LESSON 1

THE BRIDGE INTRODUCTION:

COURSE OBJECTIVE: Man instinctively seeks fellowship with God
To know that the gap between man and God can only be One of me more fascinating history studies to make is to trace
bridged by Christ. how all recorded cultures throughout time have shown evidence of
this. It has been expressed in diverse ways. From the very simple
OUTLINE: animal offerings and grains sacrifices of primitive men to elaborate
A. Introduction systems of religion.
-The man instinctively seek fellowship with God You and I are no exception…at one time or another we all
(See Illustration 1, Better Not Drop The Egg) feel drawn toward God, however hazy or mistaken. Our notion of
B. Body him maybe, no doubt many among you are here in response to this
instinct... whether expressed as a cry of desperation. Or an emptiness
1. Problem that will not go away... or a guilt feeling that keeps gnawing at your
a. Man is separated guts. Or all of the above.
(See Illustration 2 “The Long Jump) Man has acted on this instinct in different ways.. But there are
(Eph 2:8-9; Rom 3:28; Gal 2:16; Rom. 10:1-2; Titus 3:5; common patterns one can see from a study of history and
John 14:16) archeology... can you think of some?
b. Sin
We are hoping to bridge the gap that separates us from God by
(John 3:16; Isa.59:2; Rom. 3:23; Jm.2:10)
doing good works... the golden rule. A balance scale of works vs.
c. Death Judgment sins...
(Heb. 9:27; Rom 6:23; Rev 21:8) We are trying to reach God through behavioral laws and norms.
2. Solution System of ethics. Examples would be the Koran, various
philosophies.
(Rom.5:6-8; 1Pet. 3:18; 1Pet 2:24)
a. The solution requires a response Man is continually trying to reach God through his own efforts
(See illustration 3 “The Tightrope and the Wheelbarrow”) such as good works, religion and philosophy.
(Rom 6:23; 1Jn.1:12; Rev. 3:20; 1Jn 5:11-13)
3. Conclusion
Problem
-Jesus Christ is The Bridge
(See Illustration 4, “The Art of Auction”) a. a. Man is separated
PRAYER
Eph. 2:8-9 doing good... the golden rule. Balance scale

Rom: 3:28 the 10 commandments misunderstood...

 Is there a solution? Thankfully, the chasm is bridged by the
Gal. 2:16 systems of ethics cross of Jesus Christ!!!

Rom. 10:1-2 religion Rom. 5-.6-8 God's love is demonstrated to us

Titus 3:5 not our own righteousness 1 Peter 3:18 Christ died for our sins

There seem to be many ways... yet God tells us there is only one 1 Peter 2:24 he bore our sins in His body
way to him
THE SOLUTION REQUIRES A RESPONSE
John 14:6 Jesus is the only way to the Father
Rom. 6:23 the gift of God is eternal life Christ Jesus
TO UNDERSTAND WHY THIS IS SO, WE NEED TO
UNDERSTAND ONE THING CLEARLY.. GOD LOVES US John 1:12 to all who received Him and believed in His name. He
AND WANTS to BRING ALL OF US TO HIMSELF.. BUT gave the right to become children of God.
WE HAVE A PROBLEM THAT
Rev. 3:20 if anyone heats His voice and opens the door, H& will
PREVENTS THIS... SIN!
come in
b. Sin! 1 John 5:ll-13-he who has the son has eternal life.. • What
does Jesus require of you today?
John 3:16 we have problem... and it will inevitably cause us to
perish unless resolved... Sin!!! I. Recognize your need for Him alone.. Remember, no one comes to
the Father except through me.
Isaiah 59:2 there is chasm between God and us. II. Recognize the futility of whatever good works you are doing...
they will all amount to nothing!!!
Rom. 3:23 we have all sinned.
III. REPENT. Decide to turn away from sin He is burdening you
James 2:10 we all fall short with right now acknowledge you need of a savior-Jesus in the only
solution to your problem
c. Death Judgment
IV. BELIEVE!!! ... John 3:16... John 5:24
Hebrews 9:27 the consequence of sin are as inevitable as Rom.
6:23 they are inescapable.
PRAYER: TEACHER’S NOTE: LEAD STUDENTS THROUGH
THE SINNERS' PRAYER
Rev. 21:8
Illustrations:
2. WHAT IS THE SOLUTION TO THE PROBLEM?

