Salvation
They
were on their way up to Jerusalem, with Jesus leading the way, and the
disciples were astonished, while those who followed were afraid. Again He took
the Twelve aside and told them what was going to happen to Him. “We are going up to Jerusalem,” he said, “and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the
chief priests and teachers of the law. They will condemn Him to death and will
mock Him and spit on him, flog Him and kill Him. Three days later He will
rise.” Mark 10:32-34 NIV®
[This
next passage is after Jesus has arisen from the dead.]
When
Jesus rose early on the first day of the week, He appeared first to Mary
Magdalene, out of whom He had driven seven demons. She went and told those who
had been with Him and who were mourning and weeping. When they heard that Jesus
was alive and that she had seen Him, they did not believe it. Mark 16:9-11 NIV®
Later
Jesus appeared to the Eleven as they were eating; He rebuked them for their
lack of faith and their stubborn refusal to believe those who had seen Him
after He had risen. Mark 16:14 NIV®
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Memory
Verse: “For God did not send His Son into
the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him.” John
3:16 NIV®
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Discussion
Example:
Say,
“Jesus tried to prepare His disciples, because being God’s Son, Jesus knew that
He was going to be condemned, be teased and beaten and killed, but would rise
from the dead on the third day. They must not have truly understood what He
told them, because they didn’t believe Mary when she told them that she saw
Jesus on Easter when He had arisen from the dead.
“Fortunately
for us, Jesus doesn’t give up on any of us easily. He went to the remaining
eleven disciples to prove to them that He had really arisen
from the dead. Sometimes, we are all stubborn and reluctant to believe what we
are told. Fortunately, Jesus never gives up on us either! He gave His life on
the cross and saved us from our sins and sinful, human nature when He arose
again.”
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Arts
and Crafts Example:
Students
will need a paper, paint, and paint brush, cup of water, tape and possibly
protective clothing.
They
are to make a cross with two pieces of tape on their paper to represent the
cross Jesus was on. Then, they are to paint the rest of their paper. When the
painting is dry enough, the tape is removed to show the cross of Jesus in the
midst of their colorful artwork.
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Science
Example:
Each
student or group will need a disposable water bottle half filled with water and
a push pin. Ask, “What do you think will
happen when you poke a push pin in the bottle of water and then pull it out
again?” Listen to all of their Hypotheses.
After
they perform the experiment, have them explain what happened. Explain, “The air
pressure on the outside of the bottle is stronger than the water pressure on
the inside of the bottle and keeps the water from leaking out.”
Say,
“It’s like how Christ loves us and surrounds us with His love, but the pressures
of the world to do bad and sinful things, sometimes pushes us from the inside
to do them. As long as we stay focused on Jesus Christ, our Savior, He is
stronger and will help us when we have the urge to let worldly, sinful ways and
actions leak out.”
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Game
Example:
You
will need a CD player and a Christian children’s music CD. Kids will need 2
paper plates for skates, if inside, pieces of paper work for skates. Say, “We
are going to play: Rejoice, Jesus Is Risen! Skate. When I have the Christian music playing, you
are going to skate around this area, but not touching anyone else or going in to their personal space. When I turn the music off, you strike a pose and freeze
and say, ‘Rejoice, Jesus Is Risen!” When I start the music again, you can start
skating.” Continue this until it’s time to stop.
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