Lesson - A Whole Bunch Of Fish!

VERSES:   Luke 5:1-11

MEMORY VERSE:   Luke 5:4  "Launch out into the deep..."

BOOK TO REMEMBER:   Review Matthew through Colossians. 

PRAYER:  Pray that we have obedient hearts and always do what Jesus says.

SPECIAL SONG:   Jesus Taught By Parables And Miracles (see March - Songs We Sing In Bible Class #4 on this blog. Click on orange circle to hear tune.)

VISUAL AID:   Large Activity (see below), a Bible map showing Lake Gennesaret or the Sea of Galilee

LESSON POINTS:

• Jesus was busy "about His Father's business" just as He had told Joseph and Mary He would be in the temple (Luke 2:49). Jesus had been healing people and preaching and teaching to the people in synagogues in Galilee (Luke 4:44) and the people were astonished at His teaching (Luke 4:32). They were surprised at the words that Jesus spoke and that He preached with such authority. He knew what He was talking about and preached with confidence. Today, we may not be surprised at Jesus' teaching because we know who He was--the Son of God! But, in the early days of His ministry or preaching, people did not know who He was. They only knew that Jesus preached with power or authority and that He could heal people.
• When Jesus went around from town to town and healed people from the bad things that they were suffering from, they did not want Jesus to leave them (Luke 4:42), but Jesus needed to preach about the kingdom of God to other cities (Luke 4:43), so He would travel to the next city. When everyone heard that a man was healing people, making lame men walk and blind men see, they wanted to hear what this man had to say about God and His kingdom. Soon, there were more and more people listening to Jesus. 
• This was exactly the way it was when Jesus was standing by the Sea of Gennesaret. So many people were standing around listening to Jesus that they were pressing against Him, trying to get closer to Him. Jesus looked up and saw two ships close to the shore, but no one was on the ships because the fishermen were washing their nets. Jesus went ahead and went into Simon Peter's ship. He asked if Peter would thrust the ship out a bit from the shore and he sat down and taught the people from the boat. 
• When Jesus had finished teaching, He told Peter to "launch out into the deep" and let down his nets. Peter told Jesus that they had worked all night long and had not caught any fish at all, but, Peter said, because Jesus had told him to, he would let down his nets.
• You will never guess what happened! When Peter let down his nets, there were so many fish that got caught in his nets that his nets began to break!! He called to his partners in the other boat to come and help them. When his partners came to help, they caught so many fish that they filled up both boats and the boats began to sink!
• Did Jesus know what He was talking about? Yes, He did! When Peter saw what had happened, he realized that Jesus was the Son of God. He fell down at Jesus' knees and said that he was a sinful man. All the fishermen were amazed at what had happened and how many fish that they had caught! Even James and John, Peter's partners were amazed. 
• Jesus told the fishermen to come and follow him and He would make them fishers of men. When they brought the ships to the shore, they left everything and followed Jesus, and they did. We will find out in future lessons some of the wonderful things that Jesus did and where He went.

"Older Student" Tips:

• The Sea of Gennesaret and the Sea of Galilee are both names for the same body of water.

ACTIVITY:   A Whole Bunch of Fish!
Materials needed:   orange, red, yellow, brown scraps of construction paper, 4" of yarn or string or a bread tie, hair net (purchased at a variety store or pharmacy like CVS, Walgreens, or WalMart--I paid $4.59 for 10 dark hair nets, unfortunately not on sale--or you can make your own by cutting many small squares out of fabric before class. Buying hairnets sure is convenient), 3" x 3" any color paper, marker, crayons, hole punch.

1. Hand out paper scraps.
2. Draw and cut out many, many fish. There about 20 or in so in the picture above.
3. Hand out 3" x 3" any color paper.
4. Write "A Whole Bunch of Fish!" and "Luke 5:1-11" on the paper.
5. Using hole punch, make one hole in the corner of the paper.
6. Thread yarn, string, or bread tie through the paper and a hair net.
7. Secure.
8. Place fish in hair net.
9. Gather top of hair net carefully and send student, fish, and net out into the world.

Lesson - Jesus Cleanses the Temple

VERSES:   John 2:12-17

MEMORY VERSE:   John 2:15   "...and he drove them all out of the temple..."

BOOK TO REMEMBER:   Colossians.  Write "Colossians" on small slips of paper and hand out to the students at the end of class for memorization at home. It is a good idea to review all of the books that have been learned from time to time, so the books will stay fresh in the minds of the students.

PRAYER:   Pray that we will all do things God's way and not our way. God and His Son were not pleased that the Jews were doing things their own way in the temple as we learn in our lesson.

SPECIAL SONG:   Jesus Taught By Parables And Miracles (see March - Songs We Sing In Bible Class #4 on this blog. If you click the orange circle, you can hear the tune of the song).

VISUAL AID:   Large Activity (see below) or drawing on white board or chalkboard

LESSON POINTS:

