-law also lived in the house, but she was ill. A fever had confined her to bed. Jesus’ disciples told Jesus about the woman’s condition, and Jesus went to her side. Touching the woman’s hand, Jesus healed her. She immediately got up and began to serve Jesus and the others in the house. Serving Jesus and living for Him is how we can show we are thankful to Him.

People in the area heard about the healing of Peter’s mother-in-law, and they came to Jesus to be healed too. That evening, people came to Jesus afflicted by illness or evil spirits, and Jesus healed them.

The prophet Isaiah wrote that the promised Messiah would bear our sickness and carry our pain. Jesus fulfilled this prophecy as He healed people. Sickness exists because the world is broken by sin. One day, when Jesus returns, there will be no more sickness, because Jesus dealt with sin on the cross. Jesus’ healings brought a glimpse into the kingdom of God, the world in which Jesus makes all things new—the way God intended—when He comes again. (See Revelation 21:4-5.)

Jesus Drove Out Evil Spirits

Mark 1:21-28; Luke 4:31-37

This week in The Gospel Project^® for Kids, preschoolers will learn that Jesus demonstrated His power and authority through miracles. Among Jesus’ healing miracles, Jesus drove out demons, or evil spirits. Demons are evil angels—created, spiritual beings—who sinned against God. The Bible identifies Satan as the head of the demons. (See Job 1:6.)

Demons are enemies of God. They oppose God’s work and try to turn people away from God and the gospel. When Jesus was preaching at the synagogue in Capernaum, an evil spirit, through a man, began to shout. Jesus commanded the spirit to be quiet, and He drove the demon out of the man. Jesus’ power over demons marked the launch of God’s kingdom. When Jesus cast a demon out of a man who was blind and mute, He said, “If I drive out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come to you” (Matthew 12:28).

Even today, demons try all sorts of strategies to keep believers from being effective witnesses for Christ—including doubt, temptation, pride, guilt, and fear. But we do not need to fear demons because Jesus gives believers authority over them. In the New Testament, Jesus gave His disciples authority over demons, and the demons submitted to the disciples when they commanded them in Christ’s name. (See Luke 9:1; 10:17, 19; Acts 8:7; 16:18.)

Jesus is the King who has come to make all things right. By commanding the evil spirit to come out of the man, Jesus showed He has power over all our enemies. One day Jesus will take away Satan, sin, and death once and for all.

Jesus Healed an Official's Son

Thank you for continuing this journey of The Gospel Project^® for Kids. Over the next six weeks, preschoolers will learn about some of Jesus’ miracles that helped people believe that Jesus is God’s Son, the Messiah. Sunday’s Bible account takes place in Cana, where Jesus had performed His first miracle: He turned water into wine. News spread of Jesus’ whereabouts, and an official hurried to find Him. The official’s son was sick in Capernaum, about 20 miles away. The boy was so sick, he would die if he didn’t get help. Imagine the urgency in the official’s voice when he pleaded for Jesus to come heal his son. But Jesus didn’t rush away to Capernaum. Instead, He challenged the official and the Galileans: “You people must see miracles and signs before you believe in Me.”

It was true, many people who saw Jesus’ miracles followed Him and believed in Him. (See John 2:11,23; 3:2; 6:2,14; 12:11,18.) Jesus was willing to help people, but He didn’t want them to miss the point. The miracles were signs that pointed to who Jesus is: the Son of God who offers eternal life. The official pleaded again, “Sir, come down before my boy dies!” Jesus answered, “Go. Your son will live.” The official believed what Jesus said. He headed home, and his servants confirmed the truth: His son was well. The fever had left him at the same time Jesus said, “Your son will live.” So the official and everyone in his household believed in Jesus.

Jesus’ miracles are one of the main ways God brought people to faith in Him. The official wanted Jesus to save his son from death, and it was not until Jesus did so that he understood who Jesus is: the promised Messiah. It took faith for the official to believe Jesus’ words—that his son was healed. In healing the official’s son, Jesus showed His authority and power as God’s Son. John concludes his Gospel by explaining that Jesus did more miracles than what are written but “these are written so that you may believe Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and by believing you may have life in His name” (John 20:31).

Rejection at Nazareth

Luke 4:16-30

Thank you for continuing this journey of The Gospel Project^® for Kids. Sunday’s Bible account takes us to Jesus’ hometown of Nazareth. Jesus was about thirty years old when He began His ministry. After Jesus’ baptism and temptation, He traveled to Jerusalem for the Passover. Then, He headed north to Galilee through the region of Samaria, stopping at Jacob’s well to talk to a Samaritan woman.

Jesus began teaching in the synagogues. On this Sabbath day, Jesus went into the synagogue in Nazareth, the town where He grew up. He read aloud the words of the prophet Isaiah. (See Isaiah 61:1-2) Then Jesus sat down. Everyone’s eyes were on Him as He explained, “Today as you listen, this Scripture has been fulfilled.” What was Jesus saying? Jesus was saying, “It’s Me”. The words Jesus read were coming true. Some of the people might have remembered Jesus from His youth. They asked, “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?”

Jesus knew their thoughts; He had performed miracles in Capernaum, and these people wanted Jesus to do miracles in His hometown too. Jesus reminded them of two Old Testament accounts: many widows lived in Israel when the prophet Elijah was there, but God sent Elijah to help a widow in another country. And Elisha likely encountered Israelites who had leprosy, but he healed Naaman the Syrian. Jesus wanted the people to understand that His miracles were an act of grace—a gift. No one deserves God’s grace, so God may show grace to whomever He pleases. The people were angry. They drove Jesus away, intending to kill Him, but Jesus escaped through the crowd.

Hundreds of years before Jesus was born, the prophet Isaiah wrote about God’s plan to send a Messiah. He would bring good news and redeem people who were broken and hurting. Jesus read Isaiah’s words and told everyone who was listening that He, Jesus, is the promised Messiah.

Jesus Met a Samaritan Woman

John 4:1-26

Thank you for continuing this journey of The Gospel Project^® for Kids. In Sunday’s Bible account, Jesus sits down at a well in Samaria and does the unthinkable: He talks with a Samaritan woman! At the time Jesus was on earth, the social food chain went like this: Jews don’t talk to Samaritans. The strife between the two groups stretched back hundreds of years, to the Babylonian exile.

When the Babylonians attacked Judah, they moved a large group of God’s people away from their homes. But some of the people—the poorest, the sickest, and the least able to work—were left behind in the region that became known as Samaria. During the 70-year exile, those left in Samaria intermarried with their northern neighbors and practiced foreign customs. While the Samaritans still believed in God, they adapted their beliefs. They set up their own place of worship on Mount Gerizim. (See 2 Kings 17:29-41; Ezra 9:1-2.)

The Jews who returned home from Babylon to rebuild God’s temple in Jerusalem were dedicated to obeying and worshiping God, and they didn’t agree with the Samaritans’ practices. The Samaritans opposed the Jews’ efforts to reestablish their nation. In time, the Jews’ hate for the Samaritans grew—so much so, that a Jew traveling from Judea to Galilee would take a longer route to travel around Samaria rather than through it.

Jesus broke down social barriers when He traveled to Galilee by way of Samaria and when He asked a Samaritan woman for a drink. Jewish men did not speak to women in public. But Jesus was kind to the woman, and He offered a gift. Jesus offered the woman something no one else could give her—living water. She wasn’t quite sure what Jesus meant. Jesus wasn’t talking about water that she could physically drink; Jesus was talking about the Holy Spirit who would satisfy her spiritual thirst. Jesus gives the Holy Spirit to those who come to Him by faith.