Aim to learn the meaning of the words original sin, indemnity and the Foundation of Faith

Aim
to learn the meaning of the words original sin, indemnity and the Foundation of Faith

Material
* Chart showing God’s plan of restoration
* Words for display – original sin, indemnity and Foundation of Faith
* Large pictures of bible characters – Cain & Abel, Noah, Abraham & Isaac, Joshua, Moses, Jesus
* Worksheet
* Bible passages – Genesis 6:5-22 (God calling Noah to build the ark)
– Genesis 22:1-18 (Abraham offering Isaac),
– Matthew 4:1-11 (Temptation of Jesus by Satan)

Lesson Outline
1. Original sin and indemnity
2. God’s plan of restoration
3. The Foundation of Faith
4. Stories from the Bible
5. Making a Foundation of Faith in our own lives
6. Activities – worksheet, obedience and trust games, memory game
7. Review the aims
8. End with a prayer

1) Original Sin and Indemnity
Ask the children if they know what these two words mean. Then explain them.
Original sin is the sin committed by Adam and Eve, when they disobeyed the commandment not to eat the fruit.

First, Eve fell in love with Lucifer. Then Adam and Eve fell in love with each other,
before the right time and without God’s blessing. That original sin has been inherited by all people.
And all fallen people are born with original sin

Indemnity is a payment that must be made for some loss, mistake or debt. For example, if you lose a ball you borrowed from a friend, you pay for a new one. If two friends have an argument, they apologize to restore their friendship.

2) God’s Plan of Restoration
Use the Restoration chart to explain God’s original plan, the Fall and how God has worked to restore fallen man.

1. God’s original plan – Adam and Eve were meant to grow in God’s love and perfect their character. They were meant to grow through three stages; formation, growth and completion.

2. The Fall
When Adam and Eve were teenagers and were at the top of the growth stage, they disobeyed God’s commandment. They lost faith in God’s word. The didn’t listen to God. Instead they listened to Lucifer’s false words. As a result, they fell below the formation stage unable to feel God’s love, confused and blind to their situation. Ever since fallen people have been under the dominion or influence of Satan.

3. History of Restoration
God has worked to restore human beings back to their original unfallen state. To do this fallen people need to go through a course to separate themselves from Satan’s influence and be restored to the top of the growth stage, where Adam and Eve fell.

At this point, the Messiah is needed to remove the original sin. Without removing the original sin, fallen man cannot cut off from Satan’s influence. This is done through the Blessing. Then by following the Messiah, human beings can continue their growth to perfection and the world can be restored to God’s original ideal.

3) The Foundation of Faith
Because fallen man is in the midway position between God and Satan, he must make effort to cut off from Satan and come back to God. To do this, the mistake of Adam and Eve must be reversed.

What was their mistake? They disobeyed the commandment. They lost faith in God’s word. To restore this, God asks fallen man to set up an indemnity condition called the Foundation of Faith to show our absolute faith and trust in God. We have to show that we put God first and are willing to follow God’s plan for our life.

This is why Jesus gave the commandment to love God first
”You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul with all your strength.”

To make a Foundation of Faith three things are needed.
1. A central person
2. An offering
3. a time period

4) Stories from the Bible
In history God chose certain people to make a Foundation of Faith. Through these people God’s plan of restoration could move forward. Look at the pictures of Bible characters. Who are they?

What offerings did they make? Read one or more of the stories. Talk about the Foundation of Faith each of them made.

Central Person – offering – Time Period

Cain & Abel Fruit of the soil (Cain) a lamb (Abel) ?
Noah Build an ark 120 years
Abraham Isaac 3 days
Moses Fast on Mt. Sinai 40 days
Joshua Walk around Jericho 7 times 7 days
Jesus Fast in the wilderness 40 days

5) Making a Foundation of Faith in our own lives
* Have your parents made indemnity conditions? Have your brother’s or sister’s? Have you? Through making a condition we can develop a more Godly attitude. It can be about changing a bad habit such as going to bed too late or correcting a mistake you made, such as saying a bad word. It can also be about making a good habit, such a praying every day.

Examples

Prayer – Pray every morning and every bedtime for each member of your family for seven days
Study -Read the Bible for 30 minutes every day for 7 days .
Study -Read a book for 30 minutes every day for 7 days .
Obedience – Do exactly what your parents say without questioning them for 3 days
Serving – Make a cup of tea or refreshment for members of your family once a day for 12 days
Gratitude – Make a gratitude book. Write a least one thing you are grateful each day for 21 days

6) Activities
* Worksheet – fill in the missing words. Write your own example and draw a picture
* Obedience game – Simon Says
* Trust game – fall backwards into someone’s arms
– walk through an obstacle course with your eyes closed guided by someone’s voice

7) Review the aims
To conclude ask each person what they could learn from today’s lesson. Refer to the lesson aim:
* to learn the meaning of the words original sin, indemnity and the Foundation of Faith

Original sin – the sin committed by Adam and Eve that all fallen people are born with
Indemnity – a payment that must be made for some loss, mistake or debt.
Foundation of Faith – an indemnity condition to show our absolute faith in God

8) End with a prayer