Sunday, Oct 19, 2014 Kidzone KG and 1st Grade Small Group TEACHER BIBLE STUDY Jesus Healed an Official s Son John 4:46-54 Jesus entered Galilee after traveling through Samaria. The Galileans had seen Jesus in Jerusalem at the Passover feast, and they welcomed Him. Jesus went to the town of Cana, where He had performed His first miracle turning water into wine. News spread of Jesus whereabouts, and an official hurried to find Him. The official s son was sick in Capernaum, about 20 miles away. The boy was so sick, the official knew he would die if he didn t get help. So the official went to Jesus. Imagine the urgency in his voice when he pleaded for Jesus to come heal his son. But Jesus didn t rush away to Capernaum. Instead, He challenged the official and the Galileans: You people must see miracles and signs before you believe in Me. It was true; many people who saw Jesus miracles followed Him and believed in Him. (See John 2:11,23; 3:2; 6:2,14; 12:11,18.) Jesus was willing to help people, but He didn t want them to miss the point. The miracles were great, but Jesus had come to offer something greater. The miracles were signs that pointed to who Jesus is: the Son of God who offers eternal life. The official pleaded again, Sir, come down before my boy dies! Jesus answered, Go. Your son will live. The official believed what Jesus said. He headed home, and his servants confirmed the truth: His son was well. The fever had left him at the same time Jesus said, Your son will live. So the official and everyone in his household believed in Jesus. Jesus miracles are one of the main ways God brought people to faith in Him. Jesus demonstrated His power and authority when He healed the sick and set captives free. Jesus performed more miracles than the apostle John recorded. John concludes his Gospel by explaining that these are written so that you may believe Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and by believing you may have life in His name (John 20:31). YOUNGER KIDS BIBLE STUDY OVERVIEW Session Title: Jesus Healed an Official s Son Bible Passage: John 4:46-54 Big Picture Question: What happened when Jesus performed miracles? Jesus miracles helped people believe in Him. Key Passage: John 20:30-31 Unit Christ Connection: Jesus miracles demonstrated His divine authority. Unit 26 Session 1 Younger Elementary
Sunday, Oct 19, 2014 Kidzone KG and 1st Grade Small Group Welcome time Activity page (5 minutes) Session starter (10 minutes) Key passage activity (5 minutes) Small Group Time Bible story review (10 minutes) Activity choice (10 minutes) Journal (5 minutes) Prayer (5 minutes) THE BIBLE STORY Jesus Healed an Official s Son John 4:46-54 After spending time in the city of Jerusalem for the Passover feast, Jesus traveled north to Galilee. On the way, He stopped in Samaria, where He met a Samaritan woman at a well. Then Jesus went to His hometown of Nazareth, where the people rejected Him. Now Jesus went to Cana (KAY nuh), a city in Galilee. Jesus had been there before; Cana was the place where Jesus had performed His first miracle. At this time, a man living several miles away needed Jesus help. The man was one of the king s important officials, and his son was very sick. When the official heard that Jesus had come to the region of Galilee, he went to see Him. The official begged Jesus, Please come heal my son; he is about to die! Jesus answered the man, You and everyone else in Galilee must see miracles before you will believe in Me. Jesus healed people so they would see that He is God s Son and believe in Him as the promised Savior. The official begged again. Sir, he said, please come before my boy dies. Jesus answered, Go. Your son will live. The man believed that Jesus was telling the truth. He trusted that Jesus had healed his son, even though the boy was several miles away. Jesus power to heal was not limited by distance. The man started his journey back home, eager to be with his son again. Before he even got there, his servants rushed out to meet him. They had great news! Your son is alive! they said. He is not sick anymore! What time did he get better? the official asked. The servants told him the exact hour that the boy s fever went away. The official realized that his son had gotten better at the same time Jesus had said, Your son will live. The man believed in Jesus, and so did everyone in his Unit 26 Session 1 Younger Elementary
