Third- and fourth-graders often know a great deal about Jesus but may not feel they

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Jemimah Hancock
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1 Jesus Grows Up Luke 2:39-52 Lesso 5 49 Third- ad fourth-graders ofte kow a great deal about Jesus but may ot feel they have much i commo with God s So. Oe reaso is that we kow so little about Jesus childhood i the home of Joseph ad Mary. It s hard to imagie a child who was both fully huma ad fully divie, a child who ever sied. Use this lesso to help kids seek what they have i commo with Jesus rather tha focus exclusively o how Jesus is t like them. Lesso What Childre Do Supplies easy prep 1 Gettig Started 2 Bible Exploratio What s So Special About That? (about 10 mi.) Write thigs they re too youg to do, ad discuss challeges of growig up. O the Road (about 20 mi.) Act i a istat drama, ad discuss Jesus trip to Jerusalem. Oe ad the Same (about 10 mi.) Lear the Key Verse, ad compare cups of ice ad water. pes, idex cards, tape, idividually wrapped cadies, paper Bibles Teacher Pack: Bible Timelie 1 paper cup per child, bag of ice, cooler, ice packs, pitcher of water Pack ice i the cooler with ice packs so the ice does t melt before you eed it. Bible Poit Jesus is special. Key Verse I ad the Father are oe (Joh 10:30). Weavig Faith Ito Life Childre will ask God to help them to grow to be more like Jesus. Bold text withi the lesso is spoke text. Grades 3 & 4 Lesso 5 Witer Quarter

2 50 Lesso What Childre Do Supplies Easy Prep 3 Weavig Faith Ito Life Growig Up (about 20 mi.) Look at the characteristics of Jesus, ad discuss how they ca grow to be more like him. Bibles, Bible Truth Sleuth, pes Tear out the Lesso 5 pages from each Bible Truth Sleuth studet book. 4 Daily Challeges (about 5 mi.) Choose a Daily Challege to apply God s Word. Bible Truth Sleuth Lastig Impressios Weavig Faith at Home (about 2 mi.) Talk about how to share what they leared with their families. Bold text withi the lesso is spoke text. Witer Quarter Lesso 5 Grades 3 & 4

3 51 Jesus Grows Up Luke 2:39-52 BIBLe BACKGROUND for Leaders Joseph, Mary, ad Jesus Travel to Jerusalem for Passover Almost all we kow of Jesus childhood betwee ifacy ad age 12 is the summary i Luke 2:40. It appears that eve i light of his siless perfectio, he developed as a ormal child would. All Jewish males were supposed to worship at the Temple i Jerusalem durig Passover, but ot all did. Jewish wome were ot required to go at all. Accordig to Luke 2:41, Mary ad Joseph wet every year, demostratig their faithfuless ad commitmet to God. Their faithfuless idicates the type of home Jesus grew up i. This visit to Jerusalem was sigificat because Jesus was 12 years old. He had likely bee to the Temple to worship before, but ow he was to prepare to take his place i the religious commuity, which would happe whe he tured 13. was already viewed as a teacher. Luke 2:47 states that the teachers i the Temple were impressed by what he uderstood ad by the aswers he gave. This implies that they were askig him questios as well as aswerig his. The Jesus Coectio Jesus statemet to Mary ad Joseph that he had to be i his Father s house is a example to us that our relatioship with Jesus has to be our mai priority i our lives. This week focuses o the fact that Jesus is special. Though he developed like a ordiary child, his experiece i the Temple proves he was t ordiary. Pray about what makes Jesus special to you. You ca write your prayer here. Missig Child Moder readers of this accout may cosider Mary ad Joseph irresposible because they left Jerusalem without kowig that Jesus was with them. However, to uderstad this evet, we must uderstad the culture. Mary ad Joseph were likely travelig i a carava with lots of other family members. It would have bee easy to assume that Jesus was with cousis or other relatives for the day. Some scholars also suggest that adult me ad wome traveled separately i that culture ad both parets could have assumed Jesus was with the other. A Youg Teacher It is sigificat that Jesus was foud sittig amog the teachers. I that culture, a rabbi sat whe he taught. The fact that Jesus was sittig might idicate that he Grades 3 & 4 Lesso 5 Witer Quarter

