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Description

Aim: To create some stunning, fun and colourful art projects that can be taken home and kept. Taken from the BB Junior Pro Pack Spirit S-2-1

Resources

• A bowl of water
• An apple
• Tissue
• Piece of lego
• A paper boat
A thermometer or a stethoscope
Biscuits or chocolates in a tin

Instructions

Instructions:
Jesus most powerful teaching is through the lessons he taught by example. He made a point of living the way He wants us to live. Another one of Jesus favourite ways of teaching was to tell a story or parables. Jesus used parables to reach people at different levels. Those who knew how to and were willing to listen with their hearts were able to understand what Jesus was teaching through the stories. Others heard a good story. Jesus often used the story to hold his audiences attention. After the story was told, he sometimes explained its true meaning.

Activity 1 - Keeping our eyes on Jesus

Aim:
To teach that we need to trust Jesus with everything and that when we keep our eyes on Jesus and what He wants us to do we will never sink!

Preparation:
Read Luke 14:22-23

Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. Later that night he was there alone, and the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it. Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified, - It’s a ghost” they said. and cried out in fear.

But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” “Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.” “Come,” he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out “Lord, save me!” Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?” And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. Then those who were in the boat worshipped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”

Instructions:
• Prepare a washing up bowl or a bucket of water.
• Ask the children as you pick up each item if they think that it will sink to the bottom or float on the surface.
• As you look at each object make a big thing of the sinking and the floating. If they are right congratulate them and if they are wrong be surprised as well.

In our story today we are looking at Jesus walking on the water. Now would you expect a whole man to sink?

Let’s a have a look —

While the disciples were going to the other side of the lake in their boat the wind came up and the water began to get rough. The disciples looked, and saw Jesus coming toward them walking on the water.

They were terrified and cried out in fear — some of them thought that it was a ghost and they were really frightened, because nobody could walk on rough water or any water for that matter.

But Jesus called out to them and said don’t be afraid, have courage because it is me.

Peter saw Jesus and said to him, "Lord, if it’s you,” ‘tell me to come to you on the water.”

Jesus said to him "Come,”

Wow — that would be a bit scary wouldn’t it. Stepping over the side of the boat and putting your foot out onto the water. Peter must have really trusted Jesus a lot don’t you think?

So Peter climbed over the side of the boat and began to walk across the water to Jesus. Then he started to get scared and began to look around and see how strong the wind was and he started to sink.

So he cried out, “ Lord, save me!” Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. ‘You of little faith,” he said. ‘why did you doubt?’

Then they both climbed into the boat, and the wind died down. Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying. ‘ Truly you are the Son of God.”

When Peter trusted Jesus and climbed out of the boat he kept his eyes on Jesus and walked safely on the water to Him. But when he took his eyes off Jesus and began to look at the things happening around him he began to sink.

In each of our lives there will be difficult times, stormy times when we will be quite worried about things and Jesus’ actions here are telling us that as long as we keep our eyes on Jesus and trust in him, we will be okay, we will manage.

But when we take our eyes off of Jesus and get distracted by the things going on around us, we might sink.

Let’s Pray:
Dear God,
Thank you that when things get difficult
you are there to help us
if we keep our eyes on Jesus
and put our trust in him.
Amen.

Extension Tasks/Adaptations:
Prayer time — get the children to write a prayer that they want to say and then read them out together in a short prayer time at the end of the session.

Activity 2 - Who needs a Doctor ?

Aim:
To learn about Jesus and to look at how Jesus went to those who needed him. The application is that Jesus is there for the people who need Him.

Preparation:
Read Matthew 9:9-12

As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collectors booth. Follow me,” he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him. While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and sinners came and ate with him and his disciples. When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?’ On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.’

Instructions:
l am sure that all of you have seen a stethoscope! thermometer.
Who uses a stethoscope/ thermometer? Yes, a doctor.

Have you ever been to the doctor? - most of us will have been ill at some time.

When you are ill, you go to the doctor’s surgery, or sometimes the doctor will come to your house. In the past a doctor would carry a big black bag filled with medicine and what he needed and he would visit the homes of people who were ill and needed his help.

That’s a really good picture of what Jesus did when he was here, living on the earth. He did not stay in the temple or in an office, he went where all the people were, mainly he visited people who were sad, who were ill or who had problems in their life.

