Elementary Bible Lesson: Jesus Restores a Girl to Life

In this lesson, kids explore one of Jesus’ miracles and discover how Jesus brought a girl back to life. Kids will also think about what our new bodies will be like in heaven someday.

Supplies:

Bibles
dirty pennies (1 per child)
cups
white vinegar
salt
cups of water (1 for every 4 kids)
paper towels
measuring cup
teaspoon

Easy Prep:

For every 4 kids, pour ¼ cup of white vinegar and 1 teaspoon of salt into a cup.

Introduction

Say: Jesus has power over sickness and death. In the book of Matthew, we learn that Jesus brought a little girl who died back to life!

Read Matthew 9:18-26.

Say: Does Jesus have that kind of power today? You might know of someone who died—and didn’t come back to life. Why doesn’t Jesus bring people back to life anymore? Does he really have power over death? Let’s dig into that.

Real Life Stories

Say: Think about a story you’ve heard, maybe in a book or online, where someone claimed that they did die and come back to life. Have kids share examples. If no kids think of anything, you could share the example of Colton Burpo, the little boy from the book and movie Heaven Is for Real. In the book, Colton takes a trip to heaven while in a life-or-death surgery but comes back to life on earth to tell about it.

Ask:

Do you believe those stories? Why or why not?
Why do you think people have a hard time believing stories like that?

Say: We don’t know if those stories are true or false. We know there have been some people who made up stories like that and admitted later that they weren’t true. But for others, only God knows if that event really happened.

Whether or not we believe those stories, we can believe everything the Bible says. We know Jesus had power over death when he raised Jairus’ daughter back to life. And we can learn some other things about what Jesus does for us when we die.

Raised Bodies

Say: As you hear these verses, listen for what is going to happen to your body after you die if you believe in Jesus.

Read aloud 1 Corinthians 15:42-44.

Ask:

What do you think of the idea of being brought back to life like this?
How is this different from being brought back to life on earth?

Say: Let’s see what else this part of the Bible says about Jesus bringing us back to life. Listen for what this says about new bodies.

Read aloud 1 Corinthians 15:52-53.

Ask:

What do you hope your new body can do that you can’t do right now?

Make “New” Pennies

Say: Our earthly bodies aren’t perfect. We get sick sometimes. And even though Jesus has power over sickness and death, it’s no fun to be sick. As we age, our bodies get weaker. And eventually, our bodies die.

But these verses talked about new bodies—ones that won’t ever die!

Give each child a dirty penny, and have kids form groups of four. Give each group a cup of the salt and vinegar mixture, and have kids put their pennies in the cup.

Say: Those pennies are kind of like our bodies on earth. They’re all dirty, which can remind us of the fact that our bodies can get messed up. We can break bones or stub our toes. But Jesus has power over sickness and death. When you’re friends with Jesus, when you die, he’ll bring you back to life! Not life on earth, but life with a new body in heaven! So Jesus does bring people back to life—anyone who believes in him gets a new life—forever! Wow!

Have kids pull their pennies out of the vinegar and dip them in the cups of water. Then have kids dry their pennies off on paper towels and see how much cleaner they look.

Say: The clean pennies can remind you of how much better your body will be when Jesus brings you back to life. Let’s hold up our pennies and celebrate Jesus’ power over sickness and death as we read some more from the same part of the Bible.

Celebrating Life Over Death

Read 1 Corinthians 15:54-55.

Have kids repeat verse 55 after you several times in a celebratory way:

O death, where is your victory?

O death, where is your sting?

Ask:

Why is Jesus’ power over death in these verses even better than him just bringing people back to life on earth?

Say: It can be sad when someone we love dies. Jairus and his family were crying when his daughter died because they were sad. And Jesus brought her back to life. But even if that doesn’t happen for our loved ones, we can trust that Jesus does bring them back to life—a new life in a new, amazing body!

This lesson comes from Group’s DIG IN Sunday school curriculum. You can find even more Bible lesson ideas here.