Jesus came back to life and went to heaven.

Transcription

1 Jesus Is Alive! Jesus Is Alive! Lesson 5 Bible Point Jesus came back to life and went to heaven. Bible Verse Then the men asked, Why are you looking among the dead for someone who is alive? He isn t here! He is risen from the dead! (Luke 24:5b-6a). Growing Closer to Jesus Children will n understand that Jesus came back to life, n celebrate the new life that can be found in Jesus, and n discover that they can live in heaven with God forever. Teacher Enrichment Bible Basis n Jesus is alive! Mark 16:1-20 Jesus, the Son of God, faced an agonizing and undeserved death alone. But Easter changed everything! The first question skeptics ask about Jesus resurrection is Why do the Gospel writers all tell different stories? To answer that question, think about an exciting event in your life at which several people were present. If you asked them to tell about the events of that day, would all their versions of the story be the same? Of course not. We all see things from different perspectives and remember different views of events. This question can easily be resolved when one accepts that truth. In fact, if all the accounts were exactly the same, a critic would say the authors had collaborated to make up the story. And thanks to these different viewpoints, the accounts we have as orchestrated by God give us a more nearly complete picture of what happened than if only one Gospel had been written. Why do we celebrate Easter? The Apostle Paul eloquently tells us, And if Christ has not been raised, then your faith is useless and you are still guilty of your sins For sin is the sting that results in death, and the law gives sin its power. But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 15:17, 56-57). What more could we ask? Thank God for his Son a gift too wonderful for words! Prayer Read John 20:2-9. When have you or your students had trouble believing that something miraculous could happen? Explain. Dear God, Jesus not only died on the cross but lives again! Please help me and my students accept the miraculous truth of the Resurrection by 57

2 Lesson 5 Before the Lesson n Collect items for the activities you plan to use, referring to the Classroom Supplies and Learning Lab Supplies listed in the chart. n Make photocopies of the Growing Together handout (at the end of this lesson) to send home with your children. n Pray for your students and for God's direction in teaching the lesson. This Lesson at a Glance Welcome What Children Will Do Classroom Supplies Learning Lab Supplies Welcome! Receive a warm welcome from the teacher, and make name tags. New Life Name Tags (p. 24), scissors, markers, tape or safety pins Attention Grabber Bible Exploration & Application Module Review Discuss how this module s Bible Points apply to their lives. Egg Hunt Search for eggs filled with items that remind them of Jesus crucifixion and resurrection, and hear Luke 19:10; Revelation 3:20; Habakkuk 3:18; and Matthew 5:12a. Jesus Is Alive Participate in the story of Jesus resurrection and ascension as told in Mark 16:1-20. Preparing a Place Hear John 14:1-4, and learn that Jesus is preparing a place for them in heaven. Bible, small candies, tape Bible Bible, paper, scissors, tape Closing Alike and Different Group themselves according to likes and dislikes, and then hear Acts 10: Praise God Thank God for sending Jesus to die for their sins, and praise God that Jesus came back to life. Bible 58

3 Welcome SUPPLIES: New Life Name Tags (p. 24), scissors, markers, tape or safety pins Greet each child individually with an enthusiastic smile. Thank each child for coming to class today. As children arrive, ask them about last week s lesson and Growing Together activities. Use questions such as How did you decorate your home for Easter? and What did you fill your treasure jar with? Say: Today we re going to learn that Jesus came back to life and went to heaven. Hand out the name tags children made during Lesson 1, and help them attach the name tags to their clothing. If some of the name tags were damaged, or if children weren t in class that week, have them make new name tags using the photocopiable handout. Tell children that the signal you ll use during this lesson is clapping your hands three times. Ask children to respond by clapping their hands three times as they stop talking and focus their attention on you. Rehearse the signal with the children, telling them to respond quickly so they ll have plenty of time for all the fun activities planned for this lesson. n Module Review Use the casual interaction time at the beginning of class to ask children the following module-review questions: How have you remembered Jesus love for you? What has God been watching you do lately? How did walking with Jesus help you recently? Why do we remember Jesus death on the cross? What is your favorite thing about Easter? Why? Jesus Is Alive! Understanding the way your firstand second-graders think will give you clues to understanding how they comprehend the wonder of the Resurrection. At this age, the children are interested in concrete learning experiences such as dramatization and rhythms. They have a limited concept of time and space and are interested in the present but not in the past or future. They yearn for competence in developing skills. Keep these traits in mind as you convey the truth of Jesus Christ s resurrection to your students. Attention Grabber n Egg Hunt SUPPLIES: Bible, small candies, tape Before class, put the following items inside the colorful eggs. In one egg, put several animal rubber bands. In another egg, put a handful of crinkle paper. In the third egg, put the keys to the treasure chest. In the fourth egg, put enough small candies, such as jelly beans or M&M s candies, for your whole class to have one. Tape the eggs shut, and hide them around the room. Say: There are four eggs hidden in the room. See how many of them you can find. This will be a silent hunt. When you find an egg, don t tell anyone, and don t touch the egg; just start looking for the next one. That way everyone will be able to find all the eggs. Once you ve found all four, come and join me on the floor. 59

