Use this children’s Sunday School lesson to teach kids about the importance of telling others about Jesus.
Needed: Bibles, drawing paper, crayons or colored pencils
Intro Activity: Christian Story Interview
Have students pair up and ask each other the following questions. They’ll then present their partner’s answers as a reporter. They can write the answers down if they want.
What is your name?
How old are you?
When did you first hear about Jesus?
Who first told you about Jesus?
When was the first time you went to a church?
When was the first time you came to this church?
Why do you believe in Jesus?
After students finish presenting each other’s stories, tell your own story.
Lesson
Read Matthew 9:1-2.
“Jesus stepped into a boat, crossed over and came to His own town. Some men brought to Him a paralyzed man, lying on a mat. When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the man, ‘Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven.’”
What was the problem with the man in this story? (He was paralyzed. He couldn’t move.)
Who brought the paralyzed man to Jesus? (Some men.)
The paralyzed man couldn’t move, so he needed to have someone else bring him to Jesus. Remember that – someone had to bring the man.
What did Jesus tell the paralyzed man? (“Your sins are forgiven.”)
(Read Matthew 9:3.)
“At this, some of the teachers of the law said to themselves, ‘This fellow is blaspheming!’”
When Jesus said, “Your sins are forgiven,” that made some people think He was blaspheming. Blaspheming is when you say wrong things about God. The people thought Jesus shouldn’t have told the man his sins were forgiven because only God can forgive our sins, not regular people.
(Read Matthew 9:4-6.)
“Knowing their thoughts, Jesus said, ‘Why do you entertain evil thoughts in your hearts? Which is easier: to say, “Your sins are forgiven,” or to say, “Get up and walk”? But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.’ So he said to the paralyzed man, ‘Get up, take your mat and go home.’”
Which one is easier to say, “Your sins are forgiven,” or, “Get up, take your mat and go home”?
They’re both pretty easy to say. But Jesus wanted people to know that He could forgive their sins, not just heal the man’s body. Jesus can do both. And just like God, Jesus can forgive our sins because Jesus is part of God.
God has Three Parts: God the Father, God the Son (Jesus), and God the Holy Spirit. It’s just like you have three parts: your body, your heart (emotions and mind), and your soul (spirit). Jesus could forgive sins because He was part of God.
(Read Matthew 9:7-8.)
“Then the man got up and went home. When the crowd saw this, they were filled with awe; and they praised God, who had given such authority to man.”
Game: Carrying Your Friends to Jesus
Have students get into teams of five. Four friends carry the other person to the other side of the room to the leader, “Jesus.” Once they get there, “Jesus” touches the person being carried and says, “You’re healed.” The whole team then races back to their starting line and carries another team member. The first team to bring all their friends to Jesus, get back to their line, and sit down, wins.
Tell students, Remember, the paralyzed man needed to have someone else bring Him to Jesus. He needed to have his friends bring him. And we can help bring our friends to Jesus too. We can tell our friends about Jesus and invite them to come with you to church. Inviting a friend to church is just like the paralyzed man’s friends carrying him to Jesus.
Craft: Bringing Your Friends to Jesus
Give students drawing supplies and have them draw a picture of them inviting a friend to church, or having fun with their friend at church. Tell them to think of someone who doesn’t already go to church.
Game: Disciple Tag
Choose one student to be It. When they tag someone, that person links hands with them and joins their team. They continue adding people to their team, linking hands with each one until all but one student is part of their chain. That remaining student becomes It for the next round.
Play two or three rounds and then, explain that when we tell people about Jesus, we want them to believe in Jesus too. If they do, they become a Christian and join our team. Then, they help us tell more people about Jesus.
Closing Prayer
Jesus, we thank You for the people who told us about You. Help us to bring others to You too. Help us tell our family members and our friends about You so that they can believe in You too. Amen.
You can also find this lesson for Kindle or in print in my book, The Miracles of Jesus.