Hoosumaber
(Salvation)
(Heaven)
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him, should not perish, but have everlasting life. John 3:16
The Basic Bible Truth
Heaven is a very real place. It is the ultimate ret for the Christian in eternity. It has been created for us to enjoy being with God forever. There is only one way to attain that goal, and that is to be saved. Jesus Christ is the only way.
The Object
A White Board Or Large Poster Board
Magic Marker
(Salvation)
(Heaven)
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him, should not perish, but have everlasting life. John 3:16
The Basic Bible Truth
Heaven is a very real place. It is the ultimate ret for the Christian in eternity. It has been created for us to enjoy being with God forever. There is only one way to attain that goal, and that is to be saved. Jesus Christ is the only way.
The Object
A White Board Or Large Poster Board
Magic Marker
This object lesson can be presented two ways. I will show both. I teach this lesson with a pre-explanation that I have invented a new word and will define it for the audience before I actually share the word with them. As each point is made, the key word is written down: Heaven, One, Only, Sin, Useless, My, All, Because, Eternal, Redeem. As all of those words are written, you will notice that by taking the first letter of each word, you can make the word “hoosumaber”—my new word. Unfortunately, my new word means something very similar to one already in use, so I doubt that it will ever catch on, but here is how it would be used: For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that hoosumaber believeth in Him, should not perish, but have everlasting life.
The Lesson #1
My favorite way to teach this lesson is in a fairly fast paced fashion. I begin by explaining that I have a new word that I have invented and that I would like to begin by defining the word for everyone, and give everyone an easy method to remember how to spell it. I write each key word on the board as it is introduced. This can be easily adlibbed as you go. As the “reviews” begin, I point to each word as I talk. It begins like this:
Heaven is a wonderful place. It is an amazing place. It is so amazing that God says it has not entered into the heart of man what God has prepared for him. Think the most amazing thought that you can think Heaven might be like and know that you are not even close. Heaven is that awesome. We can’t comprehend the majesty and incredibleness of Heaven. But, as I said, it is very, very real, and I want to go there some day. God has promised that reward to everyone who believes in Him.
There is One way to get to Heaven. It is not based upon how good we are or how hard we might work at getting there. The one way to Heaven is through the person of Jesus Christ. He is the one who can save us from our sins.
Let’s review. Heaven is an amazing place. I want to go there some day, and I hope to see all of you there also. It is going to be absolutely incredible. And there is one way to get there, and that is through the person of Jesus Christ. He is the one way. In fact, He is the Only way. We have a problem and Jesus is the only one who can save us from our problem and give us a chance at Heaven. God placed a very high price on sin. It carries the death penalty. Jesus paid that price for us. He is the only one who lived a perfect life and is, therefore, an adequate payment to satisfy God.
Ok, let’s review. Heaven is an amazing place, as I said before. It is very real, and it should be the goal of everyone here to get there someday. But there is one way to get to Heaven and that is through the blood of Jesus Christ. He is the only one who paid the price for our problems and is the only way to get to Heaven. You see, we all have a Sin problem. We are not perfect, and God has stipulated that anything that is not perfect is considered sin. We are born with a sin nature and struggle with that nature our entire lives. As we make mistakes, God is able to forgive our sin. Nothing less than perfection can get into Heaven. That is a problem for us. We are not perfect, but Jesus is.
Let’s look at this again. Heaven is an absolutely incredible place where I plan to spend my eternity. It is going to be amazing. But, as I said before, there is one way to get there, and that is through Jesus. In fact, He is the only way to get there, because we all have a sin problem that only He can forgive. It is absolutely Useless to think that I could do it on my own. On my very, very, best day, doing my very, very, best things, I don’t even come close to the righteousness of God. I can try and try, but it is useless to think that I have any chance of impressing God or gaining a ticket into Heaven based upon my own abilities.
Let’s review where we are so far. I plan to go to Heaven some day. It is going to absolutely the greatest thing ever. And there is one way to get there, and that is through Jesus Christ. In fact, He is the only way anyone can get to Heaven, because we all have a sin nature. We all sin. And try as I might, it is useless to think that I have any chance of getting to Heaven on my own. It’s not going to happen. Because My goodness is nothing compared to the perfection of an Almighty God. His Heaven is so magnificent and perfect, He has said that nothing but perfection will be allowed to spend eternity there with Him. I am nothing compared to an infinite God. My best, my goodness, my everything just won’t do.