• Do we remember the Passover feast? Remember how Moses told the children of Israel to remember at the Feast of the Passover how God had led His people out of Egypt and out of slavery? Jesus observed the Feast of the Passover, too, and it was getting close to the feast day, so He went up to Jerusalem.
• When Jesus arrived in Jerusalem for the Passover Feast, He found that there were people in the temple who were not doing what God wanted them to do in the temple. The people were selling oxen and sheep right there in the temple! There were men sitting at tables with money on them! Jesus was angry and made a small whip out of cords and drove them all out of the temple, including the sheep and oxen. He poured out the money changers' money and turned over the tables. He told the ones who were selling the doves to take them out of the temple and not to make His Father's house a house of merchandise or like a market. Jesus' disciples remembered that it was written in the Psalms, "The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up." (Psalms 69:9). What Jesus did in the temple was what the Psalm was talking about.
• The Jews were a little upset that Jesus had driven them out of the temple and asked Him, "By what sign can you show us that you have authority to do this?" They wanted to know why Jesus thought He could make them stop doing the things they were doing in the temple. The Jews were making money and getting rich by selling things and changing money in the temple and did not want to be stopped. Jesus said to them, "Destroy this temple and I will raise it up in three days." The Jews thought Jesus was talking about the temple that they had been driven out of and answered Him, "It has taken 46 years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in three days?" They did not understand that Jesus was talking about how his body would be raised up three days after He died.
• Later, after Jesus died on the cross and was raised from the dead after three days, His disciples remembered what Jesus had said about the temple and they believed the scripture and the words that Jesus spoke.
• It was also at this time that Jesus healed people and performed miracles before them. He healed the people who could not walk or see. No one could do that unless He was sent from God. Jesus wanted the people to believe that He was the Son of God by doing miracles which were things that no one else could do.

"Older Student" Tips:

• Discuss how Jesus died on the cross and after three days He rose from the grave. This was what Jesus had talked about to the Jews in this lesson.

ACTIVITY:   Temple scene (This project might take a few minutes longer than the typical project, but the students will remember the lesson for a long time. That is the object of a good project!)
Materials needed:  6" x 18" tan construction paper, scraps of brown, tan, white, and black paper, scrap of gold paper, 2" of twine or rope, tape, glue, crayons, marker, scissors.

1. Hand out 6" x 18" tan paper. This is the temple floor.
2. Place tan paper landscape on table.
3. Draw one line diagonally from bottom corner to a point about 3" from left edge on each side.
   
4. Cut on lines.
5. Hand out brown scraps of paper.
6. Draw and cut out two simple tables.
7. Glue tables on each side of tan paper, as if they had been turned over.
8. Hand out gold paper.
9. Cut small circles or 'coins' out of gold paper.
10. Glue coins around overturned tables (see picture at very top).
11. Hand out more brown scrap paper.
12. Draw and cut out two oxen. (No need for perfection. If in doubt, write animal's name on it.)
13. Fold oxen's legs about 1/4".
14. Tape oxen's legs and secure to temple floor. Oxen should stand up. If not, add tape to other side of oxen's legs (see picture below of sheep. Oxen's legs should be taped the same way.)
15. Hand out white scrap paper.
16. Draw and cut out two sheep.
17. Fold sheep's legs about 1/4".
18. Tape sheep's legs and secure to temple floor, so the sheep stand up.
    
19. Hand out tan scrap paper or use the triangles cut from the temple floor.
20. Draw and color and cut people as a group leaving the temple from the back view. No faces should be seen.
21. Tape group of people to the top middle of the temple floor. People should stand up. If not, place a piece of tape from the temple floor to the middle of the group of people. The tension of the tape should be enough to make the people stand up.
    
22. Hand out another scrap of tan paper.
23. Draw, color, and cut Jesus from the back view. One of his hands should be raised. No face should be seen.
24. Tape twine in Jesus upraised hand (see picture at very top).
25. Tape Jesus to the bottom edge of the temple floor. If the figure does not want to stand up, take a small piece of construction paper and fold twice, forming four sections when unfolded. Fold back one section of paper and form into a triangle. Secure with tape. Tape to the front of the figure, so he will 'rest' upon the triangle and stand up.
    
26. Write "Jesus Cleanses The Temple" and "John 2:13-17" on the temple floor.
27. Rehearse scene before leaving class.

Lesson - Jesus Turns The Water Into Wine

VERSES:   John 2:1-11

MEMORY VERSE:   John 2:11   "...and his disciples believed in him."

BOOK TO REMEMBER:   Philippians. Write 'Philippians' on small slips of paper and hand out at the end of class for the students to memorize at home.

PRAYER:   Thank God from whom all blessings come.

SPECIAL SONG:   Jesus Taught By Parables And Miracles (see March - Songs We Sing In Bible Class #4 on this blog. Click orange circle to hear tune.)

VISUAL AID:   A Large Activity (see below)

LESSON POINTS:

• In just a few lessons, we have learned a lot about Jesus, God's only begotten Son! We have learned how He was born, how Herod tried to kill Him, how He lived in Egypt for a short time, how He got 'lost' in Jerusalem when He was twelve years old, how He began to preach to the people when He was about thirty years old (Luke 3:23), and how He chose twelve men to follow Him. Today, we will study about Jesus' first miracle and why He performed miracles.
• Jesus, His disciples, and Jesus' mother, Mary, attended a wedding in the city of Cana. The Bible says that the people who were in charge of the wedding ran out of wine for the people to drink. In Bible times, people sometimes called grape juice 'wine,' so this could be a time when the drink of the wedding was grape juice and not like the wine that has alcohol in it. God is not pleased when people drink wine and get drunk.
• Mary heard that the people were out of wine and told Jesus about the problem. Jesus, being respectful, said to His mother that his time had not yet come. Mary told the servants at the wedding to do whatever Jesus told them to do. 
• Jesus saw that there were six stone water pots set aside that would hold twenty to thirty gallons of water each. Jesus told the servants to fill the water pots with water. The servants filled the pots to the very brim. Jesus then told the servants to take the water pots to the host of the wedding. The host did not know that Jesus had told the servants any instructions at all, but the servants knew what Jesus had said and what they had done with their own hands. They had put water into the water pots as Jesus had asked them to do and that was all. 
• When the host of the wedding had tasted the water that Jesus had turned to wine, he said that usually people gave the best wine at the beginning of the wedding, but the wine he was tasting was better than the first! 
• This was the beginning of Jesus' miracles and it was done in the city of Cana in Galilee. Jesus did many miracles after this one and they were all done to prove that He was the Son of God. Could anyone else turn water into a different kind of liquid? No! But Jesus did. 
• The Bible says that this miracle showed Jesus' glory and his disciples believed in Him. Jesus is the Son of God!

