Sample Lesson Everything is explained out in detail in the theme preparation section that is included with every theme! Mission Log 1 Mission Praise Blast Off introduction: Welcome to Blast off with Jesus! When you stepped through those doors you entered a rocket ship that will soon be taking off on adventures through outer space! Not only will we be exploring outer space but we will explore God s word, the Bible! You will discover Jesus mission to earth and what it can mean for you! Songs: Blast Off, We ve Got a Great Big Wonderful God, I Love You Lord- prayer song Prayer time: The coolest thing ever is that we get to talk to the creator of the universe! When can we talk to God? Can we only talk to God at church? We can talk to God anytime and anywhere! Contest Reminders: Use this time to remind the children of quiet seat rules and how to win prizes! Space Launch into God s Word: Have the children pretend they are in a space shuttle preparing to leave for outer space. Have them recline back in their seats, with their legs lifted up like they are reclining back, and their hands flat on their legs. Play a space shuttle lift off sound track. When the children hear the sound track they may jump up out of their seats. The first one to stand will be the captain for the day and may sit in the special seat up front. Captains Mission Briefing: Each week lay a yellow manila envelope on the captain s chair with the mission inside- the title and planet mission. Mission Praise Mission Sun God s Special Planets: What color is the sun? When we look at the sun and see it setting in the sky, we see it as orange! However, the color of the sun is actually all the colors of the rainbows! So the sun is actually red, orange, blue, indigo, and violet. All those colors make every single color in the world, so we have a colorful sun and without the sun we would have no color at all! Isn t amazing all the things that God makes? Song: It s a Great Thing to Love the Lord- Sun song
Discovery Bible: object- fake palm branch. God s word, the Bible, has so many awesome things to discover inside. Let s see what incredible thing that God has for us today! Bible Story: The People celebrate Jesus Matthew 21:1-17 Story Help: Interactive Bible story! All the children can participate in the Bible story! While telling the story, hold up signs that represent an action that the children must do. The children must do these actions until the sign is laid back down. Palm branch sign- they must raise their hands (palms) in the air. Hosanna sign- must shout Jesus is Amazing Jesus on a donkey sign/picture- Must stand and march Story See appendix for sign clipart samples If we could travel back in time, our Bible story for today would be the place to go! It is a day of celebration, an exciting day for young and old! Today just outside of Jerusalem there is going to be a parade! It was not a planned parade, it just kind of happened! The people never knew what was going to happen when Jesus was near! Hosanna. Yes, Jesus is amazing. He came down to earth as a tiny baby for a special mission. He came because of you and I. Hosanna. We celebrate his birthday, which is Christmas. He came as a baby and grew into a man who showed us many miracles. Jesus traveled around and healed the sick. Those who were blind, he made their eyes to see! Those who were crippled and could not walk, he made their legs strong to walk again! Hosanna. The people in our story saw all these wonderful things! They were excited about Jesus. Many if these people ate the miracle lunch where Jesus had fed over 5,000 people with only five loaves of bread and two fish. They wanted Jesus to be their king and rule over their country. That is why a parade is about to happen, to celebrate Jesus! Hosanna. They didn t understand that Jesus wanted to be king of their hearts. Jesus sent the disciples to find a donkey for him to ride into Jerusalem. He asked them to find a special donkey that no one ever ridden before. The disciples found the donkey and brought it to Jesus. Meanwhile the people in town were getting ready for Jesus to come. They lined the streets, just the way we would line the streets for a parade! Excitement was in the air. The children were jumping up and down and the adults strained to see if Jesus was coming. There