Now, let’s review what we have covered so far. Heaven is an awesome place, a very, very, real place. There is one way to get to Heaven. In fact there is only one way to get to Heaven. And that is to have a personal relationship with Jesus. We all have a tremendous problem called sin and it is useless to think that my goodness is capable of getting me anywhere. The focus must be on Jesus. It is All because of what He did on the cross for us. It is all about Him and not us. I put up nothing of value for consideration. He is everything. My chance to go to Heaven is based solely on what He did for me on that cross many years ago when He paid the price for my sin.
Let’s review once again. You cannot even begin to imagine how great Heaven will be. There is one way to get there, and that is only through a relationship with Jesus Christ. And that is because you and I have a problem called sin. It is absolutely useless to think that you can achieve Heaven on your own, because your goodness, my goodness, is nothing compared to God’s standard of perfection. All of our focus must be on Jesus. It is Because of what He did that we even have the opportunity to have a relationship with God. He loved us so much that He took a step downward to our condition, that of being human, and went to a cross for us. It is because of what He did that we can even hope to be reconciled to God.
Let’s review. I want to go to Heaven some day. It is going to absolutely fantastic. There is one way to get there. The only way to get there is through a relationship with Jesus. Only He can solve our problem with sin and it is useless to even try to do it on our own. Because our goodness, my goodness, is nothing when compared to God’s goodness. We must understand that it is all about Him. It is because of what He did those many years ago that I have the chance, the opportunity to have Eternal life. Eternity is a very, very, long time. We struggle to understand just how long that is. Here is my favorite explanation of eternity. Suppose there was a solid granite mountain, 100 miles long, 100 miles wide, and 100 miles tall. And suppose that a little, tiny chickadee would fly to the top of that mountain once every 1,000 years and sharpen its little beak on that mountain, wearing an infinitesimal amount of that mountain away in the process. When that mountain has been completely worn away, not even the equivalent of one day of eternity will have passed by.
Do you follow all of this so far? Let’s review once again. Heaven is going to be the most amazing thing ever. I want to go there some day. But I know that there is one way to get there, the only way, and that is by inviting Jesus to live in my heart. I know I have a sin problem and that it is useless to think that my good works can get me anywhere. All of my focus must be on Jesus, because what He did when He went to the cross paid the price for my sin and because of that I have the promise of eternal life. The New Testament word for paying the price is to Redeem. Jesus Christ Redeemed me from my sin. Only He could have paid that price, and because of His love, I will spend eternity in Heaven with Him some day.
OK, Let’s review one more time. Heaven is the most incredible place that anyone can possibly imagine. In fact it is beyond our greatest imagination. There is one way to Heaven, and that is by inviting Jesus to live in our hearts. He is the only way to get there. You and I were born with a sin nature, and nothing imperfect can get into Heaven. It is useless to think that we have the ability to please God enough to earn our way there. My best good works on my best day are nothing when compared with God’s perfect standard. It is all about what Jesus did when He went to the cross. It is because of His great love for us that He offers us eternal life with Him in Heaven. He was willing to pay the price for our salvation. He was willing to redeem us from our problem.
I told you when we started that I have invented a brand new word. If I’m honest, I will have to admit that there is another word very close to it that everyone has gotten used to using and my word probably will never be used much, but here it is. I have given you a pretty good definition as I have been talking with you and also, you now have a handy method for remembering how to spell it, should you ever find yourself in need of its use. The word is Hoosumaber. Hoosumaber. What a magnificent word. Let me use it in a sentence for you. I will quote a very familiar sentence, and I will substitute my word for the old one, so you can get a perfect context of how to use it. Listen carefully. “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that hoosumaber believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” Such a wonderful word, and now you know exactly how to use it.
The Lesson #2
This version is more of a lecture type presentation, covering the key words. You can again, write each word on the board for a visual reference as you go along. And at the end, present the word hoosumaber and use it correctly in a sentence. Here is an outline:
Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwi
The Lesson #1
My favorite way to teach this lesson is in a fairly fast paced fashion. I begin by explaining that I have a new word that I have invented and that I would like to begin by defining the word for everyone, and give everyone an easy method to remember how to spell it. I write each key word on the board as it is introduced. This can be easily adlibbed as you go. As the “reviews” begin, I point to each word as I talk. It begins like this:
Heaven is a wonderful place. It is an amazing place. It is so amazing that God says it has not entered into the heart of man what God has prepared for him. Think the most amazing thought that you can think Heaven might be like and know that you are not even close. Heaven is that awesome. We can’t comprehend the majesty and incredibleness of Heaven. But, as I said, it is very, very real, and I want to go there some day. God has promised that reward to everyone who believes in Him.
