September 29, 2013

NT 23 Jesus and Zacchaeus

Reference: Luke 19:1-10

Story Summary:
   When Jesus came to city of Jericho, a great crowd gathered to meet him. One of the people excited to see Jesus was a dirty, rotten, good-for-nothin' tax collector named Zacchaeus. But Zacchaeus was a short man. The only way he could see through the crowd was to climb up a sycamore tree.
   Jesus saw Zacchaeus in the tree and said, "I'm coming to your house today." The crowd was amazed that Jesus was going to the house of a "sinner."
   The Bible doesn't tell us what Jesus said to Zacchaeus at his house, but afterwards, Zacchaeus was a changed man. He gave half of his money to the poor and paid back the people he stole from four times the amount he took!
   Why was Zacchaeus different? Because he repented of his sins and trusted in Jesus to save him. When he did this, God forgave all of his sins and made him a brand new person on the inside!

Big Idea and Motions: When Jesus saves us, he makes us into brand new people..
Jesus - form a cross with your forearms
Saves - make the baseball “safe!” sign
Us - two thumbs pointing to yourself
Brand new - cover your face with both hands
People - uncover your face and thrust your hands into the air in celebration

Verse / Motions: 2 Corinthians 5:17, ESV - Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.
Anyone - gesture your arms in a wide circle
Christ - form a cross with your forearms.
Creation - pretend to hammer a nail
Old has passed away - pretend to pick up a box from the floor and toss it over your shoulder
New has come - two thumbs up, then point to yourself with those two thumbs

Questions to Ask Throughout the Week
Who was the man from today’s story? // Zacchaeus
What job did Zacchaeus have? // Tax collector
Describe what Zacchaeus’ body was like. // Short
Who came to Zacchaeus’ city, the city of Jericho? // Jesus
When he couldn’t see over the crowd, what did Zacchaeus do? // Climb a tree
What did Jesus say to Zacchaeus? // I’m coming to your house today
After meeting with Jesus, what did Zacchaeus say he’d do? // Give ½ of his money to the poor, pay back 4 times what he stole
Why did Zacchaeus change into a new person? // When he repented and believed in Jesus, God made him a new person
What is today’s big idea? // When Jesus saves us, he makes us into brand new people..
What is today’s Bible verse? // 2 Corinthians 5:17, ESV - Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

Google Docs Links:
Lesson - http://goo.gl/pJl6Tq
Resources - http://goo.gl/H1iAxj

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