Chronological Series with Basic Christian Teaching

INTRODUCTION

My friends, I want to tell you something that is very, very important. Listen carefully while I tell you about God and how He made the world.

ATTRIBUTES OF GOD

God always lived. God didn't have a father, He didn't have a mother. He wasn't born. He can't die. God always was, and He always will be. God is Spirit. God has all power. He has more power than anything else or any other person in this world. He has more power than the river when it is high. He has more power than the strongest wind and thunder storm. He has more power than evil spirits. Nothing is too hard for God. God hears everything. He knows what we are saying, even when we whisper. God knows everything. He even knows what we are thinking. He knows when we were born and He knows when we are going to die. God lives in heaven and we can't see Him. He also lives on the earth among us. He can see us all the time. God is good. He never did anything bad. He hates badness. God never changes. When He speaks His words are true for ever.

CREATION

In the beginning there was only God. There were no people, no animals, no seas, no trees and no sun. There wasn't anything. At that time only God existed. God spoke and everything that is in this world was created by Him. He made the sun, moon, sky and the earth.

God made all kinds of trees and animals. Everything that He made was very good. God also made people. God loved them. He made them master over all the animals. God wanted them all to live happily together with Himself.

ADAM & EVE

The first man was named Adam and the first woman was named Eve. Adam and Eve lived happily in a beautiful garden. God said, "You may eat the fruit from all the trees except one tree. You must not eat of that one or you will die." But the enemy of God, Satan, deceived Adam and Eve. They ate the fruit God had said not to eat. Adam and Eve disobeyed God. This was sin, so God punished them. From that time they experienced pain, sickness and death. Adam and Eve were sent out of the beautiful garden. But God still kept on loving them. God promised to send a Saviour who would take away their sin.

As Adam and Eve sinned, so also their children sinned. Cain, the son of Adam, hated his brother Abel. Cain sinned against God. He killed his brother Abel. All the descendants of Adam and Eve have sinned. God hates sin. He said he would punish all who sin. What are some of the bad things people do? They do not obey God. They lie, hate each other, get angry, commit adultery, worship things or spirits instead of God. They get drunk and do other evil things.

All people have sinned. You and I have sinned. God says that sin brings death. How can we escape the punishment for our sin? God promised to send a Saviour. People who wanted to follow God's way could be free from God's punishment, by receiving the Saviour. He would take away their sin.

NOAH

The descendants of Adam kept doing more and more bad things. God had to punish them. But there was one man who obeyed God. His name was Noah. God told Noah to make a boat because He was going to send a big flood to destroy all people. Noah obeyed God and built a large boat. (SE - Building.) Only Noah and his family believed God was going to send a big flood.

After Noah and his family went into the boat, God shut the door. (SE -Door banging.) Heavy rain fell, causing a big flood. (SE - Storm.) All the mountains were covered with water. Everyone outside the boat died because they did not believe God. Noah and his family were saved because Noah believed God. Noah's family grew and after a time there were many people on the earth again.

ABRAHAM

After a time there was a man named Abraham. Abraham was a descendant of Noah. Abraham believed in God and God called him His friend. Abraham's wife was Sarah. God promised that Abraham and Sarah would have a child. After they were very old, Abraham and Sarah had a boy child. The child was given the name Isaac. God promised Abraham that he would have many descendants. He also said that through Abraham and his descendants all peoples on earth would be happy. Some of Abraham's descendants followed God's ways and were happy. But many did not believe God. They became very wicked.

MOSES AND TEN COMMANDMENTS

Many years later there was a man named Moses. Moses was a descendant of Abraham and Isaac. Moses believed in God and followed God's ways. God told Moses to go up a certain mountain. There God gave His laws to Moses. Moses came down the mountain and gave God's laws to the people. God wanted His people to obey His words. God said:

1. I am the one true God. You must not worship another god.

2. You must not carve wood or stone or anything, to bow down to it.

3. You must not say God's name in a bad way.

4. One day a week you should keep special and cease from your work.

5. Children should respect their parents.

6. You must not murder another person.

7. You must not lie with another person's mate.

8. You must not steal.

9. You must not tell lies about another person.

l0. You must not be jealous and want things for yourself that other people have. You must not want their house, their mate or anything belonging to them.

To disobey any of these is a sin against God. God says that the hearts of all people are bad. All have sinned against God. God will punish all who disobey Him.

SACRIFICE FOR SIN

In the days of Abraham and Moses God commanded the people to sacrifice a sheep or other animal when they sinned. Why was this? You remember that God promised to send a Saviour, but it was not time for Him to come. God did not want his people to forget His promise, so He told them to sacrifice an animal. When they shed the blood of an animal they would remember and be sorry for their sins. Then God would forgive them. Listen carefully! I will tell you how God sent His Son Jesus to take away all our sins.

