A Sunday School study plan for kids by Bible Lessons 4 Kids including large group lesson, small group lesson and family devotions. For more information, please read About Bible Lessons 4 Kidz.
PPT TITLE
Main Point: God wants everyone to know that Jesus is His Son and to believe in Him!
Key Verse:
He must become greater and greater, and I must become less and less. - John3:30 (NLT)
Prop: A police officer’s badge
The very last words of the last book of the Old Testament read:
“I will send you the prophet Elijah. He will come before the day of the Lord arrives. It will be a great and terrifying day. Elijah will teach parents how to love their children. He will also teach children how to honor their parents. If that does not happen, I will come. And I will put a curse on the land.” - Malachai 4:5-6
Say: There were 400 years of silence in which no one heard from the Lord. People who trusted God were very eager for Him to send the promised Messiah.
One day, the angel of the Lord appeared to a priest named Zechariah in the temple. Zechariah and his wife, Elizabeth, were very old and did not have any children. The angel told Zechariah that he and Elizabeth were going to have a son. Zechariah was very surprised to see an angel, because people hadn’t heard from God in 400 years! So even though he had been praying for a child, he was amazed when an angel spoke to him. The angel said that they were to name their son John.
John was assigned a very special mission from God even before he was born. God made it clear to Zechariah and Elizabeth that John’s purpose in life would be to prepare the way for Jesus. Ask: What are some things that you do to prepare for a special time like a family vacation, the holidays, or birthdays? Listen for answers. Say: John came to prepare the hearts of people to believe that Jesus was the Messiah, the Savior.
Say: John grew up to be a very special man. He was very different from the other people who lived in this time. John chose to live in the desert, clothe himself with an outfit of camel’s hair, and eat a diet of locusts and wild honey. He was very different. After all, who else was preaching in the wilderness? Most people preached in the temple where all the people were. But John was preaching out in the desert! To prepare the way for Jesus, John told the people to turn from their wickedness back to righteousness. The people wanted to know how they should live. Here are some of the things that John told them:
John answered, “If you have extra clothes, you should share with those who have none. And if you have extra food, you should do the same.”
Tax collectors also came to be baptized. “Teacher,” they asked, “what should we do?”
“Don’t collect any more than you are required to,” John told them.
Then some soldiers asked him, “And what should we do?”
John replied, “Don’t force people to give you money. Don’t bring false charges against people. Be happy with your pay.” - Luke 3:11-14
Above all, John told the people to repent from their sin. Repent means to “change your mind”. To repent is to agree with God that your sin is very very bad, and go in the opposite direction. It does not merely mean to say, “I’m sorry”. John told them that in order to have a change in behavior, there had to be a change of heart.
Even though John lived in the desert, he was very aware of the sins of the people who came to hear him preach. He did not just say what people wanted to hear: he preached the truth. For example, the wicked King Herod had taken another man’s wife to be his own. John told the people that this was wrong. And he told the Pharisees (the religious leaders who ACTED religious on the outside) that they were like a bunch of snakes! Needless to say, his preaching caused quite a stir!
The religious leaders of that day were very proper. They wore long, fancy robes. They taught people in the clean temple, and they ate fine food. The religious leaders thought that John was a crazy man. They wondered who John thought he was and why he was preaching in the desert. So they came out and asked the question: “Who do you think you are anyway?”
Application: As Christians, this is something we also face (or should be facing). People should be checking out who we are, because we should speak and live differently than everyone else around us.
Say: During this time, the Jewish people were very tired of living under the Roman rule. They wanted a hero - a leader. They knew that one day God would send a Deliverer, the Messiah. They were hoping that John the Baptist was the Messiah, the Christ.
Everyone was expecting the Messiah to come soon, and they were eager to know whether John might be the Messiah. - Luke 3:15 NLT
But John made it perfectly clear that he was not the Messiah. Then they asked if he was the prophet Elijah that was promised at the end of Malachi. John told them, “I am not Elijah.” (John 1:21)
Then they asked if he was the prophet that they had been expecting. He told them he was not.
John was not seeking recognition. His job was to prepare the way for Jesus.
John replied, using the words of Isaiah the prophet. John said, “I’m the messenger who is calling out in the desert, ‘Make the way for the Lord straight.’ ”- John 1:23
Later on, John told the people that he was not even worthy to untie the sandals of Jesus. John said:
He (Jesus) must become greater and greater, and I must become less and less. - John 3:30 NLT
John knew that the most important person in his own life shouldn’t be himself; it should be Jesus! So he made sure everybody knew that he was just a servant of the Messiah who was about to come.
Application: John was not the point of the message. He was just the messenger. John was sent to prepare the way for Jesus. The same is true of us. We are not the message. (It’s not about you). But we are here as a voice to tell others about Jesus. It is very important for us to lead others to Jesus and not to ourselves.
Say: John was not concerned about what people thought of him. He was not after popularity. He did not say or do things just to make his audience happy. He came, simply, to tell the truth. He came to call people to a relationship with God.
Once people believed in the message of God through John, John began to baptize people. John was baptizing people in the Jordan River. When John began his mission, he preached a message of baptism as a SYMBOL. John the Baptist called on people to repent and to change their way of life. John told them of their need to leave their sins behind and to live a new kind of life. Baptism does not wash away the person’s sin. Baptism is a SYMBOL that a person has put their trust in God.
Illustration: Teacher: Hold up a police officer’s badge. Say: I am holding a symbol in my hand. Does anyone know what it is? It is a police badge. What does it symbolize? A police officer will wear this badge as symbol, so everyone will know that he or she is a police officer. Wearing this badge does not make a person into an officer! In order to become a police officer, a person has to go to school and go through a lot of training and testing. This badge is just a symbol that shows us that the person is a trained police officer.
What if I put this badge on right now? Would that make me a police officer? No! Putting the symbol on me would not change who I really am. And, believe it or not, police officers do not sleep with their badges on! When a real policeman takes his badge off at night, does he stop being a police officer? No, he is a policeman on the inside, even when someone can’t see his badge on the outside.
In a similar way, being baptized is an outward symbol of the change that’s been made on the inside. Baptism shows everyone that you have believed and trusted God.
One day, when John and Jesus were both about 30 years old, Jesus came out to the wilderness where John was baptizing people (Luke 3:23).
John said, “Look, the Lamb of God! He takes away the sin of the world!” - John 1:29b
Ask: Do you remember the animal sacrifices that were being made to cover the people’s sins? Can you imagine how the people felt when John said that Jesus was the Lamb of God who would permanently take away all of their sin? Because Jesus is the Lamb of God, there would be no more need to sacrifice lambs.
Jesus wanted John to baptize Him (Matthew 3:13). Jesus wanted to be identified with John’s message. He wanted to show people that John’s message was true. John said that he was not worthy to baptize Jesus, but Jesus insisted that this was the right thing to do. So John baptized Jesus in the Jordan River. And when they came out of the water, the heavens opened, and the Spirit of God came down like a dove and rested on Jesus (Luke 3:21-22).
A voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, and I love Him. I am very pleased with Him.” - Matthew 3:17
Say: I am a human. If I have a son, what is he? Human. If my dog has a baby, what is the baby? It’s a dog. When God announced that Jesus was His Son, this was the first time that it was announced that JESUS IS GOD!
John saw the Spirit come down from heaven like a dove and remain on Jesus. John believed!
PPT VERSE
Key Verse:
He must become greater and greater, and I must become less and less. - John3:30 NLT
PPT MAIN POINT
Main Point: God wants everyone to know that Jesus is His Son and to believe in Him!
© 2007
BibleLessons4Kidz.com All rights reserved worldwide. May be reproduced for personal, nonprofit, and non-commercial uses only.
Unless otherwise noted the Scriptures taken from: Holy Bible, New International Reader’s Version, (NIrV®)
Copyright © 1995, 1996, 1998 by International Bible Society / Used by permission of IBS-STL. All rights reserved worldwide.
Special thanks to John R. Cross, The Stranger on the Road to Emmaus, GoodSeed International.
PPT TITLE
Main Point: Jesus faced every temptation that we do, yet He never sinned.
Key Verse:
Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. - James 4:7 NIV
Props: The Bible, a sword, a stone, a loaf of bread
Note to Teacher: It is important to understand that Jesus was NOT tempted to sin - as in wanting to sin but just holding back the urge. James 1:13 tells us, “God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He tempt anyone” (NIV). We have heard the phrase “the temptation of Christ” for so long, that we liken it to our own “feeling tempted” (an inward desire to commit sin). Christ does not have a sin nature as we do. Christ’s temptation was an outward exposure to Satan’s ploys. The significance of these temptations being offered to Christ, and His refusal to partake, is that Jesus remained sinless and therefore remained the perfect sacrifice, able to take on the sin of mankind on the cross.
Teacher: Begin with a personal story of a time when someone tried to tempt you to sin. Bearing in mind the above Teacher Note, do not share a time when you “felt the urge” to sin, but when someone or something actively tried to persuade you into doing something sinful, as Satan did to Jesus. (Ex: Not the temptation to eat cake when you were on a diet; rather when you were 10 and your friend begged you to do his homework.)
Say: To “tempt” is to try to get someone to do wrong. So, to “be tempted” means someone is trying to get you to do something wrong. Ask: Has anyone in this room ever been tempted? When you were tempted, was it hard to do the right thing?
Say: Today we’re going to read from God’s Word that Satan tried to tempt Jesus in the wilderness, but Jesus resisted temptation by using God’s Word.
This is what we are going to learn about Satan: Satan is very clever. He tempts when you’re hungry, angry, lonely, tired. Satan also tempts when you’ve just had a wonderful, spiritual event in your life. Satan tried to tempt Jesus right after Jesus was baptized by His cousin, John.
This is what we’re going to learn about Jesus: Jesus used Scripture to counter Satan’s attacks.
The Word of God is living and active. It is sharper than any sword that has two edges. - Hebrews 4:12a
Teacher: Show your sword and your Bible. Say: Just as a sword can defeat a military enemy, even more so, God’s Word can defeat our enemy, the devil.
After Jesus was baptized, the Bible says that the Spirit “immediately” led Jesus into the wilderness. The word “wilderness” is often translated as “desert.” The book of Mark states that Jesus was “with the wild animals” (Mark 1:13). We can assume that He was away from other people. Jesus was alone, in the desert, and He had just been baptized. But the book of Luke tells us even more. Jesus ate nothing for 40 days.
