ART LEADER GUIDE Banquet with Simon (Luke 7:36-50) Age-Level Overview Age-Level Overview Open the Bible Activate Faith Lower Elementary Workshop Focus: God loves and forgives me! Story Circles: Kids learn about God s forgiveness by drawing scenes from this story. Spark Resource: Spark Story Bibles : Tablecloth : Spark Story Bible : Paper plates, large craft sticks, masking tape, stapler, pencils, markers, glitter glue (blue and a variety of other colors) Upper Elementary Workshop Focus: God s forgiveness changes us! Graphic Novels: Kids explore forgiveness as they illustrate this story like a graphic novel. : Spark Bibles, Spark Bible Stickers : : : Copy paper, card stock paper, pencils, black fine-tipped markers, stapler, rulers All Kids Workshop Focus: God takes all my sins away! Sins into Smithereens: Kids embrace God s forgiveness as they make a mixed-media collage. : Spark Bibles, Spark Story Bibles, Spark Bible Stickers : : : Card stock paper, pencils, markers, black construction paper, rulers, school glue, acrylic paints, paintbrushes, water cups, paper plates, paint shirts Visit www.sparksundayschool.org for more Spark content. Watch a short Lesson Prep Video that will prepare you and give you confidence to explore this Bible story with the kids you are leading. You will also find a downloadable Family Page for this rotation s story filled with ideas for families to use to explore this story and live out their faith at home. Banquet with Simon 15
ART LEADER GUIDE Banquet with Simon (Luke 7:36-50) Lower Elementary Workshop Focus: God loves and forgives me! Keep these tips in mind as you welcome kids to the workshop and explore the story together. ART Each week, remember to welcome kids to the rotation. Keep in mind that for some kids it may be the first time they are visiting your workshop! If kids have heard the story several times during previous weeks, read it again! Kids learn through repetition, and every workshop will explore the Bible story in a slightly different way. Remember that the Shepherds are there to support you as they accompany kids each week. Be sure to visit www.sparksundayschool.org to download the Family Page for this story. Make copies of it and ask Shepherds to distribute it during the Wrap Up. Open the Bible (10 minutes) Banquet with Simon Storytelling Place the tablecloth on a table or spread it on the floor and invite kids to sit around it. Thanks for being here today! We are going to learn about a time Jesus ate dinner with friends and a woman he didn t know. Distribute Spark Story Bibles and invite everyone to find the story Banquet with Simon on page 354. When kids have located the story, invite them to follow along as you read together. When you are finished reading, talk about these questions together. Spark Story Bibles Tablecloth Why was the woman crying on Jesus feet? (She was sad because she knew she had done many things that were wrong.) Why was Simon upset? (He didn t think Jesus should let her be close to him because of all the things she had done.) What did Simon learn? (God loves and forgives everyone even when we do things that are wrong.) Do you think God forgives you? (yes) How does this make you feel? (happy, free, loving, etc.) Banquet with Simon 17
Discuss the question on page 357. If Jesus were coming to your house, how would you get ready for his visit? Accept all answers and enjoy the discussion. This is an important story because it tells us that we are forgiven. We are going to make glittery story circles today so we can tell this happy story to others. We want everyone to know that God loves and forgives them. Activate Faith (25 minutes) Story Circles Activity Instructions 1. This story has two important parts: the woman is sad about her sins and she is happy to be forgiven. Today we will make Story Circles so you can tell the story at home. We are going to draw these two things, one on each paper plate in front of you. 2. Have kids tape the large craft stick to the front of one plate so about half of it extends down below the plate. They will be drawing on the back side of each plate. 3. Listen to the first part of the story again. Read pages 354-355 from the Spark Story Bible. Spark Story Bible Paper plates, 2 per kid Large craft sticks, 1 per kid Masking tape Stapler Pencils Markers Glitter glue (blue and a variety of other colors) 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. Imagine what it would have been like to see this woman cry on Jesus feet. She cried so much that her tears gave his feet a bath. That s a lot of tears! Use your pencil to draw Jesus and the crying woman. Make sure you draw a lot of tears. Circulate around the room. Give kids encouragement as they draw. When kids have finished drawing the scene in pencil, allow them to color it in with markers. Have kids use blue glitter glue to color in the woman s tears. Now let s work on our other story circle. Listen as I read the end of the story. Read pages 356-357 from the Spark Story Bible. Imagine how happy this woman is now that Jesus has forgiven her! Using your pencil, draw her on the back of your other plate. Show her happiness. Circulate around the room. Give kids encouragement as they draw. When kids have finished drawing the scene in pencil, allow them to color it in with markers. 18 Workshop Leader Guides
