The Beatitudes Matthew 5:1-12

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1 Fall 2015 ~ Religious Instruction Lesson #3 Learning Objectives The Beatitudes Matthew 5: The children will summarize and write each of the beatitudes in their own words. Memory Verse: the pure in heart, for they will see God. --Matthew 5:8 Getting Started (Choose One Activity) Clashing Values See: New Testament Lesson 222 ~ The Beatitudes Teacher s Guide ~ Pg. 2 Do a demonstration with water and vegetable oil to demonstrate how that the two do not mix, just like the world s values can never mix with the Lord s values. You will need a clear glass, some water, food coloring and some vegetable oil for this activity/experiment. Please see the above website for detailed instructions. After the demonstration, illustrate that this shows us that we can never be a Christian and at the same time do what the world tells us to do. Jesus said that we are to be in the world, but never of the world. Jesus is our teacher. Today we learn about the attitudes that He wants us to have, in order to become more like Him. Continue with the lesson. Sweet as Honey Begin by reading the passages on the beatitudes in Matthew 5. Bring in some honey and graham crackers (or something to dip in the honey). Share the snack with the class, making a point to tell them that you brought in some honey to share. Talk about how it tastes (sweet). Now, break apart the word beatitude on the board to say: be-attitude and notice the BE at the beginning. As a way to remember what a beatitude is, think about what bees make honey! Honey is sweet, and Jesus brings the sweetness (the good things, the blessings) to our lives. Point out that each beatitude starts with the word blessed because God wants to bless us. He tells us who is blessed and what their reward will be. These are also attributes of Christ! Also, think about the word beatitude as the attitude we want to be the way we want to be. This is another instance where the Lord Jesus is teaching us. Jesus is our teacher and today we are learning how He wants us to be. Continue with the lesson. How am I blessed Homework sheet Share the homework worksheet: How am I blessed? Was it hard to come up with things you can do well? What about coming up with things that you value? Discuss the word blessed and blessing. Today we are going to learn about the beatitudes a list from the Lord Jesus that tells us how we will be blessed in our lives if we follow how he teaches us to be each day. Continue with the lesson. 1

2 Bible Lesson with Discussion Questions Message: Jesus is our teacher. One day as he saw the crowds gathering, Jesus went up on the mountainside and sat down. His disciples gathered around him, 2 and he began to teach them. 3 God blesses those who are poor and realize their need for him, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs. 4 God blesses those who mourn, for they will be comforted. 5 God blesses those who are humble, for they will inherit the whole earth. 6 God blesses those who hunger and thirst for justice, for they will be satisfied. 7 God blesses those who are merciful, for they will be shown mercy. 8 God blesses those whose hearts are pure, for they will see God. 9 God blesses those who work for peace, for they will be called the children of God. 10 God blesses those who are persecuted for doing right, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs. 11 God blesses you when people mock you and persecute you and lie about you and say all sorts of evil things against you because you are my followers. 12 Be happy about it! Be very glad! For a great reward awaits you in heaven. And remember, the ancient prophets were persecuted in the same way. Discussion Questions: 1. What are these verses known as? (the beatitudes) 2. What two words begin each beatitude? (blessed are) 3. What does blessed mean? (Discuss) 4. What exactly are the beatitudes teaching us? (Discuss the IF/THEN concept IF I am a peacemaker, THEN I will be called the sons of God; Think: BE Attitudes the way we want to be.) 5. Use the worksheet to guide the discussion of each of the beatitudes and what they mean. (see attached) Application to Real Life Print out the following scenarios for each student. Read each scenario and discuss. Then, after deciding what they would do, have the students look back at the beatitudes and decide which one would apply to the scenario given. Scenario 1: Scenario 2: Scenario 3: Scenario 4: You are leaving the grocery store and notice that someone has had the bottoms rip out of their plastic bags and their groceries are all over. The person is elderly, and they are having a hard time picking everything up. Cars are passing by and it s starting to rain. What would you do? You and your parents are leaving church and the car next to you has the hood up. They have a dead battery. You have jumper cables in the trunk, but you re running late for lunch. What would you do? Sitting in the lunch room, you overhear someone asking friends if they have any money they can borrow, because they forgot their lunch money. You have a couple of extra bucks in your pocket to spare. What would you do? A new family just moved in down the street. You find out that they used to go to church, but haven t now for several years. You also notice their young boys are using mild profanity as they play in the neighborhood. What would you do? 2

