BEATITUDES-PURE IN HEART
"Blessed Are The Pure in Heart”
Big Idea
Love God most.
Schedule
1. Small Groups: Dirty water activity (5 min)
2. Big Group: Lesson (20 min)
3. Verse Activity: Cereal activity (5 min)
3. Small Groups: Index card activity (10-15 min)
Materials Needed
1. Two clear glasses: one filled with only tap water, one filled with tap water and a bit of dirtBefore Big Group
1. Place the two glasses of water on the table. Instruct the children to simply observe the glasses and look for how they are the same and how they are different. Give the two spoons to two different children. Have them each use the spoon to stir the glasses of water. Instruct the children to continue to watch for similarities and differences.
2. Assign one child to be a recorder. Give him/her the paper and pencil with instructions to write down the children's answer to the following question: "What is the same about these two glasses? What is different?"
3. Ask "Which glass would you want to drink from?", instructing your recorder to keep a tally of which glass the children select.
After Big Group
1. Explain the following:
Our big idea for today is "Love God most." Our hearts should be pure with more love for God than love for anything else.
2. Place the blank index card halves on the table. Ask, "People love lots of things other than God. Some are good things, some are bad. What are some things people can love more than God?" For each response, write it down on the bottom of an index card. Then, hand that card to a child to draw a quick illustration of it while the discussion continues.
3. Spread the illustrated index cards on the table. Explain and ask the following:
Our verse today said, "Blessed are those whose hearts are pure. They will see God." What does it mean to have a pure heart? (Allow someone to respond.)
To have a pure heart, we need to love God more than anything else, more than all the things we've written on these cards.
On the large piece of paper, in large letters, write "God." Then, place it on the table next to the index cards. Explain the following:
Just like this piece of paper is a lot bigger than all the other cards, our love for God should be a lot greater than our love for anything else. We need to love God most.
If you have time, attach the index cards to the bottom of the large piece of paper by doing the following for each card: use a hole punch to place a hole in the index card. Punch a hole in the bottom of the large piece of paper. Slide a paper clip through each hole and then connect the paper clips together.
4. Hand each child a journal page. Have them fill it out, writing down the big idea “Love God most” and how they can use it in their life (Examples: I can try to not love stuff more than I love God.) Place the page in their journal binder.