Easter-Jesus’ Crucifixion and Resurrection - Sunday April 4, 2021

Sunday April 4, 2021 (Vol 11, Unit 31, Session 5)

Hello, and thanks for joining us. The following blog is here to be a tool for you to help your kids grow in their faith. Please feel free to use as much of it as you choose. You know your kids and are the best possible teacher for them. God has given you the power of the Holy Spirit to enable you to do more than you think possible (Eph 3:20). So, let's have some fun and teach our kids from the scriptures.

Parent Devotional 

Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection are essential to the Christian faith. If we teach Jesus as a respected teacher and miracle-worker who claimed to be the Messiah and crucified on the cross—but was not resurrected—then we teach the Jesus of Judaism. If we teach Jesus as a wise teacher and prophet who ascended into heaven—but who was not crucified—then we teach the Jesus of Islam.

Jesus came to earth to save us from our sins. (Matt. 1:21) He died to show God's love to us (Rom. 5:7-8) so that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16) Jesus died so that we would be forgiven. (Eph. 1:7) Jesus died to bring us to God. (1 Pet. 3:18)

The time between Friday afternoon and Sunday morning must have been dark hours for Jesus' disciples. Fear, doubt, and confusion certainly overwhelmed their thoughts. Jesus, their Lord, was dead. He had been unjustly arrested, falsely accused, and severely beaten. Even worse, He had been killed horribly: by crucifixion.

The story doesn't end there. Jesus' body was laid in a tomb. The tomb was sealed, and guards watched over it. The Jews remembered Jesus' claim that He would rise from the dead (John 2:19-21), and they made sure no one could steal His body and insist He had risen. Imagine their surprise when Jesus did rise from the dead!

Jesus' resurrection gives us joy and hope for our resurrection. The same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead will resurrect our bodies to life. (Rom. 8:11)

As you teach kids this Bible story, emphasize the Gospel: the good news of who Jesus is and what He has done. We do not worship a dead Savior. Jesus is alive! Sadness turns to joy, and there is hope for sinners.

Parent Guidance and Instructions

As we begin to explore this week's lesson, take a moment to pray and remember the verse from Deuteronomy about teaching your children the scriptures. Deuteronomy 6:9 says: "You shall teach them diligently to your children and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise." Maybe you do not have time to sit and have an hour of Bible time all at once, or perhaps your children are too young to sit for that long. Consider the key points of the lesson and ask God to give you opportunities to speak them into the hearts of your children throughout the week. Let the Bible become a part of your day-to-day. Be blessed this week, my friends!

Each week we include songs, activity pages, the bible lesson video, memory verses, and possibly a craft or 2. We pray this will help you find ways to engage your kids spiritually. It is written in script form from the K-2nd grade lesson, so you can read directly from it or change it to suit your children. Take some time to look at and print the activity pages and the additional activities and information (found in the links at the bottom of the page) to review the lesson so you can adjust as needed. I have included the Bible and Discussion questions along with a breakdown of the Gospel in the Older Kids Activities pages and loads of activities and crafts on the Preschool Extra Activity Pages. Once you are ready, go ahead and start with these songs if you would like, or pick some of your favorite worship songs and then jump right in! Have fun! And remember, this does not need to be done in one sitting! Feel free to break it up over the week. Please contact me if you have any questions or suggestions. I would love to hear from you! - Melissa

Opening

"Blessings and Bummers"

Let's get started. Tell me, what have you seen the Lord doing in your lives this week? What have your greatest blessings been? How about your biggest challenges?

Parents share your blessings and bummers, encourage the kids to do the same.

Prayer

Let's go to the Lord in prayer: Father God, Thank you. Thank you for providing for our needs. You are so good to us even though we don't deserve it! Thank you for continuing to bless us, Lord. Thank you for being patient with us. Thank you to our friends as well as our families.

Most importantly, we thank you always for sending Jesus to live a perfect life and die to pay for our sins. Thank you for raising Him from the dead and promising us life with you forever if we believe in Him. Please help us be thankful for all you do for us and look to you in all that we do. In Jesus' name, Amen. 

(Please add to or customize prayer time to fit your family)

Praise the Lord for hearing our prayers!

Let's chat!

Prompt kids to share about a time they experienced a happy surprise.

Say • Happy surprises are lots of fun, from receiving a wonderful gift you didn't expect to walk through a door to a group of friends shouting "surprise" on your birthday. Today we will take a step away from the Bible's timeline to look back on the greatest surprise of all time. But the people surprised should have known it was coming! What event do you think I might be talking about?

Optional Session Starter Activity

Pick one of two options or do both; this is your party. (You can find these on page 2 of the optional activity pages attached at the bottom of the page.)