"Older Student" Tips:

• Did you know that sometimes grape juice is called wine in the Bible? The Greek word (oinos) that translators translated into English could be used to refer to all forms of the grape, not only the fermented wine that we think of today.
• Just as the servants obeyed Mary's words--"whatever He saith unto you, do it"--we should do the same and obey all that Jesus says. We will be glad we did!

ACTIVITY:  Jesus Turns The Water Into Wine  (This activity may look difficult, but not so. Try it step by step. Try it before class time to make certain everything works smoothly.)

Materials needed:   6" x 14" brown construction paper, 6" x 16" light brown construction paper, 1.5" x 18" strip of blue paper, 1.5" x 18" strip of purple construction paper, marker or crayon, glue, tape, scissors.

1. Hand out brown paper.
2. Fold brown paper in half lengthwise.
3. Fold brown paper again, but this time in thirds, so when it is opened it has twelve boxes.
   
4. Unfold paper, so it is only folded in half lengthwise.
5. On folded top edge, draw arches between squares.
   
6. Cut arches out at top.
   
7. Draw arches on bottom edges (still folded).
8. Cut bottom arches out. 
9. Round outer corner edges. These are six brown water pots.
10. Draw lines between water pots. 
11. On top folded edge, draw scallops from one water pot to the next.
    
12. Write numbers (in order) on water pots.
13. Hand out light brown paper.
14. Glue the back of the folded water pots to the middle of the light brown paper.
15. Write "Jesus' First Miracle" at the top of the light brown paper.
16. Write "John 2:1-11" at the bottom of the light brown paper.
17. At the edges of the dark brown paper, cut about 2" through each side of the light brown paper--but do not to the bottom edge of the light brown paper.
    
     
18. Hand out blue and purple paper.
19. Tape one edge of the blue paper to the one edge of the purple paper to form one long two-colored strip.
20. Open dark brown water pots.
21. Thread long strip of paper up through one cut side of the light brown paper where the student cut.
    
22. Thread the long strip of paper back down through the other side of the light brown paper.
    
    
    
    
    
23. Tape to secure.
    
24. Close water pots.
25. How it works:  

• Open the water pots.

• As the student turns the blue strip to the front of the paper, the water pots are filled with blue water, but when the purple strip is turned to the front of the paper, the water pots are filled with purple wine.
  

Lesson - Jesus Calls The Rest Of His Disciples

VERSES:   Matthew 9:9; 10:1-4;   Mark 2:13-14; 3:13-19;   Luke 5:27-28; 6:12-16; John 1:35-51

MEMORY VERSE:   Matthew 10:1  "And when he had called unto him his twelve disciples..."

BOOK TO REMEMBER:   Ephesians.  Write "Ephesians" on small slips of paper to hand out at the end of class, so the students may memorize another book of the Bible at home.

PRAYER:   Pray that we will be determined to follow Jesus, no matter what the cost. May we do and say things just like Jesus would.

SPECIAL SONG:   Jesus Called Them One By One (see June 2015 - Songs We Sing In Bible Class #7 on this blog). and Jesus Taught By Parables And Miracles (see March - Songs We Sing In Bible Class #4 on this blog. Click orange circles to hear tunes.)

VISUAL AID:   Divide the whiteboard or chalkboard into twelve squares and copy the Activity below.

LESSON POINTS:

• Last time, we studied about two sets of brothers who were fishermen who followed Jesus from the time that Jesus started preaching until His death on the cross. Their names were Peter, Andrew, James and John and they helped Jesus as He went around preaching to the people. But, there were eight more disciples who followed Jesus as well.
• There was a man who lived in the same city (Bethsaida) as Peter and Andrew named  Philip. Jesus said the same thing to Philip as He said to Peter, Andrew, James, and John. He said, "Follow me." And Philip did. 
• Philip went to find his friend, Nathanael, and told him that they had found the one that Moses and the prophets had written about--Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph." But Nathanael said, "Can there be any good thing that can come out of Nazareth?" Philip told him to come and see. So they went to see Jesus. When Jesus saw Nathanael coming close to him, He said to Nathanael, "Look! An Israelite that has no guile or slyness." Philip was surprised and asked Jesus, "How do you know me?" Jesus answered him, "Before Philip called you, I saw you under the fig tree." Then Nathanael knew that Jesus was the Son of God and he told Jesus that. Jesus said, "You now believe me because I said that I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than that! You shall see heaven open up and the angels going up and down!" 
• Matthew was another man who followed Jesus. Matthew wasn't a popular fellow around the town because he was a tax collector or, in Bible times, they were called publicans. People do not usually care much about someone who takes money from them even though that is their job. He collected their taxes and was actually doing that job when Jesus told him to follow Him. Matthew got up right then and followed Jesus from that day forward.  Matthew was also called Levi.
• We have now learned about seven of Jesus' disciples, Peter, Andrew, James, John, Philip,Thomas, Matthew, but there were five other disciples named Bartholomew, James the less, Simon, Thaddeus, Judas who followed Jesus, too. Not much said about the other five men, but we do know their names. 
• Jesus could see great qualities in the men that He called, just as He sees great qualities in us. These twelve men were able to help Him in His ministry and stayed with Him for over three years. We will study about these men as we study about Jesus and the wonderful things He did during this time.

