Elizabeth George - You Always Have a Friend in Jesus for Girls: A Tweens Guide to Knowing and Loving Him More

HARVEST HOUSE PUBLISHERS

EUGENE, OREGON

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YOU ALWAYS HAVE A FRIEND IN JESUS FOR GIRLS

Copyright 2016 Elizabeth George

Published by Harvest House Publishers

Eugene, Oregon 97402

www.harvesthousepublishers.com

ISBN 978-0-7369-5523-2 (pbk.)

ISBN 978-0-7369-5524-9 (eBook)

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: George, Elizabeth, 1944- author.

Title: You always have a friend in Jesus for girls / Elizabeth George.

Description: Eugene, Oregon: Harvest House Publishers, 2016.

Identifiers: LCCN 2015042037 | ISBN 9780736955232 (pbk.)

Subjects: LCSH: Jesus ChristTextbooks. | GirlsReligious lifeTextbooks.

Classification: LCC BT207 .G46 2016 | DDC 248.8/2dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2015042037

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Contents

T he only thing better than a friend is a best friend. You know, someone you can spend hours and hours together with and never run out of things to talk about or exciting things to do. A best friend is someone you like, trust, count on, and spend as much time with as you possibly canas much as your parents will allow.

But friendships are with people, and many times they let you down. Maybe they turn on you or turn away from you. Maybe they drop you cold as a friend. And sadly, maybe they move away.

But the good news is Jesus will never let you down. He is a friend forever. And Jesus will never turn on you or turn away from you, or drop you as His friend. And Jesus will never move away and leave you. Jesus is your forever friend.

You probably already know that Jesus is a very special person. Thats an understatement, because He is the most special person who ever lived! Thats why you wont read very far in the New Testament books of the Bibleespecially Matthew, Mark, Luke, or Johnbefore you discover that the stories of Jesus contain many life lessons and show you character qualities about Jesus and His relationship with people. He always treated people with kindness and helped and healed many who were sick. He even raised some people from the dead!

Jesus was also the greatest teacher who ever lived and the greatest person who ever lived. His life, death, and resurrection from the dead have transformed the lives of millions of people since He returned to heaven almost 2000 years ago.

Are you thinking, Yes, I know Jesus is a special person, but what does this mean to me? Well, to begin to answer this question, think about this: The greatest of all people who have ever livedJesus Christwants to get to know you and become your friend. Look at what happened to some of the people who followed Jesusto them He said:

I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his masters business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you (John 15:15).

Can you think of some nice things that might happen if Jesus was your friend? List them.

Fun in Gods Word!

Its always good to know the person who says he or she wants to be your friend. So lets take a few minutes and have some fun in Gods Word as we get to know J-E-S-U-S .

J esus is the Son of God. Many kidsand adults tooget confused when Jesus is called the Son of God. They think this means that Jesus was not God, but was only Gods Son, which makes them think that Jesus is someone less than God. But read the verse below and answer this question: How did these people respond when Jesus announced He was the Son of God?

For this reason [the Jews] tried all the more to kill him; not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God (John 5:18).

According to John 20:31, what is the purpose of the Gospel of John, or the book of John?

These [thingsthe words and messages in the Gospel of John] are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God.

According to the rest of John 20:31, what is the result of believing Jesus is the Son of God?

that by believing you may have life in his name.

Thomas, one of the Jesus disciples, heard Jesus say He was the Son of God. He also heard others call Jesus by that title. What did Thomas call Jesus, knowing He was the Son of God?

Thomas answered and said to Him, My Lord and my God! (John 20:28 NASB ).

Jesus is truly special because He is God who made heaven and earth. He created the first people on planet Earth, Adam and Eve. He had a special relationship with them. And now Jesus, who was God in human flesh, wants to be your friend. Thats pretty cool, right? Actually, thats epic!

What else did Jesus do? Read on to discover that He

E ntered this world as a baby. God is Spirit, which means He does not have a body. Since the time everything was created, God has wanted to have a personal relationship with the people He has created. To make that possible, He had to became a man. Read the verses below and write out how God became a man.

You [Mary] will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus (Luke 1:31).

Now look at the many exciting descriptions of what this child would become and accomplish.

He will be great and

will be called the Son of the Most High.

The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and

he will reign over Jacobs descendants;

his kingdom will never end (Luke 1:32-33).

How does your impression and understanding of Jesus need to be corrected or changed, based on these descriptions of Jesus as God?

The angel promised Mary that a baby would be born. According to the verses below, where did the angel tell the shepherds they could find this very special baby?

Today in the town of David [Bethlehem] a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger (Luke 1:11-12).

Once Jesus was born, He was God in a human body. He was a human person, like you and me. But He was also God, and He possessed all of the qualities of God, which means Jesus possessed a perfect, sinless nature. He was and is 100 percent God and 100 percent man. Jesus also