Jesus is alive
key words
biblical reference
Luke 24:1-12; 36-53
memory verse
“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8, NIV*).
lesson objective
To help children celebrate that God raised Jesus from the dead and Jesus is alive.
prepare yourself to teach
The resurrection of Jesus and the coming of the Holy Spirit constitute the structure of the message of the entire New Testament, and the bases that enabled and strengthened the apostles to take the good news of the Gospel to everyone.
In almost all the situations where human beings came into face-to-face contact with celestial beings, one of the first reactions is fear. This happened to the women at the tomb. The angels asked them why they were looking for Jesus among the dead, and reminded them about the prophecies concerning his death and resurrection.
Even then, the women could not understand the wonder of it all. The apostles were somewhat confused with their reports; they had seen Jesus die a cruel death on that cross. But when the truth of the angels and the empty tomb penetrated their pain, they recalled the words of their Savior; then they realized that the prophecies had been fulfilled.
All they had heard from their Master was exactly fulfilled. The misunderstanding and forgetfulness of the disciples contrasts to the memory of the Sanhedrin, who recalled that Jesus himself had said that he would rise on the third day. They asked Pilate to place guards to guard the tomb.
Luke does not include all the details that are mentioned in the other Gospels; he makes a summary of the fact that the tomb was found empty and that the angels proclaimed the good news about the resurrection of Jesus. His aim was to proclaim the certainty of the resurrection.
Jesus is alive!
adaptation
Your children have been hearing the events leading up to this lesson. Today they will learn that the love of God did not die with Jesus on the cross, but rather extends to an empty tomb. That same love of the Lord still reaches us because Jesus lives today!
Children like celebrations; they need to feel the same excitement you feel in telling this lesson. Make sure they understand that Easter is a celebration of God’s love and it can be a very personal celebration for them. In some countries, it is celebrated with Easter bunnies, giving new clothes, sweets, etc. This might be fun, but Easter is more. It is the celebration of God’s love, the celebration of new life in Christ Jesus.
introduce the lesson
If, in the last lesson you managed to create in the children a sense of personal value in relation to the death of Jesus, then now encourage them with the good news of his resurrection.
Make sure they understand the spiritual implications that this represents.
This is a lesson full of happiness and joy. If possible, anticipate this by decorating your meeting room. Try to make one or more large signs saying: “He Is Alive! He Lives Today! He Wants to Live in You!” (trying to arouse interest in the children). Sing choruses about Jesus being alive.
teach the lesson
Before the session read Luke 24:1-12 and 36-53. Be prepared to tell the story with your own words. Start the introduction of the lesson in dialogue form, as if you are a reporter, talking as if the resurrection had happened today and the news is being transmitted. If possible you can bring pictures of televisions, reporters, journalists, etc.
Recruit others to act as journalists who will be narrating the news based on today’s Bible reading. To give it more impact, you can say: “News Flash! Jesus has risen! He fulfilled his promise of resurrection! He is not dead! The tomb is empty!” Journalists can be several of the children, or invite young adults and teens.
In reality that’s what happened. God gave a news flash to the disciples, it interrupted their normal life, and changed them forever.
After the dialogue, narrate the Bible story. Do it in an entertaining and interesting manner. Be sure to include choruses with rhythm and movement, such as “God’s Not Dead, He Is Alive,” “Oh Happy Day” etc. or look for cheerful choruses. Remember that this is a lesson that transmits good news and joy.
Take advantage of the study of this lesson to ask your children if they want to accept Christ as their personal Savior, and make this Easter the most special time of their lives.
connect the lesson
What does Easter mean?
You will need to align and print Student Activity Sheet #119-A and #119-B back to back. Provide each child an activity sheet, crayons, markers or colored pencils, and scissors.
In advance, make a sample of this activity so your children can see how it should look when it is done. Cut out both Easter cards along the dark outer lines. Lightly fold the card in half with the words "Jesus is risen!" on the intside. Next, lightly fold down the angel along the gray lines in SAS #119-A. Then, gently unfold the card and smooth out the fold below the angel. Color the cards as desired.
Tell the group to make two Easter cards, one for themselves and one to give to a friend or relative.
These cards will help your children talk about the true message of Easter. Show them how the angel pops up after they have cut and folded the cards. Encourage them to color them and decorate their cards.
Use this activity to explain that the true meaning of Easter is the wonderful story of Jesus, his suffering, crucifixion and death. But above all, his resurrection. At this point, you can do a review of the entire unit.
practice the memory verse
If you are using the system of hearts for competition, start by giving an opportunity to the children that have not said their memory verse to say it for you. Allow your children to take home their hearts at the end of class, and help those who have struggled to say the verse.
Talk to the pastor of the church to see if your children can have the opportunity to share with the congregation what they have learned during the unit and their memory verse. They may also want to sing a song.
wrap-up
Pray
Finish with prayer. Do not forget to ask if they have requests to include. If you want, have the children make a circle and ask for volunteers to pray. You should close in pray. In your prayer, thank God for sending his Son, Jesus Christ, who gave us an example of suffering, pain, service, and prayer. And most importantly, thank God for the resurrection of Christ, and the new life we can have in Christ.
Encourage
Help your children remember everything that they should take home. If you want, let them take home some of the materials you used throughout the unit to have as souvenirs. Maybe for you they no longer have value; but for your children, they do.
Invite
Thank everyone for attending today’s session. Announce that the next lesson will begin a new unit. Challenge the group to invite their friends.
* Scripture quotations marked (NIV) are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™