Christ is Life Podcast

Music. So as you can see, we had so much fun this week at vacation bible school together. I did forget to mention that when we talked about packing the boxes for Operation Christmas Child, the kids brought those things to be able to pack the boxes with and they even brought money for an offering to help send kids to camp in Belarus so that they learn about Jesus. And we had a little bit of a competition to see if the boys could bring more than the girls. Did the boys win that, or did the did the girls? The girls, the girls win that? Okay, the girls did win that. And Did somebody get pod in the face? Yes. And you know how many pies they put in Pastor baldo's face? A lot more than they said they were going to. I thought it was one. And the next thing I know, there were like seven pies hitting me all over. But they were pretty good. They actually tasted kind of nice. So I enjoyed it. All right. All right. Everybody say it's Bible story time. Each and every day at vacation Bible school, we had a Bible story time, and we learned a bottom line, some truth from God's Word that helps us know more about who God is and who He created us to be, how we can relate to him and how we get to participate in what he's doing throughout the world. Now, kids, you guys heard all of our Bible stories throughout the week, but guess who wasn't here? Your parents were not here. Say, shame on you. That's okay. They had to work till they could do some money. All right, it cost a lot to pay the bills these days. All right, so their parents weren't here, but you guys were here. You know the Bible story. So I'm going to need you to help me teach the Bible story to your parents this morning. Deal. Okay, I got four of you with me this morning. I'm going to have to really dig in deep to find some energy then, all right, so this is going to be very participatory. So I'm going to ask you guys to participate with me all throughout the lesson. As a matter of fact, our theme for the week was start the party. Everybody say, start the party. The reason we were talking about starting a party is because we've been talking about the good news of Jesus Christ, how he died on the cross for our sins, but not just that, that He rose from the grave, defeating the power of sin and death forever, and then He offers us
complete forgiveness that's worth celebrating, right? Yes, that's worth having a
as a matter of fact, our memory verse for this year. Oh, wait. You know what? There are some kids who memorized their memory verse. We've got some right here, who actually know their memory verse. Let's go here in the middle. Jump so far. Come on here.
Let's see here. Let
me get this microphone. Tell everyone your name and how old you are.
My name is Tilly, and I'm eight years old. All right. Say hello, Tinley.
You tell us your memory verse.
All right, go
to you. Show me the path that lives like you'll fill me with toy where I miss you
amazing. Give her a round of applause. Thank you. Great job. We got a prize. You're watching me. You can't be watching me if I'm watching you. Oh, she's always keeping an eye on me. Man, I can't get away with anything. All right, thank you. Thank you. And she's not the only one. There were so many kids you can head back to your seat now that know their memory verse this week, and we had them on stage. They were saying them all over the place. But as I said, this is participatory, so now you get to say it. Everybody say you always show me the path that leads to life. You fill me with joy when I am with you. Of course, we're talking about Jesus here, and the path that leads to life and joy is the path that leads to Jesus, because He is life, and he is joy, and the moment we say yes to Him, He comes to live in us and gives us that life and fills us with that joy. And so having Jesus with us is kind of like having a party, right? Because when you walk into different party atmospheres, there's they're filled with life, they're filled with joy. You experience life and joy in those places, and those are things that we experience with Jesus, no matter what our situations and circumstances are, and so that's why we're talking about starting a party. Now let's dive a little bit deeper into what we learned on each day. Everybody say day one. On day one, we began to talk about a man named Matthew, But Matthew had another name. Kids. What was his other name? Levi? Do you think he's the guy that invented our blue jeans? Probably not. That was 2000 years ago. I don't even think blue jeans existed. Hey, father's day's next week. It's never too early to start cracking dad jokes, right? All right. So here's the deal, Matthew, who is known as, again, who Levi was. Also a tax collector. And the thing about tax collectors is people didn't really like tax collectors. So they didn't really like Matthew, and they didn't like tax collectors because they worked for the enemy, and they would charge their own people more than the taxes that they were responsible for, and then they would just keep the money in their pockets for themselves. And so people really didn't like Matthew. They didn't like people like Matthew, but Jesus was different. Everybody say Jesus was different. Jesus was different. And so he walked right up to Matthew, this tax collector, this guy that nobody really liked. And what did Jesus say to Matthew? Follow me. Everybody say, Follow me. And guess what Matthew did? He followed him. That's right, he left everything, and he began to follow Jesus. But we're told that not only did he begin to follow Jesus, he did something else for Jesus. What did Matthew do for Jesus? He threw him a party. Right? Here's what the word of God tells us in Luke, chapter five, verse 29 it says, Then Matthew gave a huge banquet, which is like a party for Jesus at his house, and a large crowd of tax collectors and others were eating them. Now, even though this was a really cool thing that Matthew was doing for Jesus, because of who he was, there were some people who did not like it. Who are those people that didn't like it?
