| Children's Nurture Lessons |
Prayer:
Heavenly Father, thank you for the central celebration of our faith: EASTER! Jesus’ victory over sin and death became complete on that first Easter morning so long ago. Lord, I know that it would have been difficult to believe that Jesus was alive, even as the apostles found it impossible to believe at first. I pray that You will give me an unwavering faith in You that never denies or forsakes Jesus’ risen presence in my life. As I prepare to share the hope and joy of Easter with the children, fill me with Your Holy Spirit. Guide my preparation as well as the presentation of the lesson. Pour out Your Holy Spirit so that the children may recognize Jesus and His victory over sin and death in their lives as a personal reality. Right now I pray for each student asking you to bless them and to give them the new life You offer through Jesus: ____________________________________________________________________________________________________,
____________________________________________________________________________________________________,
____________________________________________________________________________________________________,
These things I ask in Jesus’ name, Amen.
Theme and Title: Easter - Believing the Unbelievable!
This Sunday is Easter! The Easter message is somewhat unbelievable: A man who died a horrible death on a Friday afternoon, comes back to life on Sunday morning! That in itself would be unbelievable enough for most of us, but there’s more: this man isn’t just a man—He’s the Son of God. His death was an execution, but He was innocent. He died for someone else—you and me! When Jesus died, He “crucified” our sins, and the Apostle Paul says that we were crucified with Him. We become new people, because of the death. But if there was only a sacrificial death, Jesus would be a martyr, and while we respect martyrs, we don’t worship them. We worship Jesus, because after His death He rose again. Before His death He lived a PERFECT life. Jesus was born of a virgin. He performed miracles. He cast out demons. He spoke with an authority no one had ever held, or has ever held since! Everything about Jesus seems unbelievable, but we believe it, because He has given us the gift of faith in Him. As we celebrate Easter day, the main theme is: life conquers death; love conquers hate; good conquers evil. Because of Easter we can believe that good will ultimately prevail, even in a fallen and wicked world. That is GOOD NEWS!
Scripture: Mark 16:9-18
9It was early on Sunday morning when Jesus rose from the dead, and the first person who saw him was Mary Magdalene, the woman from whom he had cast out seven demons. 10She went and found the disciples, who were grieving and weeping. 11But when she told them that Jesus was alive and she had seen him, they didn’t believe her.
12Afterward he appeared to two who were walking from Jerusalem into the country, but they didn’t recognize him at first because he had changed his appearance. 13When they realized who he was, they rushed back to tell the others, but no one believed them.
14Still later he appeared to the eleven disciples as they were eating together. He rebuked them for their unbelief—their stubborn refusal to believe those who had seen him after he had risen.
15And then he told them, “Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone, everywhere. 16Anyone who believes and is baptized will be saved. But anyone who refuses to believe will be condemned. 17These signs will accompany those who believe: They will cast out demons in my name, and they will speak new languages.£ 18They will be able to handle snakes with safety, and if they drink anything poisonous, it won’t hurt them. They will be able to place their hands on the sick and heal them.”
Key Verses: Mark 16:11 (Highlighted Above!)
Scriptural Background
Today’s “Easter” Scripture is not the typical Easter passage. In fact, it is known as the “longer ending of Mark” and isn’t even found in some of the early manuscripts of the New Testament. If you read Mark 16:1-8, you will see that the Gospel could end at verse 8 (just as the book of Revelation could end at the end of chapter 11, as some have proposed, but our knowledge of many things concerning the “end times” and heaven would be the lesser if that were the case. Mark 16:9-20 is consistent with the rest of the Gospels and the Book of Acts. Jesus’ Great Commission is more extensive than Matthew’s and includes other details not found there. The key question for us in preparing the lesson is: Are these verses the word of God? Obviously, I think the answer is, “Yes,” otherwise I would not develop a lesson for a children or a Sunday message for us all based on them. One important principle in Bible study and teaching is that any passage of Scripture must be understood in light of the whole of Scripture. In the case of Mark 16:9-20, every single statement made is corroborated by other Scripture elsewhere. Therefore, we may conclude that it is authentic and inspired by God and therefore useful for our instruction! Let’s look now at the individual verses:
9It was early on Sunday morning when Jesus rose from the dead, and the first person who saw him was Mary Magdalene, the woman from whom he had cast out seven demons. 10She went and found the disciples, who were grieving and weeping. 11But when she told them that Jesus was alive and she had seen him, they didn’t believe her.
