After His Resurrection

“And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.'” Matthew 28:18

Pray.
Introduce the memory verse.
- Look it up in your Bible. Have your kids practice finding it.
- Read it together a few times.
- Write it down and hang it up somewhere that your kids will see it and be reminded of it as they walk by.
Explain that after Jesus rose from the dead, He appeared to many different people. Ask if they remember whom saw Him at the tomb (Mary Magdalene). What we will read today takes place on the very day that Jesus rose from the dead.
Read Luke 24:13-45. If you have younger ones, you may want to tell this in your own words since it’s a little longer, but read verses 36-39. Make sure they know that what you are reading are actually Jesus’ words!
Talk about it.
- What were the men on the road talking about?
- Who approached them and began traveling with them?
- When did they realize it was Jesus?
- Where did they see Jesus next?
- Why were the disciples startled and frightened?
- How did Jesus prove to them that it was truly Him?
- Explain that everything in the entire Bible points to Jesus, and that day, Jesus helped the two men on the road and the other disciples understand that. He will help you too.

Pray.
Practice the memory verse. Do your kids understand what the word authority means?
Read or summarize John 20:19-25. Explain that this is John’s account of what we read at the end of our time yesterday (Luke 24:36-43) when Jesus first appeared to the disciples after He talked with the two men on the road.
- Tell me about Thomas. What did he think about this encounter the other disciples had with Jesus?
Read John 20:26-29.
- What do we read about Thomas now?
- What confession did He make about Jesus? He called Jesus, “My _______ and my _______.”
- Tell me about Jesus.
  - Was He angry with Thomas for not believing at first? No. He was compassionate, understanding, and loving to meet Thomas where he was weak and offer him proof of His resurrection.
  - What words could you use to describe Jesus’ encounter with Thomas that day?
  - Thomas referred to Jesus as “My Lord and my God”. How has Jesus shown that He deserves those names? (For help, keep reading John 20:30-31) Remember-lord is the title of someone who has authority-the boss, and Lord (capital L) is shows that Jesus has complete authority. He is in charge of all things!

Pray.
Practice the memory verse.
Read John 21:1-14.
- If you have younger kids, you may just want to read this passage. Make a “breakfast” (could be be a snack, lunch, whatever-just call it breakfast) for them and sit on the floor with them to eat it. While you are eating, you can tell read to them or tell them this story and talk about how Jesus loves them and takes care of them. You can also talk about that when we love Jesus, we need to follow Him. (John 21:19) Talk about what following Jesus means.
- For older kids, ask them what they notice about Jesus in this passage?
Read John 21:15-19.
- What does Jesus want Peter to do?
- After Jesus asks Peter three times if he loves Him, He also lets Peter know that loving Jesus and serving Him isn’t always easy. In fact, Jesus tells Peter that he will eventually die because of his devotion to Jesus. But, Jesus tells Peter to follow Him.
- What does Jesus want you to do? Follow him.
- How do we follow Jesus? Why should we follow Jesus?
  - Help your kids understand that the reward for following Jesus is greater than anything we may face on earth.

Pray.
Practice the memory verse.
If you have older kids, have them look up the definition of the word commission or you can explain what it means. The passage we will read today is often referred to as “The Great Commission”. So, as we read, have your children listen for the instructions/commands/duties that Jesus gave.
Read Matthew 28:16-20.
Talk about it.
- Did you hear our memory verse in this passage?
- Who gives Jesus His authority? God the Father. (Matthew 11:27. John 3:35, Philippians 2:6-11)
- Because Jesus has all authority-He’s the One in control-He’s the Boss-what duty do we have to Him? What job did He assign us? (verse 19)
- What does it mean to “make disciples”? (verses 19-20)
- What comforting words does Jesus end with? “I am with you always.”
  - Do you remember at the beginning of the book of Matthew, when the angel came to Joseph explaining that the baby that Mary was going to have was Jesus-the One who would save His people from their sins? Matthew reminded us then that Jesus was Immanuel-God with us (Matthew 1:23).
  - At the end of His time on earth, Jesus reminds us that He is still Immanuel-God with with us. He is with us always.
- What stands out to you the most from what we read today? Why?

Pray.
Practice the memory verse.
What does ascension mean? Think of an elevator or an airplane. When you descend, you go down. So when you ascend, you go ___. Today, we are going to read about when Jesus ascended into Heaven.
Read Luke 1:50-53.
Luke ends his first book with the above verses, but if we read Acts 1, which Luke also wrote, we get some more information about what happened after Jesus was resurrected. Point these out to your kids:
- The time between His resurrection and ascension was 40 days.
- He appeared to the disciples throughout these 40 days, proving to them that He indeed had been resurrected.
- During this time, He taught His disciples more about the kingdom of God-God’s rule over the hearts of believers.
- He promised them that they would receive the Holy Spirit soon.
Read Acts 1:6-11.
Talk about it.
- Can you imagine what it would have looked like to see Jesus taken up to heaven in a cloud?
- What do we know about Jesus how Jesus will one day return to earth?
- We have been learning a lot about Jesus over the past few months.
  - What is one story about His life that you liked reading about?
  - What are some things you noticed about Jesus? Give me some words that describe Him.
  - After all we have read, what evidence do have/how do we know that Jesus is Lord? (Lord=the Boss, the One in Charge, the One we should worship and obey)

When You Rise