Kindness lesson 4. Fruit of the Spirit. The Crucifixion. Episode 4. Luke 23:26 43

Transcription

1 Kindness lesson 4 Fruit of the Spirit Galatians 5:22 The fruit of the Spirit is kindness Kindness Going out of your way to make others happy. Episode 4 The Crucifixion Luke 23:26 43 MEMORY VERSE Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. Ephesians 4:32 KEY POINT God showed kindness to us first. Lesson 4 page 29

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 Heart print out Length of yarn (tipped if possible) SUPPLIES to share Pencil or hole punch Crayons Embellishments Masking tape PREP it : : : instructions 1 The heart printout has an outline of a heart with holes marked all around it. Carefully poke small holes in the center of each circle using a pen or sharp pencil. (Younger children can follow the inner heart with fewer holes; older children the outer heart with more holes.) 2 Use tipped yard or cut a length of yarn about 2 feet long per child and have the children tape each end with a small piece of masking tape to make the threading easier. ASSEMBLE it : : : instructions 1 Thread one end of the yarn through the bottom hole leaving a few inches out. Follow through threading the other end of the yarn in and out all around the heart. 2 Finish the last hole and tie the two ends together in a nice bow. 3 Color and decorate the rest of the heart picture. lesson 4 Kindergarten 1 st grade page 30

3 CONNECTit CONNECT it : : : SAY Have you ever played Follow the Leader? In Follow the Leader, one person walks around doing funny things and everyone watches carefully and tries to copy him or her. (Play a quick round if you have time.) That was fun. We made beautiful heart pictures with yarn. The yarn was sort of playing follow the leader, too. It started at one end and followed the leader in and out of the holes, all the way around. When you were done you had a nice picture of a heart. When we read about Jesus in the Bible, we learn what kind of person He was. He was a kind person. He wants us to follow His lead and be kind to others, too. KEYPOINT God showed kindness to us first. When we follow Jesus example, we will show others His heart. His heart is kind and He wants us to be kind to others, too. Let s watch Virtuality now and learn more about how Jesus showed kindness to us. WATCH it : : : Go to large group to see the Virtuality DVD, Fruit of the Spirit Series DVD (VOLUME 5, EPISODE 4) lesson 4 Kindergarten 1 st grade page 31

4 Let s Talk Bible BIBLE STORY : : : The Crucifixion Luke 23:26 43 BE PREPARED Read the Bible story and study the background information at home. Before you begin reading today s Bible story tell children the background information in your own words. BACKGROUND information : : : SAY IT in your own words Jesus is God. The beginning of John chapter 1 tells us that everything was made through Jesus. Jesus was there in the beginning of creation. Jesus always existed. Jesus is the life and the light. Jesus creation (Adam and Eve) rejected Him by disobeying Him in the wonderful garden He had created for them. Sin, death and everything horrible entered this perfect world. We could have had heaven from the very beginning of time, but a wrong choice separated us from God forever. Adam and Eve s children (that s us) were born separated from God. God loves us so much though, that from the beginning He had a plan to reconnect us back to Himself and restore all that went wrong. That plan was Jesus. Jesus left heaven and came to earth as a baby, leaving His kingdom temporarily. Jesus left heaven, a place of no suffering, to suffer in our place here. Jesus grew up normally, just as all of us do. He was raised by normal parents. No special treatment was given to Him. When the time was right, Jesus declared His purpose for being here on earth. He spoke the truth and was bold when He needed to be, but He was always kind and spoke the truth in love. Not everyone believed in Him and His purpose. We begin today s story at the end of Jesus life on earth. We re going right to the day the people rejected Him and sentenced Him to die on the cross. The people thought they had power, but in reality they had no power at all. Jesus came to die; that was His purpose. The ruler Pilate said to Jesus, Don t you realize that I have the power to release you or to crucify you? to which Jesus replied, You would have no power over me at all unless it were given to you from above... (John 19:10-11 NLT) We begin reading shortly after the trial was over. Jesus was cruelty whipped almost to death and then made to carry His own cross outside the city to the place where criminals were crucified for all to see. lesson 4 Kindergarten 1 st grade page 32

