VBS Sunday - Who is Jesus to You?

Scripture: John 3:16

John 3:16 NIV

16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

7/14/2024

Order of Service:

Special Notes:

Opening Prayer:

Heavenly Father, we give You thanks for the sacrificial love of Jesus

and the redemption we find in His resurrection.

Thank you for the gift of salvation and the promise of eternal life.

May our hearts overflow with gratitude and praise. Amen.

Children’s Moment:

Total Time: 15 mins 4 secs

Sermon Word Count1732

Communion Word Count 0

Sermon Time 15 mins 4 secs

Communion Time -

Children’s Moment Word Count 0

Children’s Moment Time -

VBS Sunday

Jesus

Many people wonder why we focus so much on Jesus. Isn’t the church supposed to be about so much more than Him? The world celebrates and even awards us for our efforts to combat poverty, end hunger, provide medical supplies to those who cannot obtain them, and provide shelter for those with nowhere to go. Everyone loves it when we help people in need and ask for nothing in return.

We even get some credit when we address people’s non-physical needs, such as counseling, fellowship, and education. In short, I think the world would love the church to be where people come and get fixed up, then sent back into the world to be productive citizens and consumers. They point to our scriptures and say, “Look, it is there. If you squint sideways and take everything out that had to do with worshipping God and Jesus, the gospel is about teaching people to behave nicely.”

But Jesus wasn’t like that. He wasn’t always nice. Sometimes, He got loud. Sometimes, He made a mess. Sometimes, people asked Him to do things for them, but He told them no. Other times, there were rules against helping certain people at certain times, but He helped them anyway and got in trouble for breaking those rules. If Jesus just wanted us to be nice people, He was not very successful, nor was He always the best example of being nice. No, Jesus was sent to do far more than help us be nice people. He was sent to save us and give us new life.

Jesus Died to Save Us

Have you ever jumped into the deep end of a pool or lake? Have you ever been so far underwater that it looked dark, and the sun in the sky began to look far away? Did you feel scared and wonder if you would make it back up out of the water again?

In John chapter 3, Jesus told Nicodemus that we are supposed to be born twice, once by water and once by the Spirit. So, being born into the world is much like being dropped into deep water.

It can be fun scuba diving at the bottom of the ocean, and there are many things to see. There are fish and plants of every color, and some even glow in the dark, giving you just a little bit of extra light to see. I’ve always wondered what it would be like living underwater, and maybe someday we will build cities under the waves.

But there is one big problem with living underwater. You can’t breathe. That’s why scuba divers have oxygen tanks and masks. Those tanks give them just enough air to survive underwater for a little while. But we are not made to live underwater, and when those oxygen tanks run out, or when we cannot hold our breath any longer — we drown.

The Hebrew word for spirit is the same as the word for wind, so it is fitting that Jesus taught his friend that we were made to live in the spirit, not the water. God gives us life just like the wind gives us air to breathe, and with God, we never have to worry about running out of life.

We know we are not perfect people. We know that too often in our world, we feel like we are holding our breath, running out of air, and afraid we are going to die. The problem is, we don’t know what to do about it. Friends and family are wonderful. Church friends and family help us get through rough times. But none of them can save our lives.

We are like deep-sea divers who dive so deep that they can’t see the light anymore and cannot figure out which way to go up or down. Sometimes, they panic and swim deeper instead of going up to the surface, trapping them underwater. God sent Jesus into the world because everyone was trapped and could not get up. He gives us his air as His Holy Spirit lifts and carries us up to the surface so we can be born again, breathing into us the life that God always wanted us to have.

Jesus gave us His air, His life so that we could live. He dove deep into our world to offer his air to anyone, no matter how deep down they were trapped. But not everyone chooses to accept His air and His life. Some reject Him. Some take His air but choose to stay down, get lost under the water, and eventually die. Jesus knew that not everyone would appreciate His gift, but He loves us all so much that He came to us to offer it anyway.

