The point of this lesson is to help students understand that not everything around them has to be a bad or dark situation. Jesus has come to be the good news of rescue and salvation. He has come to give life and give it abundantly.

 

Show the “Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017) - Washington Monument Rescue Scene (3/10)” video from YouTube. It is a clip that is a little over 3 minutes long. Or find another scene that shows a rescue that you may like.

 

Discuss:

Then ask the students to talk about a time when they needed someone to come in and help them out in a bad situation. Have them talk about their feelings during the situation and after having been helped out.

 

Play the video of Rend Collective’s very-upbeat song, “Rescuer (Good News)”.

 

Read John 10:1-21 (focus on verse 10). In a parable about a shepherd and sheep, Jesus wants His hearers to understand that there is only one way to salvation: through Him as the “gate.” He says that He is the “good shepherd” that is willing to lay down His life for His “sheep.”

 

In a world that is just tattered with violence, heartache, and other forms of bad news, we could all use some form of rescuing – a shepherd, of sorts, to intervene on our behalf; someone that can bring us some good news in the middle of all the bad. A rescuer! As the good shepherd, Christ has come just to do that.

 

In verse 10 you see that the thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy. It seems like that is what most of the news we hear about is related to. Our world has become a place full of thieves, murderers, and those seeking to destroy us.

 

But, there is good news: a rescuer has come! He came long before we ever knew we needed Him. He intervened in such a way that He could offer us eternal life, forgiveness of sins, healing of hurts, etc.

 

At the end of verse 10 we see that Christ says, “I have come so that they may have life and have it in abundance.” We don’t have to get bogged down in a bad news world. What we have to do is seek out the Good Shepherd and embrace His good news – and live the lives He created us to live and to do so abundantly.

 

Life is hard and at times it can seem very bleak. Hard times affect all people, even those who trust Christ as Savior of their lives. But, life doesn’t have to stay bad. Allowing Jesus into your life to rescue you from sin and death allows for you to be freed from the burden of sin. It doesn’t mean that you will never sin again, but it does mean that you do not have to be judged according to your sin, since Christ has already done that for us on the cross.

 

Life will not be easy even with Christ. Why? Because mankind allowed sin to enter the world and there are still those out there who seek to kill, steal, and destroy. What it does mean is that we have a Savior who promises to never leave us nor forsake us. He is with us all the time, and in the dark times He is there to keep us safe and walk with us through those times.

 

Allow Christ to rescue you from your sin and from the dark times that may enter your life.