JESUS WANTS TO BE MY FRIEND FOREVER.

MARCH 2016 BABIES JESUS WANTS TO BE MY FRIEND FOREVER. Hold and rock a baby or change her diaper and sing the following to the tune of The Farmer in the Dell. Jesus is [insert baby s name] friend, Jesus is [insert baby s name] friend, He s your friend, He s my friend, Jesus is [insert baby s name] friend. Words For Baby Baby, Jesus is always with us. He loves us and wants to be our friend forever! I m so glad that Jesus is your friend and He is my friend, too! Curriculum Materials for Babies 2016 Orange. All rights reserved. www.thinkorange.com

Walkers/March 6/Week One Memory Verse: Come, and follow me, Jesus said. Matthew 4:19, NIV Bible Lesson Focus: God sent Jesus to teach us to love God and love people. Jesus Teaches Luke 2:41-50; Matthew 5, 22:34-39 Table Time Have children color the coloring page. Rug Time If you want to, you can have children bring chairs to sit on in a circle on the rug. Bible Lesson LEADER: (Lay Bible down in front of you.) Come here, everyone, and sit with me! It s Bible time! Yay for Bible time! Our lesson comes from this very special book the Bible! (Hold up Bible, give it a big hug, and lay it down.) We love the Bible because it has God s stories in it. And God s stories are always TRUE! (Thumbs up.) The Bible lesson today begins with a boy named can you make a drumroll with your legs? (Pause. Demonstrate patting on legs.) JESUS! That s right! Great job. Hands in your lap now. We don t normally think of Jesus as a kid, but He was, just like you! (Point to kids.) Now, most kids like to play with toys and eat ice cream and read stories! But even when Jesus was a kid, He knew He had a special job to do. One day, when His mom and dad took Him to the temple, which is like a church, Jesus stayed for a long time and talked to his teachers about God. He told them about how we should all love God and love people. And then Jesus grew up. And He became a teacher the best teacher EVER. Everyone wanted to hear what He had to say. Everywhere He went, people followed Him. They followed Him here. They followed Him there. They followed Jesus everywhere to hear Him teach. He knew that everyone needed to know that they should love God and love people. Jesus came because He wants to be our friend forever. He wants us to follow Him. Who can you follow? I can follow Jesus! You guys try it with me. I ll ask: Who can you follow? And you guys say, I can follow Jesus! Ready?! Who can you follow? LEADER: Great job! But I think you guys could say it a tad louder. Ready? Who can you follow?

LEADER: Excellent! It s true, friends! Let s pray. Dear God, thank You for this amazing lesson in the Bible to teach us that we can follow Jesus. We love You, God! Amen. Great listening today, friends! Music and Motion Choose two or three songs to sing signal which song you ll sing by showing the children the associated picture (words on back). Say, Let s tell God how great He is by singing to Him. The B-I-B-L-E (with Bibles) This Little Light of Mine (finger play) The Wise Man Built His House Upon the Rock (finger play) Jesus Loves Me (instruments) Rejoice in the Lord Always (marching with scarves) Snack/Review Back at the tables have children wipe their hands with wipes and then fold their hands, close eyes and recite: God is great, God is good. Now we thank Him for our food. Amen. Read books in bucket while they are having Cheerios and go through finger play and read Big Book if provided. Dismiss Greet parents at the door. Remove child s FastPass sticker and place it on the clipboard.

Walkers/March 13/WeekTwo Memory Verse: Come, and follow me, Jesus said. Matthew 4:19, NIV Bible Lesson Focus: God sent Jesus to do an important job. Follow Me The Gospels Table Time Have children color the coloring page. Rug Time If you want to, you can have children bring chairs to sit on in a circle on the rug. Bible Lesson LEADER: (Lay Bible down in front of you.) Come here, everyone, and sit with me! It s Bible time! Yay for Bible time! Our lesson comes from this very special book the Bible! (Hold up Bible, give it a big hug, and lay it down.) We love the Bible because it has God s stories in it. And God s stories are always TRUE! (Thumbs up.) The Bible lesson today begins with fish. Fish are silly and fun to watch, right?! Do any of you have pet fish? (Pause.) Oh, fun! Can you guys make your best fish faces? (Pause. Demonstrate.) Oh, wow. You guys look just like fish! You are all set to hear our lesson today now. Ready?! (Pause.) Awesome. Let s put our fishy faces away for a bit later. So the true story begins with some men who were fishing. In fact, fishing was their job. Every morning they d go out to fish. And every night, they d go home and sell the fish they caught. They were hard workers, BUT they were not teachers. A teacher s job is to teach! The fishermen were SO SURPRISED when one day Jesus called to them. (Cup hands around mouth.) Come follow me! Jesus said. The fishermen probably thought, What? (Pause. Point to self and look surprised.) Who, us?! The fishermen thought Jesus must be talking to someone else. They knew how to catch fish. Remember, that was their job. They didn t how to teach people like Jesus did. What do you think? (Pause.) Do you think Jesus was talking to someone else? (Pause.) No! He was calling the fishermen. (Cup hands around mouth.) Come follow me! Jesus said. We have an important job to do! God sent me to tell everyone that He loves them, and I want you to help me! So the fishermen came to the shore where Jesus was and put down their nets the most important thing to do their job of fishing with and they followed Jesus. They followed Jesus!

