Ministry-To-Children.com

Preschool Lesson about “Sin and Saving Love”

Kristin Charles — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 13:34:41 +0000

Use this free preschool Bible lesson to teach some basic concepts about sin and the saving love of God. We’ve included several learning activities and object lessons to help make these concepts concrete for younger children. You could easily adapt this Psalm 51 Bible lesson for any age children. Please modify this material for the needs of your class and leave a comment below with your suggestions for other readers.

Objectives: To help preschool students comprehend the extent of sin; to identify sin, its consequences, and an initial reaction to it. To identify God as the only One who can cleanse us from our sins. To enable students to look at snow and be reminded of God’s gift to them in salvation.

Supplies: chocolate pudding, “sin signs” (small signs made out of red construction paper to look like a stop sign – write the words sin, transgression, evil, and iniquity on them – one for each child; attach signs to popsicle sticks with tape), construction paper with the word SIN on it, shaving cream, glue, dixie cups, popsicle sticks, glitter, music for the game.

Optional: “Forgive our Sins” coloring page or “Covered by Christ” coloring sheets

Welcome: Create interest in the lesson by welcoming the students into the room with chocolate pudding (or something of the sort) all over your hands. Leave marks on various (easy to clean surfaces.) Exaggerate the issue.

Say: Ugh! Look how dirty my hands are! They are filthy! I’m getting this chocolate pudding everywhere! What should I do about my dirty hands?

When students suggest washing, pretend like you hadn’t thought of the solution before. Wash your hands and pretend to be relieved. Make a parallel between unclean hands and an unclean heart.

Bible Lesson: Psalm 51:1-9

Say: Wow! My hands sure were dirty before. Ew… they reminded me of awful, stinking, messy sin. Can anyone tell me what sin is? Allow for responses.

Sin is when we do what is wrong in God’s eyes. It can be something that we do, think, feel, or say. Sin is when you lie to your mom. Sin is when you argue with your brother. Sin is when you yell or cry or complain to get what you want. Sin is when you do something when no one is looking.

Sin makes God’s heart sad. Sin hurts other people. Sin leaves a mess behind it (point to the chocolate marks.) Sin hurts us. The Bible says that the punishment for sin is death. That means, if you sin, you die. That is serious!

Sometimes, God uses other words for sin like iniquity and transgression and evil. They all mean the same thing. The Bible has a lot to say about sin. Wait till you hear how much! I am going to pass out what we’ll call “sin signs” to everyone. Each sign has a word on it that means sin. I want you to listen carefully for your word, as I read the Bible. When you hear it, lift your sin sign up high for all to see! Let’s listen to hear what God says about sin.

Distribute “sin signs.” These are stop signs with the words sin, iniquity, transgression, or evil written on them.

Read Psalm 51:1-9. Emphasize the words sin, iniquity, transgression, or evil. Encourage them to hold their sin signs high. Paraphrase if needed, so that students comprehend the passage.

Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.

For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me.
Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight;
so you are right in your verdict and justified when you judge.

Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.
Yet you desired faithfulness even in the womb; you taught me wisdom in that secret place.

Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice.
Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity.

Lesson Discussion

Did you hear how many times sin was mentioned in just a few verses? It was a lot! Did anyone hear what we should do about our sin? Allow for responses. Wash it away! That’s right!

Just a moment ago, I washed the pudding off of my hands. That made my hands clean. Hooray! But how can we wash our hearts – our dirty, messy, stinky, yucky sinful hearts? I can’t get water and soap to my heart. Does anyone know how we can wash our hearts?

We actually can’t do it ourselves. Jesus is the only one who can wash our hearts and make us clean. When He died on the cross, He died for our sins. Remember how we said that the punishment for sin is death? If we sin, we will die, but we don’t have to. He chose to die instead. To save us and to clean us! His love is a saving love.

