ASSEMBLIES OF GOD ADULT SUNDAY SCHOOL FOR JANUARY 14 2024

Memory Verse: Matthew 20:28 – The Son of man came not to be ministered unto… to give his life a ransom for many (KJV).

Lesson Bible Text:

Luke 2:27-38; 24:21,25-27; Mark 10:45; 1 Timothy 2:5-6; Romans 3:22-26; Hebrews 9:11-15.

Lesson Central Truth:

Jesus Christ came to redeem us from sin.

Also see; open-heaven-17-january-2024

The promise of redemption goes all the way back to the Garden of Eden when God told Eve that one of her descendants would crush the serpent’s head (Genesis 3:9-15). The prophet Isaiah told how the Lord would raise up a suffering Servant:

“He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed” (Isaiah 53:5, KJV).

For hundreds of years, the Israelites longed for the Messiah to come and deliver them from their oppressors. He would redeem Israel and bring about a new age when they would no longer feel the sting of oppression.

But when Jesus came, the Jewish people failed to see Him as the One who fulfilled the Bible passages about the Messiah. They failed to see that God would deal with redemption from the bondage of sin before He would set them free from political oppression. Instead of a conquering king, Jesus Christ came as a suffering Saviour.

In this week’s lesson, we will acknowledge that Jesus Christ is the promised Redeemer. He came to redeem us from sin. Redemption brings freedom in a dynamic way – through the transformation of spirit and mind.

A. By Simon – Luke 2:27-32

B. By Anna – Luke 2:36-38.

A. The Ransom – Mark 10:45; Luke 24:21,25-27

B. The Mediator – 1 Timothy 2:5-6.

A. Provides Justification – Romans 3:22-26

B. Provides An Eternal Inheritance – Hebrews 9:11-15

Luke 2:27-32,36-38

Israel has been waiting for their Messiah and they hope for one day their Messiah will come for their deliverance. After Jesus’ birth, Joseph and Mary obeyed God regarding circumcition, purification, dedication and offering. This shows that Jesus’ parents obeyed the Law of Moses. At this narration, One man named Simeon is introduced as a just and devout man who was “waiting for the consolation of Israel.” By the Spirit’s leading, Simeon recognized the infant Jesus as Israel’s Messiah–Jesus was the One who would bring about the redemption God had promised in His Word. He took the child in his arms and praised God for sending His Messiah to Israel. The praise of Simeon came as a result of years of waiting. His joy must have been boundless as he looked into the face of Jesus. Just as the angels had been and John thr Baptist would be, Simeon stood as a herald to foretell the greatness of the Lord. God had kept His promise to provide redemption for all people. We are able to embrace this great redemption as well, for the salvation of the Lord reaches to all people. Simeon’s voice, recorded in Scripture, still calls people to come and see the salvation of the Lord. Like Simeon, we can praise God for the salvation that is available through Jesus.

Simeon was not the only one to see Jesus at the temple on the day of His dedication. There was a woman named Anna who also recognised Jesus as the One who would bring about the redemption foretold in God’s Word. Bible described Anna as a prophetess who only stayed in the temple worshipping the Lord and seeking His face through fasting and prayer. Her years as a widow were spent in dedication and service to God. She came along just as Simeon was talking with Mary and Joseph, and she began praising God for the redemption Jesus baby would bring to Jerusalem. She as well talked about Jesus to everyone who had been waiting for the promised King to come and deliver Jerusalem. Just like Anna, we too can give thanks for all that Christ has accomplished and will accomplish in our lives and the lives of others. Redemption is available to all people for through Christ everyone who believes in Him can find the freedom foretold by God in His Word.

Mark 10:45; Luke 24:21,25-27; 1 Timothy 2:4-6

We have been redeemed through the precious blood of Jesus Christ. He paid an infinite price for our salvation. The price of redemption is the death of Jesus Christ. That is the inescapable fact in the Old and New Testament. Redemption is incomplete without the ransom price. The great Gospel of Jesus Christ not only redeems us by the payment of His death, but it goes a step further. Jesus purchased us out of the slave market and permanently set us free to never return to its bondage. The redeemed person has come under new ownership and management. Our salvation is so great that Jesus purchased us, and the transaction is complete so that He has taken us out of the marketplace and, we never have to return. The price our Redeemer paid was so great that no one can possibly top the price He paid! We are not up for sale! No one can purchase us away from the LORD God. We were purchased at the infinite cost of the blood of the Son of God. Nothing is more

precious than the infinite value of that blood.

A mediator is one who mediates, that is, one who acts as an intermediary to work with opposing sides in order to bring about a settlement. God has a dispute with us because of sin. Sin is described in the Bible as transgression of the law of God (1 John 3:4). On the cross Jesus exchanged our sin for His righteousness (2 Corinthians 5:21). His mediation is the only means of salvation. Our Christian faith projects Jesus as our only Mediator between us and God. Only Jesus gave His life to purchase freedom for everyone. This is the message that God gave to the world at every time. Note that God’s will is that each person accepts salvation through the knowledge of His Son, Jesus, the only Mediator between God and people. In a world that has proposed many false alternatives to reaching God other than through Jesus, we have been given the responsibility of reaching everyone with the gospel of Christ.

Romans 3:22-26; Hebrews 9:11-15

Paul discussed at length the redemptive work of Christ in his letter to the church at Rome. Paul declared that righteousness from God comes through only faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. We do not earn righteousness by our faith. We receive righteousness through faith in Jesus Christ. All have sinned and no matter the sinful state of our lives, the only way we can be justified is to be justified freely by God’s grace. We can’t purchase it with our good works at all. If it is not made free to us, we can’t have it all. So we are justified freely by His grace ie His unmerited favour, given to us without regard to what we deserve. It is a giving motivated purely by the giver, and motivated by nothing in the one who receives. By God’s grace our faith in Christ and His atoning death on the cross brings us into right relationship with God. Our duty is to honour Him and live daily in holiness. Our new life in Christ is made possible through the help of the Holy Spirit.

Christ came as our great high priest. The letter of Hebrews compared Him to the high priest who entered the Holy of Holies once every year. But Christ needed to enter the greater and more perfect tabernacle in heaven, not the made by human hands. Jesus entered into the Most Holy Place by His own blood. Through the blood of Jesus, He secured for us complete and permanent redemption. Jesus shed His blood and offered it on the heavenly altar that we might be sanctified at heart and cleansed in our consciences. Note that There is nothing in this universe more precious than the blood of Christ. The blood of Christ gives us Eternal Redemption. The blood of Christ sanctifies our hearts and cleanses our consciences. The blood of Christ restores our Eternal Inheritance. It frees us from the power of sin. Satan’s strategy has been to keep us locked up in sin. And as long as we are bound by sin, our consciences are guilty. And no one with a stained conscience can fulfil his or her purpose to serve God. That’s why Jesus shed His blood so that our conscience may be cleansed, so that we might be able to serve God in our lives.

The gospel of Jesus is clear in the story of redemption. All people stand at a crossroad, lost without God. Christ came to bring people back to God through His death. Christians are to testify to the unsaved about the saving power of Christ.

Father, thank You for sending Your son Jesus Christ to be an offering for our sins. Thank You for our purification in the precious blood of Jesus. Amen!

Remain blessed as you join us in our Sunday school both online and at any Assemblies Of God Church close to you as we study together under the Feet of the Master.

Share your contribution and as well ask your question from the lesson.

Shalom!