One of the consistent details about Jesus’ resurrection is that it was a woman or women who saw Jesus first, who first went to the tomb, and that when the disciples were told the news, they didn’t believe them. First, let’s point out that if the Gospel writers were trying to “prove” that Jesus had risen from the dead, when he actually had not done so, they would not have recorded that women first saw Jesus. Why? Because women were not permitted to testify in courts of law. What good would it do to have “witnesses” to an event, who were not legally permitted to testify? Obviously, the reason that the Gospels say that it was women who first saw Jesus, is because they were!
We can’t be too hard on the disciples for not believing the women’s story. After all, how many times have you experienced the resurrection of someone from the dead in your life? The women’s words seemed unbelievable, but as we see a few verses later, when Jesus did appear to the disciples he rebuked them for their unbelief. Jesus never rewards a lack of faith!
12Afterward he appeared to two who were walking from Jerusalem into the country, but they didn’t recognize him at first because he had changed his appearance. 13When they realized who he was, they rushed back to tell the others, but no one believed them.
Jesus appeared a second time. This time to two disciples who were walking from Jerusalem into the country. This is probably the same record as that of Luke 24:13ff. where Luke tells us that one of the two was named “Cleopas.” Mark tells us that these two didn’t recognize Jesus “because He had changed His appearance.” Luke tells us that “God kept the disciples from recognizing Jesus at first.” Both of the statements are undoubtedly true. Jesus must certainly have had a different appearance than the last time the followers saw Him, because that had been on Friday, when He had been beaten beyond recognition and crucified. And God must have had a purpose in keeping Jesus’ identity from the followers until they had heard Jesus’ teaching on His death and resurrection being the fulfillment of Scripture. In any case, they eventually recognized Jesus and ran back to Jerusalem immediately to tell the rest that they had seen Jesus. The disciples didn’t believe them either. (So, I guess it really wasn’t just a prejudice against women!)
14Still later he appeared to the eleven disciples as they were eating together. He rebuked them for their unbelief—their stubborn refusal to believe those who had seen him after he had risen.
When Jesus appeared to the remaining eleven disciples (Judas had hanged himself), Jesus rebuked them for their unbelief. While we may “cut the disciples some slack” for not remembering that Jesus had promised to rise from the dead, given their shock and grief, Jesus did not. He was upset at their lack of belief, which is further described as “the stubborn refusal to believe those who had seen Him after He had risen.” We human beings often exhibit a “stubborn refusal to believe” those things that don’t make sense to us, that can’t be explained by common sense reasoning, or in a scientific manner. The reality is faith always requires us to believe the seemingly unbelievable, otherwise it wouldn’t be faith!
15And then he told them, “Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone, everywhere. 16Anyone who believes and is baptized will be saved. But anyone who refuses to believe will be condemned. 17These signs will accompany those who believe: They will cast out demons in my name, and they will speak new languages. 18They will be able to handle snakes with safety, and if they drink anything poisonous, it won’t hurt them. They will be able to place their hands on the sick and heal them.”
Perhaps Jesus words in these verses are as hard as any for us who live and serve Him in America at the beginning of the 21st century to believe. It isn’t so hard for us to believe that Jesus wants us to go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone, everywhere. After all, He said that one way or another in all four of the Gospels and at the beginning of the Book of Acts. Jesus’ next statements are often overlooked in mainline church circles, “Anyone who believes and is baptized will be saved. But anyone who refuses to believe will be condemned.” Here Jesus ties baptism together with believing. He isn’t telling us that baptism is tied into salvation. After all, we are saved by believing in Jesus. But baptism is offered as a response of obedience on the part of those who have been saved. But the most difficult words for us to accept as coming from Jesus’ mouth are these: . 17These signs will accompany those who believe: They will cast out demons in my name, and they will speak new languages. 18They will be able to handle snakes with safety, and if they drink anything poisonous, it won’t hurt them. They will be able to place their hands on the sick and heal them.” These “signs and wonders” as they are often called, which Jesus says will accompany those who believe, are seldom seen in American Christianity. When we hear of folks casting out demons, or speaking in “tongues” or handling snakes with safety and drinking poison, or even of folks laying hands on others and healing them, most of us get a little uneasy—and well we should. Jesus states that these signs and wonders will accompany those who believe. He does not say they will happen all the time, nor that we ought to put God to the test in these areas. Paul, the Apostle was bitten by a poisonous snake and lived. God used that event to convince a whole island full of people to trust in Jesus. Signs and wonders are not a “proof” that we are believers. In fact, they usually have greater impact on non-believers. In developing nations where Christianity is growing at amazing rates, signs and wonders accompany believers lives with regularity. Why is that? Perhaps it is because they believe at a deeper level than we do. After all, if you are putting your life on the line every day to follow Jesus, there is no doubt that you actually trust Him. Perhaps it is because they actually believe that God wants to give these signs and wonders to the church, in order to build up the body, and to bear witness to the world the Jesus is Lord. Sometimes our “advanced” understanding of medicine and science locks us into a worldview where signs and wonders are “not included.” Even Jesus was unable to do many miracles in His hometown where people did not believe in Him! Some of these signs and wonders may have more value than others in a modern world: the ability to speak in tongues, for example, which gives us the ability to pray to God when words run out, and which may help us break the language barrier when we are communicating with folks from other countries. Also the gift of healing is useful in any location, since there are always folks struggling with sickness. Casting out demons is scary or weird to most of us, because we often don’t believe that Satan or demons exist. It’s obviously impossible for a Christian to cast out something that he or she doesn’t believe exists! Again, spiritual warfare is present throughout the world, but in the developing nations, it is more obvious, and the Holy Spirit is more active in believers there, because of the awareness of Satan’s efforts. The reality of signs and wonders is one that many of us find “unbelievable,” but as one who has experienced all of them in some form, except for the snake handling and drinking of poisons, it certainly undergirds my faith, knowing that God is still alive and active among those who believe, and that we aren’t on our own in these matters.