He is! I see Him, one shouted. Palm branch. The people cut off branches from palm trees to wave high in the air. Hosanna. Palm Branch. They began to shout praises to him words like Hosanna and things like. Hosanna. Some took off their coats and laid them down on the road to be like a royal carpet spread before a king. Others laid their palm branches down on the road with the coats. Jesus came riding in like a gentle king. Our Bible says that the whole city was stirred wondering, who is this man? Many people wanted to be close to Jesus, the son of God, so they followed behind him. Jesus on a Donkey. Why don t we all pretend to join Jesus. Raise your hands in the air like palm branches and march along in the parade! Here we go! I m glad to be part of this happy crowd, Singing God s praises right out loud. Wave your branches, hold them high! Sing your praises right on up to the sky! Jesus parade happened long, long ago, It s a story we all should know. In people s hearts he wants to rule as king. That s the most important thing! What an exciting day! Jesus wants to be king of your heart. That is his mission to earth. His mission was more important than being the king over a country. He came to die for our sins so that we would have a way to make it to Heaven! Ask Him to be king in your heart so you can see Him one day in Heaven! Hosanna! Song: Alive, Alive, My Jesus is Alive Memory Verse: Psalm 148:13a Let them praise the name of the LORD: for his name alone is excellent; his glory is above the earth and heaven. Verse Discussion: The people that lined the streets shouted words of praise to Jesus. They shouted the word Hosanna. We can say words of praise to Jesus as well! There are words that express our worship like; Hallelujah, Praise God, Amen, You are Mighty, You are Awesome, and etc Verse Teaching aid: Have five girls and five boys come stand in a line in the front (alternate boy, girl, boy girl). Have everyone say the verse together but go down the line of children for each word. After the verse reference has been said the next child in line will say Twinkle, Twinkle. Then the next child in line will say little star. The next child will sit down
and be out. Whoever is left standing will get points for their team. You may wish to have a child come use a star wand and point to each child as the verse is being said- it may help to remember which child has which word. Suggested Continued Story: Jimmy s Mission to Mars Review Game: Space Quest ~Things Needed: 2 space ship clipart (Different colors or types) 16 clipart pictures of sun, moon, stars, and planets. On the backs of them assign fuel amounts (10 containers of fuel to 100 containers of fuel). On the back of the sun write the words Fuel Booster double your fuel amount of the last turn. On the back of the moon write the words loose fuel from last turn. You may wish to add a couple of surprises on the backs of a couple of planets. Sticky tac the pictures on the wall. For the clipart need in the game I recommend going to a teaching store and find large planet cut-outs. They can be used as part of your decorations on the walls for the remaining days of this theme. ~Say: You have been exploring outer space. Oh-no! There seems to be a problem. We are running out of fuel. How will we ever make it back home? You must travel in the galaxy searching for fuel so you can travel back to earth! Divide the children into two teams. Alternate asking review questions between teams. When a child answers correctly he/she may take their space ship and place it on a picture (like they landed the ship. Turn over the planet, star, or etc.. and award that child s team accordingly. Leave the picture turned over. It cannot be revisited again. That teams space ship stays there until their next turn. Whichever team collects the most fuel wins! Review Questions: 1. What animal did Jesus ride on to Jerusalem? A donkey 2. What did the people wave in the air? Palm branches 3. What did the people lay down on the street? Palm branches and coats 4. What were the people shouting to Jesus? Praise 5. Were the people celebrating Jesus that day? Yes 6. Can we still celebrate Jesus today? Yes 7. What are some words of praise that we could use? Hallelujah, praise God, etc 8. Does it honor God to praise Him? Yes 9. Should we praise God every day? Yes 10. Does singing songs about God a way of praising him? Yes 11. Should we talk to God every day? Yes
12. What can we talk to God about? Anything 13. Name a color in the sun. red, orange, blue, violet, etc 14. Name one amazing thing that Jesus did while He was on earth. Any of the miracles Song: God s Not Dead Optional Puppet Skit: The puppet skits are simple and made to be added to. Don t stick completely to the skit. Make it fun! Hans: Excuse me I am Captain Hans Vonsweetenhopper of the HMS Ultra-Light but super heavy tin can space ship. I am in need of aid. I m looking for a Philips screw driver, vice grips, duct tape, super glue, and cookies. Clar: What on earth do you need all those things for? Hans: I m going to the moon and then maybe to mars. I want to see if there are mars candy bars on Mars. Clar: That is quite a trip planned. Won t you be sacred in space? Hans: No, because I brought my pet monkey. His name is Millard Clar: Where is your monkey? We want to meet him. In the puppet skit, Hans and the monkey are the puppets and Clar is the teacher! Hans: He s in the cage. I ll go get him. Monkey: pokes head out and makes noises. Hans: Help! He s gone! Clar: But, Hans we just saw him! Hans: I must leave post haste to look for him, but first my space shuttle is too heavy for lift off. Can you help me get rid of some things. Clar: Sure we can give some things to kids who have been quiet! Quiet Seat: Allow Hans, the puppet, to pass out prizes for the quiet seat. Closing Prayer