When we understand what Jesus did and accept his forgiveness for our sins, our hearts get washed. We get clean. But just like in the verses we read, we have to ask for that. We have to say, “Wash me, Jesus.” And when He does, guess what? Our hearts will be cleaned and we will be whiter than snow! Let’s make an art project today to help us remember what we learned.

Art Project: ”Snow Art”

Prepare Ahead: Have the word SIN written on a piece of dark construction paper. On the back of it, either write or glue a print out of Psalm 51:7b: “Wash me and I will be whiter than snow.”

Distribute these pieces of construction paper, along with a Dixie cup of glue, shaving cream, and a popsicle stick to each child. Have the students stir the mixture and create a snow scene to cover the word SIN. Use an example to demonstrate. Once finished, have students sprinkle glitter on their projects. Emphasize how God makes our black sin whiter than snow. His love takes away our sins. His love makes us beautiful like freshly fallen snow.

Game: “Freeze!”

The object of this game is for students to get up and moving and to identify a healthy reaction to sin – getting away from it as quickly as possible. This game, in and of itself, is a great object lesson and a ton of fun!

Play this game in a wide open area. Have teachers and helpers dispersed around the room, with the children. Adults should be holding the “Sin Signs,” used earlier in the lesson. (Only 4-5 are necessary.) Play music for students to move around and act silly. Pause it without warning and have everyone freeze. (We use the “Freeze” song from a Kids in Motion CD by Greg and Steve; this song has “built in” pauses.) As soon as the music gets paused, one adult should hold up his/her sign quickly. When the children see it, they should turn and run away as quickly as they can! When the music starts back up, continue to move around and mingle until the next pause and repeat with a different adult holding up sign. (The adults should coordinate an order to go in prior to the game.)

When the game is over, discuss briefly with the students. You may want to give brief case scenarios to help them understand a proper response to sin. (When you see a friend getting bullied, run away and tell an adult. When you see something on TV that you know is wrong, turn it off. When you want to take something that is not yours, do not do it! Run away from the temptation.)

Songs: Teach the songs: “Create in Me a Clean Heart” (an extension of Psalm 51:10-12) or the Hymn “Whiter Than Snow”

Bible Lesson & PowerPoint about Animals

Tony Kummer — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 15:56:51 +0000

We created this lesson plan for a stuffed-animal theme night at our church. Each child was allowed to bring their favorite toy pet. The lesson began with puppet skit improvisation that to introduced the theme, Bible verses, and some random tips for safety with animals.

The main lesson is contained in the PowerPoint below. Just for fun, I included about 15 extra slides with cute or remarkable animal photos. After each one I would say something like, “Wow, God is so amazing to have made that animal.” Several of the adult volunteers in the audience would make similar remarks to help children connect these cool animals with their Creator God.

Download as PDF document (1.87 MB) or PowerPoint file (11.4 MB).

Key Verse (Memory Verse)

“A righteous man cares for the needs of his animal, but the kindest acts of the wicked are cruel.” Proverbs 12:10 NIV

Gospel Connection

Kids should realize that none of us have been perfect caretakers of God’s creatures. We have also failed to see his Glory in the creatures all around us. A trip to the Zoo should be a time for worship! Jesus came to take away our sins and re-create this fallen world. One day, in his perfect Kingdom, even the animals will sing praised to Christ. We need his grace & help even now to be better caretakers of this world and better see Christ’s glory in the his creatures.

Outline: What does the Bible say about Animals?