5 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.» Jesus, wearing a sheet around his waist (Teacher reads his lines)» Simon of Cyrene» Soldiers» Crying women» Criminals (two)» Leaders and mockers 2. If you are able, bring a few of these props from home to enhance the story.» A long rod or stick (such as a yardstick or mop handle)» Toy hammer» Dice» A sheet or fabric scrap for Jesus garment» A sign reading King of the Jews READ SCRIPTURE READ Bible Story : : : LUKE 23:26 43 The soldiers led Jesus away. (Soldiers, lead Jesus, carrying the long stick over his shoulder, from the back of room to the front. Jesus, stumble and fall.) At that time, there was a man coming into the city from the fields. His name was Simon, and he was from the city of Cyrene. The soldiers forced Simon to carry Jesus cross and walk behind him. (Soldiers, see Simon and say, You there, carry Jesus cross. ) A large crowd of people was following Jesus. Some of the women were sad and crying. (Simon, go in front carrying the cross, followed by Jesus, the soldier and the crying women.) But Jesus turned and said to them, (Jesus, stop and look at the women.) Women of Jerusalem, don t cry for me. Cry for yourselves and for your children too! The time is coming when people will say, Happy are the women who cannot have children! Happy are the women who have no babies to nurse. Then people will say to the mountains, Fall on us! And they will say to the hills, Cover us! If they act like this now when life is lesson 4 Kindergarten 1 st grade page 33

6 good, what will happen when bad times come? There were also two criminals led out with Jesus to be killed. Jesus and the two criminals were taken to a place called the Skull. There the soldiers nailed Jesus to his cross. They also nailed the criminals to their crosses, one beside Jesus on the right and the other beside Jesus on the left. (Soldiers, pretend to nail Jesus and the two criminals on either side) Jesus said, Father, forgive them. They don t know what they are doing. The soldiers threw lots to decide who would get his clothes. The people stood there watching. (Soldiers, gamble with the dice to see who gets Jesus clothes, then take them.) The leaders made fun of Jesus. (Leaders and mockers, stand around watching and making fun.) They said, If he is God s Chosen One, the Christ, then let him save himself. He saved other people, didn t he? Even the soldiers made fun of him. They came to Jesus and offered him some vinegar. (Soldiers, pretend to give Jesus a drink and say, You thirsty? Here have a drink, then laugh.) They said, If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself! (Leader say, What does that sign above Jesus head say? ) At the top of the cross these words were written: THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS. (A mocker or a soldier, read the sign.) One of the criminals began to shout insults at Jesus: (One criminal, say:) Aren t you the Christ? Then save yourself! And save us too! But the other criminal stopped him. He said, (The other criminal say to the first criminal:) You should fear God! You are getting the same punishment as he is. We are punished justly; we should die. But this man has done nothing wrong! Then this criminal said to Jesus, (Then say to Jesus:) Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom! Then Jesus said to him, (Jesus, smile at the second criminal and say:) Listen! What I say is true: Today you will be with me in paradise! lesson 4 Kindergarten 1 st grade page 34

7 CONNECTIT KEYPOINT MEMORYVERSE CONNECT it : : : SAY If you know someone who is mean and you wonder if you should be kind to him or her, the answer is yes you should be kind. Why? Because... God showed kindness to us first. And we are following Jesus lead, remember? None of us is better than anyone else; we are all sinners and deserve to be punished. Even though that is what we deserve, God is loving, merciful and kind. He forgives anyone who asks for it. It s not up to us to decide who deserves our kindness. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. Ephesians 4:32 Compassion and forgiveness are acts of kindness. Don t wonder if you should or shouldn t be kind. God was kind to us, and He told us to be kind to everyone. That s it. Our duty is to be kind enough to tell others what Jesus has done for them and the rest is up to them. As we saw in the story, one criminal was forgiven and the other one wasn t. Why? Everyone still has to choose to accept God s grace. PRAYER LET S PRAY : : : SAY Heavenly Father, Thank You, Jesus, for giving Your life for us. Thank You for Your love and kindness. We pray that we can show Your kindness to others. In Your name, we pray. Amen. lesson 4 Kindergarten 1 st grade page 35

8 Let s Review This Month s Verse KINDNESS THE FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT IS KINDNESS Going out of your way to make others happy. TODAY S LESSON Bible Story The Crucifixion Location Luke 23:26 43 Memory Verse Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. Ephesians 4:32 Key Point God showed kindness to us first. 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 36