Introduction

Refer to Lesson 102 Flip Chart. We’ve been talking about the kingdom of Judah. Last time we heard how the powerful Assyrian king told King Hezekiah and his people that they couldn’t trust God to save them. But Hezekiah went straight to the Lord for help! God destroyed many Assyrian soldiers during the night, so the enemy had to go home.

• We’re going to start today’s lesson with an activity about weather. What is weather? Allow answers.
• How do we know what the weather will be like? Allow answers.

  When people listen to the news or look on their phone to find out what the weather will be like, that’s called a “weather forecast.” The word forecast means to tell what you think will happen in the future. Weather forecasters study the weather and try to figure out what it will be like tomorrow, next week, or even next month.

• Why is it good to know the weather forecast? How can it help us? Allow discussion.
  • Have weather-related items spread out for students to see.
  If we know what kind of weather to expect, we’ll know how to plan better or what to wear, right? Let’s play a quick game to see how the weather forecast can help us. I’ll say a weather forecast then everyone will help decide what someone would need to put on for that kind of weather. Spread out the weather items at the front of the room. Choose one or two volunteers. After stating a weather forecast, allow the class to help decide which items are needed. Help the volunteer put on those items. For example, if you say it will be rainy, the volunteer might put on a rain hat and rubber boots and hold an umbrella. Be sure to emphasize changes in the weather. You might say, “But wait—the sun came out! Now what does he need?” You may then add sunglasses, change to a sun hat, etc.

  Sometimes weather forecasters can be wrong, so we can’t trust what they say completely. However, there were some people in the Bible called prophets who spoke God’s messages about what would happen later— and they were always right.

  Weather forecasters use their own knowledge to try to figure out what the weather might be like. But God told the prophets what to say and write.

• What word means God knows all things? Omniscient.

  God is omniscient; he knows what will happen in the future—tomorrow and the next day and the day after that. And we can trust that God will do all he says he will do. That’s why we can trust the messages God gave the prophets in the Bible. These messages are called prophecies, and they are completely true.

  Let’s look at some prophecies written in the Old Testament then we’ll look in the New Testament to see how they happened many years later.

  Micah and Isaiah were both prophets. They warned the people of Judah to turn back to God, and they also gave messages of hope. They told of someone who would come to be a ruler and a savior, who would save sinners from the punishment of sin.

Micah’s Message

Refer to the Books of the Bible Poster. A ruler is like a king. Let’s see what Micah wrote about this coming ruler.

Listen to Micah 5:2. Have the student bring up the Bible and turn to the sticky note. Read the verse.

• What town was Micah writing about? Bethlehem (Ephrathah).
• Who did he say would come from Bethlehem, “one who is to be” what? Ruler in Israel.

  Micah wrote these words about 700 years before this ruler was born! Since we have the whole Bible now, we know he was talking about Jesus.

Refer to the Books of the Bible Poster. Was Micah right when he said Jesus would be born in Bethlehem? Let’s find out in Matthew 2:1. Read the verse.

• Refer to the Lesson Flip Chart. Where was Jesus born? Bethlehem of Judea.
• How did Micah know what would happen? Who told Micah what to write? God.

  Micah told us something else very important about Jesus. He said that Jesus is eternal, which means he had no beginning and has no end.

Now let’s look in the New Testament to read what John said later. Listen to John 1:1. Read the verse.

• Who was in the beginning with God? The Word.

  In this verse, Jesus is the Word. Jesus was with God, and he was God. We know that God has always been here—even before creation! God is eternal. And since Jesus is God, he is eternal, too—he always was and always will be.

  Refer to the Lesson Flip Chart. Micah and John both wrote the same thing about Jesus, that he is eternal. A circle helps us understand what eternal means. See? It has no beginning, and it has no end. It goes on and on forever.

Isaiah’s Message

Now let’s hear the words of the prophet Isaiah, who also wrote about Jesus, the Savior, 700 years before he was born!

Listen to Isaiah 7:14. Read the verse.

• What did the Lord say he would give the people? A sign.

