Introduction
- In the last lesson, we learned about how God stepped in and protected Paul from many difficult situations. Did Paul choose to focus on fear and worry or God while he was facing challenges? (Paul focused on God and gave thanks to him.)
- Today, we will learn about how people worshipped Jesus in the past and how we can worship him today.
Bible Story
It was the feast of Passover in Jerusalem. The Israelites were celebrating how God had delivered them from slavery in Egypt. When people heard that Jesus was coming to town for the festival, a large crowd went to greet him.
Jesus sent his disciples out to find a donkey for him to ride. They obeyed and brought a donkey to Jesus. Then, Jesus climbed onto its back.
Many years before Jesus came to earth, it was written in the Old Testament, “Announce to the people of Jerusalem: ‘Your king is coming to you! He is humble and rides on a donkey.’”
As Jesus passed by, many people spread their clothes on the road in front of him. Others put down branches which they had cut from trees. A crowd walked in front of him, and others walked behind him. They shouted, “Hooray for the Son of David! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Hooray for God in heaven!”
Review
Everything happened exactly as the Scriptures said it would. God’s Word, the Bible, is divided into two sections: the Old and New Testaments. The Old Testament is the history of God and his people before Jesus Christ came to earth. The New Testament shares what happened—and will happen—after Jesus came.
There are many prophecies in the Old Testament that Jesus fulfilled. A prophecy is a message that God told people concerning something that was going to happen in the future.
In this story, we see two prophecies about Jesus that were fulfilled: 1) God had promised King David that one of his descendants would be king forever. Jesus was from the family of David. He is the King of kings and will reign forever. And 2) Scriptures said that the king would be humble and ride on a donkey. Jesus did this when he entered Jerusalem.
- The people recognized Jesus as the promised King who had come. They did this by worshipping him. What did they do as Jesus passed by? (They spread their clothes on the road in front of him. Others put down branches. Others called out and said he was the Son of David.)
- Jesus still deserves our worship today. How can you worship Jesus? (Sing to him, spend time with him in prayer, read the Bible, love others, share the good news of Jesus with others, obey the words of Jesus, and live a life that pleases God.)
- The people in the story were excited to see their King. Jesus is still with us today. How does knowing this encourage you? How does it make you feel?
Prayer
Dear God,
Help me to worship you with all my actions, words, and choices. Amen.