compassion : : : lesson 3 BEATITUDE Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Matthew 5:4 COMPASSION Showing sorrow for the suffering of others with the urge to help. Episode 3 Jesus Heals a Paralyzed Man Mark 2:1 5 MEMORY VERSE Go home to your family and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you. Mark 5:19b KEY POINT Show your friends compassion by bringing them to Jesus. 2 nd 5 th grade page 26
Let's Talk : : : lesson 3 EARLY ARRIVAL (before service) Have some upbeat music playing and welcome children warmly. Teachers should take this time to engage the children in conversation. Ask them about their week, school, and home. Begin to establish relationships. BEGIN CLASS (service time) Introduce yourself and your assistants. Before the discussion questions, PRAY that the Lord will bless your time together. RELATE it : : : ask and discuss the following questions 1 Has a friend of yours ever been in trouble? 2 In what ways have you helped a friend in trouble? 3 How far out of your way would you go to help a friend? Let s go over some specific examples: 4 Would 5 If you give up your lunch or dinner to give it to a friend who was hungry? your friend was sleeping over, would you give up your cozy bed and sleep on the floor so he or she can have your bed? 6 Would you let your friend have your place in line? 7 Would you walk so that your friend can have the tram ride? 8 Would you give your friend your ticket to something you wanted to see? 9 If you were hiking during a camping trip and a friend fell and got hurt, how far would you go to help him or her? lesson 3 2 nd 5 th grade page 27
CONNECTIT CONNECT it : : : say Today s story reminds me of this last question. In our story, we ll see how far some friends went to help another one. Let s watch Virtuality now and learn what happened. WATCH it : : : Go to large group to see the Virtuality DVD, Beatitude Series DVD (volume 2, episode 3) lesson 3 2 nd 5 th grade page 28
Bible Story BIBLE STORY : : : Jesus Heals a Paralyzed Man Mark 2:1 5 (Also found in Matthew 9:2 8; Luke 5:18 25) GAME RULES Divide your class into two teams (boys vs. girls or one half of the room against the other). Have everyone take out their Bibles (NIV preferred) to follow along as you read the Scriptures and so that you can help them find the answers. Assign a captain for each team whose job is to give the team s final answer. Award 10 points to the first team whose captain raises his/her hand and has the correct answer. Award 50 points for each of the bonus questions. BEFORE YOU BEGIN Read and study the background information at home. Before you begin reading today s Bible story give children the background information your own words. BACKGROUND INFORMATION : : : say it in your own words Before Jesus began His earthly ministry, He was baptized by John the Baptist in the Jordan River. Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil.... When Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, he returned to Galilee (Matthew 4:1, 11). Jesus performed His first miracle by turning water into wine at a wedding in Cana, which is near Nazareth (John 2:1 11). Leaving Nazareth, he went and lived in Capernaum (Matthew 4:13). Jesus stayed in Capernaum for only a short while because it was almost time for the Jewish Passover Feast and He wanted to be in Jerusalem for that (John 2:13). If you look at a map of Israel, Jerusalem is in the middle near the Dead Sea; Nazareth and Capernaum are about 65 miles north of Jerusalem, near the Sea of Galilee. Today s story took place when Jesus returned to the area of Capernaum. Sixty-five miles is a long distance to travel by foot. Having made this trip several times, Jesus had met a lot of people along the way and had taught and healed them. There was great excitement in this entire area. People traveled with Him, following Him from place to place. You can be sure that if Jesus was in town, everyone knew about it. Imagine now that Jesus is coming to your town and you have a friend who is very ill he is paralyzed from a disease (this means he cannot move). You and several friends know Jesus could help him, so you decide to take your friend to Jesus, only you aren t the only ones who want to see Him. The crowd around the house Jesus was staying in was great. Let s go to the Bible now and find out the whole story. lesson 3 2 nd 5 th grade page 29
Bible Story continue ROUND 1 READ IT : : : Round 1 Open your Bibles and follow along as I read Mark 2:1 7 out loud. ASK IT : : : say Remember to award 10 points to the first team whose captain raises his/her hand and has the correct answer. 1 2 What 3 How 4 Why 5 What 6 When 7 What 1 Where did this story take place? Answer: Capernaum v. 1 news did the people hear? Answer: That Jesus had come to their town v. 1 many friends carried the paralyzed man? Answer: Four friends v. 3 couldn t they get to Jesus? Answer: The crowd was too large. v. 2 did the four friends do to bring their sick friend to Jesus? Answer: Climbed the roof and lowered him through it v. 4 Jesus saw the friends compassion for their sick friend, did He heal him right away? Answer: No v. 5 was the first thing Jesus did for the paralyzed man? Answer: Jesus forgave his sins. v. 5 50 POINTS BONUSQUESTION BONUS QUESTION : : : worth 50 points Give the teams time to figure this out. If needed, give them the verse reference locations. 8 Why did the Pharisees get upset when Jesus said He forgave the man s sins? (Note: blasphemy is the crime of calling yourself God.) Answer: The Bible says that only God forgives sin, so Jesus was claiming to be God. God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit are ONE, but the Pharisees didn t believe Him. Isaiah 43:25 lesson 3 2 nd 5 th grade page 30