12. 13. Now put the colorful glitter glue in the area around the woman. These bright, shiny colors will help make her look happy. When kids complete the second plate, carefully staple the 2 plates together. If the kid holds it by the stick, the project can be taken home even before the glitter glue dries. 14. With remaining time, have kids practice telling the story in their own words. As they talk about how the woman was sad about her sins, have them hold up the first side of the plate. When they talk about how Jesus forgave her, have them flip it to the other side. ART 15. Encourage them to use their story circles to tell the story to their family members and friends. If there is time, have kids gather in groups with their Shepherds and talk about how it feels to be forgiven. Send (5 minutes) Wrap Up Remind the Shepherds to distribute the Family Page for this story if the kids haven t already received it, and come together for Wrap Up. It is so exciting to know that Jesus forgives us for our sins. He forgives all the bad things we do and all the good things we don t do. This shocked Simon because it sounds too good to be true. Our story circles will help us remember the story. They will also remind us that God loves us so much and forgives us for all our sins. This is really good news! Family Pages Prayer Time Now we are going to pray. Hold your story circle up. Show the first half of the story. Dear God, Like the woman in the Gospel story, we are sad about our sin. We know you want us to do good things and we are sorry we don t always do them. We are sorry we do things that hurt other people. Turn your story circle to the other side. We are happy to hear that through Jesus, you forgive us all our sins. You have taken them away from us and now we are free. It makes us so happy to know you will always love us and always forgive us. Amen. Banquet with Simon 19
ART LEADER GUIDE Banquet with Simon (Luke 7:36-50) Upper Elementary Workshop Focus: God s forgiveness changes us! Keep these tips in mind as you welcome kids to the workshop and explore the story together. ART Each week, remember to welcome kids to the rotation. Keep in mind that for some kids it may be the first time they are visiting your workshop! If kids have heard the story several times during previous weeks, read it again! Kids learn through repetition, and every workshop will explore the Bible story in a slightly different way. Remember that the Shepherds are there to support you as they accompany kids each week. Be sure to visit www.sparksundayschool.org to download the Family Page for this story. Make copies of it and ask Shepherds to distribute it during the Wrap Up. Open the Bible (10 minutes) Shocking Forgiveness Welcome to the Art Workshop. We are going to read a story about forgiveness today. What do you think forgiveness means? (We have a fresh start, we can start over, etc.) Let s open our Spark Bibles and look up Luke 7:36-50, page 1139. Ask for volunteers to read it. Have kids place an I read it sticker in their Spark Bibles. Discuss these questions together. Spark Bibles Spark Bible Stickers Why was the woman crying on Jesus feet? (She was sad because of her sin.) Have you ever been so sad you cried enough tears to wash someone s feet? Why do you think Simon got upset that Jesus let her do it? (He didn t think Jesus should let sinners be close to him.) What did Simon learn? (God forgives everyone, and the more a person is forgiven, the more they love God.) Do you think God forgives you? Banquet with Simon 21
How can God s forgiveness change your life? Allow all answers. Invite kids to place other appropriate stickers in their Spark Bibles to reflect how they feel about this passage. Activate Faith (25 minutes) Graphic Novels Activity Instructions 1. Have you ever read a graphic novel? Graphic novels first became popular in Japan where they are called Manga (pronounced mahn-ga; or, kids may be familiar with the other word that refers to these books: anime, pronounced ayn-e-may). They are catching on here, too. Graphic novels are like comic strips. They use simple line drawings to illustrate a story. If you have a graphic novel, pass it around so kids can look at it as an example. 2. You are going to make this Bible story into a little graphic novel today. 3. Give each kid a sheet of card-stock paper. Bring the top edge down to meet the bottom edge and fold it. This is your novel s cover. Choose a title for your novel and draw something on the cover. You might decide to wait until the end to do this. Copy paper Cardstock paper Pencils Black fine-tipped markers Stapler Rulers Graphic novel, optional 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. You can use as many sheets of copy paper as you d like to make your graphic novel. Fold them in half so they fit into the cover. Put numbers on the pages so you know which scene goes where. Look through the Bible passage carefully. Decide how many boxes you ll need to make in order to illustrate the story. Use the rulers to make the straight lines of your boxes. Draw in pencil first. When you ve completed your pencil drawings, use the thin black markers to trace over your lines. In doing this project, the object is to show the emotions of the story. Use your imagination. Really make it come to life! Give kids time to work on their graphic novels. Some may have trouble knowing where to start. Encourage them to simply illustrate the story in the way they imagine it would look, regardless of their drawing skills. Keep the example graphic novel out so kids can look at it for inspiration. When kids complete their graphic novel, have them staple it together along the seam to form a booklet. 22 Workshop Leader Guides
