🎧 Listen first, then read through each page to earn your star!
Page 1 of N
✅ You already earned this star!
Read all Bible pages above to unlock questions
📖 Check Your Understanding
2
The Story
☆
A hard night. Jesus spoke these words at supper on the night before the cross. He had just told His disciples that He was going away, and their hearts were heavy.
Not troubled. Jesus said, “Let not your heart be troubled” (14:1). Troubled means stirred up and shaken inside, like water when someone stirs it with a stick.
Someone to trust. Jesus did not just tell them to stop worrying. He gave His friends Someone to trust: “you believe in God, believe also in Me.” To believe in someone means to trust him and lean on him.
Trust Me as you trust God. God is the One His people are told to trust with everything. The Bible says, “Trust in Him at all times, you people” (Psalm 62:8). When Jesus asked His disciples to trust Him in the very same way, He was showing them who He is. Jesus is God the Son.
He was thinking of them. Jesus knew that in a few hours He would be arrested and put on a cross. Even so, He spent that night comforting His friends.
What this means for you. Everyone feels worried sometimes. When you do, tell Jesus all about it. Trusting Him does not mean every hard thing goes away. It means you are not alone in it, because the One who holds you is God.
The setting. John 14 goes on with the conversation at the supper table in John 13. Jesus had just told His disciples, “Where I am going, you cannot come” (13:33). They were about to lose the Teacher they had followed for years.
Tarasso. “Let not your heart be troubled” (14:1). The verb is tarasso (say: tah-RAHS-soh), to stir up or shake. John used it for the pool of Bethesda: “when the water is stirred up” (5:7). He used it for Jesus Himself at Lazarus' tomb: “He groaned in the spirit and was troubled” (11:33). Jesus was not telling His friends that sorrow is wrong. He knew what a troubled heart feels like.
A command with a reason. Jesus did not leave them with an empty cheer-up. He gave them Someone to trust: “you believe in God, believe also in Me.” He used the same word, believe, for trust in God and for trust in Himself.
A claim only God can make. In the Old Testament, God is the One His people trust with their whole weight: “Trust in Him at all times, you people; Pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us” (Psalm 62:8). No prophet ever asked people to trust him the way they trust God. Jesus could ask it, because, as He said, “I and My Father are one” (10:30).
On the way to the cross. Within hours Jesus would be betrayed, arrested and crucified. The One about to suffer most spent the evening comforting others.
For you. A troubled heart is not steadied by pretending that nothing is wrong. It is steadied by trusting a Person. Bring Jesus the very thing that is stirring you up, and trust Him with it as you would trust God, because He is God.
Jesus spoke these words on a sad night. He had told His friends that He was going away. Their hearts were full of worry. Jesus said, “Don’t let your hearts be troubled.” Troubled means stirred up and upset inside. Jesus did not just tell them to stop feeling bad. He told them what to do instead. He said, “Trust in God. And trust in me.” We should trust God more than anyone. Jesus asked for that same trust because He is God the Son. Is something worrying you today? You can tell Jesus all about it. He is strong, and He loves you.
Jesus said, “Don’t let your hearts be troubled.” When you feel worried, you can trust Jesus. He loves you and is always with you!
👨👩👧 Parent Prompt
What worry can you tell Jesus about today?
My Father’s house. Jesus said, “In My Father’s house are many mansions” (14:2). His Father’s house is heaven, the place where God is. Jesus called God “My Father” because He is God’s own Son.
Many mansions. The word mansions here means places to live, rooms to stay in. Jesus said there are many. We do not need to guess what every room looks like. Jesus told us what matters most.
If it were not so. Then Jesus said, “if it were not so, I would have told you.” Jesus always tells the truth, even when the truth is hard. That same night He told His friends that He was leaving, which was hard to hear. So when He tells us about His Father’s house, we can be sure it is real.
Getting it ready. “I go to prepare a place for you.” To prepare is to get something ready ahead of time. Jesus was going to the Father by way of the cross and the empty tomb. By dying for our sins and rising again, He opened the way for sinners to come into God’s house.