Ask: How would you feel if you didn’t eat for 40 days? Hungry
Let’s talk about fasting for just a minute. Fasting is when you choose to say no to food so that you can give all of your attention to prayer. People fast for various reasons. “It is likely that Jesus was fasting to seek God and refrain from all distractions” (p. 47 Jesus, the One and Only by Beth Moore). Many times people will fast because they want all of their time and energy to go into prayer. Preparing food, eating it, and cleaning up takes a lot of time. When you fast, you can spend all that time in prayer. By doing this, you are communicating to God and yourself that He is more important to you than daily food.
After 40 days and 40 nights of going without eating, Jesus was hungry. The tempter came to Him. He said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.” - Matthew 4:2-3
The “tempter” was another name for the devil, or Satan. Satan tried to place doubt in the mind of Jesus with the words “If you are the Son of God.”
Teacher: Show a stone and a loaf of bread.
Say: The book of Luke tells us that Satan tried to tempt Jesus throughout His forty days in the wilderness (Luke 4:2). Satan knew that Jesus had gone without food for forty days. Obviously, Satan knew that Jesus was very hungry! He also knew that Jesus was powerful.
Of course, Jesus could make bread. We will learn that twice Jesus made bread for several thousand people! (Mark 6:35-44, Mark 8:1-21) Making bread was no big deal for Jesus. BUT - that word “if” indicates that Satan was questioning whether or not Jesus was truly God.
Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread. He also lives on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ ”(Deuteronomy 8:3) - Matthew 4:4
Teacher: Show your Bible and the sword again.
Say: God’s Word is like a sword. It cuts through the doubts of the devil.
When Jesus said, “It is written”, He was referring to Scripture. Jesus was quoting Deuteronomy 8:3 where Moses reminded the Israelites that God humbled them in the wilderness when He provided manna from heaven. By quoting this Scripture, Jesus made it clear that there is something much more important than physical needs. It is the need to know God. It’s interesting to note how this temptation compares to Eve’s temptation in the Garden of Eden.
Ask: What did Satan tempt Eve to do? Eat fruit. And what did Satan tempt Jesus to do? Make bread. What is similar? Both temptations involve food.
Application: We must be careful to control our fleshly appetites. Not just our appetite for food, but also our appetite for things that are not good for us like too much TV, bad pictures, etc.
The more important similarity is that in both cases, Satan tried to plant the seed of doubt. To Eve he said, “Did God REALLY say not to eat the fruit?” To Jesus he said, “IF You are the Son of God…”
Ask: Do you hear how Satan is trying to make them doubt?
Say:
Then the devil took Jesus to the holy city. He had Jesus stand on the highest point of the temple. “If You are the Son of God,” he said, “throw Yourself down. It is written, “ ‘The Lord will command his angels to take good care of you. They will lift you up in their hands. Then you won’t trip over a stone.’ ” (Psalm 91:11,12) - Matthew 4:5-6
History tells us that a part of Herod’s temple was about 450 feet high. It is likely that Satan took Jesus to Jerusalem to stand on that part of the temple. Satan challenged Jesus to throw Himself down. He reasoned that IF Jesus was God’s Son, then God would surely protect Him from such fall. Satan tried to get Jesus to do something that would force God to help Him. That’s like saying, “God, I know you can protect me, so I am going to walk out into a busy highway and You must keep me safe”. We are not to do this, because we are not in authority over God. He is in authority over us. We do not force God to serve us. Certainly God is able to rescue His children from incredible danger, however, to act foolishly and then expect God to deliver you is to put God to the test.
Note to Teacher: See Psalm 78:17-22, for God’s anger when the Israelites tested Him in the desert.
Did you know that Satan is keenly aware of what is written in the Bible? He quoted this verse to Jesus:
The Lord will command His angels to take good care of you.
They will lift you up in their hands.
Then you won’t trip over a stone. - Psalm 91:11-12
It is true that God can and does protect His children, but remember, we are to use good judgment. We are not to experiment with God. Satan was challenging Jesus to “push the limits” with God.
Jesus quotes Scripture –
Jesus addressed the real issue by quoting Deuteronomy 6:16.
Jesus answered him, “It is also written, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’ ” - Matthew 4:7
The word “test” here does not mean the kind of test you take at school. It means to “make God prove Himself”. God is holy. He is the King of the universe. He does not have to prove anything to anybody! Do not attempt to “test” God.
Teacher: Show your Bible and the sword again.
Say: God’s Word is like a sword. It cuts through the deceit of the devil.
Finally, the devil took Jesus to a very high mountain. He showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. “If You bow down and worship me,” he said, “I will give You all of this.”
Jesus said to him, “Get away from Me, Satan! It is written, ‘Worship the Lord your God. He is the only One you should serve.’ ” - Matthew 4:8-10
Satan offered Jesus the power to rule the earth. But, the world was not even Satan’s to offer (Psalm 22:28; Isaiah 37:16). This was the very temptation that had ensnared Satan which caused him to be thrown out of heaven. It was Satan’s overwhelming greed for power that caused him to rebel against God. Satan is the one who desired to become more than he was. Just the opposite, Jesus already had all power and glory, but willingly gave it up to come and give His life for mankind. The Bible says:
In His very nature He (Jesus) was God. But He did not think that being equal with God was something He should hold on to. Instead, He made Himself nothing. He took on the very nature of a servant. He was made in human form. He appeared as a man. He came down to the lowest level. He obeyed God completely, even though it led to His death. In fact, He died on a cross. - Philippians 2:5-8
Satan was offering Jesus temporary control of the world in exchange for His eternal rule. Perhaps Satan thought he could play on the goodness of Jesus. Maybe he thought Jesus would seek worldly control in order to stop the sin and suffering that abounds on the earth. Can you imagine how Jesus feels when He sees the misery, war, crime, poverty, abuse, and torture in this world? Perhaps Satan was hoping that Jesus would be eager to bring it all back under His control. In God’s timing, this world will indeed be completely under God’s authority, but not yet. Jesus did not come into the world to stop all of the problems on the earth. Jesus came to take away the sin of the world (1 John 3:5).
If Jesus had bowed down to Satan, He would have sinned because the Bible says we are ONLY supposed to worship God. Jesus saw the big picture. Jesus kept His focus on the eternal - it was far better for Jesus to remain sinless so He could become the substitution for all men, so those who believe could gain eternal life. Again, Jesus quoted Scripture.
Teacher: Show your Bible and the sword again.
Say: God’s Word is like a sword. It cuts through the evil plans of the devil. James 4:7 says to RESIST the devil, and he will flee from you!
Then the devil left Jesus. Angels came and took care of Him. - Matthew 4:11
Angels are God’s messengers. They came to Jesus to minister to Him. What a difference! On one hand, Satan was tempting Jesus. God cast Satan away, and angels came instead.
Application: Satan will do his best to tempt, trick, and trap every follower of Jesus (1 Peter 5:8). He is very clever. He knows all of our weaknesses, and he will always try to catch us off guard. Unlike Jesus, we are all born with a sin nature (Romans 5;12; 7:18). This means, without God’s help, rebelling against God is natural to us. Therefore, we MUST rely totally on the power of God to resist the devil’s snares. We tap into God’s power by following Jesus’ example. The awesome news is that we all have access to the same devil-defeating tools that Jesus used. Do not be fooled! Good intentions will not defeat the evil one! Only the divine tools God has given us - God’s Word, prayer, and praise - will do the work of defeating such a crafty, deceitful enemy.
We have a high priest [Jesus] who can feel it when we are weak and hurting. We have a high priest who has been tempted in every way, just as we are. But he did not sin. - Hebrews 4:15
PPT VERSE
Key Verse: Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. - James 4:7 NIV
PPT MAIN POINT
Main Point: Jesus faced every temptation that we do, yet He never sinned.
© 2007
BibleLessons4Kidz.com All rights reserved worldwide. May be reproduced for personal, nonprofit, and non-commercial uses only. Brought to you by KidzLife
Unless otherwise noted the Scriptures taken from: Holy Bible, New International Reader’s Version, (NIrV®)
Copyright © 1995, 1996, 1998 by International Bible Society / Used by permission of IBS-STL. All rights reserved worldwide.
Special thanks to John R. Cross, The Stranger on the Road to Emmaus, GoodSeed International.
PPT TITLE
Main Point: Jesus invites us to follow Him and we must each chose whether we will.
Key Verse:
“Come. Follow Me,” Jesus said. “I will make you fishers of people.” - Mark 1:17
Materials: Two sheets of paper.
Say: Forgiveness from sin is a wonderful gift. Everyone longs to know true forgiveness for their sins. When John the Baptist announced that Jesus was the Lamb of God who came to take away the sins of the world, people began to follow Jesus (John 1:29).
Leader, call up a volunteer. Say: I want you to copy everything I do. Begin to make a paper airplane, step by step, allowing the student to imitate your actions. Then toss your plane, he should toss his as well. Thank your volunteer. Say: My volunteer imitated everything I did. He followed what I did step by step. You could say he was a student of my amazing paper airplane making skills. Today we will talk about the “students” of Jesus. Ask: Does anyone know another word for student?
The people who began to follow Jesus were called His disciples. A disciple is a person who follows another person and his teaching. Becoming a disciple of Jesus is usually a step-by step process. It’s learning through faith to trust and follow Him one step and one event at a time.
Say: Peter, Andrew, James, and John were all fishermen. Fishing was their job. You may enjoy an afternoon of fishing. These men were professional fishermen. Every day they let down their nets, caught the fish, cleaned the fish, and sold them. Day after day, they did these same things over and over again. Jesus walked right up to them, and offered to turn their routine into a great adventure.
One day Jesus was standing by the Sea of Galilee. The people crowded around Him and listened to the word of God. Jesus saw two boats at the edge of the water. They had been left there by the fishermen, who were washing their nets. He got into the boat that belonged to Simon (Peter). Jesus asked him to go out a little way from shore. Then He sat down in the boat and taught the people.
When He finished speaking, He turned to Simon (Peter). He said, “Go out into deep water. Let the nets down so you can catch some fish.” - Luke 5:1-4
Ask: Do you think Simon Peter will LISTEN to Jesus? How long had Peter been awake trying to fish? All night.
Say: Remember, Peter had JUST washed his nets. If he let them down into the sea again, the nets would be full of salt water, and Peter would have to wash them all over again. Peter told Jesus that he had been up all night trying to fish and that he didn’t catch anything. BUT, because Jesus told him to put his net down into the deep water, Peter trusted Jesus and then obeyed!