Sunday, Oct 19, 2014 Kidzone KG and 1st Grade Small Group household. This was the second miraculous sign that Jesus did after He traveled from Judea up to Galilee. Christ Connection: The official wanted Jesus to save his son from death, and it was not until Jesus did so that he understood who Jesus is: the promised Messiah. It took faith for the official to believe Jesus words that his son was healed. In healing the official s son, Jesus showed His authority and power as God s Son. SMALL GROUP OPENING Session Title: Jesus Healed an Official s Son Bible Passage: John 4:46-54 Big Picture Question: What happened when Jesus performed miracles? Jesus miracles helped people believe in Him. Key Passage: John 20:30-31 Unit Christ Connection: Jesus miracles demonstrated His divine authority. Welcome time: Arriving Activity: First aid first aid kit Invite the kids to look at and touch the contents of a first aid kit. You might even play a game in which you say how an item is used and the kids must guess which item it is. Make sure you keep any medications or sharp objects out of the kids reach. If you prefer, you can use a toy first aid kit. Say We use these items when we are sick or get injured. Today, we will learn about a boy who didn t have a first aid kit to help him. He needed a miracle. Activity page (5 minutes) Illness Match activity page, 1 per kid pencils Guide boys and girls to complete the activity page. Say Have you ever been sick before? What did you do? Did you know that Jesus healed many people who were sick when He lived on earth? We ll hear one story in just a few minutes. Unit 26 Session 1 Younger Elementary 3
Sunday, Oct 19, 2014 Kidzone KG and 1st Grade Small Group Session starter (10 minutes) Option 1: Far- out faith bucket or container tape paper wad Place a bucket or other container at one end of the room. Tape a start line about two feet away from the container Tape another line about four feet away. Tape another line about six feet away. Continue with another line every two feet until you run out of room. Invite a leader to stand at the line closest to the container. Ask the kids to stand and vote on whether they believe the leader can throw a paper wad into the container from the first line. Invite those who believe to raise their hands. The leader then tosses the paper wad. The kids who guess correctly remain standing. The others sit. Only those left standing continue in the game. Repeat with the leader tossing from the next line, and then the next line. If the leader misses at any line, she gets a second turn. The kids vote after each turn. If the leader misses on the second turn, choose a volunteer from the kids still standing to take the leader s spot. Continue as time allows. Say Why did you believe someone could hit the container in the first few lines easier than the last few? In today s Bible story, a man asked Jesus to travel about 20 miles to heal a boy. Option 2: Prayer list large sheet of paper or dry erase board marker Invite the kids to share prayer requests for people they know who are sick. Write down the names of those people. Invite volunteers to pray for the names on the list. Keep the list for the remainder of this unit. Ask the kids each week if God has answered any of the prayer requests or if the kids need to add any new names. Thank God for answering any prayer requests. Say Today, we will see how Jesus healed a boy after the boy s dad requested Jesus help. Unit 26 Session 1 Younger Elementary 4
Sunday, Oct 19, 2014 Kidzone KG and 1st Grade Small Group SMALL GROUP LEADER Session Title: Jesus Healed an Official s Son Bible Passage: John 4:46-54 Big Picture Question: What happened when Jesus performed miracles? Jesus miracles helped people believe in Him. Key Passage: John 20:30-31 Unit Christ Connection: Jesus miracles demonstrated His divine authority. Key passage activity (5 minutes) Key Passage Slide or Poster dry erase board and markers (optional) craft sticks (optional) Tip: Do not permit kids to try to hold down their tongues with a craft stick like a tongue depressor. They could inadvertently trigger a gag reflex or cause a spasm in their epiglottis. Make sure the key passage, John 20:30-31, is visible for each child, either as the printed poster or written on a dry erase board. Read the verses together. Say What happened when Jesus performed miracles? Jesus miracles helped people believe in Him. Our key passage explains even more why Jesus performed miracles: so the people would understand that He is the Savior, the Messiah promised in the Old Testament. He saves those who believe in Him. Invite kids to say the key passage as if they might have a cold. For instance, they could say it while holding their noses like their noses are stopped up. You may choose to provide each kid with a craft stick. They could say the key passage while holding the stick in their mouths like a thermometer. They could say it with their mouth open like they are saying ah. Repeat as time allows. Bible story review (10 minutes) Bibles, 1 per kid Small Group Visual Pack Big Picture Question Slide or Poster tape Encourage the kids to find John 4:46-54 in their Bibles. Help them as needed. Say In which division of the Bible do you find the Book of John? (Gospels) Who wrote the Book of John? (John, one of Jesus disciples) Whose life does the Unit 26 Session 1 Younger Elementary 5