"Older Student" Tips:

• Here are a few more things we know about the twelve disciples:
• Peter was also called Simon, but usually referred to as Peter. Peter often spoke up before his eleven friends spoke. Sometimes he said the right thing, but not always. Peter was the first gospel preacher (Acts 2).
• Andrew's best quality was that he brought his brother, Peter, to Christ. Peter was the more outspoken one and we never ever read of Andrew resenting this.
• The Bible only records the death of two of Jesus' disciples--Judas Iscariot (Matthew 27:3-5) and James, the brother of John (Acts 12:2).
• Nathaniel must have another name, but he is listed in the names below, probably by the name of Bartholomew. (There is no verse in the Bible, however, to prove that Nathanael was Bartholomew; however, John refers to 'Nathanael' in his book and does not mention 'Bartholomew' at all; Matthew, Mark, and Luke refer to 'Bartholomew' and never mention 'Nathanael' one time.)
• Judas was the one who betrayed Jesus to the Roman soldiers by a kiss. He was paid thirty pieces of silver for telling the soldiers who Jesus was.

ACTIVITY:    Jesus Called Them One By One
Materials needed:   12" x 18" any color construction paper, crayons.

1. Hand out construction paper.
2. Fold paper in half, width-wise.
3. Fold paper in half, width-wise, again.
4. Then, fold in thirds, forming twelve squares.
5. At the bottom of each square, write the names of the twelve followers of Jesus.
6. Draw twelve men, one in each square.
7. Color men.
8. In small letters, write what is known about each disciple. (Remember some squares will only have the disciple's name written in it.)
9. Fold paper so only one square is showing.
10. Write "Open To See Who Follows Jesus".
    
11. Unfold so that three squares are showing.
12. In middle square, write "Jesus Calls His Disciples."
    
13. Unfold once more.
14. Write "Matthew 10:1-4" in one of the squares.
    
15. Fold the paper up into one square to take home.

Lesson - Jesus Calls Some Of His Disciples

VERSES:   Matthew 4:18-22

MEMORY VERSE:   Matthew 4:19  "And he said unto them, "Follow me, and I will make you  fishers of men."

BOOK TO REMEMBER:   Galatians.  Write "Galatians" on small slips of paper and hand out to the students at the end of class.

PRAYER:   Pray that we follow Jesus with our whole heart as His disciples did.

SPECIAL SONG:   Jesus Called Them One By One (see June 2015 - Songs We Sing In Bible Class #7 and Jesus Loves The Little Children (see February - Songs We Sing In Bible Class #2 on this blog). Click on orange circles to hear tunes.

VISUAL AID:   Large Activity (see below)

LESSON POINTS:

• As Jesus went about doing good (Acts 10:38), he 
• Jesus was walking down by the Sea of Galilee and saw two brothers, Simon Peter and Andrew, throwing a net into the sea because they were fishermen. Jesus said to both of them, "Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men." When Jesus said this to them, both of them immediately left their nets and followed Jesus.
• Going down a little father down the beach, Jesus saw two more brothers: James and John who were sons of a man named Zebedee. They were mending their fishing nets because they were fishermen, too! When Jesus called them to follow Him, they immediately left their nets and their father and followed Jesus.
• These were only four of Jesus' disciples, later we will study about what we know about the other disciples.

"Older Student" Tips:

• Jesus did not call all twelve of His disciples at one time. There was a little time between calling them.

ACTIVITY:   Peter, Andrew, James and John
Materials needed:  9" x 12" dark blue construction paper, 6" x 12" tan construction paper, scrap paper: light brown paper, white paper, 5" x 7 orange paper, tape, scissors, crayons, marker.

1. Hand out blue paper.
2. Hand out tan paper.
3. Tear top edge of tan paper.
4. Glue tan paper to the bottom of blue paper. This is the beach.
5. Fold both paper in half like a book with tan paper on the outside.
6. Open paper.
7. Turn blue/tan paper over.
8. Hand out orange paper.
9. Fold orange paper to make a pocket.
10. Tape orange paper to one side of the solid blue paper.
11. Write "Matthew 4:18-22" to the bottom of the orange paper.
    
12. Turn paper over.
13. Fold paper in half with the tan paper showing.
14. Hand out scraps of light brown paper.
15. Draw Peter, Andrew, James, and John from the side view.
16. Draw Jesus from the back view.
17. Cut characters out.
18. Color characters.
19. Write the names at the bottom of their clothing.
20. Glue Peter and Andrew to one side of the tan and blue paper.
21. Turn paper over.
22. Glue James and John to the other side of the tan and blue paper.
23. Draw lines to resemble nets on both sides (see picture).
24. Hand out white scrap paper.
25. Cut a medium-sized speech bubble.
26. Write "Come and I will make you fishers of men."
27. Glue speech bubble to Jesus head like He is talking.
    
28. Jesus moves--do not glue anywhere. When not in action, Jesus is placed in orange pocket. When student is telling the story, Jesus moves from brothers to brothers.
29. Place Jesus in pocket, fold paper in half before students take project home.

Words Of Encouragement Along The Way #14 - Search The Scriptures

It can never be asked too often--have you opened your Bible to study your lesson? It is certainly easier to search the internet for a lesson, or maybe purchase Bible material from a Bible store, and, yes, even to read this blog, but do you consistently, purposefully, prayerfully, and diligently study God's Word to see what God has to say about your lesson? Do you have all the facts correct? Have you added "what you believe to be true" or maybe you have left out something important because you "didn't remember it that way?"  Check yourself with God's words (2 Timothy 3:16, 17). Don't be afraid or too self-assured to open up the Bible and read (1 Thessalonians 5:21) . We all make mistakes (Romans 3:23).

