1. Gospel dis-inculturation (the gospel confronts the attitudes and beliefs inherited from culture)
2. Biblical and theological depth
3. Rich community
4. Joyful, reverent worship
5. Missional flow

Easter Lesson “He is Alive!”
John 11:35; 20:1-18; 1 Corinthians 15:20-22; 1 Timothy 3:16

THE BIG IDEA: An Introduction for the Teacher and Liturgist:

He appeared in a body,
was vindicated by the Spirit
was seen by angels
was preached among the nations,
was believed on in the world,
was taken up in glory.
(1 Timothy 3:16)

What makes Jesus different from every other religious leader in history?  What makes him different from every other human being in history?  He lived a sinless and righteous life.  So, death had no claim on him.  It could not hold him.  Jesus was, as the apostle tells us, “vindicated by the Spirit.”  Jesus Christ was raised from the dead.  He is alive!  He is risen!  He is risen indeed!

This is the great truth that we celebrate during Easter.  Jesus was dead.  But now he is alive!  But this is not all!  Because Jesus’ resurrection is the central event in our own vindication and salvation, we can also have life:

But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep.  For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man.  For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive (1 Corinthians 15:20-22)

Today, we will introduce our kids to the one who is himself the Resurrection and the Life, and we will challenge them to trust him alone for life.   Here are our keys for this lesson.  When the lesson is through, each child will know…

• Jesus was dead
• But God raised him from the dead
• Now we can have new life in him

GATHERED STORY (5-10 minutes): Don’t just read it.  Know it and bring it to life!

Good morning, boys and girls! (Good morning!).  Let me tell you a story.  This is a story about what happened after Jesus died on the cross.  Jesus died on a Friday.  It was a very sad day.  It was sad because Jesus’ friends didn’t know what was going to happen.  They didn’t understand why Jesus had to die.

Late on that Friday afternoon, Jesus’ body was taken down from the cross.  It was wrapped in long strips of cloth.  And it was buried in a rich man’s tomb.  A large stone was rolled over the entrance to the tomb, and soldiers were standing outside to make sure that nothing happened to Jesus’ body.  Jesus was dead.

The Bible tells us (hold up your Bible or open to John 20) that this is what happened next:

Early on Sunday morning when it was still dark, Jesus’ friend, Mary Magdalene, went to the tomb and saw that the large stone that was rolled over the mouth of the empty tomb was gone!  So, she ran away.

Why do you think Mary ran away?  (Let the children answer:  Was she afraid?  What could have happened?  Jesus’ body was not there.  The stone had been moved.)

Mary ran to two more of Jesus’ friends, Simon Peter and another friend that Jesus loved very much.  So, Peter and the other friend that Jesus loved ran very fast to the tomb.
(Have the children stand and run in place.)

The second friend ran so fast that he beat Peter there.
(Have the children stop and sit down)

Why do you think the friends ran (really animated)?   (Let the children answer:  Were they shocked?  Was it hard to believe what Mary had told them?)

The friend and Peter looked inside the tomb.  They saw the strips of cloth that had been wrapped around Jesus’ body.  They saw the cloth that had been put on Jesus face.   It was neatly folded in a corner of the room.  The second friend saw and he believed.  What did he believe? Jesus was dead, but God raised him to life.

Do you believe that Jesus is alive?  (Pause).

Mary didn’t believe.  She was sad.  She thought Jesus was missing.  The friends went back to their homes, but Mary stayed at the tomb, and she cried.  Why do you think that Mary cried?  (Let the children answer: She thought that Jesus was dead, and now his body was missing too!)

A man came to Mary.  He said, “Why are you crying?  Who are you looking for?”  Mary said, “If you took him away, please tell me where he is.  I’ll go and get him.”  He said her name, “Mary.”  It was Jesus!  He had been dead.  But now he was alive!  Now Mary believed!  She wanted to touch him and hug him!  Jesus said, “Not yet.  I’m going to the Father.  And he is your Father too!”  Then, Mary ran away.

Why do you think Mary ran this time?  Let the children answer.