Sunday, Oct 19, 2014 Kidzone KG and 1st Grade Small Group Book of John tell us about? (Jesus ) Use the small group visual pack to show kids where today s Bible story is on the timeline. Tape a long line near the front of the room. Then invite the kids to stand on the line. Read the following summary of the Bible story. Direct the kids to move as far away from the line as possible while staying in the room when they hear the word far. They should run back to the line when they hear the word near. Say A man living far away needed help. His son was very sick. When the man heard Jesus was in Galilee, he came near to see Him. The man asked Jesus to go far from Cana to Capernaum to heal his son. Jesus told the man that the people of Galilee needed to see miracles to believe in Him. Jesus healed people both near and far so they would believe that He is God s Son and the promised Savior. The man begged for Jesus to travel far with him to heal his son. Jesus didn t need to go near the boy. He had the power to heal from far away too. Jesus told the man to go home to be near his son because the boy would be OK. The man trusted that Jesus could heal from far away. When he was near home, he learned that his son was well. Show the big picture question slide or poster. Say Jesus performed many miracles so the people would know He is God s Son. What happened when Jesus performed miracles? Jesus miracles helped people believe in Him. Activity choice (10 minutes) Option 1: Unbelievable fact or fiction? Explain to the kids that Jesus performed many miracles, but not all of them were healings of sick people. Play a game of true or false using the following statements about other miracles Jesus performed. If the kids believe the statement is completely true, they must stand and switch seats with someone else who is standing. Otherwise, they should remain seated. Jesus fed thousands of people with five fish and two loaves of bread. (False, two fish and five loaves of bread; Matthew 14:19) Jesus walked on water, and so did His disciple Peter. (True, Matthew 14:25-29) Jesus turned water into soup. (False, water into wine; John 2:7-9) Jesus used a coin from inside a fish s mouth to pay the temple tax for Peter and Himself. (True, Matthew 17:27) Jesus cursed a fig tree and it died. (True, Mark 11:13-14,20-21) Unit 26 Session 1 Younger Elementary 6
Sunday, Oct 19, 2014 Kidzone KG and 1st Grade Small Group Say When Jesus told the man that his son would live, the man believed Jesus. Once the man saw his son was healed, he and everyone else who lived with him believed in Jesus. What happened when Jesus performed miracles? Jesus miracles helped people believe in Him. Option 2: Bandage art adhesive bandages heavyweight paper markers Provide each kid with plenty of adhesive bandages and a piece of heavyweight paper. Encourage kids to use the bandages like stickers to make a picture. Demonstrate one of the examples shown or make your own bandage art. Give other examples if the kids struggle. Praise the kids for their creativity. Provide markers so they can complete their pictures. adhesive bandages heavyweight paper markers Say We generally use bandages when we have a cut so it can heal. Jesus didn t need medicine or bandages to heal people. In today s Bible story, Jesus proved He is powerful enough to heal people both near and far. journals What happened when Jesus performed miracles? Jesus miracles helped people believe in Him. 86 Younger Kids Bible Study Unit 26 Sess Journal and prayer (5 minutes) Journal Page, 1 per kid markers or crayons Bible Story Coloring Page Distribute each child s journal page provided with this session. Instruct the kids to draw a picture of the sick boy sitting up in his bed. Writers can write the big picture question and answer. Say Let s review the big picture question and answer one more time. What happened when Jesus performed miracles? Jesus miracles helped people believe in Him. If time remains, take prayer requests or allow kids to complete the coloring page provided with this session. Pray, thanking God for His power to heal. Pray for each child by name, asking God to help each kid always believe in God s power, no matter what they are facing. Dismiss to parents Make sure to check security tags when dismissing children. Unit 26 Session 1 Younger Elementary 7
Unit 26 Session 1 Jesus Healed an Official s Son 2014 LifeWay OK TO PRINT Jesus Performed Miracles
KEY: Instructions: Help the five sick faces find their perfect matches. Unit 26 Session 1 Younger Kids Activity Pages Jesus Performed Miracles
Jesus Healed an Official s Son John 4:46-54