The religious leaders, everybody say they're religious leaders.
Those guys were upset because Jesus chose to spend his time with these tax collectors who they referred to as sinners. They put themselves in one category, way up here, those who are close to God, and everybody else who was way down here. And so when the religious leaders saw Jesus and these tax collectors having a party, they began to complain, and they began to grumble. And in Luke chapter five, verse 30, they asked this question, why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners? In other words, these religious leaders didn't really think that Matthew and his friends deserved to have a party with Jesus and celebrate. But listen to the way that Jesus answered the religious leaders. He said, guys, healthy people don't need a doctor. Sick people do. He says, I've not come to get those who think they're right with God to follow me. I've come to get sinners to turn away from their
sins. In other words, of us sin
in our lives, and that that's why he came to die on the cross for our sins, so that we could be forgiven and have eternal life with Him. Everybody say that is good news. It is good news. And that's why Matthew was throwing a party, because he was so excited that Jesus loved him and began to accept him, even after all, it was that he had done wrong, and that kind of leads us into our bottom line for day one, which is this Jesus reason to have a party. Everybody say Jesus is a good reason to have a party. Everybody say day one. Done. Say day two. Here we go. On day two, we looked at another time when the religious leaders were very upset with Jesus because they thought they were the only ones who should be able to be in God's kingdom. But Jesus, once again, taught them something very different. He taught them by sharing these stories, little stories that are also called. Anybody know what these stories are called? Kids parables. Very good. Everybody say parables. And in this story of this parable that we learned about on day two, it was a story of a wedding feast that a king gave for his son, everybody say, wedding feast Jesus. In this story, it was a special feast that we they were having. And here is what the king said to his servants in Matthew 22 verse nine, he said, go to the street corners and invite to the dinner, anyone you can find. So who was invited to the king's dinner? Everyone. That's right, everyone. And this story is ultimately about Jesus. He was trying to teach these religious leaders about his kingdom and that everyone is invited into His kingdom. Everyone's invited into the party, which was our bottom line for day two. Everybody say everyone is invited to the party. Everyone. It doesn't matter whether you're rich or poor, or you're tall or short, or you're black, white, Hispanic or Asian or any other race, everyone is invited to the party. And so since Jesus invites everyone to the party, first and foremost, that means you and I are invited to the party. Say I am invited to the party. You are invited to the party, but not just you. There are other. People invited to the partner. Everybody turn to your neighbor and say, You're invited to the party. Turn to your other neighbor and say, and you're invited to the party. And it's not just you, it's not just the other people next to you. It's the people outside of our church today, the people in your neighborhood and at your school and in your workplace and on your sports teams and dance teams and cheer teams and on and on and on. Jesus wants to use us to invite everyone to be a part of His kingdom, to be a part of his party. So if there is someone that Jesus is putting on your heart that you need to invite to be a part of His kingdom, then I hope that when you go home today, you'll begin to pray about an opportunity to invite them to church or to hear about the good news of Jesus. Everybody say day two, done. Here we go. Day three. On day three, we continue to look at how Jesus, once again, responded to these religious leaders and their complaining and bickering and whining and how they were including Jesus was including everyone to or to the party. And this time, we looked at Luke chapter 15, where Jesus told a series of three stories or parables. Who remembers the very first parable that we talked about, the parable of the lost sheep? That Oh, that reminds me we haven't seen Shelton the sheep this morning yet. Hey, everybody. Say, Hello, Shelton. Shelton is our DJ for the party this week. Say, DJ, Shelton. Shelton came to Vacation Bible School in 2021 and he has continued to come back and make an appearance every single Vacation Bible School and use you can see he is dressed for the party. He partied with us all week long. So this first parable was about sheep, about Shelton. In the parable, Jesus said, When he asked these leaders that, hey, if you guys had 100 sheep and you lost one of them, you lost,
you'd go look for
