Week 47 · about 45 minutes
The Day Jesus Gave His Life
Luke 23 · Memory verse Romans 5:8
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Queues the lesson plan, this story’s coloring page (Love at the Cross), the related word search and answer key (Names of Jesus), the memory-verse tracer, and a parent slip.
Five-minute object lesson
Prop: two sticks tied into a cross
Hold up two sticks tied into a cross. In about five minutes, tell the class this: Jesus chooses the cross so that sinners can be forgiven, and even a criminal hears a promise. Show the prop and ask, “What does this have to do with The Day Jesus Gave His Life?” Let two children answer. Then read Romans 5:8 together: “But God commends his own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” Close by asking one child to say the lesson back in their own words, using the prop.
Story script
Jesus was arrested even though he had done no wrong. Soldiers made fun of him. He carried a cross outside the city. It was a sad and holy day. He was not trapped by accident. He had said he would lay down his life for his friends, and he did it out of love.
Two criminals were crucified beside him. One mocked. The other said they were getting what their deeds deserved, but Jesus had done nothing wrong. He asked, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” Jesus answered, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.” Mercy spoke in the middle of pain.
Darkness came over the land. Jesus cried out and entrusted his spirit to the Father. A soldier who saw it said, “Surely this was a righteous man.” The curtain in the temple tore, a sign that the way to God was open. Jesus’ body was laid in a tomb, and a stone was rolled in front.
The cross is how God shows love: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. You do not clean yourself up and then get loved. You are loved at the cost of Jesus’ life. Sadness belongs in this story, and so does hope, because the tomb is not the end.
Group game
Keep the room quieter than usual. Children place a paper heart at the foot of the cross and say, Jesus loves me. No one races.
Craft
Draw a hill and a cross with flowers of hope at the bottom. Write God so loved the world.
Memory verse
Romans 5:8
“But God commends his own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”
Take-home prayer
Jesus, thank you for dying for us while we were still sinners. Help us trust your love and wait with hope. Amen.