Bible Verse In my Father's house there are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?

Transcription

1 4 th /5 th Grade Who Art in Heaven Bible Verse In my Father's house there are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? (John 14:2) Teacher Enrichment This lesson is the third in the Teach Us to Pray series which emphasizes the practice of prayer using The Lord s Prayer. Each week will examine a stanza of The Lord s Prayer, what it tells us about God and how it directs our prayer life. Today s lesson explores Who Art in Heaven. When we pray the words Who Art in Heaven, we are stating our belief that God resides in heaven. But what does it mean to be in heaven? Is heaven a real, physical place? Where is heaven? What does it look like and who is there? These are big, theological questions that are hard for adults to answer, let alone children, but the Bible does provide some insight. In the book of John, Jesus describes heaven as a house with many rooms where a place is being prepared for each of us. Revelations states that in heaven there is no more sadness, mourning, pain, wanting or tears. It describes heaven as a beautiful city with golden gates, walls decorated with jewels, streets paved with gold and where the glory of God provides the light. This lesson will teach that while we can t know everything about heaven until we get there, it is a wonderful, beautiful, perfect place where we live with God forever. God loves us so much that He is preparing a special place for each and every one of us. We do not have to earn our place in heaven; God provides it as a gift to everyone who loves Him. When we pray, we can thank God for this special gift and praise Him for creating a place as amazing as heaven.

2 Before Class Begins Place the Sign In sheet and a pen where parents can see it upon arrival. Place the Joy & Concern cards, Time & Talent cards and pens where students can see them upon arrival. Check that you have supplies for this lesson: Arrival Activity, Words from Letters Who Art in Heaven 1 per child The Price Is Right Items, Pricing Cards and envelopes The Price Is Right Tally Sheets 1 per team My Art of Heaven worksheets 1 per child Place all Price Is Right items on a table to the side (do not place Pricing Cards yet) Place an arrival activity at each place on the table. Welcome SUPPLIES: Sign In sheet, Joy & Concern cards, Time & Talent cards, Attendance chart, stickers, pens, Words from Letters Who Art in Heaven Greet each child individually as they arrive. Introduce yourself by name. Help children find or add their name on the attendance chart. Provide each child with a sticker to place in today s column on the attendance chart. Encourage children to complete a Joy or Concern card if they have a particular joy or concern they would like to express. Collect completed Joy & Concern cards. Encourage children to complete a Time or Talent offering card if they gave their time to God or used their talents to serve God or others during the previous week. Children should keep their own completed Time and Talent cards. If children bring monetary offering, they should keep it with them. Direct children to complete the Words from Letters Who Art in Heaven. Encourage conversation among the children and with you! Get to know the children in your classroom by asking about their week including school, activities and families. Introduce new children to each other and encourage friendships.

3 Children s Worship SUPPLIES: Sign In sheet, Joy & Concern cards, Time & Talent cards Arrive at Ruth Hall at 9:20 or 11:05. Bring the Sign In sheet and completed Joy & Concern cards to Ruth Hall. Hand the Joy & Concern cards to the Children s Worship leader as you arrive. Have children bring their completed Time & Talent cards and any monetary offering. If additional children arrive while in Ruth Hall, have parents complete the Sign In sheet and remind parents that pickup is in Room 110. Encourage children to participate in Children s Worship and provide re-direction if necessary. Assist the Children s Worship leader as needed. At the conclusion of Children s Worship, have children line up and return to Room 110. The Lesson SUPPLIES: Price is Right Items and Pricing Cards, envelopes, Price is Right Tally sheets, My Art of Heaven worksheets, pencils, markers The Price is Right The purpose of this game is to get children thinking about the price of things, including the price of heaven. They must determine if the actual price of the item is higher or lower than the price listed on the card. Including regular, household items makes it fun. Inclusion of a Bible shows that even a Bible has a price and can be bought. The price of Heaven is the important part of this game. Most likely, some teams will guess that the price of heaven is higher, much higher, than the $10,000 price on the card. When you reveal the actual price of heaven as $0, children will begin to understand that heaven is free; it is a gift from God. As you arrive back in the classroom, have the children remain standing and pair them up in teams of two. If you have an uneven number of children, create one team of three children. Give each team a Price is Right Tally Sheet.

