What is a Christian

THESE STUDIES ARE USED FOR ALL AGES-TWEAKING NEEDED

Day 4: What is a Christian?

Objective:
To explain conversion and emphasize the need for both faith and works. Day 3 focused on Jesus’ actions and what they mean for us. Day 4 focuses on our response to what he has done.

Lesson:
Bible References to Know:
If we confess our sins, we will be forgiven – 1 John 1:9
Saved through grace – Ephesians 2:8
Righteousness through faith – Romans 3:22
If we love Jesus, we will do what he says – John 14:15
Real faith results in actions – James 2: 26
Because God loved us, we love others – 1 John 4:10-11

1) Accepting the Gift –Repenting and Having Faith
o Explain that Jesus died for our sins so we wouldn’t have to die. This is a free gift, but we need to accept his gift. We have to realize that we have sinned and ask for forgiveness: We have to repent. To repent means to turn away from sin and turn towards God. It means that we stop doing what is wrong and start doing what is right.
o We need faith to believe that Jesus really is the Son of God, and that he died for us, even though we can’t see him. This faith is what causes us to be saved. Remind campers of the illustration you used on Day 2. Ask them to remember how we can’t get to God on our own. It is believing in Jesus and his death for us that fixes our relationship with God, not the things that we do.

Illustration Ideas:
Ask one camper to be a volunteer. Ask them if they are okay with being blindfolded to help you with a demonstration. Blindfold them and ask them to walk around the cabin. Tell them that whenever they get close to bumping into something, the other campers will yell out, “Repent!” That will be their clue to turn around. Let one or two other campers have a turn to be blindfolded. Finally, blindfold yourself. When you’re warned with “Repent!” loudly say, “ I don’t need to repent!” and crash into bunk/walls. Afterward, talk about why it was important to repent in the game (e.g. if you don’t you’ll keep going the wrong way and crash into things. If you don’t stop sinning, the result is death). Explain that to repent means to stop doing what is wrong and do what is right. To repent means to be sorry for your sin, and to turn away from your sin towards God.

Put up two signs, one that says “Sin and Death” and one that says “God”. Have the campers line up, and then show them how to march. They should start by marching toward the sign that says “Sin and Death”. The cabin leader is the drill sergeant, and says, “left, left, left right left.” Tell the campers that when you yell, “Repent”, they have to stop and turn around and march the other way, towards the sign saying “God.” Explain that “Repent” is a word that drill sergeants used to tell their soldiers stop and reverse direction. To repent means to stop sinning and turn away from sin toward God. Tie this in to the fact that we all sin, and becoming a Christian starts by admitting our sin and turning away from it. If we are really sorry for our sin, we have to stop doing it and start doing what is right (living like Jesus).

2) Following the Leader: Becoming Like Jesus
o A Christian is someone who believes that Jesus died and rose again, has asked for forgiveness for their sins, and has decided to follow Jesus by becoming like him. This means a change in the way we live: repenting! Becoming a Christian starts by praying a prayer, but it doesn’t end there. Being a Christian means that your whole life is different.
o Our response to Jesus’ love for us should be to love him in return. This means we need to do something: we need to become different people. We leave our sin and become like Jesus instead.
o Jesus tells us that if we love him, we will do what he says - John 14:15. The Bible tells us to love people, just like Jesus loved us. “Be imitators of Christ, then, as dearly loved children, and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” Ephesians 5:1
o Even though it isn’t anything that we do that fixes our relationship with God, when we become a Christian we show that we really believe in Jesus and really love him by changing the way we live and becoming like him.
o How do you follow someone? You have to know what they are like before you can become like them. You have to get to know Jesus to be able to follow him. This is what we’ll talk about tomorrow in Day 5.

Illustration Ideas:
“The Parable of the Lawn Mower”. Tell this parable in your own words: There once was a guy whose dad asked him to mow the lawn. He said he’d do it. How could you tell whether he actually meant what he said?
You could tell that he meant it by whether he actually went and mowed the lawn or not. If I say I am a Christian, you can tell if I really mean it by whether I live like Jesus or not.

Play follow the leader around the cabin. Explain that if we are Christians, Jesus is
our leader, and we follow him. This means living like he lived and doing what he does.

Response:

Give campers time to ask questions about the material. Explain that every person has a choice. We can choose to accept Jesus’ sacrifice or we can choose not to. Becoming a Christian means repenting from our sins and starting to live like him. Tell campers again that you will be available to talk to one-on-one if they have any questions.