All other sources can be mistaken about Bible facts, but when we open up the Bible and read the lesson from the Bible with our own eyes and diligently study the facts, we can be assured that what we are teaching young, impressionable minds is Truth. How difficult it is to "unteach" something that we have, perhaps innocently, taught wrong. We need to always have book, chapter, and verse for what we teach, then we can confidently and with certainty teach the scriptures to precious ones. What a noble task it is to "search the scriptures daily to see whether those things" are so (Acts 17:11). May we all open up our Bibles and read.

Lesson - The Temptation of Jesus

VERSES:   Matthew 4:1-11;  Mark 1:12, 13;  Luke 4:1-13

MEMORY VERSE:   Matthew 4:4  "...It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God."

BOOK TO REMEMBER:   Review Matthew through 2 Corinthians.

PRAYER:   Pray that when we are tempted to sin like Jesus was, that we will be able to say "It is written" like Jesus did.

SPECIAL SONG:   Matthew 4 (See May - Songs We Sing In Bible Class #5 on this blog. Click on orange circle to hear tune.) This is a song we have not sung before on the blog and it is a timely one for today's lesson. It is a familiar tune to most.

VISUAL AID:  TV Box (see February - Visual Aids #1 TV Box for instructions. This is a good visual aid for this lesson, keeping the students' interest well.)

LESSON POINTS:

• After Jesus was baptized, Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness where there were wild beasts. He was led there to be tempted by the devil. Jesus had fasted for forty days and forty nights. Remember to 'fast' means that the person had not been eating any food. Jesus was hungry! The devil is sometimes called 'the tempter' because he tempts us to do evil when we know we should do good. That's what he was doing to Jesus. He was tempting Him! The devil knew that Jesus was hungry and that was the first thing he tempted Jesus with--food! The devil said to Jesus, "If you are really the Son of God, turn these rocks into bread." Do you know what Jesus said? He told the devil, "It is written, Man should not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds or comes out of the mouth of God." Jesus resisted temptation by quoting a scripture found in the Old Testament (Deuteronomy 8:3).
• The second time Jesus was tempted, the devil took Him to Jerusalem, the holy city, and set Him up on a high pinnacle or high point of the temple. The devil told Jesus, "If you are really the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, "He shall give His angels charge concerning you and they shall lift you up." The second time, the devil tried to quote scripture to Jesus, but the devil didn't trick Jesus! Jesus said to the devil, "It is written again, You shall not tempt the Lord your God." Again, Jesus resisted temptation by quoting a scripture found in the Old Testament (Deuteronomy 6:16).
• The last time, the devil took Jesus to a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and all their glory in a moment of time. The devil said to Jesus, "I will give you all these things and this power if you will fall down and worship me." Were all of those kingdoms the devil's to give? No! They were God's kingdoms! But Jesus said, "Get behind me, Satan! for it is written: You shall worship the Lord your God and him only will you serve." Again, Jesus resisted temptation by quoting a scripture found in the Old Testament (Deuteronomy 6:13). 
• Then, the devil left Jesus alone in the wilderness for a while and the angels came and helped Jesus.

"Older Student" Tips:

• It is always a good idea to memorize Bible verses. They may help in time of trouble or temptation like in this lesson. Jesus was ready for the devil. He knew His scriptures and was not afraid to quote them. The devil knew he was not going to give in to temptation because Jesus had God's words in His mind and heart and mouth. It is not a question IF we will be tempted, it is more of a question of WHEN we will be tempted by the devil. Will we be ready?
• Read 1 John 2:15-17. Discuss. How dos this apply to Jesus being tempted? He was tempted in all three areas of temptation--lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, and the pride of life.

ACTIVITY:  The Temptation of Jesus
Materials needed:  9" x 12" green construction paper, 6" x 11" white bond paper, 2" x 12" strip of orange construction paper, scissors, markers, crayons, glue.

1. Hand out green paper.
2. Fold into thirds.
3. Unfold.
4. Write "How The Devil Tempted Jesus" and "Matthew 4:1-11" at the top of the paper.
5. Hand out white paper.
6. Fold into thirds.
7. Unfold.
8. Cut on folded lines of the white paper only.
9. On one white paper, draw rocks and write "If you are the Son of God, command these stones be made bread."
10. On the second white paper, draw the temple with a high point with Jesus at the top and write "If you are the Son of God, cast yourself down."
11. On the third white paper, draw a high mountain with Jesus at the top and write "All these things I give to you, if you will fall down and worship me."
12. Color all three white papers.
13. Glue white papers inside the middle of the green sections (see picture).
14. Hand out orange paper.
15. Fold the top edge of the orange paper down.
16. Glue ONLY the top edge of the orange paper to the bottom of the green paper.. (Otherwise, the 'flap' won't open.)
17. On top of the flap, write "What Jesus said..."
18. Lift flap.
19. Under the flap, write "IT IS WRITTEN..."

Lesson - Jesus Is Baptized By John

VERSES:   Matthew 3:13-17;  Mark 1:9-11;  Luke 3:21-22;  John 1:29-34

MEMORY VERSE:   Matthew 3:17   "...This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."

BOOK TO REMEMBER:  2 Corinthians.  Write "2 Corinthians" on small slips of paper and hand out at the end of class, so the students may memorize another book of the New Testament at home. Since this may be a shorter lesson than usual, practice saying all the books learned this far out loud as a class.

PRAYER:   Thank God for sending His only begotten Son to this earth, so that we might be saved if we obey Him.

SPECIAL SONG:   Jesus Loves Me  (see February - Songs We Sing In Bible Class #2 on this blog. Click the orange circle to hear tune.)

VISUAL AID:   Large Activity (see below). Bible map, showing Nazareth and the Jordan River.

