Get Ready for Christmas Leader Guide: Lesson 2

Transcription

1 Get Ready for Christmas Leader Guide: Lesson 2 December 9th Elementary His Name is John! Series Verse But the angel said to them, Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; He is Christ the Lord, Luke 2:10-11 NIV The Point of the Lesson: We all prepare each day for something. When we get up we prepare ourselves for the day by eating breakfast, taking a shower, getting dressed. We prepare for school by doing the same thing. Getting up in the morning, having a good breakfast, or at least some type of breakfast. We make sure our books are in our backpack, and we are ready to go. In this lesson each child will learn what John the Baptist did and why he did it. Each child will learn to prepare for Jesus by keeping their heart in the right place. The Power of God s Word: Always be ready to give an answer when someone asks you about your hope. The Prayer of Each Child: Dear Jesus, Thank You so much for the great stories in your Word. Thank You also for telling us the story of John the Baptist, who came to prepare the way for You. I want to be like that for You as well. I want to help prepare the way for my friends to get to know You better. This week I will ask at least one friend who doesn t go to church to come with me to church the following week. I know by doing this I am helping to prepare a way for them to get to know You in a personal way, just like I do. Amen The Lesson in a Word: Prepare 1

2 Prepare: (Before service) Object Lesson: Christmas Decorations (Christmas lights and ornaments) Game Materials: None Student Handouts: Enteraction Guide for the week Student Handout one for early elementary & one for older elementary Activity Sheets *** Please make sure each room has pencils and crayons. Introduction: Big Room come in at 11:05 Countdown Welcome from MC: Welcome to CBCKids. We are so thrilled that you are here with us today. Are you ready to worship Jesus? I can t hear you? Are you ready to worship Jesus? That s much better! We are in our second week of our series called, Get Ready for Christmas and we are going to have some fun today learning more about God. Mingle Question Would you rather decorate the Christmas tree or bake Christmas cookies? Worship Songs for the week Prayer Announcements: Upcoming Events, Birthday, Visitors Send Kindergarten back to class Object Lesson: Object Lesson: (Holding Christmas Decorations) There is so much to do at Christmas time in order to prepare for Christmas Day. One of my favorite things to do is to help decorate the house. I like to put lights up all over the outside of my house and decorate the tree with cool ornaments. It s all to prepare for that special day. In our video today, we will learn about a very special person whose job it was to Prepare the way for Jesus! 2

3 Video Lesson: (15 Minutes) This process includes the minute teaching video, practice point and memory verse. On the DVD Menu Screen, choose Lesson 2 and then select Lesson 2 on the sub-menu to play all of the following pieces to the Lesson. Lesson in a Word: Prepare Memory Verse: Always be ready to give an answer when someone asks you about your hope. What Should I See? This is a great story about a man named John the Baptist. John lived in the desert. That s right, in the desert. He dressed in a very unique way; you could say that he really stood out in a crowd. You see his clothes were made out of camel s hair and he wore a leather belt around his waist. He also ate special food. The Bible tells us that he ate locusts (bugs!) and wild honey. How does that sound? John had a special job. He was chosen by God before he was even born to prepare the way for Jesus. John obeyed God by telling other people about Jesus. John would say, Turn away from your sin (your bad choices) and start doing what is right in God s eyes. John would also baptize people in the Jordan River, that s how he got his name John the Baptist. People came to see John from all over Jerusalem and Judea. They would tell God they were sorry for their sins and that they wanted Him (Jesus) to be a part of their life. Then they would be baptized by John in the Jordan River. When a person is baptized, they are telling other people that they have chosen to be on God s team. They are telling others that are watching that God has made a huge difference in their life. They are saying that they want to follow Jesus all of their life. John would dunk them all the way under the water and then they would come right back up. John prepared the way for Jesus by telling others about Him. He told people that Jesus was coming soon. John was a very humble man. He did not think that he was too important, and he didn t act like he should be treated in an extra special way. He obeyed God and did the job that he was supposed to do. He helped other people learn about God and prepared the way for Jesus. God wants us to obey Him and prepare the way for Jesus by telling others about Him, just like John did. (Matthew 3:1-12) What s The Key? The key to unlocking this lesson is in the word prepare. We need to prepare the way for Jesus. When we prepare to go on a trip we have to think about several things. What we will need to bring? How long is the trip? What kind of weather so we can pack the right clothes? Preparing for something is very important. Preparing the way for others to get to know Jesus is extremely important! 3

4 What s That To Me? We may think, Why should I prepare the way for Jesus? I mean there are a bunch of other people are out there preparing and helping others get to know Jesus. If I don t help prepare the way for others to get to know Jesus then it really won t be that big of a deal, Right? Wrong. You see, if you are part of a family and you are planning on a trip, everyone in the family must pitch in to help, at least in my family they had too. It s the same thing with God s family. We want those who don t know Jesus to get a chance to know Him. So, yes, it s very important that we help prepare the way to Jesus by helping others get to know Him. How Should I Be? Just like preparing for a trip or for school, we need to prepare the way for Jesus. In order to do this we need to do a couple of things. First, we need to think. If we left on a trip without thinking, can you imagine what we would forget? We would probably forget some very important things. The same is true with preparing the way for Jesus. So this week, let s think about one of our friends who does not know Jesus. Then, ask that person if he or she wants to come to church with you. If you do that, you are preparing the way for Jesus by bringing that person to church. (Make sure you ask your parents first!) Practice Point: Since John the Baptist Prepared the Way I will share Jesus Live It & Review with someone today. This 5-minute video shows either Craig or Ande sharing personal stories of how they have lived out the lesson in their own lives. On the DVD Menu Screen, choose Lesson 2 and then select Live-It on the sub- menu screen. Question: How do you prepare the way for Jesus? Review: Lesson in a Word: Prepare Practice Point: Since John the Baptist Prepared the Way I will share Jesus with someone today. Memory Verse: Always be ready to give an answer when someone asks you about your hope. 4

