VBS 2021: DESTINATION DIG

DAY 1: JESUS CAME AS GOD PROMISED

Jesus Was Born

What is your favorite holiday? Why?

Who doesn’t love Christmas?

[Matthew scrip]

God is with us when _____________!

I. We can’t see or hear Him

a) God is with us and He will never leave us, He promised that when we follow Jesus, the Holy Spirit will come and reside in us...

b) but sometimes, we don’t feel Him near us or we feel like maybe He has forgotten about us. Have you ever felt forgotten? Or like you didn’t matter…or maybe even overlooked?

c) the Nation of Israel went like 400 years without hearing from God. 400 years of silence broken by a babies cry. That is when Jesus showed up, God proved that He never forgets His promise and He always does what He says He will do.

II. We don’t know what or who to believe

a) Imagine being Joseph in this story…your wife to be expects you to believe that something that has never happened in recorded history and has never happened since, happened to her.

b) sometimes following Jesus means that we believe that impossible things can happen. With man it may not be possible, but with God all things are possible.

c) Don’t be afraid to trust God. Joe is in a tight spot here. Either people will believe that his wife was not faithful to him, or that he was not faithful to the law, either way people will have something to say about his situation… if you’re being faithful to God, don’t worry about what people around you will say, worry about what God says.

III. Life gets chaotic and confusing

a) I have 3 children, Noah is 9, Chandler is 6, and Hayden is 3 so I’ve been through the crazy exciting exhausting experience of having children. Children = chaos, in the midst of trying to raise a young child, these guys show up with all these gifts...

b) Unfortunately, they made a pit stop and had a chat with king Herod, he was not a nice guy. He was getting old, he was sick, and he was terrified of losing his power…when he hears about this new toddler king, he is none-too pleased. The thing about Herod, when he was unhappy he made certain that everyone else was unhappy along with him. (side note, this is NOT the Herod that Jesus and John the Baptist had words with, that was this Herod’s son…)

c) Herod wants to rid himself of this threat, an unspeakable tragedy is about to go down. And angel visits Joseph again, this time he says pack up and leave town, like now. And Joseph, Mary, and Jesus are off to fulfil yet another prophecy.

So what does this have to do with us? Well, we are sort of in a similar spot that Israel was in around the time of Malachi (the last prophet of the OT) We’ve heard a lot about what God has done, but we haven’t seen it with our own eyes. And the people of God have a tendency to get complacent and wander from God. It’s not hard to see if you look around, people are abandoning the truth of God more and more. But my challenge to you is to dig in, explore the Word of God for yourself and see that God is with His people.

He was with Abraham (Abram) when he left his fathers house to a land that God would show him later

With Isaac after Abraham died and there was a famine in the land

With Jacob when he was on the run after deceiving his father and brother

With Joseph when his own brothers sold him into slavery and he ended up in Egypt

With Moses from the infant floating in the Nile to the man standing before the Red Sea with Pharaoh breathing down his neck...

With Joshua as he led the people into the promised land...

He was with Steven as he was being stoned to death for his faith...

He was with Polycarp, a bishop and student of the Apostle John, when he refused to run and hide or renounce his faith in Christ and was burned alive.

He was with me as I was writing this lesson.

And always remember that even when we can’t see or hear Him, when we don’t know what to believe, and when chaos and disorder abound - GOD IS WITH YOU if you trust in Him and follow Jesus, HE WILL NEVER LEAVE YOU!

Revelation 21:1–5 NIV

1 Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. 2 I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 4 ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” 5 He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”

Isaiah 7:14 NIV

14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.

Micah 5:2 NIV

2 “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.”

Matthew 1:18–2:6 NIV

18 This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. 19 Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. 20 But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” 22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23 “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”). 24 When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. 25 But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus. 1 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem 2 and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” 3 When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born. 5 “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written: 6 “ ‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’”

DAY 2: JESUS DEMONSTRATED GOD’S POWER

Jesus Healed a Blind Man

STORY HERE!

Have you ever had an epiphany, or what some people call an “aha” moment? When something that seemed so confusing suddenly made perfect sense? Like you were blind to something but then all of the sudden you could see and everything made sense...

At least two things need to be true in a situation like that...

You have to admit that you don’t understand something or that you are wrong about something...

and you have to accept the truth when it presents itself to you.

Only people who are sick get healed, only people who are hurt need to be comforted. If we can’t admit our failures and our shortcomings to ourselves or to God then why would we need Him? The truth is we DO need Him, we just might not know it...

We live in a culture that says do good and good will be done unto you. We know that is not always true. Sometimes the worst things happen to who we would consider to be the best people. And conversely the best things happen to the people who we might say deserve it the least.

