Kristina Fucci. Big Idea. Action Plan. Bible Verse. Materials. Connecting You to Jesus. Dear Teacher,

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1 The King Is Coming Mark 11:1-10 Dear Teacher, Writing about praising Jesus shouldn t be hard. But for some reason, this week the task seemed to put it bluntly daunting! In today s Bible story, it seemed pretty EASY for the crowds who followed Jesus to praise Him. They threw caution to the wind when they spread their coats on the road to line Jesus path! They didn t hesitate to shout, Hosanna! I realized that for those who truly followed Jesus, praise flowed from one important thing: They RECOGNIZED Jesus as Lord and KING! Praising Jesus flows naturally for me WHEN He reigns in my life. But this week s burdens seemed to briefly overshadow the power and majesty of Jesus. What a God-given, timely reminder for me that Jesus is worth praising, that my burdens aren t THAT big and that He alone IS KING! Indeed, how pleasant and fitting to praise him! (Psalm 147:1.) Kristina Fucci Editorial Assistant Action Plan Talk about reasons and ways to praise Jesus. Bible Verse Praise the Lord. How good it is to sing praises to our God, how pleasant and fitting to praise him! Psalm 147:1 Connecting You to Jesus When Jesus made His triumphal entry into Jerusalem, He was making a deliberate statement: He was saying that He is the Messiah! Jesus didn t hide who He is or why He was there He meant to provoke the Jewish leaders who opposed Him. This was the beginning of the end of Jesus life on Earth. But it prepared the way for Him to die for the sins of the world and then to LIVE again! Materials The T-Shirt Story basics (see contents) props (see p. 10) 7

2 Opening Music As children come into the large-group area, play I m Keepin My Eyes on Jesus (on Media DVD or track 2 on Worship CD). Lead children in singing and doing motions (see Song Motion Chart on p. 140). When we don t know what to do, we can always count on Jesus to help us. The fact that Jesus is always there for us is one reason that He deserves our praise. Icebreaker Let s try something that to be a success will take all of us working together. First, everyone needs to stand in a large circle. Then, when I point to you, raise your arms and then put them back down. Let s see if we can make a wave! Stand in the center of the circle and turn slowly in a circle, pointing to each student in the circle as you turn. As you point to students, they raise and then lower their arms. Repeat by going faster or by having students stomp feet instead of raising arms. Doing the wave like this is even more fun in a giant crowd of people! Today we are going to talk about what a really BIG group of people did when they saw Jesus coming and it wasn t a wave! Bible Verse (10 minutes) Invite one or two small-group leaders to take turns pantomiming key words ( praise, Lord, sing and pleasant ) from Psalm 147:1. Students guess words as each leader pantomimes. Once the words have been guessed, open your Bible to Psalm 147:1. The Bible tells us that it s good for us to praise God. Today s Bible verse is Psalm 147:1. Read verse aloud. God has done so much for each of us! It s important for us to remember that He deserves our praise! We can thank and praise God by singing, as our verse says. We can do it by clapping, playing an instrument or doing our best with any talent God has given us. And we can praise God by learning His Word! Let s praise Him as we say Psalm 147:1 aloud together! Lead students in repeating verse together several times. TIP Greet kids as they arrive, and ask, If you could have anyone come to visit you, who would it be? Playlist I m Keepin My Eyes on Jesus All for Jesus Merciful Jesus This Is How We Know Tip Before class, invite a leader or student who enjoys singing or rapping to lead group in repeating Psalm 147:1 in an interesting way. 8

3 Optional Game or Story Starter What does a donkey sound like? Invite volunteers to demonstrate what sound a donkey makes. Let s play a game and try to guess other animals by the sound they make. Invite a volunteer who isn t afraid to be in front of a large group to choose an animal. Volunteer then makes sounds that the animal makes, trying to get the group to guess which animal he or she has chosen. Students call out guesses until someone gets the correct answer. Repeat with other volunteers. In Bible times, people often rode donkeys. In today s Bible story, Jesus used a donkey to travel. Listen to find out why Jesus needed a donkey and where He was going. Music (15 minutes) We can give our all to Jesus, because He s not only our God but also our friend. Let s sing a song about ways we can praise Him. Lead children in singing and doing motions for All for Jesus (on Media DVD or track 1 on Worship CD; see Song Motion Chart on p. 139). Jesus is kind and merciful. We can praise Jesus because we know He will forgive and love us when we do wrong and ask Him for forgiveness. Lead students in singing and doing motions for Merciful Jesus (on Media DVD or track 4 on Worship CD; see Song Motion Chart on p. 142). Jesus loves us so much that He laid down His life for us. Giving His life for us is MORE than enough reason for us to praise Jesus! Let s sing about God s love! Lead students in singing and doing motions for This Is How We Know (on Media DVD or track 5 on Worship CD; see Song Motion Chart on p. 143). Story Starter Let s play a game where we try to guess what different people said about different situations. Show Lesson 1: What Do They Deserve? on Media DVD, and encourage students to play the game. Today we are talking about how some people reacted to Jesus. They gave him the praise that He deserves. 9