Mary had good news!  She was going to tell her friends, “I have seen Jesus! He was dead!   But now He is alive!  He is risen!  And he is giving us life, so that we can live with the Father again!

is not necessarily one which is doing some kind of specific ‘evangelism’ programme (though that is to be recommended). Rather:

1. If its members love and talk positively about the city and neighbourhood.
2. If they speak in language that is not filled with pious tribal or technical terms and phrases, nor disdainful and embattled language.
3. If in their Bible study they apply the gospel to the core concerns and stories of the people of the culture.
4. If they are obviously interested in and engaged with the literature and art and thought of the surrounding culture and can discuss it both appreciatively and yet critically.
5. If they exhibit deep concern for the poor and generosity with their money and purity and respect with regard to opposite sex, and show humility toward people of other races and cultures.
6. If they do not bash other Christians and churches.

Then seekers and non-believing people from the city (a) will be invited and (b) will come and will stay as they explore spiritual issues. If these marks are not there it will only be able to include believers or traditional, ‘Christianized’ people.

That’s from a recent post from Tim Chester. Each of those are qualities I want our Engage Groups to demonstrate. Chester closes with some reflections on those 6 characteristics.

1. How does your community measure up against these criteria?
2. If we find ourselves changing the language we use when unbelievers are present then we should probably change it all the time. Think about how you might talk about evangelism when unbelievers are present.
3. Tim Keller says the members of a missional community ‘love and talk positively about the city and neighbourhood’. List ten things you love about your neighbourhood.

Those are good points to think through and they provide quite a challenge to me as I look to growing more Engage Groups in the future.

Plan to have family worship after an evening meal

Read through a good book (like the Jesus Storybook Bible)

Say the Lord’s prayer after reading the book

I’m planning to start doing family worship after Malachi’s 2nd birthday, which is next week. Can’t wait!

When you hear the word “kingdom” what comes to mind?  Maybe things like castles, moats, draw-bridges, and big stone walls.  Whatever comes to mind, it’s probably something big, powerful, and impressive. The people of Israel were waiting for God’s kingdom.  A time when God would defeat all their enemies, and centuries of war and suffering and waiting would come to an end.  God would come and save his people and set up the greatest kingdom the world had ever seen.  Expectations were high. Then one day Jesus came and said: “The time has come.  The kingdom of God is near.  Turn and trust in the good news of the kingdom!” (Mark 1:15).  But when Jesus talked about the Kingdom, he said some unexpected things.  To be part of his kingdom, you have to give up your life and follow him (8:34).  In his kingdom, the greatest people are servants—just like him (9:35; 10:44-45).  Jesus said his kingdom is like a mustard seed (4:31).  That doesn’t sound too impressive, but what Jesus is saying is that you have to be able to look at a little seed and see everything it will become.  It takes the eyes of faith to see Jesus’ kingdom.  We enter the Kingdom by believing that Jesus the King suffered and gave up his life for us.  Through faith we see and experience the reality and power of the kingdom in everyday things like loving each other and loving our neighbors; in simple acts of service; in caring more for the good of others than for our own good; and in sharing the gospel of Jesus the servant-king with the people around us so that they can join in the kingdom.  When God’s kingdom fully arrives it will be more powerful and glorious than anything we can imagine, it will go beyond all our expectations, but for now we see it all in seeds.

Teaching the Mustard Seed Kingdom

• Ask your children to describe a kingdom.  Then show them a seed – any seed will do- and then say “This is what Jesus says his kingdom is like.”  Read Mark 4:30-32.  A great way to illustrate it is with an acorn.  Let them hold an acorn in their hand. Then have them look up at an oak tree.  Use this activity to begin talking about faith and God’s kingdom.
• For older children, ask them to describe the people they think are great, or the kind of people who are popular.  Talk about how we usually judge greatness.  Then read Mark 9:33-37 and 10:41-45.  Using Jesus as the example, challenge them with the idea that servants are greatest in God’s Kingdom.
• Try to find an activity you can do as a family (particularly with older kids) that will display Kingdom service.  Serve as a family through “Seed” at Sojourn.  Maybe there’s someone in your neighborhood who needs help taking care of their yard or house.  Bring a meal or package of treats of some kind to a neighbor.  Invite neighbors over.
• Have everyone list 5 ways that they can serve one another around the house.  There are endless possibilities for this one.
• Read the story of the Rich Young Man in Mark 10:17-31.  Now read Mark 8:34-9:1.  Being a disciple of Jesus means putting Jesus above all—discuss how the rich man was unable to do this and why.  Use this as a way of talking about what it means to follow Jesus.
• Parents:  You are the representatives of the King. How is your household reflecting the Kingdom of God?  Do your children see you loving and serving one each other?

