“Understanding Scripture” Sunday School Lesson (Luke 24:36b-48) Emmaus Road

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This free Bible lesson is based on Luke 24:36b-48 when Jesus suddenly appears before the disciples after his resurrection. It is designed for children’s church or Sunday School. Please modify as best fits your ministry.
If your church follows the Revised Common Lectionary, this teaching plan would correspond to Year B – 3rd Sunday of Easter, Gospel Reading – Luke 24:36b-48.
Opening Activity – Understanding Scripture – Telephone

Supplies – none
Play a quick game of “Telephone” before class using the following phrases.

  • Is this easy to understand?
  • Try again.
  • Do you like to read your Bible?
  • I’m not sure what you said.
  • Did you hear that?
  • The Bible is the greatest book.
  • I am so confused.

Lesson – Understanding Scripture

Supplies – Bibles
*Before class begins, mark the following scriptures in a Bible – Psalm 1:3, Proverbs 16:11, Proverbs 27:14, Ezekiel 3:1-2, Luke 24:45
I always love playing telephone.  It’s always interesting to see if everyone can understand or not.  And usually at least one person will mess it up!  Now before we start class today I am going to need a few helpers to read something for us.
First we have Psalm 1:3{child reads}  Great job!  Raise your left hand if you know what that one meant.
Let’s try the next one.  Proverbs 16:11{child read}  Thank you so much!  Now nod your head if you understood that one.
Next we have Proverbs 27:14{child reads}  Awesome job!  Ok, this time raise your right hand if you understood that one.
And lastly we have Ezekiel 3:1-2{child reads}  Thank you for helping!  Now, I need you to stand up if you understood that one.
Did you really understand all of those?  I know I sure didn’t!  Why is blessing my neighbor so bad?  And are there really dishonest scales?  How is a person like a tree, and what part of them is the fruit?  And what does a scroll taste like; does it count as a vegetable?
I just don’t understand all of the things the Bible says.  It can be so confusing to me!
Sometimes I think I just must not be smart enough.  I bet really smart people can read anything in the Bible and know exactly what it means.  I’m just not one of them.
And sometimes I think I must not love God enough.  If I were a good enough Christian it would all make perfect sense.
And sometimes I think I just don’t spend enough time trying.  Maybe I just need to read more.
Does anyone else feel like that?  Do you find it hard to read and understand the Bible?
Well, I have one more verse for you that I think just might make you feel better.
First I’m going to tell you what is happening.  Jesus’ disciples were all gathered together in a room after He had been crucified.  They all believed Jesus was dead, and they weren’t sure what they should do next.  Then suddenly a man appeared in the room.  It was Jesus!  But the disciples had just seen him crucified and placed in a tomb, so this couldn’t be Jesus.  It must have been His ghost!
As you can imagine it scared them all a little, but Jesus talked to them and explained it all.  He showed them the holes in His hands and feet.  He offered to let them touch Him, and He even ate in front of them; all so they would know that Jesus wasn’t a ghost.
He had told them many times what was going to happen.  He had even showed them tons of Old Testament scriptures before He died, which explained what was about to happen and why.  But they simply didn’t understand it all.
Then this happened… Luke 24:45.  {child reads}
Did you hear that?
Jesus’ disciples, the men who lived with Him, and ate with Him, and traveled with Him, and who did EVERYTHING with Him, didn’t understand the scriptures.
Those men didn’t understand.  Many of the ended up WRITING scripture.  Matthew, Mark, John, Peter, James, and Jude were all disciples and all wrote parts of the New Testament.  And even they didn’t understand all of the scriptures.
Reading that verse made me realize that it wasn’t that I wasn’t smart enough, or that I didn’t try hard enough, or that I don’t love God enough.  It’s none of that!
The Bible tells us that even the disciples needed Jesus’ help to understand the scriptures.
So that’s where the problem is.  We just need to ask.  We can ask God before we even start to read, that He would help us to understand what He has to say.  We can pray when read something we don’t understand.  We can ask our parents, or our pastor if we need some extra help.  We can even ask the Bible, by looking at the verses around the one that confuses us.
Sometimes reading the Bible can be really difficult.  But that doesn’t mean that there is anything wrong with you.  It just means you are human.  Just like me, your parents, and even the 12 disciples.  And just like the disciples, we all need God’s help.
God wants us to understand.  And all we need to do is ask Him for help.
Activity A – Understanding Scripture – Bible Verse Challenge
Supplies – Bibles
Verse – Luke 24:45
Pass out Bibles to students. Bibles should be closed and sitting on the table face up in front of each child. When you say go, have the kids look up this week’s Bible verse. As each child finds the verse, have them stick one finger on the verse and quietly raise their other hand. The first one to find the verse gets to read it to the rest of the class.
Help younger kids and new kids find the verse by following these steps.
Look in the Table of Contents for the book you are looking for. Make an effort to show them if it is found in the Old Testament or New Testament to help them in the future. Then open the Bible to the page number listed in the Table of Contents.
Show them the large numbers in the text, known as the chapters. Flip through pages until you find the large chapter number you are looking for.
Then scan through the text with them pointing out the smaller verse numbers until the correct number is found.
Activity B – Understanding Scripture – Bible Bookmarks

Supplies – card stock, paper-cutter or scissors hole punch, thin ribbon or twine, coloring/writing utensils
Pre-class Prep – Cut each piece of card stock into 4 – 8.5 x 2.75 strips, and punch a hole in one end.  (If you have a very young class, print out the verse of the cards before class, and have them trace it.)
Give each child a pre-cut card stock bookmark, and a piece of ribbon.  Help them loop the ribbon through the hole, and tie in place to create their book marks tassel.  Then have the children write Luke 24:45 on one side.  Give them the rest of class to decorate the rest of their bookmark, and instruct them to place it in their Bible (or family Bible) at home.
Closing Prayer – Understanding Scripture

Before leaving, ask for a volunteer to pray for the class, and encourage them to ask God to help us understand what He wants to tell us in the Bible.

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