Sunday School Lesson - April 5th

Focal Passages:

Luke 23:33,35-49

Spiritual Preparation Through Personal Bible Study - by Jerry Lemon, Senior Adult Minister, First Baptist Church, Waxahachi, TX.


As firefighters worked in the rubble of the Twin Towers after their destruction on September 11, 2001, the men discovered a large steel girder that resembled a cross. It was once a part of the towers’ infrastructure. It stood out above a pile of debris of the World Trade Center. It became a refuge for the workers and a gathering place for a city deeply traumatized by tragedy. The steel “cross” was a place where people could go to find peace in the midst of the senseless horror that surrounded them. People were looking for answers to the uncertainties and tragedies of life, taking account of their own lives. Many looked to the One who hung on a cross so many years ago and found refuge in Jesus.

Crosses are popular. People wear them on necklaces, tattoo their bodies with them, hang them in their cars, snap them on key chains, and adorn church steeples with them. Why? Perhaps they make adults feel hopeful, secure, or religious. The symbol comes from the biblical accounts of Jesus’ death on a cross. Who was Jesus? Why was He crucified? What significance does Jesus’ crucifixion have for adults today? Many are undecided about what they believe regarding Jesus. In this lesson they will come face to face with Jesus and the most important crossroad of their lives. They must decide whether Jesus was a delusional dreamer or is God’s Messiah as He claimed and as His early followers testified.