Day 2: Who Needs Mercy?

Bible Time > God is Merciful > Day 2: Who Needs Mercy?
Because GOD IS MERCIFUL, I know He forgives me when I sincerely ask in Jesus' name!

Read or quote the memory verse.

Who do you think needs mercy and why?

  1. A bank robber

  2. A murderer

  3. A kid who gives toys to the poor

  4. A kid who lies to help a friend

  5. None of them

  6. All of them

Let's read what Romans 3:23, 24 has to say about mercy:

Everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God's glorious standard. Yet God, with undeserved kindness, declares that we are righteous. He did this through Christ Jesus when He freed us from the penalty for our sins. Discover God Bible, (NLT).

God's undeserved kindness is the same as mercy. Do you think you need God's mercy? Why?

Is there anyone who does not need God's mercy? Why or why not? (We all need God's mercy because we all sin.)

How does knowing that God is merciful make you feel about Him?

What did we do to earn God's mercy? (Nothing, we just need to accept it.)

NOTE: If you have to earn it, it is not mercy.

Jesus tells a parable (a story that is told to help teach something) about a Pharisee and a tax collector. Pharisees were religious leaders. Many of them became focused on obeying rules rather than a relationship with God.

Tax collectors were considered traitors by their own people (the Jews). They worked with the Romans to collect taxes from the Jews, and many of them forced the Jews to give more than was required so that they could keep the extra for themselves.

You and I would call that stealing!

Listen to what Jesus had to say about them in Luke 18:9-14.

The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector.

Then Jesus told this story to some who had great confidence in their own righteousness and scorned everyone else; "Two men went to the Temple to pray. One was a Pharisee, and the other was a despised tax collector. The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed this prayer: 'I thank You, God, that I am not a sinner like everyone else. For I don't cheat, I don't sin, and I don't commit adultery. I'm certainly not like that tax collector! I fast twice a week, and I give You a tenth of my income.' But the tax collector stood at a distance and dared not even lift his eyes to heaven as he prayed. Instead, he beat his chest in sorrow, saying, 'O God, be merciful to me, for I am a sinner.' I tell you, this sinner, not the Pharisee, returned home justified before God. For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted." Discover God Bible, (NLT).

Who needed God's mercy? (Both the Pharisee and the tax collector.)

Who received God's mercy? (The tax collector.)

Why did the tax collector receive mercy while the Pharisee didn't? (The tax collector was humbled before God and recognized and admitted his sin. The Pharisee would not admit his sin and had a prideful attitude.)

What do we need to do to receive mercy? (Accept Jesus' payment for our sin and admit that we did something wrong.)

Why does it matter?

We all need mercy. Because God is Merciful, there is a way to receive it if we will ask.

We all need mercy, but not everyone receives it.

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Thank God for showing you that you need for His mercy.