JESUS said, 'Be wary of false preachers who smile a lot, dripping with practiced sincerity. Chances are they are out to rip you off some way or other. Don't be impressed with charisma; look for character. Who preachers are is the main thing, not what they say. A genuine leader will never exploit your emotions or your pocketbook. These diseased trees with their bad apples are going to be chopped down and burned. Knowing the correct password—saying 'Master, Master,' for instance— isn't going to get you anywhere with me. What is required is serious obedience—doing what my Father wills. I can see it now—at the Final Judgment thousands strutting up to me and saying, 'Master, we preached the Message, we bashed the demons, our God-sponsored projects had everyone talking.' And do you know what I am going to say? 'You missed the boat. All you did was use me to make yourselves important. You don't impress me one bit. You're out of here.'

Ease 81%, Level 4.7

Greetings in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Grace and Peace be with you Christ's Soldier!

Today's Bible story uses and example. A farmer sometimes has apple trees. If the tree doesn't have good apples, what good is it? Not much, maybe some shade. But the farmer cannot live on shade. He will cut down the bad trees, and plant good trees. Then he will have food.

Jesus uses this to tell us about some Christians. Some people who say they are for God are not. They are for themselves. They sometimes tell lies. They get rich by doing bad things. They act like they love people, but they only love money. They are not interested in doing what God wants. They have little programs that go against what God said was good.

Jesus said that when the last day comes, he will send them away. They will come to him saying, Lord, Lord, we did thus and so. But Jesus knows what is in the heart of every man. He will say to them, "Go away, I don;t know you". He will cut out what is bad. He will burn it up like old tree limbs and leaves. He will keep what is good.

To know what to do is not very hard. Jesus gave us a very simple rule. It is called the Summary of the Law. It says we should "Love God with all of our heart, and soul, and mind and strength, and we should love our neighbors as ourselves". So knowing what we ought to do is not too hard. Doing what we ought to do always is very hard. When we don't do so good, we can ask God to forgive us, and to help us do better. If we always do this, then at the last day, he will welcome us in heaven.

Farewell. We hope to see you in a few weeks, and then we can talk more. Blessings on you and all your friends and family.

Granddaddy

Ease 97%, Level 2.0

LESSON EXERCISES

* Can you name the people in this story, and tell about them?

* In you own words, what do you think this story is about?

* Draw a picture that tells the Gospel story. (You may copy or trace the one on the lesson if you wish.)

* Make up a story (parable) or share a true story that is like our lesson today.

* Sing a song about today's story In the Child Garden

Songs for Children

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Notice: This is an open letter to my Grandson Nathan. It is under copyright protection: The Rev. Mark Carroll, MMVI

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