Palm Sunday: Triumphal Entry Matthew 21:1 11; Mark 11:1 11; Luke 19:28 38 Week 2 REMEMBER VERSE As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. John 15:9 Ponder Point: Jesus Is King SERVICE SCHEDULE Explore Welcome & Engage 10 15 minutes Discover & Respond Large Group 25-30 minutes Respond & Bless Small Group 25 minutes The people of Israel were crying out for a king. As Jesus rode into Jerusalem the people celebrated while they shouted, Hosanna, Hosanna! This cry was a cry for salvation. It was a plea to be rescued. Jesus rode into the city as a King who was coming to rescue His people. He came not as a political savior, but as the One who redeems us from our sin. 1
Lesson Overview: Matthew 21:1 11; Mark 11:1 11; Luke 19:28 38 Experience Time Summary Supplies/Prepare EXPLORE Welcome & Engage 20 25 min. Exploration stations create space for children to engage in hands-on activities as they begin their time of worship. Activity 1: Painted Palm Branches palm branch template heavy white card stock (1 per child) green watercolor paint or art medium of choice paintbrushes (1 per child) cup water DISCOVER Large Group Respond Large Group 20 25 min. Facilitate interactive games, songs, and storytelling, allowing children to participate in discovering God s Word. Jesus Is King Spot s Rules Worship songs Mail Time/Remember Verse Hamilton s Treasure Box/ What s It: Donkey The Big God Story Today in the Big God Story Jesus enters Jerusalem on a donkey. Worship through response RESPOND Review/Bless/ Connect 20-30 min. Further process the story through discussion and interaction with others and respond to God in worship through creative expression. Bless the children that they may experience God fully. Review Questions/Snack Connect: Activity 1: People praise pop-up card People praise pop-up card (one per child) crayons or markers Activity 2: Here comes Jesus maze Here comes Jesus maze (one per child) crayons Family First Parent Resource 2
Explore 15 20 min. Activity 1: Painted Palm Branches palm branch template heavy white card stock (1 per child) green watercolor paint or art medium of choice paintbrushes (1 per child) cup water PREPARE Photocopy palm branch template onto the white card stock paper. SET UP Set the green paint, cup, and the paintbrushes on the table. Fill the cup with water and set in the center of the table with the paint. We re going to paint something very special. This is a palm branch. What color is the branch right now? Allow children to respond. You re right it s white. This palm branch needs to be green. Can you paint it green? When the palm branch has been painted, place it where it can dry. Clean up/move to Large Group 5 min. A CD with clean up music will be played. At this time, please encourage and assist the kids with clean up and proceed to the large group programming area. Be sure to model for the kid s large group behavior. Please participate in all aspects of today s large group time. LARGE Group Discover: Children move into a large group setting and participate in discovering God s Word through storytelling, worship, and interactive experiences. Ponder Point Jesus Is King Week 2 Open Large Group-Rules (2 minutes) Each week children will begin their large group time with the rules of your preschool program. This is a time for simple reminders about how to be a part of a loving community by respecting each other. 3
worship music (on cd) Welcome children as they re entering the large group meeting area. Direct the children to sit with their leaders in the designated area on the floor. Let s go over our today s rules so we can have fun and be safe as we celebrate God! Be Kind and be safe! Here is our special line, the teacher stays on this side of the line and the kids stay on that side of the line. Jesus made our hands to be kind to our friends, show me your hands (have kids wave their hands). Remember we can use our hands to clap and have fun, but never to hit or hurt our friends. Show me your feet (have kids stomp their feet). We can use our feet to dance and have fun, but we never use or feet to kick or hurt our friends or our church. Another way we can be kind is when teacher is speaking, you are listening. Show me your ears (have kids wiggle their ears). We can listen with our ears and zip our lips when I m talking. Add any other rules that specifically work for your room. Preschoolers do better when they know their expectations. Mail Time (4 minutes) Each week children will receive mail in the mailbox you ve created. Written on the mail is the month s Remember Verse from the Bible. It s important for children to associate the message written on the mail as words from the Bible, so be sure to have a Bible visible for reference. Remember Verse printed on cardstock, put in mailbox Bibles (your personal or a large children s Bible) mailbox SET UP Invite a