The Heart of the matter –

- Facing the death of a loved one reveals our view of God

- Nothing is beyond the power of Jesus

- Gold holds the keys to life and death.

- When Jesus comes again, death will be no more



a) Key verse for the overall Lesson 7:



9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.

2 Corinthians 12:9



Key verse for this lesson:



And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12 Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.

1 John 5: 11- 12

(yup, this verse isn’t mentioned in the lesson anywhere but I felt that this could be a potential verse for the lesson since it’s about Jesus’ power over death)



Or

25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; 26 and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?”

John 11: 25 - 26



b) In Jesus’ walk on Earth, He has indeed performed many miracles, from healing the sick son (Day 2’s lesson) to healing paralysis (Day 3) and now, we glimpse a little more of his Power in full Swing: Raising the dead (Day 4).



Instances of Jesus raising the dead

1) Jesus Raises a Widow’s Son
Luke 7



2) the daughter of Jairus:

Luke 8



3) The Death of Lazarus

John 11



Kindly go through the first two firstJ





c) As usual, the lesson plan wraps around a Particular passage:

John 11: Death of Lazarus ( don’t read the passage first J )



Do Q1: Has there been a time in your life when you felt as good as dead? Maybe a crisis situation had overwhelmed you or a crucial relationship was destroyed. How did Jesus resurrect the situation? Explain what happened.



Alternatively to the underligned part, one can do the following Qns if they cant answer:

- Have one felt so troubled in life that you feel burdened and just tired. Depressed?

- What was causing you so much sadness?

- How did everything turn out eventually?

- Do you think God had a part in it?

- If not, why? Did you involve God in the picture?

- Could one have overlooked God’s involvement in our lives?



d) Look at Luke 7: 14-15

14 Then he went up and touched the bier they were carrying him on, and the bearers stood still. He said, “Young man, I say to you, get up!” 15 The dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him back to his mother.



Now look at Luke 8 : 54 - 55

54 But he took her by the hand and said, “My child, get up!” 55 Her spirit returned, and at once she stood up. Then Jesus told them to give her something to eat.



Both passages are reflective of Jesus’ power in his words (link to Power of Jesus)

The power of Jesus’ words: Do Q2





e) #1: Facing the death of a loved one reveals our view of God

READ JOHN 11: 1 – 44

21 “Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died.

John 11: 21

Do Q3

It may be hard to relate to an issue about death if one hasn’t come across the passing away of a loved one. But the passing away of a loved one is like removing a loved one from oneself, perhaps one can relate the feeling to that, how we go through different phases in life, eg. Why did God make a friend migrate over to another country? If God hadn’t presented that opportunity to her parents etc…

Do Defeating Death, Q4 and 5 (# 4 : (When Jesus comes again, death will be no more)is in Q5)



f) # 2 & 3: Nothing is beyond the power of Jesus, God hold the keys to life and death

43 When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” 44 The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face.

Jesus said to them, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.”



Point: Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, he raised the widow’s son from the dead and that girl. Man who die cant walk again! It’s just out of this world. Definitely our God is one of immense power, the great almighty who holds the keys to life and death.

23This man was handed over to you by God’s deliberate plan and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men,[d] put him to death by nailing him to the cross.24 But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him.

Acts 2:23-24



And in case if your kids ask you if God resurrected Lazarus, then why cant he resurrect our loved ones? And why do they still die and not resurrect?

You can answer them saying that we don’t live in games, where we merely die, lose experience and resurrect. Yep. Instead: the answer is below:

EXTRA READINGSJ

The Bible talks about death as a sleep, refers to resurrections, the soul and spirit in death, and immortality.

A SLEEP - In John 11:11-14 (NIV) Jesus compares death to sleep. "'…Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I am going there to wake him up.' His disciples replied, 'Lord, if he sleeps, he will get better.' Jesus had been speaking of his death, but his disciples thought he meant natural sleep. So then he told them plainly, 'Lazarus is dead,.'" The Bible compares death to sleep over 50 times.

We are told in I Thessalonians 4:15-16 (NIV) that those asleep in Jesus rise at His Second Coming. "According to the Lord's own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first."

RESURRECTIONS - There are two resurrections-one to life and one to eternal condemnation. John 5:28-29 (NIV). "Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice and come out-those who have done good will rise to live, and those who have done evil will rise to be condemned."

Genesis 2:7 (KJV) records the creation of man in the beginning. "And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul." God did not put a soul into man. It is like an equation: Dust + Breath = a living soul. If you were going to make a wooden box you could say: boards + nails = a box. You take a few wooden boards and nail them together to make a box. If you take them apart again and pull all the nails out of the wood and put the nails in a pile and the boards in a stack. What happened to the box? It just ceased to exist until you put it back together again. That is the way it is with death. You take away the breath, that spark of life which comes from God and the body will return to dust (or sometimes to ashes in the case of cremation). What happened to the soul? It just ceases to be until God comes at the resurrection and puts it back together again. At that time the dust and the breath of life are reunited and then you have a life, a live person or live soul again.

The interval between death and the resurrection is described in the Bible as "sleep." No consciousness of what is happening, or time passing, etc. Dying is like going to sleep and your next conscious thought-it will seem like the next moment-is when God resurrects you giving you back your life.

SOUL AND SPIRIT IN DEATH - Ecclesiastes 12:7 says the body returns to the dust and the spirit [or breath of life] returns to God. Job 27:3 tells us that the spirit is the same as God's breath of life or His power.

Psalm 146:4 (KJV) says, "When their spirit departs, they return to the ground; on that very day their plans come to nothing." The dead do not praise God, Psalm 115:17. The dead do not know anything, Ecclesiastes 9:5, "For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing."

IMMORTALITY - Human beings do not have immortality, only God does. (see I Timothy 6:16). We receive immortality when Jesus comes again. (see I Corinthians 15:51-54). When Jesus comes His reward of eternal life will be with Him. (see Revelation 22:12).

The Bible says heaven is a real place in John 14:1-3 (NIV), "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, trust also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am."

God will give us glorious immortal bodies. Philippians 3:21 and I Corinthians 15:51-54. All physical deformities will be cured. (The eyes of the blind will be opened, the ears of the deaf unstopped and the crippled healed.) Isaiah 35:3-6. They will build houses and inhabit them. They will plant vineyards and eat the fruit of them. Isaiah 65:21-23. The wolf and lamb will feed together. God's New Kingdom will be one of tranquil peace. Isaiah 65:25. We will fellowship with Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and the greatest minds of the ages forever. Matthew 8:11.

God Himself shall be with us and be our God. Revelation 21:3. We shall lovingly serve our God forever and enjoy the closest fellowship with Him. Revelation 22:3-4