Jesus Heals a Blind Man John 9 Sept. 19, 2010 On Our Plate Today Help kids understand: The story of the miracle of Jesus healing the blind man. That Jesus is the Light over spiritual darkness. That we can be healed (by Jesus, the Light) both physically and spiritually. Activity The kids will turn their backs to the video screen, so they cannot see what is playing. Then, play a 2-minute clip from any child-friendly movie. It doesn t need to be something the children are familiar with; in fact, an older cartoon would work best, where they don t know the voices or characters. Your library will probably have plenty of these for free rental. a video clip from any kids movie After not-watching the video for two minutes, let the children describe what they think went on. What did the characters look like and how were they related? What were they talking about? What did the scenery look like? Now, turn around and watch the same clip again. What surprised the kids about what they got out of the video once they could see the characters and the scenes? This gave each of you a little taste of what it s like to be blind. We could turn around and be able to see once again, though. But, when you re blind, no matter which way you turn, there is no way of seeing what is going on. Can you just imagine how surprised and amazed someone would be if he had been blind all his life and suddenly was able to see! Copyright 2010 KidzMatter Ministries Inc. All Rights Reserved. 1 www.kidzmatter.com
Game In each pillowcase, put ten random items, but the items in each pillowcase must be identical. You can include things in both pillowcases, like: banana, watch, candy bar, piece of sandpaper, remote control, fork, balloon, marshmallow, water bottle, and key. Write the list of objects where the kids can easily see the list. 2 pillowcases 2 sets of 10 objects Choose two teams with ten kids on each team. (If you want to have more teams, then duplicate the items and the number of pillowcases.) The object of the game is to pull out all ten objects from the pillowcase, without using your eyes, and in the order that they are listed on the board. It s best to have someone holding each pillowcase, so the player won t have a chance to look into it. At the signal, the first player from each team will run to their team s pillowcase (being held by a helper). They will reach in and try to locate the first item on the list. Once they find it, they can pull it out to make sure they have the right thing. If he s wrong, he must put the item back in the pillowcase and return to his team. The next player will try to find that object. If he s located the right item, then the item is left out of the pillowcase and they return to their team to tag the next player, who will try to find the next item on the list. The winner is the first team to empty their pillowcase in order, without ever seeing the objects. People who are blind must use their other senses to figure out the world around them. They rely on hearing and touching in a big way. Do you think you d get tired of trying to figure out what EVERYTHING is by doing what we just did with the pillowcases? It s hard to imagine what it would be like to only see darkness. If you were blind and met Jesus, how would you know who Jesus was? How would you be able to do what Jesus told you to do? Knowing that Jesus was close by and you couldn t see to get to Him would be frustrating really frustrating. Story Video The storyteller in our video today gets a little help from a friend that should make understanding the miracle Jesus did by healing the blind man clearer or maybe it won t be so clear. Whatever. Let s join our storyteller friend to see what we can learn from God s Word. Watch the video: Jesus Heals the Blind Man. video - Jesus Heals the Blind Man The man had been blind all his life, and really had no idea what he was missing, because he had never seen the world around him. It s the same with our spiritual eyes. When a person has never given his/ her life to God and accepted Jesus as Savior, they have no idea what they ve been missing. They don t even know the things of God that they ve missed seeing. But, can a person who thinks he is following God still be blind to what God wants him to do? Hmmm that s definitely something to think about. Game MESSY Run copies of the eye paper at the end of this lesson. Prepare some mud by mixing dirt and water. Peat moss is not a good choice, because it s difficult to get it mixed well. Or, you can use chocolate pudding, if you like. Here are a couple of good options for blindfolds: Sleeping guards are easy to find in discount department stores, easy to get on, comfortable to wear, inexpensive, and most importantly keep the wearer from seeing out. Long strips of old sheets. Wrap a strip around a kid s head 2 or 3 times and tie the ends. With this mud (or chocolate pudding) copies of eye paper blindfolds paper towels 2 www.kidzmatter.com