Application: Often times, God will tell us to do something that may be out of our way or seem too hard at the time. However, we must always be like Peter, obeying and trusting Him. There is blessing in obedience, and even if you don’t see it immediately, it is always better to obey God, no matter what He tells you to do. God always rewards those who trust Him.
Say: Listen what happened next: Simon (Peter) answered, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.”
When they had done so, they caught a large number of fish. There were so many that their nets began to break. So they motioned to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. They came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink. - Luke 5:5-7
When Peter saw the MIRACLE that Jesus did, Peter fell at Jesus’ feet. He said, “Get away from me, Lord. I am a sinful man.” (Luke 5:8) Peter realized that JESUS WAS GOD, and Peter worshipped Him - right there in that smelly boat filled with fish.
Application: You can worship God anywhere at anytime!
Say: This was a huge step for Peter in becoming a disciple of Jesus. When Peter realized that Jesus was God, everything changed!
Jesus told Peter not to be afraid, and from that time forward instead of catching fish, Peter would now catch men. This meant that Peter would join Jesus in telling people about the kingdom of God! This would be a huge change for Peter; he had been a fisherman all of his life. It’s what he knew how to do, and how he made money for his family. Can you imagine Jesus telling you to drop everything you normally do, to go and do something totally different?
From other Scriptures, we know that Peter had a wife. It could be that God knew that Peter would be reluctant to follow Jesus because of his responsibilities to care for his family. But Jesus took away that fear by showing Peter that He was the great Provider. Jesus was a carpenter (Mark 6:3), yet He knew more about fishing than Peter did. Jesus proved He could provide everything for those who follow Him.
Application: There is no life more adventuresome than a life completely given to God. When Jesus Christ takes over, things get exciting! Being a true follower of Jesus Christ is the height of an extreme life!
Say: Let’s see what we can learn from Peter’s reaction to this miracle:
This is very important, and there are many people who have difficulty with this point. In our human nature, we want to believe that there is something good about us. We are told to “believe in ourselves.” But the Bible says each one of us has sinned (Romans 3:23). Ask: How many times would a person have to steal a car to be considered a car thief? One time! Say: Likewise, it only takes ONE sin to be a sinner. A sin is any wrong action or any wrong thought (Isaiah 59:7, Matthew 15:19). The GREAT news is, Jesus came to save SINNERS. He came to find the LOST. He came to heal the SICK (Luke 5:31-32).
When Peter realized that Jesus was God, he fell to his knees, and begged Jesus to step away from him. He knew that compared to Jesus, he was a very sinful man.
Jesus showed Peter and the others that He was unlike anyone else - He was God. Look back to the story: Jesus had the disciples catch so many fish that TWO boats began to sink. When Peter saw this miracle, he was certain Jesus was God (Matthew 16:16).
Phillipians 4:19 says, “My God will meet all your needs. He will meet them in keeping with his wonderful riches that come to you because you belong to Christ Jesus.” Everyone needs his or her physical needs taken care of; Jesus proved to Peter that He provides everything we need. Everyone needs forgiveness from sin. Jesus provided that. Jesus even provided the way of ETERNAL LIFE to those who put their faith and trust in Him. When we lack faith, it is often because we don’t trust that God will provide exactly what we need! Jesus PROVES to us that He is our faithful Provider. Faith is based on knowledge and experience. We know that we can trust God because of what the Bible teaches and because of how we’ve seen Him work in our own lives.
When you say YES to something, you are essentially saying NO to something else. When your parents said YES to marrying each other, they said NO to everyone else. If you only have one dollar at the dollar store, and you say YES to buy something, you are saying NO to buying any other item. Jesus wanted Peter, James, and John to say YES to following Him and NO to life as usual. Their boats, nets, lines, and hooks were familiar to them and made them feel successful, safe, and secure. Jesus would show them that HE alone would be their All-Sufficient One. The Bible says that they left everything (even that fortune in fish) and followed Jesus.
Note to Teacher: Sometimes, our greatest problem will come in that area in which we are most skilled, most knowledgeable. For Peter, this was his skill as a fisherman. Jesus had to show Peter that He knew more than this veteran of the Sea of Galilee, so that Peter could find Jesus the Master and Teacher. Whatever it is that you find yourself good at, whatever it is that you trust in, is that which you may be required to forsake in order to follow Christ.
Jesus came to invite lost people into God’s kingdom. If we are going to follow Jesus, then we must listen, obey, and be careful to do things His way. Peter and his friends had to leave behind fishing as their career. Though they were good at fishing, Jesus had a much bigger and better plan for them. When you are a true disciple of Jesus, He may tell you to do things differently than you did before. LISTEN to what He’s saying to you!
Application: Are you willing to be His disciple? Ask: What is a disciple? A disciple is a person who follows another person and his teaching.
Say: We are going to see large crowds of people who follow Jesus, but only a few become His true disciples. True discipleship has a cost. A true disciple follows Jesus no matter what the cost.
Jesus had just chosen these men to follow Him and be His disciples. Jesus’ disciples are going to be with Jesus. The more they are with Jesus, the more they will believe and trust in Him. The more they believe and trust in Him, the more they will become like Him!
PPT VERSE
Key Verse:
“Come. Follow Me,” Jesus said. “I will make you fishers of people.” - Mark 1:17
PPT MAIN POINT
Main Point: Jesus invites us to follow Him and we must each chose whether we will.
© 2007
BibleLessons4Kidz.com All rights reserved worldwide. May be reproduced for personal, nonprofit, and non-commercial uses only. Brought to you by KidzLife
Unless otherwise noted the Scriptures taken from: Holy Bible, New International Reader’s Version, (NIrV®)
Copyright © 1995, 1996, 1998 by International Bible Society / Used by permission of IBS-STL. All rights reserved worldwide.
Special thanks to John R. Cross, The Stranger on the Road to Emmaus, GoodSeed International.
PPT TITLE
Main Point: All things are possible with God.
Key Verse:
All things are possible with God. - Mark 10:27b
Props: 5 loaves of bread (or rolls); 2 fish; 12 baskets (Optional: bread for each child; The Gospel of John DVD)
Say: The last time I took a trip, I took... (give list - you can make it outlandish if you want). When you go on a trip, what do you take? Listen for answers.
After Jesus called His disciples and they chose to follow Him, they traveled all over the area together. Jesus told His disciples not to take anything as they traveled! Why do you think that is? He wanted them to trust God to provide all of their needs.
The disciples saw Jesus heal people and heard His teachings. They heard Jesus proclaim that the kingdom of God had come. As proof that Jesus had authority to tell others about God and His kingdom, Jesus performed many miracles. He healed people of terrible diseases and injuries. He made blind people see and made crippled people walk.
After some time together, Jesus even sent the disciples out on their own to preach and heal in His name. As Jesus sent the men out, listen to what He said:
He told them, “Don’t take anything for the journey. Do not take a walking stick or a bag. Do not take any bread, money or extra clothes. - Luke 9:3
Say: Meanwhile, John the Baptist was still boldly telling people about God’s right way to live. Some people who were living in sin became very angry with John. King Herod was doing very bad things. He didn’t like hearing John say that his behavior was wrong (Matthew 14:3-4). King Herod ordered that John be killed (Mark 6:14-29). This was awful! This made Jesus and His disciples very sad. Jesus took His disciples by boat to a quiet place so that they could rest and have something to eat
Crowds of people followed Jesus wherever He went. When people heard that Jesus and the disciples had gone off to be on their own, they wanted to go there, too. So they came running from all the towns in the area and got there before Jesus and His friends. They wanted to hear Jesus teach, and they wanted to see more miracles, more signs, and more wonders.
Jesus could have refused to teach the crowd. After all, He and disciples had sailed on the boat to get away from people for a while and rest. But look again at Mark 6:34 says, “When Jesus came ashore, He saw a large crowd. He felt deep concern for them. They were like sheep without a shepherd. So He began teaching them many things.”
Jesus loved each and every person in that crowd. And He knew that there was so much they still didn’t understand about the kingdom of God. So even though He needed rest, He put the needs of the crowd before His own, and He taught them. The Bible says the people in the crowd were like sheep without a shepherd, which means they were lost and confused about life. By teaching them, Jesus was a kind and loving Shepherd who took care of them.
Application: The Bible calls Jesus the Good Shepherd. He said, “I know My sheep, and My sheep know Me. They know Me just as the Father knows Me and I know the Father. And I give My life for the sheep.” (John 10:14-15)
Isn’t it wonderful to know that Jesus loves us like that? Isn’t it amazing that He loved us enough to die for our sins? If we are ever lost and confused—like the crowd was that day—our Good Shepherd will gently lead us where we need to go and teach us what we need to know.
Say: By that time it was late in the day. Jesus looked over the large crowd and asked Philip, “Where can we buy bread for these people to eat?” (John 6:5). Since Philip was from this area, this question could have been a simple question of where the shops were located (John 1:44). But Jesus really asked Philip this question to test him. All throughout the Bible, we see that God asks questions to test men (Genesis 3:9, 4:9, Job 38). Jesus asked Philip “where” and Philip can think only in terms of “how.” This is a very difficult test because Jesus refers to “buying” bread. A correct answer might have been something like, “Lord, You know.” Philip could also have remembered another miracle that Jesus had done when He turned water into wine. He could have said, “Lord, You are able to provide.” But Philip did not focus on Jesus’ ability. Philip said, “Eight months’ pay would not buy enough bread for each one to have one bite!” (John 6:7)
As it was getting dark outside, some of the disciples asked Jesus to send everyone away so the people could go to the villages to buy something to eat. But Jesus said they did not need to go away. Jesus said, “You give them something to eat.” (Matthew 14:15-16).
Jesus was showing Philip and the other disciples that there was no way they could solve the problem on their own. There was no store close enough to buy this much food. And even if there was, it would have taken way more money than the disciples had! Jesus wanted the disciples to trust Him - to know that He alone was able to meet their need.
Application: God wants you to trust that He will take care of you! God may allow a situation in your life that you cannot solve. This is the perfect opportunity to rely on Him. (Teacher, feel free to insert a personal story of when God allowed this kind of situation in your life.) Trust that the Lord is able and willing to meet all of your needs.
Say: At this point, another disciple, Andrew, spoke up and said, “Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish.”
