Tue Sep 9

Listen up, little ones

Listen for the word gospel.

Reading

Romans 1:1-17 – The Powerful Gospel

Optional Reading

Ezekiel 37:7–14

Keys for kids

• Preaching to the dead seems like it will have no effect.
• Yet God says the gospel is powerful.
• When the gospel is preached and the Spirit works, dead souls can be saved.

Questions

1. What was Ezekiel told to do?
2. What did Paul claim about the gospel?
3. How is a dead soul brought to life?

Notes

(See Saturday for authors.)

Ezekiel was told by God to preach (prophesy) to dead bones. As he did, the impossible happened—they began forming tendons and flesh and skin! He then was told to prophecy to the breath (same word as spirit in the Hebrew) and they came to life.

We face a similarly impossible task in bringing people to salvation. But we have a God who does the impossible and who does it through the gospel. The gospel is powerful. In the gospel, God’s power to save is revealed. By the powerful gospel, men and women, boys and girls come to salvation—in Rome, in Colorado Springs, all over the world—if they believe. Calvin says that [the] gospel is indeed offered to all for their salvation, but the power of it appears not everywhere: and [the fact] that it is the savour of death to the ungodly, does not proceed from what [the gospel] is, but from their own wickedness. By setting forth but one salvation [God] cuts off every other trust. When men withdraw themselves from this one salvation, they find in the gospel a sure proof of their own ruin.

So, we are not ashamed of the gospel, and we tell people the gospel, praying that the Spirit will enliven their dead hearts and bring them to believe.

Swedish Method questions

Praise

Psalm 104d, 119t

Prayer

1. Pray for opportunities to speak the gospel to unbelievers.
2. Give thanks for something from last Lord’s Day’s sermons.
3. Pray for a member of our church, for your family, and for a non-Christian friend/family member.