LEADER: Jesus wanted the fishermen to follow Him, and you know what? (Pause.) He wants you and me to follow him too! Everyone can follow Jesus. God sent Jesus to do an important job. Jesus came because He wants to be our friend forever. He wants us to follow Him. Who can you follow? I can follow Jesus! You guys try it with me. I ll ask, Who can you follow? And you guys say, I can follow Jesus! Ready?! (Pause.) Who can you follow? LEADER: Great job! But I think you guys could say it a tad louder. Ready? (Pause.) Who can you follow? LEADER: Excellent! It s true, friends! Let s pray. Dear God, thank You for this amazing lesson in the Bible that teaches us that we can follow Jesus. Thank You for sending Jesus to do important things. We love You, God! Amen. Great listening today, friends! Music and Motion Choose two or three songs to sing signal which song you ll sing by showing the children the associated picture (words on back). Say, Let s tell God how great He is by singing to Him. The B-I-B-L-E (with Bibles) This Little Light of Mine (finger play) The Wise Man Built His House Upon the Rock (finger play) Jesus Loves Me (instruments) Rejoice in the Lord Always (marching with scarves) Snack/Review Back at the tables have children wipe their hands with wipes and then fold their hands, close eyes and recite: God is great, God is good. Now we thank Him for our food. Amen. Read books in bucket while they are having Cheerios and go through finger play and read Big Book if provided. Dismiss Greet parents at the door. Remove child s FastPass sticker and place it on the clipboard.

Walkers/March 20/Week Three Memory Verse: Come, and follow me, Jesus said. Matthew 4:19, NIV Bible Lesson Focus: God sent Jesus to do something special. Palm Sunday Matthew 21:1-16 Table Time Have children color the coloring page. Rug Time If you want to, you can have children bring chairs to sit on in a circle on the rug. Bible Lesson LEADER: (Lay Bible down in front of you.) Come here, everyone, and sit with me! It s Bible time! Yay for Bible time! Our lesson comes from this very special book the Bible! (Hold up Bible, give it a big hug, and lay it down.) We love the Bible because it has God s stories in it. And God s stories are always TRUE! (Thumbs up.) The lesson today begins in the town of Jerusalem when the people there heard that Jesus, the best teacher ever, was coming! They were so happy they kept yelling, Jesus is coming! Jesus is coming! Jesus is coming! Can you say that with me, friends? (Pause.) Try it! Jesus is coming! Jesus is coming! Jesus is coming! Fantastic job! The people wanted to meet the best teacher ever! Now listen to this: Jesus came into town riding on a donkey. And the people got so excited they took off their coats and laid them on the road in front of Him. Then they waved palm branches, shouting, Hosanna! Hosanna! Yay, Jesus! Can you say that with me? (Pause.) Hosanna! Hosanna! Yay, Jesus! This time, do it louder. Ready? (Pause.) Go! Hosanna! Hosanna! Yay, Jesus! Yes! It was such a fun party and everyone there wanted to follow Jesus! God sent Jesus to do something special. Jesus wants to be our friend forever and He wants us to follow Him. Who can you follow? I can follow Jesus! You guys try it with me. I ll ask, Who can you follow? And you guys say, I can follow Jesus! Ready?! (Pause.) Who can you follow? LEADER: Great job! But I think you guys could say it a tad louder. Ready? (Pause.) Who can you follow?

LEADER: Excellent! It s true, friends! Let s pray. Dear God, thank You for this amazing lesson in the Bible to teach us that we can follow Jesus. Thank You for sending Jesus to do important things. We love You, God! Amen. Great listening today, friends! Music and Motion Choose two or three songs to sing signal which song you ll sing by showing the children the associated picture (words on back). Say, Let s tell God how great He is by singing to Him. The B-I-B-L-E (with Bibles) This Little Light of Mine (finger play) The Wise Man Built His House Upon the Rock (finger play) Jesus Loves Me (instruments) Rejoice in the Lord Always (marching with scarves) Snack/Review Back at the tables have children wipe their hands with wipes and then fold their hands, close eyes and recite: God is great, God is good. Now we thank Him for our food. Amen. Read books in bucket while they are having Cheerios and go through finger play and read Big Book if provided. Dismiss Greet parents at the door. Remove child s FastPass sticker and place it on the clipboard.