Ask: What do they have? Just a little boy’s lunch
Say: Children were not seen as very important in that culture. They weren’t even counted with the 5,000. God was going to use someone that everyone else overlooked to perform a miracle. God uses all kinds of people in His work. He often uses those who are weakest or least important in the eyes of other people.
Ask: Do you LIKE to share your food? How about when you’re really hungry?
Say: This young boy was willing to give what little he had to Jesus. Jesus told the disciples to bring the 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish to Him. Jesus then told the disciples to have the people sit down. Jesus gave thanks for the food.
Application: We should always thank God for our food. Food is a gift from God.Teaching Idea for Younger Children:
Say: What happened next was an amazing miracle. Jesus broke the bread. (Hold up your bread and tear it.) He gave it to His disciples to give it to the all the people. Can you imagine trying to feed that many people? The disciples probably thought, “My basket will run out really quickly with all these hungry people to feed.” But amazingly, they never ran out! The disciples went back to Jesus time and time again to get fish and bread to feed the huge crowd. Ask: At what point do you think the disciples realized that Jesus was performing a miracle? God is so generous! He is never stingy with His gifts. The Bible says:
And God will generously provide all you need. Then you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others. - 2 Corinthians 9:8 NLT
Say: Everyone received as much food as they wanted, they all had pleanty to eat, and twelve baskets full of food were left over (John 6:11-13). Jesus told His disciples to gather what was left. Isn’t it amazing that after everyone ate until they were full, there were 12 baskets full of food left over? Jesus told the disciples not to let anything be wasted.
Say: Each of the 12 disciples, who must have agonized over the shortage of food and the size of the crowd they were commanded to feed, walked away with a basket full of extra food. They came to this place sad and hungry – ready to be away from the people. But God had a different plan. He came to fill their emptiness with Himself! God supplies all our needs and more.
Application: Nothing is too small for God to use it - even a little boy’s lunch. The disciples could not see how the child’s lunch could be of help, but showing Himself strong through our weakness is characteristic of the way God provides (2 Corinthians 12:9-10).
PPT VERSE
Key Verse: All things are possible with God. - Mark 10:27b
Main Point: All things are possible with God. PPT Verse
Teaching Ideas for Younger Children: Teach this song and motions to the tune of “Happy Birthday”:
One boy had two fish (hold up 2 fingers)
And five loaves of bread (hold up 5 fingers)
He shared them with Jesus (hold hand out; palms up)
Lots of people were fed (wiggle fingers to show lots of people)
© 2007
BibleLessons4Kidz.com All rights reserved worldwide. May be reproduced for personal, nonprofit, and non-commercial uses only. Brought to you by KidzLife
Unless otherwise noted the Scriptures taken from: Holy Bible, New International Reader’s Version, (NIrV®)
Copyright © 1995, 1996, 1998 by International Bible Society / Used by permission of IBS-STL. All rights reserved worldwide.
Special thanks to John R. Cross, The Stranger on the Road to Emmaus, GoodSeed International.
PPT CUE
Main Point: We should each be truly thankful for what Jesus has done for us.
Key Verse:
When one of them saw that he was healed, he came back. He praised God in a loud voice. He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked Him. - Luke 17:15
Props: Two pieces of identical white cloth—one that is dirty, tattered and torn, and one that is clean and bright.
Say: From the time we are tiny children, our parents are constantly reminding us to have good manners. When you ask for something, what do your parents always tell you to say? Please. And when you receive something, what are you supposed to say? Thank you.
When your parents remind you to say “please” and “thank you” they are helping you to understand thankfulness. Let’s say you receive a gift you really wanted for Christmas. You are probably very happy that you have received the gift. But being thankful takes it a step further: you’re not just happy that you HAVE the gift, you are filled with thankfulness to the giver as well. You think of all the giver had to do to make sure you could get the gift. They took the time to go shopping. They paid for it. They wrapped it in pretty paper. And because you are so amazed by the giver’s generosity and love, you freely show your thankfulness by giving them a big hug, or saying “thank you” over and over, or writing a note and sending it in the mail.
Today we are going to look at a story in Luke 17 about a time that Jesus gave an amazing gift to ten men. And while all ten of them may have been happy that they received a gift, only one of them chose to show their thankfulness to Jesus. Let’s read together in Luke 17:11-19.
Teacher Note: The story of Jesus healing the ten lepers in Luke 17 appears immediately after a teaching conversation Jesus has with His disciples after one asked Him to “increase our faith.” In this conversation, Jesus indicates that obedience to God is not something extra we do to receive His thanks and rewards. Rather, it is our duty to serve Him, just like it is a servant’s duty to serve his master. Our pride sometimes twists this truth and tells us that we should expect God to thank us for all we do to serve Him. But Jesus teaches here that true faith is total dependence on God and a willingness to unselfishly do His will. This conversation, combined with the story of the ten lepers, puts gratitude in its proper perspective. God is the one deserving of gratitude because of the grace and mercy He freely gives to those who do not deserve it.
Say:
Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. He traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. As he was going into a village, ten men met him. They had a skin disease. They were standing close by. And they called out in a loud voice, “Jesus! Master! Have pity on us!”
Jesus saw them and said, “Go. Show yourselves to the priests.” While they were on the way, they were healed. - Luke 17:11-14
Say: Before we read on, it is important to understand exactly what leprosy was and why it was such a big deal that Jesus healed these ten men.
In all of our lives, bad things happen from time to time. Sometimes these bad things are consequences for bad choices, but other times bad things happen simply because we live in a sinful world. The Bible says that the men in this story had a skin disease called leprosy. It doesn’t say that they deserved leprosy but just that they HAD leprosy. It was a disease they suffered from because they were living in a sinful, fallen world.
When God created the world, it was perfect. There was no sickness; there was no death. Everything was beautiful, happy and good. But when sin came into the world, it spoiled everything! There are accidents and cancer and divorce. There are tornadoes, tsunamis, hurricanes, earthquakes, crime and sickness. It is not hard to see how awful sin is!
So because we live in a fallen, sinful world, there are terrible diseases. The disease of leprosy is one of them.
Say: Some of you are probably wondering what this disease really is. Leprosy is a terrible condition where a person’s skin begins to rot and fall off. Many lepers lose all of their fingers and toes because of the disease. It is very painful and smelly. You could tell if a person had leprosy because their body would be covered with sores. People with these sores are commonly referred to as lepers.
Leprosy was a common skin disease a long time ago, and there are still people in some parts of the world today who have leprosy. There are lepers in India, China, and Japan as well as in parts of Africa and the West Indies and in South America.
Leprosy is very contagious. It is very easy to “catch” leprosy. Even just touching a person who has leprosy or touching something that they touched could make you get the disease. So whenever a person caught leprosy in Bible times, they had to live outside the community. In fact, one of the laws that God gave the Israelites in the Old Testament says, “As long as he has the infection [of leprosy] he remains unclean. He must live alone. He must live outside the camp.” - Leviticus 13:46
If Mr. ______ (adult volunteer) found out that he had leprosy, he could no longer be in here with us, he would have to leave our building and even leave our town! He couldn’t hug his wife and children, because they might get the disease. Wouldn’t that be sad?!
You can see that leprosy wasn’t just bad for a person’s body, but it was also terrible for their ability to enjoy friends and family, since they lived alone. Sometimes lepers would get very lonely and seek out other lepers to live with. That’s why the ten men in this story were together. They all had leprosy, and they were not allowed to be a part of their original family community. In some parts of the world today, groups of lepers living together are called “leper colonies.”
Leprosy made a person “unclean”. Because leprosy was so contagious, people long ago would shout “UNCLEAN! UNCLEAN!” when they were walking on the road or were in the company of people who did not have leprosy. No one wanted to be near a person with this terrible disease, so they would hurry away from anyone shouting the word “unclean.” The religious leaders, who liked to add rules to the laws that God had given His people, said that lepers could not even go to the Temple like everyone else could. This wasn’t just because they were afraid of catching leprosy, it was because the religious leaders also thought lepers were “unclean” spiritually. How sad for those with leprosy. Not only did they have a terrible disease, but they were also falsely accused of having unclean hearts, too.
APPLICATION: Wouldn’t it be terrible if someone accused you of being a bad person, just because you had a cold or strep throat? What if getting sick meant you could never see your family again? What if someone told you that God didn’t want anything to do with you because you were sneezing and coughing? That would be terribly unfair, wouldn’t it?
Say: That’s why the men in our story stood at a distance from Jesus and called out to Him. These ten lepers knew that they could not go near anyone because they had a contagious illness. But they also believed they were bad people who were unacceptable to God.
The men had probably been waiting for Jesus at the edge of the village. When they saw Jesus crossing the border between Galilee and Samaria, they yelled, “Jesus, Master, have mercy upon us.”
When the lepers saw Jesus, they yelled, “Jesus, Master, have mercy upon us.”
Jesus then told the them to show themselves to the priest. At some point, as they were going to do that, the ten lepers noticed that their leprosy was gone. They had been healed!
Say: Their skin changed from being full of sores and disease (show the cloth that is dirty, tattered & torn) to being clean and healthy (put that cloth down & hold up an identical, brand new clean piece.)
Say: Now let’s continue reading to see what happens next. Look at Luke 17:15-19.
When one of them saw that he was healed, he came back. He praised God in a loud voice. He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked Him. The man was a Samaritan.
When Jesus saw the Samaritan, He immediately wondered about the other nine men who had also been healed.
Jesus asked, “Weren’t all ten healed? Where are the other nine? Didn’t anyone else return and give praise to God except this outsider?”
Then Jesus said to him, “Get up and go. Your faith has healed you.”
Say: It is hard to believe that only one of the ten men Jesus healed came back to thank Him. Certainly, the other nine men noticed that they were healed, but they did not take the time to return to say, “Thank you.”
It’s very likely that once the other nine saw they were healed, they ran home to their families and friends. After all, they had been living far away from them for some time. Can you imagine how excited they were? Can you imagine how happy their families must have been to see them again?
Though these nine other men were so, so happy to be healed, they didn’t return to Jesus to publicly GIVE THANKS. They didn’t “praise God with a loud voice and throw themselves at His feet” like the leper who did return to thank Jesus.
APPLICATION: When Jesus gave His life for you and me, His blood healed us from a disease much more hideous than leprosy. Do you remember when we talked earlier about how sin spoils everything? Well, sin spoils us too! Like a terrible disease, sin ruins us.