“Better not drop that EGG”
“The Easter story is nothing but a myth,” Jimmy’s high
school science teacher announced to his class a few days before
Easter break. “Jesus not only didn’t rise from the grave,” he
continued. “But there’s no God in heaven who would allow his
son to be crucified in the first place.”
“Sir, I believe in God.” Jimmy protested. “And I believe in the
resurrection!”
“Jimmy, you can believe what you wish for to, of
course,” the teacher replied. “However, the real world excludes
the possibility of miraculous events such as the resurrection. The
resurrection is a scientific impossibility. No one who believes in
miracles can also respect the science.”
“God isn’t limited by science,” Jimmy responded. “He created
science!”
Engaged by Jimmy’s outspoken faith, the teacher
proposed a scientific experiment. Reaching into his refrigerator,
he produced a raw egg and held it up. “I’m going to drop this egg
on the floor,” he stated. “Gravity will pull it toward the floor
with such force that the egg will most certainly break.” Fixing
Jimmy with a look of challenge. He concluded his proposal.
“Now Jimmy, I want you to pray. A prayer right now and ask
your God to keep this egg from breaking when it hits the floor. If
He can do that, then you’ll have proven your point. And I’ll have
to admit that there is a God.”
After pondering the challenge for a moment, Jimmy
slowly stood to pray, “Dear heavenly father,” he began. “I pray
that when my teacher drops the egg… it will break into a
hundred pieces! And also, Lord, I pray that when the egg does
break my teacher will have a heart attack and die! Amen.”
After unison gasp the stunned class sat in silence
expectation. For a moment the teacher did nothing. At last he
looked at Jimmy and then at the egg. Without a word, he
carefully put the egg back in the refrigerator. “Class dismissed.” The
teacher said and sat down to clear his lesson.
Application
The teacher apparently believed in God more than he taught
he did. Many people like the teacher, deny God exists, yet they ran
from Him, question Him and attack him whenever they get a chance.
Jimmy knew God wouldn’t strike his teacher dead, but he also knew
that his teacher wouldn’t bet his life for on it. As the old saying goes,
“there are no atheists in fact, fools”. When your life is on the line,
the idea of God only makes a lot more sense.
“The Long Jump”
Imagine you are jogging one day with Mike a world record
holder in long jump at twenty-nine feet, four inches. While you are
running along, you hear a low rumble, and your feet sense a steadily
increasing tremor that alerts you to the start of an earthquake like no
other you’ve experienced.
Suddenly a mere stride ahead of you and Mike, the earth
splits open You both came to a full stop to discover that you are
isolated on a small silver of earth separated from safety by a deep
crevasse that is about thirty feet across. The little path of earth you’re
standing in is crumbling in the continuing upheaval and you see that
it’s a matter or moment before you both are cast into the crevasse
where you’ll be crushed by the lurching earth. Things look hopeless.
Your only hoe is to jump across he canyon. Mike judges that
the jump is about eight inches longer that his world record setting
long jump, but he decides to try it anyway. He gets back as far as he
can so he can gather as much speed as possible. He crouches into a
three-point stance and you yell, “On your mark! Get set! Go!”
Mike runs as fast as he can. Right on he edge of the crevasse,
he kicks oft and launches himself into the air. It’s a perfect long
jump. Sailing over the crevasse he lands with the toes of both
barely on the edge of the other side. His jump is amazing twenty
nine feet six inches-two inches farther that his world record.
Unfortunately, the jump isn’t far enough His feet slip off the
edge with his hands. It’s no good though. As you watch he falls
into the crevasse and dies poor Mike.
Now it’s your turn. You crouch into a three-point stance
as far from the take off edge as possible. Mentally giving
yourself the signal, you spring forward Huffing and puffing, you
pound up to the edge, kick-off and jump straight down into the
crevasse You’re dead too.
APPLICATION
It didn’t matter that Mike nearly got to the other side with
perfect world record long jump. It simply wasn’t far enough
judged by its final outcome. Mike’s jump was no better than
yours. Both of you died.
Getting to the heaven side of eternal life works much the
same way. It doesn’t matter how good you live, how many
churches services you attend, or how much better you are than
other people. You can’t save yourself. The best people in the
world can’t save themselves, “for all have sinned and fall short”
(Romans 3:23). No one is good enough on his or her own.That’s
why Jesus came. He’s the only one who can ever lived a perfect
life. When we put our faith and trust him and make Him as our
Lord in our lives. His perfection becomes ours. He is the only
one who can get us safely to the other side.
The Tightrope and the Wheelbarrow
The story is told of a great circus performer by the name
of Blondin who stretch a long steel cable across Niagara Falls.
During high winds and without a safety net, he walked, run, and
even danced across the tightrope to the amazement and delight of a
crowd of people who watched.
Once he took a wheelbarrow full of bricks and amazed the crowd by
pushing it effortlessly across the cable, from one side of the falls to