4 Lesson 5 Have the children hunt for the eggs. When a child has found all four eggs, have him or her join you on the floor. If after three or four minutes some children are still looking, call time and have them join the group. Ask: Where are the eggs hidden? (Answers will vary.) Were they easy or hard to find? (Easy; hard.) Choose volunteers to retrieve the eggs and reveal their contents to the rest of the children. Say: Today you ve found treasures that were sometimes easy to find and sometimes hard to find. But each egg has a special treasure inside, so I m glad we kept looking and found them! Let s pretend that the animals are people like you and me. Listen to what the Bible says. Read Luke 19:10. Ask: What is another name Jesus calls himself? (The Son of Man.) Who did Jesus come to earth to find? (The lost people; people who don t follow God.) Say: The Bible says Jesus came to find and save lost people, in the same way you searched for the lost eggs. You looked until you found them, and you were glad and excited to find them. Jesus looks for lost people, and he s glad when he finds them. Lost people are those who don t know about God s wonderful plan for people to believe in Jesus and live in heaven. One egg had keys inside it. Ask: What do we use keys for? (To unlock doors; to open things.) Say: We use keys to unlock things like doors and treasure chests. Jesus unlocks the door to heaven so we can go to heaven and live with him. How did Jesus unlock that door? Jesus died for our sins and came back to life again so we could go to heaven. One of the other eggs has brightly colored crinkle paper in it, like what we d use for a joyful celebration. Listen to what the Bible says about being happy. Read Habakkuk 3:18. The paper stands for joy. We are joyful that means we are really, really happy because Jesus came back to life so we can live with him. Read today s key Bible verse, Luke 24:5b-6a, from your Bible: Then the men asked, Why are you looking among the dead for someone who is alive? He isn t here! He is risen from the dead! Say: We can have a celebration because Jesus died for us and then rose again. Give each person a little of the paper, and then have children toss it in the air to celebrate Jesus resurrection. Then say: The last egg has candy in it. Listen to what the Bible says about heaven. Read Matthew 5:12a and ask: What does the Bible say about heaven? (That it is a happy place to be; that we will get a reward there.) Give everyone a piece of candy to enjoy. Say: The candy represents happiness. In heaven, everything is good and sweet. God gives us good things on earth to enjoy now, like candy, and heaven is going to be sweet and good, too. We ve learned that Jesus came to find people who are lost and bring them back to God. We ve also learned that Jesus lived a perfect life and died for our sins so we could go to heaven to live with God forever. Heaven is a wonderful place where everything is good. Today we re learning that Jesus came back to life and went to heaven. Let s find out more! Return the Learning Lab items to the box. 60

