BIG IDEA: JESUS SHOWS US HOW TO LIVE
AIM: The aim of the ‘God Sends Jesus to Show us How to Live’ lesson is to teach the children that, among many other things, Jesus was sent to show us how to love others. This is the ninth lesson in the Mission:Possible teaching series or VBS.
SONG IDEAS:
2. ‘Give Me a J’ by Studio Musicians
3. ‘Jesus, What a Friend!’ by Kids on the Move
GAME IDEAS:
1. Follow the Leader. If you have a large outdoor area this game in perfect for small groups or teams. A child is chosen to lead the group and the child can do any action (turn, leap, jump, step) that they want. They can lead the group wherever they want to go (within the boundaries set by the leader) and everyone must follow. Every child is given a chance to lead. To make it more interesting have an obstacle course or a complicated pathway set up that the groups must stick to.
2. Simon Says. Have the children take turns to be the leader. When ever they give an instruction it is not to be followed unless it is preceeded by the words ‘Simon Says’. If anyone moves when these words are not said then they are eliminated from the game.
3. Follow the Leader Relay. Teams are lined up and a leader is chosen for each. The leader goes to the opposite end of the relay. The players must each take turns to listen to the leader’s instructions and do whatever they say until they reach the leader. Then they can run back and tag the next team member, who must do the same. When all the players have listened to the leader and completed the relay they can sit down. The first team to sit down is the winning team. To avoid cheating you may want adult volunteers to become the leaders and have some preset ideas for instructions.
BIG VERSE: Whoever claims to live in Him must live as Jesus did. 1 John 2:6.
SET the Scene:
You can read the story of Jesus and the Samaritan woman in John 4:1-26. Alternatively you could show one of the videos below or act out this skit.
VIDEO IDEAS:
1. ‘The Woman at the Well’ by Graceland. A children’s animation.
2. ‘The Woman at the Well’ by Saddleback Kids
3. ‘The Samaritan Woman’ a hand drawn story telling
SPOT the Simple Meaning:
1) OBJECT LESSON: GOD SENDS JESUS TO SHOW US HOW TO LIVE
You will need a Jesus outfit, paper cut into big slips, markers and tape (to stick the paper onto Jesus).
Choose a volunteer or use a leader to stand in a Jesus outfit so that everyone can see. As you ask the children questions about who Jesus was and what he did, stick the slips of paper onto Jesus – things that Jesus is and does.
The story of the Samaritan woman is just one example of how Jesus was sent to show us how to live. What can we learn about Jesus from this story? (get feedback and attach to person volunteering as Jesus) Jesus was God in human flesh. He was showing us how to live like God so that when he left the earth we would know what love looks like. We would live a life of love. What other things can you remember that Jesus did? (get feedback)
Jesus came to show us how to live. We can ask the Holy Spirit to help us to live more and more like Jesus every day. Although we make mistakes, we can remember that God gives us grace and forgiveness too and that we can learn to lean on Him and not how good we can be. We cannot be like Jesus without Jesus living in us and being led by His Holy Spirit.
2) OBJECT LESSON: JESUS SHOWED US HOW TO LOVE LIKE GOD
LOVE IS SKIT. You will need one boy and one girl to act this scene.
Girl and a guy talk about love. Facing forward as if don’t here each other.
Girl: love is flowers
Guy: love is a helping hand
Girl: love is chocolates
Guy: love is living for others
Girl: love is romance
Guy: love is commitment. Sticking with people.
Girl: love is a fairytale
Guy: love is giving
Girl: Getting….
Guy: Giving…
Girl: everything you want!
Guy: all that you have.
Who do you think REALLY knew the true meaning of love? That’s right, the guy. He knew that love was all about giving to others. It isn’t about what we can get but what we can give. It was Jesus that truly showed us how to love like God loves us.
Jesus loved everyone he met. He loved the Blind beggars and lepers. He loved children. He loved women who were usually ignored. He loved the tax collectors who were hated. He loved people by paying attention to those that nobody else cared about. He healed them, listened to them and even spent time with them. He wasn’t embarrassed to be seen with them.
Jesus shows us how to love others in life, but also in death. His death reminds us how much he really loved… so much He was willing to die for each of us! That’s how much God loves us – His love is sacrificial love!
3) OBJECT LESSON: GOD WANTS US TO LOVE THE POOR, THE LONELY AND THE UNLOVED
Amy Carmichael story
Amy Carmichael knew all about what it meant to love people… This is her story…
You know, Jesus set us the example of how to love others. He didn’t just show us so that we wouldn’t do anything about it… but so that we would start to love others too. That means loving even those that we wouldn’t normally love… those that are hurt, have diseases, are lonely or people we think are weird. It doesn’t mean we have to hang out with everybody… but we have to treat them well and speak well of them. We need to be a friend to those that we can and help those in need.
SEARCH the Scriptures:
You will need to make lots of paper hearts with the names of people Jesus loved on them.
Names on hearts. Split your group into teams and ask the teams to stay at either sides of the room. Put all the hearts with the names of people Jesus loved in the centre of the room. Children must grab all of the hearts from the centre of the room one at a time. Then they must run back to their team and put it in a pile, tagging the next person to run. The team with the most hearts at the end of the game is the winning team.
Suggestions for the names on the hearts: These suggestions show times that Jesus loved those that nobody else loved:
Zacchaeus
Woman caught in adultery
12 disciples
John the Baptist
Lazarus
Mary and Martha
To make it more difficult put characters from the Old Testament in the middle and have children avoid picking them.
SEEK God:
Ask the children to think of someone they know that needs to know God’s love. Encourage them to pray for each other in twos, that God would show them ways of being love to that person.
Click here for the ‘God Sends Jesus’ lesson Powerpoint image