What this means for you. If you trust Jesus, He has a place for you in His Father’s house. You do not have to wonder whether heaven is real or whether you will be welcome there. Jesus said so.
The Father’s house. “In My Father’s house are many mansions” (14:2). Earlier in John, Jesus called the temple “My Father’s house” (2:16). Here He means the Father’s own home, heaven itself. Only the Son could speak of it as His Father’s house.
Mone. The word for mansions is mone (say: moh-NAY), a dwelling place, a place to stay. It is not about size or splendor. What matters is a home, and Jesus said there are many of them. We may have many questions about heaven that will be answered only when we are there, so we hold to what Jesus said.
Honest about heaven. “If it were not so, I would have told you.” Jesus does not make promises He cannot keep, and He does not hide hard news. He had just told His disciples that He was leaving. The One who told them that hard truth can be trusted with this good one.
Prepare. “I go to prepare a place for you.” Jesus' going was part of the preparing. His road to the Father ran through the cross, the tomb and the resurrection. Hebrews says that Christ entered “into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us” (Hebrews 9:24).
For sinners. Heaven is not a reward for good people. It is the Father’s house, opened to sinners by the Son, who died for their sins and rose again.
For you. Trust Jesus, and you can face the future knowing that He has made room for you in His Father’s house. You do not need every detail. You have His word.
Jesus told His friends about His Father’s house. His Father’s house is heaven. Jesus said, “There are many rooms in my Father’s house.” We do not know everything about heaven yet. But Jesus told us what matters most. He promised that this was really true. Jesus never lies. You can believe everything He says. He said, “I am going there to prepare a place for you.” To prepare means to get something ready. Jesus was getting a place ready for His friends. He does that for everyone who trusts Him.
Jesus said there are many rooms in His Father’s house. Jesus went to get a place ready. Jesus always tells the truth!
👨👩👧 Parent Prompt
Who is getting a place ready for you?
A promise. “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself” (14:3). Jesus was not leaving His friends for good. He promised to come back for them.
Coming again. Jesus went back to the Father after He rose from the dead, and one day He will return. The Bible does not give us the date, and Jesus never asked us to guess it. He asked us to trust Him and be ready.
To Myself. Jesus Himself will receive His people. He said He will receive us to Himself. It is personal, like a father welcoming his child home.
Where I am. “That where I am, there you may be also.” Heaven is not wonderful because of its rooms. It is wonderful because Jesus is there. His people will be with Him.
You know the way. Then Jesus said, “And where I go you know, and the way you know” (14:4). The disciples had walked with Jesus every day. The way was standing right in front of them, and in a moment Thomas would find that out.
What this means for you. Jesus’ coming is not something for His people to fear. It is a promise to look forward to. Until then, keep trusting Him, keep following Him, and tell others about Him.
Going and coming. “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again” (14:3). The going and the coming belong together. Jesus was surely going, and so He would surely come again. He did not say He might come. He said He will.
Receive you to Myself. To receive someone here is to take that person to be beside you. Jesus Himself promised to come and take His people to be with Him.
Where I am. “That where I am, there you may be also.” Being with Jesus is the center of the promise. Later that night Jesus prayed that the people the Father had given Him would be with Him where He is and see His glory (John 17:24). Heaven is where Jesus is.
A promise, not a date. Jesus gave His disciples a promise, not a calendar. His people do not need to know the day. They need to know Him and to be ready.
Comfort, not fear. Jesus spoke of His return to steady troubled hearts (14:1). For everyone who belongs to Him, His coming will be the day they are welcomed home.
You know the way (14:4). “And where I go you know, and the way you know.” The disciples knew Jesus. In a moment Thomas would ask about the way, and Jesus' answer would show that knowing the way means knowing Him.
For you. Live today as someone Jesus is coming back for. Jesus has promised to come for His people. Trust Him, follow Him, and let the hope of being with Him shape how you live today.
Jesus made His friends a big promise. He said, “I will come back.” Jesus went back to heaven after He rose from the dead. One day He will come back for His people. We do not know what day it will be. But Jesus always keeps His promises. Jesus said, “Then I will take you to be with me.” Jesus wants His friends to be where He is. Heaven is wonderful because Jesus is there. His coming is nothing to be afraid of. It will be a happy day for everyone who loves Jesus.