5 Jesus Is Alive! HANDS-ON BIBLE You ll want to conduct this experiment outside. Be sure to bring the following supplies with you: an empty 16-ounce plastic bottle, safety glasses, lemon juice, approximately 8 ounces of water, baking soda, a teaspoon, bath tissue, paper towels cut into strips, tape, and a cork. Before you go outside, have the kids look up Luke 22 in their Hands-On Bibles. Say: Jesus broke the bonds of death and rose to heaven. We are going to conduct a little experiment to help us understand what that s like. We ll go outside to do this. Lead children outside, and follow the instructions for building a rocket found in the color pages in Luke in the Hands-On Bible. Once the cork has popped, say: The cork popped right off. The paper towel strips just couldn t hold the cork in the bottle. Jesus died, but he didn t stay in the grave. Death couldn t hold him. Jesus is alive! Ask: What do you think living with Jesus in heaven will be like? (It will be lots of fun; the sun will always shine there; I will see my grandpa again, who lives with Jesus in heaven.) Where does Jesus live right now? (In heaven; in my heart; in church.) Say: Jesus is alive! Even though he had to die for our sins, Jesus came back to life and went to heaven. We can rejoice that one day we ll live with Jesus in heaven, too. Let s celebrate! Jump up and down and shout hurrahs with the kids. Bible Exploration & Application n Jesus Is Alive SUPPLIES: Bible Open your Bible to Mark 16:1-20, and show the passage to the children. Say: Sit with your legs crossed, and help me tell this story. I ll show you what motions to do. Let s walk back to the first Easter morning. Clap your hands on your legs to make a walking sound. It s a long journey, but we re almost there. Look off into the distance. Shade your eyes with your hand. The sun has just risen, and the clouds are pretty and pink. Look! Look to your right. There are three women. Wave hello. They are Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome. See what they are carrying? Sweet spices (sniff deeply) that smell so good. Let s listen to what they are saying. Cup your hand behind your ear. One of the women is saying, Let s hurry to take these spices to Jesus tomb. Clap your hands on your legs quickly. Another is saying, Who will move the stone away from the front of the tomb? It s much too heavy for us. As the women get closer to the tomb, they can t believe what they see. Put your hands on your cheeks and make a surprised face. The huge rock has been rolled away! Make a rolling motion with your arms. Slowly they creep into the tomb (clap your hands on your legs slowly and lightly) and look around. Put your hands in front of your eyes like eyeglasses. They see a man dressed in white, and they are scared. Shake your hands at the sides of your face as if you are scared. Bible Insight In the time of Jesus, tombs were made of drawerlike crypts recessed into rock. A small passageway led to the burial chamber. At the opening a large groove was hewn into the rock so that a rolling stone could be fitted there to seal the tomb. These stones were too heavy to be moved easily, and this is what the women pondered as they approached Jesus tomb on the third day. They found that stone rolled away! 61

6 Lesson 5 Jesus carried our sins to the cross, died, and buried our sins when he was in the tomb. Because he did not stay in that tomb, we have the hope of living forever with him. Watch for teachable moments throughout the lesson when you can share this important truth with your children. But the man is saying, Don t be scared. You re looking for Jesus, who was dead. He was lying in this tomb, but now he s alive again. He s not here. Go and tell his followers. But the women are scared (shake your hands), and they run away without telling anyone that Jesus is alive again. Clap your hands on your legs quickly. Ask: Why do you think the women were afraid? (Because they thought the man was a ghost; because they were surprised that Jesus wasn t there.) Say: After Jesus came back to life, he met with many people. Some believed he had come back to life, but others were stubborn and refused to believe. Jesus told his followers to go everywhere in the world and tell everyone the good news about his death and his coming to life again. Then Jesus was carried up into heaven. Flutter your fingers and lift your hands above your head. And Jesus followers obeyed his command. They went everywhere, telling everyone they could find about Jesus. Ask: What do you suppose Jesus followers thought when they saw him rise into heaven? (They probably were shocked; maybe they were scared; they knew that if Jesus could rise into heaven, he was telling the truth about being God.) Say: Because the followers spread the news, we know that Jesus came back to life and went to heaven. That s exciting news because it means Jesus is stronger than death. It means Jesus is able to take us to heaven to be with him. Let s find out what Jesus is doing in heaven. You can encourage the children to create their pictures with some of the following ideas: Use the yellow crinkle paper to designate heaven s streets of gold or blue crinkle paper to represent the crystal river running through heaven. The plastic fringe can be part of the decorations for God s throne room. The animal rubber bands could be people around the throne, praising God. The colorful eggs could be like the colorful jewels found in heaven. Create angel shapes or cloud shapes out of paper and mark them with the stamper. n Preparing a Place SUPPLIES: Bible, paper, scissors, tape Have the children sit at a table. Say: Wonderful things can happen to us because Jesus came back to life. Listen to the Bible, and be ready to tell me what Jesus is doing in heaven. Read John 14:1 4. Ask: What is Jesus doing in heaven? (Making a place for us to live; preparing a home for us.) Set out the treasure chest, a small handful of each color of crinkle paper, the plastic fringe, the animal rubber bands, the colorful eggs, the stamper, paper, scissors, and tape. Say: Let s use these items to create a building that looks like heaven. Give the children four or five minutes to create something that represents heaven. The plastic fringe is used throughout the rest of this quarter, so don t allow them to cut it up for their creation. When heaven is complete, ask: What will heaven really look like? (It will be beautiful and will have lots of gold and diamonds; it will be like a big park, and everyone there will have fun.) What will you do in heaven? (Have fun; laugh and eat a lot; praise God; sing with the angels.) Where will God be? (God will sit on a big throne; God will talk to everyone; God will be everywhere because it s his home.) 62

