Use this children’s Sunday School lesson to show that Jesus proved who He said He was by what He did and that we need to prove we’re His followers by what we do.
Needed: Bibles, various snacks or challenges in paper bags, drawing paper, crayons or colored pencils
Intro Game: Eat It!
Before class, place various food or beverage items in individual paper bags. Close the bags and line them up on a table. Suggestions include a bottle of water, a cookie, a piece of fruit, a package of crackers, a juice box, etc.
Divide the students into two teams. Call the first student from each team forward and set the first bag in front of them. Do not show them what’s in the bag. Tell them that if they can eat what is in the bag in a certain time limit, they’ll get a point for their team. But only one of them will get a chance to eat it. If the person eating it can’t finish it within the time limit, the other team gets a point.
Start the time limit at 1 minute and ask the player from Team A if they can eat what’s in the bag within 1 minute. If they say they can, ask the player from B how fast they can eat it. The two players each take turns reducing the time until one of them doesn’t think they can eat it faster than the other. At that point, they challenge their opponent to eat it within the time limit by saying “Prove it.”
Award the point based on whether the player eats or drinks the item in the specified time limit. Then, call the next two players up and start again, this time starting with the player from Team B.
Play until all students have had a chance to participate.
Alternative: Instead of food items in the bag, you could have slips of paper with challenges written on them, such as “Do 10 jumping jacks” or “Find the Book of Job.”
Lesson
Ask students, If I said I was God, would you believe me?
What would I have to do to prove to you that I was God?
Well, I’m not God, of course, but Jesus was. Jesus is God in a human body. And it was hard for people to believe that He was God too. Even John the Baptist wasn’t totally sure.
(Read Matthew 11:2-6, or read it yourself.)
“When John, who was in prison, heard about the deeds of the Messiah, he sent his disciples to ask Him, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?’
“Jesus replied, ‘Go back and report to John what you hear and see: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor. Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of Me.’”
When John sent someone to ask Jesus if He was really the Savior, Jesus told John how he could know. He said, “My proof that I’m the Savior is that I can make blind people see. I can make people who can’t walk, walk. I can heal people’s diseases and make deaf people hear. I can bring dead people back to life, and I preach about God to everyone, even the poor people who no one else cares about.”
Jesus was telling John that no one else could do the miracles that He was doing. And because Jesus could do those things, that proves that He is the Savior and that He is God.
And because Jesus is the Savior and God, we can have faith in Him.
Game: Jesus’ Miracles Relay
Divide students into two or more teams. When you say, “Go!” the first student on each team will perform the first leg of the relay race, acting out the first motion as they travel to the other side of your play area, and acting out the second motion as they run back to their team. The second student on each team then does the second leg, and so on until that team completes the last leg. The first team to complete all legs of the race wins.
Leg 1. The Blind. Cover one eye, then run with both eyes open to show that Jesus healed the blind.
Leg 2. The Lame. Hop on one foot, then run to show that Jesus healed the lame.
Leg 3. The Leprous. Scratch your skin, then run normally.
Leg 4. The Deaf. Put your hands over your ears, then run normally.
Leg 5. The Dead. Hold your hands over your chest and walk backward, then run forward to show that Jesus raised the dead.
Leg 6. The Poor. Hold your hands out like you’re begging, then run with your arms up to show that Jesus gave the poor good news.
Craft: The Proof is in the Action
Give students drawing supplies and say something like, Jesus showed that He was the Savior and God by what He did. We prove that we’re Jesus’ followers by what we do. Draw a picture of you doing something that proves that You’re one of Jesus’ followers.
Closing Prayer
Jesus, we know You are who You say You are because of what You did. Help us to prove that we’re Your followers by what we do. Amen.
You can also find this lesson for Kindle or in print in my book, The Miracles of Jesus.