  When the people saw this sign, they would know that the Savior was finally here.

• The sign was the birth of a special baby. Would the baby be a son or a daughter? A son.

  Refer to the Lesson Flip Chart. The birth of this son would be a miracle—his mother would be a virgin. That means only God could cause her to have a baby.

  The book of Matthew says that an angel told Joseph that Mary, the woman he was engaged to, would have a son from God the Holy Spirit. This special baby was Jesus. And he would save people from their sins.

  So even though Jesus is eternal, with no beginning and no end, he came to be born as a baby so that he could grow up to save sinners by dying and rising again.

Isaiah also wrote about how Jesus would die. Listen to Isaiah 53:7. Read the verse.

Refer to the Lesson Flip Chart. Isaiah wrote that the Savior would suffer. This happened when Jesus was punished for our sins by dying on a cross.

• Jesus is God, so he could have stopped his own death. He could’ve shouted, “Stop!” What does this verse from Isaiah say he would not do? “He opened not his” what? Mouth.
• Isaiah said Jesus wouldn’t fight or shout. He would go quietly like what kind of animal? A lamb/sheep.

  We know that this prophecy Isaiah wrote about really happened because Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John all wrote in the New Testament about how Jesus let the people lead him to his death like a quiet lamb or sheep without fighting.

  Even though he was perfect and never sinned, Jesus took all the punishment for our sins on himself. Jesus knew God’s plan for him was to die on a cross to save sinners. But remember, Jesus didn’t stay dead. He rose again and is the Ruler forever! He is our wonderful Savior and King!

Introduction

Refer to Lesson 101 Flip Chart. We’ve been talking about the kingdom of Judah. We heard about King Joash who started out well obeying God, but then he turned to idol worship later in life.

• Refer to Lesson 102 Flip Chart. Then we read about good King Hezekiah. What scary thing happened while Hezekiah was king? Who came to attack Judah? The Assyrians. The enemy.

  The powerful Assyrian king told Hezekiah and his people that they couldn’t trust God to save them. But Hezekiah went straight to the Lord for help! God answered Hezekiah’s prayer by destroying many Assyrian soldiers during the night, so the king had to go back home.

• We’re going to start today’s lesson with an activity about weather. What is weather? Allow answers.
• How do we know what the weather will be like? Allow answers.

  When people listen to the news or look on their phone to find out what the weather will be like, that’s called a “weather forecast.” The word forecast means to tell what you think will happen in the future. Weather forecasters study the weather to figure out what they think it will be like tomorrow, next week, or even next month.

• Why is it good to know the weather forecast? How can it help us? Allow discussion.
  • Have weather-related items spread out for students to see.
  If we know what kind of weather to expect, we’ll know how to plan better or what to wear, right? Let’s play a quick game to see how the weather forecast can help us. I’ll say a weather forecast then everyone will help decide what someone would need to put on for that kind of weather. Spread out the weather items at the front of the room. Choose one or two volunteers. After stating a weather forecast, allow the class to help decide which items are needed. Help the volunteer put on those items. For example, if you say it will be rainy, the volunteer might put on a rain hat and rubber boots and hold an umbrella. Be sure to emphasize changes in the weather. You might say, “But wait—the sun came out! Now what does he need?” You may then add sunglasses, change to a sun hat, etc.
• Although weather forecasts are helpful, are they always right? No!

  Sometimes the forecasters can be wrong, so we can’t trust what they say completely. However, there were some people in the Bible who spoke God’s messages about what would happen later—in the future—and they were always right.

• Who were they, and what were they called? Prophets.

  Weather forecasters use their own knowledge to try to figure out what the weather might be like. But God told the prophets what to say and write.

• What word means God knows all things? Omniscient.

  God is omniscient; he knows what will happen in the future—tomorrow and the next day and the day after that. God is also sovereign; he is in control of everything that happens. And we can trust that God will do all he says he will do. That’s why we can trust the messages God gave the prophets in the Bible. These messages are called prophecies, and they are completely true.

