Patience lesson 4. Fruit of the Spirit. Parable of the Sower. Episode 4. Mark 4:1 29

Transcription

1 Patience lesson 4 Fruit of the Spirit Galatians 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is... PATIENCE Patience The ability to calmly wait for God to do what He wants to do. Episode 4 Parable of the Sower Mark 4:1 29 MEMORY VERSE One sows and another reaps is true. I sent you to reap what you have not worked for. Others have done the hard work, and you have reaped the benefits of their labor. John 4:37 38 KEY POINT Having patience helps when we tell others about Jesus. Lesson 4 page 30

2 Let s Create EARLY ARRIVAL (before service) Have some upbeat music playing. Welcome children warmly. Have some simple toys available to make the environment welcoming. Teachers should take this time to engage in conversation with children as they sit to play with them. Ask them about their week, school, and home. Begin to establish relationships. BEGIN CLASS (service time) Introduce yourself and your assistants. Before the discussion questions, PRAY that the Lord will bless your time together. Have a set of supplies for yourself to demonstrate as you explain. SUPPLIES per child Pipe cleaner One pom-pom Tissue paper Brown construction paper Good Soil print-out SUPPLIES to share Glue sticks, tape Scissors Crayons CREATE it : : : instructions 1 SAY: First thing everyone needs to do is plant your seeds in good soil. - Have the children use their crayons to draw the seeds, by using a stomping motion to scatter them on the paper below the GOOD SOIL line. 2 SAY: 3 SAY: Before we put good soil over our seeds, notice the deep roots our plants will have. Let s color the roots by tracing the lines already on your papers. - Have the children color in the roots. - Cut out strips of brown construction paper to represent the good soil and have them glue them onto the proper area over the seeds. (Optional: you may skip the construction paper and simply have them color in the soil.) You planted your seeds in good soil, so they are going to grow strong. - Have everyone glue or tape a pipe cleaner on the outline representing the stem. - Glue a pom-pom in the center, then add petals and leaves to the flower by gluing torn pieces of colorful tissue paper. lesson 4 Kindergarten 1 st grade page 31

3 CONNECT it : : : SAY If you were here a couple of weeks ago you took home a little seed in a cup. Who replanted their seed into a bigger pot or into their yard? Have you been patient and taken good care of it? Has anyone s seed sprouted yet? CONNECTit We ve talked about patience a lot this month. We ve talked about being patient in times of trouble. We learned how waiting for things helps us enjoy what we get even more, and last week we talked about having patience to avoid arguments. Today we re going to talk about why it s important to have patience when telling someone about Jesus. Jesus told us a parable to teach us this lesson. A parable is a story that helps us learn a lesson. In parables things represent other things. Our crafts had pipe cleaners to represent a real stem and tissue paper for petals, etc. Today s parable uses plants to represent people. We re going to compare how growing a plant is like growing a Christian it takes patience too. WATCH it : : : Go to large group to see the Virtuality DVD, Fruit of the Spirit Series DVD (VOLUME 4, EPISODE 4) lesson 4 Kindergarten 1 st grade page 32

4 Let s Talk Bible BIBLE STORY : : : Parable of the Sower Mark 4:1 29 BE PREPARED Read the Bible story and study the background information at home. The background information is provided to add insight to your lesson, so some of it might not be appropriate for all age groups. Before you begin the lesson, in your own words, tell the appropriate background information for your class age group. BACKGROUND information : : : SAY IT in your own words Jesus is well-recognized as a great teacher even by those who don t believe in His deity. He often used parables as teaching tools. A parable is a fictional story used to convey a spiritual truth a moral lesson. But unlike a fantasy story, where characters might have supernatural abilities (e.g., Superman), parables are stories that could happen in real life. Jesus would use objects or things His audience could relate to and compare them to something else. Many of the people Jesus taught were fishermen and farmers, so naturally many of His parables were about fishing or farming as He used the things around them as object lessons. Jesus was on the shores of the Sea of Galilee in an area called the Plains of Gennesaret. This area has very fertile soil and is well-watered from the surrounding hills. The Jewish historian, Josephus, described it as a land that not only nourishes different sorts of autumnal fruits beyond men s expectation, but preserves them a great while. It supplies men with the principal fruits, grapes, and figs continually during ten months, and the rest of the fruits, as they ripen together through the whole year. It s no surprise that Jesus used the Parable of the Sower in this setting to teach the lesson we are about to hear. Parables are meant to make you think, almost like riddles. In Jesus day planting was done by hand, not machines. A farmer would walk around his field with a large bag, full of seeds, slung across his shoulder. He would reach into lesson 4 Kindergarten 1 st grade page 33

5 his bag, grab a handful of seeds and scatter them on the ground. That s how it was done and Jesus audience understood this, so you need to know it also. Before we go to the Bible and read this parable, let s quickly go over what s needed to produce a good crop. You need sun, water, seeds and soil. We ll find out that the type of soil is very important. So now that we re ready, let s put on our overalls, straw hats, and garden gloves and dig into today s lesson. PREP it : : : props and characters 1. Select a few children to act out portions of the story as you read it. If you don t have enough children, they can play multiple roles in the different sections of the story. These are the characters.» A farmer» Birds» Fast-growing plant» Thorns» Good soil» A few disciples 2. If you are able, bring the following from home to enhance the story.» Farmer clothes and tools READ SCRIPTURE READ Bible Story : : : MARK 4:1 29 Another time Jesus began teaching by the lake. A great crowd gathered around him. So he got into a boat and went out on the lake. All the people stayed on the shore close to the water. Jesus used many stories to teach them. (Gather everyone around to hear the story.) He said, Listen! A farmer went out to plant his seed. (Farmer, go out to your fi eld.) While the farmer was planting, some seed fell by the road. The birds came and ate all that seed. (Farmer, pretend to scatter seeds on the road. Birds, come and eat the seeds as they fall.) lesson 4 Kindergarten 1 st grade page 34

