Scripture Reference: Luke 10:38-42; John 12:1-7 This session is part of Unit 7: Learning from Jesus Other sessions in this unit include: Jesus Visits the Temple Jesus Calls Disciples Jesus Raises Jairus Daughter Foundational Biblical Concept: I can be a good example for others. Bible Verse: Serve one another through love. Galatians 5:13
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Prepare It! Study Luke 10:38-42 and John 12:1-7. Practice telling the Bible story aloud. Provide pencils and Bibles. Gather needed supplies for each activity listed below. Introduce It! Gather a pencil and sheet of paper for each child, lunch sacks, and paper ribbon. Make several gift bags using lunch sacks and paper ribbon. Number each bag. Place one item in each bag (coins, book, socks or T-shirt, can of food, watch, ball or small toy, markers or crayons). If the class is large, you may want to make more bags. Guide the Activity Greet the children and make them feel welcome. Display gift bags throughout the room. As the children arrive, give them each pencil and paper. Talk about the fun and excitement of getting and giving gifts. Ask the kids to guess the contents of the gift bags by feeling or lifting each bag. Ask each child to write the number of each bag and his guess on the paper. As the boys and girls complete the activity, ask volunteers to bring the gift bags to the table. Begin the discussion by asking for their guesses one bag at a time. Then open each bag and reveal the contents. Ask questions such as: Who could use or would like this gift? When could you give someone such a gift? Example: A can of food could be used to feed the hungry; they could contribute food to a food bank at school, or church, or a mission; use food to prepare a meal for a new neighbor. Another example: a small toy could go to a friend or classmate, or an unknown child at Christmas through mission groups or local charities. Encourage the boys and girls to talk about the reasons they give to others and how it makes them feel. Remind the boys and girls that they are learning from the teachings of Jesus as they learn about four events in Jesus life. Ask: What event from Jesus life did we learn about in the last session? (His visit to the temple when He was 12) Show It! Show the Bible picture. Ask a child to point to Jesus in the picture. Identify the woman as Mary, the sister of Martha and Lazarus. Identify the man sitting just behind Jesus as Judas. Ask the girls to listen to the Bible story to discover what Mary did for Jesus and what Jesus said about what Mary did. Ask the boys to listen to discover why Judas was not pleased. Tell It! Open your Bible to Luke 10 or John 12 and tell the Bible story in your own words. Jesus often went to Bethany. When He was there He would visit with His friends, Mary and Martha and with their brother, Lazarus. Martha always served Jesus. Mary enjoyed sitting and listening to Jesus.
One time when Jesus visited His friends, Mary sat at Jesus feet listening to all He said. Martha was busy cooking for and serving her guests. She was upset with Mary. Lord, don t you care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Martha said. So tell her to help me! Martha, Martha, Jesus said, You are worried and upset about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has made the right choice. Another time when Jesus was in Bethany, a dinner was given in His honor. Lazarus ate with Jesus and the other guests while Martha served the dinner. Mary picked up a bottle of expensive perfume and poured it on Jesus feet. She wiped His feet with her long hair. Judas, one of Jesus disciples, was angry. That expensive perfume could have been sold and the money could have been given to help the poor, he said. But Jesus knew that Mary was showing Him how much she loved Him. He told all the dinner guests, There will always be poor people you can help, but I will not always be with you. Mary is doing something special for Me while she can. Scripture reference: Luke 10:38-42; John 12:1-7 Remember It! Ask: Whose house did Jesus visit in Bethany? (Mary, Martha, and Lazarus ) What did Martha do while Jesus was her guest? (cooked and served) What did Mary do while Jesus was her guest? (sat at His feet and listened) Ask the girls to tell what Mary did for Jesus on one occasion (poured expensive perfume on His feet and dried them with her hair) and what Jesus said about what Mary did. (She was doing something special for Him while she could.) Ask the boys to tell why Judas was displeased with what Mary did. (He said the perfume could have been sold and the money given to help the poor.) Learn It! Make a poster of today s memory verse on heavyweight paper or poster board. Guide the Activity Instruct the children to find Psalms in their Bibles by opening to the middle. Help the children who need to turn a few pages to Psalms. Then instruct the children to open the back half of their Bibles halfway. Check where Bibles are open and help all children find Matthew. Explain that Matthew is called a Gospel because it tells about the life of Jesus. Remind kids that the other Gospels are Mark, Luke, and John. Explain that part of the Bible story is found in Luke l0 and the other part in John 12. Remind the kids that Luke and John are two of the four Gospels in the New Testament. Lead the kids to repeat the names of the Gospels with you. (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.) Help the kids find Luke 10 in their Bibles, then turn to John 12.