Sin is a great spiritual need that requires healing. We seem to recognize physical needs better than spiritual needs. When we’re hungry, we eat. When we’re sick, we go to the doctor. When we’re tired, we sleep.
In each of our lives, there are sins like hate, anger, greed, lying, and selfishness. Just like leprosy is a physical disease, these sins are spiritual diseases that need to be healed. And Jesus wants to heal them! He wants us to call out to Him for help, just like the ten lepers called out to Him for help.
And like the one leper who returned, we should worship, praise, and thank God at all times. We can do this when we’re alone, but God also wants us to give thanks to Him publicly and with other believers.
Say: The ten lepers in Luke 17 were given a great gift. The problem was, nine of them didn’t receive it with true thankfulness. Sure they were happy that they had received the gift of healing, but they didn’t CHOOSE to thank the gift giver. When Jesus asked, “Where are the other nine?” He clearly was asking, “Why aren’t they giving thanks to God?”
The same question could be asked of us today: “Why aren’t these people giving Me thanks?” Jesus has given us the unbelievable free gift of forgiveness. We didn’t have to do anything to earn it. Even though our sin deserves to be punished, Jesus took that punishment for us when He died on the cross. How many of you think that’s the biggest, best gift we will ever receive?
But the problem is, many people accept the free gift of forgiveness and never do anything to show their THANKFULNESS to Jesus.
The message from God is clear: we should have a heart filled to overflowing with thanksgiving to God, AND we should also tell God and others how thankful we are! God has done so much for us! He deserves our thanks!
Here is what Psalm 107:1-2 says about thankfulness:
Give thanks to the Lord, because He is good.
His faithful love continues forever.
That’s what those who have been set free by the Lord should say.
Say: Jesus was publicly crucified to heal our sins. We should find the time to publicly thank Him for that amazing gift. We should live a life of thankfulness, just like the one leper who returned to give thanks to Jesus. We should do what Colossians 2:7 tells us: “Grow strong in what you believe, just as you were taught. Be more thankful than ever before.”
Key Verse:
When one of them saw that he was healed, he came back. He praised God in a loud voice. He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked Him. — Luke 17:15
Main Point: We should each be truly thankful for what Jesus has done for us.
PPT CUE
PPT CUE
© 2007
BibleLessons4Kidz.com All rights reserved worldwide. May be reproduced for personal, nonprofit, and non-commercial uses only.
Unless otherwise noted the Scriptures taken from: Holy Bible, New International Reader’s Version, (NIrV®)
Copyright © 1995, 1996, 1998 by International Bible Society / Used by permission of IBS-STL. All rights reserved worldwide.
Special thanks to John R. Cross, The Stranger on the Road to Emmaus, GoodSeed International.
PPT TITLE
Main Point: We must put God’s kingdom first in our lives.
Key Verse:
But put God’s kingdom first. Do what He wants you to do. - Matthew 6:33a
Prop: A can of Coke and a large cup
Say: The culture that Jesus lived in believed that they could live forever in heaven with God if they were “good enough” and kept all of God’s laws. God gave the law, the 10 Commandments, to show people that no matter how good they were, they could never measure up to God’s perfect holiness. The law was given to show people their need for a Savior. Teacher, show and read the 10 Commandments.
Say: As the people heard these rules and then tried to live by them, they soon realized that it was impossible to keep them all. And it’s impossible for us too!
The Bible says that if we’ve broken even one of God’s laws, it’s the same as breaking them all! James 2:10 Suppose you keep the whole law but trip over just one part of it. Then you are guilty of breaking all of it.
God is perfect and holy. His holiness cannot tolerate even a hint of sin.
For the most effective lesson, demonstrate this: Pop open a can of Coke, and pour it all into a large cup. Ask for a volunteer who would like a nice, cold Coke. When volunteer is about to take it, say, “Wait a minute.” Teacher, SPIT into the cup and then offer it. (Of course, DO NOT let the child take it!) Ask: Now, do you want the Coke? No! Why Not? Because it’s ruined!
For young kids, you could just explain the situation. Say: Suppose you are about to drink a nice, cold Coke. (Hold up a can of Coke.) Just as you’re about to take a big sip, your friend tells you that another kid put a drop of his SPIT in your Coke. Would you want to drink the coke? No! Why not? Because even though I love Coke, I would not ever want to drink another person’s spit!
Say: The nice, pure Coke is spoiled. Just as one drop of spit ruined the entire Coke, so one sin breaks the perfect relationship that God had with people.
God gave the 10 Commandments to show us that we are NOT good enough to be accepted in God’s sight. We are sinners, and we need a Savior.
Most people agree that they have sinned by doing or thinking wrong things. But few people admit that they are HELPLESS sinners. Many people think that they can “do something” to take care of their sin. They have the wrong idea that the good things they do can outweigh the bad things they do. But it does not work that way. Hold up the cup of Coke. Is there more Coke or spit in my cup? There is much more good Coke than icky spit in here. But that does not make this okay to drink. The tiny bit of spit ruined the entire cup of good Coke. The Coke is no longer pure. That’s the way it is with our lives. Because we sin (even one time), we are no longer pure like God is pure.
The Bible teaches that there is NOTHING we can do to make ourselves acceptable to God. No good deeds can undo the sin in our lives (just like I could never get all the spit molecules out of the Coke.) In fact, even the good things that we do are viewed as filthy rags.
Isaiah 64:6a says: All of us have become like someone who is “unclean.” All of the good things we do are like polluted rags to (God).
God wants to save everyone from their sin, but only those who understand that they are helpless to “fix” their own sin can be saved. It’s like the person must realize this Coke is completely ruined - I need a new Coke!
Say: One day, a young (Matthew 19:22), rich ruler came to Jesus and asked Him a very important question. He asked, “What do I have to do in order to live forever with God in heaven?”
At first, it may look like Jesus gave him a very unusual answer, but you will see how Jesus is helping this man understand his NEED for God.
The Bible says that Jesus looked at him and LOVED him (Mark 10:21). Jesus told him, “Keep the commandments: don’t kill, don’t steal, don’t lie, and honor your parents.”
The young man told Jesus that he had been keeping all of these rules since he was a child. Ask: At this point, do you think this man was saw his NEED for God? No, not yet. He thought he had earned a place in God’s kingdom by keeping the commandments.
Then the young ruler asked Jesus if there was anything else he should do. Jesus told him that he needed to sell everything he owned and give all the money to the poor, then follow Jesus. NOW the rich man heard a commandment that he couldn’t keep.
God should have been #1 in his life. But God wasn’t first in the man’s life; all of his stuff was more important to him. All of his stuff was blocking the way to his relationship with God.
People often misunderstand the point of what Jesus said here. Having money is not a sin! Loving money is a sin.
Love for money causes all kinds of evil. Some people want to get rich. They have wandered away from the faith. They have wounded themselves with many sorrows. - 1 Timothy 6:10
Jesus knows every person’s heart. He knew how much the young man loved being rich. Jesus knew that the young man trusted his money more than he trusted God. The man believed that no matter what problem came his way, he had enough money to help him through. For example, if he got sick, he could pay the best doctors. If there was a shortage of food, he could pay more than anyone else to buy what was left. The man loved and trusted his money.
But Jesus knew better! Jesus knew that money does not last and it leads people into sin. People who love money want more and more and more of it.
Whoever loves money never has money enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income. - Ecclesiastes 5:10a
Even more importantly, Jesus knew that money cannot buy things like peace and joy. And it certainly cannot buy a place in God’s kingdom. Jesus loved the man, so Jesus wanted what was best for him. Jesus wanted the man to trust God, not money. God does satisfy us. And unlike money, God will never leave us!
Jesus wasn’t merely telling this man to give up his money, Jesus was telling this man that money was blocking his way to God. God was not #1 in his life, and He should be!
Say: When the rich ruler first came to Jesus, the man thought of himself as a pretty good guy. He thought he had kept every one of God’s rules. But when Jesus told him to sell everything he owned and give the money to the poor, he realized that he had not kept every commandment! He did not love God above all other things.
So, how did the man respond? Did he sell everything and feel great relief because he no longer had to worry about how much money he had? Did he give up everything to simply trust God and put God first?
When the young man heard this, he went away sad. He was very rich. - Matthew 19:22
Ask: Why do you think he was sad? Because Jesus asked him to give up what was most valuable to him. Because he was turning down Jesus’ offer of eternal life in God’s kingdom.
Say: The young man was called a ruler, but truly he was a slave. He was enslaved to his stuff, and this kept him from having a loving relationship with God. Jesus told him that to be a true disciple, a true follower of Jesus, all this stuff would have to go because God would have to be first in his life. Luke 16:13 says, “You cannot serve both God and money.” The sad ruler chose money.
As the man walked away, Jesus told His disciples that it was really difficult for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven, but it was possible with God (Matthew 19:23-26). (Teacher Note: Knowing this is the case, why do we ever long for more money?)
Application: When the love of money (or the love of stuff) grabs onto your heart, you find yourself walking away from Jesus.
Ask yourself if there is anything in your life “blocking the way” to a deep relationship with Jesus. Is there anything or anyone that you love more than God? Do you trust any person more than you trust God? Do you spend way more time thinking about soccer or ballet than about God? If so, ask God to change your heart!
The Bible teaches us that we are to love God MOST, above all other things (Exodus 20:3). This is actually the very first commandment! And this was the one thing that made it so hard for this young man to be a true follower of Jesus.
Just like with the young ruler, Jesus offers you the opportunity to be freed from the slavery of money and things to find true freedom, peace, and joy in God. Those who love money or stuff are constantly worried that they will lose it! We can never lose the love of Jesus!!!
PPT VERSE
Key Verse:
But put God’s kingdom first. Do what He wants you to do. - Matthew 6:33a
PPT MAIN POINT
Main Point: We must put God’s kingdom first in our lives.
© 2007
BibleLessons4Kidz.com All rights reserved worldwide. May be reproduced for personal, nonprofit, and non-commercial uses only.
Unless otherwise noted the Scriptures taken from: Holy Bible, New International Reader’s Version, (NIrV®)
Copyright © 1995, 1996, 1998 by International Bible Society / Used by permission of IBS-STL. All rights reserved worldwide.
Special thanks to John R. Cross, The Stranger on the Road to Emmaus, GoodSeed International.
PPT CUE
Main Point: Anyone who believes in Christ is a new creation.
