READ ALL OR PARTS OF MATTHEW 9:1-8; MARK 2:1-12; AND LUKE 5:17-26 FROM YOUR BIBLE OR WATCH THE BIBLE STORY VIDEO.

DISCUSSION: How would you feel about someone who was giving a speech to a large crowd and said that all of the sins of the people in the crowd were forgiven? That he had the power to do that.

STORY: For $2,000, the Esperance Heli Tours company in the Western Australia islands will give you a helicopter tour over Lake Hillier. Despite the cost, the tours are exceedingly popular because Lake Hillier is no ordinary lake. A mixture of colorful bacteria and algae in the water makes this lake a bright bubble-gum pink! It is truly a sight that most people haven’t seen before. A well-recognized miracle in the Bible involves four friends who lowered a man who was paralyzed through a roof to get him to Jesus. Jesus saw the friends’ faith and told the man that his sins were forgiven. When the Pharisees questioned Jesus’ authority to make such a statement, Jesus showed His power and authority by telling the paralyzed man to get up and walk, and the man took up his mat and walked! The crowds who saw this miracle were amazed because they had never seen anything like this before. John 1:18 says “No one has ever seen God. The one and only Son, who is himself God and is at the Father’s side—he has revealed him.” When Jesus showed His power and authority to heal and forgive, He was showing that He is God. Though we can’t see God, we can see His power and His love demonstrated through Jesus.

QUESTION:  How does Jesus forgive our sins?

ANSWER:  Jesus lived a perfect life, dying on the cross, making a way for us to be forgiven, and raising from the dead conquering death. We accept this though confessing our failure and having faith in Jesus.

“Just then some men brought to him a paralytic lying on a stretcher. Seeing their faith, Jesus told the paralytic, “Have courage, son, your sins are forgiven.” (Matthew 9:2)

QUESTION:  If everyone of our sins was a book in a backpack. Every selfish thought or action, every angry reaction, every big and little lie, and so on. How heavy would the backpack of our sin be?

ANSWER:  No exact answer; but it would be so heavy it would break the backpack, it would be impossible to carry. EVEN if you say that you could carry that backpack, carrying it would still not be good enough to meet God’s standard, which is perfection. “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23) God’s word doesn’t say for all who have sinned 100, 1,000, or 1,000,000 times. It is very clear that “all have sinned and fall short”. But Jesus, He can carry it for us.

WORK ON MEMORIZING OUR SCRIPTURE VERSE!

God,

Thank You for revealing who You are through Jesus—the Son of God. By showing us His power and authority, Jesus showed us that He is God. We can trust in His promise to forgive sins because He is able!

 AMEN.