blindfold, there s no peaking under, over, or through. They re really blindfolded and can t cheat! (But, they take a little effort to get wrapped.) Paint some swim goggles with craft paint. Give them a couple of coats (and you can even paint eyes on, if you like) and you ve got easy to put on and very effective blindfolds. Choose 3 pairs of kids. In each pair, one child will be the guide and the other child will be blindfolded and have to follow instructions from the guide in order to complete the task. About 10 feet from each pair will be their copy of the eyes from the back of the lesson. This can be posted on the wall, a board, a tree, or a fence or just laid on the floor or grass. In the general area of the paper should be a small container that has some mud in it. The guide will help the blindfolded person move the 10 feet to the paper eyes, find the mud, apply some of the mud to their paper eyes, and return to the starting point all without touching the blindfolded person. Once they return, give them a paper towel to wipe off hands before removing the blindfold. Message Beforehand, write these randomly on a piece of white poster board: Selfishness; Don t think we have a problem; Unbelief; and Who Jesus Is. Display the board where the kids can easily see it. In our story today, we see the example of people being physically blind and people being spiritually blind. We also see an example of someone who was healed of his physical blindness and someone who was healed of his spiritual blindness. BUT, we also see an example of some people who refused to be healed of their blindness when Jesus wanted to help them. PowerPoint slides mud white poster board Our spiritual vision is muddied because of Selfishness (Show slide) With your fingers, wipe some mud over the word Selfishness on the piece of poster board. The Pharisees walked past the blind man every day and never thought about helping him. And, they were more concerned about their laws of the Sabbath day being obeyed than the fact that this man for the first time in his life could see. They were super-selfish. They couldn t be happy for the man, because Jesus broke one of their rules. When selfishness is our first reaction, then our spiritual vision is covered in mud and we re not seeing clearly. When our first reaction is to be unkind or hurtful in what we say or do, then our hearts are covered in spiritual mud. The man wanted to let everyone know about how Jesus had healed him. After the Pharisees quizzed him over and over about what happened, the man just said, I was blind and Jesus healed me! Plain and simple. Don t you think that the man wanted to say, Why aren t you happy for me? Stop being such a downer on the most important day of my life. A wonderful thing just happened and you want to find something bad about it instead of celebrating with me! You are so selfish! Have you ever had a hard time being happy for someone else, because that meant that maybe you wouldn t be the center of attention? Our spiritual vision is muddied because we Don t think we have a problem. (Show slide) Wipe some mud over the words Don t believe we have a problem. The Pharisees were educated. They were skilled. They were looked up to by other people in their city. People went to them when they needed advice, because they were considered wise. The Pharisees didn t realize they had a problem. They didn t realize that they were the ones who were spiritually blind. 3 www.kidzmatter.com
The blind man, of course, realized he was physically blind. But, when he was healed, he was part of a miracle. He knew that he had another bigger blindness, and that was that his heart was blind to who Jesus really was. Before we can get help with our spiritual blindness, each one of us has to realize that we have a problem. When we come to that realization and admit we have a spiritual problem, then God can begin to work in our lives and clear up the mud on our hearts. Our spiritual vision is muddied because of Unbelief (Show slide) With your fingers, wipe some mud over the word Unbelief on the piece of poster board. The Pharisees and some of the man s friends didn t believe the man had really been healed. Did they really think he had been faking all those years? Their spiritual vision was muddied by their unbelief. The Pharisees chose to be blind. I can t imagine someone who was physically blind saying, I d rather stay blind than be healed. But, the Pharisees chose to stay spiritually blind, because they refused to believe what happened. They had the scripture that told them about God, but they believed more in the technical rules they had created. Even after they saw proof (by the healing of the blind man) they would not believe. The man who had been healed of blindness believed. He knew what had happened in his life and nobody could talk him out of it. Have you ever thought there was no way a certain person would ever come to know the Lord? And, then, when they did, you really didn t believe it, because that would mean you were wrong? Or, maybe you doubted that God could work a miracle in a life that was really messed up. When Jesus changes our lives when He heals us physically or when He heals us spiritually we know what happened in our lives, and nobody can change that. Other people might ask you questions or try to make it sound like it didn t really happen. But, you know what happened to