Walkers/March 27/Week Four Memory Verse: Come, and follow me, Jesus said. Matthew 4:19, NIV Bible Lesson Focus: God sent Jesus to be my friend forever. Easter Matthew 26:20-30, 27:1-2, 28:1-2 Table Time Have children color the coloring page. Rug Time If you want to, you can have children bring chairs to sit on in a circle on the rug. Bible Lesson What You Need: Bible, Popsicle stick with sad face glued to one side and happy face on the other LEADER: (Lay Bible down in front of you.) Come here, everyone, and sit with me! It s Bible time! Yay for Bible time! Our lesson comes from this very special book the Bible! (Hold up Bible, give it a big hug, and lay it down.) We love the Bible because it has God s stories in it. And God s stories are always TRUE! (Thumbs up.) I want to tell you why TODAY is such an amazing day. No really, it is AMAZING! Are you ready to read the greatest book ever and find out more about why today is amazing? (Pause.) Great! Now I m going to warn you, this true story from the Bible has some sad parts. Can I see your sad face? (Pause. Make sad face.) Oh, yes. You guys are good at those sad faces. Again, today s lesson has some very sad parts. But I want you to remember the lesson ends with a really happy ending, so can I see your happy faces? (Pause. Make happy face.) Good. Oh, I like the happy faces better than the sad faces. How about you guys? (Pause.) Well, in today s lesson, whenever there is something sad, and I need your help showing your sad faces, I will hold up this sad face. (Hold up sad face.) That means you d give me your sad face because the story is sad at that part. Now, I bet you guys can guess what I ll hold up when it s a happy part. (Pause and hold up happy face.) Yep, it s a happy face! Our lesson begins with Jesus and His friends eating a special supper together. Who loves dinner? (Pause. Raise your hand.) Me too! Jesus and His friends were eating a meal together and then Jesus stood up and said one day soon He was going away. That made them so (Hold up sad face.) sad. Oh, good job. The disciples were going to miss their friend (Hold up sad face.), but Jesus promised that He was coming back. Make a happy face! (Hold up happy face.) Oh, those are great happy faces! Good job. That night, Jesus and His friends went to a garden to pray. Suddenly some mean men (Hold up sad face.) came to where they were and took Jesus away. Oh no! Where were they taking him? (Pause.) Sad face! (Hold up sad face.) Those mean men hurt Jesus so much that He died. Oh, no! Make a really, really sad face. (Hold up sad face very high.)

LEADER: Jesus friends put His body in a tomb and closed it with a big rock. It was kind of like a cave. Can you guys show me your muscles? (Pause. Demonstrate.) Oh my, you all have some amazing muscles. BUUUUUT that rock they put in front of the tomb was VERY hard to move. It was so heavy that nobody could move it by themselves not even your awesome muscles could move it! Okay, hands back in your lap and eyes up here. Three days went by. (Hold up three fingers.) Did you hear that? Three days! Can you count with me? (Slowly count to three.) Then Jesus friend Mary went to the tomb. When she got there, she saw that the big rock was moved and that Jesus was gone! Oh, no! Where did He go? (Pause.) Sad face! (Hold up sad face.) Mary began to cry, but then an angel appeared and told her: Jesus is alive! He s alive!?! (Pause.) Happy face! (Hold up happy face.) He came back just like He said He would. Jesus kept His promise! Can you believe it? (Pause.) Jesus is alive! He kept His promise, He came back just like He said He would, He loves us more than we will ever understand, and He wants to be our friend forever. There s no other friend like Him. Jesus wants to be our friend forever and He wants us to follow Him. Who can you follow? I can follow Jesus! You guys try it with me. I ll ask, Who can you follow? And you guys say, I can follow Jesus! Ready?! (Pause.) Who can you follow? LEADER: Great job! But I think you guys could say it a tad louder. Ready? (Pause.) Who can you follow? LEADER: Excellent! It s true, friends! Let s pray. Dear God, thank You for sending us Your Son, Jesus, to be our friend forever. Help us to remember that we can follow Jesus. We love You, God! Amen. Great listening today, friends! Music and Motion Choose two or three songs to sing signal which song you ll sing by showing the children the associated picture (words on back). Say, Let s tell God how great He is by singing to Him. The B-I-B-L-E (with Bibles) This Little Light of Mine (finger play) The Wise Man Built His House Upon the Rock (finger play) Jesus Loves Me (instruments) Rejoice in the Lord Always (marching with scarves)

Snack/Review Back at the tables have children wipe their hands with wipes and then fold their hands, close eyes and recite: God is great, God is good. Now we thank Him for our food. Amen. Read books in bucket while they are having Cheerios and go through finger play and read Big Book if provided. Dismiss Greet parents at the door. Remove child s FastPass sticker and place it on the clipboard.

