Jesus Appeared to the Disciples - Sunday November 22, 2020

Sunday November 22, 2020 (Vol 9, Unit 27, Session 3)

Hi-there parents! Welcome back! Or if you're new here, welcome! 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).  

If you would like to join us in person, we are excited to announce that Children's Church for Kindergarten through 5th grade has resumed and is meeting during the 10:30 service. We would love to see your kids there!   

Parent Devotional: This week’s lesson, "Jesus Appeared to the Disciples" is found in Luke 24 and John 20.

The disciples were devastated that Jesus had died. They believed that Jesus was the Messiah, but they had abandoned Him, and Jesus was killed. How could He save anyone if He was dead? But now some people were reporting that Jesus was alive! Was it true?

The disciples were talking about these things when Jesus stood among them. “Peace to you!” He said. Imagine how Jesus’ words might have calmed the disciples’ anxious hearts. Their Lord, whom they had deserted, didn’t show up to scold them for their failures or shame them for their lack of faith. He spoke peace to them.

Thomas, who was not with the disciples when Jesus came, had a hard time believing. Thomas wanted physical proof. A week later, Jesus showed Thomas His hands and His side. Thomas immediately believed, and Jesus said, “Because you have seen me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe” (John 20:29).

With His resurrection, Jesus’ mission was accomplished, but the disciples’ work was just beginning. Jesus gave His followers a job to do: “As the Father has sent me, I also send you” (John 20:21). This verse contains the Gospel of John’s version of the Great Commission.

Jesus, the One sent from the Father, sent the disciples to be His messengers and representatives. Jesus equipped the disciples with the Holy Spirit to proclaim the gospel—the good news of what Jesus has done—to the world.

Emphasize to kids that Jesus is alive today. We haven’t seen Him for ourselves, but we believe by faith. He sends out all believers to tell others about Him, and He gives us power through the Holy Spirit.

As we begin to explore this week’s lesson, take a moment to 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 don't have time to sit and have an hour of Bible time all at once, or maybe your children are to young to sit for that long. Take the key points 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 up to suit your children. Take a few moments to look at and print the activity pages as well as the additional activities and information (found in the links at the bottom of the page) also to review the lesson so you can make adjustments 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'd 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 course of the week. Please contact me if you have any questions or suggestions. I'd love to hear from you!  

So, let's get started. I like to begin each week with Blessings and Bummers. Tell me, what have you seen the Lord doing in your lives this week? What have your greatest blessings been? How about your biggest bummers? 

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

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 for our friends as well as our families. Most importantly, thank you 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. Help us to appreciate all you do for us and to 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! 

Prompt kids to tell about a time they were surprised by something. 

Say • We feel surprised when something we don’t expect happens suddenly. Some surprises may be scary or sad, but often we think of happy surprises—like surprise birthday parties. Today we will learn about a time Jesus’ disciples were surprised. At first, they thought it was a scary surprise, but soon they realized it was the happiest surprise ever!

Optional Session Starter Activity Pick one of two options, or do both, this is your party. These are found in the activity pages attached below.

After Jesus rose from the dead, He stayed on earth for 40 days. However, we know that Jesus isn’t on earth today. That brings us to our big picture question: Where is Jesus now? Jesus ascended to heaven where He is seated at the right hand of the Father. Jesus’ position is one of honor, glory, and power. His work is complete; He fully paid for sin and defeated death by His resurrection. 

Before Jesus died, He told His disciples that He would die and rise again. On the third day after His death, God raised Jesus from the dead to defeat sin and death. Soon after His resurrection, Jesus met two disciples on the way to Emmaus. Jesus taught that all the Scriptures point to Him.

Have you ever heard news so good you didn’t believe it at first? That’s probably how some of Jesus’ disciples felt. They may have remembered that Jesus said He would die and rise again; but, coming back from the dead is easier said than done!

Jesus proved He is alive by appearing to His disciples. He didn’t just show up either. He spoke to them, allowed them to feel the marks the nails left, and ate with them. Thomas, who wasn’t with the others at the time, did not believe. Thomas even said that he would never believe unless he saw and felt Jesus for himself. 

It was foolish of Thomas to refuse to believe, but in many ways, we are similar. We may say we believe the truth of Jesus, but often the way we live or the sinful choices we make show that we actually don’t fully believe Jesus. Full belief in Jesus means we worship Him as King of our lives. We lovingly obey Him and tell others about Him. When we choose sin, it suggests that somewhere in our hearts we think our ways are better than God’s ways. Thankfully, Jesus has already defeated sin and death. Even when we doubt, we can ask God to give us more faith to help us believe.

For 40 days, Jesus presented Himself to more than 500 people and proved that He is alive. Jesus is still alive today. We have not seen Jesus, but if we believe in Him, we will be blessed. He sends out believers to tell others about Him and gives us power through the Holy Spirit.

Bible Time! 

Distribute a Bible to each kid. Help kids find John 20. Ask the kids which other books are in the same division, the Gospels. (Matthew–Luke) Remind the kids that the Gospels contain records of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection. 

 Ask the following questions. Lead the group to discuss:

Why did the disciples lock themselves indoors? (They feared those who had killed Jesus, John 20:19)

Which disciple wasn’t there? (Thomas, John 20:24)

What evidence did Thomas say he would need to believe Jesus rose? (to see and touch Jesus’ wounds, John 20:25)

Was it sinful for Thomas to demand proof? Discuss Thomas’ reaction. Scripture isn’t clear on whether Thomas’ reaction was sinful or not, but he wasn’t just doubtful—he refused to believe. Additionally, Thomas was ignoring the evidence that had already been presented: Jesus told them He would rise again, and when the other disciples told Thomas they’d seen Jesus, he still refused to believe.

Is it wrong to want evidence before believing something? Ensure the kids understand that having doubts isn’t wrong. Remind them that we shouldn’t believe something on blind faith—that is, with no evidence at all. Help them see that we have lots of evidence that the Bible is true, and the Bible itself is evidence that Jesus is who He said He is.

What should we do when we doubt? Guide kids to think through whom they can talk to if they have doubts about their faith or the Bible. Remind them that they are not alone. Pray for them to have faith despite occasional doubt.

Say • Jesus proved He is alive. The death and resurrection of Jesus is one of the most well-documented historical events of the ancient world. The Bible provides enough evidence to show that all Jesus’ claims are true.

Great job with the discussion guys! Let's take a look at our memory verse: John 11:25.

Jesus died on the cross to pay for our sins and rose again to prove that His sacrifice defeated sin and death. We have hope for a future spent with God in His perfect kingdom because of Jesus. Our physical bodies will die, but those who have faith in Jesus will gain new bodies that never die. Believers will reign with Jesus forever in God’s kingdom. 

Optional Memory Verse Activity:

Select a volunteer to say the key passage from memory. Then, allow other kids to prove their knowledge by saying it from memory as well. If any kid gets stuck while saying the verse, allow him to “tag in” a friend to help him finish. Thank each kid for his or her efforts and encourage all kids to continue working on the passage.

Say • Jesus proved He is alive by appearing to His disciples. Even before appearing to them, He proved He is the resurrection and the life by defeating death. Because Jesus is alive, we have hope for eternal life with God. Jesus took our punishment when He died on the cross and showed that His sacrifice was perfect by defeating sin and death to rise again. Everyone who has faith in Jesus will also rise again when Jesus returns to earth to fix everything sin broke.

That's it for this week!

Let's pray: God, thank You that Jesus is alive. Thank You that we can be sure we have eternal life through Your Son. Give us wisdom and courage to obey You and live for Your glory. Amen.

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

Additional Activities and Information