Family Worship (March 01)

Have you ever seen your shadow on a sunny day? When the sun shines behind you, a dark shape shows up on the ground. Your shadow looks like you, but it is not really you. It cannot talk. It cannot hug. It is just a picture pointing to the real person.

The Bible says something like that about the Old Testament temple and sacrifices. They were real, and God gave them. But they were like shadows. They pointed forward to someone greater. They pointed to Jesus.

In the Old Testament, priests offered animals again and again for sin. But those sacrifices were not the final answer. They were pictures of the true Savior who would come. When Jesus died on the cross, he did what all those sacrifices could never fully do. He paid for sin once and for all.

Today we will learn that everything pointed to Jesus, and Jesus gives us real and complete salvation.

Hebrews 9:11–14
11 But when Christ came as high priest of the good things that are now already here,[a] he went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not made with human hands, that is to say, is not a part of this creation. 12 He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, thus obtaining[b] eternal redemption. 13 The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean. 14 How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death,[c] so that we may serve the living God!

Discussion Questions

1. Why do you think God gave his people the temple and sacrifices before Jesus came? What were they teaching the people?
2. What is the difference between the old sacrifices and what Jesus did on the cross?
3. Sometimes we try to “be good” so God will love us. How does this passage show us a better way to think about God’s love and forgiveness?

Activity: Shadow and Substance
You will need a flashlight and a small toy (like a stuffed animal or action figure).

Turn off the lights and shine the flashlight on the toy so it makes a shadow on the wall. Let everyone look at the shadow.

Ask: Can the shadow hug you? Can it talk? Is it the real thing?

Then hold up the actual toy.

Explain: The shadow is real, but it is not the real object. It points to it. In the same way, the Old Testament sacrifices were real, but they were not the final answer. They pointed to Jesus.

Now have each family member say one sentence: “Jesus is better because ______.”

Finish by thanking Jesus together for being the real Savior, not just a shadow.

Prayer
Lord Jesus, thank you for being the real Savior that all the Bible was pointing to. Thank you that your sacrifice was once and for all. Help us trust you instead of trusting our own goodness. Teach our family to love you, obey you, and rest in your finished work. Amen.

Memory Work

New City Catechism
8. What is the law of God stated in the Ten Commandments?
You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an idol. You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God. Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Honor your father and your mother. You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not give false testimony. You shall not covet.

Memory Verse
Hosea 13:4 (CSB)
"I have been the Lord your God
ever since[a] the land of Egypt;
you know no God but me,
and no Savior exists besides me."