Lesson 7:

A new father and a new family

INFORMATION FOR TEACHERS

One of the greatest salvation truths for children to learn is that when they trust Jesus Christ
as their Saviour they become children of God, they are adopted into the family of God and God
becomes their Father. Dr. I J Packer, the well known theologian, says that this is the greatest of
the blessings which accompany salvation.
What does adoption mean?
Adoption means the placing of a son. Adoption is that legal and judicial act of God
whereby He places the sinner, who believes, into His family and makes him His child. But it is
even more than that. At the same time God advances him and gives him the position and privilege
of being an adult son, and His heir. Adoption happens at the same time as regeneration and is
closely linked to it. Adoption belongs to all who receive Jesus Christ and are regenerated (John 1
v12, 13). Regeneration gives us new life and a new nature; adoption gives us a new position and
changes our relationship to God.
Where is adoption taught?
This truth is taught in Scripture from three points of view:
Adoption was planned in eternity past (Ephesians 1 v4,5) when God chose those who
would become His sons and daughters - and His heirs.
Adoption actually takes place when the sinner believes in Jesus Christ as Lord and
Saviour (Romans 8 v15; Galatians 4 v5).
Adoption will be shown or manifested when Jesus Christ comes back again and our
salvation will then be complete (Romans 8 v23).
What is the meaning and personal application of adoption?
Now that God is my Father and I am His heir I can
come to Him (Matthew 7 v7-11)
talk to Him (Matthew 6 v9)
listen to Him (Ephesians 1 v17,18)
trust Him (Matthew 6 v26,32)
Now that God is my Father He will:-
listen to me (1John 5 v14, 15)
care for me (Luke 12 v27-32)
chasten me if necessary (Hebrews 12 v5-11)
supply all my need (Matthew 6 v8)
Now that God is my Father I have:-
the family name (1 John 3 v1)
the family likeness (Matthew 5 v44-48; Romans 8 v29)
many brothers and sisters (1 John 1 v3; 3 v14)
family love (John 17 v24-26)
This is a wonderful truth for you, yourself, to understand and to remember at all times. Look
again at the twelve applications of this truth which I have just outlined and apply these to your
own life.
Then teach this tremendous truth to the children. Please dont omit it because they need it
as much as you.
Some may question my use of the term, older brother in this lesson to describe one aspect
of the relationship of believers to the Lord Jesus. But there are several Scriptures which
encourage us to use this term and also to think of the Lord Jesus in this role and relationship in
addition to all the other truths the Bible teaches about Him:
For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and
mother (Matthew 12 v50).
For both He who sanctifies and those who are being sanctified are all of one, for
which reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren (Hebrews 2 v11).
Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a
merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for
the sins of the people (Hebrews 2 v17).
For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His
Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren (Romans 8 v29).

MEMORY VERSE for the children to learn:

How much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask
Him? (Matthew 7v11b).

Slide 1 Title slide

Lesson
Slide 2
How many Fathers have you? Thats a strange question, isnt it? Surely there is only one
answer to it. Everyone of us has one father like these two children in our picture. You can see
them with their father and mother. Some of our fathers may be away from home, and may even
be dead. But everyone has a father; and God used your father and mother to bring you into the
world.
But there is another answer to that question.
Let me explain.
Do you remember this verse from the Bible which we learned several weeks ago? Listen to it,
But as many as received Him (the Lord Jesus) to them gave He the right (or the power) to
become children of God (John 1 v12).
What does that mean? It means that when boys or girls receive the Lord Jesus into their lives
they become children of God sons or daughters of God and God becomes their Father. So if
you have received the Lord Jesus into your life, if you have trusted Him as your Saviour, God is
your Father, your Heavenly Father.
Have you received the Lord Jesus into your life? I trust you have. But if you havent and you
would like to, and you are not sure how to, come to me after the meeting is over and I would be
glad to help you. I will be standing just there.
So everyone who has received the Lord Jesus as their Saviour has two fathers an earthly
father and a heavenly Father.
Slide 3
In our memory verse for today (Repeat it) the Lord Jesus tells His disciples that they have a
Father in Heaven one Father for them all. But they, like us, had each a human father. So they
had two fathers, and so do we if we have received the Lord Jesus as our Saviour.
Those who have not received the Lord Jesus have only one father an earthly father.
Paul was an orphan boy. Do you know what that means? His father and his mother were both
dead and he lived in a place called an orphanage. One day he heard about the Lord Jesus dying
for him and taking the punishment for his sin. He received the Lord Jesus into his life and trusted
Him as his Lord and Saviour. Then he made a great discovery which made him very happy. He
read in the Bible that he was now a son of God and that God was his Father.
 Now I have a Father!, he cried, God is my Father and I am so happy.
Perhaps there is some boy or girl here whose father has died, or has gone away. You can have
a new Father, a very special Father Who will really look after you if you will receive the Lord
Jesus into your life today and trust Him as your Saviour.

