A few weeks ago I had the privilege to serve as Youth Pastor at a Christian Camp. God provided GREAT kids, many from non-Christian homes.

Every night, I preached a different message in a brand-new 5-part series on The Ministry Years of Jesus.

For each message, you’ll find a synopsis of the teaching, the complete message on video, a “before” photo of the painting, and an “after” photo. Please feel free to click on the photos to enlarge them. I hope they are a blessing to you!

And to give credit where credit is due, I borrowed heavily from the great work OAC Missionary Aaron Wentz did in developing this series. And Aaron borrowed heavily from the fantastic curriculum from New Tribes Missions called, Creation to Christ.

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1. The Son of God:

   Description: When Jesus was on the earth, people had varied opinions on who Jesus really was. A good teacher? A revolutionary? A false prophet? People still question this today. God the Father audibly called Jesus “THE SON OF GOD” at his transfiguration in Matthew chapter 17. Jesus proved it through his miracles, predicting the future, healing people, exercising demons, and raising himself from the dead. Who do you say Jesus is? There is no more important question.

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2. The Resurrection and the Life:

   Description: John, chapter 11 – the raising of Lazarus. Jesus showed that He is fully God by knowing that Lazarus had died, and having the power to raise him. Jesus said, “I am THE RESURRECTION AND THE LIFE. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” (John 11:25-26, emphasis mine). Jesus showed that He is fully man by weeping at the death of Lazarus. There’s soooo much in this amazing passage! Lazarus was dead. Jesus made him alive. Then Lazarus became a testimony and many others turned to Jesus because of him. God does the same thing with us! We are all born with a soul that’s dead in sin. Jesus makes us born-again. And then He uses us to reach others! But be careful, when God uses us, satanic forces will try to stop us and even try to kill us, just as the jealous religious leaders in Jesus’ day wanted to kill Him and Lazarus too. This is the very same Scripture that God used 21 years ago to bring me to faith in Christ!

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3. The Good Shepherd:

   Description: This message came from John 10. In Jesus’ day, sheep were safe from thieves and predators only if they were in the pen, and there was only one way in, guarded by the Shepherd. Jesus said He was that one way to safety. He is THE GOOD SHEPHERD. This is just like in Noah’s day where there was only one way to be saved from the flood. The Ark was a preview of salvation in Christ. Satan comes to steal, kill, and destroy, but Jesus calls, leads, loves, cares for, protects, dies for, and knows His sheep. Nothing is more important than knowing for certain that you are one of Jesus’ sheep, protected forever in the Father’s hand. I told the kids they’d learn how to belong to Christ in the coming lessons.

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4. The Only Way:

   Description: This message comes from the vital passage about the Pharisee and the Tax Collector, from Luke, chapter 18. The Pharisee thought God’s Way to Heaven was by being good and doing religious deeds. The Tax Collector was humble, pleading for God’s mercy. God’s mercy was paid for at the cross! Both men were sinners, but THE ONLY WAY to be forgiven is through God’s mercy, given through Jesus Christ. Even a sinful Tax Collector, if he comes humbly to God through the cross, can be forgiven!

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5. The Only Savior:

   Description: In a culture that wanted children to act more like adults, Jesus said he wanted adults to become like children in order to enter the Kingdom of God. A rich young man asked Jesus what he needed to do to enter Heaven. But there’s nothing we can do. We’ve all sinned. But this man mistakenly thought he had successfully kept all of God’s commandments. To show this man his pride, Jesus took him through the 10 Commandments, to show that we’re all sinners. “All have sinned” (Romans 3:23), and “None are good” (Romans 3:10). Our only hope is to trust in THE ONLY SAVIOR. Because He loves us, Jesus died for sinners. If we turn from our sins and trust in Jesus, that He died and rose again, and is THE ONLY SAVIOR, then we will be Born Again and be adopted into God’s family. What GREAT news!!!

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Note:

If you have access to a large-scale printer (34 inches wide, or 36 inches wide), like the kind a Land Surveyor or Architect might own, then you can download and print full-size outlines of the messages at: http://luke-15.org/scanned-messages/#Jesus-Ministry-Years-01.