Big Picture Question

Our big picture question is, what is the Gospel? The Gospel is the good news that God sent His Son, Jesus, into the world to rescue sinners. Jesus rescues sinners when they have faith in Him. He lived a perfect life, died the death we deserve, and rose from the dead. Apart from Jesus, there is no salvation, but we can have lasting peace and true joy with Him. 

Review

Although we've been talking about the early church, stories that come from the time after Jesus rose and went back to heaven, today, because it is Easter, we will take a look back at the wonderful news that led to the entire start of the Christian faith. Our story is called "Jesus' Crucifixion and Resurrection."

Bible Lesson

This story is the center of the Bible's one story. This is like the climax, where everything in the history of the world turned around. After years of offering sacrifices for forgiveness of sin, Jesus died to be the final and perfect sacrifice. After years of being separated from God, the temple curtain ripped in two to show that we could personally approach God. After years of people being dead in sin, Jesus rose again to bring us eternal life with God.

The Gospel is absolutely the most important story that the world has ever known or will ever know. God has been telling it from the very beginning. Since before Adam and Eve sinned, God had a plan to send a Rescuer. Jesus came, He lived, He died, and He is alive again. Because of Jesus, we don't have to fear anything—not even sin or death. We have victory because Jesus is victorious. This is the Gospel, and it is good news. Jesus' resurrection gives true joy to believers.

Christ Connection

Jesus died on the cross to pay for sin and rose again to defeat death. We deserve to die because of our sin, but Jesus died in our place. Because Jesus is alive, we do not need to fear anything. Those who trust in Jesus have forgiveness and eternal life, and we can joyfully obey Him.

Jesus' death and resurrection are the center of the Gospel. Jesus died to pay for our sins. Jesus is alive! God gives hope and true joy to everyone who trusts in Jesus.

Bible Time!

Distribute a Bible to each kid. Help them find Matthew 26–28; John 20. Remind the kids that Matthew and John are both in the Gospels division of the New Testament. Ask a volunteer to summarize what that division contains. (stories of Jesus' life, death, and resurrection) Explain that Matthew is the first book in the New Testament, and John is the fourth.

Ask the following questions. Lead the group to discuss:

• What did Jesus pray in the garden? (He asked God for another way to save people but agreed to obey God's plan; Matt. 26:39)

• How did Jesus die? (He was crucified—hung on a cross; Matt. 27:33-50)

• What did the women find on the third day? (an empty tomb and an angel who said Jesus rose, Matt. 28:5-6)

• Why is it important that Jesus died? Guide kids to understand that God demands a sacrifice for sin. Because we are sinners, we deserve death. If there were no sacrifice, God would not be perfectly just. Jesus had to die for us to be forgiven. (See Heb. 9:22; Rom. 6:23; and 2 Cor. 5:21.)

• Why is it important that Jesus rose to life? Help kids see that Jesus's rising again was proof that His sacrifice was enough. He rose again to prove that he defeated sin and death completely. (See 1 Cor. 15:12-22.)

• How does Jesus' resurrection give us joy? Help the kids think through the hope we have for the future. Remind them that because of Jesus' resurrection, there is no suffering we can face that could ever take away our salvation. The worst that could happen to us in life is still just a sliver compared to the wonderful nature of God's mercy and grace toward us.

Say • Jesus' resurrection gives true joy to believers. When we have faith in Jesus, we are credited with His righteousness, and all our sins are forgiven. We can then walk in victory over sin, knowing that we will spend eternity with God.

Memory Verse

Read the verse together.

Say • God is the creator of all heaven and earth. That is why He is in charge of all things. Jesus is the King of kings because He created everything and because He conquered death. We worship Him for who He is and what He has done. Jesus' resurrection gives true joy to believers.

Memory Verse Activity:

Invite volunteers to say the key passage from memory. Thank each kid for her efforts and encourage all the kids to continue working on memorizing the key passage. Challenge the kids to work together to write the key passage in reverse order, starting with the last word and working their way forward without consulting the key passage poster.

Say • Jesus' resurrection gives true joy to believers. He reversed the curse of sin and replaced it with the blessing of eternal life with God for all those who believe the Gospel. What is the Gospel? The Gospel is the good news that God sent His Son, Jesus, into the world to rescue sinners.

That is all I have for this week. Let's pray together:

God, thank You for sending Your Son. Thank You that He was willing to die the death we deserve. Thank You for raising Him from the dead. Help us to experience the true joy that only He can give. Amen.

Thanks for joining us! I hope to meet you here again next week!

Thank you, Lifeway's Gospel Project, for allowing us to publish this material.

Additional Activities and Information