The Bible makes it clear that when we are born into this world we are not in the family of
God, and God is not our Father. We are born outside His family and outside His kingdom. God is
not the Father of everyone. He is only the Father of those who have trusted the Lord Jesus Christ
as their Saviour and He loves each of them very much and our memory verse (Repeat it) tells us
that He wants to give good gifts to us, His children, when we ask Him.
Do you know what it means to be adopted?
Slide 4
Vickys mother and father were killed in a motor car accident when she was only five years
old. For several years she was passed from one childrens home to another. She never felt settled
in these families or really loved. She was often sad.
Slide 5
Then one day a man and woman came to the latest home in which Vicky was living, and when
they saw her they loved her and said, We would like to adopt her. That means that they wanted
to make her part of their family.
They had to go to the authorities, fill in papers and answer many questions. But at last they
were given permission to adopt Vicky. That day they took her up in their arms, looked into her
eyes and said, We love you Vicky and from this moment on you are a member of our family.
Slide 6 adds text to slide 5
And that is what happens when you trust Jesus Christ as your Saviour. It is just as if God the
Father takes you up in His arms, looks into your eyes and says, I love you very, very much; and
from this moment you are a member of His family and He is your Father. You have been
adopted! And everyone who is adopted into Gods family is not just a member of that family - but
a very special member of that family.
The Bible tells us over and over again how much our Heavenly Father loves every one of His
children. Listen carefully to these words from the Bible:
Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children
of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. Beloved, now we are
children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is
revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is (1 John 3 v1, 2).
Your Heavenly Father has a special love for you if you have trusted the Lord Jesus.
Remember that. And when difficulties and problems come you should say to yourself, I have a
Heavenly Father Who loves me very much, and I trust Him to look after me.
Slide 7
One of Vickys greatest joys was to know that she now had someone to whom she could come
at any time. When she was younger she had always wanted to have someone special to whom
she could talk. And now she had a father who really loved her, cared for her and was interested in
her. And she loved to come and talk to him, as you can see in our picture.
And if you have trusted Jesus Christ as your Saviour you have a Father to Whom you can
come at any time, with any problem, about anything at all.

Slide 8 adds text listens

 This means, firstly, that you can come and talk to Him. When the Lord Jesus was here on earth
He told His followers that they could talk to their Heavenly Father. Talking to God is called
prayer. And the Lord Jesus taught them how to talk to God. He said that you should start off
with the words Our Father and talk to Him as your Father. Do you know the words of this
prayer? We call it The Lords Prayer because He taught it to us His disciples.
How wonderful it is that we can talk to our Heavenly Father and tell Him all our needs and our
problems. And the Bible tells us that He will listen carefully to all we say. One verse tells us that
if we ask anything He will hear us (1 John 5 v14). Our memory verse tells us that He gives
good gifts to us when we ask Him. Sometimes people dont listen to us when we are speaking
but our Father always does.
Slide 9 adds text speaks
And not only does our Father listen to us when we talk to Him; but when we come to Him He
also speaks to us. And in this way we have a two-way conversation. We speak to Him in prayer;
He speaks to us . how? We do not hear His voice. How then can He speak?
He speaks through His Word, the Bible. As we read the Bible, God speaks to us through the
words He has guided men to write in that very special book. And just as He listens to us when we
speak, we should listen to Him when He speaks.
You can speak to God and listen to His Word at any time, but it is good to set aside one
special time each day when you can take some time to be alone with your Father to pray and to
read the Bible.

