Unit 2: Lesson 7 JESUS THE TEACHER

1) Welcome Activity:

2) Songs: Start the Story Hour with the learning our names song. Go around the circle or table and introduce each child.

Here is a nice song for today, too:

The wise man built his house upon the rock
The wise man built his house upon the rock,
The wise man built his house upon the rock,
The wise man built his house upon the rock,
And the rains came tumbling down!

The rains came down and the floods came up,
The rains came down and the floods came up,
The rains came down and the floods came up,
And the house on the rock stood firm.

The foolish man built his house upon the sand,
The foolish man built his house upon the sand,
The foolish man built his house upon the sand,
And the rains came tumbling down!

The rains came down and the floods came up,
The rains came down and the floods came up,
The rains came down and the floods came up,
And the house on the sand went SPLAT!

So build your house on the Lord Jesus Christ,
So build your house on the Lord Jesus Christ,
Build your house on the Lord Jesus Christ
and the Blessings will come down.

The blessings will come down as your prayers go up,
The blessings will come down as your prayers go up,
The blessings will come down as your prayers go up,
So build your house on the Lord!

3) Prayer... thank God for the Bible, that we may read it and know God.

4) Theme: Remind the children of the theme of the unit: God sends his greatest gift, Jesus Christ our Saviour. John 1:14 “we beheld his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father”
Tell them that they are going to hear a Bible Story again today that shows the glory of God through the teachings of Jesus. Jesus taught his people many things during his ministry.. about how to love God and how to love one another.


5) Bible Story: Today’s Story is about the teachings of Jesus. Read pages 290-296 (the sermon on the mount), and/or 328-331 (the kingdom of heaven) from the Read and Learn Bible (Scholastic).


6) Text: Today’s Text is: “And because of his words, many more became believers.” John 4:41




7) Craft:

• The Sermon on the Mount: Light for the World... see lamp crafts under “Sing A Psalm of Joy” Psalm 119:40 lesson
• Knock and the Door will be opened for you… cut out door hangers from heavy construction paper (large rectangle with a circle large enough to fit over a standard door knob). Print out the text and picture for each child. Have the children color the picture, decorate with stickers and glue text on construction paper. You can also use a large paper plate with a string or ribbon for a hanger. Keep your eyes open for wooden or foam door hangers at Dollar $tores or craft stores to make a more durable version of this craft.
• The Kingdom of Heaven – Mustard Seed Necklace (Matthew 17:20)
  Supplies needed: Large size wiggly eye, small piece of construction paper,mustard seed (found in grocery stores)thin cord or ribbon, glue gun, scissors
  Have an adult remove the back of a plastic wiggly eye so that you can use the clear plastic front. (I just opened the "eye" carefully and removed the "pupil", then used the back of the eye instead of paper) Trace around the eye on the construction paper and cut the tiny circle out. Put glue around the edge of the circle. Carefully set the mustard seed in the middle of the circle. Glue on the clear plastic from the wiggle eye over the circle. Let the glue dry. Cut a 2 foot length of gold cord. Glue the two ends of the cord to the back of the circle to make a hanger.

We tried this craft at home and discovered that it cannot be done by 4 year olds (and certainly not 10 of them at a time!) but when complete, it was an excellent teaching tool. If you can spare the time, make a collection of these necklaces before the lesson. Then, hand the necklaces out and explain about the mustard seed growing from a tiny seed into a huge bush.



8) Closing Prayer... say the Lord's prayer together with the children



9) Going Home: Sing the closing together. Then, check to see if all the children have collected their crafts and coloring sheets before they go home. Say goodbye and tell them that you enjoyed learning about God together and were happy to have them today! You were, weren’t you?



10) Optional Coloring Pages:
The people listening to Jesus: http://www.childrenstory.info/biblestoryforchild/cb235.html
Jesus preaching: http://www.sermons4kids.com/sermon_on_mount_colorpg.htm
The parable of the treasure in the field: http://www.silk.net/RelEd/PDF/Curr195_2.pdf