3 Application to Real Life Continued Additional Discussion Questions: 1. Even when we know what the right thing is to do, why is it sometimes hard to do it? 2. Why is it sometimes easier to simply ignore what should be done? Remind the children that they can always pray and ask God for help with those beatitudes that they have difficulty with in life. Memory Work Suggestions 5 minutes 1. Recite the memory verse. 2. Practice finding the memory verse and/or Bible text in their Bible! 3. Play a game to review an article of faith (toss the bean bag/stuffed animal, the person who catches it says the next word try to go faster and faster). 4. Allow a volunteer (child) to lead the class in an opening/closing prayer. 5. Who can name all 9 fruit of the spirit? (See Galatians 6:22-23 as needed.) Activity Ideas Beatitudes Worksheet Using the worksheet, go through each of the beatitudes. Look them up together, and make a t- chart. On the left side are the beatitudes from the Bible, and on the right what they mean. Use may want to use pictures of bees, or bees as bullets to aid the students in visual memory recall. Bee-attitudes Poster Sum up the beatitudes in BEE form what we can take away from these lessons on how to be in our own lives. BEE humble, BEE compassionate, BEE peacemakers, etc. Make a chart or poster together to illustrate this. (This could be a class project and would be great if it was posted in the Sunday school area or Children s Corner for the benefit of all the Sunday school children.) Overflowing Blessings Demonstration Show the students how blessings literally overflow. Use a glass full of water, marbles, and a container to set the glass in to catch the water. As you talk about each one of the beatitudes add a marble (a rock would work as well) to the glass of water. The students will see that over time, these blessings do overflow. God truly wants to bless us, so much that it will overflow in our lives, and good things will happen! Journal Reflection Questions - Choose your favorite beatitude. Why is it your favorite? What do you think it means? Write about it. - What do you think it means to be pure in heart? Is this something you think you need to work on? Why or why not? Write about it. 3

4 Homework Ideas - Read: John 3:1-5 about Nicodemus. - Learn the Memory Verse: the pure in heart, for they will see God. --Matthew 5:8 - Learn the Article of Faith - Have you ever gotten lost? Write about a time you (or your family) had trouble finding your way. What did you do and how did you get to your destination? OR Have you ever lost something? Did you ever find it? What did you do? Write about what happened. Other Resources New Testament Lesson 222 ~ The Beatitudes Support Curriculum 4

5 The Beatitudes (Matthew 5) Name On the left side, write down the beatitude from the Bible. On the right side, put the beatitude into your own words. What does it mean? What is Jesus trying to teach us about blessing? (Hint: Use the if, then concept to help you explain each one.) Beatitude In my own words 5

6 The Beatitudes (Matthew 5) Teacher Copy On the left side, write down the beatitude from the Bible. On the right side, put the beatitude into your own words. What does it mean? What is Jesus trying to teach us about blessing? (Hint: Use the if, then concept to help you explain each one.) Beatitude the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. those who mourn, for they will be comforted. the meek, for they will inherit the earth. those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. the merciful, for they will show mercy. the pure in heart, for they will see God. the peacemakers, for they will be called the sons of God. those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. In my own words If I depend on God (instead of myself), then the kingdom of heaven will be made available to me (i.e. Godly things will be made available to me). If I am grieving (sad), then I will find comfort. If I am humble, then God can help me obtain the earthly things that I need. If I obey God and want him more than food or water, I will be filled in my soul. If I show mercy (compassion) to others, then I will have mercy given back to me. If my heart is pure, then I will see God. If I am a peacemaker, then I will be called a child of God, i.e. I will be showing that I am a child of God. If I do what is right, even if others treat me badly, then I will have the kingdom of heaven. If I am treated badly because of my faith and my beliefs, I can still be happy and excited, because I have a great reward waiting for me in heaven! 6