There is One way to get to Heaven. It is not based upon how good we are or how hard we might work at getting there. The one way to Heaven is through the person of Jesus Christ. He is the one who can save us from our sins.
Let’s review. Heaven is an amazing place. I want to go there some day, and I hope to see all of you there also. It is going to be absolutely incredible. And there is one way to get there, and that is through the person of Jesus Christ. He is the one way. In fact, He is the Only way. We have a problem and Jesus is the only one who can save us from our problem and give us a chance at Heaven. God placed a very high price on sin. It carries the death penalty. Jesus paid that price for us. He is the only one who lived a perfect life and is, therefore, an adequate payment to satisfy God.
Ok, let’s review. Heaven is an amazing place, as I said before. It is very real, and it should be the goal of everyone here to get there someday. But there is one way to get to Heaven and that is through the blood of Jesus Christ. He is the only one who paid the price for our problems and is the only way to get to Heaven. You see, we all have a Sin problem. We are not perfect, and God has stipulated that anything that is not perfect is considered sin. We are born with a sin nature and struggle with that nature our entire lives. As we make mistakes, God is able to forgive our sin. Nothing less than perfection can get into Heaven. That is a problem for us. We are not perfect, but Jesus is.
Let’s look at this again. Heaven is an absolutely incredible place where I plan to spend my eternity. It is going to be amazing. But, as I said before, there is one way to get there, and that is through Jesus. In fact, He is the only way to get there, because we all have a sin problem that only He can forgive. It is absolutely Useless to think that I could do it on my own. On my very, very, best day, doing my very, very, best things, I don’t even come close to the righteousness of God. I can try and try, but it is useless to think that I have any chance of impressing God or gaining a ticket into Heaven based upon my own abilities.
Let’s review where we are so far. I plan to go to Heaven some day. It is going to absolutely the greatest thing ever. And there is one way to get there, and that is through Jesus Christ. In fact, He is the only way anyone can get to Heaven, because we all have a sin nature. We all sin. And try as I might, it is useless to think that I have any chance of getting to Heaven on my own. It’s not going to happen. Because My goodness is nothing compared to the perfection of an Almighty God. His Heaven is so magnificent and perfect, He has said that nothing but perfection will be allowed to spend eternity there with Him. I am nothing compared to an infinite God. My best, my goodness, my everything just won’t do.
Now, let’s review what we have covered so far. Heaven is an awesome place, a very, very, real place. There is one way to get to Heaven. In fact there is only one way to get to Heaven. And that is to have a personal relationship with Jesus. We all have a tremendous problem called sin and it is useless to think that my goodness is capable of getting me anywhere. The focus must be on Jesus. It is All because of what He did on the cross for us. It is all about Him and not us. I put up nothing of value for consideration. He is everything. My chance to go to Heaven is based solely on what He did for me on that cross many years ago when He paid the price for my sin.
Let’s review once again. You cannot even begin to imagine how great Heaven will be. There is one way to get there, and that is only through a relationship with Jesus Christ. And that is because you and I have a problem called sin. It is absolutely useless to think that you can achieve Heaven on your own, because your goodness, my goodness, is nothing compared to God’s standard of perfection. All of our focus must be on Jesus. It is Because of what He did that we even have the opportunity to have a relationship with God. He loved us so much that He took a step downward to our condition, that of being human, and went to a cross for us. It is because of what He did that we can even hope to be reconciled to God.
Let’s review. I want to go to Heaven some day. It is going to absolutely fantastic. There is one way to get there. The only way to get there is through a relationship with Jesus. Only He can solve our problem with sin and it is useless to even try to do it on our own. Because our goodness, my goodness, is nothing when compared to God’s goodness. We must understand that it is all about Him. It is because of what He did those many years ago that I have the chance, the opportunity to have Eternal life. Eternity is a very, very, long time. We struggle to understand just how long that is. Here is my favorite explanation of eternity. Suppose there was a solid granite mountain, 100 miles long, 100 miles wide, and 100 miles tall. And suppose that a little, tiny chickadee would fly to the top of that mountain once every 1,000 years and sharpen its little beak on that mountain, wearing an infinitesimal amount of that mountain away in the process. When that mountain has been completely worn away, not even the equivalent of one day of eternity will have passed by.