Key Verse:
Anyone who believes in Christ is a new creation. The old is gone! The new has come! - 2 Corinthians 5:17
Props: A plastic caterpillar (or picture of a caterpillar). A plastic butterfly (or picture).
Say: One time a rich young ruler came to Jesus and asked Him what one thing he must do to receive eternal life. Maybe you remember the story. The young man was good at keeping the rules, but Jesus told him that the kingdom of God wasn’t just about keeping rules.
Jesus wanted this young man to be His follower, but He also knew that the man had turned his money into an idol. He loved his riches as much or more than he loved God! So Jesus told the man to sell everything and give the money to the poor. Then he would be able to follow Jesus and be part of the kingdom of God. But something surprising happened next. The rich young ruler became very sad and walked away from Jesus. He loved his money so much that he didn’t want to give it up, even to follow the Son of God.
Here’s what Jesus said next to His disciples: “How hard it is for rich people to enter God’s kingdom! Is it hard for a camel to go through the eye of a needle? It is even harder for the rich to enter God’s kingdom!” (Luke 18:24-25)
This worried the disciples. “Then who can be saved?” they asked. Jesus answered, “Things that are impossible with people are possible with God.” (Luke 18:26-27)
Today we are going to read a story about another rich man who met up with Jesus. But unlike the rich young ruler, who wanted eternal life but wasn’t willing to change his life, the rich man in today’s story is a beautiful example of what Jesus told his disciples. “Things that are impossible with people are possible with God.”
The man in today’s story is named Zacchaeus. He was a tax collector, which meant that most people hated him. He was also very, very small in size, which meant that he probably got lost in a crowd. But Jesus didn’t care about either of these things. Jesus wanted to spend time with Zacchaeus, and Zacchaeus was more than happy to become Jesus’ friend. Look with me at Luke 19:1-10.
Teacher Note: Any children who have sung the Sunday School song, “Zacchaeus,” will be able to tell you Zacchaeus’ distinguishing characteristic—his short stature.
Zacchaeus was a wee little man/And a wee little man was he/He climbed up in that sycamore tree/For the Lord he wanted to see.
But the kids are probably less likely to know other facts about Zacchaeus. He was a tax collector. He was despised and looked upon as the worst of sinners by most people. And finally, he was a completely changed man after spending some time with Jesus.
Although we don’t know what Jesus said to Zacchaeus after arriving at the tax collector’s home, we do see the result of their interaction. Zacchaeus was changed, through and through. Because of his encounter with the Son of God that day, the wee little tax collector became a new creation.
So really, the fact that Zacchaeus was small matters little to the story. The fact that his sinner’s heart repented completely is going to be our focus today.
Say:
Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. A man named Zacchaeus lived there. He was a chief tax collector and was very rich.
Zacchaeus wanted to see who Jesus was. But he was a short man. He could not see Jesus because of the crowd. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree. He wanted to see Jesus, who was coming that way. - Luke 19:1-4
Teacher Note: Jesus was passing through Jericho on His way to Jerusalem, where the events of Holy Week would soon unfold. Many, many Jews from Galilee were passing through Jericho that day on their way to observe Passover in Jerusalem. Jericho was a gateway into Roman-controlled territory and a major tax collection site, which is likely why Zacchaeus was so wealthy. He had much opportunity to abuse the system that funded the occupying Roman army.
Say: Zacchaeus was a man who worked for the Roman government collecting taxes. A tax is money collected by a government from its citizens. For example, when you buy a book at the bookstore, a certain amount of tax is added to the price of the book. The government then collects the tax money that you pay on the book. Most grown ups pay taxes on the money they earn at work, on the things they buy, on their homes, on their cars. You get the idea.
In Jesus’ time, Israel was under the control of the Roman empire. People in Israel didn’t like this at all. They were not a free nation. They had to obey Roman laws and submit to Roman authority. And because tax collectors worked for the Roman government, they were a constant reminder that Israel was once again under the authority of a foreign government. Every time a citizen had to pay money to a tax collector, they probably thought really bad thoughts about the person taking their money.
That was more than enough to make tax collectors unpopular, don’t you think? But there was something else that made people hate the tax collectors. Many of the tax collectors were also very dishonest, and collected more money than they were supposed to. What do you suppose they did with the extra money they collected? That’s right. They put it in their own pockets and kept it!
So for these reasons tax collectors were not very popular people in their communities. And because Zacchaeus was the chief tax collector—the boss of all the other tax collectors—he was probably especially disliked.
When Jesus traveled through Zacchaeus’ town of Jericho, He was on His way to Jerusalem, where He would celebrate the last supper with His disciples.
So many people followed Jesus wherever He went at this point in His ministry. Everyone wanted to hear Him teach about the kingdom of God. Everyone wanted to see Him heal the sick. And Zacchaeus was no exception. We’re not told why he was so curious about Jesus, but Zacchaeus the tax collector was very eager to see what Jesus was doing.
There was only one problem. Zacchaeus was much smaller than everyone else in the crowd that surrounded Jesus. He tried standing on his tip toes, but that didn’t work. He tried pushing his way to the front of the crowd, but that didn’t work. Maybe he even asked if he could climb up on someone’s shoulders! But who would let the chief tax collector do that?
Finally, Zacchaeus had an idea. He ran ahead of the crowd and climbed up into the biggest tree he could find. It was a sycamore fig tree. Finally, little Zacchaeus the tax collector, could see what Jesus was up to. He had a bird’s-eye view of all the action.
Application: Zacchaeus was curious about Jesus and wanted to see with his PHYSICAL eyes what all the commotion was about. But God was also working in Zacchaeus’ heart to enable him to see with SPIRITUAL eyes. God wanted the little tax collector to see that Jesus could bring salvation to every single person in that crowd, even a hated outcast like Zacchaeus. God wants us to see Jesus like that, too. When we listen to stories about Jesus and learn about what He said and did, we are like Zacchaeus watching from a distance. But when we truly understand that Jesus is the Son of God who died so that our sins can be forgiven and we can have eternal life, then we are seeing with our spiritual eyes!
Now let’s read on in Luke 19:5-7.
Say:
Jesus reached the spot where Zacchaeus was. He looked up and said, “Zacchaeus, come down at once. I must stay at your house today.” So Zacchaeus came down at once and welcomed Him gladly.
All the people saw this. They began to whisper among themselves. They said, “Jesus has gone to be the guest of a ‘sinner.’ ”
Zacchaeus climbed up into the tree so that he could see the attention that Jesus was getting. Now HE was the center of attention!
Jesus stopped right under the tree where the little tax collector was perched did something really surprising. He called Zacchaeus by name! The two men had never met before, yet Jesus knew everything about Zacchaeus. Because Jesus is God, He knew all there was to know about the man in the tree—his name, his job, even the number of hairs on his head!
Application: Psalm 139:13 says, You created the deepest parts of my being. You put me together inside my mother’s body. God knew everything about you before you were even born, because He is the one who made you! And John 10:3, which tells us that Jesus is the Good Shepherd and we are His dearly loved sheep, says: ...The sheep listen to His voice. He calls His own sheep by name and leads them out.
Ask: Did Jesus know that Zacchaeus was a sinner? Yes! And Jesus, the Good Shepherd, called out to him anyway. Happily Zacchaeus listened to the Good Shepherd’s voice, and that made all the difference in his life. When we listen to the Shepherd calling us by name and respond to Him, our lives will be changed too!
Say: When Zacchaeus heard Jesus tell him to come down from the tree, what did he do? He came down immediately. There must have been something amazing about Jesus to make the tax collector scramble down from the branches as fast as he could! All throughout the New Testament are stories of people who stopped whatever they were doing to follow Jesus. Ask: Who did we learn about who left everything to follow Jesus? Peter, James and John were the fishermen who left their nets right on the beach to follow Jesus!
How do you think Zacchaeus felt when Jesus said He wanted to stay at the little tax collector’s house? Excited. Nervous. Confused. Zacchaeus was probably feeling all those emotions and more. We aren’t told exactly what he thought. But we are told in Luke 19:7 how the CROWD felt about Jesus going to the home of a tax collector: They began to whisper among themselves. They said, “Jesus has gone to be the guest of a ‘sinner.’ “
Tax collectors like Zacchaeus were especially looked down upon by the Pharisees and rule makers. To them, he was among the worst of sinners. Zacchaeus wouldn’t even have been allowed to be part of the synagogue or to worship with others. But here Jesus was, inviting Himself to a tax collector’s house, acting like He was His friend. So people began to whisper and complain, even though every single person in Jericho that day was a sinner just like Zacchaeus.
Romans 3:23 says, Everyone has sinned. No one measures up to God’s glory. That includes Pharisees. And that includes you and me. We may not be tax collectors, we may not be thieves or murderers, but we are all sinners. And any sin, big or small, separates us from God.
When Jesus says to any sinner “follow Me,” and that sinner decides to follow Him, God forgives their sin and gives them a new life. They are part of the kingdom of God! If only the people in the crowd had opened their eyes to that truth, they would have been rejoicing that Zacchaeus was about to become a whole new person instead of complaining about Jesus’ friendship with a “sinner.”
Let’s continue reading to learn just how different Zacchaeus was after Jesus came to his house! Look at Luke 19:8-10.
Say:
But Zacchaeus stood up. He said, “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of what I own to those who are poor. And if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay it back. I will pay back four times the amount I took.”
Jesus said to Zacchaeus, “Today salvation has come to your house. You are a member of Abraham’s family line. The Son of Man came to look for the lost and save them.”
Wow. This Zacchaeus was behaving very differently than the rich young ruler we talked about at the beginning of the lesson! The rich young ruler did not follow Jesus because he loved money more than he loved Jesus. He like some of the things that Jesus said, but he wasn’t ready to give up everything to be part of the kingdom.
Zacchaeus, though, was completely changed by his encounter with Jesus. Zacchaeus repented of his sins right there, in front of Jesus and the crowd. True repentance means that you “change your mind” and “turn away from sin.” Zacchaeus demonstrated his repentance by saying he would give half his money to the poor and that he would make things right with anyone he had cheated in his job as tax collector. In fact, he wasn’t just going to pay back what he stole from people, he was going to pay back FOUR TIMES what he stole!
Zacchaeus truly became a new man that day. But how is that possible? 2 Corinthians 5:17 says, Anyone who believes in Christ is a new creation. The old is gone! The new has come!
