Use this children’s Sunday School lesson to teach kids what it will be like when Jesus comes again.
Needed: Bibles, a balloon
Intro Game: Don’t Let it Fall!
Gather students in a circle. As you toss a balloon up into the air in the middle of the circle, call one of the student’s names. That student must run to hit the balloon back into the air before it touches the ground. The student next to them then runs to hit the balloon. The round continues until the balloon hits the floor.
Play as many rounds as you like. The last time the balloon drops (or if it ever pops), announce, “I’m sorry, kids. The balloon has dropped for the last time and now, it’s dead. Let’s have a funeral for our dear balloon.”
Gather the balloon and place it in the box. Say a few words over it and invite others to do the same.
Lesson
Ask students, Did you know that Jesus is going to come back to earth one day? He’s going to come back from Heaven and will come down right out of the sky so that everyone will see Him. What do you think He will do when He gets here?
The Bible tells us that Jesus is going to lock up the devil in Hell for a thousand years and that Jesus is going to be King over the whole world.
The Bible also tells us that Jesus is going to bring back with Him the souls of everyone who has died and gone to Heaven. When He comes back, He’s going to bring those people’s souls back with Him and then, He’s going to bring their bodies back to life too, so that they can be alive on earth again.
And the people who are still alive and believe in Jesus will float up and meet Jesus in the sky, and He will change their bodies so that their bodies will never get sick, or get hurt, or get old ever again.
The people whom Jesus brings back to life, and the people who are still alive when Jesus changes them, will never die. They will live forever.
But there is one thing that will be different.
(Read Matthew 22:30.)
“At the resurrection people will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven.”
When people come back to life, they won’t be married anymore. They can still be friends with the person they were married to, but they won’t be married.
Game: Don’t Let it Fall (Take 2)
Play the intro game again, taking the balloon back out of the box or blowing up a new one. Explain that even though your balloon was dead, it came back to life just like Jesus will bring all of us back to life when He comes again.
Game: Resurrection Tag
Pick one student to be It. That student is Death. Pick another student to be Jesus. When Death tags someone, they fall down and lie on the ground like they’re dead. Jesus can then come to tag them, and they can get back up. If Death tags Jesus, Jesus must count to three (because Jesus was dead for three days), but can then get up again. If Jesus tags Death, the round is over. Play until everyone has had a chance to be both Death and Jesus or as long as time permits.
Remind students that Jesus will come back one day and will raise everyone who believes in Him back to life.
Closing Prayer
Jesus, we thank You for saving us. We’re looking forward to the time when You come back from Heaven and we can all live together with You forever. Amen.
You can also find this lesson for Kindle or in print in my book, The Parables and Teachings of Jesus Vol. 2.