Explorers/March 6/Week One Memory Verse: Come, and follow me, Jesus said. Matthew 4:19, NIV Bible Lesson Focus: God sent Jesus to teach us to love God and love people. Jesus Teaches Luke 2:41-50; Matthew 5, 22:34-39 Table Time Place bin with stickers and white cardstock on the table. Ask one or two Helpers to guide the children in creatively playing with the stickers while Lead Teacher greets parents/kids at the door. Clean Up Transition Start singing the Clean Up Song with the children as you clean up and move to the area rug. (If you don t know the tune, you can make one up it really doesn t matter!) Clean up, clean up, everybody everywhere. Clean up, clean up, everybody do their share. While the children are on the area rug, direct the Helpers to prepare the tables for Cheerios and then join the children on the area rug with the role of helping kids engage. Transition into Bible Time with Katie the Kangaroo puppet. Have Katie greet each child by name and then sing together: This Is The Day". This is the day. (repeat) That the Lord has made. (repeat) We will rejoice. (repeat) And be glad in Him. (repeat) This is the day. That the Lord has made. We will rejoice. And be glad in Him. Repeat beginning (with echo refrain) again. Rug Time Show and Tell Before the Activity: Sit in a circle together in an open area in the room. Ask two or three children at a time to go and find something they like to play with in the other room and bring it back to the circle. Once they are back with an item, have them put the items in their laps. Try and keep the divider closed most of the way so they can get through to get their items but not stay in the play area.

What You Say: Before the Activity: Hello, boys and girls! Come sit in a circle with me. I m going to call a few friends at a time and when you hear your name, I want you to go find something you like to play with in the room and bring it back to the circle. Ready? (Call two or three kids at a time until all the kids have had a chance. You could give them a count down from five to hurry their choosing process.) During the Activity: This is my friend (say child s name), and he/she is going to tell us about something he/she likes to play with in the room. Remember to use your listening ears and quiet lips. (Pause.) Great job, (child s name). Next up is (repeat until all the children have had a turn). You guys taught me a lot today! Everybody go put your toys back and then meet me over here in our circle. After the Activity: That was so much fun! Thank you for teaching us all about the things you love in our class. I love to learn more about you, because you are my friends! Today in our Bible lesson we are going to hear how Jesus taught others, even as a boy! Bible Lesson LEADER: (Lay Bible down in front of you.) Come here, everyone, and sit with me! It s Bible time! Yay for Bible time! Our lesson comes from this very special book the Bible! (Hold up Bible, give it a big hug, and lay it down.) We love the Bible because it has God s stories in it. And God s stories are always TRUE! (Thumbs up.) The Bible lesson today begins with a boy named can you make a drumroll with your legs? (Pause. Demonstrate patting on legs.) JESUS! That s right! Great job. Hands in your lap now. We don t normally think of Jesus as a kid, but He was, just like you! (Point to kids.) Now, most kids like to play with toys and eat ice cream and read stories! But even when Jesus was a kid, He knew He had a special job to do. One day, when His mom and dad took Him to the temple, which is like a church, Jesus stayed for a long time and talked to his teachers about God. He told them about how we should all love God and love people. And then Jesus grew up. And He became a teacher the best teacher EVER. Everyone wanted to hear what He had to say. Everywhere He went, people followed Him. They followed Him here. They followed Him there. They followed Jesus everywhere to hear Him teach. He knew that everyone needed to know that they should love God and love people. Jesus came because He wants to be our friend forever. He wants us to follow Him. Who can you follow? I can follow Jesus! You guys try it with me. I ll ask: Who can you follow? And you guys say, I can follow Jesus! Ready?! Who can you follow?

LEADER: Great job! But I think you guys could say it a tad louder. Ready? Who can you follow? LEADER: Excellent! It s true, friends! Let s pray. Dear God, thank You for this amazing lesson in the Bible to teach us that we can follow Jesus. We love You, God! Amen. Great listening today, friends! Music and Motion Choose two or three songs to sing signal which song you ll sing by showing the children the associated picture (words on back). Say, Let s tell God how great He is by singing to Him. The B-I-B-L-E (with Bibles) This Little Light of Mine (finger play) The Wise Man Built His House Upon the Rock (finger play) Jesus Loves Me (instruments) Rejoice in the Lord Always (marching with scarves) Snack/Review Back at the tables have children wipe their hands with wipes and then fold their hands, close eyes and recite: God is great, God is good. Now we thank Him for our food. Amen. Read books in bucket while they are having Cheerios and go through finger play and read Big Book if provided. Free Choice/Craft (open the curtain) Call over small groups of children to do the activity at a table. Children not doing the activity have free play. Not all children need to do the activity. Jesus Teaches What You Need: Love God and People from the Activity Pages, dot markers What You Say: Before the Activity: Today s Bible lesson started when Jesus was a boy.

