Our Bible lesson today is based on Luke 24:44-53 and Acts 1:1-11.
The celebration of the Ascension of Jesus takes place 40 days after Easter.
Jesus rose from the grave on Easter Sunday and then during the following 40 days, He appeared to His disciples and followers a few times.
Why is it important that we remember the Ascension of Jesus?
The ascension reminds us of who Jesus is and the important fact that He has gone to prepare a place for us to join Him when it is time to do so.
Read Luke 24:44-53 and Acts 1:1-11 in your own Bible or at gateway.com. This story is also in the children's Bible that we use in our Sunday school in our church - the My Own Keepsake Bible. This is a color in Bible that our children enjoy using. If you have this Bible, you will find the story on page346. There are 2 pages for the children to color in.
I have written a summary of this story below and in our Kid's Zone, you will find a word search, memory verse puzzle, and a page to color in.
Summary of the Ascension Of Jesus:
The last time that Jesus showed Himself to the disciples and friends was when He told them 'goodbye' before returning to heaven to be with God, His Father.
Jesus took a walk with the disciples and His friends. They went up a hill near the lake of Galilee.
Jesus told His friends that it was time for Him to return to heaven. He also told them that they were to stay in Jerusalem and to wait there for the Holy Spirit to come and fill them with power.
The Holy Spirit would help them become witnesses for Jesus. Jesus told them to tell everyone in Jerusalem who Jesus is and not to stop until everyone in the whole world knows who Jesus is and has a chance to follow Him.
Then Jesus stretched out His arms and blessed the disciples. While Jesus was blessing the disciples, He began to rise up into the sky. Jesus went up into a cloud as His friends stood there watching Him.
While they were looking up into the sky, two angels came to them and said " Why are you looking up into the sky?","Jesus has been taken up into heaven. But He will come back someday, just the same way you saw Him go. Jesus will come back again!"
So the disciples went back to Jerusalem. They were filled with joy. They spent all their time that they could in the Temple, praising God.
Some questions to ask your children about our story:
Where did Jesus take the disciples? (up a hill near lake Galilee).
Where did Jesus go when He went up into the sky? (Heaven).
The disciples had to wait for Jesus to send the Holy Spirit. What is something that you find is hard to wait for?
Jesus wanted His friends to tell everybody about Him. Who can you tell the good news about Jesus to?
To wrap up the story, remind your children that in this story we read about the disciples watching Jesus go up into heaven. We do not see Jesus every day but we know that He is still with us and loves us.
Come take a look at our activities. We have a word search, a picture to color in, and a fill-in-the-blank memory verse quiz. You will find them in the Kid's Zone,
Prayer:
You can use this prayer to pray with your children or use one of your own.
Dear God, thank you for sending Jesus to die for our sin. Thank you for making a way for us to be with you because we believe in Jesus your Son, that He died on the cross, was raised from the dead, and went to heaven. Bless us today as we worship You. Amen.
Here are some more Bible lessons that you might enjoy:
The Holy Spirit, the comforter- Bible lesson for kids - read it HERE
Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life - Bible lesson for kids - read it HERE
The Good Shepherd - Bible lesson for kids - read it HERE
Have you read our recent post for adults about Waiting On God? You can read it HERE
I hope you have enjoyed today's lesson! If you have, please share it with friends and family via Facebook or Pinterest.
See you next week!
xx Karen.