God made the animals in Genesis 1-2. But why?
- Show his glory. (Gen 1:25)
- Sacrifice (Gen 3:21)
- Food (Gen 9:3)
Because of sin, people have misused animals.
- Making them into idols. (Romans 1:23)
- Not caring for them properly. (Proverbs 12:10)
Did Jesus like animals?
- They were with him in the wilderness. (Mark 1:13)
- He rode a young donkey into Jerusalem. (Mark 11:7, John 12:15)
Will there be animals in Heaven?
- Horses & chariots of fire took Elijah away. (2 Kings 2:11)
- All the creatures in the New Earth will worship God. (Revelation 5:13)
- Jesus will ride a white horse in the final battle. (Revelation 19:11-14)
- “Wolf & lion” ..all animals will be kind. (Isaiah 65:25)

More about animals in Heaven – This can be a touchy subject with kids. My answer has always been to stick close to what the Bible says and encourage children to draw their own conclusions. As the verses in the lesson illustrated, there will clearly be some animals in the New Creation. However, the Bible does not specify if these will be new animals or resurrected animals. My final answer is this, “We can’t be sure our pets will be with us in heaven, but we can trust that God will make us perfectly happy — even better than we can imagine. My personal guess is that God will somehow honor our love for our pets, even if that means resurrected animals in the New Creation.”

Stuffed Animal Games

We finished the last part of our class with games. For this special occasion, all the games involved their stuffed animals. I always referred to the animal as the one playing, not the child. You might bring extra toy pets to include children who may have forgotten. Another disclaimer, don’t try this with real animals! Feel free to think up your own ideas and leave suggestions below.

Pump It Up – Invite several volunteers to come to the front of the room and lay down flat on their backs. Then invite them to hold the stuffed animal above them with both hands. This is similar to a bench press motion. Have one additional child bring up their animal to serve as a “spotters” for each contestant. The spotter will count the number of reps completed. The stuffed animal who completes the most in the allotted 30 seconds wins. Repeat several times until all the child/stuffed animal teams get a turn.
Flying Leap – Have children toss their animal from a set starting line into a box. The distance should be close enough that many children will succeed, but not so close to seem easy. Using a wall as a backboard helps. Each animal gets one turn and then goes to the back of the line to start over. I would hold up the stuffed animal and have the kids applaud when it went in the box.

No related posts.

Harnessing the High Energy Level of Preteens

Guest Writer — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 13:29:38 +0000

**This is a guest post from Nick Diliberto from PreteenMinistry.net

Preteens have a high energy level. If you’ve worked with them for five minutes, you know this to be true. They can’t sit still for very long, get easily distracted like to move around a lot. Especially the boys. The body of a preteen is rapidly changing and the brain is undergoing a tremendous amount of change. Because of these changes, preteens are naturally hyper.

The dilemma is that I, like many other leaders, have a significantly lower energy level. I’m 36 years old and married with three kids. My life, like yours, is busy and often energy draining. My idea of a good time is sitting down to read a good book in peace and quiet. Many of the leaders on my team, except High School students, are the same way. As a result, the typical leader is a bit freaked out by preteens’ high energy level. Often it becomes a roadblock to learning and a point of frustration for many.

The key is to harness their energy and use it constructively. How? Here’s one way: provide energy releases. My friend Patrick Snow, director of SuperStart, came up with this terminology. I like it.

Preteens are in a continual state of building up energy screaming to be released. It’s a part of their physical development. I’ve actually read research that says the brain of a preteen learns best after bursts of energy releases. It clears the mind and opens it up to learning. Preteens are going to release energy, so you can either fight against it or use it to your advantage.

I’ve found it effective to play an active large group game at the beginning of the service. That way, we hit the ground running and any pint up energy is immediately released. Often times the game is related to the day’s topic, and often it isn’t. The key is to keep them moving, setting them up for the next element, which for us is usually a large group message or worship.

Another energy release is worship. Make worship interactive and experiential. Encourage them to let loose and move around.

Lastly, small groups are an opportunity for an energy release. We usually do small groups after a large group message. Since students have now been sitting for some time at this point, we start with some sort of activity that gets them moving. We then move into reading the Bible or discussion time.

Preteens have way more energy than us leaders. Instead of it being a source of frustration, learn to harness that energy into a positive direction. Experiment with your group and discover what works best.

Nick Diliberto is creator of PreteenMinistry.net, which provides creative curriculum and resources for preteen ministry. He is also the preteen columnist for Children’s Ministry Magazine and Children’s Pastor at Seven San Diego Church.