child to come up on the stage to help you open today s mail. After the child opens the mailbox and retrieves the mail, ask your volunteer to be seated with their small group. The Storyteller will then read the enclosed Remember Verse. Talk about the meaning of the verse while interacting with the children and other leaders onstage with you. Define any unfamiliar words for the children. The Storyteller should lead the large group in reciting the Remember Verse several times together using a variety of engaging methods. Using the hand motions listed below, go over the verse two or three times with the kids. Use as much excitement and enthusiasm as you can! Treat this as a celebration an exciting time of introducing your children to God s Word. Applaud them for a job well done! Remember Verse Definition One of the joys of leading preschool is helping children build vocabulary and learn new concepts related to God. Don t feel like you have to use all the definitions every week. Instead, focus on one or two definitions at a time. You may be surprised at how much your children understand by the end of their four weeks with each Remember Verse. 4
Remember Verse Motions (Teacher Tip: Take your time, go slowly, break it down and explain the words as you go ) March 28-29, 2015 Worship Song: In His Hands (3 minutes) Storyteller Invite the kids to stand and sing with you, using motions Cue the worship song on the cd. Hamilton the Hedgehog Hamilton the Hedgehog is a fun puppet that you can use during your large group discover time. Every week Hamilton and the what s it will be hidden in the treasure box. It s also good to use Hamilton to help settle the kids. You can tell the kids, Hamilton is very shy so everyone needs be quiet and listen so he will come out of his house. You don t need to give Hamilton a voice, simply ask Hamilton questions and he can nod yes or no. Treasure Box with Hamilton the Hedgehog (5 minutes) The Treasure Box is a fun and interactive entrance point into God s story. Each week a new object called a What s It, which is connected to and sometimes used in The Big God Story, is hidden in the treasure box. What s It: Donkey : Treasure Chest Hamilton the Hedgehog What s It: Donkey Do you know who else likes to be a part of The Big God Story? That s right! Hamilton the Hedgehog! Shall we call him and ask him to join us? (The children will answer.) On the count of three, let s call him together. Are you ready? One, two, three. Hamilton, where are you? (Encourage kids to call for Hamilton.) Hmm I wonder what he is doing. Let s try again. Hamilton, where are you? (find Hamilton in the Treasure Box). Hi, Hamilton! Hamilton, do you have something to share from our treasure box today. (Have Hamilton whisper in the Storyteller s ear.) Friends, Hamilton gave me a clue to today s what s it. Let s see if you can guess what is in our treasure box. (Have Hamilton whisper in your ear and give you some clues.) You can come up with some easy clues to help the kids guess what is in the treasure box. We found a donkey in our Treasure Box today. I wonder how this fits into today s portion of The Big God Story. I think it s time to find out because do you know what time it is? 5
The Big God Story (5 8 minutes) Palm Sunday: Triumphal Entry Week 2 Matthew 21:1 11; Mark 11:1 11; Luke 19:28 38 toy donkey fabric or large overcoat to act as a cloak Palm leaves for each child. *USE FOR STORY AND RESPOND SONG PREPARE Today we will be using real palm branches for large group. Okay, friends. Before we get started, let s all pray together and ask God to teach us. (Lead the kids in a Prayer of Release as you prepare to hear God s Word.) One day Jesus was walking with two of His friends. He asked them to go and find a donkey in the town. (Show the toy donkey.) What kind of sound does a donkey make? (Let children respond; interact with their responses.) A donkey says, Hee-haw, hee-haw. Let s make that sound together. Good job! Jesus told His friends that if anyone asked why they were taking the donkey, they should tell them, The Lord needs it. Can you say that with me? On the count of three let s say, The Lord needs it. One, two, three. The Lord needs it. Good job! Well, the disciples did what Jesus asked. They found a donkey and untied him. Some of the men in town asked, Why are you taking that donkey? What do you think the disciples told the men? (Children will answer.) That s right, they said, The Lord needs it. Did the disciples obey Jesus? (Kids will answer.) Yes, they did. Is it important to obey Jesus words? (Allow children to respond.) It is very important. Jesus friends were good listeners just like you are good listeners. Let s turn up our listening ears as we hear the rest of The Big God Story. (Pretend to turn up your listening ears with the children.) The disciples brought Jesus the donkey and placed