Slide 10
Vicky would soon be ten years old. For months she had wanted and longed for a bicycle. Then
just two weeks before her birthday her new father told her she was going to get a bicycle as a
special birthday gift, like this one in our picture.
When she told her friends at school what she was going to receive they laughed and said, He
doesnt really mean it. He is only saying that.
But Vicky replied, He does mean it. I know him. He loves me and I trust him. He will do
what he says. And Vicky did, of course, get her new bicycle and she really enjoyed it.
Slide 11
You and I who have trusted the Lord Jesus have a Heavenly Father Who really loves us and
cares for us. He always keeps His promises. You can really trust Him.
The Lord Jesus in the Bible said to His disciples:
If your son asked you for bread would you give him a stone? If he asked for a fish would you
give him a snake? Of course not. And if you as sinners love your children and give them good
gifts how much more will your Heavenly Father, Who is not sinful, and always keeps His Word
and Who loves His children much more than you love yours, give them all they need (Matthew 7
v9-11 and Luke 11 v11-13 paraphrased).
Slide 11a adds the words of the memory verse.
That was when He used the words from our memory verse. How much more shall your
Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask Him? (Matthew 7v11b).
As soon as you came into your Heavenly Fathers family He started to care for you in a very
special way. He will always look after you and give you all you need. He will not give you all
you want, because what you want may not always be good for you, but He will give you all you
need.
Slide 12
Think of the birds, said the Lord Jesus, Your Heavenly Father feeds them. Think of the
beautiful flowers. Your Heavenly Father dresses them with colour and beauty. Now if He does
that for the birds and flowers will He not look after you who are His children? (Matthew 6 v26-
32 paraphrased).
So do not worry about anything. Trust Him. He cares for you and will look after you at all
times.

Slide 13
Vicky was just like other girls of her age. She sometimes did things which her father did not
like and which he knew were wrong. What did her father do and how did he react when she did
these wrong things? Did he just smile and say, Thats all right, Vicky. I love you and you can do
what you like? Of course not. Because he loved Vicky he knew that he needed to correct her so
that she would not do these things again. And the reason he corrected her was because he loved
her, and he knew that this correction was for her good.
One evening Vickys father asked her to do something and Vicky said No, and shouted at
her father.
Slide 14
Her father was displeased with her and he said quietly, Vicky, you have disobeyed me and
shouted at me. Go to your room and stay there for the rest of the evening. He loved Vicky and
wanted to teach her how to behave herself.
Slide 14a adds the words
God, our Heavenly Father, loves us much more than Vickys father loved her. And He wants
the best for us. Therefore, if He sees us doing something wrong which will harm us, He corrects,
or chastens us. We read about this correction in the Bible Whom the Lord loves He chastens.
Why does He do this? The Bible tells us that it is for our profit that we might be partakers of
His holiness (Hebrews 12 v10). He corrects us for our own good, and to help us to be what He
wants us to be.
How does our Heavenly Father correct us?
Sometimes He speaks to us through His Word the Bible, and we know that what we are
doing is wrong and needs to be corrected.
Sometimes He speaks to us through our conscience that little voice inside us which
rebukes and corrects us.
Sometimes He allows things to happen to us which make us stop and think more about
what we are doing:
It may be through a time of sickness.
It may be through a time of suffering of some kind.
It may be through a time of loneliness.
It is important that we keep listening to our Heavenly Father. If something happens which is
not nice it does not necessarily mean that we have done something wrong. But we need to ask
God if there is something we can learn from what has happened.

Slide 15
Have you ever heard the words family likeness?
He looks just like his father, someone says.
She has the same personality as her dad, someone else says.
Children often look like, or act like, their father or mother or even their grandparents.
Vicky was adopted by her new father and mother. She was not their daughter by birth and so
she did not have any family likeness as you can see here in our picture.
 But the wonderful truth which the Bible teaches us is this, that when we were adopted into
Gods family we started to become a little like Him and this family likeness should grow and
grow.
Slide 16 adds text
Our Heavenly Father wants you and me to become more and more like Him and like His Son,
the Lord Jesus Christ.
In what way can we become like our Heavenly Father?
The Lord Jesus gives us one way we can become like Him. He told His disciples that they
should love their enemies, bless those who cursed them, do good to those who hated them and
pray for those who hurt them. Why should they do this? Because this is what their Heavenly
Father does. He loves sinners, He loves His enemies, and He does many good things for them
like giving them sunshine to enjoy and rain to grow their crops (Matthew 5 v44-48).
So if Christian boys and girls, who are the children of God, are going to be like their Heavenly
Father, they will love, do good to and pray for those who hate them.
Todd was having a really rough time in school. The other boys in his class knew he was a
Christian, and they took every opportunity they could to joke him, make fun of him and laugh at
him. Todd became more and more angry with them and began to plan how he could get his own
back on them. And then one evening, as he was praying before he went to bed, he began to think
differently. God wants me to love these boys, to be nice to them, to help them and pray for them.
And that is what I am going to do.
And so Todd became more and more like his Heavenly Father. He prayed for his friends.
When they laughed at him he smiled and offered to help them with their school work. Im sure
that his Heavenly Father was very pleased with him!

