Cleans… Awesome work, thanks Ariel!

Topic 2: Of Butterflies and Caterpillars: Are you before....or after?

Which one are you?

Main Point: Are you before or after? Being a living testimony.

Theme Verse: Romans 12:2

Hook: Ok, someone needs to find the stuff for this hook. Or make some. You know how you’ve played the game where you have two pictures and you have to SPOT THE DIFFERENCE? Yeah, we need 3 sets of those, preferably 5. It’d be good if someone has time to get some original pictures and photoshop them coz it’s important that we know which picture is the original and which is the doctored ones. So anyway, game is pretty simple as things go, spot the difference in the pictures. After that, just ask them which picture they think is the original and the doctored one, ie. which picture is before.... and which is after? * HINT HINT.

Ok so after that we are diving straight into explanations by telling them that just as it’s not always easy to tell which is the b4 and which is the after pic/ or that sometimes it isn’t easy telling which is b4 or after (depending on whether your kids are smarter than we think); it is also difficult to tell i we are acting like we’re ‘before...or after’ Christians. Now here’s a question: Why is it important to know if we are acting like we are before and after? Here’s another one: Does a caterpillar that has become a butterfly still crawl around on it’s belly eating leaves? Or does it fly and drink nectar or pollen from flowers? Can you still call a butterfly that’s still crawling around on it’s belly a butterfly? So like, when we become a Christian, are we still one if we don’t act like one/ strive to be one? ( Again rhetorical question, don’t tell them the answer or that they are right, leave them hanging and let the question fester in their minds....BwAHAHA)

Remember last week’s waterfall metaphor? If we’re not moving forward towards Christ, we are moving backward away and towards a big, BIG waterfall.

1. Who is Jesus? What did Jesus do for us?

It’s important to strengthen the foundation of bible knowledge, and hence, the identity of Christ is of absolute importance in this process.

Verse 21: “And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

Verse 22: “… Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know.”

Verse 24: “… it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him.”

Verse 36: “Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.”

Hopefully from these verses, they’ll be able to glimpse the power of Jesus Christ, and the importance of believing in him. (How long you want to talk on this point is according to your own discretion) Now that we have established who Christ is, you could probably ask them who Christ is to them and what he has done in their lives. This can then lead to the next main point.

2. Since you have Christ in your lives, how should you behave as a Christian? What defines the actions of a Christian after they accept Christ?

Are you the “God-fearing Jews” who were “cut to the heart” (v37) when they found out about the identity of Christ?

Or are you the ones who dismiss the miracles of God, like those who made fun of the apostles when they spoke in tongues (v13)?

Which do you want to work towards?

The answer we’re looking for in this case is motivations. Ask them for example, why they come to church? What are their motivations? Why do they come for cell group? Why did they do the bookmark exercise last week? DID they do the bookmark thing? How did it go? Share how YOUR bookmark thing went.

3. Read Acts 2, ALL of it. In this chapter, we’ll discover what being a true Christian takes, OBEDIENCE, FAITH and ACTION.

4. OBEDIENCE: The Holy Spirit comes at Pentecost

Why did the believers gather together? Obeying Jesus’ command in chapter 1 v 4. It also proves that God fulfils all his promises, such as the gift of the holy spirit to all who love and obey him!

5. FAITH: Peter Addresses the Crowd

Because of Peter’s great faith, we see how he truly becomes a “fisher of men” here. His preaching is powerful and he does it in great confidence. (WHAT A CHANGE!!) And this is through the Holy Spirit, which reiterates last weeks point about the importance of having the HS in us!

Also, because of his faith, God is able to make use of him to evangelise to the Jews, refer to verses 36 to 41. à “… and about three thousand were added to their number that day.” Look at the mighty works that God does through those who are faithful to him!

Have you experienced a change in your life since becoming a Christian? When we come to Church for example, do we come with the expectation to meet with God and be transformed by Him?

6. ACTION: The Fellowship of the Believers

Do you all have faith in Christ? If you truly do, then it should manifest in your actions like it did in the believers’ actions!

What did they do?

• Devoted themselves to the apostles teaching, fellowship, breaking of bread, prayer
• Wonders and miraculous signs done by the apostles
• United – they were together and had everything in common
• Selling of their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need.
• Met in the temple courts everyday
• Broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favour of the people

Effect? The Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

The focus of almost everything was on God, and “breaking bread” is almost like our holy communion today. Imagine having that everyday! Are we anywhere near these people? Do we even do a fraction of what they do? Their entire LIVES are centred on him! And so were their hearts, which is more important than anything else, because God looks at our hearts. So, even though we may do all the “Christian actions” such as going to church and going to cell, if we are not going because we love God but for other reasons, God knows.

7) So what does it mean to love God? Read Matthew 25: 31-46.

What is Love? Read 1 Corinthians 13:1. Jesus once said to Peter, do you love me? Feed my sheep.( John 21: 15-19) If we don’t care does it mean we don’t Love God? 1 John 4:20-21. The believers did many things that even we now might consider fantastic. How many of us would be willing to say sell your ipod and give the proceeds to someone poor? And yet perhaps in our affluent Singapore such an analogy is a little off, so how many of us would be willing to ‘sell’ our TIME to our friends or maybe someone in need? Or even closer, our parents? How many of us would be willing to do something spontaneous in Love for these people, say mop or vacuum the floor at home without it being called for? To maybe bake something for your friends or even just show up with a bunch of flowers randomly for your mom? Well, you know, these people 2000 years ago did it, and they did it well. They shared their belongings and went more than the extra mile for their fellow Christians, and they MADE sacrifices for one another. Some made little sacrifices, some made bigger ones, but they all did it for one another and that is what Love is about. Sacrificing things, time, even money for others is hard at times, but you know? Sometimes, that is what Love calls us to do and sometimes Love is hard, Love is difficult. But, Love is a choice, not a feeling, not an emotion. We love because we choose to. And that is the part of being a living testimony. Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil, but rejoices in the truth. It ALWAYS protects, ALWAYS trusts, ALWAYS hopes, ALWAYS PERSEVERES. Love never fails. God loved us because He chose to. And that’s why, Jesus died for us on the cross. He chose to.

This part about love can be elaborated with your own examples, perhaps, more personal ones!

8) What are some ways we can love God? Pray that we will be open to meeting with God and to be transformed by Him and live according to His commands. He died to set us free, how can we reject Him?

9) Homework: Go pray for someone again this week, & also do something spontaneous in Love for a friend or family.