Valentine’s Scavenger Hunt Ideas

Mimi Bullock — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 15:03:43 +0000

Special holidays, like St. Valentine’s Day, provide teachers with terrific opportunities to further the gospel message. What better subject to teach children about than God’s love? To help you bring the message home to kids, use a fun activity like a Valentine Scavenger Hunt. This simple idea requires some pre planning and prizes but it will be an event kids will remember. Start by finding verses that you’ll use as a basis for you St. Valentine’s Day lesson or pick love scriptures you want to reinforce. Here’s how to do the first one.

Scavenger Hunt #1

What you need: 5 Bibles (ask kids to bring theirs or use extras), construction paper hearts, markers and a treasure box of goodies

First decide where you will hide the treasure box. If possible, think about hiding the box somewhere outside the normal environment like in another Sunday School room or a closet. Hide it so anyone who stumbles upon it won’t find it.

Cut out the construction paper hearts making them large enough to write a book, chapter and verse on. You’ll need one heart for each Bible.

Write one heart clue on one side of the heart to help kids find the next Bible. For example, “Look up high, I’m close to a light.” On the other side of the heart, write a book, chapter and verse of a love scripture. When the kids find the Bible, they must look up on the scripture using the heart clue. They read the scripture and take the next clue hidden in the Bible.

Continue to lead children with clues, making sure they read the scripture listed on each clue. When all the clues are found, sit together and share the treasure. Re-read the clues, talking about the verses and what they mean.

Scavenger Hunt #2

What you need: 1 large silk tree or artificial Christmas tree, red lights, red construction paper hearts with holes punched at the tops, yarn, Bibles

This idea is a sort of stand still scavenger hunt.

Decorate the tree with red lights to make it more festive.

Cut out small hearts, about 3 inches wide. Use red construction paper and punch a hole at the top of each. You’ll need dozens of hearts. If you like, use a printer and red paper to make easy hearts.

Pick three different, one sentence love scriptures from the Bible. Write the scripture, word by word on the hearts. You should two or three complete sets of scriptures.

Tie a string through the heart’s holes. Hang the hearts all over the tree, hiding the words.

Write the three scripture verses plainly on a poster board and hang them up so everyone can see them.

Divide your class into two teams. Ask them Bible trivia questions, according to their age groups. For each right answer, allow the player to pick a heart. Once the team collects enough hearts to make the scripture they win one of the the prizes.

Keep playing until all the hearts are collected and the scriptures are spelled correctly.

Read more from Mimi by visiting her blog, “Encouragement for Christians,” or purchase her short parable for kids, “The Young Boy and the Great Mountain.”

John 3:16 Valentine Coloring Pages

Tony Kummer — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 14:35:12 +0000

Example of Finished Sheet

Use these free coloring pages with your children to relate Valentine’s day back to God’s love. They were created by Elgin Bolling, a professional illustrator and sketch artist from New York City. Like all our materials, these coloring sheets are 100% free to use in your church, home, or school. You can leave a comment below to thank Elgin for his work.

Directions: Click on the preview images below to download the coloring pages as a print-friendly PDF document. You can also select from the following links. The JPEG option is for advanced users who want to alter the page before printing.

John 3:16 with heart | pdf | jpeg
John 3:16 with present | pdf | jpeg
Example of completed coloring sheet

Click above to download

Don’t miss our other free resource for teaching about God’s love on Valentine’s day. We also have a growing collection of Christian coloring pages that are free and easy to download or print.

