The Different Personas of God

God as the Creditor

I. Lesson Objective:

 To show man’s inability to pay his debts to God.

 To show God’s mercy to men of different levels of sinfulness.

II. Text: Luke 7:41-42a

III. Memory Verse: "And when they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both. Tell
me therefore, which of them will love him most?" Luke 7:42 KJV

IV. Preparatory Activity

 The teacher will host a game of bring me.

 The teacher must only ask of things that are within the ability of the children to give.
 The lack of games that can be connected to this topic exists, thus a substitute.

V. Story

Our story for today is about a creditor and two debtors.

In Israel, there is a rich man that is famous for his extraordinary wealth. This guy has many
gold statues, even his plates and utensils are made of gold, and his house is very big, as big
as the SM. Because this guy is so rich, he doesn’t know how he should spend his money,
that’s why he started a loaning business. A loaning business is a business that gives money
to needing people that must be paid within a certain date.

One day, a guy came into his house and tried to loan money. The rich man asked the
debtor, “for what will you use the money?”, the guy said, “I want to start my own food
business, but I don’t have enough capital”. The rich man asked the guy, “how much do you
need?”, the guy said, “I need 500 thousand pesos”. After hearing how much the guy needed,
the rich man called his servant and commanded him to get 500 thousand pesos for the guy.
The servant went to the money room and took 500 thousand pesos, as what his master
commanded him. He returned to his master and gave the 500 thousand pesos, and the
master gave it to the guy and told him, “Here is your needed 500 thousand pesos, sign this
paper that you will pay me on January 14, 2023”, and the guy signed the paper, took the
money, and went on his way home to start building his business.
The next day, another guy came into his house and also tried to loan money. The rich man
asked the debtor, “for what will you use the money?”, the guy said, “I need to pay my son’s
tuition fee, but I don’t have enough money”. The rich man asked the guy, “how much do you
need?”, the guy said, “I need 50 thousand pesos”. After hearing how much the guy needed,
the rich man called his servant and commanded him to get 50 thousand pesos for the guy.
The servant went to the money room and took 50 thousand pesos, as what his master
commanded him. He returned to his master and gave the 50 thousand pesos, and the
master gave it to the guy and told him, “Here is your needed 50 thousand pesos, sign this
paper that you will pay me on January 14, 2023”, and the guy signed the paper, took the
money, and went on his way to his son’s school to pay for the tuition.

Days passed and it’s January 14, 2023, the due date to pay their debts. The guy that loaned
more came first to the rich man’s house, but he didn’t enter because he was ashamed, he
doesn’t have the money to repay the rich man. A little while and the other guy arrived,
looking sad and ashamed like the first guy. The man asked him that was sitting, that which
arrived first, “what are you doing outside? Why are you not entering?”. The first guy
answered and said, “I don’t have the money to pay my debt, I loaned 500 thousand pesos to
start a food business, but it failed”. The other guy then said after hearing his words, “I also
don’t have the money to repay the rich man, come and let us go inside together and beg for
mercy”. The first guy stood up and walked with him, and they both entered the rich man’s
house. The rich man saw them and came upon them, and as he was walking, the two
debtors were kneeling down and crying, “forgive us, for we do not have the money to repay
you”. The rich man, moved by compassion, he lifted them up and told them, “I forgive you,
don’t worry about it. Here is 10 thousand pesos, each of you take 5000 pesos, so that you
can buy something for your families when you go home”. The two debtors took the money
and divided it as the rich man said, and went on their ways.

VI. Life Application

 The debtors represent sinners. We cannot repay God for the life and blessings He
gives us.
 The number of debts represent our sins. The guys had different number of debts,
although we are all sinners, some are more sinners intensively, but God forgives both
the greater and less sinner.
 No matter how big your sin to God is, if you repent and trust in the gospel of His Son,
Jesus Christ, He will forgive you and will be to you a Father, and you will be to Him a
son.
 The Different Personas of God

God as a Shepherd

I. Lesson Objective:

 To show God’s loving character

 To show love in chastising and in bad circumstances in our lives

II. Psalm 23:1-6

III. Memory Verse: "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear
no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me." Psalms 23:4 KJV

IV. Preparatory Activity

 The children will play a game called follow the voice of the shepherd.
 The teachers will choose two children that have identical voices. And then the group
of players will be selected among the rest.
 The teachers will choose the one of the two to be the shepherd, and the remaining
will be the false one. The players will be instructed to turn around from the shepherds
and only follow the voice of the true shepherd.
 Anyone who will move to the false shepherd’s command will be out of the game and
everyone who can stay in following the true shepherd will be rewarded.