During the Activity: Jesus was a kid just like you! (Point to kids.) Most kids like to play with toys, eat ice cream, and read stories. But even when He was a kid, Jesus knew He had a special job to do. One day, when His mom and dad took Him to the temple, which is like a church, Jesus stayed for a long time and talked to His teachers about God. He told them about how we should all love God and love people. Look at your paper. That s what your paper says. Love God. Love people. See the hearts on your paper? Fill those in with your dot markers. When Jesus grew up, He became a teacher the best teacher EVER. Everyone wanted to hear what He had to say. Everywhere He went, people followed Him. They followed Him here. They followed Him there. They went everywhere Jesus went to hear Him teach. He knew that everyone needed to know that they should love God and love people. (Write children s names on their papers.) After the Activity: Jesus came because He wants to be our friend forever. Jesus taught us to love God and love people. Who can you follow? I can follow Jesus. Dismiss Set any take-home creations where parents can get them easily. Greet parents at the door. Remove child s FastPass sticker and place it on the clipboard.

Explorers/March 13/Week Two Memory Verse: Come, and follow me, Jesus said. Matthew 4:19, NIV Bible Lesson Focus: God sent Jesus to do an important job. Follow Me The Gospels Table Time Place bin with dot markers and white cardstock on the table. Ask one or two Helpers to guide the children in creatively playing with the dot markers while Lead Teacher greets parents/kids at the door. Clean Up Transition Start singing the Clean Up Song with the children as you clean up and move to the area rug. (If you don t know the tune, you can make one up it really doesn t matter!) Clean up, clean up, everybody everywhere. Clean up, clean up, everybody do their share. While the children are on the area rug, direct the Helpers to prepare the tables for Cheerios and then join the children on the area rug with the role of helping kids engage. Transition into Bible Time with Katie the Kangaroo puppet. Have Katie greet each child by name and then sing together: This Is The Day". This is the day. (repeat) That the Lord has made. (repeat) We will rejoice. (repeat) And be glad in Him. (repeat) This is the day. That the Lord has made. We will rejoice. And be glad in Him. Repeat beginning (with echo refrain) again. Rug Time Who Does What? Before the Activity: Copy Occupations on cardstock and cut out. Spread out on the table. What you say: Before the Activity: Hey, friends! Look at these cards. What do you see? (Pause.) Let s sit down and see if we can match them.

During the Activity: What about this picture? What do you see? (Pick up the fish picture.) Who or what would be a match for the fish? (Pause.) The fisherman! Super job! Who can find another match? (Help as needed.) Wow! Great job! You matched them! Keep going! (Continue with all matches.) Super job! You matched all the cards! After the Activity: All of these cards are jobs people do. There is a fisherman, fireman, doctor, and teacher. All these jobs are important! Today we ll hear about some fishermen and a teacher! Bible Lesson LEADER: (Lay Bible down in front of you.) Come here, everyone, and sit with me! It s Bible time! Yay for Bible time! Our lesson comes from this very special book the Bible! (Hold up Bible, give it a big hug, and lay it down.) We love the Bible because it has God s stories in it. And God s stories are always TRUE! (Thumbs up.) The Bible lesson today begins with fish. Fish are silly and fun to watch, right?! Do any of you have pet fish? (Pause.) Oh, fun! Can you guys make your best fish faces? (Pause. Demonstrate.) Oh, wow. You guys look just like fish! You are all set to hear our lesson today now. Ready?! (Pause.) Awesome. Let s put our fishy faces away for a bit later. So the true story begins with some men who were fishing. In fact, fishing was their job. Every morning they d go out to fish. And every night, they d go home and sell the fish they caught. They were hard workers, BUT they were not teachers. A teacher s job is to teach! The fishermen were SO SURPRISED when one day Jesus called to them. (Cup hands around mouth.) Come follow me! Jesus said. The fishermen probably thought, What? (Pause. Point to self and look surprised.) Who, us?! The fishermen thought Jesus must be talking to someone else. They knew how to catch fish. Remember, that was their job. They didn t how to teach people like Jesus did. What do you think? (Pause.) Do you think Jesus was talking to someone else? (Pause.) No! He was calling the fishermen. (Cup hands around mouth.) Come follow me! Jesus said. We have an important job to do! God sent me to tell everyone that He loves them, and I want you to help me! So the fishermen came to the shore where Jesus was and put down their nets the most important thing to do their job of fishing with and they followed Jesus. They followed Jesus! Jesus wanted the fishermen to follow Him, and you know what? (Pause.) He wants you and me to follow him too! Everyone can follow Jesus.

LEADER: God sent Jesus to do an important job. Jesus came because He wants to be our friend forever. He wants us to follow Him. Who can you follow? I can follow Jesus! You guys try it with me. I ll ask, Who can you follow? And you guys say, I can follow Jesus! Ready?! (Pause.) Who can you follow? LEADER: Great job! But I think you guys could say it a tad louder. Ready? (Pause.) Who can you follow? LEADER: Excellent! It s true, friends! Let s pray. Dear God, thank You for this amazing lesson in the Bible that teaches us that we can follow Jesus. Thank You for sending Jesus to do important things. We love You, God! Amen. Great listening today, friends! Music and Motion Choose two or three songs to sing signal which song you ll sing by showing the children the associated picture (words on back). Say, Let s tell God how great He is by singing to Him. The B-I-B-L-E (with Bibles) This Little Light of Mine (finger play) The Wise Man Built His House Upon the Rock (finger play) Jesus Loves Me (instruments) Rejoice in the Lord Always (marching with scarves) Snack/Review Back at the tables have children wipe their hands with wipes and then fold their hands, close eyes and recite: God is great, God is good. Now we thank Him for our food. Amen. Read books in bucket while they are having Cheerios and go through finger play and read Big Book if provided. Free Choice/Craft (open the curtain) Call over small groups of children to do the activity at a table. Children not doing the activity have free play. Not all children need to do the activity. Follow Me Before the Activity: Copy Follow Me on cardstock, one per child. Gingerbread people Activity Page is also provided.

