(Mini Bible Story) The Story of Ten Lepers

                                            

(1) a story based on Luke 17:11-19

   When Jesus and his disciples entered a village, ten lepers stood at a distance, crying out, "Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!"

   Jesus looked at them and said, "Go show yourselves to the priests." That meant they would be healed, and it did really happen. As they moved on, their leprosy disappeared.  

   When they realized the miracle, they shivered and shouted.

   "Look at this! Oh, my God!"
   "Is this real? Isn't it a dream?"

   All healed. Ten of the lepers shouted, jumped, and hugged. The person at the front said to all the others, "Let's return to Jesus and give thanks."
   All nodded except one.
   He shook his head. He had been from Jerusalem. So, he had a vast knowledge of Jerusalem.

   He said, "Listen to me. Are you all sure this comes from Jesus?"

   The person at the front retorted. "What are you talking about? Just after Jesus said, we got well. That's the fact."

   "Yes, it's true. But it could be just a coincidence."  
   "???"
   "I mean, we need to cool down. First of all, we have to look after ourselves. I heard something from Jerusalem.  Jesus is not associated with the great priest. Think! When we go to the priests, they will surely ask us what happened. Do you think they like to hear the name of Jesus over this miracle? They won't send us back home."

   All the people were terrified. 'What if I cannot go home?' It was something they didn't even want to imagine. They took a backward step.   

   But the person at the front was in a firm position.    
   "I don't mind what the priests think about Jesus. What matters to me is Jesus healed me. I will return to Jesus right now." 
   He was a Samaritan, who was despised by the Israelites. He went back to Jesus and shouted, "Praise God, I'm healed!"

   He fell face down on the ground at Jesus' feet, thanking him for what he had done. 

Jesus asked, "Didn't I heal ten people? Where are the other nine? Does only this foreigner return to give glory to God?"

   And Jesus said to the Samaritan, "Stand up and go. Your faith has made you well."  

(2) sharing

   Psalms 50:23 says, "But giving thanks is a sacrifice that truly honors me. If you keep to my path, I will reveal to you the salvation of God."

   It's just the same as what Jesus said to the Samaritan. "Does only this foreigner return to give glory to God?"

   The Samaritan was offering the worship of giving thanks to Jesus. That faith saved him. Let's remember. A heart of giving thanks is a heart of faith.

(Mini Bible Story) God's grace for stopping the construction of the Tower of Babel

1. A story based on Genesis 10, 11 

After the Flood, Beasts were increasing in the number. The earth had become more dangerous for humans to live. Excellent hunters were desperately needed. The popularity of hunters soared to the sky.  

"Oh, Nimrod! He is the best hunter ever."

There was a heroic warrior in Shinar named Nimrod. He was a mighty hunter in the Lord’s sight. His name became famous, and people would speak of someone as being “like Nimrod, a mighty hunter in the Lord’s sight.”   

Nimrod was so proud of himself. He asked people, "Look! Who’s protecting you from fierce beasts? God? or Nimrod?"

All shouted, "It’s you, Nimrod!"

Nimrod had risen as the leader. He said to himself, “I will ascend to heaven and set my throne above God’s stars.”

One day, Nimrod came to remember the Flood in Noah’s days. No one had survived except Noah’s family from it.

'Beasts are rather nothing compared to the Flood! If God sends back such a flood, everything on the earth will be over.’

Nimrod came up with a flashing idea -Let’s build a tower the highest enough to survive any flood! He gathered all people and announced his ambitious plan.

"Come, let’s build a great city for ourselves with a tower that reaches into the sky. The tower will make us famous and keep us from being scattered all over the world.”

They made bricks and bake them thoroughly. They used brick instead of stone and tar for mortar. The tower, namely The Tower of Babel, was being built higher and higher, day by day.

"Wow, How great we are!"

The higher the tower, the more forgotten God was. People didn’t worship God anymore. They worshipped themselves.

But One day, a strange thing happened that turned everything upside down.