V. Story

Our story for today is about a shepherd.

In Cotta, there was a shepherd, and this shepherd owns a herd – a group of sheep. Every
day he leads his sheep to the fold – where the sheep stay.

One day, a new family just moved in the neighborhood. A married couple and their son. This
family is from the city, where there are few sights of nature, let alone shepherds and sheep.
So, this little boy, when he saw the shepherd and the sheep, went close to the man and the
sheep. This boy was very excited because it was his first time to see sheep. He was asking
so many questions to the shepherds about the sheep, like what do they eat, where do they
stay, and if he can pet them.

Later on, he noticed that the shepherd was holding two sticks. One longer than the other,
and having a particular design on its end compared to the other. The boy asked the
shepherd, “sir, what are those sticks for?”. The shepherd looked at his sticks and said, “oh,
these?”. The shepherd referring to the regular stick said, “this one is called a rod. Sheep are
very dumb animals. They’re not like other animals that naturally have the prey instinct to run
when there’s a predator. They’re most likely to just stand and let the predator enjoy
themselves. So, this rod is for protecting the sheep from their predators. This rod is used to
attack the beasts.” The shepherd then looked to his other stick on his other hand and said,
“now, this one is called a staff. The hook design at the end of it is for hooking the sheep that
are going astray from the herd. Like I said, sheep are very dumb and they need all kind of
protection and leading. So, to keep the sheep from wandering in the wilderness and be
eaten by its predator, I hook them on their necks and bring them back to the herd.”

The little boy appreciated the shepherd’s gentle and kind answer to him and thanked him.
Just a few whiles after, the boy’s parents called him for dinner. He said goodbye to the
shepherd and went home to his parents.

Application:

 Like the sheep, we humans are also dumb. We often wander and predators in the
form of false teachers attack us.
 We are also helpless on our own. We need much protection and leading from God.
 Like the shepherd, God also holds the rod and the staff. The rod to protect us from
evil people and to discipline us when we’re doing wrong, and the staff to get us back
on His presence and will.
 We must follow God. If we don’t, predators will attack us mercilessly and kill us.
 The Different Personas of God

God as a Prophet

I. Lesson Objective:

 To teach children that God knows everything, including the future.

 To teach children to obey God because He knows all things and He wants to protect
us from sadness from the effects of sin.

II. Text: John 4:13-19

III. Memory Verse: "The woman saith unto him, Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet." John
4:19 KJV

IV. Preparatory Activity:

 The teacher will choose 11 players from the group.

 He will sovereignly choose one from the eleven to be the guesser, and he will instruct
the remaining players to form a circle and sit down.
 An object will be given to the circle and they will be instructed to pass it to the next
person beside them until the teacher says stop.
 Now, when the teacher says stop, the 1 player will guess who holds the object. If he
gets it right, he will be given a prize and all the players. But if he does not, he will be
out of the game, and the teacher will repeat the process with the remaining players.

V. Story

Our story for today is about an old man that can see the future.

In the place of Lucena, there is an old man that is wise and can tell the future events rightly.
He is well known for doing this that his name went beyond Lucena.

One day, there was a young man that seemed unsettled and problematic. He seemed to be
lost in his life and doesn’t know what to do. The old man noticed this young man and invited
him to come to his home to provide help. The old man asked him, “son, are you okay? You
look like you’re carrying the world. Is there any way I can help?” The young man answered,
“sir, I feel lost in my life. I just lost my parents and I have no siblings. I don’t know what to do.
I’m afraid.”

Then the old man said, “I know what it feels like to lose someone you love and feel like
there’s no hope for life to be better, but believe me, you’ll move on from that and be stronger
if you fight. Would you mind if I predict your future?” The young man said, “sir, I have nothing
more to lose, go on please, and let me see if there’s really hope that awaits me in the future.”
The old man then looked straight in the eyes of the young man and saw his future. The old
man was amazed in what he saw. The young man will be great in science, and he will help
the world make medicines for diseases that are incurable. The old man then told what he
saw to the young man and then he added, “son, if you give all your energy and focus on
studying science, in the future, you will become the greatest scientist to ever live and you will
be able to help the world in great degree.”

The young man having the same disposition as before that he has nothing left to lose,
believed the prediction of the old man and spent his youth in studying science. 20 years
later, the young man has become the world’s greatest scientist because of his noble
scientific discoveries and medicines formulated against the formerly incurable diseases.