What You Say: Before the Activity: We heard a great Bible lesson today about when Jesus called out to some of His friends that were fishing. During the Activity: Every morning they d go out to fish. And every night, they d go home and sell the fish they caught. They were hard workers, BUT they were not teachers. A teacher s job is to teach! The fishermen were SO SURPRISED that one day Jesus called to them. Come, follow me! Jesus said. The fishermen thought Jesus must be talking to someone else. They knew how to catch fish. Remember, that was their job. They didn t know how to teach people like Jesus. Do you think Jesus was talking to the fishermen? (Pause.) Yes! Jesus said, We have an important job to do! God sent me to tell everyone that He loves them, and I want you to help me! So the fishermen came to the shore where Jesus was and put down their nets and they followed Jesus. They knew that Jesus came to be their friend forever, so they followed Him! Jesus wants to be your friend forever too! (Hand out Activity Pages.) Look at your papers. See the big heart and Jesus walking to it? (Pause.) Let s add these people (Hold up gingerbread person.) to your paper so they can follow Jesus. (Pause.) Fantastic! (Write names on their papers and put aside to dry.) After the Activity: God sent Jesus to do an important job. Jesus came because He wants to be our friend forever. Who can you follow? I can follow Jesus. Dismiss Set any take-home creations where parents can get them easily. Greet parents at the door. Remove child s FastPass sticker and place it on the clipboard.

Explorers/March 20/Week Three Memory Verse: Come, and follow me, Jesus said. Matthew 4:19, NIV Bible Lesson Focus: God sent Jesus to do something special. Palm Sunday Matthew 21:1-16 Table Time Place bin with Play Doh and cookie cutters on the table. Ask one or two Helpers to guide the children in creatively playing with the Play Doh while Lead Teacher greets parents/kids at the door. Clean Up Transition Start singing the Clean Up Song with the children as you clean up and move to the area rug. (If you don t know the tune, you can make one up it really doesn t matter!) Clean up, clean up, everybody everywhere. Clean up, clean up, everybody do their share. While the children are on the area rug, direct the Helpers to prepare the tables for Cheerios and then join the children on the area rug with the role of helping kids engage. Transition into Bible Time with Katie the Kangaroo puppet. Have Katie greet each child by name and then sing together: This Is The Day". This is the day. (repeat) That the Lord has made. (repeat) We will rejoice. (repeat) And be glad in Him. (repeat) This is the day. That the Lord has made. We will rejoice. And be glad in Him. Repeat beginning (with echo refrain) again. Rug Time Find the Donkey What You Need: Plastic container, toy donkey, green paper, and scissors What You Do: Before the Activity: Cut green paper in strips, and place them in the container. Place the donkey in the container and mix it all up. What You Say: Before the Activity: Look at all the green paper in the container. It looks like leaves! There is an animal hidden in there. Let s take turns trying to find it.

During the Activity: Dig around. Did you find it? (Pause.) Great job! What animal did you find? (Pause.) It s a donkey! Let s hide it and find it again. (Repeat as many times as desired.) After the Activity: Today we are going to hear a Bible lesson about a time when Jesus rode a donkey! Bible Lesson LEADER: (Lay Bible down in front of you.) Come here, everyone, and sit with me! It s Bible time! Yay for Bible time! Our lesson comes from this very special book the Bible! (Hold up Bible, give it a big hug, and lay it down.) We love the Bible because it has God s stories in it. And God s stories are always TRUE! (Thumbs up.) The lesson today begins in the town of Jerusalem when the people there heard that Jesus, the best teacher ever, was coming! They were so happy they kept yelling, Jesus is coming! Jesus is coming! Jesus is coming! Can you say that with me, friends? (Pause.) Try it! Jesus is coming! Jesus is coming! Jesus is coming! Fantastic job! The people wanted to meet the best teacher ever! Now listen to this: Jesus came into town riding on a donkey. And the people got so excited they took off their coats and laid them on the road in front of Him. Then they waved palm branches, shouting, Hosanna! Hosanna! Yay, Jesus! Can you say that with me? (Pause.) Hosanna! Hosanna! Yay, Jesus! This time, do it louder. Ready? (Pause.) Go! Hosanna! Hosanna! Yay, Jesus! Yes! It was such a fun party and everyone there wanted to follow Jesus! God sent Jesus to do something special. Jesus wants to be our friend forever and He wants us to follow Him. Who can you follow? I can follow Jesus! You guys try it with me. I ll ask, Who can you follow? And you guys say, I can follow Jesus! Ready?! (Pause.) Who can you follow? LEADER: Great job! But I think you guys could say it a tad louder. Ready? (Pause.) Who can you follow? LEADER: Excellent! It s true, friends! Let s pray. Dear God, thank You for this amazing lesson in the Bible to teach us that we can follow Jesus. Thank You for sending Jesus to do important things. We love You, God! Amen. Great listening today, friends!