4 The King Is Coming (15 minutes) Mark 11:1-10 STORYTELLING IDEA Ahead of time, collect a toy donkey, a coat, a party plate, a party hat, a crown and a palm branch. Use props as directed to help tell the story. Colt and Coats Today s story begins as Jesus and His disciples were traveling from Jericho toward Jerusalem. Just before they got to Jerusalem, Jesus told two of the disciples to go to a nearby village, where they would find a young donkey, called a colt. Show toy donkey. Jesus told His disciples, When you find the colt, untie it and bring it here. Jesus also warned them, Someone may ask you why you are doing this. If that happens, tell them, The Lord needs it. But He will send it back soon. Tip Invite a volunteer to read aloud information about the title of the book of Mark on page 216 in What the Bible Is All About for Kids. Now, what did Jesus tell the two disciples to do? Students respond. ( GET A DONKEY! ) Place toy donkey on one side of the storytelling area. Just as Jesus had said, the two disciples found the colt tied up in a doorway. When they untied the colt, some people standing nearby asked what they were doing. The disciples told the people what Jesus had told them to say. Just like Jesus said, the people let them take the colt and go! The disciples took the colt back to Jesus. Then they took off their coats and laid them over the donkey s back for Jesus to sit on. Show coat. When the disciples took the donkey back to Jesus, what did they lay over the donkey s back? Students respond. ( THEIR COATS! ) Place coat next to donkey. The King Has Arrived! As Jesus and His disciples traveled toward Jerusalem, they weren t the only people headed that way! The road to Jerusalem was CROWDED with people who were coming to celebrate Passover. At Passover, the people always feasted together to remember how God had rescued them from being slaves in Egypt. It was a great time of the year! Show party plate and party hat Gospel Light. Permission to photocopy granted to original purchaser only. Elementary Large Group Leader Guide

5 What holiday were the people celebrating? Students respond. ( PASSOVER! ) Place party plate and party hat next to coat. While the people were on their way into Jerusalem, they saw Jesus riding into the city on the young donkey. The people realized that Jesus was someone special. They also remembered that Zechariah a prophet had written about a king who would come to them and how He d be riding on a donkey! A donkey?! Yes, that s right! The king would be riding on a donkey! And He was not just any king. This king was God s Son, the Messiah God had promised to send. Jesus was the king Zechariah had written about! Show crown. Who did the people believe Jesus was? Students respond. ( THE KING GOD HAD PROMISED TO SEND! ) Place crown next to party plate and party hat. Palm-Branch Parade Now the people REALLY felt like celebrating! Some people took off their coats and laid them on the road. Others cut branches and laid them on the road. Some of these people may have followed Jesus all the way from Jericho, the City of Palms, so they would have had palm branches to lay on the road. Show palm branch. This was the Bible-times version of a red carpet! The people wanted to welcome Jesus. What did the people lay on the ground for Jesus donkey to walk on? Students respond. ( COATS AND PALM BRANCHES! ) Lay palm branch near crown. The people started a BIG parade for Jesus! As Jesus rode down the road, the people shouted, Hosanna! Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord! Encourage kids to shout the words with you. By shouting praises, the people were showing that they KNEW Jesus was the king Zechariah had written about. Tip Guide students to open their Bibles to Mark 11:8-10 and follow along as you read how the crowd responded when Jesus rode into Jerusalem. What did the people shout? Students respond. ( HOSANNA! HOSANNA! ) The people didn t really understand Jesus mission. They hoped Jesus would defeat the Roman government and set up His own kingdom! But Jesus had actually come to die to save all people from their sins and then come to life again! Jesus mission was MUCH better than just defeating the Romans! Jesus was preparing the way for a kingdom that would last FOREVER! 2013 Gospel Light. Permission to photocopy granted to original purchaser only. Elementary Large Group Leader Guide 11

6 Wrap-Up When Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey, He came as the King and Messiah God had promised to send! The people sang LOUDLY to praise Jesus. Even though they didn t fully understand who Jesus really is, praising Him was the right thing for them to do. Read Psalm 147:1 aloud. We can praise Jesus, too! And not only CAN we praise Him, but it is also RIGHT for us to praise Him! Jesus is God s Son, the Messiah sent to pay for our sin! He deserves ALL our praise! Lay T-shirt on the floor. The people in Jerusalem didn t just SING praises to Jesus. They praised Him with their ACTIONS, too! Even though they didn t have a red carpet to roll out for their king, they used what they had: palm branches and coats. We can praise Jesus with what we have, too! We can praise Jesus with the things we do, the words we say and the things we have. Because Jesus is God s Son, He deserves our praise! Connecting Kids to Jesus When Jesus arrived in Jerusalem, He wanted everyone to know that He is God s Son! Jesus didn t hide who He is or why He was in the city. Jesus knew that His life on Earth was ending. But He also knew that by dying, He d save all of us from our sin and then He d LIVE again forever! Prayer Think about why God deserves your praise. What has He done for you? Pause for kids to think. Then pray, Dear God, thank You for all that You have done for us. You deserve our praise. In Jesus name, amen. Dismiss to Small Groups We ve been saying that God deserves our praise, but what does that really mean? As you go to your small groups, think about the reasons you want to thank God and about what praising Him means. We ll talk more about this when we get into our small groups. 12