GOODNESS - Champions by the Fruit of the SpiritSample

Goodness vs Evil

Bible story: Herod and John the Baptist Luke 3:18-20, Matthew 14:1-12

Theme Verse: Psalm 34:14

There is evil in the world. Men and women at any time can hurt us, but we can always trust God. Ever since sin entered the world, there has been evil in the hearts of all men. However, some men fight evil constantly and try to live good lives, whereas others do not fight it at all but actually seem to enjoy living an evil life. We all fight against evil in our own hearts; even if it is small, it is there.

In today's Bible story, we see a man who lives an evil life. Herod the Tetrarch did many evil things, but when John the Baptist rebuked him, Herod locked John up in jail! Herod had taken his own brother's wife, Herodias, and so John had rebuked him.

Herod then bound him up and arrested him. During Herod's birthday party, the daughter of Herodias danced for them, and Herod was so pleased that he offered her whatever she wanted. Prompted by her mother, she asked to have John the Baptist killed. Herod felt he had no options, so he did it. (For older students, you can mention that she asked to have John the Baptist's head brought into the party on a platter.) It is truly terrible what happened in this Bible story. However, John the Baptist had accomplished what God asked him to do -- to prepare the way for the Lord.

The Bible makes it very clear that there is a heaven and a hell. When we trust God for our salvation, believing in the Lord Jesus Christ, we can know that we will go to heaven. Those who have not believed will be going to hell. We all will live for eternity in heaven or hell.

This is useful information because we all face evil people. It can be very frustrating to see an evil person getting away with their evil without justice or punishment. However, it is comforting to know that the injustice in the world will only exist here on earth. Once we die, we will be free if we have trusted in Jesus Christ for our salvation.

Therefore, although evil happens in the world all around me, I can be certain that this evil cannot touch my soul and spirit. It can hurt my body and can even kill me, but when I get to heaven with John the Baptist, I will be free from all evil.

Questions:

1. What will heaven be like, and who will go there?

2. What will hell be like, and who will go there?

3. Can the evil things people do against me hurt my spirit?

Life Application:

Look around you for the presence of evil, where someone is hurting another for apparently no reason. Find a way to intervene this week to protect the innocent person. Maybe helping them walk a different way home from school, providing a lunch, or having a group of 4 join you in walking with them.