Bible Story continue ROUND 2 BONUSQUESTION 50 POINTS READ IT : : : Round 2 Saying to someone that his sins are forgiven isn t something you can prove because it isn t something you can actuality see. Jesus knew what the Pharisees were thinking, so to prove that He could do it, He did something else. Let s continue with the story. I ll read Mark 2:9 12 out loud to find out what else Jesus did for the paralyzed man. 9 10 What did Jesus tell the paralyzed man to do? Answer: Get up, take your mat, and go home. v. 11 Was the paralyzed man who had to be carried and dropped from the roof to see Jesus able to walk out of there? Answer: Yes v. 12 BONUS QUESTION : : : worth 50 points Give the teams time to figure this out. 11 Which was the most valuable miracle: to be able to walk again, or to have all his sins forgiven by God? Why? Answer: To have his sins forgiven was the most valuable miracle because forgiveness has eternal value. Even if the man had stayed paralyzed on earth, when he got to heaven he would have been healed forever. CONNECTIT CONNECT it : : : say The four friends in the story heard about Jesus and how He was healing people, and they had compassion on their friend who wasn t able to see Jesus on his own. They went to his house, carried him, and took him to Jesus. When they saw the crowd, they didn t say, Well, we tried. They pushed their way through the crowd. But then they couldn t get into the house. Did they give up then? NO. They climbed to the roof of the house, dug through the mud and straw on the roof, found ropes, and lowered their friend to Jesus. They showed great compassion lesson 3 2 nd 5 th grade page 31
Bible Story continue for their friend by not giving up, by going the extra mile. They didn t let obstacles get in the way of helping their friend. Whatever it took to help their friend, they did. The best part of this story is that they got even more than they had hoped for. They brought their friend who couldn t walk so that Jesus would heal his illness and he could walk again. They had great faith that Jesus could do that, and they stopped at nothing to get it. Jesus saw their faith and did something even greater for the man He forgave his sins. This is the first time in the Bible that Jesus forgave sin, so perhaps no one knew that He could until He did it. The friends and the paralyzed man may have even been disappointed. But after Jesus healed the paralyzed man s soul, He healed his body. The man got a twofor-one bargain, didn t he! Jesus is not here in bodily form for us to take our friends to, but we have the Holy Spirit with us who forgives sins. Jesus forgave the man s sins to let us know that it is much more important than the body. Jesus may or may not heal people s bodies, but He will always forgive their sins, if they ask. So... KEYPOINT Show your friends compassion by bringing them to Jesus. and Jesus will forgive their sins. There was such a big crowd in Capernaum because the news of Jesus healings had spread. Do the same thing and MEMORYVERSE Go home to your family and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you. Mark 5:19b When you tell others what Jesus has done for you, they will want Jesus to do the same thing for them. Then go the extra step and bring them to church. You may not need to carry them and go through the roof, but you can ask your parents to drive to their houses to pick them up and bring them to church with you. lesson 3 2 nd 5 th grade page 32
Bible Story continue PRAYER LET S PRAY : : : say Dear Jesus, Thank You for dying on the cross for us so that we can be forgiven for our sins. Thank You for healing my soul and forgiving my sins. Help me to have compassion for my friends who don t know You, and help me to have the guts to offer to bring them to You. Soften (think or say the name of a friend who doesn t know Jesus) heart, so that they ll say yes to You. In Jesus name, we pray. Amen. lesson 3 2 nd 5 th grade page 33
Review for Lesson 3 BEATITUDE Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Matthew 5:4 COMPASSION Showing sorrow for the suffering of others with the urge to help. Today s lesson Bible Story Jesus Heals a Paralyzed Man Location Mark 2:1 5 Memory Verse Go home to your family and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you. Mark 5:19b Key Point Show your friends compassion by bringing them to Jesus. Time fillers Ask if anyone would like to play the teacher and review today s lesson with the class. Play games to help children memorize today s Bible memory verse. Take HOME VIRTUE Quest is the take-home sheet designed for children to do with their parents. The sheet contains information about today s lesson. The goal is to partner with parents to continue and to reiterate the lesson. Be sure to hand all parents a sheet as they pick up their children. compassion lesson 3 page 34