4 th /5 th Grade Jan 7 Jesus Baptism Bible Verse As soon as Jesus came out of the water, he saw the sky open and the Holy Spirit coming down to him like a dove. A voice from heaven said, You are my own dear Son, and I am pleased with you. (Mark 1:10-11) Teacher Enrichment This lesson is the first 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. The Bible describes Jesus life on Earth starting with his birth, but quickly jumps to adulthood. Jesus first action as an adult is to be baptized by John the Baptist. Baptism in the United Methodist Church is a sacrament that initiates us into Christ s holy church and represents a covenant between us and God. The vows of baptism are three-fold: our rejection of evil, repentance of sin and pledging of loyalty to Jesus. Put simply, we are turning away from evil and sin and towards Jesus our Savior. Jesus was perfect and, as God, did not need to turn away from evil or ask forgiveness for sins, but Jesus chose to begin His ministry by being baptized. As a first step in Jesus s ministry, it is a pretty powerful choice. It demonstrates that before we can follow Jesus s examples of serving and teaching others, we must establish who we are and who s we are. Through baptism we establish that we follow and belong to God. God used the moment of Jesus s baptism to acknowledge that Jesus is His son, just as He acknowledges us as His children at our baptism His side of the covenant. This lesson will teach children about baptism and about making a vow to follow Jesus. They will understand that following Jesus example begins with committing their life to God.
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, Jesus Baptism Crossword 1 per child Old Me/New Me box of items Old Life/New Life Statements Paper Bag Old Life/New Life Poster Board Place an arrival activity at each place on the table. Welcome SUPPLIES: Sign In sheet, Joy & Concern cards, Time & Talent cards, Attendance chart, stickers, Jesus Baptism crossword, pencils/pens 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 Jesus Baptism crossword puzzle. 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 110. 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 110. The Lesson SUPPLIES: Old Me/New Me box of items, Old Life/New Life statements, paper bag, Old Life/New Life poster board, blue tape SAY: I ve got a game for you today and it involves this box of items. Some of these items were a part of your life a long time ago, and some of them are a part of your life now. What I need you to do is separate them. Make a decision about each item and decide whether they should go in the Old Me box or the New Me box. If there are 5 or less children, allow them to work as a team to sort the items. If there are more than 5 children, allow each child a turn to pull an item and sort it. Old Me Box: pacifier, diaper, baby board book, baby rattle, bottle, picture of crib, picture of stroller New Me Box: video game, cell phone, novel, picture of bicycle, homework notebook, jewelry, t-shirt, SAY: You did a great job sorting! There comes a time when you want your parents to know that you are big, right? You are done with your pacifier, you are done with your baby-bottle, you are ready to move on. You start to play with video games, you go to
school, you sleep in a bed instead of a crib. These are all part of the New Me. One day you decide you are going to get dressed by yourself. You tell your mom, I m big now. I am going to dress myself. Sometimes you look a little funny, but you manage to get your shirt on and your pants and your socks. It s a new day. In your old life you needed help getting dressed, but now that you are a little older you dress yourself. Dressing yourself is a part of the New Me. SAY: Jesus talked about how we have an old life and a new life in the Bible. Our old life happens before we invite Jesus to lead our life. Our new life happens when we begin to follow Jesus. SAY: Today we learned about baptism and specifically about Jesus baptism. Through baptism, you can choose to turn away from evil, ask forgiveness and turn towards God (this will have been discussed in Children s Worship). Doing so is like starting a new life. SAY: Let s think about some things that are a part of a person s old life before they decide to follow Jesus and some things that are a part of a person s new life when they decide to follow Jesus. Have children take turns choosing a slip of paper from the Old Life/New Life bag and reading the statement aloud. Have children decide as a group or individually which column the statement belongs in. Use blue tape to attach the statement to the Old Life/New Life poster board. Note: These statements are easily assigned to each column it should not be difficult for the children to decide. However, the statements should get children thinking about their own behavior and actions and which column they are currently spending most of their life. ASK: What do these two columns of New Life and Old Life have to do with baptism? Allow children to provide answers. Direct the discussion that baptism is a symbol of turning away from the Old Life column, asking forgiveness for our mistakes, and committing to live like the New Life column. ASK: I m sure we all want to live in the New Life column. Maybe you have been living like this for a while; learning and growing in what it means to follow Jesus. Or maybe you ve just started letting Jesus lead you. Or maybe you are still living like this.
Wherever we are, God is ready for us to commit to following Him. Do you need to be formally baptized to make the choice to follow Jesus example? SAY: No. Baptism represents making a choice to live like this (point to New Life column). Some of you may have already been baptized and some of you may not have been baptized either is okay. Even if you ve never been baptized, you can make a choice to follow Jesus. If you ve already been baptized, you can make a choice to renew that commitment to follow Jesus. We can all follow Jesus example of committing to God. ASK: What if you want to live a New Life but you mess up? Does that cancel out your baptism or your commitment? SAY: No! We are all human and we will mess up sometimes. Baptism is saying I know I m not perfect, but Jesus forgives me and I m going to follow His example and commit to God. 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 sending Jesus to earth to be an example to us. Help us choose to follow Jesus and commit our life to God. Amen If time remains before parents arrive, encourage children to return to their Jesus Baptism crossword puzzle 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!
New Life/Old Life Statements New Life My sins are totally forgiven. My friendship with God is awesome. I am walking with Jesus as I live my life. I love myself, I love God and I love people around me. I still sin sometimes, but I am sad about my sin and I come to Jesus and admit what I have done and try to make it right. I listen to Jesus and He guides me. I see God s work in creation around me. I think about how much Jesus loves me. I talk to Jesus often about anything. I look to the Bible when I m unsure about a decision. Old Life I have sin that isn t forgiven. My friendship with God is broken. I am walking my own path without Jesus. I am living for myself, selfishly. I don t care if I lie or cheat or gossip. I am not listening to Jesus or feeling His love for me. I don t give God any serious thought and I do not talk to Him. I don t think God created this world at all.