LESSON POINTS:

• As John was baptizing people for the remission of their sins, Jesus came from the city of Nazareth in Galilee to the Jordan River. When John saw Jesus, he called Him "The Lamb of God" and said that He was going to take away the world's sin. When John found out that Jesus wanted him to baptize Jesus, John objected and said, "I should be baptized by you, and yet you come to me for baptism?" Jesus answered, "Allow it now to fulfill all righteousness." 
• Then John baptized or immersed Jesus in water, so that he was completely covered in water. When Jesus came up out of the water and was praying, the heavens opened up to Him and he saw the Spirit of God in the shape of a dove coming down and lighting or resting on Him. Then, a voice from heaven said, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." God was very pleased with the obedience of His Son. 

"Older Student" Tips:

• Jesus was perfect. Jesus wanted to be baptized because it fulfilled all righteousness or right doing, not because he had sins to wash away (1 Peter 2:21, 22) Today, unlike Jesus, we have sins that need to be washed away in baptism (Acts 22:16). Jesus did everything that He was required to do and more and was pleasing to God, His Father. 

ACTIVITY:   Jesus Was Baptized To Fulfill All Righteousness
Materials needed:  9"x 12" light blue construction paper,  8" x 12" dark blue construction paper,  two pieces of 4" x 6" tan construction paper, scrap white paper, marker, scissors, tape, crayons, glue.

1. Hand out light blue paper. This is the background.
2. Write "John Baptizes Jesus" and "Matthew 3" at the top of the paper.
3. Hand out one piece of tan paper.
4. Fold one piece of tan paper lengthwise, not quite in half.
5. Unfold.
6. Turn light blue paper over to the back.
7. Tape larger folded side to the back of the light blue paper.
8. Fold the remaining side up and tape the two sides. This is the pocket where John, Jesus, speech bubble, and the dove are stored when not in action.
   
9. Hand out dark blue paper.
10. Cut three inches off of dark blue paper.
11. Glue larger dark blue paper to the bottom of the light blue paper. This is water.
12. Tear the top edge of the smaller dark blue paper.
13. Glue ONLY the bottom and sides of the smaller blue paper and attach to the bottom edge of large dark blue paper to form a 'water pocket.'
    
14. Hand out one piece of tan paper.
15. Draw John in his camel's hair clothing and leather belt and Jesus.
16. Color John and Jesus.
17. Cut out John and Jesus. (John's arm can be cut to 'help' Jesus while he is being baptized. See picture.)
    
18. Hand out white scrap.
19. Write "This is My beloved Son in whom I am well pleased." in the middle of the white paper.
20. Cut out a speech bubble that points upwards.
21. Draw a dove.
22. Cut out dove.
23. DO NOT glue John, Jesus, the dove, and the speech bubble. They are removable.
24. Place John and Jesus standing inside the blue water pocket; John baptizes Jesus by placing him totally under the water; John helps Jesus stand, the dove rests on Jesus, the speech bubble is placed pointing towards the sky. This can be repeated many times to reinforce the lesson.
    
25. Before leaving class, place John, Jesus, the dove, and the speech bubble inside the pocket on the back of the light blue paper.

Lesson - John Preaches In The Wilderness

VERSES:  Matthew 3:1-12;   Mark 1:1-8;   Luke 3:1-18;  John 1:19-28

MEMORY VERSE:   Matthew 3:3   "...Prepare ye the way of the Lord , make his paths straight."

BOOK TO REMEMBER:   1 Corinthians.  Write "1 Corinthians" on small slips of paper and hand out at the end of class so the students may memorize this book of the New Testament. Review all New Testament books.

PRAYER:   Thank God for our food and clothes and all the blessings He gives us.

SPECIAL SONG:   The Books Of The New Testament (see March - Songs We Sing In Bible Class #3 on this blog. Click orange circle to hear tune.)

VISUAL AID:   Bible map, showing Judea, Jerusalem, Nazareth. Picture of locusts and honey (found in books or on the internet). I used to have the students taste a bit of honey, but, recently,  there has been some medical information that states that honey is hard for children under two to digest honey and they discourage children eating honey, so now I am hesitant to promote honey-tasting.

LESSON POINTS:

• Do you remember Zacharias and Elisabeth's little baby boy whom they named John? He was the cousin of Jesus and he grew up to be a man who lived in the wilderness. The Bible says that he was a lot like Elijah, the Old Testament prophet. His clothing was made of camel's hair and he had a thick leather belt around his waist. He had an unusual diet, too. He ate locusts and wild honey.
• John had a job to do. It was prophesied way back in Isaiah and Malachi that John would be preaching in the wilderness of Judea and would be telling everyone to repent or turn from their wicked ways and do what God wanted them to do. While John was in the wilderness, the word of God came to John and he began preaching. He told the people that the kingdom of heaven was near. His job was to prepare the way for Jesus, so he preached, telling everyone to repent. He baptized many people in the Jordan River, but John only baptized for repentance. 
• The Jews sent Levites and priests to check out John. They did not know who he was. They were looking for the Christ to come and thought maybe John was the Christ, so they asked him, "Who are you?" John said he was not the Christ. They asked him, "Are you Elijah? Are you that prophet?" He must have looked a little like Elijah because of what he was wearing, but John said that he was not Elijah. He told some of the high-ranking Jews, the Pharisees and Sadducees, that they should repent, too, because they were doing wicked things, pretending to be holy and righteous, but they were not doing good things. John was full of courage because he was not afraid of telling important people that they were not doing things God's way, even if it meant he would go to prison for telling the truth (Luke 3:19, 20). He was very brave. He told everyone that there was another person coming after him who was more mighty than he was and that person was Jesus. 

