Step 1: Come Together

Transcription

1 THE STORY FOR LITTLE ONES: Preschool LESSON GUIDE: Lesson JESUS AND THE LITTLE CHILDREN Bible Basis: Matthew 19:13 15; Mark 10:13 16 Bible Verse: [Jesus said,] Let the little children come to me. Don t keep them away. The kingdom of heaven belongs to people like them. Matthew 19:14, NIrV Bible Point: Jesus loved the little children. Jesus loves you, too! Resource: The Story for Little Ones, Chapter 25: Jesus and the Little Children Step 1: Come Together Play the game Red Light/Green Light with the children. Have them stand on one side of the room, side by side, and you stand on the other. When you say, green light, they can walk toward you. When you say red light, they need to stop and freeze. At this age they will likely need to hear red light a few times before they actually stop. When they reach you, they can high-five you. Tell each child that they did a good job. Play the game a few times. Then have the children sit down. Say, Did you enjoy playing the game? What was your favorite part? Did you like the red light better or the green light better? What if I was your grandma or your grandpa? Then you would have loved coming toward me! You would have been even more excited to get to those special people. Say, Today, we are going to hear a story about some children who wanted to go to someone special, but people gave them the red light. Step 2: Hear the Story Say, What do we know about Jesus so far? Prompt the children to discuss previous lessons: Jesus birth, Jesus baptism, Jesus as a teacher. Jesus was amazing. People loved to hear him teach. Most of all, people loved him because he loved people so much. Let s hear a story about Jesus and some children. First, read aloud Chapter 25, Jesus and the Little Children, from The Story for Little Ones. Follow the directions to present the following Bible story. We are going to work together to tell this story. I will be the disciples and you will be the children in the story.

2 THE STORY FOR LITTLE ONES: Preschool LESSON GUIDE: Lesson First, what are disciples? They are Jesus followers. They went with him everywhere he went. They helped him take care of people and teach people. They were learning and training so they could go out by themselves and tell people how much God loved them. So Jesus was resting, and the disciples wanted to take care of Jesus. They wanted him to rest. But some parents saw Jesus. Some children saw Jesus. They wanted to go to him. Say, It s Jesus! Let s go to him! (Have children repeat.) But the disciples said, No. Jesus needs some time to rest. You can t see him right now. The children said, We want to see Jesus! (Have children repeat.) Jesus said, Let the little children come to me! Please don t turn them away. The children said, Hooray! (Have children repeat.) The children were very happy to see Jesus. He loved them and prayed for them. He loved and prayed for the babies. Jesus loved all the little children, and he loves you, too! After the Bible story, ask: Who were the disciples? (Jesus followers) What was their job? (to help Jesus) In the story, who saw Jesus? (children and parents) What did they want to do? (go to him and see him) How do you think they felt when the disciples said they couldn t? (bad, sad) But what did Jesus say? (Let the children come to me.) Why did he say that? (Jesus loved the little children.) Pray with your children, thanking God for his love for us. Step 3: Explore More Choose from these activity options to help children explore the lesson further. Option 1: Praise Songs Stuff you need: music player or piano and piano player Say, Talking about how much God loves us makes me want to tell God how much I love him! Let s sing and praise God with our voices! Sing a few praise songs.

3 THE STORY FOR LITTLE ONES: Preschool LESSON GUIDE: Lesson Option 2: I Am Precious to Jesus Stuff you need: photographs from last week, craft foam frames and stick-on foam shapes, tape, permanent markers Preparation: Print the photographs from last week. You will likely have children in class this week who were not in class last week. You can make a note for their parents to put a picture in the frame they ve made, or you can check with church staff to see if they have equipment a volunteer could use to take pictures at the beginning of this session and print in time for the craft. Write, I am precious to Jesus in permanent marker on each frame. Give each child their picture and a frame. Help them tape the pictures into the frames; then let them decorate the frames with the stick-on craft foam shapes. Option 3: Jesus Loves Children Stuff you need: Jesus Loves Children Activity Sheet, crayons Give an activity sheet to each child. Talk about today s story as the children color. Option 4: Jesus Loves Us Stuff you need: Jesus Loves Us Activity Sheet, heart die cuts in a variety of sizes and colors, glue or glue sticks, heart stickers Preparation: If you can t find premade heart die cuts, cut out your own heart shapes. Check to see if your church or a friend who scrapbooks has a die-cut machine before you cut them all with scissors. Give each child an activity sheet, glue, and a variety of heart die cuts and stickers. Encourage them to use their imaginations as they create artwork for a loved one. Option 5: Red Light/Green Light Play Red Light/Green Light again, but with silly rules. For example, have children hop on one foot, crawl, or take giant steps or baby steps to get to you. Step 4: Going Home Before sending children home, give each a copy of The Story Preschool Trading Card 25. Say, The front of this card will remind you that Jesus loved the little children. Show your parents the back and tell them that Jesus loves you, too! Have them practice saying this before they leave. Use The Story for Little Ones or The Story Preschool Trading Cards to review past stories and Bible points. Make sure each child takes home a copy of the Trading Card, Activity Sheet(s)/Crafts, and the Parents Page.