Here is Elgin’s explanation of his color choices, this would be good talking points with the children as they work on their own sheets:

Our God is a consuming fire, thus the firey color hands. The clouds where the hands KF could resend from represents heaven, his throne. Red symbolizes the blood Christ shed as well as the traditional red color of valentines day, and the heart. The box is purple, the color of royalty, symbolizing Christ as King. The Yellow rays symbolize his power, anointing, and divinity. It also points to the sscripture that Jesus is the light of the world, and wants us, who receive him to be children of that light. The john three sixteen is Green, symbolizing growth and progression in the things of God, and our growing in Grace and knowledge of our Lord and savior. The globe, is obviously the world, who Tge father gives the Guft of Christ to many as would receive him,the globe is standing on the word of God, therefore is able to access the gift if God. Finally the ground is purple, again the color of Royaty upon which the Wird, which is Holy is established. It is literally Holy Ground.

God’s Big Love Object Lessons

Mimi Bullock — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 13:56:26 +0000

I love God and I want the kids I teach to love Him too. One aspect of God that brings me comfort is His bigness. Yes, He is small enough to fit inside a child’s heart, but large enough to love the entire world. Like many of God’s attributes, grasping this one is challenging to anyone — especially a child. Convey the truth about God’s ability to love “big” with these three, easy-to-use object lessons. Visual aids make demonstrating these special attributes easier than ever. Tie each object lesson to loving scriptures like John 3:16 or Romans 5:5.

Daddy Shoes and Baby Shoes: You’ll need two pairs of shoes for this object lesson. Show God’s bigness by showing first the baby shoes, keep the big ones hidden. Talk about small the shoes are and compare them to our hearts. Say, “When we love someone, we think that love is really big. But compared to God’s love, our love is very small.” Show the second pair of shoes, and say, “These shoes are like God’s big love.” Place them next to the small shoes, then say, “See how small our love is compared to God’s? God’s love is so big He can love everyone at one time. Can you do that?”

Seeds and trees: You’ll need a pack of small seeds and a potted tree for this object lesson. A silk tree is okay but kids are pretty sharp so bring a live tree if you can. Talk about the tree and how tall it will become. Let the children stand next to the tree one at a time. Compare the height of the tree and the height of the children. Sprinkle seeds in the children’s hands. Tell kids that these little seeds are like God’s love. When we accept Jesus, God’s love is like this little seed. Planted in our hearts, the seeds grow into large trees. Explain to the children that we love like the tiny seeds before God lives in us. After we invite Him into our heart, we love big, just like God.

Ping pong and a giant beach ball: Show kids the difference between man’s love and God’s love in a playful way. Bring out the ping pong ball but keep the beach ball hidden. Taking the beach ball out will get everyone excited and not focused on the lesson. Bounce the ping pong ball on the table and show it to the kids. Tell children, “You know, I love all you kids so much! So do your friends. But as much as we love, God’s love is so much bigger. Let’s take a look at this.“ Uncover the ball and bounce it up and down. Tell the kids that God’s love is like this big beach ball, huge and goes everywhere. Spend some time bouncing the ball back and forth with the kids.

I love these fun object lessons. I’ve used them and they really do work.

Read more from Mimi by visiting her blog, Encouragement for Christians or check out her latest prophetic book for children called, “The Prophet’s Code.”

“Story of Elijah” Coloring Page

Mandy Groce — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 14:05:10 +0000

Click above to download

This free storyboard illustration sheet recounts several of the key stories about the prophet Elijah. They include raising the widow’s son, God providing food, the showdown with Baal’s prophets, and the chariot of fire.

story page | pdf | jpeg
1st number sheet | pdf | jpeg
2nd number sheet | pdf | jpeg

Directions: Right click on the links above to download each page in this project. Have the children coloring the main story sheet and then cut the boxes to fit into the numbered sheet.

We hope you enjoy these Elijah coloring sheets. You can leave a comment below to share your appreciation for Mandy and her artwork. For more, browse our collection of sequence Bible story cards.

Click above to download

For more resources about the prophet Elijah, be sure to check out our free materials. You can start with Elijah and the Widow lesson plan for children

How to Make Sunday School More Fun

Jenny Funderburke — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 13:41:28 +0000

One of my favorite quotes of all time is “It is a sin to bore a kid with the Bible“. I don’t know who originally said it, but I saw it long ago used in an ad for curriculum. I completely agree.

