The Landing

To celebrate that Jesus is Lord over demons and sickness

One of the key passages in Mark’s Gospel is Mark 8:29, where Peter announces his belief in Jesus as the Christ or Messiah – God’s anointed one. But what does this mean for our young people? With an increase in interest about things supernatural, it is of growing importance that we see Jesus as having power over demons and sickness. But this is something more than power; Jesus is Lord and his words are the commands of God.

Bible - Mark 1:29-39

Jesus was the ultimate servant, bringing people exactly the kind of help they needed. We provide for the needs of others at a basic level – for example, parents or guardians give us dinner, or a drink when we are thirsty. Jesus can ‘serve’ us with what we need in a much deeper, more lasting way. We then took one of the following sets of people and noted on a sheet of paper any questions that these events might have raised for the characters:

• Peter, Andrew, James and John – Jesus’ disciples who hadn’t seen him perform many miracles yet
• Peter’s mother-in-law–who was ill
• Jesus –who was at the starting point of his ministry
• The sick –who were healed from a variety of illnesses, not all from the same one
• The crowd –who witnessed each miracle Jesus is Lord over sickness and demons.  

Jesus is still Lord over those things and we can ask for his help when we pray. Invite the young people to share some prayer needs (especially about sickness), either of their own or of their family or friends. We then concluded by reading a passage that focuses on Jesus’ lordship, such as Philippians 2:6–11, especially verse 11.

To realise that we must proclaim that Jesus is alive. Jesus appeared to his followers, but they thought he was a ghost! It seems they still weren’t sure he had risen. Jesus explained the Scriptures to them and they finally understood what had happened. As well as convincing them that he was alive, Jesus entrusted the disciples with the task of telling all nations about him. And we are charged with that same task.

Bible - Luke 24:36-49

We chatted briefly about how, when we find out something truly amazing, we usually tell other people about it and challenged the young people: ‘Does anyone do that with the amazing fact that Jesus died and came back to life again?’

We explained that Jesus called the disciples to be ‘witnesses’ – that means they were to tell others about his message of love and forgiveness – and we, as Christians today, are called to do the same. Is this something the young people find easy? Or do they want to hide the message away?

We then finished with the following prayer:

That walk Lord,
you took that walk to the cross for me,
And as I stand with the disciples in your Resurrection glory,
May I truly know that you live,
That you live in the hearts of men and women today,
That you know me and have called me by name,
That like those first disciples I too am called,
That I am called to follow where you lead,
That I am called to tell all nations about the wonder of your love,
Your forgiving power, your sacrifice,
Made for me,
When you took that walk to the cross.

To review the evidence that Jesus is alive, discover the difference this can make, and help young people make up their minds about him. In this session, we focussed on the two disciples walking to Emmaus. They were devastated by all that had happened to Jesus in Jerusalem and were confused by the first resurrection reports. Jesus met with them on the way and helped them to see how the recent events totally made sense in the light of Scripture. This gives us a fantastic opportunity to explore with the young people the evidence for Jesus’ resurrection.

Bible - Luke 24:13-35

The incident on the Emmaus  road (Luke 24:13–35) and consider:
• When andwhere this took place (v 13)
• What we know about the mood of the two disciples initially (v 17)
• What evidence Jesus showed them, even before they recognised him (vs 27,30)

The witnesses: people saw Jesus after his death!
Jesus also appeared to other disciples (eg John 21:1–23), a crowd of 500 (1 Corinthians 15:6) and Saul (Acts 9:1–5).
• The logic: Jesus argued the case for his resurrection from other parts of the Bible. It just makes sense! Lee Strobel, a legal journalist, set out to disprove the resurrection but ended up believing it’s the only possible explanation for what happened! (The Case for Christ, Zondervan, 1998.)
• The change in people: the disciples were different after meeting Jesus. Those frightened, disappointed people started the church! Say that people’s lives are still being changed through meeting Jesus.

To worship Jesus in response to the events of Easter. With everything that happens at Easter, it’s easy to get caught up in the consumer hype of buying Easter eggs or having a quick holiday break. The resurrection of Jesus can be easily glossed over. However, the resurrection isn’t only a ‘death-changing’ event for Jesus; it’s a ‘life-changing’ event for us.  

Bible - Luke 24:1-12

We then looked at different accounts of the Easter story considering:
Who said what?  Who saw what?  Who changed how?

We finished by sharing: The importance of Jesus’ death and resurrection for Christians: these events are the focal point of the whole purpose of God with the human race. Jesus didn’t stay a dead sacrifice for long: because he never sinned, death couldn’t hold him. He’s alive and his resurrection means that those who believe in him are saved from the punishment their sins deserve, and will be raised to life after death. What should our response be?