Goal for the Lesson—To show our children that God is able to do many things that seem unbelievable to us, and the most important one of all is the resurrection of Jesus
Easter is a wonderful holiday for children. While the focus is often on the Easter Bunny and chocolate candy, we want our children to understand that the most important reality of Easter is that Jesus rose from the dead. Jesus’ resurrection is the ultimate proof that He is who He says He is. As we remember the empty tomb on that first Easter morning, we also remember that God is able to do the unbelievable. As you read the rest of the Scripture from Mark 16, with the children, you may want to take some time to emphasize that God is able to do many things that we don’t see Him do every day. The key is not the frequency of these wondrous occurrences, but that God is behind them when they occur.
The “Lesson”
Special Note: For the next several weeks, lessons are provided for Kids’ Community only, since the WNL program is focusing on it’s year end “WOW,” and will be drawing to a conclusion on March 20. When the “7-up” ministry starts in April, activities will be provided for the older children. As usual the leaders for KC will develop your own activities and applications. A story form of the Scripture will be provided as always.
Exploring the Bible (20 Minutes)
Ages 3 & 4 – Grades 2 & 3
Read Mark 16:9-18 together or use the story version provided below:
Early on the first Easter Sunday, Jesus rose from the dead! The first person to see him was Mary Magdalene. Jesus had once cast seven demons out of Mary. When she saw Jesus, she fell down and worshiped Him. Then she went and found the disciples, who were grieving and weeping, because they thought Jesus was still dead. When Mary told them that Jesus was alive, and that she had seen them, they wouldn’t believe her.
Later in the day, Jesus appeared to two of His followers who were walking away from Jerusalem into the country. They didn’t recognize Jesus at first, because He had changed the way He looked. When they finally realized who He was, they rushed back to Jerusalem to tell the others, that Jesus was alive, but no one would believe them either.
Finally, that evening Jesus appeared to the eleven remaining disciples as they were eating together. Jesus was upset with the disciples for their unbelief—He was angry that they had stubbornly refused to believe Mary and the other two followers who had seen Him after He had risen.
Then Jesus told them, “I want you to Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone, everywhere. Anyone who believes in me and is baptized will be saved. But anyone who will not believe in me will be condemned. Those who believe in me will be able to do the following signs or miracles: they will cast out demons in my name and they will speak in new languages. They will be able to handle snakes with safety, and if they drink anything poisonous, it won’t hurt them. They will be able to place their hands on the sick and heal them.”
Reflection on the Hour
This week as we turn to our six minutes of focusing on the hour, we’re going to continue to use our new frames of reference—“bull’s eyes,” “missed the mark” and “adjustments.” Remember that in the New Testament, in its original language—Greek—the word for sin is “hamartia.” The word literally means to “miss the mark.” It is a term which archers used when the missed the target. So, as you reflect on today’s time with your students, consider the following:
Bulls’ Eyes! (What really hit the mark? Which activity helped the students most gain an understanding of what Jesus is calling us to do, and helped equip them to do it?)
Missed the Mark (Which activities didn’t accomplish the goal? Which activities weren’t age appropriate or weren’t useful for the students?)
Adjustments (What adjustments would have made the session better? These may be adjustments to the format, the materials, or even the way you led the group!)