We have the most exciting story of all time to tell, yet Sunday School does not generally have the reputation for being fun. How can we change that? Here are six steps to help bring more fun into your Sunday School.

1. Be prepared. Let’s be honest, listening to someone read straight from the teacher’s guide and watching them have their nose buried in the book is not very exciting. The better you can know your lesson ahead of time, the more freedom you have to lead the fun. You can’t make the class the very best experience for the kids if you aren’t ready when you walk in.

2. Have fun yourself. Remember the old Jerry Maguire quote from that little kid, “Did you know dogs and bees smell fear?” Kids can smell fear and can also smell out if you don’t want to be there. Ask God to renew your joy for being in the classroom. Model for your kids what it looks like to truly live Psalm 122:1… “I was glad when they said to me, ‘Let us go into the house of the Lord.”

3. Laugh a lot. Along the same lines, your classroom should be a place of lots of laughs. Laughter is the language of fun for kids. Yes, the Bible is serious, but God is a God of great joy. Kids are attracted to laughter, so seek out ways to get them giggling.

4. Keep it active and moving. Kids are kids and sitting still is not fun for them. Use lots of variety in your lessons. There are appropriate times for kids to sit still and listen, but they just can’t do it for an hour. Look for ways to incorporate games, movement, drama, and other activities that get them out of their chairs. Remember, kids’ attention spans are about one minute for each age of their lives. So for six year olds, you should aim to change up what you are doing every six minutes or so.

5. Make sure it is relevant. Help your kids connect what they are learning to their real lives. When kids can’t see why what you are teaching is important, they will quickly label it as “important”. Help them see that God’s Word is “living and active” and help them specifically see how your lesson can impact their lives.

6. Connect kids. Kids have a need to feel like they belong. Use their names, include each one in activities, and get everyone involved. Some kids are more reserved than others, but the more you can get everyone involved, the more they will have fun. Also, concentrate on connecting kids to one another. The fun factor greatly increases when kids make friends.

Preschool Bible Lesson: Jesus on Trial

Kara Jenkins — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 13:29:52 +0000

This is lesson continues our curriculum for preschoolers about knowing Jesus. Each lesson is based on a passage in the Gospel of Mark. You can read the series introduction for more explanation and links to the other lessons.

This particular lesson is from passages in Mark 14 & 15 where Jesus is on trial. Preschoolers will discover that Jesus took great pain to help them come to God. Jesus suffered greatly in obedience to the Father so that we might be forgiven and reconciled to Him.

Bible Passage: Mark 14:53-65; 15:1-20
Bible Lesson Title: Jesus on Trial
Target Age Group: 4-5 years old (preschool & Kindergarten)
Target Time Frame: 40 minutes
Original Teaching Context: Preschool Sunday School
Printer Friendly Bible Lesson: Note: There is a print link embedded within this post, please visit this post to print it. this lesson plan
What Do You Think? We love to read your ideas to make the lesson plan better. Simply click here leave a comment or suggestion for this lesson.

Knowing Jesus through the Book of Mark: Lesson Twenty-Nine (40 minutes)

Scripture: Mark 14:53-65; 15:1-20

Exegetical Idea: Jesus has an unjust trial, is beaten and mocked, and led away to be crucified.

Pedagogical Idea: Jesus suffered greatly in obedience to the Father so that we might be forgiven and reconciled to Him.

Cognitive Aim: Preschoolers will know Jesus suffered so that we might be made free from the slavery of sin.

Affective Aim: Preschoolers will feel great love for Jesus.

Behavioral Aim: Preschoolers will memorize God’s Word and praise Him through song.

