From Creation to Redemption of Man

(A Progressive/Chronological Introduction)

A. FROM CREATION TO CHRIST

INTRODUCTION

Where did the world come from? Who made the stars, the sun and the moon? Who made all the mountains and rivers? Who made everything in the world? Did someone create it all?

Was it you? Was it a spirit? (Was it Satan?) Who was it?

I am going to tell you about God, the great, good Spirit Who made all that we see.

God loves all people. He loves you and me and wants to know us personally. He has spoken to us through His Book, which is called the Bible. This book is God's message for us. Listen and I will tell you what God's Book says. God's Words are good, so pay attention.

THE CREATION

God tells us in His Book how He made the world. This is what it says.

Before the world existed God was there. He has always existed and He will never die. No one created God, but God created all things. Long ago there were no trees, mountains, rivers, or people. There was nothing. Only God.

God created the world and everything in it. God is a great and powerful Spirit. He spoke and it all appeared. God said, "Let there be night and day", and there was night and day. God made the sun, moon and stars. He made the ground and sky; the trees and flowers. All that grows began to grow. God made all the animals, birds and insects. He made the ........ and the ........ (mention some local animals.)

Then God made a man out of some earth. God breathed into this man's body and he became alive. God called the first man Adam. God also made a woman and she was called Eve.

God saw all that He had made and He saw that it was good. God always makes things right and good. God is good and perfect. He made all the pretty colors we see. There is nothing that God cannot make, because He is powerful and knows all things.

God also made the spirits. They were called angels. When God made the angels they were only good. They had great power and loved God. Satan was ruler of the angels. Then Satan and many angels disobeyed and fought God. But God has power over all the spirits and He defeated them.

We cannot see God, but we can see what He has made. We should give thanks to God. He sends the rain to water the crops and the sun to shine. He makes food grow so we can eat and be filled. God is very kind. He is very powerful. We should never forget to give thanks to God.

THE FALL OF MAN

I have told you how God made this world. Now I am going to tell you about the first man and woman, Adam and Eve.

God put Adam in a wonderful garden where many fruit trees grew. Adam cared for the garden and named all the animals. It was a marvelous place. However, there was no companion for Adam. So God created a woman to be Adam's companion. They could eat of any of the trees of the garden except one. There was only the fruit of one tree they could not eat, for God said to Adam: "Don't eat the fruit of this tree in the midst of the garden. For when you eat of it you will certainly die."

One day Satan came to the garden and he spoke to Eve. He said to her that she could eat the fruit of the tree that God said they couldn't eat. Eve listened to what Satan said, and was tricked by him. She took of the fruit and ate it. Afterwards Eve also gave some to Adam and he also ate it.

This is how Adam and Eve disobeyed God and sin came into the world. Now they feared God. They were ashamed and wanted to hide from God. Because of their disobedience God punished them. He sent them out of the garden.

God is pure and holy. For this reason they couldn't stay in God's presence any longer. Because Adam and Eve sinned, suffering, sadness, sickness and many hard things came into this world. People began to die. Their spirits turned away from God.

Even though they sinned, God still loved them. He promised that one day He would send a Saviour. This Saviour would save men from their sins.

We are all like Adam and Eve. We disobey God and listen to Satan. Our forefathers did the same thing. (Use example). They chose to listen to Satan. Satan always lies to us.

But God always tells the truth. God knows what is best for us. We should always listen to God's words. We shouldn't listen to what Satan tells us.

CAIN AND ABEL

I'm going to tell you the story of Adam and Eve's children. They were the first children to be born here in the world. The name of the first was Cain. The name of the second was Abel. Adam and Eve taught their children about God. Cain grew up to be a farmer. Abel grew up to be a keeper of animals.

On a certain day Cain and Abel brought presents to God. Cain brought part of his harvest. Abel brought one of his lambs and killed it to offer to God. God was pleased with Abel's sacrifice but didn't like Cain's present. It wasn't right or acceptable to God.

Cain became really jealous of Abel. He was angry because God was pleased with Abel's gift. He went with Abel out into the field. Then, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him.

Cain thought that no one had seen the evil he had done. But God sees everything. He saw what happened. God asked Cain, "Where is your brother?" Cain responded, " I don't know." But he lied.

God said. "I see the blood of your brother. I know that you killed him and I'm going to punish you. When you plough the soil, it is not going to give you any produce. You are going to be afraid of other people and always running away."

Cain became very sad. He knew God was right to punish him. Cain had done wrong against his brother Abel. But he had also done wrong towards God because God had made Abel.

