Easter 2 Jesus appears to the disciples Welcome

Easter 2 Jesus appears to the disciples Welcome to this fifteenth session of 2021 of our different church. As usual we have a Bible story and some thoughts about it. Plus some ideas for fun things to do at home that are linked. And some songs and prayers for you and your family. Today we are looking at two occasions when Jesus appeared to His disciples after He had risen from death. The disciples were afraid after the events of Easter. Afraid that the Roman or Jewish authorities might come after them. But Jesus, when He appeared to Mary, told her to tell His disciples to go to Galilee together and wait for Him there. Most of them were waiting, but behind locked doors. Please run pages 4 to 12 of the Power. Point as a slide show so that you can access the hyperlinks and the recordings. The slides move on with a click, the voice recordings will play automatically, but click on the You. Tube videos to play them. You may have to go to full screen if you are using a phone. You will need to print out pages 3 and 13 - 18 to do those activities.

These are things you could use in this session: Simple musical instruments (shakers, tambourines, pan and spoon etc. ) Crayons or other colouring items, Pencil and ruler Sheets of paper and coloured card Glue, Sellotape, Scissors White wax crayon or white candle Today, in our reading, we are told that it was the evening of that first Easter Day, and, even though the doors were locked, Jesus entered the room and appeared to the group of disciples who were there. They were tired, they were sad and they were afraid. They would have been very shocked when Jesus appeared, but when He showed them His hands and side they were overjoyed to see their Lord and Master. What a lot of emotions in one day. So let’s make a picture. Jesus appears! Method Place a thin sheet of plain white paper over the picture on the next page. Draw over all the lines with a white wax crayon or a white candle. Paint over the whole waxed sheet with water colour paints. Watch as Jesus’ image appears on the paper.

Easter 2 Jesus appears to the disciples We are coming together to worship and praise God so let’s begin with a prayer. Heavenly Father, as we come before you in our separate homes, unite us in our worship of you. We ask that you will be with us and still our minds to hear your words. Thank you, Father, that Jesus rose from the dead to show that He had conquered death. Thank you that He appeared to His disciples and helped them to believe in Him, and thank you that those disciples were willing to tell others, including us, about Jesus. We pray this in Jesus’ name. Amen. We will celebrate Easter now by singing a wonderful song that tells the story of Jesus’ resurrection. Death is dead, love has won and Christ has conquered. You can play instruments and dance as we sing ‘See what a morning. ’

John 20: 19 -29 New International Version Jesus Appears to His Disciples 19 On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” 20 After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord. 21 Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you. ” 22 And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven. ” Jesus Appears to Thomas 24 Now Thomas (also known as Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe. ” 26 A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” 27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe. ” 28 Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!” 29 Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed. ”

Believing without seeing Do you see what I have got today? I’ve got face masks, and I have wipes, and hand sanitizer. We have all been using these items over the last year to help to keep us protected from the virus that has spread around the world. It can be a little bit scary, can’t it? There are many people who have become sick and even died. And you know, the virus is something you can’t see with your eyes. It is very tiny, and it’s possible to spread it without even realizing it. We can’t see the virus, but we know what it does because we see the effects it has on people. Even so, some people don’t believe that the virus is a big deal. But it is important to be careful, so when we do things like keep things clean, wash our hands, or use sanitizer, we are trying to stay safe. We can’t see the virus, but neither can we see all of the protective things in our cleaning supplies, but we believe and trust that they will kill virus particles and help us. You know, our lives are a little bit like that. We do sinful things that can harm us (like the virus can), and we need protection for our hearts (like the cleaning supplies protect). Do you know where we get that protection for our hearts? From God, of course! And the great news is that, unlike hand sanitizer, we don’t have to worry about how effective God’s work is, because we know that in Jesus, we are already made clean.

In the Bible reading today, one of Jesus’ disciples called Thomas said that he wouldn’t believe Jesus had really come back from the dead, unless he could see Him and touch Him physically. Well, when Jesus appeared to Thomas, there was no more doubting or denying His resurrection. Jesus told Thomas that he was believing after seeing. But Jesus said that people who believe without seeing are especially blessed. Who might that be - the people who believe without seeing? Well, that’s us, right? We haven’t seen Jesus on Earth, and we can’t see God with our eyes. But we believe that Jesus did come to live, die, and rise again. And that gives us joy and hope. Even when things are uncertain and we don’t know what the future holds, we know Who holds the future. We know that God is in control. We can’t see the virus, and that’s scary. We can’t always see what causes us to sin, and that’s scary. But God is much greater than sickness, sin, and even death. He loves us enough to send Jesus to die to defeat all of that! We know that our trust in Him will protect us, no matter what. God’s love conquers and casts out fear. We should still be careful and keep ourselves clean and safe. But we trust that God is in control. We haven’t seen Jesus, but we know the effect His work has on us. And we know it gives us life. Our antiviral wipes may dry out, but God’s love and power never fail. Believe it!

We are going to sing a song about faith and believing. Thomas, the disciple, didn’t believe that Jesus was alive until he saw Jesus for himself. Jesus said that those who believe without seeing will be blessed. This song reminds us that ‘Faith is just believing what God says, He will do. ’ Stop doubting and believe.

Let’s say a prayer Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for your words in the Bible that teach us about Jesus and His love for us wherever we are. Thank you for the life of Jesus and thank you for Your promises. We believe in You and trust You even when we can’t see You. Help us not to be afraid and to remember that You watch over us. Thank you for Your love. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen. Let’s pray to God now for all those in need at this time. Dear heavenly Father, as more and more people receive the Covid vaccine, and we are allowed more freedom, we pray that our lives will gradually return to normal. We ask that You will be with those who are still affected in any way by the virus and the effects of lockdown. Please help them all to know and feel Your comforting presence and Your guiding hand in their lives. We pray that You will enable all those in government to make important decisions wisely and justly. Please continue to give strength and health to all those caring for people with coronavirus, and to all those who work as key workers. Help each one of us to play our part in bringing about a successful return to normal life by being careful and caring. In Jesus’ name. Amen. We are now going to say the Lord’s prayer, Let’s join in with the children who are saying the Lord’s prayer in this clip. (next page)

If you want to take a picture of any of the things that you have made and put your name and age on it and send it to me, we could put it in the gallery on our church website: www. saintalbanswickersley. org. uk Or get someone to take your picture holding any of the activities, and send that in. Or you could post pictures on our church Facebook pagehttps: //engb. facebook. com/pages/category/Community/St-Albans-Church-Wickersley 923620921067631/ -

Jigsaw cross Print and cut out the cross picture. Cut the cross into several different shaped pieces to make a jigsaw. Enjoy putting it back together, remembering that Jesus died on the cross, but He rose again on the first Easter Day. He wants us to believe in Him.

Then Jesus said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe. ” Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!” John 20: 27, 28

Help Thomas find his way to Jesus through the maze