Lesson One: Sharing the Real Jesus

Memory Verse

He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. 1 Peter 2:24

Studying God’s Word

What do we celebrate at Easter? Easter is about celebrating Jesus' resurrection from the dead. If Jesus had not risen from the dead, we would not be worshipping in church today. There would be no such thing as the Christian church.

Think about places of worship. Christian worship buildings are called churches. Look at the pictures below and think about how these places of worship are different from Christian churches.

The people who worship in these buildings aren't Christians. These pictures show worship buildings used by people of different religions. But what is a religion? Religion is a system of beliefs and the ways people worship according to those beliefs. For example, we believe God wants us to pray only to him, so we do not pray to idols. The way we worship and obey God has to do with what we believe about him.

The Christian religion is called Christianity. Where do you think Christianity got its name? Here's a hint: look for the word Christ. A Christian is someone who has turned from their sin, has put their trust in Jesus Christ to forgive their sins, and now follows him in obedience.

Christianity is different from other religions because other religions don't believe in Jesus as their savior. Many people of other religions agree that Jesus was a real person who lived in Israel about 2,000 years ago. Some even believe that he was a great teacher and prophet who did miracles. But they don’t believe that Jesus is God or that he died on the cross for our sins and then rose from the dead. Isn’t it sad that so many people don’t know who Jesus really is?

Christians know the truth. We know the real Jesus, and God wants us to share him with others. It can be hard to talk about Jesus with people of different religions. But if we know a little of what they believe about him, and if we know the right Bible verses to show them, we can help them understand who Jesus is. Easter is a wonderful time to learn how we can tell others about him.