During the lesson, the information for you to know is written in regular type, and what we suggest speaking or reading aloud to children is in bold. All resources for this lesson, including the Teacher Guide, Student Page, Family Connection Card, and other resources can be downloaded in a ZIP file by clicking on the following link:
In some lessons you will find "resource articles." These are articles written by experts from around the world to help equip you for your work with children and adolescents. Share them with parents or guardians if you consider it appropriate.
When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross.
Colossians 2:13–14
When God thinks about you, He does not remember your failures. He remembers His Son’s victory. When you chose to follow Jesus, God made you a new creation. Think of wearing old, ragged clothes that are dirty and torn. Now think of yourself wearing the most beautiful outfit you can imagine. Your sinful self was defeated, discarded like soiled, old clothes. You are forever clothed in
Christ’s righteousness!
When you may be tempted to slide back into a familiar sin or way of thinking, remember that your old self is dead! Your soiled clothes do not fit anymore! What Jesus did on the cross will always be more powerful than anything you have done. You belong to Jesus, and His victory is yours!
Tell families that this week their children will learn about Jesus Christ’s resurrection, which is celebrated on Easter. Encourage families to talk about who they think of when they hear the word “victory.” It may be a sports team, a politician, or a certain group of people—but the ultimate victor is Jesus.
Teacher Tip: If possible, email or text the Family Connection Card to the families of your students.
Welcome the children warmly. As they arrive, pick 1 child who will make a good leader. Explain to him that when you tell him to, he will lead the rest of the children on a fun obstacle course as he circles around things, jumps over other objects, slides sideways through other areas, and so on. The obstacle course should only take about 5 minutes.
If it is not possible to do this outside, arrange your room ahead of class, using available objects
as obstacles.
Today is a special day. It is the day we will celebrate Easter! Easter is a great day of celebrating the fact that Jesus rose from the dead! Today we will discover some of the first words spoken about this amazing event.
I have hidden an important item somewhere in our space. This item represents an event that changed everything for all time. I have chosen a leader to guide you on your search. Everyone line up behind the leader and do whatever he does and go wherever he goes.
Ask the leader to stand up. He will lead the others through the obstacle course. After about 5 minutes, let him know that time is up. He will then lead the children back to your meeting space.
Tell the children to search for an important item that you hid in your space before class. If they have difficulty finding the item, tell them it is a small piece of cloth. When the children discover the folded cloth, have them sit for the following Bible story. Tell them that when they hear their important clue—the folded cloth—mentioned in the story, they should raise their hands.
We are going to hear an amazing true story! But first I will tell you what happened just before today’s story.
Jesus is God’s Son. He lived a perfect life here on earth. But the religious leaders did not like Jesus or what He taught about God. These people beat and mocked Jesus. They brought lies against him. Finally they killed Him by hanging Him on a cross.
Even though this was awful, it was all part of God’s big plan. God knew that we could not live perfect lives. So He sent His Son Jesus to pay for all the painful sin that separated us from God.
After Jesus died on the cross, His body was buried in a tomb. His followers felt sad and probably thought that this was the end of all their hopes. But it was not! Listen to what the Bible says happened on the third day after Jesus’ death. Remember to raise your hands when you hear me mention the folded cloth.
Remind the children to raise their hands when you come to the underlined portion of the Bible verse.
Read these verses directly from your Bible if possible.
Optional: If possible, share the image from The Action Bible.
Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!” So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. Then Simon Peter, who was behind him, arrived and went straight into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, as well as the cloth that had been wrapped around Jesus’ head. The cloth was still lying in its place, separate from the linen. Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed.
John 20:1–8
In this story, the 2 disciples ran to the tomb. They may have jumped over obstacles like you did! Inside the tomb, they discovered the burial cloth, folded up and set aside, just as you discovered the folded cloth.
What did the disciples not find?
Jesus’ body.
Optional: If you are using The Action Bible, have the children read the story on pages 641–644.
Encourage the children to talk about the Easter story.
The disciples knew that Jesus was dead. Some of them had even seen Him die.
What emotions do you think the disciples may have felt as they ran to the tomb? Turn to a friend and make a face that expresses that emotion. See if your friend can guess your emotion.
What emotions do you think the disciples may have felt when they saw that Jesus’ body was not in the tomb? Turn to a friend and make a face that expresses this emotion. See if your friend can guess your emotion.
The Bible tells us that Jesus had told His disciples that He would die and rise from the dead. But when He said this, the disciples did not understand what He meant. Listen to the last part of the Bible passage again:
Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed.
John 20:8
What do you think he believed?
That Jesus was alive again.
How do you think the disciples may have felt when they realized that Jesus was
alive again?
Allow several children to share their thoughts.
The Bible says we have all sinned. Sin—all of our wrong actions and thoughts—separated us from God. God is holy and good and no one who sins can be in His presence. Someone had to pay the punishment all sinful people deserve. When Jesus died on the cross, He paid the full punishment for our sins. When He rose again, He made it possible for us to be adopted into God’s forever family if we choose to receive this gift. That is great news worth celebrating!
Easter is all about victory. Jesus was victorious over the two most impossible things there are to conquer— sin and death. He conquered sin and death so we can join God’s forever family. We can share in His victory, too! Let’s think about what this means.
Have the children lie on their backs on the floor or outside, or if that is not possible, they can imagine that they are lying down. Tell them to cover their faces with their hands, just like the cloth covered Jesus’ head.
Jesus lay dead in a cold, dark tomb. He was all alone. What do you think it would feel like to be in a tomb all alone? Does it feel like you are alone? Does it feel hopeless? What are the things in your life that make you feel alone and hopeless?
But Jesus’ story does not end with darkness and hopelessness—and neither does yours. God raised Jesus to life! And He can give you hope in your situation, too! If you put your faith in Jesus, God will give you victory and eternal life in His family!
Pause for a moment, and then read 1 Corinthians 15:57 to the children.
If you are using the Memory Verse Poster, show it to the students.
But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
1 Corinthians 15:57
Tell the children to pretend to take the cloths off their faces, fold them, and stand up.
Can you see the hope that God offers through Jesus? Jesus invites us to share in His victory over sin and death! When we accept God’s gift of salvation, we become victors through Jesus!
Begin singing joyful worship songs that the children know. Encourage them to dance and celebrate Jesus’ victory and the promise it holds for them.
Optional: If you are using Student Pages, there is space for children to respond in praise to victory in Christ.
Close by praying this blessing based on Romans 8:37 over the children.
Blessing: Through His death and resurrection, Jesus overcame sin and death. Jesus loves you, and He invites you to share in His victory. May you always remember that in death, sin, hardships, and persecution, you are more than conquerors through Him who loves you!
Lead the children in singing this quarter’s song, if possible.
Life on Life ©2020 David C Cook. Reproducible for home or classroom use only. All other uses require written permission from David C Cook [email protected]. All rights reserved.
