Lost Sheep of Israel (God's Sheep Missions 2013, Day Three)

Wednesday:	Lost Sheep of Israel
Bible Lesson:	Stolen Sheep: We should obey God's instruction. (Saul and the Spoils)
Memory Verse:	1st Samuel 15:22
Missions Concepts:	Missionaries can and should take the Good News to anyone.
Missions Examples:	Jeff Kran
Bible Passages:	Romans 9-11 (especially 9:8, 15, 27, and 32; 10:1-3 and 8-15; 11:1-6, 13-14, 19-21, 23, and 25-27), Galatians 2:11-5:12, Acts 1:8

Introduction: Sheep

This week, we've been talking about sheep and shepherds. Did you know that there are different kinds of sheep? There are black sheep, white sheep, bighorn sheep, sheep with different kinds of wool, ... all different kinds of sheep. But they're all sheep, and they all need to eat, and they all need a shepherd to look after them and lead them to grass.

The Bible compares people to sheep. Just like sheep, there are all kinds of people. People come from different places, speak different languages, look different, and know different things. Some of the people are God's sheep, who believe in Jesus and follow him, and some are not his sheep; but all the people need Jesus, the good shepherd, and they all need someone who will teach them about Jesus and lead them to follow God.

Main Point: The Good News is for Jews and Gentiles

The Bible says that the good news about Jesus is for Jews and Gentiles. A Jew is a person who comes from Jacob's family – Israel. A Gentile is someone who does not come from Jacob's family. Most of us here are Gentiles, and we need a shepherd. (Fortunately, we have one. We said on Sunday night that Pastor Jeff is our shepherd here.) But we Gentiles aren't the only ones. Jews need a shepherd too. They also need someone to teach them about Jesus.

Example: Jeff Kran

Pastor Jeff Kran is a missionary to the Jewish people. He leads Bible studies, and he teaches in churches, but mostly he just goes to places where there are Jews who need to hear about Jesus, and he talks to them. Sometimes he gets a chance to tell them about Jesus right away. Sometimes he talks about other things and gets to know them, hoping to tell them about Jesus later.

Many times Pastor Kran goes to places where he knows there are Jews who do not know that Jesus paid for their sins. Jews already know that they have sinned (that everyone has sinned) because they have the Hebrew Bible – the part of the Bible that we call the Old Testament. Their Bible tells them many things that God wants people to do, and it tells them that if they don't do it, if they mess up even one little time, God will be angry with them and punish them. Jews know about their sin and God's punishment, but they need to know about God's forgiveness: that Jesus died on the cross for them, to take their punishment, so they can be forgiven. Jeff Kran wants to tell the Jews that if they follow Jesus, he can forgive them, and they can live forever with him in heaven.

Conclusion: The Gospel is for Everyone

Everyone needs to hear this good news. Jews, Gentiles, tall people, short people, old, young, black, white, Asian, American, ... Everybody needs Jesus to forgive their sin. So everybody needs someone to tell them. Everybody needs a shepherd.

Invitation: Missions

Invite any children who want to do missions work to stay after the lesson and discuss it further.