a coat on its back. (Show coat.) Jesus got on the donkey and started riding into Jerusalem. Many of the people were excited that Jesus was coming into town. They put their coats and palm branches on the ground in front of Jesus and the donkey. (Lay coat in front of the children.) The people didn t just lay coats in the road. The people also placed palm branches on the ground in front of Jesus. Let s pretend we are just like the people in our story today. (Have a volunteer pass out the palm leaves to each child.) Everyone is going to get a palm branch. (Instruct kids how to handle, not hurting anyone with their palm branch.) When you get your palm branch, hold it tightly in your hand. Let s lay our palm branches on the ground just like the people did for Jesus. (Have kids lay their palm leaves in front of themselves.) The people were so excited to see Jesus that they began to shout praises to Him. (Have kids pick up their branches.) They shouted the word Hosanna. Can you say that word with me? Hosanna. Now let s shout it. Hosanna! Wow, great job! This word was telling God that they needed a king who could save them. Do you know who that King is? It s Jesus. Guess what? Jesus is our King too! That makes me so excited! I want to shout Hosanna! again. Let s all shout it out one more time. Hosanna! Now let s shout Jesus is King! (Wait for kids to repeat after you.) Kids can take their palm leaf home. 6
Respond: Children have the opportunity to respond to God as they celebrate Him within the faith community. The people shouted Hosanna! when Jesus came into town. Were they excited? As we sing our celebration songs, let s use the palm branches to worship Jesus. (Remind kids to be gentle with their palm branches and not hurt their neighbor.) Let kids take their pretend palms home as a reminder they can always praise Jesus! Songs of Celebration: Songs of Celebration: My Best Friend (3 minutes) He s Alive (3 minutes) Cue the worship songs in the playlist Large Group Blessing: (2 minutes) Tell your group that you would like everyone to hold hands (you might suggest standing in a circle), once everyone is quiet, take your Bible and read this blessing over your kids. (Leaders will still want to do their blessing in small group.) Open a Bible and use the provided Blessing Card: Children, may you always know that that Jesus is King every day and every night. The Lord is King forever and ever. Psalm 10:16a Dismiss the kids to their small groups. Small Group Respond 20 min. Snack/Bible Story Review Questions (per small group) The Big God Story Review Pages Hand Sanitizer, Graham crackers When Reviewing the Story: While using the Review pages, discuss what happened in the story with your group. Look at the pages and point out a few key sentences. Get your kids talking, too! Ask questions while you look at the pictures. Settle your kids back on the small group blanket; use hand sanitizer and pass out crackers. 7
Read the Review Pages provided in your small group bin. Discuss the following questions with the children. Questions are meant to prompt further conversation about what children have been experiencing. They also invite children to ponder this truth and dwell with the wonder of God. As Jesus rode into Jerusalem the people celebrated while they shouted, Hosanna, Hosanna! Jesus rode into the city as a King who was coming to rescue His people. He came not as a political savior, but as the One who redeems us from our sin. What did Jesus tell His disciples to get for Him? When Jesus was riding on the donkey, were people angry or happy to see Jesus? Did the people wave flowers or palm leaves in front of Jesus? What did the people shout? Bless: Open a Bible and use the provided Blessing Card: Children, may you always know that that Jesus is King every day and every night. The Lord is King forever and ever. Psalm 10:16a Connect: Activity 1: People Praise Pop-up Card People praise pop-up card (one per child) crayons or markers PREPARE Cut and pre-fold the People praise pop-up card as directed on the master. When Jesus came riding into town on a donkey, the people were so excited to see Jesus that they began to shout praises to Him. They shouted the word Hosanna. We are going to make a pop-up card so we can share the story with your family and friends. Unfold the card and let kids use the crayons to color their card. Help them refold the card and re-tell the story. Activity 2: Here Comes Jesus Maze Here comes Jesus maze (one per child) crayons Jesus rode a donkey into Jerusalem one day to go to the temple. Crowds filled the street. They were so excited to see Jesus! Kids can guide Jesus through the maze of Jerusalem on His way to the temple. Use a crayon to help them color the path. Talk about parades they have seen. Discuss how happy the kids must have been to wave palm branches and shout praises to Jesus. 8