Maybe everything that happens to us in life is not a direct result of our faith, or lack thereof, in God… maybe what seems like a good thing now is actually just God giving you over to your desires because you’ve walked away from Him.

Psalm 146:8 NIV

8 the Lord gives sight to the blind, the Lord lifts up those who are bowed down, the Lord loves the righteous.

Isaiah 35:5–6 NIV

5 Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped. 6 Then will the lame leap like a deer, and the mute tongue shout for joy. Water will gush forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert.

John 9:1–41 NIV

1 As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. 2 His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” 3 “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him. 4 As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. 5 While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” 6 After saying this, he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man’s eyes. 7 “Go,” he told him, “wash in the Pool of Siloam” (this word means “Sent”). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing. 8 His neighbors and those who had formerly seen him begging asked, “Isn’t this the same man who used to sit and beg?” 9 Some claimed that he was. Others said, “No, he only looks like him.” But he himself insisted, “I am the man.” 10 “How then were your eyes opened?” they asked. 11 He replied, “The man they call Jesus made some mud and put it on my eyes. He told me to go to Siloam and wash. So I went and washed, and then I could see.” 12 “Where is this man?” they asked him. “I don’t know,” he said. 13 They brought to the Pharisees the man who had been blind. 14 Now the day on which Jesus had made the mud and opened the man’s eyes was a Sabbath. 15 Therefore the Pharisees also asked him how he had received his sight. “He put mud on my eyes,” the man replied, “and I washed, and now I see.” 16 Some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath.” But others asked, “How can a sinner perform such signs?” So they were divided. 17 Then they turned again to the blind man, “What have you to say about him? It was your eyes he opened.” The man replied, “He is a prophet.” 18 They still did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight until they sent for the man’s parents. 19 “Is this your son?” they asked. “Is this the one you say was born blind? How is it that now he can see?” 20 “We know he is our son,” the parents answered, “and we know he was born blind. 21 But how he can see now, or who opened his eyes, we don’t know. Ask him. He is of age; he will speak for himself.” 22 His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders, who already had decided that anyone who acknowledged that Jesus was the Messiah would be put out of the synagogue. 23 That was why his parents said, “He is of age; ask him.” 24 A second time they summoned the man who had been blind. “Give glory to God by telling the truth,” they said. “We know this man is a sinner.” 25 He replied, “Whether he is a sinner or not, I don’t know. One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!” 26 Then they asked him, “What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?” 27 He answered, “I have told you already and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become his disciples too?” 28 Then they hurled insults at him and said, “You are this fellow’s disciple! We are disciples of Moses! 29 We know that God spoke to Moses, but as for this fellow, we don’t even know where he comes from.” 30 The man answered, “Now that is remarkable! You don’t know where he comes from, yet he opened my eyes. 31 We know that God does not listen to sinners. He listens to the godly person who does his will. 32 Nobody has ever heard of opening the eyes of a man born blind. 33 If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.” 34 To this they replied, “You were steeped in sin at birth; how dare you lecture us!” And they threw him out. 35 Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, and when he found him, he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” 36 “Who is he, sir?” the man asked. “Tell me so that I may believe in him.” 37 Jesus said, “You have now seen him; in fact, he is the one speaking with you.” 38 Then the man said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped him. 39 Jesus said, “For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind.” 40 Some Pharisees who were with him heard him say this and asked, “What? Are we blind too?” 41 Jesus said, “If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains.

DAY 4: THE BIBLE IS TRUE

Philip Told the Good News

How will they know if no one tells them?

Isaiah 53:7–8 NIV

7 He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth. 8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away. Yet who of his generation protested? For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was punished.

Acts 8:26–40 NIV

26 Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Go south to the road—the desert road—that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” 27 So he started out, and on his way he met an Ethiopian eunuch, an important official in charge of all the treasury of the Kandake (which means “queen of the Ethiopians”). This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship, 28 and on his way home was sitting in his chariot reading the Book of Isaiah the prophet. 29 The Spirit told Philip, “Go to that chariot and stay near it.” 30 Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. “Do you understand what you are reading?” Philip asked. 31 “How can I,” he said, “unless someone explains it to me?” So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. 32 This is the passage of Scripture the eunuch was reading: “He was led like a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb before its shearer is silent, so he did not open his mouth. 33 In his humiliation he was deprived of justice. Who can speak of his descendants? For his life was taken from the earth.” 34 The eunuch asked Philip, “Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?” 35 Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus. 36 As they traveled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, “Look, here is water. What can stand in the way of my being baptized?” 37 38 And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him. 39 When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him again, but went on his way rejoicing. 40 Philip, however, appeared at Azotus and traveled about, preaching the gospel in all the towns until he reached Caesarea.