7 Jesus Is Alive! Say: We know that someday, if we believe in Jesus with all our hearts, we ll go to live with him in heaven. The Bible says Jesus is there right now, preparing a place just for us. We can go to heaven because Jesus came back to life and went to heaven. Jesus has made it possible for us to live forever, too. All we have to do is believe in him. n Alike and Different SUPPLIES: none Have the twirly bird ring handy. Say: Raise your hand if you like math. Pause. Do you believe God loves you? Pause while children answer yes. Raise your hand if you do not like math. Pause. Do you believe God loves you? Pause while children answer yes. Say: Jesus came back to life and went to heaven for everybody, whether you are someone who likes doing math problems or not. Let s play a game to remind us that Jesus really, truly loves us all the same way no matter what we like, how we act, what jobs we do, or what grades we make. God loves us the same, and Jesus died for each of us. Find different ways to group the children. For example, ask the children to think of their favorite colors or favorite subjects in school. Group the children according to these choices. Give one person the twirly bird ring. Tell that person that you will call out a group, and he or she is to toss the ring to that group. Group members should stay in place. The person who catches the ring is the next thrower. Begin with someone in the science group, for example. Give that person the ring. Say: Jesus came back to life and went to heaven for people whose favorite subject is math. Have the children in the math group raise their hands so that the thrower can toss them the ring. When someone catches the ring, say: Jesus came back to life and went to heaven for people whose favorite subject is reading. Have the children who love reading raise their hands to identify themselves. The thrower can then toss the ring toward the reading group. When someone catches the ring, say: Jesus came back to life and went to heaven for people whose favorite subject is social studies. Have the children who enjoy social studies raise their hands. When someone catches the ring, start over again. After a few turns with these groups, regroup the children by another favorite subject, such as favorite fast-food restaurants. Allow a few minutes longer for play, and then say: I think from our game we ve learned that we don t all like the same things and we don t all dislike the same things, either. Ask: Were you always grouped with the same people? (No; yes.) How do our different choices for the things we like show that we are sometimes the same and sometimes different? (When I m in the same group with my friend, we like the same things; I like some things different from what my best friend Madison likes.) How do you know that God loves the people in the math group just as much as he does the people in the spelling group? (Because the Bible tells us so; because we learned today that God loves us all the same.) 63

