Leader Guide

Bible Activity

Jesus is the source of life. He raised Lazarus from the dead and others during His earthly ministry. He also sent the disciples out with His authority to do this, too!

Read Matthew 10:7–8:

“Go and announce to them that the Kingdom of Heaven is near. Heal the sick, raise the dead, cure those with leprosy, and cast out demons. Give as freely as you have received!”

In this activity, teams of two will quickly find Scriptures about people who were resurrected in the New Testament of the Bible.

Divide the children into teams of two. Try to pair experienced Bible users with those who are less familiar with the Bible. Give each team a Bible. Announce each New Testament passage and write it on the board. Teams should find the scriptures as fast as possible, then stand up. Award one point to the winning team. Call on different children to read the verses aloud starting with the winning team. Then have all teams answer the following questions:

A. Who died and was resurrected?

B. Who, by God’s power, resurrected them?

C. Where did this take place?

Answers are shown in parentheses.

1. Galatians 1:1:

This letter is from Paul, an apostle. I was not appointed by any group of people or any human authority, but by Jesus Christ Himself and by God the Father, who raised Jesus from the dead.

A. Jesus. B. God. C. Tomb.

2. Luke 7:12–15:

¹²A funeral procession was coming out as He approached the village gate. The young man who had died was a widow’s only son, and a large crowd from the village was with her.¹³ When the Lord saw her, His heart overflowed with compassion. “Don’t cry!” He said. ¹⁴Then He walked over to the coffin and touched it, and the bearers stopped.“Young man,”He said, “I tell you, get up.”¹⁵ Then the dead boy sat up and began to talk! And Jesus gave him back to his mother.

A. Young man or widow’s son. B. Lord Jesus. C. Funeral

3. Acts 9:36–41:

³⁶ There was a believer in Joppa named Tabitha (which in Greek is Dorcas). She was always doing kind things for others and helping the poor. ³⁷About this time she became ill and died. Her body was washed for burial and laid in an upstairs room. ³⁸But the believers had heard that Peter was nearby at Lydda, so they sent two men to beg him, “Please come as soon as possible!” ³⁹So Peter returned with them; and as soon as he arrived, they took him to the upstairs room. The room was filled with widows who were weeping and showing him the coats and other clothes Dorcas had made for them. ⁴⁰But Peter asked them all to leave the room; then he knelt and prayed. Turning to the body he said, “Get up, Tabitha.” And she opened her eyes! When she saw Peter, she sat up! ⁴¹ He gave her his hand and helped her up. Then he called in the widows and all the believers, and he presented her to them alive.

A. Tabitha or Dorcas. B. Peter. C. Home in Joppa.

4. Luke 8:49–55:

⁴⁹While He was still speaking to her, a messenger arrived from the home of Jairus, the leader of the synagogue. He told him, “Your daughter is dead. There’s no use troubling the Teacher now.” ⁵⁰But when Jesus heard what had happened, He said to Jairus, “Don’t be afraid. Just have faith, and she will be healed.” ⁵¹When they arrived at the house, Jesus wouldn’t let anyone go in with Him except Peter, John, James, and the little girl’s father and mother. ⁵²The house was filled with people weeping and wailing, but He said, “Stop the weeping! She isn’t dead; she’s only asleep.” ⁵³But the crowd laughed at Him because they all knew she had died. ⁵⁴Then Jesus took her by the hand and said in a loud voice, “My child, get up!” ⁵⁵ And at that moment her life returned, and she immediately stood up! Then Jesus told them to give her something to eat.

A. Jairus’s daughter. B. Jesus. C. Jairus’s house

5. Matthew 27:50–53:

⁵⁰Then Jesus shouted out again, and He released His spirit. ⁵¹At that moment the curtain in the sanctuary of the Temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. The earth shook, rocks split apart, ⁵² and tombs opened. The bodies of many godly men and women who had died were raised from the dead. ⁵³They left the cemetery after Jesus’ resurrection, went into the holy city of Jerusalem, and appeared to many people.

A. Many godly men and women. B. Jesus. C. A Jerusalem cemetery.

6. Acts 20:9–12:

⁹ As Paul spoke on and on, a young man named Eutychus, sitting on the windowsill, became very drowsy. Finally, he fell sound asleep and dropped three stories to his death below. ¹⁰ Paul went down, bent over him, and took him into his arms. “Don’t worry,” he said, “he’s alive!” ¹¹ Then they all went back upstairs, shared in the Lord’s Supper, and ate together. Paul continued talking to them until dawn, and then he left. ¹² Meanwhile, the young man was taken home alive and well, and everyone was greatly relieved.

A. A young man named Eutychus. B. Paul. C. Fell to the ground from a third story window; Troas, a Greek city.

Conclusion: Jesus is the source of life. Acts 17:28a says:

For in Him we live and move and exist!

Jesus describes Himself as the source of life in John 10:17–18:

¹⁷“The Father loves Me because I sacrifice My life so I may take it back again. ¹⁸No one can take My life from Me. I sacrifice it voluntarily. For I have the authority to lay it down when I want to and also to take it up again. For this is what My Father has commanded.”

In Jesus, we are alive in Him forever!