you. The man who was healed told his story, and we each have our own story of how Jesus healed our hearts that we can tell, also. Our spiritual vision is muddied when We don t recognize who Jesus is (Show slide) Once again, use your fingers to wipe some mud over the words Who Jesus Is on the piece of poster board. The blind man washed the mud from his eyes so that he could see physically. But then, when Jesus told the man that he was looking at the Son of God, the man who had been blind physically believed that Jesus was who He said He was. That s when the man was healed spiritually. Even though the Pharisees knew the scriptures and that they promised that God would send a Savior, they would not believe that Jesus was who He said He was. They wanted to argue instead of believe. They let their arguments and their manmade rules muddy up their spiritual vision. Look up and read together John 3:19 God s light came into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil. Jesus wants to heal everyone of their spiritual blindness. He wants all of us to live as He tells us to live. When we do, the mud will be removed the mud that muddies up our hearts. We do that by admitting how we have lived away from God and disobeyed His Word. Then, we ask God to forgive those sins because we believe in who Jesus is the One who came to pay for our disobedience and bring us back to God. When we do those things, we will have our spiritual eyes healed. That s when 4 www.kidzmatter.com
we begin to get a clear view of who Jesus really is. Jesus called Himself the Light. He really was a light for the blind man, because by being healed, he could now see light with his physical eyes, and he could see God s truth with his spiritual eyes. Look up and read together John 12:46 I have come as a light to shine in this dark world, so that all who put their trust in me will no longer remain in the dark. Object Lesson I want you to do something for yourself. I want you to scratch your nose. That sounds easy enough. But, I want you to try to scratch your nose with your elbow. There are some things that you cannot do for yourself. What Jesus did for the blind man was something the man could not do for himself. As much as he would have liked to, the man could not heal himself of blindness. That took the power of God through Jesus. The Pharisees were spiritually blind and needed the truth of God in their lives instead of rules. The blind man was also spiritually blind. Neither the Pharisees nor the man could do anything about their own spiritual blindness. Only Jesus, through God s power, could heal men of their spiritual blindness. The Pharisees didn t want to be healed, but the blind man wanted to see with his heart as much as he wanted to see with his eyes. Prayer Provide inflatable baby pools or tubs that can represent the pool where the man washed his eyes. You want enough that the children can sit around one. This would be a great thing to have set up out on the lawn (and a wonderful thing for others to witness who may pass by). When the man washed the mud from his eyes, he experienced the miracle of Jesus healing his physical blindness. Later, when the man talked with Jesus, the blindness in his heart was healed, and he saw Jesus for who He is the Son of God. inflatable baby pools towels table covering When asked what happened to him, all the blind man could tell was his personal story of what Jesus did in his life. That s what each one of us has our own story. Encourage the kids whose hearts have been healed by Jesus to share about that experience with the other kids around their pool. Each one should share briefly when, where, and what made them feel like this was the right decision at that time. Then, that child will put some water from their pool in their hands and splash it on their face. Lead the children in prayer, giving them the opportunity to ask Jesus to heal their heart. Indicate that if anyone made that decision, then they can splash a hand-full of water on their faces, also. Object Lesson Beforehand, get someone to hide under a table that is covered to the floor with a tablecloth or table skirt. Or, it could be some other place of hiding. Just make sure the kids don t know they are there. table covering flashlight Then, tell the kids that you were expecting so-and-so to come and help you with part of the lesson. I wonder if they re here and I m just not seeing them. Get out a flashlight and start looking around. Pull up the skirt and shine the light on the person. Is that so-and-so? Yes! When I shine my flashlight on them, then there s no hiding, and the truth comes out. 5 www.kidzmatter.com
