Thomas Believes in Jesus

Transcription

1 Thomas Believes in Jesus Scripture Passage: John 20:19, Lesson Objective and Application Children will understand that Jesus death, burial, and resurrection were real. They will learn that Thomas believed Jesus was alive when he was able to touch the nail prints in Jesus hands and put his hand in Jesus side. At the conclusion of this lesson, the children will understand that they can believe and know, as Thomas did, that Jesus is alive because God s Word, the Bible, says He came back to life on the third day. The children will also say a prayer of thanks that they can know Jesus is alive. Supply List Bible Lesson Bible Lesson Visuals #1-4 Scripture Memory Bible Game Time BASIC GAME No additional items needed ADVANCED GAME Tape for marking floor Approx 2 dozen plastic eggs 2 baskets Home Connection Page Note: You will need to write or copy the reference of the verse that you are currently working on in the Your Child Should Say section of the Home Connection for this week. Bible Lesson Introduction Hello, boys and girls. I m so glad you are all here at Gopher Buddies this week! To start off, I want to ask you a question. What would you do if you woke up in the morning and your brother or sister told you that there was an elephant in the living room? Show Lesson Visual #1. Allow time for response. You might tell them you don t believe it, or you might tell them you would have to see it to believe it! Talking about elephants in living rooms reminds me Easter 265

2 of our Bible story today. Well, maybe not the elephant in the living room part, but the part about someone needing to see something to believe it. Something like that happened in our story. I am going to open my Bible to John, chapter 20 to find out who needed to see something to believe it. Open Bible to John 20. Before we begin our lesson, let s pray and ask God to help us listen and learn. Pray and ask God to help each boy and girl sit quietly and listen carefully to the lesson from His Word. Lesson Boys and girls, do you know what special day we are celebrating this week? Allow time for response. That s right; we are celebrating Easter. Easter is a time when we remember that Jesus died on the cross and came back to life on the third day. Now you may have heard the story about how Jesus died on the cross before. But do you know why Jesus had to die on the cross? The Bible tells us in Romans 3:23 that we have all done bad things. The Bible calls the bad things we do sin. Sin separates us from God. The punishment for sin is death or being separated from God forever. That s why Jesus had to die on the cross. John 3:16 says God sent His one and only Son, Jesus, to the world to die on the cross and take the punishment for our sins. He died for us because He loves us and wants us to live with Him forever in Heaven. After Jesus died, He was buried in a tomb. A tomb is a big hole in the side of a rock or a hill where they put the bodies of people who died. Does anyone know how many days Jesus was in the tomb? Allow time for response. Hold up three fingers. Jesus was in a tomb for three days. After those three days, Jesus arose from the dead. That means He did not stay dead. He came alive again! We celebrate Jesus coming back to life on Easter Sunday. When Jesus was put on the cross, the soldiers nailed His hands to the cross. You could also say that each of Jesus hands was pierced with a nail. Does anyone know what pierced means? Allow time for response. Pierced means that they poked into his skin with a nail. When Jesus died, soldiers pierced His side. Show Lesson Visual #2. One night after Jesus died, the disciples, the men who had been Jesus special helpers, were together in a room. While they were there, Jesus appeared to them. He showed them His hands where the nails had been and His side that had been pierced. The disciples were very happy when they saw Jesus. They were happy because Jesus was alive! Show Lesson Visual #3. The Bible tells us in John, chapter 20, verse 24 that Thomas, one of Jesus special helpers, wasn t with the other disciples when Jesus came. He didn t see Jesus. When the other disciples told Thomas that they had seen Jesus, that He was alive, Thomas didn t believe them. Thomas said he wouldn t believe that Jesus was alive unless he put his finger on the nail prints in Jesus hands and put his hand in Jesus side himself. 266 Easter

3 Show Lesson Visual #4. Eight days later, the disciples were together again. This time Thomas was with them. Jesus appeared and told Thomas to touch the scars in His hands and side. Now do you think Thomas believed Jesus was alive? Listen as I read John 20:28 to find out what Thomas said. Read John 20:28 aloud. Thomas finally believed. Thomas believed that Jesus arose from the dead! Thomas believed Jesus was alive! Application Easter is a very special time. At Easter we remember how much God loved us. He loved us so much He sent His Son, Jesus, to die on the cross for the wrong things we have done. The disciples must have been so sad when Jesus died and was buried in the tomb. But, they must have been so happy when they found out that Jesus did not stay dead. Jesus was alive! Thomas believed Jesus was alive when he was able to touch the nail prints in Jesus hands. You can believe and know today that Jesus is alive because God s Word, the Bible, says that Jesus came back to life on the third day. How does that make you feel? It makes me feel happy! It makes me want to tell everyone I know that Jesus is alive! Who can you tell this coming week that Jesus came back to life? Allow time for response. Let s pray and thank God for Jesus dying on the cross for us. Let s tell God we believe that Jesus is alive! Prayer Time Suggestion Thank God for sending His Son, Jesus, to die on the cross for us. Ask God to help each boy and girl believe, as Thomas did, that Jesus is alive. Review Questions Remind the children that Thomas said he would believe Jesus was alive when he touched the nail prints in Jesus hands. Tell the children that when they know the answer to the question, to let you know by touching their finger to the inside of their hand. Practice this motion with the children. Repeat for each question. 1. What special day are we celebrating this week? (Easter) 2. When Jesus died on the cross, what happened to His hands? (They were pierced or poked with a nail.) 3. Why did Jesus die on the cross? (He died for our sins.) 4. How many days was Jesus in the tomb? (Three) 5. What did Jesus tell Thomas to touch? (To touch the nail prints in His hands and the wound in His side) Easter 267