10. 11. 12. Invite them to share their finished graphic novels with the group. Congratulate them on a job well done. Have the whole group clap after each kid s presentation. How exciting it is that you ve brought this story of forgiveness to life! You can use this graphic novel to tell other people the good news that God offers forgiveness to everyone. Option Simplify this activity by illustrating the story as a comic strip all on one sheet of paper, or omit the tracing of drawings with marker and urge them to use color and ink only on the cover. ART Send (5 minutes) Wrap Up Remind the Shepherds to distribute the Family Page for this story if the kids haven t already received it, and come together for Wrap Up. Jesus really shocked Simon and the other disciples when he declared forgiveness for the woman. God s love is bigger than we realize! How has reading this story and illustrating it by making a mini graphic novel made you think differently about forgiveness? Family Pages Prayer Time We ll close our session with prayer. Each time I say by your forgiveness, you ll say change us, Jesus! Loving God, Teach us that your love is bigger than we realize. By your forgiveness... change us, Jesus! Help us to believe that you love us no matter what we do. By your forgiveness... change us, Jesus! Because we are forgiven, help us to joyfully forgive others. By your forgiveness... change us, Jesus! Amen. Banquet with Simon 23
ART LEADER GUIDE Banquet with Simon (Luke 7:36-50) All Kids Workshop Focus: God takes all my sins away! Keep these tips in mind as you welcome kids to the workshop and explore the story together. ART Each week, remember to welcome kids to the rotation. Keep in mind that for some kids it may be the first time they are visiting your workshop! If kids have heard the story several times during previous weeks, read it again! Kids learn through repetition, and every workshop will explore the Bible story in a slightly different way. Remember that the Shepherds are there to support you as they accompany kids each week. Be sure to visit www.sparksundayschool.org to download the Family Page for this story. Make copies of it and ask Shepherds to distribute it during the Wrap Up. Open the Bible (10 minutes) Banquet with Simon Storytelling Today we are going to learn about how God forgives us. Get out your Spark Story Bibles, and turn to Banquet with Simon on page 354 of your Spark Bibles and look up Luke 7:36-50, page 1139. When kids have located the story, ask for volunteers to read it from the Spark Bible, urging all others to look at the pictures in the Spark Story Bibles. Have older kids place an I read it sticker in their Spark Bibles. Talk about these questions together. Spark Bibles Spark Story Bibles Spark Bible Stickers Why was the woman crying on Jesus feet? (She was sad because of her sin.) Why was Simon upset that Jesus let her do it? (He didn t think Jesus should let sinners be close to him.) What did Simon learn? (God forgives everyone, and the more a person is forgiven, the more they love God.) Do you think God forgives you? (yes) How does this make you feel? (happy, free, loving, etc.) Banquet with Simon 25
Invite kids to place other appropriate stickers in their Spark Story Bibles to reflect how they feel about this passage. Simon found it hard to believe that God forgives everybody, but Jesus told him it is true. God takes our sins and gets rid of them for good. Today s art project is going to show how, because of God s grace, our sins are blown to smithereens. Activate Faith (25 minutes) Sins into Smithereens Set Up: Squirt quarter-size circles of acrylic paint onto paper plates. Use each color that is available. Make up 1 plate for every 2 kids. Fill cups with water and set out 1 for every 2 kids. Set out supplies so kids can have easy access to them. Activity Instructions 1. We sin every day. We sin when we don t do what we should do and we sin when we do what we shouldn t do. Our sins are many! 2. Give each kid a piece of card stock-paper and a pencil. I want you to think about some of the sins you have committed and write them down on this paper. This is just between you and God, so keep your paper covered as you write. If you don t write yet, then draw little pictures to show your sins. Card-stock paper Pencils Markers Black construction paper Rulers School glue Acrylic paints Paintbrushes Water cups Paper plates Paint shirts 3. After kids have filled their paper, tell them to tear their papers up. Tear up your paper into little tiny bits. Make sure they are so small that you can t read your words or see your pictures. 4. Because of what Jesus did for us on the cross, our sins are forgiven. They are like these tiny bits of sin in front of you. 5. Give each kid a piece of black construction paper. To show this, tear a cross out of this paper. Show them an example. 6. Give each kid a second piece of card-stock paper. Now glue your cross onto the center of this paper. 7. Use the paints to add bright colors all around the cross. This is to show your happiness at having your sins forgiven. Give kids paint shirts to wear while using acrylic paint. If paint gets onto clothing, wash immediately. It will only come out if washed while the paint is wet. 26 Workshop Leader Guides
8. 9. When they are done painting the color, have them glue the bits of sin all around to symbolize how the cross blows our sins to smithereens. Invite them to share their collages with the class when they are finished. Option Use marker instead of paint for the bright color (step 7). There is no drying time with markers and it is less messy. Send (5 minutes) ART Wrap Up Remind the Shepherds to distribute the Family Page for this story if the kids haven t already received it, and come together for Wrap Up. You have made a bright collage that shows how the power of the cross gets rid of all our sins. They are forgiven and forgotten. This is such exciting news! Take your collage home and show it to your family and friends. Tell them the story of the Banquet with Simon. Family Pages Prayer Time Let s close with a prayer. Listen to it carefully because every time I say Our sins are... I want you to throw your hands up like an explosion and say Gone! Dear Jesus, Because you died on the cross to forgive us, our sins are... Gone! All the bad things we ve done, you ve forgiven. Our sins are... Gone! All the good things we should have done but didn t do are forgiven. Our sins are... Gone! Thank you, Jesus! We know you love us because our sins are... Gone! In your name we pray, Amen. Banquet with Simon 27