"Older Student" Tips:

• Read Isaiah 40:2 and Malachi 3:1. 700 years in advance, the prophets prophesied about John coming to prepare the way of the Lord.
• John only baptized for repentance.

ACTIVITY:   John Preaches In The Wilderness
Materials needed:  9" x 12" light blue construction paper, 6" x 12 dark brown paper, 5" x 7" white bond paper, 3" x 6" of any color paper, glue, marker, crayons, scissors.

1. Hand out blue paper. This is the background.
2. Hand out brown paper. 
3. Tear the longest edge of the brown paper all along the top. This is the wilderness.
4. Glue the wilderness to the bottom of the background.
5. Hand out white paper.
6. Draw John with his camel's hair clothes and his leather belt or girdle.
7. Color John.
8. Cut John out.
9. Glue John in the middle of the wilderness.
10. Write "REPENT!" on the scrap white paper.
11. Cut out "REPENT!" in a speech bubble.
12. Glue "REPENT!" close to John.
13. Write "Leather belt" and "Clothes made of camel's hair" close to John.
14. Hand out any color scrap paper.
15. Fold any color paper in half.
16. On front, write "What did John eat?"
17. Unfold and write "Locusts and wild honey" inside.
18. Glue the back of the any color scrap paper to the wilderness.
19. Write "John Preaching In The Wilderness" and "Matthew 3:1-12" at the top of the blue paper.
20. Decorate wilderness a bit.

Lesson - Jesus In The Temple

VERSES:   Luke 2:41-52

MEMORY VERSE:   Luke 2:52   "And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man."

BOOK TO REMEMBER:   Romans. Write "Romans" on small slips of paper and hand out to students at the end of class.

PRAYER:   Pray that we will always be busy with the Lord's work, putting Him first in all areas of our lives.

SPECIAL SONG:  Jesus Taught By Parable And Miracle (see March - Songs We Sing In Bible Class #4 on this blog. Click on orange circle for tune.)

VISUAL AID:  Large Activity (see below)

LESSON POINTS:

• We do not know a lot about Jesus' childhood in Nazareth, but we do know that he was allowed to go to Jerusalem when He was twelve years old. Every year Joseph and Mary traveled from Nazareth to Jerusalem at the feast of the Passover. This was a special feast where all of God's people remembered the time when the Israelites were in slavery in Egypt and how God, through Moses, led them out of Egypt (Exodus 12:1, 2; Numbers 9:1-5) and out of slavery.  When Jesus was twelve years old, He was allowed to go with His family on the long trip to Jerusalem. After the feast was over and the people were returning to their homes in different cities, Jesus was left behind in the large city of Jerusalem, but Joseph and Mary did not know it. Families often traveled together on long trips for convenience and safety, so Joseph and Mary thought he was with other members of their family when they left Jerusalem. When Joseph and Mary realized that Jesus was not with them, they turned back to Jerusalem and searched for Him for three days!
• Finally, they went into the temple and found a twelve-year-old Jesus sitting in the middle of the doctors and learned people, not only asking questions, but answering them! All that heard Him were astonished at Jesus' understanding and His answers. When Joseph and Mary saw where Jesus was and what He was doing, they, too, were amazed.  His mother said to Jesus, "Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have searched and searched for you. We have been sad and sorrowed." Jesus answered her, "Did you not know that I would be about my Father's business?" Jesus was meaning His Father in heaven, but Joseph and Mary did not understand the meaning of Jesus' words. Jesus was an obedient son and He went back with them to Nazareth and obeyed them, but Mary kept all these sayings in her heart.
• That is all of the story that is written in the Bible. We do not know anymore of what Jesus did when He was young, but we know that Jesus grew up in different ways. He grew stronger and taller, He grew up smarter and wiser, He grew up spiritually, knowing the Scriptures, and Jesus, also, grew up socially and people liked Him. This is how we should grow as well.

"Older Student" Tips:

• Sometimes people only think of Jesus as a baby and they think of Him as a child without any siblings, but Jesus had brothers and sisters. We can read of some of His brothers names like James, Joses, Simon, and Judas, but there is no record of his sisters' names (Matthew 13:55, 56).
• We also learn what his earthly father, Joseph, did to earn money for the family in Matthew 13:55, 56: Joseph was a carpenter.

ACTIVITY:   Jesus In The Temple
Materials needed:  9" x 12" light brown construction paper, 5" x 7" white bond paper, scrap tan and dark brown construction paper, markers, crayons, glue, tape, scissors.

1. Hand out light brown construction paper.
2. Holding paper landscape, fold bottom edge up two inches.
3. Unfold paper.
4. Fold outside edges, meeting in the middle of the paper.
5. Make sure folds are creased well.
6. Unfold paper.
7. On the bottom edge, cut on two of the small fold lines, but NOT above the long fold line from side to side.
8. Draw one black line along bottom folded line only.
9. Draw a black line about two-thirds of the way down lengthwise across paper. (see picture). 
10. Color between two black lines. This is the floor of the temple.
11. Hand out white paper.
12. Fold paper in half.
13. Draw two pillars. (see picture.)
14. Draw black lines on pillars.
15. Glue pillars on each side of the paper in outer panels.
16. Cut a thin 1/4" strip out of dark brown scrap paper. This is the bench Jesus was sitting on.
17. Cut two legs for bench.
18. Glue bench in the lower middle of the light brown paper between the two pillars.
19. Draw Jesus sitting, four or five doctors standing, and Joseph and Mary standing.
20. Color people.
21. Cut out people.
22. Glue Jesus sitting on top of bench.
23. Glue doctors standing around Jesus.
24. Off to one side, glue Joseph and Mary as if they had just walked in to the temple.
25. At the top of the paper between the two pillars, write "...after three days they found him in the temple..." and "Luke 2:46."
26. Fold bottom of paper, so that the outer edges fold on top of the middle edge, forming right angles.
    