This story teaches us that when we do wrong against other people, we do wrong against God. God made everyone. That is why we must respect other people. God knows all the evil that we do against other people. He knows when we speak badly about another person or do wrong to them. He knows when we do not like another person or when we lie to them. All this makes God sad and angry with us.

NOAH

Adam and Eve had other children after Abel died. They grew up and also had their own children. Many years passed and the number of people multiplied. But, these people did evil like Adam and Eve had done.

God became very sad because He saw all the evil things that they did. The earth was full of hatred and violence. God became sad because He knew the evil thoughts of the people. They only thought how to do more evil to one another.

God grieved that He had made people on the earth. God let them go on for many years, but they did not stop doing wrong things. Then God decided to destroy all the people and animals on the earth.

But there was one man who loved and obeyed God. His name was Noah. Noah was an upright man. He did what God wanted. He did not like evil. He reproved the other people who could only think and do evil.

One day God spoke to Noah and said, "I am going to destroy both the people and animals on the earth. I am going to send a great flood. Build a large boat. You and your family are going to enter it and you will be safe."

Then Noah began to build a large boat as God commanded him. (S/E building for 5 sec.) While Noah built the boat, he warned them that God was going to send a flood to destroy them. But they just laughed at Noah. (S/E -laughter for 5 sec.) They did not believe his warning. They kept on doing their evil deeds.

Then God said to Noah: "Gather your family and a male and female of all the animals. Take them with you inside the ark." Oh what a noise they made! (S/E animal noises l0 seconds) After they had entered the boat, God Himself closed the door of the boat. (S/E door slam).

Then it rained and kept on raining, just as God promised. (S/E rain and storm for lO secs and behind the speaking.) The water rose and covered the fields. The people were afraid and wanted to get in the boat. (S/E -shouts for help for 5 secs.) But it was too late. Then it covered the hills and mountains. All the people and animals outside of the boat died. (S/E fade out rain & storm) But Noah and his family were safe in the boat. They had believed in the words of God and were saved.

We can see that God doesn't like evil. He punished the people in Noah's day because they thought and did bad things. When we want to do evil things toward other people, we should remember that God doesn't like it. God will punish us when we do wrong. We should not do evil to others because they do evil to us. We should allow God to take vengeance on the sin of others.

There is coming a day when God is going to punish each person for the evil that he has done. This suffering is going to be very bad; worse than the suffering in Noah's day. We ought to think: "What is God going to do with me when He punishes all evil people?" Certainly many people are going to be very sad for the evil that they did when they lived on the earth.

ABRAHAM (CAN BE OMITTED)

Abraham was a descendant of Noah. Abraham believed and obeyed God. When he was old, God promised Abraham that he would have a son. Even though it seemed impossible, Abraham believed God. God's promise came true. God always does what He says He will do. When they were old, Abraham and Sarah had a boy child. His name was Isaac.

God promised that through the descendants of Isaac would come a Saviour who could wipe away the sins of the world. Your sins and mine.

MOSES AND THE TEN COMMANDMENTS

Moses was a descendant of Abraham and Isaac. Moses believed in God. God told Moses to go up a certain mountain. There God gave His laws to Moses. Moses came down from the mountain and gave God's laws to the people. God wants everyone to obey His commandments. These commandments tell us how we ought to live towards God and other people. I am going to tell you the commandments of God:

God says that we should not worship other gods (spirits). We should worship only Him because He made us.

God says that we shouldn't make any image so that we can worship it. We should not bring presents to any image or spirit whatsoever. We should worship God. We shouldn't worship those idols people make, or be afraid of the spirits.

God says we should not use His name in a bad way or without respect.

God says that we should work for six days. One day each week we should rest so we can worship Him.

These commandments tell us how to be towards God. Have you been obeying these commandments? God is going to punish those who do not obey His commandments. There are other commandments which tell us how we should be towards other people. Listen:

God says that we should respect our father and our mother. We should obey them, we should not speak evil of them or hit them.

God says that we should not kill other people. When we kill because of vengeance or anger, we are doing what God doesn't like. We shouldn't even desire a person to die or be angry with them.

God says that we should not commit adultery. Men should not even think about living with another woman who is not his wife. Nor a woman think of living with another man who is not her husband. God knows our thoughts and doesn't like evil thoughts. Also we should not send our wife away, or have more than one wife.

God says that we should not steal. Not even cattle, crops or possessions belonging to another person.

God says that we should not tell lies. We should not deceive or speak evil of other people. God doesn't like lies. He always speaks the truth.

