‘The Road to Emmaus’ Childrens Lesson on Luke 24:13-35

‘The Road to Emmaus’ Childrens Lesson on Luke 24:13-35

BIG IDEA: JESUS IS WITH ME

AIM: ‘The Road to Emmaus’ Childrens Lesson on Luke 24:13-35 aims to help children see that although they may not always feel or recognise Jesus with them, he is always there. Children will see that disciples trust Jesus is with them.

GAME IDEAS:

1. Blindfolded Team Challenge. (regular/widescreen) You will need to set up an obstacle course of chairs for each team for children to walk around. Children are put into teams and blindfolded. The child at the front of each line has no blindfold. Children must make their way around the obstacle course of chairs in a race against the other teams. The quickest team through the obstacle course is the winning team.
2. Crossing the River. (regular/widescreen) Use a few pieces of newspaper to move a whole team from one side of the room to another. Teams cannot step anywhere other than on the newspaper to get them to the other side of the room.
3. Balloon Races. (regular/widescreen) Split into pairs. Place a balloon between your heads and walk towards the end of the race. The first to pass the line is the winning team.

BIG VERSE: Jesus told the people who had faith in him, “If you keep on obeying what I have said, you truly are my disciples. John 8:31.

(regular/widescreen) 

Download Bible Cards.

 

SET the Scene:

Read Luke 24:13-35. You will need to explain to the children that this event came days after the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus.

VIDEO IDEAS:

1. ‘The Seriously Surprising Story’ by Bible Society
2. ‘The appearance of Jesus on the road to Emmaus’ by the BBC
3. ‘On the Road to Emmaus’ a fun retelling of the story – you would need to use this after reading the Bible passage

REVIEW QUESTIONS:

1. What were the men doing on the road to Emmaus? (talking)
2. Why were they surprised when the mystery man didn’t know what had happened? (Jesus had died and rose again – word had spread)
3. How did the men feel? (downcast)
4. What amazed the men? (the mystery man told them about the scriptures)
5. What did the three men do together? (went to break bread)
6. What happened when Jesus was breaking bread? (they recognised him)
7. What happened to Jesus? (he disappeared)
8. Who did the men tell about all this? (the eleven disciples)

SPOT the Simple Meaning:

1. JESUS IS WITH US EVEN WHEN WE DON’T RECOGNISE HIM

Have different leaders wear different masks and costumes and see if the kids can recognise them. You could take photos beforehand of yourselves in costume and see if the children can guess who you are.

Alternatively use photos of celebrities or animated characters with parts of their faces covered and see if the children can guess who they are.

You could also use the optical illusion image of Jesus and see if the children recognise the face of Jesus before and/or after staring at it for a few minutes.

Say: The disciples had heard that Jesus had rose from the dead, yet these men had not seen him for themselves. That’s when Jesus appears to them, but they don’t recognise who he is.

You may think that’s strange, but as we’ve seen (after using one of the activities above) sometimes we can mistake someone’s identity. Cleopas and his friend hadn’t recognised they were walking with Jesus, yet Jesus was with them all along.

Cleopas and his friend were sad. They were downcast. Jesus had died and his body was gone. They seem to have lost some of their faith.

We can be like that too. Perhaps we have been through a difficult time and we didn’t feel like Jesus was with us. Maybe we felt like we were all alone. Perhaps we still do. Yet Jesus is with us. He says that he will never leave us or forsake us. (Matthew 28:20) So perhaps sometimes we just can’t tell that he is there?!

Just like the disciples, we have to learn to trust that Jesus is with us, even when we can’t see or feel him. If we are one of his followers then we can know that his words to us are true, he will always be with us. He told the disciples in Matthew 28:20 “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” This wasn’t just a promise for the eleven disciples, it is a promise for us too. So we can be like Cleopas and celebrate! Jesus is alive and he is with us today!

All we need to do is trust in him even when we don’t recognise or feel that he is with us.

 

 

SEARCH the Scriptures:

Sandy Toes. (regular/widescreen) Using some of the Bible Verses about Jesus being with us. Print them and place them in a few tubs of sand. Have children ‘walk the dusty road’ and pick up the bible verses with their toes. The first player to get all the bible verses is the winner.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

1. When are the times that we feel Jesus is not with us?
2. How can we know that Jesus is with us, even in these times?
3. What has Jesus told us about his presence with us?
4. What are God’s promises to us?

 

SENSE How You Feel:

Imagine that you were Cleopas or his friend. You’ve spent time talking to a mystery man. Then suddenly you realise it is Jesus, but as soon as you do he disappears.

How would it have felt to realise you had been with Jesus all along?

Encourage the children to think about this as they do one of the activities below.

1. Craft: Create the ‘Road to Emmaus’ scene by using the Road to Emmaus craft template, a popsicle stick, scissors, markers and some tape. 
2. Color or fill in the activity sheets for 5-7s and 8-11s.
   
3. Sensory: Place some stones, sand and grass on the sensory table. Place some road signs in with them such as Stop, Go and pause.
4. Build a road with Lego or building blocks for the disciples to travel along. Create a room for them to eat.
5. Mould:

 

SEEK God:

1. Create some funky glasses using a glasses template PDF and remind the children that God can help us to recognise Jesus. Encourage the children (if they would like) to write a prayer on the glasses about recognising Jesus.

Prayer: Jesus I want to recognise You. I want to know that you are with me. Help me to see that you are here. Help me to trust in You. Amen.

2. Create a big cloud picture to remind the children that God is not far away in the clouds, but He promises to be near. He promises He is with us. Write a thank you prayer on the clouds.

3. For those that don’t know Jesus is with them because they have not become his disciple: Invite the children to ask Jesus to come into their lives and stay close to them, helping them to live their lives for him.