I Am The Resurrection
Month 6: Hard Questions · Memory Verse
Today's Scripture
Read together: John 11:25-26
25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in Me will live, even though he dies. 26 And everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?”
Memory Verse
“Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in Me will live, even though he dies. And everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?””— John 11:25-26 (BSB)memorize this week
📖 Bible-in-a-Year (optional)
Today's reading: 1 Kings 17-19
Reading the whole Bible in a year — do this when you have extra time. (Around Day 173 of 365 — Elijah and the God who answers by fire.)The Heart of It
Look closely at what Jesus said to grieving Martha. He didn't say, "I will give you a resurrection someday." He didn't say, "I know about eternal life." He said, "I am the resurrection and the life." That little word "am" changes everything. Eternal life isn't a thing Jesus hands out from a distance, like candy at a parade. It is Jesus Himself. To have Him is to have life that death cannot touch. That's why He could promise that whoever believes in Him "shall never die." Our bodies may stop for a while. But the real us, joined to Jesus, goes right on living with Him.
Notice how Jesus ends. He asks, "Do you believe this?" He doesn't just announce the truth and walk away. He looks you in the eye and asks for an answer. This is the heart of our faith. Believing isn't only saying "yes, that's true" with our heads. It's putting our whole trust in Him, the way you trust someone to catch you. God made us free to answer that question for ourselves. No one is forced. Martha said, "Yes, Lord, I believe." This week, as you hide these words in your heart, let each of you answer Jesus' question out loud: Do you believe this? When you say yes and mean it, you are holding onto the One who already holds the keys to death.
Around the Table
Jesus didn't say He gives life — He said He IS life! If we love and trust Jesus, we get to be with Him forever.
Let's do it: Point to yourself, then up high: "Jesus is my life — forever and ever!"
Jesus asked Martha, "Do you believe this?" He still asks us. What's the difference between knowing a fact and really trusting a person?
Let's talk: How would you answer Jesus' question — "Do you believe this?" — in your own words?
Jesus claims to be resurrection and life, not just to teach about it. That's a claim only God could truthfully make. And He invites a free, personal response: "Do you believe this?"
Let's go deeper: Why is it important that Jesus asks rather than forces? What does that tell us about how God deals with us?
💬 Conversation Starter
What's something you trust so much you'd "fall back" into it without even looking? Maybe a chair, a person, or a parent's arms. That kind of trust is what believing in Jesus means.
🛡️ Defending the Faith
When someone says Jesus was just a good teacher, point to this verse. Good teachers don't claim to be resurrection and life itself. Jesus is either who He said He was, or He's not good at all. There's no "just a nice man" option. Offer this kindly, as an invitation to look closer (), not as a trap to win.
For Dad · Go Deeper
This is one of the great "I AM" statements in John, deliberately echoing God's name to Moses in . Jesus isn't claiming to facilitate eternal life. He's claiming to be it. As C. S. Lewis famously argued, that claim leaves no room for the polite "great moral teacher" category. Help your children feel the force of the closing question. Faith, in our Wesleyan-Arminian understanding, is a real, responsible response that God enables but never coerces. "Do you believe this?" is addressed to each soul individually. Don't assume your kids have answered it just because they grew up at your table. Ask them gently and often, and let them hear you answer it too.
Draws on: Frank Turek, I Don't Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist.
Let's Pray Together
"Lord Jesus, You are the resurrection and the life. We say yes. We believe in You. Help our trust grow deeper than just knowing facts. Help our whole hearts rest in You. In Jesus' name, amen."
Eternal life isn't a thing Jesus gives. It's a Person He is. To have Him is to have life that death can't end.