7th Meeting
Biblical Reference:
Psalm
25.12 and Luke 19.1-10
Purpose of the
meeting:
Teach
teenagers that God forgives our sins and shows us the way to follow.
Key verse:
“Who, then, are those who fear the LORD?
He will instruct them in the ways they should choose.” (Psalm 25.12)
Initiating the
meeting:
You
will need pictures of people using fancy objects (colored wigs, piercings,
etc.) and discreet people dressed without attracting attention. Stick it on the
wall. Start by asking:’ Let’s say that these people are walking in a crowded
street. In your opinion, which
one is likely to attract the attention of the pedestrians? (Wait for their
participation). These people (point to the pictures of the fancy people) are
attracting attention because they are using something unusual right? On today’s
meeting we will talk about a man who drew the attention of Jesus.
Message that edify:
A new path
Surely you must know or have heard
of people who usually take advantage of deceiving others. The Word of God says:
“There is a way that appears to be right, but in the end it leads to death.”
(Proverbs 14.12). The bible tells us about Zacchaeus, a dishonest man who walked
a dishonest path.
Zacchaeus was a tax collector and he
improperly charged people, because he used to keep a part for himself and he
had already become rich taking money from them. Just as Zacchaeus, there are
many people who are dishonest because the spirit of lying and dishonesty has
taken hold of their heart.
Zacchaeus heard that Jesus would be
passing by Jericho and wished to see Him. He was trying to see Jesus but he
couldn’t because of the crowd for he was short. For him to see Jesus, he
climbed a tree on the way Jesus would be passing. At that moment, Zacchaeus
didn’t worry about being a known person or an important person in that city; he
climbed that tree and he didn’t want to lose that opportunity. If people who
suffer in this world would follow this man’s example, certainly their lives
would take another course. Many people lose the opportunity of having their
lives transformed by the Lord Jesus because they worry about what others will
think or even if they will be accepted by their friends.
When he seen by Jesus, Zacchaeus
didn’t imagine that He would see him in that tree. However that attitude
pleased Jesus, who called him by his name. God knows each and every one of us
and search our minds and hearts (Read Revelations 2.23).
When called, Zacchaeus came down from
the tree quickly and received Him is his house with joy. We must analyze how we
have received Jesus. With joy. Or is
accepting Him a motive of embarrassment and shame?
That tax collector had an
opportunity in a lifetime: to have Jesus in his house. And Jesus was
recriminated for being in a thief’s house, in a sinner’s house. However,
Zacchaeus took advantage of that moment and decided to change his life: “Look,
Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have
cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount. Jesus
said to him: Today salvation has come to this house…” (Luke 19.8-9).
How wonderful! That man was willing
to focus and abandon all the wrong things; in fact at that moment the meeting
of Zacchaeus wasn’t only with the Son of God but with the Spirit that was in
Jesus.
Conclusion:
Teenagers, God loves sinners but
wishes them to abandon their sins and become true Sons of God. For this to
happen it’s necessary to leave behind all the wrong things and live a new life,
just as Zacchaeus did. It’s written: “Who, then, are those who fear the LORD?
He will instruct them in the ways they should choose.” (Psalm 25.12). If a
person decides to leave his life of sin and give his life to Jesus then he/she
won’t live disoriented or take hasty decisions; it only will happen if he/she
doesn’t want to listen to the voice of God. Zacchaeus didn’t take days, months
or years before surrendering to
Jesus; he
had no doubt about the path he would follow from that day on. What about you?
Have you made your decision?
Activity for 7th
Meeting
Enigma
1)
Organize the words and discover the enigma:
“Woh,
hten, aer stheo hwo efar teh LRDO? He
iwll ritnsutc tehm in the awys thye hosuld coohse” Psalm 25.12
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
2)
Search the Bible verses below and relate them with the story of Zacchaeus.
Romans 12.2
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
2 Corinthians 8.21
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Ephesians 4.28
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
No comments:
Post a Comment