One person that Jesus visited was a tax collector called Matthew.. In Jesus’ time people did not like the tax collectors because most of them were not honest and took more money from the people than they should have to pay. They were dishonest men. But when Jesus passed Matthew he told Matthew to get up from his tax collecting booth and follow Him. Matthew did what Jesus said and followed Him. Later they went to eat dinner at Matthew’s house and many of Matthew’s friends came to listen to Jesus talk. Many of them were tax collectors and the Bible says ‘sinners’. The religious leaders from the temples heard that Jesus was with them
and they were very cross that Jesus was even talking to them, and the fact that Jesus was eating dinner with them at Matthew’s house made them boil with rage!

They asked Jesus’ disciples, Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”

I think they were wondering why Jesus did not want to eat with them as they were respectable and could speak with Him about religious things. They were jealous!

Jesus heard them and answered, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. ...For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.’ Just like our doctors used to. Jesus went to the homes of the people who needed him and he taught them and loved them and helped them to understand that they needed to ask for forgiveness for their sins.

So if we follow Jesus actions and want to help people we should be doing what Jesus did, and be going out to where the people are and helping them and talking to them about the good news of Jesus to them.

Extension Tasks/Adaptations:
You could follow this with a Community action project and get the children to practically engage with this passage.

Activity 3 - How to beat temptation

Aim:
To look at Jesus temptation and to get the children to think of the different ways that they are tempted to do the wrong thing.

Preparation:
Read Luke 4:1-13

Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days. and at the end of them he was hungry. The devil said to him, ‘lf you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.’

Jesus answered, ‘It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone. “ The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. And he said to him, I will give you all their authority and splendour; it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. If you worship me, it will all be yours.’ Jesus answered, lt is written: Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.” The devil led him to Jerusalem and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “ If you are the Son of God,’ he said, throw yourself down from here. For it is written:

"He will command his angels concerning you
to guard you carefully; they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’’
Jesus answered. It is said: ‘ Do not put the Lord your God to the test.” When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left him until an opportune time.

Instructions:
• Get the children to sit down ready for you to do your talk and then sit down with them,
• Put the tin next to you and give them time to settle.
• Then say we are going to look at a story from the Bible when Jesus was tempted by the Devil.
• Ok let’s read the story.
• Oh just a minute I think I left something in the other room.
• Can you just watch my tin here, don’t open it or peek inside — I will be right back.
• Then go out of the room.
• Leave them for about two minutes to give them plenty of time,
• They will be desperate to open the tin and some may even open it to have a look.
• Get the other leaders to stop paying attention to the children and then return to the room.

I must say that might have been quite difficult for some of you — did anyone open the tin. Respond to what they say — if they did say didn’t I tell you not to open that tin? Was it very tempting to open and look inside.

Well our story today is about Jesus and what happened when the devil tempted Him. You know that the most important thing to learn about today is not what we think Jesus would do, we must go to the Bible and see what Jesus actually did do. If we want to know what to do when the devil tempts us to do things that we shouldn’t, we should read our Bibles and see what Jesus did when the devil tempted him and do the same.

So Jesus was tempted by the devil just we are sometimes tempted to do things we know that we should not. The Bible tells us that Jesus was led by the Holy Spirit into the desert or wilderness where he was tempted by the devil for a whole forty days. That was a very long time wasn’t it?

Jesus had not had anything to eat for forty days and the devil knew that he was hungry, so he said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.”

Jesus must have been very hungry and he could have wanted to done what Satan said, but he didn’t. He answered, lt is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone.”

Then the devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. And he said to him, ‘I will give you all their authority and splendour; it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone? want to. If you worship me, it will all be yours.’

Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.’

The devil led him to Jerusalem and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,’ he said, “throw yourself down from here. For it is written:

‘He will command his angels concerning you to guard you carefully;
they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone. -

Jesus answered, “It is said: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’

Do you know what Jesus did when the devil tempted him? He answered him with God’s word from the Bible.

So then the devil gave up trying to tempt Jesus because he could not do it and he waited for another time to try to tempt Jesus again.

The next time you feel that the devil is tempting you to do something wrong, think about what Jesus did and remember that you too can be strong and resist temptation.

Extension Tasks/Adaptations:
At the end you use the biscuits and the chocolate for snack time and make a point that they are allowed the biscuits now because you have offered them to everyone.

Tags

• action
• Jesus
• spirit
• temptation

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