Jesus came to bring His Light to the world. He didn t go around looking for people with a candle or a flashlight. But, when we turn on a flashlight in a dark room, it pushes out the darkness. And when we have spiritual sight, then the Light of Jesus pushes out the darkness of our sin. The Light of Jesus is truth about who God is. The darkness in our hearts is just a lie and it s not the truth. Just like I was hunting for so-and-so with my flashlight, Jesus, the Son of God, looks for those who are not living in God s truth so that He can show them the Light. Activity Shine the mechanic s shop light onto one wall. This will be the wall that represents people who have been healed of their spiritual blindness. They are now living in the Light of Jesus. They realize the truth about God. Show another wall that has no light shining on it. This wall will represent the people who are still spiritually blind and do not have the Light of Jesus in their lives. To half the kids, give one color of Post-It notes. And, to the other half of the kids, give the other color of Post-It note. On a Post-It note, each person should write a phrase that describes what a person who has been healed of their spiritual blindness is like, OR they will write a phrase that describes what someone who is spiritually blind is like. (The color of Post-It note does not come into play at this point.) They might want to include a phrase that answers one of these questions: What would someone who is spiritually blind do? What would someone who believes in Jesus do? What would a spiritually blind person say? What might a person who believes in Jesus, who believes in the Light, say? How would they act? What kind of attitude would they have? 2 colors of Post-It notes pencils/pens mechanic s light on a stand or a lamp balloons Now, find someone with the other color of Post-It note and switch notes. If you have non-readers or non-writers, encourage the older kids to help them through this. Blow up your balloon and stick the Post-It note on the balloon. Think about which person your Post-It note describes. Does it describe the person who has accepted the Light of Jesus and has been healed of their spiritual blindness? If it does, your Post-It note will go to the wall that is all lit up. Does it describe the person who has rejected the Light of Jesus and does not believe? If it does, your Post-It note will go to the wall that is not lit up. Hold on, though! How is your Post-It note going to get there? Get ready for noise, laughter, and a good helping of chaos. The only way for the Post-It note to get to its right wall is to ride on the balloon. But, each child will have to keep their balloon up in the air the entire way. They cannot carry the balloon. Once they can touch the wall, then they can catch their balloon, remove the Post-It and place it on the correct wall. Review what is on the Post-It notes once all the balloons have arrived at their destination. Have fun! Blessing May you believe in Jesus who can heal your spiritual blindness, because He is the Light of the World. 6 www.kidzmatter.com
E x t r a Ac t i v i t i e s Activity You ll need a space that you can darken completely. Rooms without windows are perfect. But, you can also close the shades and then cover windows with heavy dark lawn plastic or aluminum foil to keep light out. flashlight Bring the kids into your totally dark room. Before their eyes start to adjust to the dark, have them walk around. They will probably bump into one another, and maybe even trip. Then, introduce some light (flashlight). How did it feel to be in the dark? What happened while we were in the dark? When you were in the dark, could you tell what was decorating the walls or sitting in the room? It was easy to hurt one another and ourselves, because we couldn t see where we were going. Without light, we missed so much of what was around us. It s even more that way when we re missing the Light of Jesus in our lives. We miss what God intended us to do with our lives. We don t see the opportunities that are right there in front of us. We hurt ourselves and others with our actions, because our lives are not guided with the Light of Jesus. What happened when the light came on? It took our eyes a few seconds to adjust, but as they did, everything came into focus. When the light comes on, there is direction. You can see the dangerous parts of the room. You can see the parts of the room where you would have fun and the parts you should avoid. When we follow the Light of Jesus, then our lives come into focus; we are living as a child of God and we know who we are. His Light gives wisdom and direction for us to follow, which helps us avoid the dangerous things in the world around us. I m not talking about dangerous, like bridges being out or a steep cliff or a burning building; I m talking about seeing the danger in getting involved in drugs or having a harmful attitude or treating others with disrespect. I want to live with the real Light in my life. I want Jesus guiding my way, day by day. Know Your Bible From the book of John, we ve looked at the miracle of how Jesus healed the blind man and gave him sight for the first time in his life. The Gospel that John wrote is a little different from the other three Gospels: Matthew, Mark, and Luke. John basically wants to deal with three questions: Who is Jesus? What did Jesus do that proves He is the Son of God? What is the difference between followers of Christ and those who oppose Christ? This story helps us answer the second question. John is different, also, in that he tells us of a very limited number of Jesus miracles only seven miracles in fact. (I would argue eight, and include the resurrection as the eighth miracle.) The other Gospels tell us of many other miracles. The first miracle in John is when Jesus changes the water into wine and the seventh is the resuscitation of Lazarus. Some people have looked at these seven miracles as having a progression of importance. (The first miracle seemed very basic and almost trivial to the seventh miracle, which spoke of Jesus power over death and His upcoming death and resurrection.) The miracle we talk about in this lesson, Jesus healing the blind man, is the sixth 7 www.kidzmatter.com