Jesus said, “I will come back.” He will take His friends to be with Him. Being with Jesus will be wonderful!
👨👩👧 Parent Prompt
What are you glad about when you think of being with Jesus?
Thomas asked. Thomas said, “Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?” (14:5). Thomas was honest. He said out loud what he did not understand, and Jesus answered him.
Not a map, a Person. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life” (14:6). Thomas asked about a road. Jesus pointed to Himself. You do not get to God by finding the right path on your own. You come to God by coming to Jesus.
The truth. Jesus does not only tell the truth. He is the truth. Everything He says about God, about us and about heaven can be trusted.
The life. Jesus is the life. He gives life that never ends to everyone who trusts Him, and He showed His power over death when He rose again.
Only through Jesus. “No one comes to the Father except through Me.” Jesus is not one way among many. He is the way. That is good news, because the way is open to anyone. Jesus said, “the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out” (John 6:37).
What this means for you. You can bring Jesus your honest questions, just as Thomas did. And you can kindly tell your friends that Jesus is the way to God, because you want them to know Him too.
Thomas (14:5). “Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?” Thomas spoke for the whole group when he said that they did not know. Jesus did not scold him for asking. He answered him.
Ego eimi. “I am the way, the truth, and the life” (14:6). In Greek, I am is ego eimi (say: eh-GOH ay-MEE), the same strong I AM Jesus used in John 8:58: “before Abraham was, I AM.” God gave His name to Moses as “I AM WHO I AM” (Exodus 3:14). Jesus speaks as the One who is God.
Hodos. The way is hodos (say: hoh-DOSS), a road or path. Thomas asked for directions. Jesus gave Himself. The way to the Father is not a set of steps to climb. It is a Person to trust.
The truth and the life. Jesus is the truth: what He shows us about God is exactly so, because He is God made known. “No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him” (John 1:18). He is the life: He gives everlasting life, and He rose from the dead to prove it.
No one, except. “No one comes to the Father except through Me.” Jesus did not claim to be one helpful teacher among many. He claimed to be the only way. Peter later preached, “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).
Only, and open. The way is one, and it is open to all. The same Jesus said, “the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out” (John 6:37). We share this truth kindly, because the people around us are loved by God and need Him.
For you. Bring Jesus your honest questions. Then come to the Father through Him, and help others find the way.
Thomas asked Jesus an honest question. He said, “So how can we know the way?” Jesus answered his question. Jesus said, “I am the way.” Jesus did not give Thomas a map. He pointed to Himself. Jesus is the way to God. He is the truth, so He never lies. And He is the life, so He gives life forever. Then Jesus said, “The only way to the Father is through me.” Our sins keep us far from God. Jesus died to take our sins away. Now anyone who trusts Him can come to God!
Thomas asked Jesus a question. Jesus said, “I am the way.” Jesus is the way to God, and He gives us life!
👨👩👧 Parent Prompt
How can someone come to know God?
📖 Complete the Open Bible section first!
📚 Story Questions
3
The Gospel Connection
☆
Far from God. God made people to know Him and be close to Him. But sin, doing what God says is wrong, broke that closeness. “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).
No way back on our own. Thomas did not know the way, and on our own neither do we. Being good, trying harder or being religious cannot take sin away. “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23).
The way opened. Jesus is the way because He died in our place. “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God” (1 Peter 3:18). The night He said, “I am the way,” He was about to open that way at the cross.
Alive forever. On the third day Jesus rose from the dead. Paul wrote “that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:4). The way to the Father is a living Savior.
Your response. “That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9). Turn from your sin and trust Jesus. He will bring you to the Father, and one day He will take you to be with Him.
Separated. God made people to know Him, but sin broke that bond. Isaiah told Israel that their sins had separated them from their God (Isaiah 59:2). The problem is not only that we do wrong things. It is that we are far from the Father. “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).
