God's Plan In Action: The Early Church L1

Big Idea: Jesus' death and resurrection mean that you can be forgiven of your sin if you believe in Him.

Scripture: Matthew 28; Luke 24; Acts 1:1-14

Memory Verse: “For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures.” -1 Corinthians 15:3-4 ESV

Word Up!: Jesus is alive!

Have you ever felt hopeless? The disciples felt that way when Jesus died on the cross. They were in shock. They thought He was the promised Savior God would send, but now He was dead.

On the third day after His body had been placed in a tomb, two women went there where they were very surprised to see an angel who told them that Jesus was alive again. As the women left the tomb, they encountered Jesus Himself. They were not the only ones who saw Him after His death and resurrection. He appeared to the disciples and then to more than 500 men at one time. That was only one of the proofs that Jesus really alive. Three more proofs were presented in our lesson: that Jesus had told the disciples that He would come alive again, that the Old Testament said that the Savior would die and rise again, and that the tomb was empty – no body, only the grave cloths were there!

I Corinthians 15:13-14, 19-20 “But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied. But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.”