him, and when you find him, what would you do? You'd start a party, because the sheep is valuable to you. And so then, after telling that parable about the lost sheep, he told a parable about a lost coin, and this woman who lost a coin, she had 10 of them. She lost one, she flipped over the whole house and she found it, and she did what started the party, because it was valuable, and she found it. And then finally, he told one more parable that day, which was the parable of the lost son, right? And this was about a son who just began to kind of lose his way in life. And a lot of you know the story. He told his father that he wanted his share of the inheritance, and his father actually gave it to him, and he squandered it, he spent everything that he had. And then things went from bad to worse. He had to get a job. And then there was a famine in the land. What was his job? By the way, feeding pigs, right? Gross. But then he got so hungry that he even longed to eat? What? What the pigs were eating? The pig slop. Look at your neighbor and say, That's gross. It is gross. But he finally came to his senses, and in Luke, chapter 15, verse 17, we read that. He said this. He said, How many of my father's hired servants have more than enough food, but here I am dying from hunger. I will get up and go back to my father, and I will say to him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and I have sinned against you. I am no longer fit to be called your son, so just make me like one of your hired servants. And so that's what he did. He traveled all the way back home. And Jesus goes on to say that when the father saw that he was coming, what did the father do? He ran. He took off running to his son, and he hugged him, and he kissed him, and he was just so excited that his son was back. And he said, My son was once lost, but now he is found. And they began to start a party. Right? They threw this huge party for him. He says this in Luke, chapter 15, verse 22 quick. Bring the best robe and put it on him. Bring a ring on his finger and put sandals on his feet. Bring the fattest calf and kill it. Let's have a feast and let's celebrate. In other words, let's have a party. He said, The son of mine was dead, and now he is alive again. He was lost, but now he is found. And so each time Jesus tells a story, something valuable was lost, someone valuable was lost, then they were found, and then they began to celebrate. And this is ultimately. A story that's about us. We're all lost in our lives because of sin in our lives, but when we turn to Jesus, God brings us home and he celebrates that we are his, and that was our bottom line for the day, everybody say, celebrate the good news. And the best way to celebrate the good news is to receive the good news in our lives and then share it with others. Everybody say, day three, done. Here we go. Day four. We talked about a time when Jesus and his disciples walked through a place called it started with an S. Anybody remember Samaria? Everybody say, Samaria and this was a big deal. Does anybody remember why this was a big deal? Because the Jewish people didn't really like who Samaritans. They didn't want anything to have to do with them. But once again, Jesus was different. Everybody say Jesus was different. He was different, and thank goodness. And while he was in Samaria, he stopped to rest by a what a well, a water well. And while he was at the well, a Samaritan woman came up, and Jesus asked her, will you give me a drink? And then we're told this in John chapter four, that Jesus said this to her, you do not know who is asking you for a drink. If you did, you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water. And of course, he was talking about himself, and we talked on that day how sometimes that can be a little bit hard to understand, and so sometimes we need some illustrations to help us. And some of you guys have seen this before, but you know, they're always good to see again. And so this is what we kind of talked about that day. We talked about how there is sin in the world, and sin is really just kind of the bad things that we do
against who God is his will, he's perfect
and He's holy. And the thing that we know to be true about us is that the Bible says we've all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, and because we've all sinned, then that means that we're separated from God, and we're spiritually dead on the inside. We don't have good hearts. We have a sin nature at the very core of our being, and sometimes we can feel that, and it feels yucky, and we don't like it. And so we try to do really good things. And so we said that this water, maybe it represents the good things that we do. And we think, Well, if I do some good things, maybe it'll make me clean on the inside, or maybe if I just do a few more good things, and if I can please my mom and dad, or if I can please God, and we just keep trying, and we keep trying, but no matter what we do, does it ever really make our hearts clean? No. And so we're still feel the yuckiness on the inside. And a lot of times, even though we can do a lot of good things, we mess up again, and we begin to see that over and over again. And so that's really bad news, because
nothing that we can do to
