1. A Car Ride Home
After a baby dedication service for his baby brother in church, little Johnny sobbed all the way home in the back seat of the car. His father asked him three times what was wrong. Finally, the boy replied, "That preacher said he wanted us brought up in a Christian home, but I want to stay with you guys!"
2. CARS2God is our VBS theme this year – Children ARE Really Special to God
Matthew 19.13-14
Psalm 78.4-7
3. At a congregation I worked for a few years ago, many of the adult bible classes named their classes with some biblical principles within their names. One was Encouragers; One was Bridge Builders (led by a dentist, oddly enough); a couple of the classes noted that they had named their classes after cars – Pathfinders; Forerunners;
4. I don’t want to be overly cute with this lesson, but the theme of our VBS and my experience with those classes made me think about some Bible characters and some modern cars and trucks
• Toyota “4Runner”
John the Baptist – Forerunner to Yeshua (Jesus) – Mark 1.1-8
The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.2 As it is written in Isaiah the prophet,
“Behold, I send my messenger before your face,
who will prepare your way,
3 the voice of one crying in the wilderness:
‘Prepare the way of the Lord,
make his paths straight,’”
4 John appeared, baptizing in the wilderness and proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 5 And all the country of Judea and all Jerusalem were going out to him and were being baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. 6 Now John was clothed with camel's hair and wore a leather belt around his waist and ate locusts and wild honey. 7 And he preached, saying, “After me comes he who is mightier than I, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. 8 I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”
Cf. Isaiah 40.3-5
3 A voice cries:
“In the wilderness prepare the way of the LORD;
make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
4 Every valley shall be lifted up,
and every mountain and hill be made low;
the uneven ground shall become level,
and the rough places a plain.
5 And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed,
and all flesh shall see it together,
for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.”
Why did people flock to the desert to hear John? They thought he was ushering in the presence of GOD himself – and he did. He prepared the way for Yeshua (Jesus) – Messiah-God
• Ford “Mustang” – Wild and Reckless
Car was named for the WWII Mustang airplane – but to be a combat pilot you have to be a little wild and crazy!’
Ishmael – Genesis 16.13-14
11 And the angel of the LORD said to her,
“Behold, you are pregnant
and shall bear a son.
You shall call his name Ishmael,
because the LORD has listened to your affliction.
12 He shall be a wild donkey of a man,
his hand against everyone
and everyone's hand against him,
and he shall dwell over against all his kinsmen.”
13 So she called the name of the LORD who spoke to her, “You are a God of seeing,” for she said, “Truly here I have seen him who looks after me.”
Ishmael means “God Pays Attention”
He came about in an erroneous way – Abram and Sarai took matters into their own hands instead of waiting on God – problems ever since: between Sarai and Hagar; descendants of Ishmael and Isaac
Abram loved Ishmael AND Isaac Midrash in Genesis 22.1-2 (CJB)
After these things, God tested Avraham. He said to him, “Avraham!” and he answered, “Here I am.” 2 He said, “Take your son, your only son, whom you love, Yitz’chak; and go to the land of Moriyah. There you are to offer him as a burnt offering on a mountain that I will point out to you.”
God to Abraham: Take your son; Abraham: Which son?/ God: Your only son; Abraham: Which only son – I have two sons who were only sons of their mothers/ God: The son you love; Abraham: I love both sons; God: ISAAC!
Ishmael was frustrated and angry
A father of four boys came home to find them all engaged in something of a free-for-all. Addressing his remarks to the most aggressive of the four, he asked, “Butch, who started this?” “Well, it all started when Harold hit me back,” exclaimed Butch.
• Mercury “Mountaineer”
Caleb – faithful spy with Joshua
6 Then the people of Judah came to Joshua at Gilgal. And Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite said to him, “You know what the LORD said to Moses the man of God in Kadesh-barnea concerning you and me. 7 I was forty years old when Moses the servant of the LORD sent me from Kadesh-barnea to spy out the land, and I brought him word again as it was in my heart. 8 But my brothers who went up with me made the heart of the people melt; yet I wholly followed the LORD my God. 9 And Moses swore on that day, saying, ‘Surely the land on which your foot has trodden shall be an inheritance for you and your children forever, because you have wholly followed the LORD my God.’ 10 And now, behold, the LORD has kept me alive, just as he said, these forty-five years since the time that the LORD spoke this word to Moses, while Israel walked in the wilderness. And now, behold, I am this day eighty-five years old. 11 I am still as strong today as I was in the day that Moses sent me; my strength now is as my strength was then, for war and for going and coming. 12 So now give me this hill country [“mountain” KJV] of which the LORD spoke on that day, for you heard on that day how the Anakim were there, with great fortified cities. It may be that the LORD will be with me, and I shall drive them out just as the LORD said.” Joshua 14.6-12
• Dodge “Ram”
Isaac and Yeshua (Jesus)
13 And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him was a ram, caught in a thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son. 14 So Abraham called the name of that place, “The LORD will provide”; as it is said to this day, “On the mount of the LORD it shall be provided.” Genesis 22.13-14
Foreshadow of Passover – Lamb for firstborn
Which is a foreshadow of the crucifixion
Ram’s Horn (Shofar) – blown at sacrifices and reminded Hebrews of Isaac’s binding
John 19.1-5
Then Pilate took Jesus and flogged him. 2 And the soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head and arrayed him in a purple robe. 3 They came up to him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” and struck him with their hands. 4 Pilate went out again and said to them, “See, I am bringing him out to you that you may know that I find no guilt in him.” 5 So Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. Pilate said to them, “Behold the man!”
Crown of thorns
Sacrificed at the blowing of the shofar (9 AM – third hour)
Died at the blowing of the shofar (3 PM – ninth hour)
Conclusion: Time does not permit us to talk of:
• The Accord (disciples together in Acts)
• The Fox (Herod)
• The Pilot (Pilate)
• The Avenger (of Blood)
• The Caravan (took Joseph to Egypt)
• The Conquest (of the Promised Land)
This has been a lesson of a rabbinic nature – taking things we see and making biblical application – reminders.
Behold the birds of the air; grass of the field; etc.
One night at a pizza parlor, a family decided to use the minutes waiting for their food as a teaching time. The Parents passed out an index card and pencil to each child and had them write down a new memory verse: "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men." (Col. 3:23).
Then they said, "Let’s watch this waitress and see what kind of worker she is. Do you think she is working with all her heart."
The kids never took their eyes off her. Their half whispered comments continued in a steady stream. "She was sure nice about bringing extra napkins." "She has to stand up all the time, and she’s not crabby."
The waitress never knew she was being scrutinized. By the end of the meal, the children not only had the Scripture nailed down, but also had done an on-site study of its meaning.
Now, the reason this “hands on” approach is so vital is because our kids need to see that OUR faith is real. It’s hard for our kids to believe in what they hear at church if they sense that we (ourselves) are not all that committed to our faith at home
A Sunday school teacher asked her group of children if any of them could quote the entire twenty-third psalm.
A little 4 year-old girl raised her hand. A bit skeptical, the teacher asked if she could really quote the entire psalm.
The little girl smiled and said she could. "The Lord is my shepherd, that’s all I want."