That is what happened to Zacchaeus when he decided to repent and follow Jesus. When the tax collector became part of the kingdom of God, he was changed from the inside out. Before he met Jesus, Zacchaeus was kind of like a caterpillar. Hold up the plastic caterpillar or picture of a caterpillar. Caterpillars are very hungry. They just eat, eat, eat all the time. They are so greedy that if you put one in a jar with a bunch of green leaves, the leaves will disappear before you know it! Zacchaeus was greedy like that, wasn’t he?
But when a caterpillar transforms into a butterfly, it is changed completely, from the inside out. Hold up the plastic caterpillar or picture of a caterpillar. Nothing about the butterfly even resembles the creepy, crawly, greedy, munching caterpillar it used to be. It is a totally new creation. When a butterfly flits by on a sunny summer day, it brings joy to all who see it because it is so beautiful!
Application: Meeting Jesus changed Zacchaeus into a completely new person. And Jesus wants everyone to believe in Him so they can be new creations, too! Jesus died on the cross to pay the price for our sins. When we believe that, repent, and follow Him—just like Zacchaeus did—Jesus will change our lives and make us new and beautiful!
Key Verse:
Anyone who believes in Christ is a new creation. The old is gone! The new has come! - 2 Corinthians 5:17
Main Point: Anyone who believes in Christ is a new creation.
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© 2007
BibleLessons4Kidz.com All rights reserved worldwide. May be reproduced for personal, nonprofit, and non-commercial uses only.
Unless otherwise noted the Scriptures taken from: Holy Bible, New International Reader’s Version, (NIrV®)
Copyright © 1995, 1996, 1998 by International Bible Society / Used by permission of IBS-STL. All rights reserved worldwide.
Special thanks to John R. Cross, The Stranger on the Road to Emmaus, GoodSeed International.
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Main Point: God notices those who give to Him with a pure heart.
Key Verse:
Man looks at how someone appears on the outside. But I look at what is in the heart. - 1 Samuel 16:7b
Props: A disassembled toy or other item with multiple parts (preferably one that looks difficult to put together). A box to hold the parts of the toy/item. An assembly manual or a stack of printed papers that look like an assembly manual. A ziploc bag containing four cookies, and a second bag containing half a cookie.
Dump the parts of the disassembled item out onto a table. Flip through the assembly manual while looking perplexed. Say: I’ve been trying to put this toy together for days! But the instructions are really hard to understand. Act like you’re trying to put the toy together. It says to put piece E in slot J, but it doesn’t fit. And I can’t even find slot G! I’m totally lost! These instructions make no sense! Ask: I think there MUST be an easier way than following all these directions. What do you think? What might help me out? Listen for answers, and if it’s not suggested by the kids, Say: I think it would be a whole lot easier if the maker of this toy just came here and showed me how to do this. People just learn better that way, don’t you think?
You know, Jesus must have known that people need to see things with their own eyes to understand. Today we’re going to look at a time when Jesus helped His disciples learn about a confusing idea by showing them someone who was doing things right. If Jesus just told His followers what to do, they might not get it. But by watching someone else do the right thing, the disciples understood so much more.
The person Jesus used as an example in this case was a widow. And even though she was very poor because her husband had died, this widow was a wonderful example of what it means to be generous and to give with a pure heart. Jesus wanted His disciples—and us—to follow her example when we give to God and others.
Say: Remember last week, Jesus had just come to Jerusalem. It was one week before He would give up His life on the cross. When He went to the temple, He saw the money changers and animal traders selling things in the temple. He ran them out boldly, because the temple was a place to worship God, not a place to cheat people out of their money! Ask: How did the Pharisees and religious leaders feel about that? They were angry. They began plotting to kill Jesus.
Since Jesus is God, He knew the true hearts and thoughts of these religious leaders. He knew that while they looked good on the OUTSIDE—seeming to do everything by the rules—they were filled with wickedness on the INSIDE.
Let’s turn to Mark 12:41-44 and read about how the poor widow behaved very differently from these people who seemed so important on the outside.
Teacher note: Even though this passage of scripture involves issues of monetary giving, we should make sure that the children understand that there are many ways to give and be generous. Sure, giving money is good. But people can also be generous with their possessions, with their time, with their forgiveness, with the Gospel, etc. Make sure to focus on the importance of sacrificial giving in all circumstances, not merely on the generous giving of money.
“Sacrificial giving is parting with what we’d rather keep. It’s keeping the old and giving away the new or giving away both. The giving of the first Christians was spontaneous, unguarded, and uncalculated.
“Sacrificial giving appears to be unreasonable. In reality, though, it’s perfectly reasonable. It brings God glory, meets others’ needs, and ensures us eternal rewards. And all the while God takes care of our immediate needs.
“Sacrificial giving makes no human sense. But we are to think like Christ, not the world.” — Randy Alcorn, from Money, Possessions, and Eternity, p. 203.
Read:
Jesus sat down across from the place where people put their temple offerings. He watched the crowd putting their money into the offering boxes. Many rich people threw large amounts into them.
But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins. They were worth much less than a penny.
Jesus asked his disciples to come to Him. He said, “What I’m about to tell you is true. That poor widow has put more into the offering box than all the others. They all gave a lot because they are rich. But she gave even though she is poor. She put in everything she had. She gave all she had to live on.” — Mark 12:41-44
Teacher note: Jesus didn’t just happen to see this scene unfolding, He actually sat down to observe what was going on. He was interested enough in what people were doing with their money to watch them and then to use what He saw to teach His disciples—and us—about sacrificial giving.
Say: While He was in the temple, Jesus decided to watch people putting their gifts into the temple treasury. The Bible doesn’t say if the Pharisees were among those making gifts, but it does say that many rich people were throwing money into the boxes. The religious leaders loved to hang out with rich people and had a lot in common with them.
When some rich people in Bible times gave an offering to the poor, they wanted everyone to notice them. They would even have people blow trumpets so that people would stop and watch them make their offering. Here is what Jesus said about that:
“When you give to needy people, do not announce it by having trumpets blown. Do not be like those who only pretend to be holy. They announce what they do in the synagogues and on the streets. They want to be honored by others. What I’m about to tell you is true. They have received their complete reward.” - Matthew 6:2
Application: Some people were impressed by all that trumpet blowing! But Jesus wasn’t. Jesus didn’t want His disciples to think that religious leaders were more important than others. And we shouldn’t believe that certain people are better than others, either. No matter how nicely someone dresses, no matter how popular they are, no matter how perfect they seem, no one is better in God’s eyes than anyone else. We should not be impressed by those who LOOK and ACT important. Instead, we should notice those who have pure hearts and think of others as more important than themselves.
The widow in this story was a person with a pure heart. Jesus wanted the disciples to follow her example, not the example set by the religious leaders and those who showed off when they gave.
Say: Let’s look at how the poor widow made her gift. Remember Mark 12:42-44? It said,
...a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins. They were worth much less than a penny.
Jesus asked his disciples to come to Him. He said, “What I’m about to tell you is true. That poor widow has put more into the offering box than all the others. They all gave a lot because they are rich. But she gave even though she is poor. She put in everything she had. She gave all she had to live on.”
Ask: How can this be? How can a penny be more than $100? How can the widow’s gift be the one that Jesus finds the most beautiful? It’s because the widow gave generously and with a pure heart.
People might look at how much money rich people give. But God cares more about HOW we give than HOW MUCH we give. God knows what we are thinking and feeling when we give. If we are giving to impress people, He knows it. If we are giving because we love God and love others, He knows that, too.
1 Samuel 16:7 says, Man looks at how someone appears on the outside. But I look at what is in the heart. So when the people were making their gifts in the temple that day, and Jesus was watching them, He saw more than the size of their gifts. He saw how generous and pure their hearts were as they put their money in the box.
Jesus knew that the woman was not just a poor widow. She was truly NEEDY. Those two coins were all she had, and when she put them in the box, there was nothing left. The widow’s offering demonstrated her deep love for God. And it showed that she trusted that God would provide food, clothing and everything else that she needed. Her gift was a beautiful sacrifice.
No one in the temple noticed this poor woman…BUT JESUS SAW HER! And He used her as an example to teach His disciples about what it means to give sacrificially.
Application: A sacrificial gift is one that isn’t easy to give. The widow’s coins were a sacrifice because they were all she had. There are other ways to give sacrificially, too. Let’s do a little demonstration to see how we might follow the widow’s example. I need two volunteers.
Have one volunteer sit on the floor while the other stands in front of you. Say: My friend here has a problem. He/she is really, really, really hungry. And I have a bag full of delicious cookies. Hold up the bag of four cookies for everyone to see. Say: Friend, ask me if you can have a cookie. After the volunteer asks for a cookie, take one cookie out and hold it up for everyone to see. Say: I guess you can have one, but this is my favorite kind of cookie. If I gave you all of them, then I wouldn’t have any left for myself. But if anyone asks, make sure you tell them it was me who shared with you, OK? Give the cookie to the volunteer and send them back to their seat.
Ask: Was this an example of sacrificial giving? No! I wanted the cookies for myself, but I also wanted people to think I was a good person. That’s why I offered my friend just one of the cookies in the bag. Now let’s see how this situation would be different if I followed the example of the poor widow in the temple.
Have the second volunteer stand in front of you. Say: This friend is very hungry, too. Everyone in the class has a snack except him/her. When I packed my snack for today, there was only half a cookie in my pantry. Hold up the second bag containing the half cookie for everyone to see. I’ve been thinking about that half cookie all day long. It’s finally snack time, and I am very hungry. But my friend is hungrier. He/she didn’t have anything to eat for breakfast! Say: Friend, ask me if you can have my half cookie. After the volunteer asks for your cookie, take it out of the bag and hold it up for everyone to see. Say: I know you’re extra hungry, friend. Even though I only have half a cookie to give you, it’s delicious. I hope you enjoy it! Give the cookie to the second volunteer and send them back to their seat.
Hold up the first bag that still contains three cookies. Say: Even though the whole cookie from this bag was bigger than the half cookie from the other bag, it was not a sacrifice for me to give it to my friend. I still have three cookies left for myself. Hold up the empty second bag. But when I gave my friend the half cookie from this bag, it was all I had to give. It was a very small snack, and when I gave it away, I had no snack left at all. That was a sacrifice. And I gave it with a generous and pure heart. Remember, God doesn’t look at HOW MUCH we give. He looks at HOW we give. So in God’s eyes, the half cookie was the bigger gift.