miracle. If you follow the line of thinking that the miracles grew in importance, this one speaks to Jesus not just healing a physical blindness, but healing spiritual blindness an eternity threatening condition. John admits that he was very selective in what he chose to write about, and he gave his reason for telling us what he did. John 20:30-31 says, Jesus worked many other miracles for His disciples, and not all of them are written in this book. But these are written so that you will put your faith in Jesus as the Messiah and the Son of God. If you have faith in Him, you will have true life. Music You are provided with two downloads of Yancy s songs on DVD: I m Really Happy and It s Not New. Yancy music videos If you d like more of Yancy s music, go to www.yancynotnancy.com. Snack The kids are going to make a set of eyes that were blind and now see. Remind the kids that their eyes should look alike, but not necessarily made out of the same ingredients as their neighbor s. Each eye will be three circles, each of a different size (small, medium, large). Example: The large circle can be a round snack cracker; the medium circle can be a circle from sliced cheese that has been punched out with a juice cap; and the small circle can be a slice of olive. Then, make another eye just like this one. Provide the kids with different ingredients as listed on the ingredient card (or others you have available or think of as you roam the grocery store aisles). Round caps of different sizes make great little cookie cutters that will offer more options for your kids. Your kids can even experiment with where the eyes are looking. round juice and pop lids round crackers slices of bread bologna sliced cheese sliced olives cherries It is very important to continue the conversation while the kids are preparing their snack. When Jesus performed the miracle of giving the blind man his sight, which way do you think he looked first? What do you think he looked at first? What was he most amazed at? Make your eyes look in that direction. Which do you think the man was most amazed by healing of his eyes or the healing that took place in his heart? 8 www.kidzmatter.com
Scripture Memorization Review 1 John 4:4. You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world. Play this fun game to review the scripture memory verse. If doing this indoors, make sure you cover the floor with a tarp. Prepare the whipped topping by adding ONE drop of brown food coloring. If you don t have brown, put one drop of red and one of green. This should give you a brown coloring. The whipped topping will represent the mud. Blow up some balloons and draw a face (with big eyes) on it using a Sharpie. Securely tape 3 of the face balloons to the table, about 2 feet apart. Then, indicate a stand-behind line that will be appropriate for the strength of your squirt guns. The kids will be divided into 3 teams, with one person from each team squirting each time. Cover each balloon s eyes with some of the brown whipped topping. At the signal the three chosen kids will squirt their balloon until the whipped topping has been removed, making the eyes completely visible. (A judge will be needed to decide when this occurs.) Then, the entire team that the successful person was representing will say the memory verse together. squirt guns balloons whipped topping brown food coloring packing tape Sharpie marker tarp (if indoors) Object Lesson Light a candle somewhere in the room where it is inconspicuous. You don t want to draw attention to it. candle match What kinds of things do we pay attention to? What things demand us to pay attention to them? When there is an accident, we have to take care of it. When someone is upset about something, we have to work something out. When the television is on, we watch it instead of doing our homework. When friends stop by, we forget about what we re doing and spend time with them. Now, turn out the lights. What do we notice now? All of a sudden, everyone notices the light from the candle. This is how we treat God sometimes. He s with us all the time, but we only notice Him when there s darkness in our lives, when we have trouble to deal with. The candle was here all along, but we didn t notice it. God is with us all the time, but we don t take time to notice Him. Jesus said that He was the Light of the World. He didn t say that He was the Light of the World in troubled times. No, He s the Light of the World all the time. How can you better recognize the Light in your life all the time? 9 www.kidzmatter.com
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