“For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16 (NLT)
Mark 1:14-15
Later on, after John was arrested, Jesus went into Galilee, where he preached God’s Good News. 15 “The time promised by God has come at last!” he announced. “The Kingdom of God is near! Repent of your sins and believe the Good News!”
When Jesus says, “the Kingdom of God,” He is talking about a promise that God made many years before. He promised that His Kingdom would rule over all the earth. God’s Kingdom is not just one area or place on earth—it’s His rule over everything.
In the Kingdom of God, He is the King who makes the rules, protects us, and gives us what we need. Sadly, there are people who don’t want God in charge of their lives—they want to be the king of their own life and do things their own way. This is what we call sin. Sin is disobeying God, and it separates us from Him. Because God loves us, He sent His Son, Jesus, to die on a cross and come back to life so that we could have a relationship with God again.
As Jesus tells people about the Kingdom, we also see Him tell them to “repent and believe the Good News.” To repent means that we admit to God that we have sinned, and we turn away from our sin to obey God instead. Then we believe the Good News—we believe in what Jesus did for us on the cross and that He rose again. When we repent and believe the Good News, we can be saved. Jesus said that the Kingdom of God is coming soon. At the time He was speaking, He had not yet died and risen again, but He was telling the people it would happen. So for us, we can know that He came to be the King of our hearts right now. And one day there will be no more sin, and Jesus will return so that everyone who repents and believes in Him will be with Him forever.
God gave us the Good News because He loves us so much! We can show others His love by sharing the Good News—telling others that Jesus is our Savior and King!
What happens when we repent and believe the Good News?
What does it mean to you that Jesus came to be the King of our Hearts right now?
Thank You, God, for sending Your perfect Son, Jesus, to be our Savior and King. We know that the only way for us to be forgiven of our sin and have a relationship with You is through Him. Help us to turn away from our sin and live our lives obedient to You. We love You and want to share Your love with others. It’s in Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
“For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16 (NLT)
Mark 4:35-41
As evening came, Jesus said to his disciples, “Let’s cross to the other side of the lake.” 36 So they took Jesus in the boat and started out, leaving the crowds behind (although other boats followed). 37 But soon a fierce storm came up. High waves were breaking into the boat, and it began to fill with water.
38 Jesus was sleeping at the back of the boat with his head on a cushion. The disciples woke him up, shouting, “Teacher, don’t you care that we’re going to drown?”
39 When Jesus woke up, he rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Silence! Be still!” Suddenly the wind stopped, and there was a great calm. 40 Then he asked them, “Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?”
41 The disciples were absolutely terrified. “Who is this man?” they asked each other. “Even the wind and waves obey him!”
While Jesus and His disciples were on the water, a big storm broke out. Jesus was sleeping, which upset the disciples because they were scared and thought that Jesus didn’t care about them. Jesus woke up to His disciples shouting at Him, and with just His voice, told the wind and the waves to stop!
The wind and the waves listened to Jesus and stopped. Jesus is the Savior and King, and He is in control of everything. After the storm calmed, Jesus asked His disciples why they were afraid, had no faith, and didn’t trust Him to take care of them.
We are never alone and should always trust Jesus to take care of us. There is something that we can trust only Jesus for, and that is to save us from our sin. Sin is disobeying God, and it separates us from Him. Because God loves us, He sent His Son, Jesus, to die on a cross and come back to life so that we could have a relationship with God again. If we admit that we’ve sinned against God, believe in what Jesus did for us, and commit to follow and obey Him, we can be saved!
Even though the disciples didn’t have faith in Jesus, because He loves them, He got them to their destination safely. We can also trust that Jesus is in control and that He loves us and will take care of us. We can have faith in Jesus because He is our Savior and King!
How does knowing Jesus is in control help you when you are going through something difficult?
What are some ways you can show faith in Jesus this week?
Thank You, God, for sending Your perfect Son, Jesus, to be our Savior and King. We know that the only way for us to be forgiven of our sin and have a relationship with You is through Him. Help us to turn away from our sin and live our lives obedient to You. We love You and want to put our trust completely in You. It’s in Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
“For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16 (NLT)
Matthew 14:25-32
About three o’clock in the morning Jesus came toward them, walking on the water. 26 When the disciples saw him walking on the water, they were terrified. In their fear, they cried out, “It’s a ghost!”
27 But Jesus spoke to them at once. “Don’t be afraid,” he said. “Take courage. I am here!]”
28 Then Peter called to him, “Lord, if it’s really you, tell me to come to you, walking on the water.”
29 “Yes, come,” Jesus said.So Peter went over the side of the boat and walked on the water toward Jesus. 30 But when he saw the strong wind and the waves, he was terrified and began to sink. “Save me, Lord!” he shouted.
31 Jesus immediately reached out and grabbed him. “You have so little faith,” Jesus said. “Why did you doubt me?”32 When they climbed back into the boat, the wind stopped.
Jesus’ disciples were in their boat, and Jesus had stayed back to pray. A storm came, and Jesus walked on water. Then He made it possible for Peter to walk on water too!
At first, Peter had a lot of faith. But as soon as he noticed the storm, Peter became afraid and began to sink. Jesus didn’t let Peter drown. He reached out His hand to save him. Then Jesus said to Peter, “You have so little faith. Why did you doubt me?” Peter had lost faith because he forgot that Jesus is in control and He is the Savior and King!
Sometimes we can be like Peter and stop trusting God. We try to figure things out on our own, but we should always trust God. We have all sinned. Sin is disobeying God, and it separates us from Him. Because God loves us, He sent His Son, Jesus, to die on a cross and come back to life so that we could have a relationship with God again.
When we admit that we have disobeyed God, believe in what Jesus did for us, and commit to follow and obey Him, we can be saved from our sin. What Jesus did for us shows us that He loves us, He will always take care of us, and we can always trust Him. Jesus is our Savior and King!
What does it mean to trust Jesus instead of trusting ourselves?
What is something you can trust Jesus with this week?
Thank You, God, for sending Your perfect Son, Jesus, to be our Savior and King. We know that the only way for us to be forgiven of our sin and have a relationship with You is through Him. Help us to turn away from our sin and live our lives obedient to You. We love You and want to put our trust completely in You. It’s in Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.