Say: Jesus knew that it is very easy for people to get confused about doing the right thing. Sometimes people tell us one thing and God tells us another. That’s why Jesus tried to give us examples to follow. Remember when we talked about building the complicated toy at the beginning of the lesson? It’s easier to imitate someone who is building the toy correctly than it is to follow confusing instructions.
Jesus knew that we might be confused about sacrificial giving. That’s why He gave us the example of the poor widow to follow. She had almost nothing to give, yet she gave everything she had. Religious leaders and rich people might be noticed by people, but the widow’s sacrificial gift was the one that GOD noticed.
The poor widow in the temple truly understood what Jesus was saying in Matthew 6:19-21...
“Do not put away riches for yourselves on earth. Moths and rust can destroy them. Thieves can break in and steal them. Instead, put away riches for yourselves in heaven. There, moths and rust do not destroy them. There, thieves do not break in and steal them. Your heart will be where your riches are.”
By giving with a generous and pure heart, the poor widow was storing away rewards that would last FOREVER!
Key Verse:
Man looks at how someone appears on the outside. But I look at what is in the heart. - 1 Samuel 16:7b
Main Point: God notices those who give to Him with a pure heart.
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© 2007
BibleLessons4Kidz.com All rights reserved worldwide. May be reproduced for personal, nonprofit, and non-commercial uses only.
Unless otherwise noted the Scriptures taken from: Holy Bible, New International Reader’s Version, (NIrV®)
Copyright © 1995, 1996, 1998 by International Bible Society / Used by permission of IBS-STL. All rights reserved worldwide.
Special thanks to John R. Cross, The Stranger on the Road to Emmaus, GoodSeed International.
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Main Point: Jesus wants us to do for others as He has done for us.
Key Verse:
I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet. So you also should wash one another’s feet. I have given you an example. You should do as I have done for you. - John 13:14-15
Props: A shallow bucket/basin; towel; water; an adult volunteer who is willing for you to wash their feet; a bicycle
Atmosphere: Set up a low table in the front of the room. Use many candles, and teach this with low lighting to get the effect of nighttime.
Say: We have been learning so many things about Jesus. Last week we learned that Jesus wants us to remember Him. He left us a “picture” – communion. When we take communion, we are to remember Jesus and all that He’s done for us. Today we’re going to see what Jesus did during the last few hours before He went to the cross. Remember, Jesus is God and He knows everything! He knew He would lay down His life very soon.
Say: Here we are at the Last Supper on the night before Jesus knew that He was going to die. He was about to be betrayed by Judas, one of His own disciples. Soon, Jesus would be beaten, made fun of, and nailed to a cross. Even though Jesus knew all these things, His disciples did not understand that He was going to die and then rise again. It’s interesting to see what Jesus did for His disciples on His very last night with them.
Teacher: You may demonstrate this. Say: Jesus got up from the meal. He wrapped a towel around His waist. He poured water into a large bowl. Then He began to wash His disciples’ feet. He dried them with the towel that was wrapped around Him. In those days, foot washing was needed in every home. The streets were dusty and dirty. Roads even had garbage and waste from the animals that traveled up and down the same streets. People in those days wore sandals without socks, and their feet could become very dirty.
The dinner-time custom was to lean back around the table at the evening meal. It’s hard to enjoy a meal when there is a very bad smell, isn’t it? Usually, the lowest servant in the household was expected to wash the feet of guests. Having your guests’ feet washed was a way to show honor to your guests.
Since the last supper was held in a private home, with just Jesus and His disciples, we can easily see why there were no servants there.
(Jesus) came to Simon Peter. “Lord,” Peter said to Him, “Are you going to wash my feet?”
Jesus replied, “You don’t realize now what I am doing. But later you will understand.”
“No,” said Peter. “You will never wash my feet.”
Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you can’t share life with Me.”
“Lord,” Simon Peter replied, “not just my feet! Wash my hands and my head too!”
Jesus answered, “A person who has had a bath needs to wash only his feet. The rest of his body is clean. And you are clean. But not all of you are.” - John 13:6-10
Ask: Who do you think Jesus is talking about here when He says that not all of you are “clean”? Judas.
What do you think Jesus was trying to teach us by washing His disciples’ feet? Jesus wants us to serve others; wants us to think of others. Say: Jesus was showing His disciples how much He loved them (John 13:1), and that they should serve others (John 13:14).
“Do you understand what I have done for you?” He asked them. “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord.’ You are right. That is what I am. I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet. So you also should wash one another’s feet. I have given you an example. You should do as I have done for you.
“What I’m about to tell you is true. A servant is not more important than his master. And a messenger is not more important than the one who sends him. Now you know these things. So you will be blessed if you do them. - John 13:12b-17
Application: One of the things Jesus was teaching was that we should serve others. If Jesus, who is Lord of all, would choose to lower Himself to do the job of the least important servant by washing His friends’ feet, then we should always be willing to serve others. Jesus said to follow His example. Foot washing was very common in Bible times, but not very common today. Ask: What is something you might do to serve another person today? Listen for answers.
Say: One of the many wonderful things about each Bible story is that the Lord is usually teaching us more than one thing. The Bible is so rich! Every time you read it, God can show you more about Himself and your relationship to Him.
Another thing we can learn from Jesus washing His disciples’ feet is that we all need daily cleansing through forgiveness to have fellowship with the Lord.
Unwashed feet is a picture of a believer trying to walk with the Lord, study the Word, pray, or serve Him while that person has known sin in his life. By this, I mean that the person knows he is committing a sin over and over, but is unwilling to try to stop doing that sin. An example might be that a boy always speaks disrespectfully to his mother. The boy knows that the Bible says, “All of you must have respect for your mother and father.” (Leviticus 19:3) But the boy ignores God’s command, and talks to his mother in a mean and sassy way. Symbolically speaking, that boy has filthy feet! How can the boy walk with Jesus, who is perfect and pure, when the boy’s feet are covered in dirt? Jesus said, “If you love Me, you will obey what I command.” (John 14:15) By ignoring Jesus’ commands, by keeping sin in his life, the boy is showing that his relationship with Jesus is not valuable to him. Just the opposite, if the boy hears that the Bible commands him to respect his mom, so he goes to Jesus and asks for forgiveness and the grace to stop talking back to his mom, he is showing Jesus that he loves Him and wants to obey Him.
Say: Would you like to learn two Greek words today? It’s fun to know words from another language. The New Testament was written in Greek. And there are two words used for the word “wash” in these verses.
Show the words: NIPTW (pronounced nip-toe) and LOUW (pronounced lu-oh)
There is niptw, which was used for washing only a part of the body, such as the hands, face, and feet. You would use this word for washing your hands before dinner.
The second word is louw, which meant to bathe the body. It referred to a thorough washing of the entire body. You would use this word for taking a good long shower.
Jesus used both words in verse 10. We might say it this way: “He who has bathed (louw) his entire body needs only to wash (niptw) his feet.”
In verse 10, Jesus pointed out the difference between being completely bathed and having one’s feet washed by the Lord. When a person understands their helpless, sinful condition and comes to Jesus because He died to take away their sin, which is like the person getting the best, most complete bath ever. Jesus washes them inside out! Their sin is taken away and forgotten (Hebrews 8:12). Forgiveness is theirs (Romans 8:1-2). They will NEVER have to pay the penalty for their sin (John 10:28). But then, as they walk through life, they sin again (1 John 1:6-10). That sin keeps them from living the victorious kingdom life. It keeps them from abiding in Jesus and bearing spiritual fruit. Coming to Jesus, confessing and repenting of our daily sin is like a foot washing. Jesus made it very clear that once we trust in Him, we don’t need another “total bath”, only the “daily cleansing” from the sins that occur as we walk down the dusty, dirty streets of life.
Teacher: Hold the bicycle next to you. Let’s say I really wanted a bicycle, so my parents bought me this bike. Wouldn’t it be silly for me to keep asking for a bicycle? Everyday, I stood next to this bike and said, “Please buy me a bike. I really want a bike.” Of course, that would be ridiculous. I already have this nice bike. The problem is: I am not using it to get places or to have fun! I’m still walking everywhere I go! Now, what would I have to do to use this bike the way I’m supposed to use it? You have to get on it and pedal! Right, I already own the bike. Now I just need to get on it and go!
Everyone who puts his or her trust in Jesus is forgiven of their sin! Jesus has given them forgiveness, just like my parents gave me this bike. Forgiveness is theirs! (Ephesians 1:6-8) They don’t have to beg for forgiveness again, just like I didn’t have to ask for a bike after my parents already gave me one. But we still sin everyday, so what do we do about those sins? The Bible tells us to confess and repent of our sin (Acts 19:18, Revelation 2:5).
We confess - we agree with God that our attitude or action is wrong.
We repent - we change our heart and mind about the sin and go in the opposite direction.
When I confess and repent, I “throw off” that sin that had a grip on me (Hebrews 12:1). Now I can live in victory. By God’s grace, I can do the things that God wants me to do (Ephesians 1:4-14). I will bear wonderful fruit like kindness, goodness, and patience. Those who trust in Jesus already have His forgiveness, but if we don’t confess and repent of our daily sins, we are not letting His forgiveness change our lives. Applying Jesus’ forgiveness to my life by confessing and repenting is like finally getting on my bike and riding it! My life is different; it is better in every way.
All of Jesus’ disciples, except for Judas (who was about to betray Jesus), had trusted and believed in Jesus. They were clean in the sense of a “total bath” of salvation from sin’s penalty. They all, however, needed - and would need throughout their lives on earth - daily cleansing to live the full kingdom life.
When Peter refused to allow the Lord to wash (niptw) his feet, the Lord responded, “If I do not wash (niptw) you, you have no part (fellowship) with Me.” Jesus was not saying that Peter could not trust and believe in God. The issue was whether Peter would live the victorious, kingdom life that Jesus wanted him to live.
Application: The confessing and repenting of your daily sins is the niptw (washing part of yourself) that Jesus said was so very important. You must confess and repent so that you can abide in Jesus, so His grace will fill your life. Be sure to go to Jesus every day for your “foot washing,” so you can live the full kingdom life!
PPT VERSE
Key Verse:
I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet. So you also should wash one another’s feet. I have given you an example. You should do as I have done for you. - John 13:14-15
PPT MAIN POINT
Main Point: Jesus wants us to do for others as He has done for us.
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