Mary and Martha Bible Verse This is how the love of God is revealed to us: God has sent his only Son into the world so that we can live through him. (1 John 4:9) Session 8 January 25 Bible Story Luke 10:38-42 Leap of Faith Jesus shows me God s love. Before You Begin The Gospel of Luke spoke to an audience that was made up primarily of the poor and outcast. This book helped the people find faith in difficult times. Women were one of those groups of people who found themselves on the outside. Women were not thought to be as important as men. In fact, a Jewish male might have prayed, Thank you, God, that I am not a woman. The New Testament, when telling about the followers of Jesus, concentrates primarily on the twelve men. However, there were many women among the entourage, and few of them are named. The Book of Luke tells many of their stories. Today the children will meet two of Jesus closest friends, who just happened to be women. Martha and Mary lived in a small village near Jerusalem. Jesus stayed with them whenever he was in Jerusalem. This family provided food for Jesus and his followers and gave them a place to sleep. For Jesus to visit was doubly exciting. First, visitors were few and far between, and Jesus often had a group of interesting people traveling with him. Second, in Jesus presence, the women felt equally welcome to sit, listen, and learn. Mary recognized this special opportunity and didn t want to waste a precious minute on the mundane things of life, such as preparing meals for their guests. This behavior annoyed Martha, however, who thought Mary was shirking her responsibilities as a hostess. Children have much to teach us about deciding what is truly important in most situations. A child will see everything and quickly determine what interests him or her the most. Adults try to focus on everything at once and have lost much of this childlike intensity. Children appreciate the moment. Adults are always looking to the next moment. Mary was childlike in her enthusiasm to be with Jesus. She knew how special it was to spend time with him. Martha was caught up in what she felt was expected of her. Take time to appreciate those in the moment times with your group as you learn about Jesus and what he did. Requires preparation. 70 Winter 2014 15 GROW Proclaim Serve One Room Sunday School Leader s Guide
My Teaching Plan Learning Experiences I Will Use Planning Notes to Myself Grow Together (5 to 10 minutes) Get Ready Fun Beginnings Gather Round Proclaim the Word (20 to 30 minutes) For Everyone Listen Carefully to the Bible Story Visit Leaper s Pointe For Nonreaders Mary and Martha For All Readers Unscramble Crossword For Everyone Mary-and-Martha Review Stories-of-Jesus Board Game Serve With Love (10 to 15 minutes) Make-Time-for-Jesus Clock For All Readers Choose Between Two Good Things Worship (5 to 10 minutes) Sign the Bible Verse Sing and Pray Winter 2014 15 Session 8 GrowProclaimServe.com 71
Grow Together Get Ready Supplies: Attendance Chart and Unit 2 Bible Verse Poster (Resource Pak p. 2, 9), CD-ROM or DVD and player Display the Attendance Chart (Resource Pak p. 2) and the Unit 2 Bible Verse Poster (Resource Pak page 9). Play Talkin bout Faith in the background (CD-ROM Track 1 or DVD) as the children arrive. Encourage the children to sing along if they wish, and join them in the singing. Greet the children as they arrive. Mark each child s name on the attendance chart. Show the children where to place any offerings. Resource Pak p. 2 Fun Beginnings Choose one or both of the following activities to do as the children arrive. Important-Thing Hunt Supplies: Activity 8c, pencils or crayons As the children arrive, give each a copy of Activity 8c and a pencil or crayon. Ask each child to draw a circle around the three things on the page that he or she thinks is important. Ask the children to compare their answers. SAY: All of these things are important, but at times some may be more important for others. For example, in January in New York a coat is very important. It is not important in July in Florida. Today we are going to think about how to set priorities on important things. Resource Pak p. 9 Decorate a Napkin Supplies: plain white cloth napkins, permanent markers, smocks or old shirts, wet wipes; optional: high-quality paper napkins Purchase napkins. SAY: In the time of Jesus, hospitality was so important that it was required. One important way to show hospitality was to serve food. Serving food to visitors today is still considered important. We are going to decorate a napkin to take home and remind ourselves to show hospitality. Give each child a smock or old shirt to wear, as well as a napkin and some markers. Encourage each child to decorate his or her napkin in a style that is pleasing to him or her. Set the napkins aside to dry. Let the children clean their hands by using wet wipes. Activity 8c 72 January 25 GROW Proclaim Serve One Room Sunday School Leader s Guide