4 Place the pricing cards in front of each item on the table (see Game Setup picture; cards are labeled on the back). SAY: Today we are going to play a game called The Price Is Right. I have 8 items on the table. Each item has a price displayed in front of it, but it is not the correct price. As a team, determine if the actual price of the items is higher or lower than the price on the card. Mark your guess on your tally sheet. When you are finished, we will see which team gets the most items correct. Allow the teams about 5 minutes to mark their tally sheets for each item. Make sure children understand the heaven poster represents the real thing, not just the price of the poster itself. One item at a time, open the corresponding envelope and reveal the actual price of the item. Teams should mark their guesses right or wrong. (9:15 teacher - Be sure to put the actual price cards back in the corresponding envelopes so the 11:00 teacher can use them! Cards are labeled on the back.) Before revealing the Bible and Heaven prices, ask if any team got six correct, five, four, etc. Reveal the Bible price. SAY: Even a Bible, which is the Word of God, has a price. You can go to the store and buy a Bible. It may be a special book, but it s made of paper; it s made on earth. Reveal the Heaven price. ASK: Wow! Heaven is absolutely free. Did anyone say the real price was lower than $10,000? Did you think it was $0? SAY: Heaven is a gift from God. Not even one hundred thousand million dollars can buy Heaven. We do not have to pay for heaven. We do not have to earn heaven. Heaven is free because God loves us. The only thing God requires is that we love Him and accept Him as our God. My Art of Heaven Worksheet SAY: Today in Children s Worship we learned how the Bible describes heaven. It sounded like a pretty wonderful place. We also heard that God is preparing each of us our own special room in heaven! Let s take a few minutes to think about what heaven will be like.

5 Give each child a My Art of Heaven worksheet. Allow time for the children to complete the worksheet independently. Encourage children to write multiple ideas for each question and to add details to their pictures. When all children have completed the worksheet, ask children to share their answers and drawings with the class. Encourage that each child may have a different vision of heaven. SAY: Heaven is such a wonderful gift from God. I m giving each of you a Prayer Journal page that prompts you to think about the gift of heaven when you pray. Your prayers can include thanking God for this gift and praising Him for creating heaven. Provide each child with a Heaven Prayer Journal page. If any children did not make a Prayer Journal during Fall Kickoff, provide them with one from the extras located in the Sunday School cabinet in your classroom. Closing Lead the children in a closing prayer. You may say your own prayer, ask one of the children to say a prayer or use the one below. God, Thank you for creating Heaven as an amazing, wonderful, perfect place. Thank you for loving us enough to prepare a special room for each of us. We praise you God! Amen If time remains before parents arrive, encourage children to return to their Words from Letters Who Art in Heaven if they did not complete it. Also encourage conversation between children and with you. This is another opportunity to build relationships with the children in your classroom!

6 The Price Is Right Tally Sheet Item Listed Price Actual Price Is Aveeno Lotion $12.99 Lunchbox $13.95 Box of Kleenex $1.09 Binder $10.95 Corn Pops $5.19 Matchbox Car $0.65 Bible $25.89 Heaven $10,000

7 My Art of Heaven 1. What would you like to do in Heaven? 2. How do you think Heaven will be different from living on earth? 3. God is preparing a room in Heaven for each of us. Draw a picture of your room in Heaven.

8 Heaven Prayer Journal Page Heaven is Amazing (here s why) Thank You God!

9 The Price Is Right Game The Price Is Right Item Setup Kleenex Envelope Reveal Kleenex Actual Price