The Greatest Commandment

Transcription

1 The Greatest Commandment Lesson At-A-Glance Scripture Reference Matthew 22:34-46 Lesson Focus If you want to be great, follow the Greatest Commandment! Life Question Whom do you know that you would consider great? Bible Memory Verse He said to him, You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. Matthew 22:37 Gather (10 minutes) Arrival Activity Kids make acrostic art using the word GREATEST. Opening Conversation Kids write about someone who embodies greatness. Opening Prayer Kids pray responsively with the leader. Activity Pages Paper, markers, pencils, tape, other art supplies Open the Bible (20 minutes) The Greatest Commandment Story Kids write riddles as they dig into the Bible story. Jesus Brainteaser Untangled Kids learn what Jesus meant by his clever questions and answers to the Pharisees. Pharisees and Sadducees Kids learn about the differences between Pharisees and Sadducees. Remember It Kids memorize the Bible Memory Verse. Spark Bibles, Spark Bible Stickers Spark Bibles, Spark Bible Stickers, Index cards, pencils Grades 5-6 Classroom Leader Guide. Spark Sunday School 2011 Augsburg Fortress. The Greatest Commandment 29

2 Activate Faith (10 minutes) Lesson At-A-Glance They re the Greatest Kids identify people who reflect the values of the greatest commandment. You re the Greatest! Kids assess their greatest qualities and brainstorm a way to live out the greatest commandment. Goofy Greatness Kids vote for the most outlandish quests for greatness. Dry-erase board, marker, Guinness Book of World Records Send (5 minutes) Closing Conversation Kids share concrete steps to live out the greatest commandment. Closing Prayer Kids pray a responsive prayer. Family Pages Visit for more Spark content! Watch a short Lesson Prep Video that will prepare you and give you confidence to explore this Bible story with the kids you are leading. You will also find four downloadable resources for this lesson: an Activity Page, a Family Page, and two additional in-class activities. 30 The Greatest Commandment Grades 5-6 Classroom Leader Guide. Spark Sunday School 2011 Augsburg Fortress.

3 Gather (10 minutes) Arrival Activity If some kids arrive earlier than others and you need a lesson-based activity, make copies of the downloadable Activity Page and set them out for kids to try. As kids arrive, direct their attention to a table with paper, markers, tape and other art supplies. Today we ll discuss great things, and to start off, we ll make some great art literally. Using the word GREATEST, we ll make acrostics that is, verses that use the letters from GREATEST to start out new words that define it. For example, G is for Grandpop, who fought off a forest of bears armed with only a whipped cream pie and a paperclip. R is for Ralph, my brother who ran a paper drive to help his favorite charity. Encourage kids to use their imaginations as they create acrostics. Give kids a chance to share their creations. Activity Pages Paper Markers Tape Other art supplies Opening Conversation Who was able to try a Faith on the Go! activity this past week? Tell us what you did. Allow some time for sharing. Who can tell me the Bible Memory Verse (BMV) from last week? If kids remember the BMV, invite them to recite it for the group. Guide the kids to help them remember parts they don t. Distribute leaflets and pencils. Look together at the pictures on the front page, then read the Life Question and Lesson Focus. We ll be talking about the Greatest Commandment story, as found in the Gospel of Matthew. In this New Testament story, Jesus defines for the Pharisees the two great commandments for living a godly life both of which revolve around love. Ask kids to consider the images on the first page of the leaflet and Did You Know? on the second page. Then have them complete Who s the Greatest? on the second page. When kids have finished the activity, invite them to share their answers, and encourage discussion. Grades 5-6 Classroom Leader Guide. Spark Sunday School 2011 Augsburg Fortress. The Greatest Commandment 31

4 Opening Prayer Invite kids to stand in a circle. I will recite the main lines of the prayer, then together all of us will repeat the refrain, Dear God, We live in a broken world That values money and fame. We live in fast times Where people chase success. People brag and boast And fight for attention. What would Jesus say If he saw our world? Or would he weep For how lost we are? Lord, find us and guide us And teach us the answer to the question: In Jesus name we pray. Amen. 32 The Greatest Commandment Grades 5-6 Classroom Leader Guide. Spark Sunday School 2011 Augsburg Fortress.

5 Open the Bible (20 minutes) The Greatest Commandment Story Prior to the Bible reading, pass out index cards and pencils to kids. Pass out Spark Bibles. Ask the kids if they know where the book of Matthew is. Then invite them to turn to Matthew 22:34-46 on page 1087, where Jesus answers questions from the Pharisees to reveal the Greatest Commandment, and its corollary. As kids do this, invite them to write down riddles on index cards that will be shared later. Invite kids to place I Read It stickers in their Bibles. What do you find interesting about the way that Jesus handles the Pharisees? Do you think the Pharisees were genuinely interested in the answer? If not, what do you think they hoped would happen? What qualities does Jesus demonstrate in this passage? Spark Bibles Spark Bible Stickers Index cards Encourage kids to find Look It Up! on the third page of the leaflet. Help them find John 19:38-42 on page 1198 in the Spark Bible. In this text Nicodemus, a Pharisee, honors Jesus by participating in Jesus burial. Jesus Brainteaser Untangled Ask kids to read and complete Jesus Brainteaser Untangled on the second page of the leaflet. Answer Key LAWYER GOD NEIGHBOR MESSIAH SON LORD DIDN T ASK ANY MORE QUESTIONS Did everyone get the answers? Let s review the leaflet. How does the word love, which Jesus uses twice, contrast with the way the Pharisees handle God s laws? Grades 5-6 Classroom Leader Guide. Spark Sunday School 2011 Augsburg Fortress. The Greatest Commandment 33