"# $% @ ^ & ^"
"* & () & ^% @"

All of a sudden, people spoke different languages, and won’t be able to understand each other. It also happened to Nimrod. Whatever he commanded, people didn’t understand him at all. 

The construction of the Tower of Babel suspended. The ambition of Nimrod collapsed. His kingdom went down like dew that had gone in the morning.

It was a disaster for Nimrod, but a blessing for the people. If the Tower of Babel had completed, all humanity would have gone through another punishment like the Flood. God allowed people to return to him. God’s grace to save people stopped the building of the Tower of Babel.     

2, sharing

-Who is Nimrod?

In Genesis 10: 8-12, Nimrod is called a mighty warrior, and a mighty hunter before the Lord. His name became famous, and people would speak of someone as being like “Nimrod, a mighty hunter before the Lord.”

He built the foundation for his empire in the land of Babylonia, including the city of Babel. Later on, he extended his reign to Assyria and Resen.  

Genesis 11: 1-9 is a record of the Tower of Babel. The Bible does not refer to the name of Nimrod regarding the construction.

But it is highly likely that he was the leader of the construction, given that his empire included the city of Babel. 

-What is the lesson in the story?

In genesis 6:15, God already declared, “Never again will there be a flood that will destroy all life.” But, people disregarded it. They rebelled against God by building the tower of the Babel to survive any flood.       

They didn’t worship God but worshipped themselves. Let’s ask ourselves. What about me? Who’s sitting on the throne of my life? God? Or Me? If the answer is me, we are going the path of the tower of Babel. We have to turn round right now. 

(Mini Bible Story) Abraham comes to understand what God’s promise means

*This story is based on Genesis 14,20.  

One day God’s words came to Abraham.

"I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you. I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing."

Abraham.thought, ‘Is God saying that I am going to become an emperor or something?'

He got so excited and left his country for Canaan, which would be the promised land.

But not long after, there was a famine in Canaan. Abraham.went down to Egypt for food.

Abraham.fell into deep concern. It was because of his beautiful wife, Sarah. The Egyptians might kill him to get Sarah if they found Abraham her husband.

He said to Sarah, "I'll call you my sister. If I were your husband, they would kill me."

Sarai said, “Do it, God will protect us!"

They acted like brother and sister. One day Pharaoh heard about her beauty and brought her into the palace. There was nothing Abraham could do for her. In the end, God saved Sarah.

Returning to Canaan, Abraham.trained his soldiers. They were 318 people. Abraham didn’t want to be a coward anymore who couldn’t even protect his wife.

Around that time, the international situation had changed rapidly. It was the empire of Kedorlaomer that had ruled the area for the last twelve years. 

The five kings, including Sodom and Gomorrah, brought forces together to rebel against the empire.

But the allies were defeated. The King of Kedorlaomer took the Sodomites to their city. Lot, the nephew of Abraham, also was taken captive because he lived in Sodom.

"Call all my men!"

Abraham pursued the king’s troops. During the night, Abraham.divided his men and made a surprise attack. 

He got a big victory. He recovered all the goods and brought back his nephew Lot and his possessions, together with the women and the other people. 

Abraham became a hero. He muttered, "Oh, is it the time for God’s promise?"

He defeated the Emperor’s troops with just his men of 318. Abraham thought God was about to give him an empire. It’s just the beginning.

But nothing more happened to him after that. Time had passed. Abraham’s ambition for an empire had faded. He only wished for a son born to Sarah. 

It’s a small dream but a much more difficult thing to achieve than being an emperor. Abraham was already 100 years old, and Sarah was 90 years old too.

At the time, a miracle happened. Abraham and Sarah had their baby! At last, Abraham could understand God’s promise.  

"I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you. I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing."

God’s promise aimed for his kingdom, not the worldly empire. It will be fulfilled through Isaac, the son of Abraham. And we know the end. After all, Jesus the Savior will be born of the family of Abraham. 

In such a way, Abraham will be a great nation and a blessing. God has accomplished his words, as he said.