5 Get Ready for Christmas Lesson 2 Individual Classrooms 3 rd & 4th Before Big Room Check In Time: Have Christmas music playing Check In Kids Activity Sheets Start talking about getting ready for Christmas review last weeks message on Hope Prayer After Big Room Lesson 1. Total Recall (10 Minutes) ask the kids questions and see if they can come up with answers. You can play it as a game or as question / answer. Question 1: Where did John the Baptist live? (The Desert) Question 2: How did John the Baptist obey God? (By telling others about Jesus) Question 3: Where did John the Baptist baptize people? (The Jordan River) Question 4: How did John the Baptist get his name? (By baptizing people) Question 5: What did John the Baptist eat? (Locusts and Wild Honey) Question 6: Where is our Bible verse found? (1 Peter 3:15) Question 7: God wants us to obey Him and to prepare the way for whom? (Jesus) Question 8: The lesson in a word is. (Prepare) 3. Memory Madness (5-10 Minutes) Take this time to work on the memory verse and the practice point for this week. You can make it a game. Lesson in a Word: Prepare Practice Point: Since John the Baptist Prepared the Way I will share Jesus with someone today. Memory Verse: Always be ready to give an answer when someone asks you about your hope. 5

6 3. Weekly Handout At this point, work on the weekly handouts with the kids. Things to Do Here: Question 1: What was John s special job from God? Question 2: How can you be like John? Question 3: Why is it important to tell others about Jesus? **Allow the students a chance to fill in the information on the tear off flap portion of the Student Handout and turn them in to leaders. This provides them with a chance to share prayer requests, questions or comments with you! You may even want to have a special box or mailbox where they can drop those prayer requests in for you to read later. Be sure that someone on the Children s Ministry Staff at the church follows up on these prayer needs and that the kids are prayed for during the week. Things to Do at Home: Lastly, kids are dismissed to go and play games as they wait for their parents to pick them up. They take the student handout home and finish the last 3 questions during the week. You may want to offer an incentive of some type to students who return with their handout the following week to encourage them to finish it at home. Question 1: Take a few minutes to look up our story in Matthew 3:1-12 and write down three facts you learned about John the Baptist. Question 2: What is one way that you can help your family prepare for Christmas? Write it down here and then go find your parents and offer to help! Question 3: Ask your parents if you can invite a friend to church with you someone who does not usually go to church, maybe someone from your neighborhood or someone from school. If they say it is okay, bring your friend to church this weekend! You are preparing the way for them to learn about Jesus! I would like to bring to church with me this weekend. *** If they bring it back completed, they can get entered into the drawing! 3. Checkout Time Don t forget to send home the student weekly handout as well as the parent handout. 6

7 Get Ready for Christmas Lesson 2 Individual Classrooms 1 st & 2nd Before Big Room Check In Time: Have Christmas music playing Check In Kids Activity Sheets Start talking about getting ready for Christmas review last weeks message on Hope Prayer After Big Room Lesson 1. Total Recall (10 Minutes) ask the kids questions and see if they can come up with answers. You can play it as a game or as question / answer. Question 1: Where did John the Baptist live? (The Desert) Question 2: How did John the Baptist obey God? (By telling others about Jesus) Question 3: Where did John the Baptist baptize people? (The Jordan River) Question 4: How did John the Baptist get his name? (By baptizing people) Question 5: What did John the Baptist eat? (Locusts and Wild Honey) Question 6: Where is our Bible verse found? (1 Peter 3:15) Question 7: God wants us to obey Him and to prepare the way for whom? (Jesus) Question 8: The lesson in a word is. (Prepare) 3. Memory Madness (5-10 Minutes) Take this time to work on the memory verse and the practice point for this week. You can make it a game. Lesson in a Word: Prepare Practice Point: Since John the Baptist Prepared the Way I will share Jesus with someone today. Memory Verse: Always be ready to give an answer when someone asks you about your hope. 7

8 3. Weekly Handout At this point, work on the weekly handouts with the kids. Things to Do Here: Question 1: What was John s special job from God? Question 2: How can you be like John? Question 3: Why is it important to tell others about Jesus? **Allow the students a chance to fill in the information on the tear off flap portion of the Student Handout and turn them in to leaders. This provides them with a chance to share prayer requests, questions or comments with you! You may even want to have a special box or mailbox where they can drop those prayer requests in for you to read later. Be sure that someone on the Children s Ministry Staff at the church follows up on these prayer needs and that the kids are prayed for during the week. Things to Do at Home: Lastly, kids are dismissed to go and play games as they wait for their parents to pick them up. They take the student handout home and finish the last 3 questions during the week. You may want to offer an incentive of some type to students who return with their handout the following week to encourage them to finish it at home. *** If they bring it back completed, they can get entered into the drawing! 3. Game Time (option but fun - especially if memory time isn t going well. Here s a chance to get the kids up and moving around a bit with a little game that can be played in the classroom. Prepare by Packing Directions: For this game, students sit on the floor in a circle. Tell the students to pretend they are packing for a trip and they must name something they will bring, beginning with a certain letter. The first student begins with the letter "A" and the next student adds on to their sentence by adding something that starts with a B. (I have to prepare for my trip so I am packing an Apple.) Or - name a friend that you will bring to church next Sunday. (Example: Next week, When I come to church, I will bring Amber.) 4. Checkout Time Don t forget to send home the student weekly handout as well as the parent handout. 8