After completing this Sunday school lesson, the children will understand the resurrection of Jesus, and how the disciples found hope and joy because He rose from the grave. This hope and joy is available to all who know Jesus.
TOPICS
Easter, Resurrection
AS KIDS ARRIVE (10 minutes)
Before class write the following definition on the board:
Resurrection - the act of coming back to life after being dead.
Have paper and crayons or markers on the tables. As the children arrive, encourage them to draw pictures to represent resurrection as you have it defined on the board. Share or display drawings once everyone arrives.
OPENING PRAYER AND PRAISE (5 minutes)
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Note: Easter Sunday often brings many visitors to your class. Be sure to pray for these visitors and their families to let them know they are very special.
MEMORY WORK (12 minutes)
"Jesus answered, 'I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me'"
John 14:6 NIV
Have the kids look the verse up in the Bible, and read it together several times. Ask for a volunteer to read John 14:1-7 and discuss the passage. Then have kids who feel they can, repeat the verse from memory.
SCRIPTURE READING AND DISCUSSION (15 minutes)
Introduction:
After Jesus died on the cross, Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for His body. Joseph was one of Jesus' secret followers. He was usually afraid of the Jews, but on this day he was bold enough and strong in his love for Jesus that he volunteered to take care of his body. He and Nicodemus wrapped Him in strips of linens with spices, in accordance to Jewish burial customs. Then they placed Him in a new tomb. After this, Pilate gave an order to make the tomb secure, and to have it guarded. He was afraid the disciples would deceive the people by removing the body and claiming Jesus had been raised from the dead. This is where our story today begins.
Read Matthew 28:1-10
Discussion Questions:
1. Who were the first disciples to visit the tomb? (Mary Magdalene and the other Mary)
2. When did they go to visit the tomb? (After the Sabbath - or Sunday morning.)
3. How would you react if you visited a grave of a loved one today, and found it empty? How did the two women react? (They were afraid)
4. What happened to the guards? (When they saw the angel, they were afraid and fell as if dead.)
5. What did the angel say to the women? (see Matthew 28:5,6)
6. Once the women understood that Jesus was alive and they would see Him again, how did they react? (They were filled with joy and hurried to tell the others.)
CLASS EXERCISE (10 minutes)
Truth Revealed (Object Talk) Click here
ALTERNATE CLASS EXERCISE (10 minutes)
In The Tomb, Out of The Tomb (Game) Click here
APPLICATION (4 minutes)
The Bible says, "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!. In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you." (1 Peter 1:3-4)
The resurrection of Jesus is the center of the Easter story. Jesus bore our sins and so died on a cross, but He rose from the dead! His resurrection gives us life. We are powerless in our sin, but if we have faith in Jesus, and believe in His resurrection, we become new creations. "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come; the old has gone, the new is here!" (2 Corinthians 5:17)
NEXT WEEK
Time to choose another lesson from Kids Sunday School Place.
CLOSING PRAYER (2 minutes)
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TAKE HOME PAGE
Give one copy to each child at the end of the class to take home. Click here for NIV or KJV [PDF]