DAY 2 – Who We Are in Christ

Opener

Good evening, detectives! It is wonderful to see you again tonight! Tell me real quick – how did the rest of your eyewitness interviews go yesterday?

Great! I knew you would do amazing.

Tonight, we are going to build on those skills. Now that you know how to interview multiple witnesses, I believe you are ready for the next crucial skill every good detective needs to learn. Can you guess what that might be?

That’s right, you have to be really good at finding clues!

Now, interestingly enough, part of discovering who God is involves learning about who we are. I know that might not make a lot of sense right now, but after tonight, I think you will understand.

As you saw already, Algernon was able to obtain some clues for us from some of these same eyewitnesses you encountered yesterday and some new ones as well.

Now, before we get too far into the clues, there is one more thing you ought to know about God. A long time ago, 2,000 years ago, in fact, God came down from heaven and stepped into His own creation as a human that looked just like you and me. And he had a specific name when He did that. Do you know His name?

That’s right! Jesus. Jesus is God in human flesh. So, as we investigate the clues tonight, we need to understand that they will lead to some conclusions that only matter to those of us who know God as Jesus. Does that make sense? And it’s okay if you don’t because I will come back at the end of your training to make sure it does. Sound good?

Okay, first things first… let’s see what clues we have here in this box. I think this first one was given to us by King David.

6 Clues About Who We Are

1- Created – [a ball of yarn with knitting needles or a hand-crafted coffee mug]

Moses - Made in God’s image | Gen. 1:27 | So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.

David - Wonderfully made | Ps. 139:13-14 | For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.

2- Loved – [big stuffed heart]

Paul - Love the Unloveable | Eph 2:4-5 | But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved.

John – All-encompassing love | John 3:16-17 | For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.

3- Restored – [a broken object that has visibly been fixed]

John - Forgiven | 1 John 1:9 | If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Paul - Reconciled | Rom. 5:10-11 | For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

4- Adopted Children – [state certificate of adoption]

Paul – Adopted and Co-heirs | Rom. 8:15-17 | For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ.

Paul – Sons and Daughters | 2 Cor. 6:18 | … and I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to me, says the Lord Almighty.”

5- God’s Agents – [name badge]

Paul - Ambassadors | 2 Cor. 5:20 |Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.

Matthew - Light of the world | Matt. 5:14-16 | “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

6- A new creation – [a new toy that is still in its packaging]

Paul - New Creation | 2 Cor. 5:17 | Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

Paul - Spiritually alive | Rom. 6:11 | So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.

Ending

Okay, detectives… you now have your clues! Now, it’s time to use what you learned last night and corroborate what you have just learned with the other witnesses who discovered these same clues. Good luck!

*If there is time, maybe Algernon or I can use the last few minutes of the evening and give a clear gospel presentation and give kids a chance to respond and receive Jesus as their savior so they can be all the things they just learned about tonight.