For Everyone Gather Round Supplies: birthday chart created earlier (Leader s Guide p. 15), marker Have the children gather near the birthday chart for the quarter, sitting together on the floor or around a table. Give them a chance to share any news of the week. Celebrate birthdays that have occurred or will occur in the coming week. Let those children add their names to the chart. PRAY: God, thank you for the good things this week. Give us a greater understanding of the important things in our lives. Amen. Proclaim the Word For Everyone Listen Carefully to the Bible Story Supplies: Bibles, Activity 8a, Activity 8b, pencil Help the children find Luke Chapter 10 in their Bibles. Have them find verses 38-42. Tell them that this is where today s story is found. SAY: Today we are going to practice listening closely. Pair every nonreader with a reader. TIP: This activity is primarily for your readers. However, nonreaders can benefit by listening and watching as the readers mark the words. Give every reading child a copy of Activity 8b and a pencil. SAY: I am going to read today s Bible story. I want you to listen to the story and mark each of the words on your list when you hear the word. Just to make sure you listen, the words are in alphabetical order, not in the order they are heard in the story. And two words in the list are not in the story at all. So listen very carefully. Slowly read Mary and Martha (Activity 8a). ASK: How many of the words did you mark? What two words are not in the story? (brother and talk) Slowly read Mary and Martha again, asking the children to listen for the words they might have missed the first time. ASK: Martha was doing something important, and yet Jesus said, Mary has chosen the better part. Why, do you think, did Jesus say that? (Making time for listening to God s Word is the most important thing we can do.) Activity 8a Activity 8b Winter 2014 15 Session 8 GrowProclaimServe.com 73
Visit Leaper s Pointe Supplies: DVD, DVD player The DVD can be used in place of or in addition to the storytelling section. The DVD also contains music videos for the children to sing and dance to. Use these during the worship time. Invite the children to sit where they can see the screen and watch Session 8. SAY: Today in Leaper s Pointe, the mayor is running back and forth preparing for some kind of Leaper s Pointe event and she won t let anyone help her. The mayor seems to be more Martha than Mary. Let s listen in. After your visit to Leaper s Pointe, enjoy the song One Heart at a Time. If you are using the DVD, the children can imitate the dance moves of the children shown there, or you will find the directions for the motions on page 116. For Nonreaders Mary and Martha Supplies: Activity 8d, crayons Give each child a copy of Mary and Martha (Activity 8d) and some crayons. SAY: Just like brothers and sisters today, Mary and Martha were both doing something important. They just disagreed on which was most important. Jesus wanted them to know that faith is to come first in our lives. Encourage the children to color the picture of Mary and Martha. For All Readers Activity 8d Unscramble Crossword Supplies: Bibles, Activity 8e, pencils Give each child a Bible, a copy of Unscramble Crossword, and a pencil. Ask each reader to unscramble the words and write them in the crossword puzzle. Encourage looking up Luke 10:38-42 if the children have difficulty unscrambling any word, as all words are taken from the Mary-and-Martha story. SAY: Jesus wants us to be hospitable and to follow through on all of our responsibilities. However, Jesus wants us to remember that our spiritual lives must come first. If we don t put God first in our hearts and minds, then we become more concerned about doing things so that people will think well of us rather than doing things because they come from our heart. Martha s heart and mind were more on what she had to do than what Jesus had to say. Activity 8e 74 January 25 GROW Proclaim Serve One Room Sunday School Leader s Guide
For Everyone Mary-and-Martha Review Supplies: Activity 8f, scissors, adhesive Cut apart the Mary and Martha figures. Post each on the wall on opposite sides of the room. Have all of the children gather in the middle of the room. Point out the Mary and Martha figures on the wall. Explain that you are going to talk about some things concerning today s story. If you say something Mary did or might do, the children are to go and stand beside Mary s picture. If it is something Martha did or might do, the children are to go and stand by Martha s. Further explain that not everything you mention is in the story but is probable background for the story. One at a time, read the following statements, giving the children time to move to a figure. 1. Jesus came to the house of Mary and Martha. Who would have greeted Jesus at the door? (Mary and Martha both probably met him at the door. So the children could go to either figure.) 