NT 16 Jesus Heals a Man Who Could Not Walk

Reference: Mark 2:1-12, Luke 5:18-26

Story Summary:
     Jesus stood in a house and taught a large crowd of people about God's Word. The house was so filled with people that there wasn't even room at the door to get in.
     A group of men carried a man who could not walk. They wanted to bring him to Jesus. But they couldn't get in because of the crowd. So, they climbed onto the roof of the house, made a hole in the roof, and lowered the man down to Jesus. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the man, "Son, your sins are forgiven."
     When Jesus said this, some Bible teachers there became angry. They thought, "What's he saying? Only God can forgive sins." To prove to them that he could forgive sins, Jesus said to them, "What's easier to say: 'Your sins are forgiven?' or 'Pick up your mat and walk?'"
     Jesus spoke to the man who could not walk. "Pick up your mat and go home. Right then, the man stood up and carried his mat home.
     All the people there were amazed at what Jesus had done. They said, "We've never seen anything like this!"

Big Idea and Motions: Because Jesus is God, he can forgive our sins.
Jesus - form a cross with your forearms
God - point up
Forgive - hold one hand palm up; pretend to brush something off it with the fingertips of your other hand *
Sins - two thumbs down
* This is the ASL Sign for “forgive”. See http://goo.gl/635Tk for a demonstration.

Verse / Motions: 1 John 1:9, ESV - If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins...
We - point to yourself
Confess - make your hand talk like a puppet
Sins - two thumbs down
Faithful - cross your fingers on both hands
Just - pound the bottom of your fist on your up-facing palm (like a judge’s gavel)
Forgive - hold left palm up, brush it off twice with the fingertips of your other hand

Questions to Ask Throughout the Week
What was Jesus doing in the house? // Teaching people God's Word
How crowded was it? // So crowded, no one could get inside
Why were so many people there? // Jesus did amazing miracles and said amazing things
What problem did the man with four friends have? // He couldn't walk
How did the four friends get their friend inside the house with Jesus? // Made a hole in the roof, lowered their friend down
What was the first thing Jesus said when he saw the man and their friends? // Son, your sins are forgiven
Why were the Bible teachers upset with Jesus? // Because only God can forgive sins
What’s easier to say: Your sins are forgiven or Pick up your mat and walk? Why? // Your sins are forgiven because it’s something you can’t see
What happened when Jesus told the man to pick up his mat and walk? //His legs were healed and he could walk
How did the people in the crowd feel when Jesus healed the man’s legs? // Amazed.

Google Docs Links:
Lesson - https://goo.gl/5zHBCY
Resources - https://goo.gl/0I8jAa