Music and Motion Choose two or three songs to sing signal which song you ll sing by showing the children the associated picture (words on back). Say, Let s tell God how great He is by singing to Him. The B-I-B-L-E (with Bibles) This Little Light of Mine (finger play) The Wise Man Built His House Upon the Rock (finger play) Jesus Loves Me (instruments) Rejoice in the Lord Always (marching with scarves) Snack/Review Back at the tables have children wipe their hands with wipes and then fold their hands, close eyes and recite: God is great, God is good. Now we thank Him for our food. Amen. Read books in bucket while they are having Cheerios and go through finger play and read Big Book if provided. Free Choice/Craft (open the curtain) Call over small groups of children to do the activity at a table. Children not doing the activity have free play. Not all children need to do the activity. Palm Leaf What You Need: Palm from the Activity Pages found on the Website, cardstock, green dot markers, wet wipes, and a marker What You Do: Before the Activity: Copy Palm on cardstock, one per child. What You Say: Before the Activity: Come sit with me at the table. (Pause.) Look! What does this look like? (Hold up a paper.) A leaf! It s a palm leaf like in our Bible lesson today. We are going to make it green with these dot markers as we say our Memory Verse. During the Activity: Grab a marker and get ready to fill in your leaf as you say our Verse with me. (Say the verse one word at a time while kids repeat.) Come, and follow me, Jesus said, Matthew 4:19. (Repeat.) Super job! Let s write your name on your fabulous palm leaf. After the Activity: Today our Bible lesson told us about when Jesus came to town and everybody was super excited! They waved palm branches in the air and shouted, Hosanna! They knew that Jesus had come to be our friend forever and wanted to follow Him! Who can you follow? I can follow Jesus.

Dismiss Set any take-home creations where parents can get them easily. Greet parents at the door. Remove child s FastPass sticker and place it on the clipboard.

Explorers/March 27/Week Four Memory Verse: Come, and follow me, Jesus said. Matthew 4:19, NIV Bible Lesson Focus: God sent Jesus to be my friend forever. Easter Matthew 26:20-30, 27:1-2, 28:1-2 Table Time Place bin with stickers and white cardstock on the table. Ask one or two Helpers to guide the children in creatively playing with the stickers while Lead Teacher greets parents/kids at the door. Clean Up Transition Start singing the Clean Up Song with the children as you clean up and move to the area rug. (If you don t know the tune, you can make one up it really doesn t matter!) Clean up, clean up, everybody everywhere. Clean up, clean up, everybody do their share. While the children are on the area rug, direct the Helpers to prepare the tables for Cheerios and then join the children on the area rug with the role of helping kids engage. Transition into Bible Time with Katie the Kangaroo puppet. Have Katie greet each child by name and then sing together: This Is The Day". This is the day. (repeat) That the Lord has made. (repeat) We will rejoice. (repeat) And be glad in Him. (repeat) This is the day. That the Lord has made. We will rejoice. And be glad in Him. Repeat beginning (with echo refrain) again. Rug Time Come and Go What You Need: Parachute What You Do: Before the Activity: Spread out the parachute on an open area on the floor. What You Say: Before the Activity: Hello boys and girls! Come stand around the parachute.