4 52 gettig started What s So Special About That? Supplies pes idex cards tape idividually wrapped cadies paper! allergy alert What s So Special About That? What You ll Do Welcome kids warmly as they arrive, ad ask them how their week wet. Distribute idex cards ad pes. Have kids each thik of somethig they wat to do but ca t because they re ot yet old eough. Ask kids to write their ideas o their idex cards. As kids fiish, have them retur their cards to you so you ca tape them to a wall. Tape the cards high eough so they re just slightly out of kids reach while they re stadig. Say: Whe each perso has retrieved his or her card, you ll each get a piece of cady. You ll have to fid a way to work together to reach these cards without jumpig or stadig o your tiptoes. Provide oe piece of paper per child, ad ecourage kids to thik of creative ways to use their papers to get the idex cards dow. Kids might try slidig the paper alog the wall behid the cards to dislodge the tape, or several kids might combie their papers ito a paper roll that s strog eough to kock their idex cards dow. Ecourage kids to work together so they all get their cards dow. Oce kids all have their idex cards, sit i a circle. Distribute cady to the kids, ad ecourage willig kids to share the thigs they hope to do whe they grow up ad tell why they re lookig forward to those thigs. Ask kids to tell what age they ll have to be to do the thigs they wrote. Talk With Kids Lead kids i this discussio. What s it like to be told you re too youg to do somethig? What s the most challegig thig about growig up? I what ways do you thik Jesus youger years were similar to or differet from your life right ow? Say: Jesus was huma, just as we are. He was the same age as you at oe poit. But Jesus was also differet. Today we ll hear about a time Jesus parets could t fid him. They were worried because Jesus is special. Ad we ll lear what makes him so special. Witer Quarter Lesso 5 Grades 3 & 4

5 53 2 Bible Exploratio O the Road What You ll Do Show kids the Jesus Grows Up picture o the Bible Timelie. Say: Our Bible passage today comes from Luke 2: It tells about a jourey Jesus made with his parets, Mary ad Joseph, to Jerusalem whe he was 12 years old. You are ow goig to be a drama troupe, ad you ll be performig the world premiere of a retellig of that trip to Jerusalem. O the Road Supplies Bibles Teacher Pack Bible Timelie This is a play that tells about a time Jesus traveled to Jerusalem with his parets. Whe his parets left, Jesus stayed i Jerusalem ad his parets worried whe they realized he was t with them. Decide which part of your room will be the stage, ad form four groups. Assig each group oe of these sectios of the Bible passage to read ad prepare as a scee from a drama: Act 1 Luke 2:39-42; Act 2 Luke 2:43-45; Act 3 Luke 2:46-48; Act 4 Luke 2: If you have a small group, you might wat to keep the kids all together ad help them create a scee for each sectio of the passage ad the have them perform their drama after they go through that sectio of the passage. Say: Your act of this play ca be o loger tha oe miute. Make sure groups each have a Bible, ad allow five miutes for groups to prepare their acts of this play. The have kids perform their scees for each other. If you have four groups, tell groups to liste closely for their sectios ad the go to the ceter of the stage for their scees. Whe they re ot performig, ecourage them to pay close attetio to the actio. Say: Joseph ad Mary were accustomed to goig to Jerusalem for Passover, ad whe Jesus was 12, they took him alog. I this time, me traveled with me ad wome traveled with wome ad childre whe they traveled i crowds. Whe a boy was 12, he was cosidered a ma. So Mary probably assumed Jesus was with Joseph, ad Joseph probably thought the opposite. Have kids form groups of four or five. I each group, have kids create a short (30 secods or less) scee to show what might happe i their ow families if they disappeared i a crowd for several days. Allow a couple of miutes for kids to create their scees; the have each group show the large group its scee. Grades 3 & 4 Lesso 5 Witer Quarter