27. Secure with tape.
28. If scene does not stand freely on a table, gently fold creases again.

Lesson - Flight To Egypt

VERSES:   Luke 2:39;  Matthew 2:13-23

MEMORY VERSE:   Matthew 2:14  "When he arose, he took the young child and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt.

BOOK TO REMEMBER:   Acts.  Write "Acts" on small slips of paper, so the students may memorize the fifth book of the New Testament. Review all five book with the class out loud.

PRAYER:  Sometimes we forget that God is watching over us and taking care of and protecting us. Thank Him for His protection and providence.

SPECIAL SONG:   No, Not One (see June - Songs We Sing In Bible Class #6 for tune. Click on orange circle to hear song.)

VISUAL AID:  Bible map, showing Bethlehem, Egypt, and Nazareth.  Large Activity (see below)

LESSON POINTS:

• Herod, the king, was stirring up trouble! God always knows everything. God knew that Herod would be searching for the baby who was King of the Jews. An angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and told him to get up and take Mary and Jesus down into Egypt. He said to stay there until he told Joseph to come back. He said that Herod was searching for Jesus to kill him! So Joseph, Mary, and baby Jesus went on the long, long trip down to Egypt and stayed there until Herod died.
• Meanwhile, when Herod saw that he had been tricked by the wise men and they had not come back to tell him where they had found the baby, he got very, very angry. Herod was a cruel man and one who did not worship God. He had told the wise men to bring him news back when they found Jesus because he wanted to worship Him, too (Matthew 2:8), but that was not true. He wanted to kill Jesus because Jesus was a king, King of the Jews. So, Herod commanded a terrible command. He commanded all of his soldiers to go through Bethlehem and the areas all around Bethlehem and kill all the babies who were two years old and younger. A terrible, terrible command by a harsh and cruel king. But, even this event was foretold in the Old Testament by Jeremiah that there would a great mourning and much weeping at this time (Jeremiah 31:15).
• Then, Herod died. An angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream way down in Egypt and told him that Herod had died. So Joseph took his small family of Mary and Jesus and traveled back into the land of Israel. When Joseph heard that Herod's son was ruling in Judea, he was afraid, but God warned him in a dream to go into Galilee. Joseph, Mary, and Jesus went to a city called Nazareth.
• After the shepherds had gone to Bethlehem to see if what the angel had told them concerning the Christ being born were true, after the wise men had searched through Bethlehem for the King of the Jews, after Simeon and Anna had prophesied about Jesus, and after Joseph and Mary had sacrificed two turtledoves in the temple, they made their home in the city of Nazareth that fulfilled another prophecy about Jesus being called a Nazarene.
• All we know about Jesus' childhood up until he was twelve years old is written in one verse--Luke 2:40. Let's read the verse together. (Read verse out loud.) Jesus grew up strong, He was filled with wisdom, and God's grace was upon Him. That's all we know until next time!

"Older Student" Tips:

• There were 333 Old Testament prophecies about Jesus and everyone of them prophecies were fulfilled or came true.
• We learned in last time's lesson that the wise men had given very expensive gifts to Jesus and, by selling these costly presents, Joseph and Mary survived in Egypt without friends or family. God chose this way to provide for them.

ACTIVITY:   Flight To Egypt
Materials needed:  9" x 12" green construction paper, 8.5" x 11" white bond paper, tan and brown scrap, glue, tape, scissors, crayons, markers.

1. Hand out white paper.
2. Make a long squiggly line from the top middle of the paper down to the left bottom of the white paper. This is the coast of the Mediterranean Sea.
3. In the bottom right of the white paper, draw a long oval with a tail in the middle. This is the Dead Sea.
4. About 4" above the Dead Sea, draw a lopsided circle. This is the Sea of Galilee.
5. Connect the Sea of Galilee to the Dead Sea. This is the Jordan River.
6. Draw a line from the top of the sea of Galilee straight to the top of the white paper.
7. Draw a black dot 1" to the left of the top of the Dead Sea. This is Bethlehem.
8. Draw a black dot 2" to the left of the top of the Sea of Galilee. This is Nazareth.
9. Label Bethlehem (the lower dot) and Nazareth (the higher dot).
10. In the bottom left corner of the white paper, write "Egypt".
    
11. Draw an arrow going from the word "Egypt" and pointing to somewhere off the paper. 
12. Connect arrows going downward from Bethlehem to Egypt.
    
13. Connect arrows going upward from Egypt to Nazareth. 
14. In the top left-hand corner of the white paper, write "...flee into Egypt and stay there until I bring you word, for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him." and "Matthew 2:13."
15. Color the words "Nazareth", "Bethlehem," and "Egypt" yellow.
16. Color all bodies of water blue.
17. Draw the land brown.
18. Hand out scrap of tan paper.
19. Write "Mary, Joseph, and Jesus" on the tan paper.
20. Tape only THREE sides to the middle of the land. This is a pocket to carry Mary, Joseph, and Jesus when not in use.
21. Hand out darker brown paper.
22. Draw a small Mary, Joseph, Jesus, and donkey.
23. Color Mary, Joseph, Jesus, and donkey.
24. Cut out Mary, Joseph, Jesus, and donkey.
25. Practice taking Mary, Joseph, Jesus, and donkey from Bethlehem to Egypt, then from Egypt to Nazareth.
    
26. Place Mary, Joseph, Jesus, and donkey back in the pocket before the students go home.