By this time, the old man was dead, yet the young man never forgot him and he was grateful
to him the rest of his life.

Application:

 God knows our future. And if we will only obey His word, we too will also become the
best of ourselves.
 If we will listen to God, we will not fall in the miseries of sin.
 If we will listen to God, He will use us greatly.
 The Different Personas of God

God as a Priest

I. Lesson Objective:

 To show that Jesus understands our weaknesses.

 To show that Jesus is willing to bring us to God.
 To teach the exclusivity of salvation in Jesus alone.

II. Text: Hebrews 6:17-20

III. Memory Verse: "Whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus, made an high
priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec." Hebrews 6:20 KJV

IV. Preparatory Activity:

 The teacher will play pass the message. The teacher can decide on his own in this
activity since this is a familiar game.

V. Story:

Our story for today is about a messenger.

I’m not talking about Facebook messenger, but rather an actual messenger. A messenger is
someone who delivers a message of a person to another person.

In Pagbilao, there is a building. In that building, there are people that work and there is a
boss. Whenever a worker wants to say something to the boss, the worker must go to the
secretary of the boss, because the secretary will be the one to deliver the message to the
boss. The worker cannot go directly to the boss of the building.

One day, one of the workers needed to loan some money because his allowance was not
enough for his bills. The worker, being new to the building and not knowing the protocols,
approached the boss. But before he came close to him, the guards prevented him and
escorted him out of the top floor, where the boss was.

The worker then became sad. Fortunately, one of the workers was caring enough to go to
him and ask the problem. The worker opened about what happened earlier and how the
guards of the boss prevented and escorted him out, when all he needed was to loan some
money.
The other worker, after hearing the problem, taught him about the protocols of the building.
He taught him that he must first go to the secretary, and then the secretary will be the one to
bring the message to the boss. There is no other way. Like what just happened to the worker
earlier, he got escorted out and he will be again if he’d try the same method.

After knowing the protocols, the worker immediately sought the secretary and found him. He
stated his problems and asked if the boss can allow him to loan. The secretary, being
sympathetic, went to the boss and asked for the worker’s request, with the same degree of
request by necessity from the man. The boss, moved with compassion, allowed the man to
have the loan he’s asking for and even gave a long term for repayment.

Application:

 We cannot go directly to God unless we go to Jesus first.

 Jesus is the only way. Like the worker, if we try to approach God without going to
Jesus first, we will only be rejected.
 Jesus, like the secretary, is sympathetic. He feels our problems and wants to help us.
 God, like the boss, is compassionate. He wants to help us in our problems as well.
 Go to Jesus.
 The Different Personas of God

God as a Groom

I. Lesson Objectives:

 To see Jesus as the groom of the church.

 To promote salvation in Christ by teaching that only the church will be married to
Christ, and by church, the people that are saved and baptized in an authorized
church.

II. Text: 2 Corinthians 11:1-5

III. Memory Verse: "For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you
to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ." 2 Corinthians 11:2 KJV

IV. Preparatory Activity

 Since there is no activity that can be related to this, any game will do, just to energize
the children and prepare them for the lesson proper.

V. Story

Our story for today is about a marriage.

In Israel, there was a royal family. This royal family is very rich and all their belongings are
the most precious ones in the world.

One day, when the king was travelling from one city to another, in his kingdom, he saw a
baby girl that was covered in blood. Abandoned by her parents and left cold by the way,
covered with blood. The king was moved with compassion and commanded the chariot to
stop. The king personally got down to get the child.

Now, the king also had his own baby and it’s a boy. Since, the king was so moved by the fact
that this baby girl will have no family when she grows up, the king decided to take the baby
and appoint her to be the bride of the prince one day.

So, when the king got to his mansion, he commanded his servants to clean the baby and
train her until the age of maturity. To give all the proper nutrients she needs, and all the right
knowledge to be a noble woman. On the other hand, the king personally trained the prince to
be the best of himself.
Years passed and the time of maturity has come. The prince and the woman now will marry.
The king invited all people within his kingdom, in all places, to come and witness the
wedding of his son and the woman he got from the way.

Application:

 God is the king, and Jesus is the prince.

 We are the embodiment of the baby girl. In spite of being nothing, God wants to unite
us with His Son.
 The bride represents the church. She is fed the word of God and trained rightly to
become the best woman for the prince.
 The servants that trained the bride are the pastors of authorized churches.
 God is compassionate.