YEAH! Church - Sunday, November 21, 2021"Heroes of the Bible” – When the people of Judah were captured by the Babylonians, they probably thought they’d never see their homeland again…but they were in for a surprise. They were going to have help from a very unexpected source. Today’s Lesson - “Cyrus – The Surprising Hero” Video Story: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_NJEY6cUD0E (The Captives Came Home – Gospel Project) Today’s Hero – Cyrus (Isaiah 45, Ezra 1) About 150 years before King Cyrus came to power, the prophet Isaiah said that God was going to help a man named Cyrus become a great king for the sake of His people, the Israelites. This must have seemed like a strange message for the prophet to give, but like all of God’s promises, it came true. Years later, the Babylonians captured the people of Judah and had taken most of them to Babylon where they lived as slaves to first the Babylonians, then to the Persians and Medes. They were forced to live in Babylon for seventy years until Cyrus the Great, the Medo-Persian king made a declaration…the people of Israel could go back home. Not just that, but Cyrus wanted them to rebuild God’s Temple in Jerusalem…and he expected all their neighbours to help! He even gave back all the items from the Temple that King Nebuchadnezzar had taken when he had captured Jerusalem. God had chosen to work through King Cyrus and, even though he didn’t know God like the Israelites did, he obeyed Him. Engage: • Many years before Cyrus was born, the prophet Isaiah told the people about a man named ‘Cyrus’ whom God was going to make into a great king. Do you think this message made sense to the people of Isaiah’s day? • After the people of Israel were conquered by the Assyrians and Babylonians, they would have been looking for God to help them. How surprised do you think they were when help came from their ‘enemy?’ • The Bible doesn’t tell us how Cyrus knew what God wanted him to do, but he obeyed. Have you ever heard or felt God telling you to do something? Theme verses: Ezra 1:2-3, NLT – ‘This is what King Cyrus of Persia says: “The LORD, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth. He has appointed me to build him a Temple at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Any of you who are his people may go to Jerusalem in Judah to rebuild this Temple of the LORD, the God of Israel, who lives in Jerusalem. And may your God be with you!”’ Prayer – Dear God, thank you that we can trust you to make good on your promises…even when they seem impossible. There is nothing too hard for you to do! ~ Pastor Jane
0 Comments
Your comment will be posted after it is approved.
Leave a Reply. |