During the Activity: Grab an edge. (Pause.) Now we are going to try and lift it as high as we can three times. Will you count with me? (Pause.) Great! Lift it super high! One. Lift it super high again! Two. Lift it really high and go under. Three! Awesome job, friends! We went away! Now let s come back and do it again! (Repeat as many times as desired.) Bible Lesson What You Need: Bible, Popsicle stick with sad face glued to one side and happy face on the other LEADER: (Lay Bible down in front of you.) Come here, everyone, and sit with me! It s Bible time! Yay for Bible time! Our lesson comes from this very special book the Bible! (Hold up Bible, give it a big hug, and lay it down.) We love the Bible because it has God s stories in it. And God s stories are always TRUE! (Thumbs up.) I want to tell you why TODAY is such an amazing day. No really, it is AMAZING! Are you ready to read the greatest book ever and find out more about why today is amazing? (Pause.) Great! Now I m going to warn you, this true story from the Bible has some sad parts. Can I see your sad face? (Pause. Make sad face.) Oh, yes. You guys are good at those sad faces. Again, today s lesson has some very sad parts. But I want you to remember the lesson ends with a really happy ending, so can I see your happy faces? (Pause. Make happy face.) Good. Oh, I like the happy faces better than the sad faces. How about you guys? (Pause.) Well, in today s lesson, whenever there is something sad, and I need your help showing your sad faces, I will hold up this sad face. (Hold up sad face.) That means you d give me your sad face because the story is sad at that part. Now, I bet you guys can guess what I ll hold up when it s a happy part. (Pause and hold up happy face.) Yep, it s a happy face! Our lesson begins with Jesus and His friends eating a special supper together. Who loves dinner? (Pause. Raise your hand.) Me too! Jesus and His friends were eating a meal together and then Jesus stood up and said one day soon He was going away. That made them so (Hold up sad face.) sad. Oh, good job. The disciples were going to miss their friend (Hold up sad face.), but Jesus promised that He was coming back. Make a happy face! (Hold up happy face.) Oh, those are great happy faces! Good job. That night, Jesus and His friends went to a garden to pray. Suddenly some mean men (Hold up sad face.) came to where they were and took Jesus away. Oh no! Where were they taking him? (Pause.) Sad face! (Hold up sad face.) Those mean men hurt Jesus so much that He died. Oh, no! Make a really, really sad face. (Hold up sad face very high.) Jesus friends put His body in a tomb and closed it with a big rock. It was kind of like a cave. Can you guys show me your muscles? (Pause. Demonstrate.) Oh my, you all have some amazing muscles. BUUUUUT that rock they put in front of the tomb was VERY hard to move. It was so heavy that nobody could move it by themselves not even your awesome muscles could move it! Okay, hands back in your lap and eyes up here.

LEADER: Three days went by. (Hold up three fingers.) Did you hear that? Three days! Can you count with me? (Slowly count to three.) Then Jesus friend Mary went to the tomb. When she got there, she saw that the big rock was moved and that Jesus was gone! Oh, no! Where did He go? (Pause.) Sad face! (Hold up sad face.) Mary began to cry, but then an angel appeared and told her: Jesus is alive! He s alive!?! (Pause.) Happy face! (Hold up happy face.) He came back just like He said He would. Jesus kept His promise! Can you believe it? (Pause.) Jesus is alive! He kept His promise, He came back just like He said He would, He loves us more than we will ever understand, and He wants to be our friend forever. There s no other friend like Him. Jesus wants to be our friend forever and He wants us to follow Him. Who can you follow? I can follow Jesus! You guys try it with me. I ll ask, Who can you follow? And you guys say, I can follow Jesus! Ready?! (Pause.) Who can you follow? LEADER: Great job! But I think you guys could say it a tad louder. Ready? (Pause.) Who can you follow? LEADER: Excellent! It s true, friends! Let s pray. Dear God, thank You for sending us Your Son, Jesus, to be our friend forever. Help us to remember that we can follow Jesus. We love You, God! Amen. Great listening today, friends! Music and Motion Choose two or three songs to sing signal which song you ll sing by showing the children the associated picture (words on back). Say, Let s tell God how great He is by singing to Him. The B-I-B-L-E (with Bibles) This Little Light of Mine (finger play) The Wise Man Built His House Upon the Rock (finger play) Jesus Loves Me (instruments) Rejoice in the Lord Always (marching with scarves) Snack/Review Back at the tables have children wipe their hands with wipes and then fold their hands, close eyes and recite: God is great, God is good. Now we thank Him for our food. Amen.

Read books in bucket while they are having Cheerios and go through finger play and read Big Book if provided. Free Choice/Craft (open the curtain) He Came Back Call over small groups of children to do the activity at a table. Children not doing the activity have free play. Not all children need to do the activity. Before the Activity: Copy He Came Back on white cardstock, one per child. Copy Stone on gray cardstock and cut out, one stone per child. What You Say: Before the Activity: What a great Bible lesson we heard today! We learned that Jesus loves us so much that He went away and came back just like He said He would. During the Activity: Look on your paper. What do you see? (Pause.) There s the tomb where Jesus went. His friends put a great big rock (hold up a stone) in front of the opening to keep Jesus safe. (Put the stone in front of the opening.) This was a super heavy rock. Count with me. One, two, three days went by and Mary went to visit, and when she got there, the great big rock had been moved away and Jesus wasn t there! Let s glue the rock right here on the side of the opening. (Pause.) Mary was upset, but an angel told her that Jesus had come back! Jesus kept His promise and came back! Yay! (Write names on papers.) After the Activity: Jesus said He had to go away but He would come back in three (hold up three fingers) days. Jesus kept His promise and He wants to be your friend, and your friend, and my friend forever! (Point to all the kids.) Who can you follow? I can follow Jesus. Say it again. I can follow Jesus. Dismiss Set any take-home creations where parents can get them easily. Greet parents at the door. Remove child s FastPass sticker and place it on the clipboard.