God says we should not want things that other people have. Not their house, or wife, or home, or animals or anything that is theirs. We should not be envious of those who have more than we do. We should be satisfied with all that God has given us. We should give thanks to Him.

GOD'S JUDGMENT OF SIN

I have told you God's commandments. Have you been obeying His commandments? God has said that all have sinned and that everyone will be punished for their sins. God is going to punish the person who disobeys His commandments. But we disobey His commandments every day. It is certain that God is angry with us.

God is going to punish all the people who disobey Him. God is not going to send another flood as in Noah's day. When He punishes the people again it is going to be worse than the flood. God is going to send all people to a place of suffering forever. This place is called Hell. They are going to cry and be sad. There is going to be no one to help them. There is going to be no way to escape from the suffering in hell.

Every person that disobeys any of God's commandments, when that person dies, God will send him to hell. He has to stay there forever because he disobeyed God while he lived. If we have sinned against God it is certain that God will punish us and send us to hell. Could it be that we could escape this suffering? There is a way of escape. Listen! I am going to tell you how we can escape hell.

B. THE REDEMPTION OF MAN

INTRODUCTION TO JESUS

God does not want to punish people and send them to hell. This makes God very sad. It is necessary because of their evil deeds. That is why God made a way for us to escape this place of suffering.

God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to die for our sins, because He loves us. That way, God doesn't need to punish us for our sins. Jesus Christ willingly took the punishment of our sins when He died.

The story of Jesus is a marvelous, true story. It is in God's book, the Bible. Listen, I am going to tell you about it.

THE BIRTH OF JESUS

Jesus is the only Son of God. Before He came to this earth, He always lived in heaven with God. In heaven, there was no pain or suffering. Heaven is a beautiful and good place. Jesus liked being with God, His Father.

This is how God became a man for awhile: God decided to send His Son, Jesus, into this world because of man's sin. A long, long time ago Jesus was born as a man. The mother of Jesus was Mary. The birth of Jesus was a miracle. Mary give birth to Jesus when she was still a virgin. She had never slept with a man. God told Mary that she should name the baby Jesus. The name means "Saviour".

As Jesus grew up, He always did good to other people. He never disobeyed any of God's commandments. Satan wanted Jesus to do bad. He tried to make Jesus do bad, but Jesus would not listen to Him.

THE MINISTRY OF JESUS

When Jesus was thirty years old, He began to teach other people. He told people that they should leave their sins and believe in the good news that He brought (Mark 1:15). He said that God cared very much for the people.

Jesus healed many sick people. He healed the lame, the deaf and the blind. He even raised people from the dead. I'm going to tell you a miracle Jesus did. (Mark 2:1-12)

One day Jesus was teaching inside a house. People heard he was there and a great crowd gathered. Four men carried a paralysed man to Jesus. They could not reach Jesus because of the many people in the house. So they made a hole in the flat roof. They let the man down through the hole right in front of Jesus. Jesus saw their trust in Him. He said to the man, "My son, your sins are forgiven." Some religious leaders were angry that Jesus said this. They said, "God is the only One who can forgive sins!" They did not understand that Jesus was the Son of God. Then Jesus said to the paralysed man, "Get up, pick up your mat, and go home." The man was healed! He got up, picked up his mat, and walked home!

This story shows that Jesus is able to cleanse us from our sins. No one else is able to cleanse us. How wonderful to be healed. But, how much better to have your sins forgiven.

Jesus also cast out evil spirits (demons) from people. I am going to tell you how Jesus cured a little boy with an evil spirit. (Mark 9:14-31)

The father brought his son to the followers of Jesus. He asked them to cast out the evil spirit. But they could not. Then Jesus came. When the evil spirit saw Jesus it made the boy have a terrible fit. He fell down and rolled about, foaming at the mouth. The man had very little hope that Jesus could help them. But Jesus said, "Everything is possible for him who believes." Jesus commanded the evil spirit, "Come out of him, and never enter him again." The spirit screamed and came out of the boy. He was completely healed.

We see that Jesus has more power than the evil spirits, He has more power than all witchdoctors. He knows what they do. He has power to expel evil spirits. When Jesus is leading us, the evil spirits cannot enter our hearts.

THE DEATH OF JESUS

For three years Jesus taught and healed people. The people liked Him. They always gathered to hear His words. But the leaders of the people were envious of Jesus. They didn't like Jesus because He spoke of their sins. That's why they became very angry with him. They tried to find a way to kill him.

