New Videos: The Early Ministry of Jesus – 5-Part Bible Series for Kids and Adults

Part 1 in a 5-part series on "The Early Ministry of Jesus." Jesus' birth is unlike anybody else. Jesus is God, and took on human form through a virgin named Mary. This fulfilled Isaiah's prophecy written 800 years before Jesus (Isaiah 7:14). Jesus was called Immanuel, which means "God With Us." Instead of being born in a luxurious palace, He was born in a simple wooden troth in a dirty stable. Jesus came to earth humble. He left the earth humbly on a simple wooden cross. Magi from Babylon met Jesus when He was about 2 years old and knew about the King of the Jews most likely from the Prophet Daniel. When Herod found out there was another "king" born, he was so angry he tried to kill Jesus, and slaughtered all the boys under 2-years-old in order to accomplish this. But God protected! Being warned in a dream by an angel, Joseph, Mary, and Jesus fled to Egypt. Not the wonderful introduction to the world one would expect from the King of kings, but Jesus did many things that were unexpected. I thank God for a great first session in this series.

Part 2 in a 5-part series on "The Early Ministry of Jesus." Here are the "BEFORE" and "AFTER" paintings. We learned that "In the Beginning" Satan successfully tempted Adam to sin, with disastrous consequences. Adam was humanity's representative, so all of us are under sin. After Jesus' baptism, Satan tried to temp Jesus to sin. Jesus fasted for 40 days in the wilderness and, in His humanity, was hungry and tired. Still, Jesus, being perfect, successfully defeated Satan's temptations, each time using Scripture to thwart the enemy. What Adam couldn't do, and what you and I can't do, Jesus did! JESUS DEFEATED TEMPTATION! Jesus is God, and greater than Satan. Satan is destined for the Lake of Fire, and so is anyone who belongs to Adam's family. Jesus will be our Deliverer if we are adopted into His family. How do we get sorted into Jesus' family? We'll find out in upcoming lessons.

Part 3 of 5 in the "Early Ministry of Jesus." This lesson showed over and over again that "Jesus is the "Christ." "Christ" isn't Jesus' last name. It's His title. It means "King." It means He's "in charge" of us and everybody and everything. Jesus gained fame through His teachings and His power. Thousands came to hear Him. He taught the same things we teach from the Bible today. He showed amazing power. One day a home where he was teaching was so packed with people, that some people opened up the roof to let down a man who needed healing. Jesus saw their faith by their actions, and healed the man, and forgave his sins. Only God can forgive sins. Jesus is God. Jesus picked special disciples. He even chose despicable people like tax collectors. God can use and change anyone! But there was a traitor within the disciples. Judas was a hypocrite. He looked like he was following Jesus on the outside, but not on the inside. We must never be hypocrites ourselves. The religious leaders were jealous of Jesus and wanted to kill him. It's an honor to teach these children such important Bible accounts!!!

Part 4 of 5 in "The Early Ministry of Jesus." The Religious leaders at the time of Jesus thought there were two things you needed in order to be "right" with God: you had to have the right birth (be Jewish) and you had to do good deeds. Jesus met with a religious leader named Nicodemus and told him that "You Must Be Born Again." Jesus pointed out that our first birth is actually sending us to death because we all come from Adam. And Jesus used an allusion to Numbers 21 to point out that our "good deeds" aren't as good as we think they are. We NEED a second birth. Our first birth puts us into the family of Adam. Adam was a sinner, and so all his children inherit his sin, leading to the Lake of Fire. We must be ADOPTED into a second family, the family of Jesus. Jesus was sinless, so those in His family are seen as righteous, and that leads to Eternal Life. How are you adopted into the family of Jesus? I told the kids that I'd share that tomorrow, or they could ask me or a Counselor.

Part 5 in a 5-part series on the "Early Ministry of Jesus." This message teaches about Jesus feeding 5,000 and walking on water, proving that He is the Lord God. When Peter came out into the water and started to sink, he cried out to Jesus, "Lord, Save Me!" That is what we must all do! We are all drowning in sin and only Jesus can save us. Jesus gave His life on the cross and rose again, defeating death, the grave, and sin! He was seen after His resurrection by over 500 witnesses for 40 days. If we turn from our sin and trust the good news, we will have eternal life! Great news!!! Thank You Jesus!