6 Pharisees and Sadducees Ask kids to read Pharisees and Sadducees on the third page of the leaflet. Does it surprise you that various religious groups within Judaism didn t like each other? How does this color your understanding of Jesus entering the picture? Why do you think the Jewish leaders might ve seen Jesus as a threat as opposed to an ally? Remember It Ask kids to look up Matthew 22:37 on page They can also look at the back of their leaflets. Verse 37 in Matthew 22 is today s Bible Memory Verse (BMV). Teach these gestures to help the kids learn the BMV. Remind kids that Jesus here is giving the Pharisees and us the greatest commandment of them all. He said to him, (Make a talking hand.) You shall love the Lord your God (Make praying hands, look up.) with all your heart, (Point to heart.) and with all your soul, (Cross hands over chest.) and with all your mind. (Point to head.) Spark Bibles Spark Bible Stickers Once kids have memorized the verse, encourage them to put I Memorized It stickers in their Bibles. They can also sketch a trophy or #1 symbol in the margin. Activate Faith (10 minutes) They re the Greatest Ask a volunteer to read They re the Greatest on the third page of the leaflet. I m going to read accomplishments achieved by the people listed in your leaflet. Work with a partner to figure out which description goes with which person. Put the letter next to the name that you think matches the description. Ready? a) Imprisoned for 27 years, he became leader of his country and promptly made peace with his former captors. (NELSON MANDELA) b) This Lutheran pastor and theologian opposed the Nazis, who executed him in (DEITRICH BONHOEFFER) c) A former electrician with no higher education, this person led a peaceful movement to unite and free his people, and became their president. (LECH WALESA) d) This person worked in the slums of India to help the sick, dying, and those without homes, and formed Missionaries of Charity, now operating in 34 The Greatest Commandment Grades 5-6 Classroom Leader Guide. Spark Sunday School 2011 Augsburg Fortress.

7 123 countries.. This person was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in (MOTHER TERESA) e) This pioneer teacher, nurse, and humanitarian formed the American Red Cross. (CLARA BARTON) If you think it s only adults who are great leaders, you should know about Trevor Ferrell. After seeing a news report about homeless people in 1983, this 11-yearold kid started bringing food and blankets to the homeless. An organization named after this kid now offers services to an estimated 24,000 homeless people in the Philadelphia area. Can you think of anyone else you know of who shows love for others in great ways? Has anyone volunteered with any group to help people in our community? What did you do? You re the Greatest! Ask kids to read and complete You re the Greatest! on the fourth page of the leaflet. Let s talk about your great qualities! What are they? What kind of actions can we take that show we love God? What can we do to love our neighbors the same way we love ourselves? Goofy Greatness Set up a dry-erase board at the front of the class. In lieu of the Guinness book, you may use their website, Now we re going to check out some wacky forms of greatness. I m going to look up some records from the Guinness Book of World Records, and we ll write them down on the board. Then we can vote on the top three crazy picks. Optional: Pick members of the class, one by one, to skim through the book or website and pick out a record. Dry-erase board Marker Guinness Book of World Records Grades 5-6 Classroom Leader Guide. Spark Sunday School 2011 Augsburg Fortress. The Greatest Commandment 35

8 Send (5 minutes) Closing Conversation Gather kids a seated circle. Let s talk about some ways that we can live up to the greatest commandment. Remember, we can t do it alone. Who can help us? How can we reach out for that help? What are some steps we can take to live great lives starting today? What s a great thing you d like to do someday? Ask for a volunteer to read Faith on the Go! on the last page of the leaflet. If time allows, have kids discuss in more detail some of the ideas they recorded in the You re the Greatest! leaflet activity. Closing Prayer Ask kids to stand and remain in a circle. Let s recite this prayer together. I ll say the lines, and you ll respond with the refrains Jesus is greatest and Jesus makes us great. Dear God, Thank you for a great one who never lets us down. Jesus is greatest. When we seek meaning and purpose, remind us Jesus makes us great. The Pharisees challenged him, and backed off. Jesus is greatest. Beyond our dreams of success and fortune, Jesus makes us great. We live in a world where people compete, but in the end Jesus is greatest. We often feel that we fall short, but in the end Jesus makes us great. Help us to love you God, with all our hearts. Jesus is greatest. And to love our neighbors as ourselves. Jesus makes us great. Thanks be to God! Amen. Family Pages Be sure to send a leaflet and a Family Page home with each kid. 36 The Greatest Commandment Grades 5-6 Classroom Leader Guide. Spark Sunday School 2011 Augsburg Fortress.