Grades 1-3
Introductory Activity – What Jesus Said, What Jesus Did
Materials: Bibles, 2 colors of self-stick notes, markers
Guide kids to think about things Jesus said and things He did. Indicate that one color of notes is for things Jesus said and the other is for things He did. Direct kids to write down things they remember on the notes and post them on the wall. Group each color of notes together. Encourage kids to look through the Gospels in the Bibles if they need ideas of what to write. Review what was written. Tell kids that they will hear that Jesus taught He is the Messiah.
Live It Out
Game – Dry Erase Race
Materials: large dry erase board, markers (2 different colors), numbered cube
Draw 10 or more spaces across the board. Group the kids into two teams and give each team a marker. Ask a review question to Team 1. If the team answers correctly, a member of the team can roll the cube, count over that many spaces, and draw a stick figure in the space on the board. Ask a review question to Team 2. That team can also roll the cube an draw a stick figure in the correct space if they answer the question correctly. Continue to ask questions, with teams rolling and drawing figures when answering correctly. When teams draw a figure in the last space, erase the figures, redraw spaces, shuffle teams, and play again. Say the Life Point.
Craft – Ribbon Bible Marker
Materials: narrow ribbon, beads, craft foam, alphabet stickers, hole punch, scissors
Cut ribbon into approximately 10-inch lengths. Give each kid a length of ribbon. Help them tie a knot in one end of the ribbon. They can add several beads (3-5) and tie another knot near the beads (so they will stay in place). A kid can cut a triangle (or other shape) from craft foam. He can add his initial with an alphabet sticker and punch a hole in the triangle. Help him thread the other end of the ribbon through the hole and tie it to secure. Show kids how to put a ribbon marker in the Bible. Talk about the Bible story. Mention that taught the people through the Scriptures that He is the Messiah.
Grades 4-6
Introductory Activity – Odd Man Out
Materials: none
Group kids into pairs. If you have an odd number of kids, tell the last kid that he will have a partner soon. If you have an even number of kids, ask an adult to be the first “odd man out.” Tell partners to stand back to back. Tell kids that each time you call “Switch,” they must move to stand back to back with a new partner. Say that the “odd man” will move to get a partner, too. If a kid ends up as the odd man, he must wait until you call “Switch” again to find a new partner. Call “Switch” for a few turns. Then ask the “odd man” to tell you something about Jesus. Call “Switch” a few more times and then ask for something else about Jesus. Play several rounds. Tell kids that Jesus taught people that He is the Messiah.
Live It Out
Game – Mystery Points
Materials: 20 squares of paper (5 each of red, yellow, blue, green) in a bag
Group the kids into two or more teams. Show the paper squares. 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 draw a square of paper. Continue until each team has been asked at least 3 questions. Ask teams to lay their squares on a table. Award 1 point for every red square, 2 points for a blue square, 5 points for a yellow square, and 10 points for a green square. Total points to see who the winner is. Play again but change the point values. Say the Life Point.
Craft – Verse Rollup
Materials: adding machine tape or long strips of paper, markers, gel pens, small rubber bands or string
Cut long lengths of adding machine tape for each kid. Lead kids to write the Weekly Verse on one side of the adding machine tape. They can decorate around the words and draw pictures about Jesus as they choose. As they work, talk about the Bible story. Note that Jesus read the Bible scroll and told the people that the words were about Him.
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