No road of our own. Thomas asked, “how can we know the way?” People have tried many roads to God: rules, rituals, good deeds and hard work. None of them can remove sin. “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9).
One Mediator. A mediator stands between two sides to bring them together. “For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus” (1 Timothy 2:5). He is the way because He is both God and man, and because He took our sin on Himself. No one else can stand in that place, and no one else needs to.
The cross. “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Corinthians 5:21). Jesus spoke John 14:6 on the night before He opened the way with His own blood. He took the punishment our sin deserved, so that the way to the Father could stand open for anyone who comes.
Risen. “Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:3-4). Jesus, the way to the Father, is alive, and He is coming again for His people. The empty tomb shows that His death for sin was enough.
Your response. Turn from sin and come to the Father through the Son. “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name” (John 1:12). Everyone who belongs to Jesus can know it, and can face the future without a troubled heart.
God made us to be close to Him. But all of us have sinned. Sin means doing wrong and not obeying God. Sin keeps us far away from God the Father.
We cannot find our own way back to God. Being good is not enough. Trying harder cannot take our sin away. We need someone to bring us to God.
God sent Jesus, His own Son. Jesus never did anything wrong. He died on the cross for our sins. On the third day He rose again!
Jesus said, “I am the way.” He is the only way to the Father. Tell God you are sorry for your sins. Trust Jesus, and He will bring you to God.
Jesus has a place ready for His people. One day He will come back for them. Then they will be with Him forever. Anyone can come to Jesus!
We have all done wrong. That is sin.
Sin keeps us far away from God.
Jesus died on the cross for our sins.
Then God raised Him to life!
Jesus is the way to God.
Trust Jesus, and you will be with Him.
👨👩👧 Parent Prompt
Who is the way to God?
📖 Complete the Open Bible section first!
✝️ Gospel Questions
4
Memory Verse
☆
“I am the way, the truth, and the life.”
— John 14:6a (NKJV)
💡 What This Verse Means
Jesus spoke these words on the night before the cross, when Thomas asked, “how can we know the way?” Jesus answered, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” He did not hand Thomas a map or a list of rules. He pointed to Himself. Jesus is the way: we come to God the Father by coming to Him. He is the truth: everything He says is true, and He shows us exactly what God is like. And He is the life: He gives life that lasts forever, and He proved His power over death by rising again. Jesus did not say He knows a way. He said He is the way. So the real question is not whether you are good enough. It is whether you know Jesus and trust Him. Say this verse when you wonder how to get close to God, when you are not sure what is true, or when you think about heaven. Each time, it points you back to the same Person.
John 14:6 begins with “I am,” the strong ego eimi that Jesus used for Himself in John 8:58. Then come three nouns, each with the word the: the way, the truth, the life. Jesus did not say He was a way, a truth or a life among others. He is the way because He is the only Mediator who brings sinners to the Father. As the truth, He is God made known, the One whose words never fail. And He is the life because life comes from Him, and His resurrection proves it. Thomas wanted directions. Jesus gave Himself. That is why the Christian faith is not first a set of ideas or a ladder of good works. It is trust in a living Person. The second half of the verse follows from the first: “No one comes to the Father except through Me.” Because Jesus is the way, there is no other road, and because He welcomes everyone who comes, the road is open to anyone. Memorize these nine words, and let them answer three questions for you: how to come to God, what to believe, and where real life is found. Then share them kindly with someone who is still looking for the way, because the same Jesus invites them too.
Thomas asked Jesus how to know the way. Jesus said, “I am the way.” He also said, “And I am the truth and the life.” Jesus is the way to God the Father. He always tells the truth. He gives life that never ends. You do not have to find your own way to God. You come to God by trusting Jesus. Say this verse when you want to feel close to God.
Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” Jesus is the way to God. He tells the truth and gives life!
5
Word Search 🔍
☆
Find all ? words from the night Jesus told His friends about His Father’s house! 🔍
🎉 All words found!
Great searching!
6
Rapid Fire True or False
☆
7
Bonus: Deep Dive 🤿
☆
Want to go deeper? Complete any deep dive below to earn your bonus star!