2 nd /3 rd Grade Jan 14 Jesus Calls Ordinary People Bible Verse The officials were amazed to see how brave Peter and John were, and they knew that these two apostles were only ordinary men. (Acts 4:13) Teacher Enrichment This lesson is the second in the Life of Jesus series which examines how Jesus is our best example for inclusion. Jesus included everyone in his ministry from simple fishermen, to government leaders and kings; from devout followers to those considered sinners; and from old to young. Each week will explore the various ways and people Jesus chose to serve and teach. At the beginning of His ministry Jesus chose disciples to be His helpers in spreading God s message. You may think Jesus would choose leaders of the church or famous people or important people in the community; but Jesus actually made some unexpected choices. With his very first disciples, Jesus chose simple fishermen going about their regular, mundane day. The disciples were ordinary people who didn t have special training or special powers. They had the same human faults we find in ourselves. What they did have in common was their love for God and their willingness to follow Jesus with all of their heart. God is calling each of us in the same way today. He is not waiting for you to learn something new or become something different or more important. He is calling each of us now, as we are, in our full, complete ordinariness. This lesson will teach children that God calls everyone to follow Him, including them. They will begin to understand that ordinary is special because God is calling ordinary people to be His disciples in the Bible and today. Children will explore ways that God uses ordinary people in extraordinary ways.
Before Class Begins Place the Sign In sheet and a pen where parents can see it upon arrival. Place the Joy & Concern cards, Time & Talent cards and pens where students can see them upon arrival. Check that you have supplies for this lesson: Arrival Activity, Calling Disciples Activity Sheet 1 per child Ordinary People Memory Game Sets 6 sets Bibles Match Guide Place an arrival activity at each place on the table. Welcome SUPPLIES: Sign In sheet, Joy & Concern cards, Time & Talent cards, Attendance chart, stickers, Calling Disciples activity sheet, pencils Greet each child individually as they arrive. Introduce yourself by name. Help children find or add their name on the attendance chart. Provide each child with a sticker to place in today s column on the attendance chart. Encourage children to complete a Joy or Concern card if they have a particular joy or concern they would like to express. Collect completed Joy & Concern cards. Encourage children to complete a Time or Talent offering card if they gave their time to God or used their talents to serve God or others during the previous week. Children should keep their own completed Time and Talent cards. If children bring monetary offering, they should keep it with them. Direct children to complete the Calling Disciples Activity Sheet. Encourage conversation among the children and with you! Get to know the children in your classroom by asking about their week including school, activities and families. Introduce new children to each other and encourage friendships. Children s Worship SUPPLIES: Sign In sheet, Joy & Concern cards, Time & Talent cards
Arrive at Ruth Hall at 9:20 or 11:05. Bring the Sign In sheet and completed Joy & Concern cards to Ruth Hall. Hand the Joy & Concern cards to the Children s Worship leader as you arrive. Have children bring their completed Time & Talent cards and any monetary offering. If additional children arrive while in Ruth Hall, have parents complete the Sign In sheet and remind parents that pickup is in Room 105. Encourage children to participate in Children s Worship and provide re-direction if necessary. Assist the Children s Worship leader as needed. At the conclusion of Children s Worship, have children line up and return to Room 105. The Lesson SUPPLIES: Ordinary People memory game sets, Match Guide Gather all the children on the carpet, but keep them standing. SAY: Today we learned about choices. Our lesson was about Jesus choosing his disciples, but now I have some choices for you to make. As I read the options, move to the side of the carpet for your choice. Read each set of options starting with the phrase Do you choose. As you read the options, point to the side of the carpet for each choice. For example Do you choose M&Ms (point left) or Skittles (point right). Do you choose: M&Ms or Skittles Hot Weather or Cold Weather Super power to fly or Super power of super strength Play basketball or Play baseball Pizza or Hamburger Dogs or Cats Math or Reading Jesus or Sin
SAY: For each of those, you had to make a choice. Even if you stood in the middle because you didn t like either one, you still made a choice! ASK: In our scripture today we learned about Jesus choosing his first disciples. Who did he choose? (Fishermen) What kind of people were these fishermen? (Ordinary, regular, everyday people) SAY: Jesus chose regular people to be His disciples and He chooses regular people to follow Him today! We are going to play a game to learn about ways Jesus uses every day, ordinary people to spread the love of God today and also about some of the ordinary characters in the Bible that God used to do extraordinary things. Divide the class into groups of two or three. Give each group a set of memory cards (there are 6 sets) and a Match Guide. Explain the rules of the game. Place all memory cards face down in rows/columns. Decide who goes first. On a players turn, he or she turns over two memory cards. If they do not match, player turns the cards back over and it s the next player s turn. If they match, player reads the description from the Match Guide. Player then keeps the match. The game is over when all matches are taken. The player with the most matches at the end of the game wins. If players finish before class is over, lead a discussion about the Bible Match characters and read the scriptures listed in the Match Guide. Closing Lead the children in a closing prayer. You may say your own prayer, ask one of the children to say a prayer or use the one below. God,
Thank you for using regular, everyday people just like us to do extraordinary things in the Bible and in the world today. Help us to follow your call when you need us! Amen If time remains before parents arrive, encourage children to return to their Calling Disciples activity sheet if they did not complete it. Also encourage conversation between children and with you. This is another opportunity to build relationships with the children in your classroom.
Ordinary People Memory Game
Ordinary People Match Guide David was the youngest son of 8 boys. He was a shepherd who took care of his father s sheep. David s brothers were in the army and made fun of David for being a simple shepherd. The army of God was fighting the Philistines who had a solider named Goliath who was 9 feet tall! All of the army of God soldiers were too scared to fight Goliath. David brought his brothers food on the battlefield and saw Goliath. David wasn t scared, he fought Goliath and won! A simple shepherd, the youngest brother, defeated Goliath for the army of God. 1 Samuel 17:1-50 Moses was a shepherd. God told Moses to ask the King of Egypt to free the Israelites from slavery. Moses said he wasn t important enough. Moses said no one would listen to him. Moses said no one would believe him. Moses said he wasn t a good speaker he said he was a slow speaker and could never think of what to say. Moses was a simple shepherd who didn t think he was important enough or smart enough to do God s work. But Moses listened to God and he did free the Israelites from slavery! Exodus 3:1-12 and 4:1-13 Peter was a fisherman and Jesus called him to be a disciple. During his ministry, Peter healed a crippled man and was arrested. Peter wasn t afraid and told his captors everything he was able to do was because of Jesus. The government officials were surprised at how brave Peter was because they knew he was only an ordinary man and not well educated. A simple fisherman ended up being a brave disciple of Jesus and helped many people. Acts 4:1-22
God uses pastors to lead churches and help people follow God. Pastors are ordinary people. Pastor Chris was an accountant before he became a Pastor! God uses Sunday School teachers to help kids learn about God. Sunday School teachers are regular moms and dads and other adults who volunteer to help teach you! God uses people to feed the homeless by making pancakes for them at SOME. Anyone can do it even if you can t cook you can help! God calls people to read the Bible to others to teach them about God. Anyone who can read can help someone else read the Bible. God uses kids and adults to praise God by singing. Anyone can be in the choir at church! God uses kids to represent Team Jesus when they are at school or on the playground. Anyone can show people what it means to love God and love others. God uses regular kids to make videos about Jesus and the Bible. We watch those videos in Children s Worship. They helped us learn about Jesus today!