get us on dead but the good news is that Jesus came into this world, and Jesus had no
of the sins of the world onto himself to the cross to pay the penalty for them and rise from the dead, defeating the power of sin and death forever. And then the good news offers us forgiveness, because he's the living water that he just talked about, the living water that leads to eternal life. And when we come to him and put our faith and trust in Him. Jesus comes as the living water to dwell in us, and He cleans us completely up, and we become new. On the inside, we're filled with new life. We're no longer spiritually dead, but we're alive. And so this is what Jesus was talking about when he was talking about being the living water, he was talking about new life. Say this water represents new life. Jesus is the one that gives us that new life, and it's a life that's better than any other kind of life. He gives us joy that is real, and joy that is lasting, and joy that is true. As a matter of fact, you might even say that Jesus, he's the life of the party, right? He is the life of the party. And that was our bottom line for the day. Everybody say Jesus is the life of the party. He tells us that he's the Way, the Truth and the Life, and he's the resurrection and the life. But we always look for life and situations and circumstances and the stuff that we buy. But we go, Wait a minute. I'm missing it, because Jesus is the life. And so no matter what our situations or circumstances are, we can all. Experience abundant life in Jesus. Everybody say, day four, done. All right. On day five, we continued to learn some great Bible stories, and we learned that not only is Jesus the life, but he's the light of the world. Everybody say, Jesus is the light of the world, and he says this in John, chapter eight. So we know it to be true, but we spent most of our time talking about something related to that that Jesus said in Matthew chapter 14. Here's what Jesus said, there you are. The light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. People do not light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead, they put it on its stand, then it gives light to everyone in the house. So he says, in the same way, let your light shine in front of others. Then they will see the good things you do, and they will praise your father in heaven. Now we said this can be a little bit confusing, because in John, chapter eight, Jesus says, I am the light. And then he turns around in Matthew chapter five, and he says, You are the light. So what is it? Is Jesus the light, or are we the light? Yes, Jesus is the light. But what we said was this, right? We said, what if we said that this light represents Jesus, right? And so it's a bright light, and Jesus comes into this dark world, and he begins to show us the truth about who he is, and guides us out of the darkness. And let's say that this container represents us. And so Jesus is the light of the world. But we said once again, there was sin in our lives, and all of the bad things that we do, there was darkness in our lives. There was nothing that we could really do to get rid of that darkness. But then Jesus, we said, the living water comes to dwell in us. But he's not just the living water. He's the light. And so when the light of the world comes to live in us, it makes us what the light of the world. Because Jesus, who is the Light, comes to dwell in us. And so now, as you can see, his light that is in us begins to shine where outside of us, so that other people can see the light of Jesus through us. And whenever we allow Jesus to use us to bring joy into this world, and we're kind to other people, and we do nice things, and especially when we tell them about Jesus, and they begin to experience His life and His love and to come to know Him, it's like we get to start parties in their lives. And that led us to the bottom line for the day, which was, you can be a party starter. Everybody say,
I can be a party starter, and you can, because
we let his light through us, it shines into others, people's lives, and then they begin to start the party with Jesus in their lives. And this means that we get to participate in God's kingdom work in this world, which is just such
thing. All right, everybody say, one, Jesus is to have a party. Two, say, Everyone say, day three, the good news say
day four,
Jesus is the life of the party.
Day five.
This week. It's not just important for our kids to know these truths and how they apply to them. It applies to every single one of our lives, no matter how young or old we are. So let's pray, and then we're going to have one final worship song together Jesus, thank you so much for coming to the earth to die on the cross for our sins. Thank you that when we put our faith and trust in you to be our Lord and Savior, that you as the
completely forgiven on God and gives us brand hearts.
Thank you that you, as the light of the world, come to live in us, and you work through us to be party starters in this world. So use us in that way to make a real impact on other people's lives. In Jesus name, everyone says,
Amen.