2. A fire was started to prepare a meal for the guests. (Martha) 3. Someone showed the visitors where to sit. (Mary) 4. Food was prepared. (Martha) 5. Drink was put into cups. (Martha) 6. Jesus began speaking, and someone sat and listened. (Mary) 7. Someone put the food on the table. (Martha) ASK: Jesus knew that what Martha was doing was important. Why did he say that Mary had chosen the better part? (Because Mary put her relationship with the Lord first.) Stories-of-Jesus Board Game Supplies: Stories-of-Jesus Game Board (Resource Pak pp. 12 & 13), Stories-of-Jesus Game Cards (Resource Pak p. 17), Number Cards 1 through 6 (Resource Pak p. 8), coins or commercial game pieces, basket or container Activity 8f Resource Pak pp. 12 & 13 Resource Pak p. 17 Separate the game cards on Resource Pak p. 17. Place the number cards from Resource Pak p. 8 (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6) in a basket or container. Lay the game board (Resource Pak pp. 12 & 13) on a table. Divide the game cards by category, and place each group of cards on the game board in one of the designated squares. SAY: We are learning about God s love by learning about the people whose lives Jesus touched. The stories on this game board are the stories we are learning this month and next month. The object of the game is to see whether you can collect at least one of each of the four types of cards on the game board. Resource Pak p. 8 Winter 2014 15 Session 8 GrowProclaimServe.com 75
Have each child choose a coin or a commercial game piece to place on Start. Ask the youngest child to begin. The first player draws a number card from the basket and moves his or her game piece that number of spaces. The child then reads what the space he or she landed on says (or have the directions read to him or her) and follow the directions. Put the number card back in the basket or container, and mix the cards. The next child draws a card, moves that number of spaces, and follows the directions. Repeat until the first child reaches Finish or as time allows. The child with the most cards wins, unless someone has one of all four types of cards and the one with the most cards does not have one of each type. In that case, the child with all four types of cards wins. Serve With Love Make-Time-For-Jesus Clock Supplies: Activity 8g, Activity 8h, scissors, glue; optional: pencils SAY: We have to make time for important things in our lives: family, friends, food, cleanliness, school, and play. However, it is very important that in our busy lives we make time for Jesus. Think of one day in your life, and decide how much time you are going to give to important things. Give each child a copy of Activity 8g, Activity 8h, scissors, and glue. Cut out the symbols on Activity 8h. Encourage each child to make his or her own decision as to where on the clock to glue the symbols and how much time to give to each. OPTION: The older children may wish to write their priorities instead of gluing symbols. TIP: The decision-making is the important part of this activity, not the actual time. Suggest to the children that they leave on the clock blank space representing sleep. Activity 8g Activity 8h For All Readers Choose Between Two Good Things Supplies: Activity 8i, scissors, timer or watch with a second hand Copy one set of Choice Cards, and cut apart. SAY: I will give you two cards, and you will have 15 seconds to decide as a group which activity is the more important. Then I will take the less important away and give you another card. Then you will have to make another decision. Activity 8i 76 January 25 GROW Proclaim Serve One Room Sunday School Leader s Guide
Give out any two of the cards. Time the response time. Then remove the card with the activity not chosen as the more important. NOTE: There are no correct answers. The process is what is important. Give the group another card, and let the children decide between those two activities. Repeat until all cards are used or as time allows. SAY: We are often asked to choose between two or more important things. All Jesus asks is that we put our faith and our love of God first. That will help guide our other decisions. Worship Sign the Bible Verse Supplies: DVD and player, or the signing chart on page 117 Teach the children to sign this month s new Bible verse, Luke 10:2 by using the signing on the DVD or the signing chart on page 117. Sing and Pray Supplies: Unit 2 Bible Verse Poster (Resource Pak p. 9), CD-ROM, CD player Play One Heart at a Time (Track 4 of the CD-ROM) as the children gather near the worship table. Invite the children to sing along by using the motions. Have a volunteer read 1 John 4:9. SAY: Jesus shows us that God comes before anything else in our lives. PRAY: God of us all, thank you for sending Jesus to show us your love. Thank you for being with us in good times and in bad times. Help us to put you first in all things. In Jesus name we pray. Amen. Resource Pak p. 9 Winter 2014 15 Session 8 GrowProclaimServe.com 77