Tag Archives: on the third day

Time

15 minutes (actual teaching time – more time should be allotted for the plants to change.)

Description

This object lesson helps participants understand that Jesus rose from the dead after three days. It takes at least an hour for the plants to show signs of life, so you will want to conduct this object lesson at the beginning of class. If you are teaching a multi-day program, you can do PART 1 on the first day and PART 2 on the second.

Materials

· Several Resurrection Plants (a.k.a. The Rose of Jericho). They can be ordered online or through a local nursery.

· A shallow dish or bowl for each plant.

· A little water for each dish or bowl.

· Ziplock bags (optional)

Preparation

Put a little water into the bottom of each bowl.

Practice the script.

Procedure

PART 1

Use the following script (or modify to suit your needs):

· “I’m going to need a few volunteers.” (Select one volunteer per Resurrection Plant.)

· “I would like each of you to take one of these.” (Hand out plants to each child.)

· “What do you think that is?”

· “Would you agree that it looks pretty dead?”

· “Yeah, it looks dead to me, too, but I know something about these plants. They are very special.”

· “In front of each of you, there is a plate/bowl with a little water in it. I would like for each of you to put your plant in that water.”

· “We are going to leave those there for a little bit and see what happens.” (Allow volunteers to return to their seats and continue with other parts of your lesson. The plants will need at least an hour to show a difference.)

PART 2

Use the following script (or modify to suit your needs):

· “Let’s take another look at those plants.” (Ask your volunteers to rejoin you up at the front.)

· “Take a look at your plant. What do you think?” (Have them hold up their plants so that everyone can see them.)

· “Isn’t that amazing! Didn’t they look dead before?”

· “We call them Resurrection Plants, because ‘resurrection’ means to ‘come back to life.’”

· “That’s just what Jesus did. He died and was buried, but three days later, He came back to life! These plants are a good reminder that Jesus is risen!”

· “God puts many things in nature to remind us of Him and of His truths. The resurrection plants are an example of that. Can you think of any other examples from nature that teach us about God or His truth?” (The children might have all types of ideas, but here are a few to help if they can’t think of any:

o At night, the sun goes away, but the moon continues to reflect its light (Jesus is like the sun, and we are like the moon.)

o Sheep follow their shepherd just like Jesus wants us to follow Him.

o Dogs know how to show unconditional love. Even if you forget to feed them one day, they forgive you right away.)

· “Can anyone think of anything that dies and comes back to life?” (Take responses. If they struggle, you can remind them that seeds from fruits and plants have to die and be buried in order to grow into the trees and plants that they one day become.)

· “So God has left all these things for us as reminders of what His Son did.”

· (Allow volunteers to return to their seats. You can let them put the plants in ziplock bags and take them home, or you can let they dry out so that you can use them again later.)