One night they arrested Jesus and took Him before the judges. They spoke falsely against Jesus. They said He had done evil things. But Jesus never did anything bad against people or against God. Jesus always obeyed God's commands. They asked Jesus, "Are you the Son of God?" When Jesus said, "Yes", they became very angry with Him.

The leaders of the people got what they wanted. They nailed Jesus to a cross. They put nails in His hands and feet. After much suffering and pain, Jesus died.

God saw all that happened when Jesus died. God let the leaders kill Jesus because God knew that Jesus died for our sins. God punished Jesus, not for His sins, because Jesus never sinned. God punished Jesus for our sins. Jesus willingly took the punishment for our sins on the cross because He loves us. That is why Jesus is our Saviour.

THE RESURRECTION AND ASCENSION OF JESUS

After Jesus died, some of His friends took His body from the cross. They put it in a tomb (cave). Three days after He died, Jesus lived again. God has all power. He made Jesus live again. The body of Jesus was the same body He had before He died. Many people saw Jesus after He lived again. They saw the wounds in His hands and feet.

After Jesus lived again, He appeared to His followers. Many people saw Jesus and talked with Him. For forty days He taught them. Then the followers of Jesus saw Him return to heaven. He went up into the clouds. Two angels appeared and said to the friends of Jesus, "You saw Jesus go up to heaven. Later, He will come back again."

Now Jesus is in heaven. He is with God again. Jesus is the Lord, the great leader that runs all things on this earth. He has more power than all the leaders, authorities and .... (Use local terms). Jesus has more power than Satan and all the evil spirits. He has more power than any witchdoctor.

Some day Jesus is going to return. All people are going to see His great power.

THE TWO ROADS

When Jesus lived on earth, He taught that there are two roads in this world. One goes to heaven and the other goes to hell.

Many people have walked on the road that goes to hell. It isn't hard to walk on this road because it is wide. The people on this road never walk alone. They always have many people with them. But the wide road arrives in hell. Here all the people are going to suffer forever with the evil spirits.

All of us begin this life traveling the wide road. The people on the wide road always think of themselves. They think of how to get more cattle, more money, more possessions (use local examples). All of it for themselves. They think of how to be respected by everyone and how they can be important people.

The people on the wide road like to do evil: drinking, fighting, taking other people's wives. They like to speak badly of other people. They like to laugh at others. They worship idols and evil spirits. The people who do these things will go to hell.

But the road that goes to heaven has few people on it. It is difficult to travel this road because it is narrow and hard. Many times they have to walk alone. But this road arrives in Heaven, where God lives. In heaven there is no pain or sadness. Nothing of evil.

The people who walk on this road are different to others. They always think about love and what God wants. They always give thanks to God. They listen to God's commandments and obey them. They think about how they can do good toward other people. Also they don't like evil. They are not companions with those who drink, fight and grab other people's women. They don't like to speak evil of others. They like to do what God wants.

Why are they this way? It is because God cleaned the sins from their hearts. God isn't angry with them anymore. God gave His Spirit that lives in them now. They no longer fear death. They do not fear evil spirits.

How did these people get on the narrow road? I will tell you. They recognized they had done wrong against God. They became very sad when they thought of the evil they had done. They knew that God was right when He said that He would punish them.

They did more than become sad. They told God that they were wrong. They humbled themselves before God. They told God all their sins. They didn't hide anything. They asked God to cleanse their evil. Also they decided not to return to their old life. They left their sins.

The people on the narrow road trust Jesus to save them. They know Jesus willingly took the punishment for their sins. That is why they love Jesus. They believe Jesus is their own Saviour. They accept Jesus as their Lord. They let Him rule their hearts. They think that what Jesus wants is much more important than anything else.

On which of these roads are you walking? Are you walking on the narrow road or the wide road?

Many people that walk on the wide road want to leave that road. But they stay on it. They agree with what this message says. They know that they are doing evil but they stay on the wide road. They stay with the multitude until they arrive in hell.

Listen! Jesus lives. He is the Lord. He says to all of us that we ought to leave our sins and trust in Him. If we don't do this, He is going to punish us on the day He returns.

Do you want to enter the narrow road, the Jesus Road? I'm going to tell you how you can. Talk with God. You can talk with Him right now. God is everywhere. He will hear what you say to Him.

Tell Him that you are very sad because you disobeyed His commandments. Humble yourself before Him and tell Him your sins. Tell Him you are going to leave your sins. Trust in Jesus to save you, since Jesus was punished for your sins. Let Jesus rule your heart and life.

If you ask Him in this way, He will save you from your bad deeds. Then, when you die you will go to Heaven to live with God forever.