8 Lesson 5 Read Acts 10: Say: You know, we have a lot of things that make us different from one another. But there s one thing that is the same about all of us: Jesus came back to life and went to heaven for each one of us, no matter how alike or different we are from each other. We can all celebrate that Jesus is alive! Now let s thank God for the gift we ve been given! Closing n Praise God SUPPLIES: Bible Open your Bible and read today s key Bible verse, Luke 24:5b-6a: Then the men asked, Why are you looking among the dead for someone who is alive? He isn t here! He is risen from the dead! Say: The angels told the women looking for Jesus that he wasn t in the tomb anymore. We learned today what happened to Jesus. Do you remember? Ask: What did you learn today? (I learned that Jesus came back to life; I learned that I ll go to heaven to be with Jesus.) Say: Today we learned that Jesus came back to life and went to heaven. Let s say thank you to God for sending Jesus to die for our sins, and let s praise Jesus for coming back to life. Have students form a circle and hold hands. Lead them in singing the following song to the tune of The Mulberry Bush. Jesus died and rose again, Rose again, rose again. Jesus died and rose again; He lives forever in heaven. Then put the plastic fringe on the floor in the center of the circle, and spread out the strands so each child can grab a few of them. Have the children grab the strands and raise the plastic fringe above their heads. Have them stand far enough away from each other to stretch the fringe parallel to the ground. As you pray the following words, have the children shake their strands as they lower the fringe to waist level: God, thank you for sending your Son to earth for us. As you pray these next words, have each child raise and lower the strands as his or her name is called out. Pray: God, we know that you sent your Son for Go around the circle, and call out each child s name. As you pray these words, have children shake the strands. When you finish, have kids toss the fringe in the air. Pray: God, we thank you that Jesus came back to life and went to heaven. In Jesus name, amen. When the prayer is over, have the children shout, Praise God! 64

9 Jesus Is Alive! Growing closer to Jesus extends beyond the classroom. Photocopy the Growing Together handout (at the end of this lesson) for this week, and send it home with your children. Encourage children and parents to use the handout to plan meaningful activities on this week s topic. Follow up the Growing Together activities next week by asking children what their families did together. 65

10 Jesus Crucifixion and Resurrection 5: Jesus came back to life and went to heaven. This week your child learned that Jesus came back to life and went to heaven. The children also learned that Jesus is busy in heaven preparing a place for them to live with him forever. Use these activities to help your child understand the Resurrection. Bible Verse Then the men asked, Why are you looking among the dead for someone who is alive? He isn t here! He is risen from the dead! (Luke 24:5b-6a). Bible Story Jesus is alive! (Mark 16:1-20) Fragrance Walk Take a fragrance walk through your neighborhood, and see how many fragrances of spring you can identify. Smell the rich scent of wet earth that has been turned over in someone s garden. Smell the air after a rainstorm. Discover together what dandelions, crocuses, and tulips smell like. What s your favorite springtime fragrance? Thank God for the fragrances and wonders of the earth as it springs to new life this spring. Thank God also for bringing new life to you through the resurrection of Jesus. Spring Flowers Cut two 1x12-inch strips from construction paper. Glue the two pieces together to form a right angle. Then fold one piece over the other as shown in the illustration, and continue until the strips form a small square. Glue the last two sections together. When the glue dries, pull the two ends together, and then glue or staple them together. You ll have a small, flowerlike cup with five small compartments. Make enough flowers for each family member to have one. Fill the compartments with small candies. Put each flower on a plate with a licorice stem, and serve it for dessert. As your family enjoys the candy, talk about why new life is good for the earth at springtime and why new life in Jesus is even better. Miracle Cake Bake this miracle cake. Melt 1 square of baking chocolate and 2 tablespoons of butter. Stir in 1 cup of flour, 3/4 cup of sugar, 2 teaspoons of baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, 1/2 cup of milk, and 1 teaspoon of vanilla. Spread the mixture in a greased 9x13-inch pan. Mix 3/4 cup of sugar, 3/4 cup of brown sugar, and 4 teaspoons of cocoa, and sprinkle the mixture over the top of the batter. Put the pan in the oven, and pour 13/4 cups of boiling water over all. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes. The cake will rise to the top, and a rich pudding will form on the bottom. Talk about the faith that it takes to believe that a cake will emerge from the watery mixture, and compare that to the faith it takes to believe in the Resurrection. Future Homes Decorate a tree with colored bits of string. Watch together as birds gather the strings to use in their nests. Together read John 14:1-4. Talk about the kind of house that Jesus is preparing for you. Will it be big or small? What will it look like? 66 Permission to photocopy this handout from Group s Hands-On Bible Curriculum Grades 1 & 2 granted for local church use. Copyright Group Publishing, Inc., 1515 Cascade Avenue, Loveland, CO group.com