Newsletter 41
Newsletter 41 from Maurice Sweetsur
CONTENTS.
Story - A free pardon.
Story - The true picture of your life.
O.L. 57. Our sins are gone forever (Flashpaper).
World Client.
Story - A free pardon.
I have heard teachers tell children that if they accept Jesus as their Saviour, God will find them "not guilty" of their sins. That is not true. However, what He does offer us in Jesus is a FREE PARDON. I try to get this truth across by telling the following story :-
Two schoolboys were great friends, doing many things together and generally enjoying each other's company. When they left school, however, their lives diverged. The first boy went to University, studied hard and qualified as a lawyer. In fact, eventually he became a Judge. Things didn't go so well for the second boy. He had little interest in study or work, got into 'bad' company and ended up pursuing a life of petty crime.
One day this second man was caught trying to steal some goods from a store. He was charged and sent to trial for his crime. Not really having much choice, he pleaded guilty. However, the Judge at his trial happened to be his old school friend! What would the Judge do? Would he be lenient towards his old friend and let him off, or would he demand that he pay the penalty for his crime?
Summing up, the Judge declared "You are guilty of this crime, and the law demands a fine be paid of $1,000." Then, to everyone's amazement, the Judge reached inside his pocket, pulled out his wallet, counted out $1,000 and paid the fine himself. Nobody could complain because the full requirements of the law had been met, but the guilty man went free because the Judge himself paid the penalty.
In the same way we are all guilty of breaking God's laws. But God (our Judge) paid the penalty for our sins Himself by becoming a man and dying on the cross. So now, by accepting what He has done for us, we can receive His free pardon and be declared righteousness in His sight.
n.b. See Object lesson 3, Receiving Jesus (Newsletter 3).
Story - The true picture of your life.
A Christian once had a dream in which he died and went to heaven. There to greet him was St. Peter, who gave him a quick tour of his beautiful new home. Then St. Peter said "Do you like videos?" Rather puzzled, the man replied that he did. "Good" said St. Peter "I am now going to show you a video of your whole life." St. Peter led the man into a sumptuous room, made sure he was comfortable, and left him to watch the video.
The video really was of the man's life, beginning from soon after he had been born. At first the man enjoyed watching it because it showed him interacting with all his old friends, most of whom he hadn't seen for many years. The video showed all the acts of kindness the man had shown, beginning from when he was only a young boy - sharing his toys, including others in his games, helping out at home and at school, comforting people when they were sad, giving money towards good causes, spending quality time with his children etc. etc. As the video progressed, however, the man began to feel rather uneasy.
The video concluded, and St. Peter returned. "Did you enjoy the video of your life?" he asked. The man replied "But that wasn't a true picture of my life. It showed all the good things I did, but it omitted all the bad ones. It's an edited video. It isn't a complete picture of my life." "Oh yes it is", replied St. Peter "When you did do bad things, the moment you said 'sorry' to God, they ceased to exist. And you can't make a video of something that doesn't exist!" What you just saw really is the true picture of your life.
Object Lesson 57- Our sins are gone forever (Flashpaper).
This is an illusion that you can use to illustrate the story "the true picture of your life", or indeed any teaching on forgiveness. I have used it many times, and it is always very effective. You will need a piece of "flashpaper". This looks like ordinary paper, but it is made from special chemicals so that when it is set alight it produces only a colourless gas, and no residue (char) whatsoever. i.e. it "disappears". Flashpaper can be obtained from Christian stores that sell gospel illusions such as www.childrensministry.org or www.onewaystreet.com It can be cut to any size, but I usually use a piece about 8cm. x 6cm.
Application. "I have a white piece of paper here. In the Bible the colour 'white' stands for cleanness or purity. This is how God first made people, and this is how He wants us to be today - clean and pure on the inside. But when we do wrong things, it dirties us up on the inside and spoils our relationship with God. What are some of the wrong things that you might have done - either at school or at home?" There is usually a good response to this. Interestingly children usually think firstly of the "physical" things such as fighting, hitting, punching, kicking etc. Then lying, stealing, swearing and disobeying may be cited. Wrongs like greed, selfishness, envy and jealousy are hardly ever mentioned! As different children mention the various wrongs, write the first letter of that 'wrong' with a black marker onto your flashpaper. As you do so, talk about God's attitude to that particular 'wrong'.
When you have about 5 or 6 letters on the flashpaper say "We could continue (give a few more examples) but the paper is nearly full. Now, watch carefully what I do next - because this is a picture of what happens to all these wrongs the moment we say 'sorry' to Jesus for them (and really mean it)." Take a match, light the paper and throw it into the air. It will take about two seconds to be burnt completely - and no trace of it will remain.
"Where has it gone? It is gone and gone forever. It can never come back again. In fact, it is as though it wasn't even here in the first place. Because Jesus has already paid the penalty for your wrongs on the cross, that is exactly what he does with them the moment you admit to them and say you are sorry. It is now as though you never even did them in the first place, And that is good news indeed."
World Client
My Attorney
After living what I felt was a "decent" life, my time on earth
came to the end.
The first thing I remember is sitting on a bench in the waiting
room of what I thought to be a court house.