Memory Verse: John 8:32, “Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

Lesson Overview

Kindle Curiosity (10 minutes) Description: Discuss mocking. Supplies: Bible outfits.
God Revealed (15 minutes) Description: Hear the Scripture passage Supplies: Bible
Personal Pursuit (10 minutes) Description: Simon Says activity, worship the Lord through song, pray, draw pictures of Jesus. Supplies: song The Power of the Cross sung by Stuart Townend (link found in section below).
Daily Knowing (7-10 minutes) Description: Memorize God’s Word. Supplies: Notecards with memory verse written out for each parent.

**Before the children arrive, have the Bible outfits ready.

1. Kindle Curiosity (5 minutes)

ASK: Do any of you know what it means to mock someone? (Allow them time to respond.) Mocking is attacking someone with your words, often by imitating them, or making fun of them. Our lesson today is very sad. Jesus has been arrested, and He is about to be put on trial like a person who has done something wrong, like a criminal. Was Jesus a criminal? Did He do anything wrong? Do you think they will be fair to Jesus? Let’s open God’s Word and find out together!

2. God Revealed (10 minutes)

*Note: I do not have the children reenact this story because of the violence and sadness of it as Jesus is beaten, mocked, and led away to be crucified.

SAY: Our story is found in Mark chapters 14 and 15 (show them in your Bible). Turn up your ears and off yours mouths so you can listen closely as I tell you the story!

Jesus has just been arrested…They led Jesus away to the high priest; and all the chief priests and the elders and the scribes came together. Now all of these men kept trying to get someone to accuse Jesus of a crime so they could put Him to death, but they were not finding anyone. Many people were making up stories about Jesus, but their stories did not match, so it was clear they were lying. But Jesus did not defend Himself, even though the stories were not true. The high priest stood up and questioned Jesus, saying, “Why are you not answering? How are you going to respond to these stories these people are telling against You?” But Jesus kept silent and did not answer. Again the high priest was questioning Him, saying, “Are You the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?” This time Jesus answered and said, “I am; and you shall see THE SON OF MAN SITTING AT THE RIGHT HAND OF POWER, and COMING WITH THE CLOUDS OF HEAVEN.” This made the high priest angry! He began tearing his clothes and said, “We do not need any more witnesses!You have heard His lies! What do you think?” And they all condemned Him to be deserving of death. Some began to spit at Him, blindfold Him, and beat Him with their fists. They said to Him, “Prophesy!” And the officers slapped Him in the face.

These men could not crucify Jesus without permission even though they condemned Him as guilty. They took Him to the leader of their country, a man named Pilate. He questioned Jesus, asking Him if He was the King of the Jews, and Jesus said “It is as you say.” Then Pilate asked Him about all of the stories people had made up, but Jesus did not defend Himself! He was silent. Pilate did not find Him guilty! Still the priests all wanted Jesus to die. Pilate felt very pressured by so many people wanting Jesus to be crucified, so even though he knew Jesus was innocent, he let the people have Jesus to crucify Him.

Jesus was whipped very badly. Then soldiers took Him away into the palace. They dressed Him up in purple, and after twisting a crown of thorns, they put it on Him. They pretended to praise Him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” They kept beating His head with a reed and spitting on Him. They kneeled and bowed before Him, mocking Him. After they had mocked Him, they took the purple robe off Him and put His own garments back on. And they led Him out to crucify Him.

3. Personal Pursuit (15 minutes)

SAY: Wow. This is a sad story! Our Jesus went through so much pain and suffering. And He never defended Himself! He let them tell lies about Him and treat Him like a criminal. They made fun of Jesus, calling Him the “King of the Jews.” Was Jesus the king of the Jews? (Yes!) He is our King too. Though they were making fun of who Jesus said that He was, it was the greatest truth they could have ever known. Later, when Jesus is on the cross, they tell Him that if He was really the Messiah, He would be able to save Himself. But Jesus did not choose to save Himself; He chose to save us by dying on the cross.

ASK: Why do you think these men did not believe in Jesus? (Allow time for them to respond). It was because these men were sinners, just like you and me. They were slaves to their sin. We are no better than them! Before God changes our hearts, we are slaves to sin. Let’s play a game that will help you understand what it means to be a slave to sin.

