Blood of Jesus washes away Sin

                                    PALM SUNDAY    2017 CCQF

 

Okay.  We just heard a very sad story of Jesus being crucified on the cross.  Does anyone know why Jesus was crucified and murdered on the cross?

·       That’s right.  To forgive us of our sins.

·       Sin is Jesus’ enemy, because sin causes pain in our lives—like hurt feelings, upsetting our parents, fearfulness,  guilt, lying, stealing, fighting; but sin also causes diabolical pain throughout the world---like war, world hunger, poverty, torture, killing innocent people, sexual  abuse, and more.

So, if we want to be forgiven of our sins, what do we have to do?  

·       We have to tell Jesus we are sorry, and then poof! We are forgiven.

 

Now I have a little demonstration to show just how quickly Jesus forgives us of our sins.   ( Help?)

·       Okay—we have a bowl of water here.  Here is a piece of paper, which represents my sins.  Now let’s see if we can wash away my sins with water.

·       Okay, now we are going to add some red food coloring in here to represent the blood of Jesus.

·       Parents, this water is perfectly safe (drink some)

·       Okay—now let’s put this new sin paper, and see if Jesus can wash away my sin.  

·       Yes.   Jesus forgives sins instantly, if we ask Him.   If that is great, then shout “Thanks be to God”

Now, we have a short song that we’re going to teach you about this.  Choir willsing it first, then we will sing it.

SONG:

Now, in a moment, I am going to invite all of you to make a witness that you are grateful for that Jesus forgives your sins.

·       Children: We are going to give you some pieces of paper  with the word “sin,” written on it, to represent your sins.  And then we’re going to put them in the red bowl, and watch them dissolve—which represents how Jesus dissolves our sins when we ask him.

·       Adults & teens—we are going to invite you to join us .  Please open up your bulletin to the inside back cover.  Now take off your sin papers and hold them.  At the appropriate time, we are going to make an offering of this symbol of our sins, by placing them in bowls of red water.  There are bowls up on both sides of the balcony; and there are 2 bowls up here in the front pew.  For those wishing to make this offering, I invite to come up clockwise---so that we don’t have a traffic jam.

·       Why would you want to do this?  This is a powerful symbol to  ourselves, to this church, to the world, and to God that you appreciate Jesus’s sacrifice to demonstrate our gratitude. 

·       Week after week we tell Jesus we are sorry from the comfort of our pews. We remain anonymous.  But by making this symbolic offering---if you mean it—you will touch the heart of God, and you’ll receive His gratitude.

So, let us begin with a prayer. Please repeat after me:   Lord Jesus,// by this symbolic offering// that we now make,// we will give you the honor, glory, and praise// that you deserve;// because your blood was not shed in vain.// AMEN