God raised Jesus to life so we could live forever with him
Sat 01 January 2000
Translations: en| Bible Bite | God raised Jesus to life so we could live forever with him. |
|---|---|
| Date | Easter Sunday |
| Passage | John 12.24 |
| Passage Text | "I tell you for certain that a grain of wheat that falls on the ground will never be more than one grain unless it dies. But if it dies, it will produce lots of wheat" (CEV). |
| Tags | Easter, Jesus, Resurrection, Death |
| Other Refs | 1 Cor 15 |
| Ro 5.18 | |
| Key Points | Resurrection is God's big 'yes' to Jesus - an acceptable sacrifice. |
| Resurrection is how we know that Jesus really was the Messiah. | |
| Christ is the firstfruits of life after death - we follow! | |
| Resurrection is inauguration of Jesus' reign of the universe. God has made him king and Lord of all things. | |
| Resurrection is the defeat (death) of death. | |
| Jesus died to bring us life, and he now lives so that death might die. | |
| Death is the last enemy, and Jesus has defeated it, he is Lord over death. | |
| Props/Materials | Small seed |
| Big pot plant | |
| Preparation | |
| Debrief | 16-Apr-06 - Did with a craft of 'Mr Grass Head Man' and the kids really liked it, although it was a bit tricky to do everything in turn, kids had to wait in line. Pat put potting mix in stockings. They didn't laugh much, but Pat said they paid attention well. Script had Pat monologuing too much, she lost her place. |
[ Introduction: leader picks child to knock on bin, everyone calls 'come out Stinky!', Stinky comes out singing his intro tune ]
STINKY: I'm a bit worried...
LEADER: Why?
STINKY: Someone gave me this little seed as a gift; they said a plant would grow from it. But I've been waiting for a long time, and still there's no plant!
LEADER: Oh, Stinky! That's not how seeds usually grow. Kids, what do you have to do to a seed so that it grows into a plant?
Kids: plant it, bury it in the ground.
STINKY: Bury it! But it will die if I bury it in the ground! And if it dies, it will be dead! And if it's dead, it'll never grow into a big plant!
LEADER: No Stinky, with seeds, you have to bury them in the ground, then the seed dies, but a big plant grows out of it. Look at this plant here! This grew from a little seed like yours, because someone planted the seed.
STINKY: That's amazing!! But how will I know if this is a good seed?
LEADER: Well, once you plant it, if it comes to life into a plant, you know it was a good seed.
STINKY: Oh... Hey Miss Pat, I have a question... You know how on Good Friday we remembered how Jesus died in our place to bring us to God? [Leader] Well, how do we know that he really was God's king, and that his death really did take away our guilt?
LEADER: We can know for sure that Jesus is God's special king and that we're really forgiven, because Jesus was raised to life. Everyone said 'no' to Jesus - they said 'Jesus is not God's special king', and they killed him. But God raised Jesus to life, and that was God's way of saying to us 'Yes, Jesus is my special king. His sacrifice makes things right and it takes away people's guilt'.
STINKY: I'm very happy that Jesus rose to life, but what about us - what happens to us when we die? Death is really scary, because it happens to everyone, and it takes away the good things in life.
LEADER: You're right Stinky, death is really scary. It's our biggest enemy. Let's see what Robbie finds...
[Slide: Robbie appears with John 12.24, Leader gets child to read\ What does J say happens when a seed dies in the ground?]
LEADER: This is something that Jesus told his friends, to explain that he would die and then rise from death. It was his way of saying that his death would bring life to many people - including us, if we trust and follow him.
LEADER: We don't have to be scared of death if we trust Jesus, because Jesus won the fight with death when he rose to life.
LEADER: Just like a little seed grows into a big tree with lots and lots of fruit, God raised Jesus to life so that lots and lots and lots of people who trust him, from all over the world, will also have life forever with him. That's the special thing we remember today.
STINKY: Wow! That's a good thing to remember! What's the Bible Bite for today?
[ Slide: Bible Bite, leader asks child to read, then asks Stinky and he gets it wrong ("Pat planted the little seed so we could turn into big plants"), then all say it together. ]
STINKY: I learnt a good lesson today: God raised Jesus to life so that we could live forever with him. That's great. Like the seed, he died so that we could live, and he lives now so we don't have to be scared of death. I better go and plant my little seed, so that it grows into a big plant. Thanks for teaching me about Jesus, [leader]. See you later little monkeys!
[ Exit. ]
Category: scripts Tagged: Easter Jesus Resurrection Death
Translations: en