Looking Back: He Is Risen Indeed!
Month 7: He Is Risen! — Why We Believe · Family Worship
Today's Scripture
Read together: Luke 24:44-48
44 Jesus said to them, “These are the words I spoke to you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about Me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms.” 45 Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures. 46 And He told them, “This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, 47 and in His name repentance and forgiveness of sins will be proclaimed to all nations, beginning in Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses of these things.
Memory Verse
“For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,”— 1 Corinthians 15:3-4 (BSB)
📖 Bible-in-a-Year (optional)
Today's reading: Isaiah 54–57
Reading the whole Bible in a year — do this when you have extra time. (Around Day 209 of 365 — Isaiah sings of the suffering Servant's reward and God's everlasting kindness.)The Heart of It
Tonight we look back over a whole month of the best news there is. The risen Jesus stood among His friends and reminded them that none of this caught God by surprise. He said, "Everything must be fulfilled that is written about Me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms" (). The cross was not a tragedy God scrambled to fix. It was the plan. It was written down centuries before. It was sung in the Psalms. It was pictured in the sacrifices. Then Jesus "opened their minds to understand the Scriptures." The empty tomb is not a fairy tale tacked onto the end of the story. It is the point the whole Bible had been moving toward.
Look at the pattern in our memory verse this month. Christ died for our sins. He was buried. And He rose again, "according to the Scriptures." That little phrase appears twice on purpose. Our faith is not built on warm feelings or wishful thinking. It is built on real events that happened in real history, exactly as God promised. And notice where Jesus lands. He says that "repentance and forgiveness of sins will be proclaimed to all nations" in His name (). The resurrection isn't just true. It's news to be carried. So as we look back tonight, we don't just say, "Jesus rose." We answer the way the early church did. We say, He is risen indeed! And then we go tell someone.
Around the Table
Jesus died. He was buried. And then, surprise! He came back alive! That's the happiest true story ever.
Let's do it: Take turns shouting "He is risen!" and answering back "He is risen indeed!"
Jesus said the whole Bible was pointing to Him all along. The cross and the empty tomb were always God's plan.
Let's talk: What is one thing you learned about Jesus this month that you didn't know before?
"According to the Scriptures" means the resurrection came true just as prophets had written hundreds of years earlier. Faith stands on facts, not feelings.
Let's go deeper: If a friend asked you to explain the gospel in three sentences, what would you say? (Try .)
💬 Conversation Starter
What is the best news you've ever gotten in your life? Was it as good as "Jesus is alive"?
🛡️ Defending the Faith
When someone says, "The resurrection is just a story Christians made up later," we can answer kindly. is one of the earliest things the church believed. Paul calls it what he "received" and passed on. Scholars trace this summary to within just a few years of the cross. There simply wasn't time for a legend to grow. This was the message from the very start, told by people who said they had seen Jesus alive. We share it "with gentleness and respect" (). We're not trying to win an argument. We're inviting a friend into the best news there is.
For Dad · Go Deeper
A "looking back" night is more than review. It's the rhythm of biblical worship. Israel was forever told to remember. Build the altar. Keep the feast. Tell the children. The danger in a busy home isn't usually that we deny the resurrection. It's that we let it grow familiar and quiet. So tonight, lead with your own wonder. Let your kids hear you marvel that the tomb is empty, that your sins are actually forgiven, that death has lost. The most persuasive apologetic your children will ever meet is a father who plainly, joyfully believes "He is risen" and lets it change how he lives on a Tuesday.
Draws on: Josh McDowell & Sean McDowell, Evidence That Demands a Verdict.
Let's Pray Together
"Father, thank You that everything You promised about Jesus came true. He died for our sins. He was buried. And He rose again, just as You said. Fill our home with joy, because the tomb is empty. Make us bold to tell others. In Jesus' name, amen."
He is risen indeed! And a risen Savior is the best news I will ever carry.