Slide 17
One of the things which made Vicky so happy when she was adopted by her new parents was
that for the first time in her life she now had a brother and a sister. Her new parents had already
two children before Vicky came; and when she became part of their family she not only had new
parents, but she had a new brother and sister with whom she could talk and play. They spent
many happy hours together.
So, when you trust Jesus Christ as your Saviour, God becomes your Heavenly Father. He
brings you into His family. But there are many other boys and girls (and adults) who are already
in His family because they have also trusted Jesus Christ.
Slide 18 adds text
And they become your brothers and sisters. You are now part of a very large family!
It is important therefore that you find out who those brothers and sisters are. There are some of
them here in your Sunday School class. There may be others in your class at school, or on the
street where you live, or who attend your church. Perhaps, indeed, you have a sister in your
family at home who has trusted the Lord Jesus and she will now be your sister in two ways!
What do brothers and sisters do? Or what should they do?
Firstly, they should love each other. The Bible tells us that one of the ways we can be
sure we are Christians is if we love other Christians (1 John 3 v14). There should be a special
love for other members of the family.
Secondly, they should live in harmony with each other and not fight. The Lord Jesus says
in the Bible that people are more likely to trust Him and follow Him when they see those who
do follow Him loving each other and living and working together in peace and harmony (John
17 v21-23).
Isnt it wonderful to have many brothers and sisters and to be part of such a large family
with such a wonderful Father?
 But listen, I have very special news for you.
First of all let me tell you a little more about Vicky and her new family. We have seen that she
had a new father and mother; and she had also, as we have seen, a new brother and sister. Her
new brother was several years older than she was. And she was especially happy to have an older
brother like him.
Slide 19
In the school which she attended there were some big boys in her class who sometimes bullied
her.
Slide 20
But then her older brother stepped in and told them to leave her alone or they could be in
trouble. Oh, it was so good to have an older brother to protect her.
And now for the very special news!
Slide 21
If you are a Christian you have an older brother too a very wonderful and special older
brother. His name is the Lord Jesus Christ. The Bible tells us that He calls us His brothers (and of
course sisters) (Hebrews 2 v11) and even though we are so sinful, so different from Him, and so
far short of what He is, the Bible says that because we have trusted Him He is not ashamed to call
us His brothers. And He said that whoever obeys God is His brother or sister.
And so the Lord Jesus is not only your Lord and Saviour, He is also your brother your older
brother. And just as Vickys older brother protected her and looked after her, so the Lord Jesus
protects and looks after you. But because He is God, He does this much better; you can trust Him
at all times and He will look after you.
Now let me give you some advice. If you have trusted the Lord Jesus as your Saviour and you
are facing a problem, or trouble of some kind, and you are sad; then say this to yourself:
I am a child of God.
God is my Father and He cares for me.
Jesus Christ is my older brother and He looks after me.
Every Christian is my brother or sister.
Heaven is my home (and we will speak about that in our next lesson).
Say this over and over again to yourself because these are the secrets of a happy Christian life.
But perhaps there is a boy or girl here who has not trusted the Lord Jesus Christ as their
Saviour, and all that I have been saying does not apply to you. Well you can trust Him today
right now. Do you remember that verse from several weeks ago? But as many as received Him,
to them gave He the right to become the children of God. (John 1v12).
In that verse it says that if you receive the Lord Jesus into your heart and life you will become
a child of God, and then all these joys and privileges will be yours.
Why not receive Him just now!