JESUS CONCEALED AND REVEALED
This is a good object lesson to use when teaching about Jesus and His followers on the road to Emmaus.
Play a game where you have several objects covered with cloths. Give the students clues about one of the objects and have them try to guess what the object is. For example if you have a pencil under the cloth, you might use clues such as: It is long and skinny...It is yellow...It is pointy on one end...It is a school supply...
Whichever student guesses correctly first gets to peek at the next object and offer clues for the other students to guess the object.
Explain to the students that first the objects were hidden or concealed under the cloths, but the clues given helped them figure out what was under the cloth. When you lifted the cloth, you revealed what was underneath.
Read the story of the road to Emmaus from Luke 24 to students. Emphasize that verse 27 says that Jesus taught them all about HIMSELF starting with Moses and going all the way through the Old Testament. That means the books Moses wrote (Genesis through Deuteronomy) and all the rest of the Old Testament all point to Jesus. He was in the Old Testament concealed and in the New Testament revealed. Ask students if they have you ever watched the TV show Extreme Makeover Home Edition. They send the family on vacation while they build them a new house, then when the family comes home, they park the giant bus in front of the new house, so the family can’t see it. When the family gets out of the car, everyone yells, “Move that bus!” then their new house, which was concealed before is now revealed for them to see.
This is a good way to introduce various ways the Old Testament points to Jesus and the new covenant of Grace.
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Supplies Needed:
container of water
dry sponge
Ask students, “Where does prayer power come from? The Holy Spirit.
It is the power of the Holy Spirit that brings LIGHT to the darkness, HEALING to the sick, JOY to the sad, PEACE to the scared, LOVE to the lonely. When we listen to the Holy Spirit, we will know where to go, what to say, what to do.
Being with the Holy Spirit is kind of like being this sponge. Hold up dry sponge. We soak in His presence, soak sponge in water then when we pray for someone, or speak a word given by Him to us for someone else, or do something to help someone in His Name, in other words - bring Heaven to earth, it is like the Holy Spirit leaking out of us and onto other people squeeze water out of sponge. If it is a warm day, you may want to do this activity outdoors and squeeze a bit of water on the students! What happens to the sponge after all the water has been squeezed out? It will eventually become dry, but the good news is that just because it’s dry, that doesn’t mean we have to throw it out and never use it again. We can go back and soak it some more. soak sponge in water again. That’s what the Holy Spirit wants us to do - go back to Him again and again and get refilled and refilled with His presence, then take what we've been given and splash it out on others."
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SHOW AND TELL GOSPEL
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SHOW AND TELL GOSPEL
Send a note home or email parents ahead of time to inform them that you will be having show and tell at church.
Give students a chance to show and tell about whatever they brought with them, then say to them,
“Did you know that Jesus liked Show & Tell too? He taught about the Kingdom of Heaven, then He showed everyone what it was like by bringing Heaven to earth with miracles. He has given us the keys to do the same!”
Teach about some of Jesus' miracles and/or what He has given us the authority to do in His Name.
Scripture References: Matthew 9, 10
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MY FATHER'S BUSINESS
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MY FATHER'S BUSINESS
Supplies Needed:
magnets
metal items
Read story of the boy Jesus teaching in the temple from Luke 2: 41-52.
Ask, "What was Jesus’ response to His mother’s question once they found Him?” I MUST be where My Father’s work is. “Some Bibles say, ‘My Father’s house or My Father’s business, but the actual Greek translation is this: ‘Didn’t you know that I had to be about My Father?’ (Hold up magnet and demonstrate the following illustration while explaining) “Just like metal cannot resist a magnet, Jesus could not resist being in His Father’s presence. He was drawn to Him just like the metal is drawn to the magnet. Our Father longs for us to be about Him too. He longs to spend time with us, to tell us His secrets, to show us His will, to open our faith eyes to see the Kingdom...He longs for us to hear Him, trust Him, and obey Him. Let’s see what He wants to tell us or show us right now, then let’s trust whatever He says or shows, then follow through by obeying whatever He tells us or shows us.”
Spend some quiet time just seeking The Father's heart and listening to what He says.
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DO EVERYTHING WITHOUT COMPLAINING
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DO EVERYTHING WITHOUT COMPLAINING
Supplies Needed:
flashlights (1 per child)
Go around the circle and each student (and teacher!) must complain about something in their whiniest voice. Demonstrate in your whiniest voice by using some of the following examples or making up some of your own: “My sister ate the last Pop Tart for breakfast! That’s not faaaiiiirrr!!!!” , “It’s soooo HOT (or COLD or RAINY, etc.) this morning!!!”, “Why do these chairs have to be soooo hard and uncomfortable???!!!”. After everyone has had a turn, pass out the flashlights and ask students to turn them on (but not shine in each others’ eyes!). You may want to turn off classroom lights to get the full effect. Go around the circle, complaining and whining again, but this time as each student complains, instruct him/her to turn off his/her flashlight. By the time everyone has had a turn, all lights should be turned off.
Say, “In today’s Bible lesson, we will read some verses in Philippians that say, ‘Do everything without complaining or arguing. Then you will be innocent and without anything wrong in you. You will be God’s children without fault. But you are living with crooked and mean people all around you. Among them you shine like stars in the dark world...’. When we whine, complain, and argue, we are not shining our lights in this dark world. In fact, when we do those things, we are acting just like people who don’t know Jesus. Instead, when we choose to be thankful and allow God’s joy to come out of us, we shine our lights (instruct students to turn their lights back on) in this dark world. So, next time you’re tempted to complain, remember your flashlight and shine like stars!”