The doors opened and I was instructed to come in and have a seat
by the defence table.
As I looked around I saw the "prosecutor."
He was a villainous looking gent who snarled as he stared at me.
He definitely was the most evil person I have ever seen.
I sat down and looked to my left and there sat My Attorney,
a kind and gentle looking man whose appearance seemed so familiar to
me, I felt I knew Him.
The corner door flew open and there appeared the Judge in full
flowing robes.
He commanded an awesome presence as He moved across the room I
couldn't take my eyes off of Him.
As He took His seat behind the bench, He said, "Let us begin."
The prosecutor rose and said,
"My name is Satan and I am here to show you why this man
belongs in hell."
He proceeded to tell of lies that I told, things that I stole,
and In the past when I cheated others.
Satan told of other horrible
Perversions that were once in my life and the more he spoke, the
further down in my seat I sank.
I was so embarrassed that I couldn't look at anyone, even my own
Attorney, as the Devil told of sins that even I had completely forgotten about.
As upset as I was at Satan for telling all these things about
me, I was equally upset at My Attorney who sat there silently not
Offering any form of defence at all!
I know I had been guilty of those things, but I had done some
good in my life -- couldn't that at least equal out part of the harm I'd done
Satan finished with a fury and said, "This man belongs in hell,
he is guilty of all that I have charged and there is not a person
who can prove otherwise."
When it was His turn, My Attorney first asked if He might
approach the bench.
The Judge allowed this over the strong objection of Satan,
and beckoned Him to come forward.
As He got up and started walking, I was able to see Him in
His full splendour and majesty.
I realized why He seemed so familiar; this was Jesus
representing me, my Lord and my Saviour.
He stopped at the bench and softly said to the Judge, "Hi,
Father," and then He turned to address the court.
"Satan was correct in saying that this man had sinned,
I won't deny any of these allegations.
And, yes, the wage of sin is death, and this man deserves to be
punished."
Jesus took a deep breath and turned to His Father with
outstretched arms and proclaimed,
"However, I died on the cross so that this
person might have eternal life and he has accepted Me as his
Saviour, so he is Mine."
My Lord continued with, "His name is written in the book of life
and no one can snatch him from Me.
Satan still does not understand yet.
This man is not to be given justice, but rather mercy."
As Jesus sat down,
He quietly paused, looked at His Father and said,
"There is nothing else that needs to be done.
I've done it all."
The Judge lifted His mighty hand and slammed the gavel down.
The following words bellowed from His lips..
"This man is free."
The penalty for him has already been paid in full.
Case dismissed."
CONTENTS.
Story - A free pardon.
Story - The true picture of your life.
O.L. 57. Our sins are gone forever (Flashpaper).
World Client.
Story - A free pardon.
I have heard teachers tell children that if they accept Jesus as their Saviour, God will find them "not guilty" of their sins. That is not true. However, what He does offer us in Jesus is a FREE PARDON. I try to get this truth across by telling the following story :-
Two schoolboys were great friends, doing many things together and generally enjoying each other's company. When they left school, however, their lives diverged. The first boy went to University, studied hard and qualified as a lawyer. In fact, eventually he became a Judge. Things didn't go so well for the second boy. He had little interest in study or work, got into 'bad' company and ended up pursuing a life of petty crime.
One day this second man was caught trying to steal some goods from a store. He was charged and sent to trial for his crime. Not really having much choice, he pleaded guilty. However, the Judge at his trial happened to be his old school friend! What would the Judge do? Would he be lenient towards his old friend and let him off, or would he demand that he pay the penalty for his crime?
Summing up, the Judge declared "You are guilty of this crime, and the law demands a fine be paid of $1,000." Then, to everyone's amazement, the Judge reached inside his pocket, pulled out his wallet, counted out $1,000 and paid the fine himself. Nobody could complain because the full requirements of the law had been met, but the guilty man went free because the Judge himself paid the penalty.
In the same way we are all guilty of breaking God's laws. But God (our Judge) paid the penalty for our sins Himself by becoming a man and dying on the cross. So now, by accepting what He has done for us, we can receive His free pardon and be declared righteousness in His sight.
n.b. See Object lesson 3, Receiving Jesus (Newsletter 3).
Story - The true picture of your life.
A Christian once had a dream in which he died and went to heaven. There to greet him was St. Peter, who gave him a quick tour of his beautiful new home. Then St. Peter said "Do you like videos?" Rather puzzled, the man replied that he did. "Good" said St. Peter "I am now going to show you a video of your whole life." St. Peter led the man into a sumptuous room, made sure he was comfortable, and left him to watch the video.
The video really was of the man's life, beginning from soon after he had been born. At first the man enjoyed watching it because it showed him interacting with all his old friends, most of whom he hadn't seen for many years. The video showed all the acts of kindness the man had shown, beginning from when he was only a young boy - sharing his toys, including others in his games, helping out at home and at school, comforting people when they were sad, giving money towards good causes, spending quality time with his children etc. etc. As the video progressed, however, the man began to feel rather uneasy.