THE BIRTH OF CHRIST

God sent many messengers. They kept telling people to obey God. They also told them that God would send a Saviour. They spoke concerning His coming many, many years before He came.

At the right time, God fulfilled His promise to Adam and Eve. This is the way it happened. There was a young woman named Mary. She had not yet slept with a man. Mary was going to marry a man named Joseph. One day an angel of God came to Mary. The angel said, "God's Spirit will make you have a boy child. You must name the child Jesus. He will be called the Son of God." The angel also said this to Joseph in a dream. He said Jesus would save people from their sins. Great power came upon Mary and at the right time Jesus was born. Joseph did not sleep with Mary until after they were married.

Nine months later, Mary gave birth to a boy child just as the angel had said. On that same night, the angel of God came to a group of shepherds. The angel said, "This night, the Saviour, promised by God, has been born." The angel told the shepherds how to find the baby. The shepherds found Jesus and then told others they had seen the Saviour. This made many people very happy.

HIS LIFE AND MINISTRY

Jesus grew up like other children. But He never did anything bad. When Jesus was twelve years old He was able to talk about God to the religious leaders. Later, when he was a man He taught many people about God. There were people who wanted to believe in Jesus and there were many who did not want to believe. This is the same today. But, God said that Jesus is His Son and we must obey Him. (Because they are one, Jesus and God always agree.)

Jesus has great power. He has more power than all the evil spirits and witchdoctors. When He was on earth, He did many wonderful things. He healed the sick, raised the dead to life and cast out demons. He even walked on water. Jesus had many followers who saw what He did and heard what He said.

THE DEATH OF CHRIST

Jesus always did good. He never sinned. Jesus spoke about God and taught people to obey God. Jesus taught that all people are sinful. Many religious people did not want to confess they were sinners. They were angry, so they had Jesus arrested. They wanted to put Him to death. The soldiers spat on Jesus; they beat Him and mocked Him. But Jesus did not oppose them. Why? This was part of God's plan for taking away our sins.

The ruler agreed that Jesus should die, so He was nailed to a wooden cross. That was the custom for punishing criminals in that day. His followers were very sad. But God said the death of His Son Jesus would be the sacrifice for our sin. Jesus willingly took the punishment for my sin and your sin by dying. Jesus never sinned. But He was willing to die so that He could take away our sins. He did this because He loves us.

If we truly say we are sinful and turn to Jesus, He will forgive our sins. Are you thankful to Jesus for taking away your sin? God says now all other sacrifices are finished. God will forgive only those who believe and trust Jesus, His Son.

THE RESURRECTION

After Jesus died on the cross, His friends buried his body in a cave. Then the door of the cave was closed with a big heavy stone. Three days later His followers came to the grave. But Jesus was not there. There was only an angel. The angel said, "Jesus is not here. He has already come back to life again." Then the angel disappeared.

After Jesus came alive again, His followers and many other people saw him. He talked with them. Thomas, a follower of Jesus, said, "Unless I see the wounds in His hands, I will not believe that He has come back to life again." Later, Jesus came to Thomas and showed him His wounds. Thomas believed that Jesus had already come alive again because he saw Jesus. Jesus wants us to believe in Him even though we haven't seen Him.

THE ASCENSION

For forty days after the Lord Jesus came back to life, He taught his followers many things. Jesus told them to go and tell all people about Himself: How He died to take the punishment for their sins and how He came alive again. Then he took His followers to a hill. They saw Jesus go up into Heaven. Afterwards two angels said to the followers who were watching, "In the same way you saw Jesus go into heaven, He will come back again." After the angels said this they disappeared. The Lord Jesus is alive today and hears us when we pray to Him. When the Lord Jesus comes back again, He will take everyone who believes in Him to heaven. If you believe (accept) what the Lord Jesus has done for you, you can go to heaven, too.

CALL TO COMMITMENT

Jesus taught that there are two roads in this life; a wide road and a narrow road. Every person is already on the wide road. It is a wide road because many people are on it. This road leads to punishment in a fire which cannot be put out. The person who believes in Jesus and obeys his words changes from the wide road to the narrow road. There are few people on the narrow road. The narrow road leads to life with God in Heaven. In heaven there is no sickness. There is no hunger, no sadness. Everyone in Heaven is happy always.

Do you want to believe in Jesus? If you do, speak to Jesus like this, "Lord Jesus, I confess that I am sinful. Now I turn away from my sins. I turn away from trusting in ..... (idols, witchdoctors, good works, etc) I believe that you died on the cross to take the punishment for my sin. Forgive me for sinning against you, and change my life. I am very soqrry that I have sinned. I want to follow you only from this day. I want to do your will in everything. I want to live in heaven with you when I die. Thank you Lord Jesus. Amen" If you truly speak to Jesus like this, you will become a child of God. It will be like being born a second time. God will be your Father. You will live forever with God.

