Grades 1-3
Introductory Activity – Jesus Wall
Materials: paper, pencils, tape
Invite kids to draw pictures of things they know about Jesus. They can draw pictures of Bible stories. They may want to write words on the paper about Jesus, too. Provide tape for them to create a wall display about Jesus. Tell kids that today they will learn that God can help us show love to all people as Jesus did.
Live It Out
Game – Jump to Answer
Materials: tape line in the middle of the game area
Lead kids to line up on the tape line, facing you. Make a statement about the Bible story: “Men traveled from the east to find a new king.” Kids jump left off of the line if the statement is true and right off the line if the statement is false. Guide kids to move back to the line. Make another statement about the Bible story and wait for kids to jump left or right to answer it. Continue with statements about the story. Say the Life Point together with the kids after you have reviewed the story. (Create more than one tape line if it is needed for kids to stand spaced apart.)
Craft – Life Point Puzzle
Materials: paper plates, markers, scissors, large ziplock bags
Give each child a paper plate. Invite kids to write the Life Point on the back of the plates as you talk about the Bible story. Tell kids to draw a picture of the Bible story or another picture about Jesus on the front of the plates. After kids complete their pictures, they can cut their plates into several pieces to make puzzles. Offer ziplock bags for kids to store their puzzles.
Grades 4-6
Introductory Activity – Name That Place
Materials: photos of places or pictures of places on a tablet
Choose a preteen and show him a photo. Lead him to describe the place or scene for the others to guess. After someone guesses what the photo shows, choose another preteen to describe a different scene or place. Play several rounds. End by describing sitting in a tree (for kids to guess). Say that today a man was in a tree when he met Jesus.
Live It Out
Game – Mystery Points
Materials: circle stickers in four colors (red, yellow, blue, green), large piece of paper with numbered columns (one column per team)
Group the kids into two or more teams. Show the stickers. Tell kids that each color is worth a different amount of points and you will tell them the amounts at the end of the game. Ask each team a review question. If the team answers correctly, they can choose a color; stick one of those colored stickers on the paper under the team number. Continue until each team has been asked at least 3 questions. Look at the sticker board. Award 10 point for every red circle, 20 points for a blue circle, 50 points for a yellow circle, and 100 points for a green circle. Total points for each team. Talk about the Life Point. Play the game again but change the point values. (Note the point values on a piece of paper before play begins.)
Craft – Folder Books
Materials: file folders (one per person), markers, other appropriate art materials
Lead kids to create folder books. Open the folder. Fold the left edge of the folder to the middle; repeat with the right edge. Now you have a book that opens in the middle. When open, four sections are indicated by the folds. Guide kids to use the materials to create books about Jesus. They can draw pictures or write information about Jesus in the four sections. They can fold the front closed and create a cover for their books. Talk about the Bible story and the Life Point.
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