Play Simon Says with your kids. Allow them to take turns and play a few rounds.

SAY: In this game, you have to do what Simon says. In the same way, people who are slaves have to do what their masters say. Before we believe in Christ, before God changes our hearts, we are slaves to sin. It is like we always have to obey our sinful thoughts. Everything within us wants to disobey God all of the time. These men in the story were still slaves to sin. They had not been set free, and they were mocking the only man who could set them free!

(See also Jesus Gives Freedom from Sin (John 8:32) Lesson Plan by Tony Kummer for more activities to illustrate this truth.)

SAY: Jesus allowed these men to mock Him, spit on Him, and beat Him. He could have stopped them at any time, but He chose to suffer and die so that we may be set free from our sin. His death is so powerful! Let’s praise Him together.

The Power of the Cross, sung by Stuart Townend

SAY: We stand forgiven at the cross, set free from our sins, because Jesus chose to be obedient and die for us. Let’s pray together to Him now. (In your prayer, communicate your great love for Jesus because of His great sacrifice. Praise Him for the hope we have because He did not stay dead, but rose. All believers will one day be with Him forever.)

4. Daily Knowing (10-15 minutes)

SAY: It is very important for us to know God’s Word because it helps us to remember what Christ did for us and why it is important. Today we are going to memorize John 8:32, “Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” Let’s see if we can make up hand motions to help us remember this verse!

Remind the parents how important it is for them to help their children review their verses all throughout the week. Encourage them to memorize the verse with their children. Provide each parent with a notecard that has John 8:32 written on it.

7 Ways Small Churches Can Reach Preteens

Guest Writer — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 13:55:28 +0000

**This is a guest post from Nick Diliberto from PreteenMinistry.net

In my last post, I offered many reasons for small churches (or church plants) to launch a preteen ministry. In this post, I’m going to share a few ways they can effectively reach preteens.

1. Split up preteens for weekend services. Ideally, it’s the best way to go. If preteens meet separately, you can design programming and an environment that is age specific. As a result, you maximize impact. However, not every small church has the resources to do so. If that’s you, read on.

2. Launch a midweek group. Midweek is a great tool to reach preteens. It provides the environment for relationships to flourish, spiritual growth to excel and newcomers to be reached. It is also a great alternative if you don’t have the resources to meet separately on Sundays.

3. Have relational events. Peer relationships are a priority for preteens. They’re attracted to an environment that revolves around making and being with friends. Having relational preteen events can meet that need. Some ideas: laser tag, game night, sleepover, bowling, water inflatable party, Nerf Wars (lots of Nerf guns and night of battle) and a swim party. Think simple and easy. The idea is to get them together and have fun. No need to be over the top.

4. Train preteens to be leaders. Preteens want to serve. They want to help. So, recruit and train them to be leaders. Have them help out with younger kids for Sunday services and special events. Be sure to train them well. Don’t just throw them out to the wolves. Take time to be clear about their specific role and responsibilities. Point out what they’re doing well and help them improve on their weaknesses.

5. Go to camp. Preteens have life-changing experiences at camp. Partner with other churches in your area and share the responsibilities of doing your own camp. That way, it doesn’t all fall on your shoulders. Or bring your group to a camp that provides all the programming. That way, you and your leaders spend time connecting with students.

6. Launch small groups. Small groups are great for preteens because of their relational nature. Do them at church, homes or coffee shops. They can be a means to reach many goals: discipleship, relationship or outreach. Whatever form or location you chose will most likely be effective. Why. Because preteen small groups are effective!

7. Come up with a name. Naming the ministry creates a group identity. Give it a name and preteens identify with the ministry. Think about it. Your favorite football team, restaurant and ice cream has a name. Everything has a name. Let preteens help you come up one. Trust me, they’ll come up with better ideas than you :)