The Author of Life

Third Sunday of Easter

From “Sitting on the Rainbow”

Artwork by Elsa Ingulsrud

Scripture Reference: Acts 3:13-16

Preparation: Bring several books by your favorite authors to show the children. Authors who have written children’s books will be easier for children to relate to.

Does everyone know what an author is? (Let children answer.) An author is someone who has written a book. Do you have any favorite authors? (Let children share some of their favorites.) There are many good authors who have written books that we enjoy. A man named A. A. Milne wrote the Winnie the Pooh books. A woman named Astrid Lindgren wrote the Pippi Longstocking books. Margaret Wise Brown wrote Goodnight Moon and many other books for children.

(Here you may share with the children some of your favorite authors and the books they wrote. My example follows.) One of my favorite authors is a man named C. S. Lewis. He wrote many books for both grownups and children. When I was in third grade, I started reading his stories about a land called Narnia, and I loved them. The stories were enchanting; they carried you into a magical land where you got to meet many wonderful and wise characters. When I was finished with the books about Narnia, I felt that I had gone on a great adventure.

The New Testament book of Acts, chapter 3, tells of when Jesus’ friend Peter talked about a very important author. He talked about the “Author of life.” Who do you suppose is the “Author of life”? Peter told his listeners, “You killed the Author of life; but God raised him to life.” (v. 15 nlt). Who is Peter talking about? (Let children answer.) The Author of life is Jesus! The world and everything in it was created through Jesus. Isn’t it strange that the Author—the creator—of life itself, had that life taken from him?

We are people whom God created. We are like the books that an author writes—books that God writes. Author’s books are not only a pleasure and a gift to those who read them, they also show the readers a lot about the author who wrote them. God created us in his own image. We are a little bit like God.

Each one of you will live a life that tells a story. And every day you add more pages to your story. Because you are a child of God, you want your life book to be filled with stories of how you followed God’s plan. The story of your life might be filled with adventure; there may be some sad parts, there may be some scary parts. But because you are a child of God, most of your life book should be about love. And at the end of your story, you know that you’ll be in heaven with Jesus. That is the best ending to any life story.

Prayer:  Lord Jesus, you are the Author of life. Thank you for giving us life. Help us all to live our lives to your glory.