4 Snack Time Empty Tomb Treats Serve cake donuts (with a hole in the middle), sliced in half. Serve a donut hole to each child. Serve with milk. Variation: This snack can also be done with a bagel, sliced similarly, and whatever you choose to be the stone. Discussion Suggestion: Help the children stand their donut halves up to resemble a tomb. Show them how to use the donut hole to pretend it is the stone that covered the tomb. Allow them to tell the story of the empty tomb. Review this together. Encourage the children to remember that they can know Jesus is alive because God s Word, the Bible, says He came back to life on the third day. Remembering Crosses Serve cookies cut in a cross shape with a cookie cutter. Frost the cookies in advance or allow the children to frost their cross. Serve with milk. Variation: You can also serve this snack by cutting bread with cookie cutters. Spread with whatever you choose. Discussion Suggestion: Remind the children that we celebrate Easter to remember how much God loves us. He sent His Son Jesus to die on the cross for the wrong things we have done. We remember that Jesus died, was buried, and came back to life again on the third day. We can believe and know, as Thomas did, that Jesus is alive because God s Word, the Bible, tells us He came back to life on the third day. Discipleship Time Use Activity Sheet (Easter) Questions for Further Discussion: 1. How did the disciples feel when they saw Jesus? (They were happy.) 2. When did Thomas believe that Jesus was alive? (When he was able to touch the nail prints in Jesus hands and put his hand in Jesus side) 268 Easter

5 3. How can you know and believe today that Jesus is alive? (Because God s Word, the Bible, says that Jesus came back to life on the third day) 4. How does it make you feel to know that Jesus is alive? (Answers will vary.) Prayer Time Thank God that we can believe what we read in His Word that Jesus died on the cross, was buried, and came back to life on the third day. Suggested sentence prayer Thank You, Jesus, that I can know that You are alive. Scripture Memory Time Verse: During Scripture Memory time this week, use the suggested activity with the verse the children have been working on this month. If you are between modules, you might wish to start the next verse the children will learn. Scripture Explanation: Read the verse aloud from the Bible in the version the children will be learning. Say the verse, including the reference, aloud several times. Then ask the children to repeat it with you a few more times. Activity Easter Echo Garden Divide the children so they are standing in three groups: loud garden, medium garden, whisper garden. Stand in front of the three groups and say the verse phrase by phrase, including the reference. After you say a phrase, have a garden repeat that phrase. Start with the loud garden (loud voice), then the medium garden (normal voice), and then the whisper garden (whisper). Rotate the gardens. Continue as time allows. Easter 269

6 Game Time Bunny, Bunny, Rabbit Have the children sit in a circle on the floor. In the same way you play Duck, Duck, Goose, you will play Bunny, Bunny, Rabbit. Have a child walk around the outside of the circle. As they walk, have them gently tap the children on the head and say bunny. The child should keep saying bunny with each tap until they say rabbit. At this point, the child who was tapped should get up and chase the other child around the circle, trying to tag the child who tapped them before the other child sits down. Learning Link: Discuss with the children how at this time of year we often think of Easter eggs, baskets, bunny rabbits, and so forth. Do the children know why? Tell the children that these are all things that can remind us of new life and this reminds us of how Jesus came alive again. When they see these things used to celebrate Easter, they can think of how Jesus is alive! They can remember that they can believe and know that Jesus is alive because God s Word, the Bible, says that Jesus came back to life on the third day. Easter Egg Toss Mark a line on the floor for the children to stand behind. Divide them into groups depending on the number of children in your club. Place a basket a short distance away for each group. Have the children form a line and take turns trying to toss plastic eggs into the basket. When you have cycled back to the first child in line, move the basket a bit further away. Continue playing and moving the basket further away as time allows. Learning Link: Talk with the children about how at this time of year we see many eggs like this as well as Easter baskets. We see bunnies, ducks, chicks, lambs, and rabbits. Do the children know why? Tell the children that these are all things that can remind us of new life and this reminds us of how Jesus came alive again. When they see these things used to celebrate Easter, they can remember that Jesus is alive! Remind the children that they can know and believe Jesus is alive because the Bible says that Jesus came back to life on the third day. 270 Easter