4 THE STORY FOR LITTLE ONES: Preschool SKIT: Lesson 25 1 Jesus Loves Me Note: Puppets can be very effective with this age group and may be used instead of actors. A teacher may carry on a conversation with a puppet as the other character if two actors are not available. [Beth enters first. Scooter enters singing song Jesus Loves Me.] [singing] Jesus loves me, this I know [speaking] Hi, Beth! Hi, Scooter. [singing] For the Bible tells me so! [speaking] I love Jesus! That s great, Scooter! WHY do you love Jesus? Because he is kind. He IS really kind. And he helps me every day. Jesus is our helper! And he always does what is right. Yes, he does! When I think about how wonderful Jesus is, I want to praise him! You do? How do you praise him? I tell Jesus that I love him. That s a good way to start. And I sing songs to him. Jesus loves to hear our songs of praise!

5 THE STORY FOR LITTLE ONES: Preschool SKIT: Lesson 25 2 And sometimes I m just [in a high-pitched, soft voice] very quiet. Spending quiet time with Jesus is a way to praise him, too. Jesus deserves my very best praise. Do you know why? Why? Because Jesus is God s Son and he s my Savior! That is a GOOD reason to praise him. Let s praise Jesus together. [Singing together and inviting children to join.] Beth and Jesus loves me, this I know. For the Bible tells me so. Little ones to him belong. They are weak, but he is strong. Yes, Jesus loves me. Yes, Jesus loves me. Yes, Jesus loves me. The Bible tells me so! I love Jesus! [Both exit.]

6 THE STORY FOR LITTLE ONES: Preschool ACTIVITY SHEET: Lesson 25 JESUS LOVES CHILDREN When Jesus was on Earth, he loved the little children. He loves you, too! Color the picture to help you remember the story of Jesus and the children. Name

7 THE STORY FOR LITTLE ONES: Preschool ACTIVITY SHEET: Lesson 25 JESUS LOVES US Use the hearts your teacher provides to create a fun picture. Give it to someone you love to remind them that Jesus loves them, too! Name

8 THE STORY FOR LITTLE ONES: Preschool PARENTS PAGE: Lesson Jesus and the Little Children Timeless Truth: Jesus is the promised Messiah. Bible Basis: Matthew 19: 13 15; Mark 10:13 16 Key Verse: [Jesus said,] Let the little children come to me. Don t keep them away. The kingdom of heaven belongs to people like them. Matthew 19:14, NIrV Resource: The Story for Little Ones, Chapter 25: Jesus and the Little Children Parent Tips Read chapter 25 in The Story for Little Ones several times this week and talk about the key point. Reading the story several times will help your preschooler to remember it. Use the Table Talk questions to talk about the lesson. Use the questions anytime throughout the week, not just at the table. The Living Faith activity is designed to help your child show that Jesus loves them through a craft. The Extra Mile ideas give you more ways to help your child remember the lesson. Get the Point Jesus loved the little children. Jesus loves you too! Table Talk What did the disciples tell the parents and children? (They told them not to come.) What did Jesus tell the children? (Come to me.) Who loves you? Living Faith Jesus told the little children to come to him. With your preschooler, make a craft of Jesus and the little children. Take a piece of flesh-colored paper and fold it accordion-style three or four times. Trace around a template you find online or draw your own person on the folded sheet of paper, making sure the arms and the legs go all the way to the folds. Help your child cut out the person shape. Unfold the paper to reveal a chain of people holding hands. Using yarn, makers, fabric scraps, or construction paper, help your child decorate one person to look like Jesus, one person to look like your child, and the others to look like the rest of your family or your preschooler s friends. Hang the chain of people where you will see it all week and be reminded that Jesus loves you.

9 THE STORY FOR LITTLE ONES: Preschool PARENTS PAGE: Lesson Extra Mile Sing the songs Jesus Loves Me and Jesus Loves the Little Children many times this week. If you don t know the songs, you can find them online. Use paper, scissors, glue, and decoration supplies to make cards to give to people you love. Remind them that Jesus loves them too. The disciples told the children to stop, but Jesus told them to come. Play Red Light, Green Light with your child and other stop-and-go games. Use these motions to help your child remember this verse from the Bible story. Let the little children (Pretend to pat the heads of little children.) Come (Signal for someone to come closer.) To me. (Point up to God.) Matthew 19:14 (Open hands like a book.)

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