Jesus is always with us!
key words
biblical reference
Acts 1:1-11
lesson objective
To help the children know that they must be prepared for Jesus’ return
memory verse
“If you declare with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9, NIV*).
prepare yourself to teach
The resurrection of Jesus is not just an event that happened in the past. He was not just a good man who lived a long time ago. Our risen Lord is alive today and will return to earth. When? Nobody knows, except God. However, the Church has always waited for the return of Christ. This instills value in believers and gives meaning to the mission of the Church.
It is common that when hearing about these events, children may feel some fear, but we must remind them that they should not fear the return of the Lord. Children should expect it with the same excitement and exhilaration with which the faithful Jews awaited his first arrival.
This lesson forms a bridge between Easter Sunday and the beginning of the church and its mission. Jesus ascended to the Father, but before leaving, he left his followers a job to do. When he returns, will he find that we are faithful in fulfilling his work?
biblical commentary
Read Acts 1:1-11. In this passage, Luke reviews what he had discussed in his Gospel. Here he confirms that Jesus was indeed alive, that he appeared to his apostles for 40 days, and that he spoke to them about the kingdom of God.
One of the greatest proofs that Jesus was resurrected is that the disciples would not have begun the work of the church had they been demoralized, defeated and disorganized. Because of Jesus’ resurrection, they had hope, conviction, and total dedication to the mission entrusted to them.
In verse 4, Jesus gives the last instructions to his disciples, telling them not to leave Jerusalem, but to await the promise of the Father. It is unquestionable that without the direction and power of the Holy Spirit, they would not have been able to carry out the mission that lay ahead.
Having given this commandment, Jesus ascended to heaven, a cloud received him, and his disciples did not see him anymore. At that moment, two angels in white garments appeared before them and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven” (Acts 1:11).
The promise that the disciples received is for us too. It is true that the Holy Spirit descended on the day of Pentecost on the disciples, but he can still do so on our lives today. Sometimes we think that these issues are difficult for children to understand. Let us pray that the Holy Spirit speaks to their hearts so that they understand that he wants to fill our lives with his presence and power, and we can share the message of salvation to those around us.
Let us also emphasize that, as the times show, the coming of Jesus is near. Invite your children to consecrate their lives to Jesus and to always be ready for his coming.
introduce the lesson
Special guest
If possible invite a mission leader from your congregation to talk about a missionary for whom the church is praying, or for whom they have info.
Ask the group: “What do you think missionaries do? Why do you think our church supports them and prays for them?”
They may respond that the missionaries help people and speak to the people of God.
Listen to their answers and tell the children:
“As you listen to today’s lesson, try to discover the most important reason why our church supports missionaries.”
teach the lesson
Since the book of Acts is a letter, if possible print the story on paper and put it inside an envelope. Tell the children that you are going to read them part of a letter that Luke sent, and start the story.
Remember to read slowly and with pauses. Explain the words that are difficult for your group to understand.
Jesus is with us
Greetings Theophilus, you do honor your name. It must be nice to have a name that means “someone who loves God.”
Well, I have much more to tell you.
Do you remember that in my first letter, I wrote to you about Jesus? There I told you who he is, what he did, and what he taught. I told you everything, from his birth until he ascended to heaven.
Now I have much more to tell you. The events were many. Where do I start? I know, I will continue from where I finished the previous time.
As I told you, it is true that Jesus suffered and died. But God raised him from the dead. At first, we doubted that it was true, but Jesus appeared to us and we saw him several times during 40 days. He gave us many proofs of his resurrection, and he convinced us all.
He continued to speak to us about the kingdom of God.
Once, when he was eating with us, he told us, “Do not leave Jerusalem. Stay there to wait for the gift that my Father promised you, of which you have heard me speak.” That caught our attention. “Present! What gift?”
Jesus continued to tell us about the baptism with the Holy Spirit, but we did not understand that it is the gift. We kept thinking that Jesus would have a throne and be crowned as king of Israel.
When we saw Jesus for the last time, we asked him, “Lord, will you now restore the kingdom of Israel?”
It was a bit embarrassing to keep asking the same question and always receiving the same answer. Jesus told us that we could not know when he would do it. That meant “No”, or at least, “not yet.”
We were on a mountain, talking with Jesus and trying to learn more about the gift of God and his kingdom. Then, Jesus said something we will never forget: “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
We were still trying to understand what he had told us when suddenly Jesus began to rise from the ground. We all followed him with our eyes as far as we could, but then a cloud covered him and we could not see him anymore. Then, we saw two men dressed in white.
They asked us. “Why are you looking at heaven?” And, before we could answer, they added, “This same Jesus, who has been taken from you to heaven, will come as you have seen him go to heaven.”
So we did what Jesus told us. We returned to Jerusalem to wait. We did not know that only 10 days later we would receive the best gift of our entire lives!
connect the lesson
Ready!
Tell your children: Before Jesus ascended to heaven, he asked his disciples to do something. What were they to do? (Wait for the Holy Spirit and be his witnesses.)
What should we do while we wait for the second coming of Christ? (Be his witnesses.)
Talk about what it means to be a witness for Christ. One way to do this is to talk about Jesus, or to live in such a way that people see that Jesus has changed our life.
practice the memory verse
Since this is the unit's last lesson, you might want to prepare simple prizes for those who have memorized the verse. Give time for everyone to individually say the verse and tell others what they studied during these lessons.
Distribute Student Activity Sheet #175-A and #175-B. Follow the instructions on SAS #175-B.
wrap-up
Pray
Ask the children to share their prayer requests. Suggest that they include people who need to know Jesus. Then, pray for the needs.
Encourage
Encourage the children to share with their family and friends about the good news of Jesus.
Invite
Remind the children that this is the last session of this unit. Tell them something interesting about the next unit so they will want to attend, and challenge them 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.™
* 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.™