the other. Blondin then turned to the crowd and asked, “Now, how
many of you believed that I could push a man across the wire in the
wheelbarrow?”
The vote was unanimous. Everyone cheered and held their
hands high. They believed he could do it!
“Then,” asked Blondin, “would one of you please volunteer to be
that man?”
As quickly as the hands went up, they went back down. Not a
single person would volunteer to ride in the wheelbarrow and trust
his life to Blondin.
APPLICATION:
Many people say to Jesus, “Yes, I believed!” If you are
among who say that, are you willing to demonstrate your belief by
trusting your life to Him? Are you willing to get in the wheelbarrow
and to risk everything on your faith/ That’s what it means to believe.
Faith is not just an intellectual exercise. It involves total
commitment.
THE ART OF AUCTION
The widowed elder man looked on with satisfaction on as
Mark, his only child became an experience art collector. The son’s
trained eye and sharp business mind caused his father to beam with
pride as they dealt with art collector around the world.
As winter approached war engulfed their nation, and Mark left to
serve his country. After only a few short weeks, his father received a
telegram; his beloved son died saving the life of a fellow soldier.
Distraught and lonely, the old men faced the upcoming Christmas
holidays with anguish and sadness. The joy of the season, season that
he and his son always looked forward to, would visit house no
longer.
On Christmas morning, a knock on the door awakened the ld
man. As we walked to the door, the masterpiece of art on the
walls only reminded him that his son was not coming home. At
the door, was a soldier with a large package.
“I was a friend of Mark,” the soldier said. “I was the one he
rescued. If I may come in for a few moments. I have something
to show you.”
The two were soon in deep conversation. From the soldier the
old man learned that Mark had rescued dozen of wounded
soldiers before a bullet stilled his caring heart. The unfolding
image of his son’s gallantry awakened a fatherly pride that eased
his grief. The soldier then recounted how often Mark had spoken
about his father’s love of fine art. Placing the package on the old
man’s lap, the soldier told him. “I’m an artist. I want you to have
this.”
The old man unwrapped the packaged, pulling the paper away
to reveal a portrait of his son. The canvass featured a young
man’s face in striking detail, though the world would never
consider the painting the work of a genius. Overcoming with
emotion, the man thanked the soldier.
Once the soldier had departed, the old man set about hanging
the portrait above the fireplace, pushing aside the painting by
masters that had cost thousands of dollars. Then seating himself
in his chair, he spend Christmas gazing at the gift he had been
given. In the weeks that followed, the man grew peaceful
realizing that Mark lived on because of those he touched. The
soldier’s gift soon became his most prize painting, its worth to
him far eclipsing the value of the pieces in his collection for
which museums around the world clamored. He told his
neighbors it was the greatest gift he had ever received.
The following spring, the old man became ill and passed away.
The art world stirred in anticipation of the public auction of the
old man’s estate. He had stipulated that his collection be sold on
Christmas day - the day he had received his greatest gift. On the
appointed day, the art collectors from around the world gather to
bid on the spectacular paintings. Many who coveted the reputation of
owning the greatest art collection waited eagerly for the auctioneer
to open the bidding.
The auction began with a painting not on any museum’s must –
have list- the soldier’s painting of the old man’s son. “May I have an
opening bid?” the auctioneer requested. The room was silent, “Who
will open the bidding with $100?” he prompted. Minutes passed and
still n one spoke.
“Who cares about the painting?” shouted a bidder from the back of
the room. “It’s just a picture of his son.” commented another. More
voices echoed agreement. “Let’s forget it and go on to the good
stuff.” “No. we have to sell this one first,” replied the auctioneer.
“Now, who will take his son?”
Finally, a friend of the old man spoke. “I’d like to have the
painting. I knew the boy. Will you take ten dollars for it? That’s all I
have.” More silence. “Going Once.” The auctioneer raised the
gavel. “ Going twice,” he said looking around for any takers.
“Gone,” he said at last, letting the gavel fall.
Cheers filled the room. “ Now we can get on with the bidding on
these treasures!” remarked the man from the back of the room.
Over the microphone, the auctioneer said, “Thank you for coming.
The auction is now over” Stunned with disbelief quieted the room.
“What do you mean it’s over?” growled an irate bidder.
We didn’t come here for a picture of some old guy’s son!” shouted
the irate bidder coming to his feet. “There are million of dollars of
art here! I demand that you explain what’s going on!”
“It’s very simple,” replied the auctioneer. “According to the will of
the father, whoever takes the son…gets it all.”
APPLICATION:
And that is the will of the Father today. Whoever takes the
Son… gets it all. When you take Christ the Savior, you will have the
riches of life to its fullest (John 10:10, Matthew 6:33).
Jesus is God’s greatest treasure his pearl of great price
(Matthew 13:45-46)