Jesus' Words from the Cross
Understand God's mercy and forgiveness
Retell the story of Jesus and the thief on the cross
Recognize that Jesus offers salvation to everyone
“One of the criminals who was hanged insulted him, saying, 'If you are the Christ, save yourself and us!' But the other answered, and rebuking him, said, 'Don't you even fear God, seeing you are under the same condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds, but this man has done nothing wrong.' He said to Jesus, 'Lord, remember me when you come into your kingdom.' Jesus said to him, 'Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise.'”
— Luke 23:39-43 (WEB)Shows Jesus' compassion and ability to save even in the last moments of life
In today's BibleMouse lesson, we'll learn about Jesus' amazing love, even during His hardest moment
Jesus was on the cross between two criminals. One made fun of Him, but the other understood Jesus was special.
Act out the scene with simple props, letting children take turns being characters
Simpler: Use stick puppets to tell the story
Challenge: Children write a short dialogue between the criminals
Review key points about God's mercy
Thank You, Jesus, for loving us even when we make mistakes
Coming up: Tomorrow we'll learn about Jesus' last words on the cross
“Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”
— Luke 23:34 (WEB)🎯 Activity: Memory Verse Hopscotch: Draw hopscotch squares with words of the verse, have child hop and say each word
This lesson shows God's grace extends to everyone, even in life's final moments
Children might find the crucifixion story scary
Child's understanding of forgiveness and God's love