6 54 Talk With Kids Lead kids i this discussio. What were the most otable differeces betwee the first play ad the oes you created yourselves? Why do you thik it was okay for Jesus to do thigs it s ot okay for you to do? How does this evet show us Jesus is special? Say: Jesus is special i lots of ways. No other 12-year-old would be able to teach church leaders about God! Jesus is God s So ad he is God but he was also a perso. He was tempted to be mea, just as we re tempted. He had frieds disappoit him. He had to lear ew thigs i his father s carpetry shop. But Jesus did t ever si. Jesus is special! Oe ad the Same Supplies 1 paper cup per child bag of ice cooler ice packs pitcher of water Oe ad the Same Easy Prep Pack ice i the cooler with ice packs so the ice does t melt before you eed it. Oe ad the Same What You ll Do Say: I our Bible passage today, Jesus said, Did t you kow I had to be i my Father s house? Who is the Father that Jesus is talkig about? Say: Our Key Verse for today says, I ad the Father are oe (Joh 10:30). How do you thik that ca be? Let s do a activity to help us see how this ca be true. Give each child a paper cup. Istruct the kids i half of the group to fill their cups with water. To the kids i the other half, provide a bag of ice ad have them scoop some ito their cups. Have kids all set their cups o a table. Ask the kids to separate out the cups that cotai water. Whe kids have grouped the cups, say: Some of you future scietists already kow that water ca exist i three forms: liquid; solid, like the ice; ad vapor, like clouds. All of the cups cotai water! Talk With Kids Lead kids i this discussio. I what ways are these cups of water ad ice helpful i uderstadig Jesus ad his Father? What do you thik of Jesus beig a child ad beig God at the same time? What about Jesus is special to you? Witer Quarter Lesso 5 Grades 3 & 4

7 55 Say: Whe Jesus said he ad the Father are oe, Jesus did t mea they just had a family resemblace. Jesus ad God are oe. Jesus was preset whe God created the uiverse. Jesus will be preset whe the earth eds. Jesus is God s So ad Jesus is God! Whe Jesus was here o earth, he lived just like you or me. He had to do chores ad other thigs that you do, but he was also God. Jesus is special. 3 Weavig Faith Ito Life Growig Up What You ll Do Say: I our Bible passage today, we leared about how Jesus grew up ad some of what happeed to him as he grew. Let s talk about what it meas to grow i our ow lives the way Jesus did. Distribute Bibles, pes, ad the Bible Truth Sleuth pages, ad have kids fid the Growig Up activity. Say: Let s take a look at the thigs metioed i the verses that are listed uder the What was Jesus like? headig. Have kids form pairs ad look up each of the verses listed. The have kids write what these verses show them about Jesus uder the verse headigs. Growig Up Supplies Bibles Bible Truth Sleuth pes Growig Up Easy Prep Tear out the Lesso 5 pages from each Bible Truth Sleuth studet book. share what you leared about Jesus from Luke 2:46, which says, After three days they foud him i the temple courts, sittig amog the teachers, listeig to them ad askig them questios. Why do you thik it s importat to ot oly liste but also ask questios? Have kids write their ow aswers to this questio i the How ca I grow like Jesus? colum o their Bible Truth Sleuth pages. Say: Let s take a look at the ext verse o your Bible Truth Sleuth page. Luke 2:51 says, The he wet dow to Nazareth with them ad was obediet to them. Eve though Jesus was God s So, Jesus obeyed his parets. share what you leared about Jesus from Luke 2:51. How does Jesus obediece to his parets show you that it s importat to obey your parets? Have kids write their aswers to this questio i the How ca I grow like Jesus? colum o their Bible Truth Sleuth pages. Grades 3 & 4 Lesso 5 Witer Quarter