You could continue this illustration by going around the circle again, but this time instead of whining and complaining, each person says something for which they are thankful or a word of encouragement as they turn on their flashlight.
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THANKSGIVING TREE
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THANKSGIVING TREE
Supplies Needed:
brown butcher paper or poster board
fall-colored card stock or construction paper
Die cut letters or homemade sign with a scripture about giving thanks printed on it.
scissors
pencils
markers
Prepare Ahead:
Cut butcher paper or poster board to look like tree trunk and branches. Hang on wall. Hang Thanksgiving scripture above it.
In Class (or at Home if doing with your own kids)
Assist children in tracing their hands onto the card stock or construction paper. Tell them that these will be the leaves on our Thanksgiving Tree. Encourage them to write or draw as many things as they can fit on the leaves for which they are thankful, then attach them to the tree. To really make it look like a fall tree, attach some of the leaves as if they are falling from the tree or have already fallen to the ground. Do this each week (or each day if doing at home) between now and Thanksgiving to remind your class or family of all the blessings God freely gives us.
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WHAT DOES GOD WANT FOR CHRISTMAS?
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WHAT DOES GOD WANT FOR CHRISTMAS?
A friend shared this idea and I just LOVED it!
Use as a craft project or object lesson.
Get a gift box and glue a small mirror to the inside bottom. On the outside lid, write "What does God want for Christmas?". When child opens the box and looks inside, they see their own reflection!
What does God want for Christmas? YOU!
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JESUS IS THE STAR!
Remind children that just like they get to feel like a star on their own birthdays, Jesus is the star of His birthday - Christmas! In fact, the Bible even calls Him the Bright Morning Star! Hold up a star-shaped ornament. Ask students how many points are on the star. There are 5 points. Pass around the star and as each student holds it, instruct them to say 5 things they love about Jesus. On His birthday and every day, what Jesus wants from us is our praise and our worship.
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CONTAGIOUS JOY
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JESUS IS THE STAR!
Remind children that just like they get to feel like a star on their own birthdays, Jesus is the star of His birthday - Christmas! In fact, the Bible even calls Him the Bright Morning Star! Hold up a star-shaped ornament. Ask students how many points are on the star. There are 5 points. Pass around the star and as each student holds it, instruct them to say 5 things they love about Jesus. On His birthday and every day, what Jesus wants from us is our praise and our worship.
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CONTAGIOUS JOY
Supplies:
"surgical" mask like one wears to prevent spread of disease (most drug stores carry these).
Say:
One of the themes of the book of Philippians is joy. Paul encouraged the Philippians to be FULL of joy! WHY do you think Paul encouraged them so often to be full of joy? Let’s see if we can figure it out by looking at this illustration. Hold up the type of mask people wear when they are sick. What are some reasons people might wear one of these? Sometimes people wear them when mowing the grass to prevent breathing in pollen and dust. Sometimes people who are very sick might wear one when they have to be around other people to prevent breathing in germs that might make them sicker or to prevent breathing their sick germs on other people. When we are sick with something that other people could get if they breathe our germs, we say we have something contagious. That type of contagious is bad, but did you know there is a type of contagious that is good...VERY good??? It’s joy! Have you ever been around someone who is full of joy and you couldn’t help but feel joyful too just from being with them? Think about a baby laughing. When you hear a baby laughing, you can’t help but laugh too! Their joy is contagious! Paul knew that joy is like a secret weapon. People are drawn to other people who are full of joy. When someone asks why you are so happy, what a wonderful opportunity to share Who Jesus is to you! What a wonderful opportunity to share what life was like before knowing Him and what life is like now! The enemy knows about this secret weapon of joy and that’s why he wants to steal our joy. That’s why he brings fear into our lives. He wants us to forget about being full of joy, because he knows that the joy of the Lord is our strength. He knows that joy is contagious and can draw others to Christ. That’s the last thing he wants to happen! Let’s spend some time now with the Joy Giver. Let’s ask Him to release full joy into our hearts and to make us contagious to spread His love and joy wherever we go! Encourage students to get alone with Jesus and allow His joy to fill them up.
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TRUST OBSTACLE COURSE
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TRUST OBSTACLE COURSE
Supplies:
chairs, boxes, cushions, anything that would be good for creating an obstacle course
Trust Obstacle Course - Prior to students’ arrival, set up an obstacle course using chairs, cushions, boxes, etc. If weather permits, you may want to do this outdoors where there’s more room. Tell students that you love and care for each one of them. Tell them that it is your desire to be there for them and to teach them God’s Word. Ask students if they believe that you have their best interest at heart. Ask if they trust you. Ask if they would trust you even if you asked them to do something hard. Ask for a volunteer. Blindfold volunteer and guide them through the obstacles from one end of area to other. Ask volunteer if he/she believed what you said. Talk about the importance of believing God and trusting that He will always keep His promises even if what He asks us to do seems hard or even impossible.
This is a good lead-in to the story of Abraham being asked to sacrifice Isaac. Abe had to believe God's promise that his son would have children, then trust Him to either raise Isaac from the dead or provide a substitute in order for the promise to be fulfilled.