Use It! Activity 1: Fun Page Photocopy the Younger and Older Children s Fun Pages. Gather Bibles, pencils, and lap boards if you do not have tables. Guide the Activity Younger Children: Give each child a pencil and a Fun Page. Read the directions for Pictures Without Titles. Guide the kids to print a title by each picture. Then read the directions for Star for a Memory Verse. Help the girls and boys complete the activity. Lead the group to say the memory verse together. Older Children: Give each child a pencil and a Fun Page. Guide the boys and girls to number the pictures correctly and then to draw pictures in the shapes as indicated. The children who do not like to draw may want to print their ideas in the shapes. Activity 2: Bible Markers Gather white envelopes (one per child), Bibles, scissors and fine-point markers. Guide the Activity Help the children each find Galatians 5:13 in their Bibles. Read the memory verse together or ask two or three children to read the verse from different translations of the Bible. Ask how the kids can serve one another in love. Distribute an envelope to each child. Provide scissors and fine-point markers. Instruct the children to lick and seal their envelopes. Guide each child to cut a corner off of his envelope, making a triangle. Allow the boys and girls to use the markers to decorate their paper triangles. When they have finished, demonstrate how the triangle can fit over the corner of a Bible page. Guide the children to use the marker to mark Galatians 5:13. The children may make additional markers as time allows. Suggest that the children can give away markers as one way to serve others in love. Pray with the children. Ask the children to stand in a circle and hold hands. Say today s memory verse together. Encourage the children to give a Bible marker to someone this week. Apply It! Remind the children that Mary did a kind and thoughtful thing to show how much she loved Jesus. Invite each child to stand and name one kind and thoughtful thing she could do for someone this week. Ask an older child to tell the correct numbering for the Bible story pictures. Invite the children to share their pictures of themselves showing love to Jesus. Suggest that one way
we can show love for Jesus is by doing kind things for others. Encourage the kids to share their pictures of themselves doing kind things for others. Pray, thanking God that Jesus is Lord of all, and asking Him to help the girls and boys show love to Jesus and to others this week. Craft Happy Stamps Gather the following supplies: blocks of sanded scrap wood that are about three inches square, 1 8-inch-thick craft foam or foam shoe insoles, permanent markers, scissors, glue, a stamp pad, and paper. Guide the Activity Ask the children: How did knowing Jesus make a difference in the lives of the people you have been studying? After the girls and boys respond, say: Today you can make a happy stamp that represents what knowing Jesus means to you. Give the wood blocks, scissors, and foam to the children. Guide the boys and girls to follow these steps: 1. On the foam draw happy shapes that are small enough to fit on the wood blocks. Suggestions for the happy shapes might be a sunburst or an exclamation mark. 2. Cut the shape out of the foam and glue it to a wood block. 3. Using a permanent marker, print a sentence such as Jesus makes me happy! or a Bible verse on the blank side of the wood block. 4. After the glue has dried a few minutes, use your happy stamp with the paper and stamp pads. Recreation Gift Bag Relay Gather masking tape, large gift bags, basketballs, jump ropes, tops, yo-yos, and bells. Use masking tape to mark a starting line. Place one of each of the above items in a large gift bag. Prepare one bag for each team of six players. Play the Game 1. Form teams of no more than six players. 2. Ask each team to line up at the starting line. 3. Place the prepared gift bags at the opposite end of the playing area, one bag across from each team. 4. On your signal, the first player on each team runs to the bag and selects an item from the bag. 5. The player then uses it to perform an action five times. If it is a bell, she rings the bell
five times. If the item is a jump rope, she jumps rope five times. 6. When she finishes, she puts the item on the floor, runs back to her team, and tags the next player in line, who repeats the process. 7. Play until all of the items are out of each bag. Ball Grab Gather a strong piece of cloth about six feet square and a table tennis or similar-size ball. Play the Game Choose a player to be It. Seat all players except It evenly around the cloth and instruct the boys and girls to hold the cloth taut just above waist high. Place a ball in the center of the cloth. Instruct It to run around the cloth just behind the seated players, trying to grab the ball off the cloth as it rolls close to an edge. The group keeps the ball away from It by tilting the cloth so that the ball rolls away from It, being careful not to let the ball drop off the cloth. When It grabs the ball, another player becomes It and the former It takes that player s place in the group. (Select a player at random to be the new It. Avoid blaming a child for letting It grab the ball.) This game takes skill and coordination as well as cooperation among the players. Bible Skills Old Testament Connect-A-Book Gather scissors, felt (2 colors), laminating film or clear adhesive plastic, glue, and cardboard or poster board. Copy the Connect-a-Book grid located on page 8. Mount on cardboard. Laminate or cover with clear plastic. Cut out 40 round, nickel-sized game markers from 2 colors of paper or felt (20 of each color). Guide the Activity: 1. The children will take turns putting their game markers on an intersecting point between four books. 2. The children may begin at any point on the gameboard, but must complete a task in order to leave their marker there. 3. Tasks may include: 1. Pronounce all four books. 2. Name the book that follows each book the marker touches. 3. Find all four books in the Bible. 4. The player who has four markers in a row (players may try to block each other) is the winner. 5. The game may be played individually or in teams. 2005 LifeWay Press. Published in the United States of America. This lesson is adapted from content in Anytime Anywhere Bible Study for Children: The Bible and Me 1997 Convention Press, Permission is granted to the original purchaser to download, store, print, and distribute this document for its intended use. Distribution by email or reproduction of this material by churches or individuals who did not purchase it is strictly prohibited. Address request for additional permission in writing to Lifeway Press; One LifeWay Plaza; Nashville, TN 37234-0172. ISBN 1-4158-2552-1
Pictures Without Titles Choose a title for each picture. Print a title below each picture. Title Box Serving Jesus Talking with Jesus Anointing Jesus Reading about Jesus Talking in the Temple Star for a Memory Verse Find the sentence which has a word from the memory verse, Galatians 5:13. Put a star beside the sentence. Lazarus did many good deeds. He (Jesus) went around doing good. Mary and Martha served Jesus.
Picture Hanging These pictures from today s Bible story have been hung in the wrong order. Number them to show the right order. In the square, draw a picture of you showing love for Jesus. In the circle, draw a picture of you doing something kind for someone.