8 56 Say: Okay, ow let s look at Luke 2:52. This verse says, Ad Jesus grew i wisdom ad stature, ad i favor with God ad me. What s somethig wise you ca do? Say: Luke 2:46 tells us how Jesus showed wisdom. Jesus was willig to liste to his teachers ad ask questios. As he grew, he listeed to what God told him, ad because he was willig to liste, he leared. By learig from God, he grew i wisdom. Jesus is special. How ca you grow i wisdom? Have kids write their aswers to this questio i the How ca I grow like Jesus? colum o their Bible Truth Sleuth pages. Say: Stature refers to the size ad height of your body. It simply meas you grow physically. Because we kow that Jesus obeyed his parets ad grew i wisdom, we kow he probably did thigs to help him grow well, such as eatig the right food ad exercisig. How have you grow physically? Have kids write their aswers to this questio i the How ca I grow like Jesus? colum o their Bible Truth Sleuth pages. Say: Now let s look at the last kid of growth metioed i this passage. Oce agai read aloud Luke 2:52. What do you thik it meas that Jesus grew i favor with God ad me? How ca you grow i favor with God ad me? Have kids write their aswers to this questio i the How ca I grow like Jesus? colum o their Bible Truth Sleuth pages. Talk With Kids Lead kids i this discussio. explai which of Jesus areas of growth are most impressive to you. What do you wat to do to try to grow like Jesus did? What about Jesus growth seems special to you? Say: Jesus grew up facig the same pressures you face. He kows what it s like to be your age, ad he uderstads everythig you re goig through. But Witer Quarter Lesso 5 Grades 3 & 4

9 57 Jesus is special, so he also had other thigs to figure out. Jesus ever sied; he followed God rather tha followig the people aroud him. Remember the ways Jesus grew as you cotiue to grow ad lear ew thigs. 4 Lastig Impressios Daily Challeges What You ll Do Say: Let s cosider this week that Jesus is special as we do our Daily Challeges. Daily Challeges Supplies Bible Truth Sleuth Have kids fid this week s Daily Challeges o their Bible Truth Sleuth pages ad choose oe to do this week. They ca choose oe or more of these three optios: Make a list of thigs you eed help to do. Pray ad thak Jesus that he ca do all of those thigs because he s special. Whe you wake up i the morig, thik of three special thigs about Jesus. As you go through your day, thak Jesus for the ways he s special. Write a letter to Jesus thakig him for the ways he s special to you. Whe you fiish your letter, put it someplace you will see it ofte durig the week. Whe you see it, try to add a ew reaso you re thakful for Jesus. Make sure you choose a Daily Challege as well, ad tell the kids what you chose. Kids will be more iclied to follow through o their commitmets whe they see you doig the same. Talk With Kids Lead kids i this discussio. What s a practical way you re goig to do your Daily Challege? Iclude a time, a place, ad other ideas. Say: Jesus grew up just like you. He had thigs he had to lear ad figure out. Jesus is special, ad we ca ask him to help us be more like him. Let s remember how special Jesus is by followig through o our Daily Challeges this week. Grades 3 & 4 Lesso 5 Witer Quarter

10 58 Weavig Faith at Home Ecourage kids to talk with their parets about the Daily Challeges they chose ad what they leared about how special Jesus is. Kids ca also do the activities i the HomeCoect sectio of their Bible Truth Sleuth pages with their families. Talk to your Director about ig the FREE FamilyCoect to all your church s families. Available at group.com/digital. Say: Fid a parter ad pray together, thakig Jesus for the ways he is special i your life. Whe pairs have fiished prayig, ask childre to stad i a lie, side by side, facig the frot of your room. Walk dow the lie ad look ito the eyes of each child. Say: [Child s ame], you are importat ad special to God. God loves you so much. Pause at least five secods betwee childre so the full impact of your words ca sik i. Your words will become a blessig that may chage a child forever. Witer Quarter Lesso 5 Grades 3 & 4

Most first- and second-graders enjoy making new friends. They accept and welcome

Most first- and second-graders enjoy making new friends. They accept and welcome 53 Jesus Grows Up Luke 2:39-52 Most first- ad secod-graders ejoy makig ew frieds. They accept ad welcome people who are differet from themselves. They are at a very lovig ad agreeable stage of life. It