THE COMING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

Before Jesus left His followers, He promised to send a Helper to them after He was gone back to His home in Heaven. After a time, His followers came together. They prayed together while waiting for this Helper. Suddenly, God's Spirit came upon each one of them and lived in them. God's Spirit lives in everyone who has come to Jesus. God's Spirit helps them to understand God's words. He helps them to do the things which please God. The followers of Jesus want to do things which please God.

A person who doesn't believe in Jesus is like a person walking in the dark. Because there is no light, they often slip and fall. We need a guide who can point out the road which is right and the road which is wrong. People who follow Jesus are like the people who walk in the light. God's Spirit is their Guide. He is always ready to help us. He shows us the way in God's book (the Bible).

HOW CHRISTIANS SHOULD LIVE

If you follow Jesus you will want to obey God's words (God's book, the Bible). A follower of Jesus is called a Christian. This is how a Christian should live (as God's book tells us).

A Christian family should live according to what God says. A Christian husband loves his wife. A Christian wife honors her husband. The husband and wife must help one another. They look after their children. They both teach them about Jesus and the things of God.

God says that Christians should come together regularly. They can pray, sing, and learn from God's book together. The Bible says that Christians are like a body. The Lord Jesus is the real head of the body. Each part of the body has a task that is different. For example, preaching, singing, cooking, helping others, etc. True Christians love one another and help one another.

God says the followers of Jesus must love all people, including their enemies. We must do good to all people, even to people who do wrong to us. We expect fruit from a tree. Jesus likens Himself to a trunk of a vine and the people who believe are the branches. Jesus expects good fruit from His followers. That means fruits of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, humility and inner control. God's Spirit will produce these fruits in a true follower of Jesus. A branch which does not bear any fruit will be cut off and burnt. Those who truly follow Jesus will also be joyful (happy). They will remember to thank God often for loving and forgiving them. They will thank Him for the peace and joy he puts in their hearts.

God says that we must not worship idols or spirits of the dead. We must not become angry with one another, steal, kill, commit adultery, or fail to do that which is good. We should destroy all our idols and fetishes. We should worship only the Lord Jesus and ask help from him. Jesus has greater power than every witchdoctor, idol, fetish or the spirits of dead people. God does not work through fetishes and things like that.

Satan is a powerful angel who was the first to disobey God. Other angels followed Satan, and are called evil spirits. Satan and the evil spirits are God's enemies. They want to hurt us. Satan wants us to think continually about how to get lots of money, clothes and other things. He wants us to forget God. But we must obey God. God doesn't want us to live in fear of evil spirits. We do not need to fear. God will always help us, if we ask Him.

CONFESSION OF SIN

When we sin after becoming a follower of Jesus, we must not try to cover (hide) our sin. If we cover our sin God will not bless us. He knows all things, so He knows when we do wrong things. We must tell Him and turn away from our sins. He loves us. He will certainly forgive our sin if we turn away from it and ask Him to forgive us.

PRAYER

As God's children we can talk to God about everything in life. We need to thank God for all the good things He gives us. We can call upon God when we are in trouble. He hears everything. God loves us and will help us.

If you are sick, don't ask the witch doctors or the spirits of a dead person to help you. To do that grieves (saddens) Jesus. The Lord Jesus is more powerful than anyone and everything. Ask Jesus to help you.

HEAVEN AND HELL

When a person who believes in the Lord Jesus dies, his body is buried. But his soul and spirit will go to heaven. This is because his sin has already been taken away by the Lord Jesus. If a person who doesn't believe in the Lord Jesus dies, his body is also buried. But his soul will be punished in the fire that never goes out. This is because he did not ask God's forgiveness and did not believe in the Lord Jesus.

WITNESSING

Do you believe in Jesus? If you do, tell your family. Has Jesus forgiven all your sin? Don't be ashamed or afraid to tell your friends. Tell them that your heart is calm and that you don't fear the spirits. Tell others about heaven and eternal life. If they turn away from their sins and believe in the Lord Jesus, they will go to heaven when they die. Also, tell them there is a place of punishment for those who do not believe in Jesus. Tell them that Jesus wants to free everyone so that they will not be punished in the place of fire. Jesus has told us to tell everyone about Him.

THE RETURN OF CHRIST

The Lord Jesus is now in Heaven but one day He is coming back again. When He comes everyone who believes will be taken to heaven. Even those who haven't died will be taken. But people who do not believe in the Lord Jesus will be left and punished in the fire. Are you ready if Jesus should come today?

Revised 5th July, 1988