Twenty-Second Sunday after Pentecost – Band of Puzzlers

November 6, 2022 - Luke 20:27-38 NIRV

Marriage When the Dead Rise

²⁷The Sadducees do not believe that people rise from the dead. Some of them came to Jesus with a question. ²⁸“Teacher,” they said, “Moses wrote for us about a man’s brother who dies. Suppose the brother leaves a wife but has no children. Then the man must marry the widow. He must provide children to carry on his dead brother’s name. ²⁹There were seven brothers. The first one married a woman. He died without leaving any children. ³⁰The second one married her. ³¹And then the third one married her. One after another, the seven brothers married her. They all died. None left any children. ³²Finally, the woman died too. ³³Now then, when the dead rise, whose wife will she be? All seven brothers were married to her.”

³⁴Jesus replied, “People in this world get married. And their parents give them to be married. ³⁵But it will not be like that when the dead rise. Those who are considered worthy to take part in the world to come won’t get married. And their parents won’t give them to be married. ³⁶They can’t die anymore. They are like the angels. They are God’s children. They will be given a new form of life when the dead rise. ³⁷Remember the story of Moses and the burning bush. Even Moses showed that the dead rise. The Lord said to him, ‘I am the God of Abraham. I am the God of Isaac. And I am the God of Jacob.’ (Exodus 3:6) ³⁸He is not the God of the dead. He is the God of the living. In his eyes, everyone is alive.”

Object/visual aid:

Blank thank-you card.

Message:

Today’s scripture passage talks about a group of people called Sadducees. Can you say that with me? Sadducees. Sadducees were Jewish people who believed that there was no life after death. Is that what we believe? (Allow children to answer.) No. We believe that God is preparing a place for us in heaven. When we die, we go to be with Jesus in heaven.

You can easily remember the Sadducees and what they believed, because thinking that there is no heaven would make us feel sad. Believing that there was no heaven would make for sad Sadducees. Can you make a sad face to show how you might feel thinking there was no life in heaven? (Allow children to show facial expressions.)

Jesus had a face-to-face encounter with the Sadducees. He told them that the children of God are raised up to new life when they die on this earth. Raise your hand if you are a child of God. (Allow children to respond.) In other words, our relationship with God does not end when our life on earth ends, and our life in heaven with Jesus is just beginning.

Christians know that death is not the end. We do not have to fear death being the end of our relationship with God and others. We aren’t sad-you-see (get it)? We are filled with joy because Jesus lives, and we are continuing to be with Jesus.

Can you help me write a thank-you card to Jesus? Let’s pretend that we are Sadducees, after Jesus told us that there is a heaven and our relationship with God goes beyond the grave!

(Write the thank-you card. Have your words prepared, and as you pretend to write the thank-you card, read it aloud.)

Dear Jesus,

Thank you for being with us now and thank you for letting us know there is a heaven and making sure nothing stops us from having a relationship with you, even death. We look forward to living with you forever. This makes us feel incredibly happy and not sad.

The Sadducees

Amen