Tuesday, September 22, 2009

The Bible: God Speaks My Language

Greet children by saying: "Hola (ola)!" "Bonjour (bonshoor)!" "Guten tag (gooten tahk)!"
Did you understood what I said? Why not?
Unless we learn another language, the only language we understand is the one that is spoken in our homes where we live (English).

If you wanted to tell someone who spoke a language that is different from yours about God, how could you do it?
Find someone who speaks both English and also the language of the person we want to talk to—They could translate for us (ask adults if anyone can translate Hola, Bonjour, or Guten Tag)
You could learn the other language so you could talk directly to the person

How many languages do you think God knows?
Did God learn all the different language?
God knows everything—even the things we only think
God speaks your language! (no matter what it is)

When the Bible was written, it was written in several different languages.
OT written in Hebrew
NT written in Aramaic and Greek
Most of us do not read Hebrew or Aramaic or Greek
In order for us to have our Bibles written in English, someone had to translate it

Today, the Bible as been translated into many different languages, but there are still many people who do not have it in a language they can understand.
How will they ever hear that Jesus died to take the punishment for their sin if they do not have the Bible in their language?
People will have to learn their language
Then they will have to translate the Bible into their language

Our church has sent out missionaries to other countries so that the people of those countries will be able to hear the good news that Jesus died for them.
Some have learned French so they can teach the people in Senegal about Jesus in their own French language
Some have learned Indonesian so they can teach the people in Papua Indonesia about Jesus
Some have learned Tagalog—a language in the Philippines—so they can tell the people there how Jesus died for them
Maybe some day you will be able to learn another language, and maybe God will use you to tell someone about Him in a language other than English.

Color the sheet with different translations of John 3:16 on it.

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