6 Some seed fell on rocky ground where there wasn t much dirt. The seed grew very fast there because the ground was not deep. (Farmer, pretend to scatter more seeds. Fast-growing plants, you begin to grow.) But when the sun rose, the plants withered. The plants died because they did not have deep roots. (Plants, say, It s too hot, then die.) Some other seed fell among thorny weeds. The weeds grew and choked the good plants. So those plants did not make grain. (Farmer, pretend to scatter seeds on the thorns. Plants, you grow again but the thorns choke you and you die.) Some other seed fell on good ground. In the good ground, the seed began to grow. (Farmer, pretend to scatter seeds again. Good soil say, I m going to take good care of your seeds, Farmer. ) It grew and made a crop of grain. Some plants made 30 times more grain, some 60 times more grain, and some 100 times more grain. (Everyone, squat then stand, stretch and grow tall and strong.) Then Jesus said, You people who hear me, listen! Later, when Jesus was alone, the 12 apostles and others around him asked him about the stories. (Disciple, ask Jesus, What does this parable mean? ) Jesus said, Only you can know the secret truth about the kingdom of God. But to other people I tell everything by using stories. I do this so that: They will look and look, but they will not learn. They will listen and listen, but they will not understand. If they did learn and understand, they would come back to me and be forgiven. Isaiah 6: 9 10 (Disciple, tell Jesus, We still don t get it. ) Then Jesus said to the followers, Do you understand this story? If you don t, then how will you understand any story? The farmer is like a person who plants God s teaching in people. (Farmer, say, Let me tell you about Jesus. ) Sometimes the teaching falls on the road. This is like some people. They hear the teaching of God. But Satan quickly comes and takes away the teaching that was planted in them. (Birds, say, We re taking the lesson away. ) Others are like the seed planted on rocky ground. They hear the teaching lesson 4 Kindergarten 1 st grade page 35

7 and quickly accept it with joy. (Fast-growing plant, say, I have joy. ) But they don t allow the teaching to go deep into their lives. They keep it only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the teaching, they quickly give up. (Fast-growing plant, say, I lost my joy already. ) Others are like the seed planted among the thorny weeds. They hear the teaching. (Plant, say, I think I hear you. ) But then other things come into their lives: worries, the love of money, and wanting all kinds of other things. These things stop the teaching from growing. So that teaching does not produce fruit in their lives. (Plant, say, I forgot what I you said. ) Others are like the seed planted in the good ground. They hear the teaching and accept it. (Plant, say, I hear you now. ) Then they grow and produce fruit sometimes 30 times more, sometimes 60 times more, and sometimes 100 times more. (Plant, say, I m going to tell other people what I heard. ) CONNECTIT CONNECT it : : : SAY Have you ever told anyone about Jesus? People are like the plants in the parable when they hear about Jesus. With some people it goes in one ear and out the other as if someone snatched the words away from of them. So you have to be patient and tell them again. Other people hear it but don t really get it and forget as soon as problems get in the way. So you have to be patient and tell them again. Some people hear about Jesus but then they let other things get in the way and they soon forget what they heard so, say it with me: You have to be patient and tell them again. Most people need to hear the Good News about Jesus many times. We need to be patient with them. We can t give up. KEYPOINT Having patience helps when we tell others about Jesus. lesson 4 Kindergarten 1 st grade page 36

8 MEMORYVERSE Some people finally understand and they invite Jesus into their hearts and then they tell other people. One sows and another reaps is true. I sent you to reap what you have not worked for. Others have done the hard work, and you have reaped the benefits of their labor. John 4:37 38 This means that often a person hears about Jesus from many different people. You might be the first one or the last one to tell them, and that s okay. Everyone has a very important part to play. Everyone needs to be patient when telling others about Jesus. And hopefully one day they will say yes to Jesus. So don t give up on anyone and keep sharing the Word of God with everyone. PRAYER LET S PRAY : : : SAY Heavenly Father, Thank You for the Good News of Jesus. We pray that You will help us to be patient when we share Jesus with other people so that one day they ll believe in You, too. In Jesus name, we pray. Amen. lesson 2 Kindergarten 1 st grade page 37

9 Let s Review This Month s Verse PATIENCE BUT THE FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT IS... PATIENCE The ability to calmly wait for God to do what He wants to do. TODAY S LESSON Bible Story Parable of the Sower Location Mark 4:1 29 Memory Verse One sows and another reaps is true. I sent you to reap what you have not worked for. Others have done the hard work, and you have reaped the benefits of their labor. John 4:37 38 Key Point Having patience helps when we tell others about Jesus. TIME FILLERS Ask if anyone would like to play the teacher and review today s lesson with the class. Play games to help children memorize today s Bible memory verse. TAKE HOME SHEETS VIRTUE Quest is the take-home sheet designed for children to do with their parents. The sheet contains information about today s lesson. The goal is to partner with parents to continue and to reiterate the lesson. Be sure to hand all parents a sheet as they pick up their children. lesson 4 page 38