Jesus came and took the worst form of public execution, death on the cross, to prove His love to us — to prove that no one was too far gone or too far beyond His reach. He died to save our lives. That is why we call Jesus our savior.

Jesus Rose to Give Us New Life

And Jesus did more than just save us. He gave us new life.

They buried His body when they took Him down from the cross. Jesus’s death saddened everyone, and some were afraid because they knew God sent Him into the world to bring people back to God. The whole world mourned the death of Jesus. The sky turned dark in the middle of the day. Many of his close friends probably thought the world had ended, and it was their fault.

The next two days were some of the hardest days of their lives. They had heard Jesus say that God sent Him to offer his life as a sacrifice for their sins and the sins of the whole world. Maybe they were forgiven, but what were they supposed to do now? They could try to remember all the things that Jesus taught them, but there was still so much they didn’t understand. It was so much easier to live for God when they had Jesus right there with them.

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Then, just before dawn on the third day, the women went to the tomb to take care of the body of Jesus that they left there three days before. But to their surprise, they couldn’t find the body of Jesus anywhere. Several of the disciples went to check with them, but they didn’t find anything either. Finally, while Mary Magdalene wept in the garden outside the tomb, Jesus appeared to her. He told her He rose from the dead, just like He promised He would, and He sent her to go and tell the other disciples. Not even death could stop Jesus.

Jesus continued to meet with the disciples for several weeks until, one day, He ascended back into heaven. He told the disciples to wait because He was going to send them the Holy Spirit that would lead them and guide them, reminding them of all the things Jesus taught them and helping them with any new problems that might come up. Because Jesus was in heaven with God, and He gave His holy Spirit to everyone who believed in Him here on earth. All of us as His disciples can talk to Him and listen to Him anytime no matter where we are. He can lead the whole world from heaven, where He waits for us. That is why we call Jesus our Lord. He is more than our savior. He is more than our friend. He is our heavenly king. He is the one who gives us life and helps us know how to live. We never have to figure it out on our own.

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Who is Jesus to you?

From that day on, Jesus has been saving people everywhere. He wants everyone to have the opportunity to be born again, not just into the water but into eternal life — the way we were always meant to live. He wants to send us His Holy Spirit to lead and guide us every day so that we are filled with life until we are overflowing and can share it with everyone around us. And He wants to keep us close to Him, close to God, because that is where life comes from. If we are close to Jesus, we will never run out of life.

That invitation is for you as well. Some of you may have just realized today that you have been living underwater, just waiting to run out of air and wanting to let Jesus in to lift you into a new life. Or maybe you have been living week to week or month to month, just trying to get enough air from Jesus to last you a little longer down deep in the darkness. Jesus wants to call you to the surface to live a new life with Him. Or perhaps you’ve been floating on the surface, trying to dog-paddle your way around, keeping your head up, but don’t know what to do next. Jesus wants to send you His Holy Spirit to connect you in fellowship with His people, to lead you through the Bible, and to make you part of His family.

Who is Jesus to you?

Is He your savior? Have you let Him lift you up away from your first life that was dragging you down into the deep?

Is Jesus your Lord? Do you listen to Him and follow where He leads you?

Is He your source of life? Have you realized that He embodies God’s love for you and wants you to be part of His family forever?

Today is your day. What do you need? Whatever it is, Jesus has it, and if He does not have it, He will have something better for you. The altar is always open, and you are invited to come forward for prayer.

Will you pray with me?

Closing Prayer

Heavenly Father, thank you so much for sending Jesus into the world to save us from drowning in our sin, getting lost in the darkness, and being kept from the life You want to give us. Help us to trust Jesus, listen and answer Him when He calls, and follow where He leads. Help us learn to receive and live the life He gives to us and follow His Holy Spirit that He sends to live in us. Jesus, we need you. Thank you for coming to save and lead us to everlasting life.

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