Alive in Christ
Dead — then ALIVE! The door is called Repentance
Paul begins with the hardest truth: without Jesus, every person is spiritually DEAD — not sick, not lost, not confused, but DEAD in sins. And dead people cannot fix themselves. The Bible says all of us were born this way — it is called Total Depravity — and every one of us needs rescuing.
But then come the two most wonderful words in the Bible: 'BUT GOD...' God, who is rich in mercy and bursting with love, acted! He made a way.
But first — before God can make anyone alive — something must happen. Every person must REPENT. Repentance means turning COMPLETELY away from sin and everything wrong — not reducing it a little, not promising to try harder, but turning around and walking the other way. Then by faith in Jesus — trusting that His blood on the cross paid for every sin — God forgives us and makes us ALIVE! And then — here is the most wonderful thing — Paul calls us God's MASTERPIECE! In Greek: 'poiema' — His work of art, created to do beautiful things. You are not an accident. But you must come through the door — and the door is repentance.
✨ Memory verse
“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith — and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.”Ephesians 2:8 (NIV)
Tap the words in the right order:
🎉 You did it!
Type the verse from memory:
🎵 Sing along: But God! (The Alive Song)
❓ Quiz time!
🖍️ Printables
👨👩👧 Parent & teacher guide
Big idea: Total Depravity + Repentance + Justification — three of Scripture's core doctrines meet here. (1) Total Depravity (Eph 2:1, Ps 51:5): every human being, including children, is born spiritually dead and inclined toward sin. This is not pessimism; it is the diagnosis that makes the cure glorious. (2) Repentance: The Bible is clear: that repentance is "a complete turning away from all sins and its deceitful pleasures, and is REQUIRED before one can truly believe with saving faith." Many churches today preach grace without repentance, producing shallow conversions. LuzKids must never do this. Repentance is the door. (3) Justification: God's grace through which one receives forgiveness and is counted righteous through faith in the atoning blood.
Practical for parents: When your child "receives Jesus," is there genuine repentance — a turning from known sin — or just an emotional response? Both the emotion and the turning are needed. One without the other is incomplete.
Conversation starters: (1) What is repentance — and how is it different from just feeling sorry? (2) Has there been a specific moment when YOU turned completely from sin and gave your life to Jesus? Tell your children about it. (3) What beautiful things might God have created you (His masterpiece) to do?
Pray together — and invite any child who has never truly repented to do so tonight.