  Let’s look at some prophecies written in the Old Testament then we’ll look in the New Testament to see how they happened many years later.

  Micah and Isaiah were both prophets who gave God’s messages to the people of Judah. They warned the people to turn back to God, and they also gave messages of hope. They told of someone who would someday come to be a ruler and king and would save sinners from the punishment of sin.

Micah’s Message

Refer to the Books of the Bible Poster. Let’s read some things Micah wrote about this coming ruler.

Listen to Micah 5:2. Have the student bring up the Bible and turn to the sticky note. Read the verse.

• What town was Micah writing about in this verse? Bethlehem (Ephrathah).
• Who did he say would come from Bethlehem, “one who is to be” what? Ruler in Israel.

  Micah wrote these words about 700 years before this ruler was born! But now since we have the whole Bible, we know he was talking about Jesus.

Refer to the Books of the Bible Poster. Was Micah right when he said Jesus would be born in Bethlehem? Let’s find out in Matthew 2:1. Read the verse.

• Refer to the Lesson Flip Chart. Where does this verse say Jesus was born? Bethlehem of Judea.
• How did Micah know what would happen? Who told Micah what to write? God.

Micah told us something else very important about Jesus. Listen carefully to the last part of Micah 5:2 again. Reread the last phrase.

When Micah said his “coming forth is from of old, from ancient days,” Micah meant that this ruler, who is Jesus, had no beginning and has no end; he is eternal.

Refer to the Lesson Flip Chart. A circle helps us understand what eternal means. See? It has no beginning, and it has no end. It just keeps going on and on forever.

The book of John tells about this. It’s in the New Testament near Matthew. Listen to John 1:1. Read the verse.

• Who was in the beginning with God? The Word.

  In this verse, Jesus is the Word. That means Jesus has always been here, even before creation. Jesus was with God, and he was God. We know that God has always been; he’s always existed! God is eternal. And since Jesus is God, he is eternal, too—he always was and always will be. That’s what Micah meant when he wrote that Jesus’ coming “is from of old, from ancient days.”

Isaiah’s Message

Now let’s hear the words of the prophet Isaiah, who also wrote about Jesus, the Savior.

Listen to Isaiah 7:14. Read the verse.

• What did the Lord say he would give the people? A sign.

  When the people saw this sign, they would know that the Savior was finally here.

• The sign was the birth of a special baby. Would the baby be a boy or a girl? A boy; a son.

  Refer to the Lesson Flip Chart. The birth of this son would be a miracle—his mother would be a virgin. That means she had never lived with a man like she was married to him, so only God could cause her to have a baby.

About 700 years after Isaiah wrote about this special baby, an angel of the Lord spoke to a man named Joseph. Listen to Matthew 1:21. Read the verse.

• The angel told Joseph that Mary, the woman he was engaged to, would have a son from God the Holy Spirit. What was Joseph supposed to call him? Jesus.
• What would this son do? Save his people from their sins.

  So even though Jesus is eternal, with no beginning and no end, he became a man. Jesus was born as a baby so that he could grow up to save sinners by dying and rising again.

God also told us through Isaiah how Jesus would die. Listen to Isaiah 53:7. Read the verse.

Refer to the Lesson Flip Chart. Isaiah tells us that the Savior would suffer. This happened when Jesus was punished for our sins by dying a horrible death on a cross.

• Jesus is God, so he could have stopped his own death. Would Jesus shout, “Stop!”? What does this verse say he would not do? “He opened not his” what? Mouth.
• Jesus didn’t fight or shout. He went to the cross like what kind of animal? A lamb/sheep.

  Like a harmless lamb or sheep being led along, Jesus let the people lead him to his death without fighting or arguing. Even though he was perfect and never sinned, he took all the punishment for our sins on himself.

  We know that this prophecy Isaiah wrote about really happened because Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John all wrote in the New Testament about how Jesus willingly died on a cross. Jesus knew God’s plan for him was to die to save sinners. But remember, Jesus didn’t stay dead. He rose again and is the Ruler forever! He is our wonderful Savior and King!