The video concluded, and St. Peter returned. "Did you enjoy the video of your life?" he asked. The man replied "But that wasn't a true picture of my life. It showed all the good things I did, but it omitted all the bad ones. It's an edited video. It isn't a complete picture of my life." "Oh yes it is", replied St. Peter "When you did do bad things, the moment you said 'sorry' to God, they ceased to exist. And you can't make a video of something that doesn't exist!" What you just saw really is the true picture of your life.
Object Lesson 57- Our sins are gone forever (Flashpaper).
This is an illusion that you can use to illustrate the story "the true picture of your life", or indeed any teaching on forgiveness. I have used it many times, and it is always very effective. You will need a piece of "flashpaper". This looks like ordinary paper, but it is made from special chemicals so that when it is set alight it produces only a colourless gas, and no residue (char) whatsoever. i.e. it "disappears". Flashpaper can be obtained from Christian stores that sell gospel illusions such as www.childrensministry.org or www.onewaystreet.com It can be cut to any size, but I usually use a piece about 8cm. x 6cm.
Application. "I have a white piece of paper here. In the Bible the colour 'white' stands for cleanness or purity. This is how God first made people, and this is how He wants us to be today - clean and pure on the inside. But when we do wrong things, it dirties us up on the inside and spoils our relationship with God. What are some of the wrong things that you might have done - either at school or at home?" There is usually a good response to this. Interestingly children usually think firstly of the "physical" things such as fighting, hitting, punching, kicking etc. Then lying, stealing, swearing and disobeying may be cited. Wrongs like greed, selfishness, envy and jealousy are hardly ever mentioned! As different children mention the various wrongs, write the first letter of that 'wrong' with a black marker onto your flashpaper. As you do so, talk about God's attitude to that particular 'wrong'.
When you have about 5 or 6 letters on the flashpaper say "We could continue (give a few more examples) but the paper is nearly full. Now, watch carefully what I do next - because this is a picture of what happens to all these wrongs the moment we say 'sorry' to Jesus for them (and really mean it)." Take a match, light the paper and throw it into the air. It will take about two seconds to be burnt completely - and no trace of it will remain.
"Where has it gone? It is gone and gone forever. It can never come back again. In fact, it is as though it wasn't even here in the first place. Because Jesus has already paid the penalty for your wrongs on the cross, that is exactly what he does with them the moment you admit to them and say you are sorry. It is now as though you never even did them in the first place, And that is good news indeed."
World Client
My Attorney
After living what I felt was a "decent" life, my time on earth
came to the end.
The first thing I remember is sitting on a bench in the waiting
room of what I thought to be a court house.
The doors opened and I was instructed to come in and have a seat
by the defence table.
As I looked around I saw the "prosecutor."
He was a villainous looking gent who snarled as he stared at me.
He definitely was the most evil person I have ever seen.
I sat down and looked to my left and there sat My Attorney,
a kind and gentle looking man whose appearance seemed so familiar to
me, I felt I knew Him.
The corner door flew open and there appeared the Judge in full
flowing robes.
He commanded an awesome presence as He moved across the room I
couldn't take my eyes off of Him.
As He took His seat behind the bench, He said, "Let us begin."
The prosecutor rose and said,
"My name is Satan and I am here to show you why this man
belongs in hell."
He proceeded to tell of lies that I told, things that I stole,
and In the past when I cheated others.
Satan told of other horrible
Perversions that were once in my life and the more he spoke, the
further down in my seat I sank.
I was so embarrassed that I couldn't look at anyone, even my own
Attorney, as the Devil told of sins that even I had completely forgotten about.
As upset as I was at Satan for telling all these things about
me, I was equally upset at My Attorney who sat there silently not
Offering any form of defence at all!
I know I had been guilty of those things, but I had done some
good in my life -- couldn't that at least equal out part of the harm I'd done
Satan finished with a fury and said, "This man belongs in hell,
he is guilty of all that I have charged and there is not a person
who can prove otherwise."
When it was His turn, My Attorney first asked if He might
approach the bench.
The Judge allowed this over the strong objection of Satan,
and beckoned Him to come forward.
As He got up and started walking, I was able to see Him in
His full splendour and majesty.
I realized why He seemed so familiar; this was Jesus
representing me, my Lord and my Saviour.
He stopped at the bench and softly said to the Judge, "Hi,
Father," and then He turned to address the court.
"Satan was correct in saying that this man had sinned,
I won't deny any of these allegations.
And, yes, the wage of sin is death, and this man deserves to be
punished."
Jesus took a deep breath and turned to His Father with
outstretched arms and proclaimed,
"However, I died on the cross so that this
person might have eternal life and he has accepted Me as his
Saviour, so he is Mine."
My Lord continued with, "His name is written in the book of life
and no one can snatch him from Me.
Satan still does not understand yet.
This man is not to be given justice, but rather mercy."
As Jesus sat down,
He quietly paused, looked at His Father and said,
"There is nothing else that needs to be done.
I've done it all."
The Judge lifted His mighty hand and slammed the gavel down.
The following words bellowed from His lips..
"This man is free."
The penalty for him has already been paid in full.
Case dismissed."
posted by Maurice Sweetsur @ 1:52 AM