Do you follow all of this so far? Let’s review once again. Heaven is going to be the most amazing thing ever. I want to go there some day. But I know that there is one way to get there, the only way, and that is by inviting Jesus to live in my heart. I know I have a sin problem and that it is useless to think that my good works can get me anywhere. All of my focus must be on Jesus, because what He did when He went to the cross paid the price for my sin and because of that I have the promise of eternal life. The New Testament word for paying the price is to Redeem. Jesus Christ Redeemed me from my sin. Only He could have paid that price, and because of His love, I will spend eternity in Heaven with Him some day.
OK, Let’s review one more time. Heaven is the most incredible place that anyone can possibly imagine. In fact it is beyond our greatest imagination. There is one way to Heaven, and that is by inviting Jesus to live in our hearts. He is the only way to get there. You and I were born with a sin nature, and nothing imperfect can get into Heaven. It is useless to think that we have the ability to please God enough to earn our way there. My best good works on my best day are nothing when compared with God’s perfect standard. It is all about what Jesus did when He went to the cross. It is because of His great love for us that He offers us eternal life with Him in Heaven. He was willing to pay the price for our salvation. He was willing to redeem us from our problem.
I told you when we started that I have invented a brand new word. If I’m honest, I will have to admit that there is another word very close to it that everyone has gotten used to using and my word probably will never be used much, but here it is. I have given you a pretty good definition as I have been talking with you and also, you now have a handy method for remembering how to spell it, should you ever find yourself in need of its use. The word is Hoosumaber. Hoosumaber. What a magnificent word. Let me use it in a sentence for you. I will quote a very familiar sentence, and I will substitute my word for the old one, so you can get a perfect context of how to use it. Listen carefully. “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that hoosumaber believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” Such a wonderful word, and now you know exactly how to use it.
The Lesson #2
This version is more of a lecture type presentation, covering the key words. You can again, write each word on the board for a visual reference as you go along. And at the end, present the word hoosumaber and use it correctly in a sentence. Here is an outline:
- Heaven
- It is a very real place
- No walking on clouds and strumming a harp and wearing wings
- We see but glimpses of Heaven in Isaiah, Ezekiel and Revelation
- The New Jerusalem: 1400 miles wide, 1400 miles long, 1400 miles tall!
- The new Heaven and Earth are just that—new, no oceans
- It will be a paradise
- We will have responsibilities there, a job as it were
- We are incapable of even imagining what Jesus has been preparing for us. He spoke the universe into existence in 6 days. He has had 2,000 years to prepare Heaven.
- One
- There is one way to get to Heaven
- Our “ticket” there is not based upon works or commendations
- Only
- Only Jesus is the way to Heaven.
- Sin has a very high price tag—death and the shedding of blood
- Only Jesus was a perfect sacrifice acceptable to pay for our sins.
- Sin
- We are all born with a sin nature
- Anything that deviates from God’s perfect standard is sin
- We cannot solve our sin problem ourselves
- Useless
- Man, left totally to himself, will never seek God
- God always makes the first move
- Without God, our sin will destroy us
- Sin left unchecked and unbridled will ultimately destroy
- My
- My very, very best on my very, very best day is nothing compared to God’s righteousness
- All
- All of my focus must be on Jesus
- I have nothing of value to put up for consideration
- I am nothing before an almighty God
- Because
- It is all because of what He did
- The strong arm of the Lord worked Salvation
- This was no small task
- Eternal
- We all have a longing to live forever
- God has put eternity in the heart of man
- A very long time
- Chickadee story: Imagine a solid granite mountain 100 miles long, 100 miles wide, and 100 miles tall. Once every 1000 years a little chickadee comes to sharpen its beak by scraping it on the granite, wearing away an infinitesimal amount of rock. When that mountain has completely worn away, the equivalent of one day in Heaven has not yet passed.
- Redeem
- The Old Testament Law regarding the duties of the kinsman-redeemer
- Jesus paid a huge price for our freedom from the penalty of sin
- Hoosumaber: Take the first letter of each word. Used in a sentence:
Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwi