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Spring • Lesson 4

Materials• The basics (see contents)• Family Car Sticker Photo (from CD-ROM)• Bible Verse—slips of pa-per, marker, plastic eggs• Story props (see p. 40)

Dear Teacher,Over the past couple of weeks, as I have been preparing to celebrate Easter Sunday, I’ve been thinking about what being part of God’s family really means to me. And I realize that when something means everything, there’s really no good way to put it into words, other than to say what wiser folk have already said: “My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness. I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly lean on Jesus’ name. On Christ the solid Rock I stand. All other ground is sinking sand.”* What else is there to say (other than to sing the whole hymn with all the verses!)?

At the core of my being, I know that Jesus is the way, the truth and the life. I have no way to God except through Him and what He has done for me. May we all be overwhelmed with the fact that Jesus’ death and resurrection is the central truth of our faith and of our lives.

Debbie BarberAssociate Managing Editor

*“My Hope Is Built on Nothing Less” by Edward Mote, 1797-1874

Connecting You to Jesus The way Jesus died was not unexpected! Jesus ful-filled the prophecies of Isaiah in every way (see Isa-iah 53). Those prophecies declared that the Son of God was the Servant of God and that He would be despised and rejected and would die to redeem the world. Isaiah said, “The punishment that brought us peace was upon him“ (Isaiah 53:5).

He’s Alive!Mark 14:32—16:20

Bible Verse“Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father ex-cept through me.’” John 14:6

Big IdeaI can have eternal life because of Jesus!

Action PlanDescribe what being part of God’s family means.

© 2013 Gospel Light. Permission to photocopy granted to original purchaser only. Elementary Large Group Leader Guide

TIPGreet kids as they arrive, and ask, What is the best thing someone has done

or could do for you?

Tip If students have diffi-culty putting the verse in order, select a volun-teer to find the verse in his or her Bible and

read it aloud.

Spring • Lesson 4

© 2013 Gospel Light. Permission to photocopy granted to original purchaser only. Elementary Large Group Leader Guide38

Opening Music (5 minutes)

As children come into the large-group area, play “This Is How We Know” (on Media DVD or track 5 on Worship CD). Lead chil-dren in singing and doing motions (see Song Motion Chart on p. 143). We can praise Jesus because He died for us and has risen from the grave. I think that is a GREAT reason to praise Him!

Icebreaker (5 minutes)

See how fast you can figure out what these Easter objects are as they are uncovered. Show “Lesson 4: Re-veal Game” on Media DVD and encourage students to play the game. You guys were pretty good at looking closely enough to figure out what things were, even before they were completely revealed. Well, today we will take a close look at the Bible and see what it reveals to us about Jesus.

Bible Verse (10 minutes)

Before class, print one- or two-word phrases from John 14:6 on separate slips of paper. Place the slips of paper in plastic eggs and hide them around the room.

Jesus tells us something very important about Himself in John 14:6. Let’s read it! Open Bible to John 14:6 and read verse aloud.

To help us learn our Bible verse, we’re going to go on an Easter-egg hunt! We’ve hidden Easter eggs around the room, and inside them are words from our Bible verse. I need a few volunteers who are good at finding things! Choose volunteers to find hidden eggs. Volunteers open eggs and work together to put verse in order. Invite a volunteer to read John 14:6 aloud once the verse is in the correct order.

Sometimes people think that they can get to heaven on their own just by being good, but the Bible says that we ALL need Jesus. Jesus did something VERY important to help us each become part of His family. Let’s find out what He did!

Playlist This Is How We Know

You Will Be SavedAll for Jesus

Merciful Jesus

Big IdeaI can have eternal life because of Jesus!

39© 2013 Gospel Light. Permission to photocopy granted to original purchaser only. Elementary Large Group Leader Guide

Spring • Lesson 4

Optional Game Ahead of time, collect two pairs of chopsticks and two plastic eggs.

We often see eggs at Easter time. Today we’re going to play a game with plastic eggs! I need two vol-unteers for an egg relay! Invite volunteers to the playing area. Give each volunteer a pair of chopsticks and a plastic egg. At your signal, volunteers walk from one end of the playing area to the other, carrying their eggs with only their chopsticks! If student drops his or her egg, he or she starts over. Repeat as time permits with new volunteers.

Let’s clap for our volunteers. They did a great job! Our volunteers RELAYED (carried) eggs today. In our story, we’ll hear about some women who had a message SO important that they had to RELAY it to oth-ers. In fact, the message they RELAYED is so GREAT that we should RELAY it to others, too!

Music (15 minutes) If we confess with our mouths and believe that Jesus is Lord, the Bible says that we will become part of God’s family. Jesus rescued us from the punishment we deserve. Let’s sing a song about what Jesus did for us. Lead children in singing and doing motions for “You Will Be Saved” (on Media DVD or track 6 on Worship CD; see Song Motion Chart on p. 144).

We can feel confident in giving our ALL to Jesus, because He loves us so much that He was willing to die for us! Lead students in singing and doing motions for “All for Jesus” (on Media DVD or track 1 on Worship CD; see Song Motion Chart on p. 139).

Even though we’ve all made mistakes, Jesus is merciful and forgives us. Let’s praise Jesus for His GREAT love! Lead students in singing and doing motions for “Merciful Jesus” (on Media DVD or track 4 on Worship CD; see Song Motion Chart on p. 142).

Story Starter (5 minutes)

During holidays, many families have traditions, or certain things that they do together every year. What is a tradition your family has at Easter? Invite two or three students to tell about their family tradi-tions. Those sound like fun traditions! Even though we do a lot of fun things with our families, it is good for all of us to take a moment to stop and remember what Easter is really about. Let’s find out the TRUE story behind Easter!

Spring • Lesson 4

Spring • Lesson 4

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He’s Alive!(15 minutes)

Mark 14:32—16:20

STORYTELLING IDEA Ahead of time, collect a bag of coins, a sword, a purple robe, a crown,nails and a white robe. Create storytelling stations around the room:garden station (artificial plants), palace station (chair with bright fabricfor a throne), cross station (cross or cross drawn on poster board) and tombstation (large gray rock from butcher paper). As you tell the story, moveto each station and use props as directed throughout story.

The GardenToday, we’re going to take a tour to learn a very important story—the story of God rescuing His people from their sin!

Move to garden station. Welcome to the Garden of Gethsemane! This is where Jesus and His disciples came the night He was arrested. That night Jesus felt sad and upset. He knew He was going to die to rescue people from their sin! Jesus asked three of His disciples to keep watch while He went to a quiet place to pray. Jesus needed to talk to God and tell God how He was feeling. Read Mark 14:36 from Bible.

After He prayed for a while, Jesus went back to the disciples. They were fast ASLEEP! Jesus told them again to watch and pray, and then He went back to pray two more times. Both times, when Jesus came back, His three friends were sleeping AGAIN!

Jesus ArrestedFinally, Jesus told the disciples to get up. Just then, Judas—also a disciple—came walking up with a large crowd. Judas had made a deal with the Jewish leaders. He had agreed to help them arrest Jesus IF they’d give him 30 silver coins. Shake bag of coins. When Judas greeted Jesus, he kissed Him on the cheek. Usually this was a sign of friendship. But not this time! Judas had told the Jewish leaders that he’d greet Jesus with a kiss to show them who to arrest.

The soldiers grabbed Jesus! Hold up sword. Jesus told the soldiers that they didn’t need their swords. He had known for a long time that the religious leaders were after Him. Jesus had never run away before, and He wasn’t going to run away now. Jesus knew that God’s plan to save people—to save us!—wouldn’t hap-pen unless He let His enemies capture Him. Jesus’ disciples were scared. They ran away! The soldiers arrested Jesus and took Him away.

Big IdeaI can have eternal life because of Jesus!

© 2013 Gospel Light. Permission to photocopy granted to original purchaser only. Elementary Large Group Leader Guide

Spring • Lesson 4

© 2013 Gospel Light. Permission to photocopy granted to original purchaser only. Elementary Large Group Leader Guide

A Sad DayMove to palace station. Next Jesus was put on trial. The religious leaders tried to prove that Jesus was guilty of doing something wrong. But Jesus stood quietly and would not argue. The reli-gious leaders then took Jesus to Pilate, the Roman governor, and asked Pilate to have Jesus put to death. The leaders kept accusing Jesus of all kinds of things. Pilate was amazed at Jesus’ silence! He didn’t want Jesus to be punished. He knew Jesus wasn’t guilty! But the people started shouting for Jesus to be killed. So Pilate finally gave in.

The soldiers took Jesus into the palace. There they made fun of Him. They put a purple robe on Him. Put on purple robe. Then they placed a crown of thorns on His head. Put on crown. They hit Jesus, spit on Him and pretended to worship Him. Then they took off the robe and led Jesus out to receive His punishment: death on a cross! Take off robe and crown.

Move to cross station. Jesus was taken to a place called Golgotha, or Calvary. There the soldiers laid Jesus on a cross. They hammered nails into Jesus’ hands and feet. Hold up nails. Then they stood the cross up. The Gospel of Matthew says that the soldiers put a sign above Jesus’ head that read, “This is the king of the Jews.”

As Jesus hung dying, strange things happened. First the sky grew dark. Then, it says in Matthew, the earth shook. Finally, Jesus spoke His last words, and He died.

Jesus’ body was taken down from the cross and placed in a tomb. A large stone was rolled in front of the entrance.

A Happy DayMove to tomb station. Three days later, Jesus’ mother, Mary, and another Mary went with some friends to the tomb. The stone had been rolled away! The women went inside the tomb and thought they saw a man dressed in a white robe—but he was actually an angel! Put on white robe. The angel told them that Jesus wasn’t there. “He’s risen! He’s not here,” he said. Take off white robe.

Over the next few days, Jesus appeared to His friends and told them, “Go and preach the good news to everyone!” He explained to them that anyone who believed in Him would be rescued from their sins and anyone who didn’t believe would be punished. Then Jesus went up into heaven to be with His Father, God. The disciples went out and spread the good news, just as Jesus had told them to do!

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Tip Guide students to open their Bibles

to Mark 16:4-5 and follow along as you read what the wom-en saw when they got to the tomb!

Tip Invite a volunteer to read aloud the definition of the word “resurrec-

tion” on page 322 in What the Bible Is All About for Kids.

Spring • Lesson 4

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Prayer (5 minutes)

Jesus never did anything wrong, yet He loves us SO much that even though WE do wrong, He chose to die for us! Think about how much Jesus must love you! Briefly pause for kids to think. Then pray, Dear God, thank You for loving us SO much that You were willing to take our place and die for our sins. We are glad that You didn’t stay in the tomb but are ALIVE again! We love You! In Jesus’ name, amen.

Dismiss to Small Groups We’ve been talking about what Jesus did for each of us. As you go to your small groups, think about what Jesus did for us so that we can have eternal life. In a few minutes, we’ll talk more about what being part of God’s family means.

Wrap-UpThe wrong things we do are called sin. And sin keeps us from being close to God. But God loved us so much that He sent His very own Son, Jesus, to come to Earth and make a way to forgive our sin so we can be part of God’s family, now and FOREVER. Jesus died to pay the price for the wrong things we do. Then He came back to life again. Read John 14:6 aloud. There is only ONE WAY to join God’s family, and that is by trusting Jesus and what He did for YOU!

Show photo of family car sticker. When you see a sticker like this one on the back of a car, you know who belongs in that family. Each of us has a family. But when we choose to trust Jesus, He forgives our sin and makes us part of God’s family, too. Becoming part of God’s family means that we have a relation-ship with God now and forever. God will always love and care for us as His very own children! And we will live FOREVER with Him! Provide “Connecting Kids to Jesus” article (from CD-ROM) for small-group lead-ers. Encourage small-group leaders to talk with interested students about salvation.

Big IdeaI can have eternal life because of Jesus!

Connecting Kids to Jesus Jesus’ death was a very sad time! But God had a great plan—one He had made a long time ago! When Jesus died on the cross, He did everything that Isaiah had said way back in Old Testament times that He would do. Those prophecies of Isaiah said that the Son of God would live as a Ser-vant and would die to save the world and bring us peace. And that’s what Jesus, God’s Son, did.