1. Requirements from Scripture (For example, what do 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1 say?)
2. Requirements from your Denomination or Network (For example, what does it mean to be an elder in a Presbyterian, Baptist, or an Acts 29 church?)
3. Requirements from your context and church (For example, what does it mean to be an elder at my church, at this time, this stage, this size, in this part of this specific city?)

Scott Thomas of the Acts 29 Network recently published a study guide that is very useful in training and raising up new leaders. Here’s an overview of the guide.

This study guide is an interactive curriculum of the book, Christian Beliefs: Twenty Basics Every Christian Should Know (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2005) written by Wayne A. Grudem and edited by Elliot Grudem.

Christian Beliefs (160 pages) is a condensed version of Grudem’s book, Bible Doctrine (528 pages), and that itself is a condensed version of Grudem’s award-winning Systematic Theology (1,290 pages).* This guide is designed to introduce Christians to the core beliefs of Bible doctrine in preparation for church leadership or to help new Christians to distinguish truth from error. This guide can be used to prepare elders, deacons, small group leaders, Sunday School teachers and all those who want to learn more about maturing in their Christian faith and becoming equipped to give a gentle and respectful answer to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you (1 Peter 3:15). An instructor in a class or small group or in a one to one environment can facilitate the questions or it can be utilized as a self-study or as a tool to equip a family in Biblical doctrine.

Theological Clarity and Application seeks to preserve the contents of Grudem’s Christian Beliefs by using questions to stimulate further understanding and application. The participants in this curriculum would benefit by first reading each chapter in Christian Beliefs before answering questions. It is also highly recommended to have a respected study Bible and a copy of Grudem’s Systematic Theology available for reference.

Each chapter of this guide corresponds to the chapters in Christian Beliefs. At the end of each section, a prayer text and Scripture memory is included. Additionally, a reference to the corresponding chapters and supplementary readings in Grudem’s Systematic Theology are included as well as further readings by noted conservative scholars and authors who contribute to the specific topic covered in the chapter.

This material is not something that should be rushed through to complete. It is a refrigerated locker full of meat that must be eaten regularly and systematically one meal at a time, allowing ample time to chew and digest the information and ideally to savor with others. One can complete the study in 20 weeks by covering one chapter a week or complete it in 40 weeks (approximately one school year) by covering one chapter every two weeks. The latter allows for a deeper reading of the accompanying Systematic Theology by Wayne Grudem.

You can download it here

• B&W Questions Only (63 pages),
• B&W Workbook (color cover) 91 pages,
• Color Questions Only
• Color Workbook

• The church has an entry point class that all new members attend.
• Members are expected to attend an open group Bible study. (like Sunday School)
• Members are expected to be involved in one or more deeper studies throughout the year. (like a small group)
• Members are expected to attend a corporate worship service each week.
• Members are expected to be involved in at least one ministry or mission activity a year.
• Members are expected to read and study the Bible daily.

Four things that need to be considered when putting together a Gospel centered ministry (Mark Prater from Covenant Fellowship)

1. Know what you are building
   1. Start with philosophy of ministry tied into ministry of church
   2. Craft a clear simple Gospel-centered philosophy of ministry statement and community it often
   3. Write Gospel-centered objectives for the ministry
2. Role of pastor or leader needs to be clearly defined
   1. Scripturally parents are responsible to teach and discipline their children (Deut. 6:5-7 and Eph. 6:4).  Pastors and leaders need to find ways to come along side parents and equip them for their biblical responsibility.
   2. Pastors and leaders need to be aware that they are responsible for the message they present.
   3. The role of pastors and leaders is help parents see their families in the larger community of faith and use that community to help them and their families.
3. Choosing a curriculum., which needs
   1. To effectively teach the Gospel – the message that never changes.
   2. To help equip parents to teach the Gospel at home.
   3. A theological framework that agrees with the theological framework of the whole church
4. Place our confidence in the Gospel

For an example, read how Sojourn keeps their children’s ministry Gospel-centered.

Also included in Patrick’s excellent notes are thoughts on youth ministry and family-equipping ministry. Check out the whole post, it’s incredibly helpful.