BEATITUDES-PEACEMAKERS

"Blessed Are The Peacemakers”

Matthew 5:9

Big Idea

Be a peacemaker, not a peacebreaker.

 

Materials Needed: 

1. Plastic sword or long wooden rod   2. Four name tag stickers   3. Marker
4. Small bag filled with coins

Setup:

None.

Lesson

1. Ask a few of the children to name a few of the superheroes and super villains that they mentioned small group time. Explain the following, writing the big idea on a chalk/wipe board as you mention it:

    Our big idea for today is "Be a peacemaker, not a peacebreaker." The superheroes we mentioned earlier would be people who fight crime and try to make peace. But the super villains would be people who try break the peace and cause all kinds of evil.

    What does peace mean? Peace is when everyone is working together, getting along, and helping each other. The opposite of peace is when everyone is fighting and refusing to do anything for anybody else.

    Today, we're going to look at a story in the Bible with a hero, a villain, and one guy who learns a lesson about being a peacemaker.


2. Select a male volunteer to come up front. Explain the following:

    The hero in our story, our peacemaker, is Jesus. That's who you'll represent.

    Write "Jesus" on one of the name tag stickers and have your volunteer stick it to his chest.

    Jesus was the greatest person who ever lived. He was perfect, never did a single thing wrong. That's because he wasn't just a person: he was God inside a human body! The Bible calls him the son of God.


3. Select another volunteer to come up front. Explain the following:

    One of Jesus' goals was to teach people about God. In fact, he had a small group of guys who followed him around wherever he went. The Bible calls this group the "disciples." And while they traveled, he taught them about God.

    One of those guys was named Peter, and that's who you'll represent.

    Write "Peter" on one of the name tag stickers and have your volunteer stick it to his/her chest.

    At this point in our story, we're not really sure if Peter's a hero or a villain yet. He's a good student of Jesus, but sometimes he says stuff and does stuff before he thinks about it, and it tends to get him into trouble.

    Oh, one more thing. On the night of our story, Peter is carrying a sword with him.

    Hand the plastic sword to "Peter." Instruct him to hold it by his/her side until he/she is instructed to use it.    


4. Explain the following:

    Our story is found in the book of John. It's late at night, and Jesus is in a garden, praying.

    Instruct "Jesus" to sit/kneel down on the floor and fold his hands together, as if in prayer.

    Jesus' students, the disciples (including Peter), are there with him, a few feet away. But since it's late, Peter and the disciples are having trouble staying awake.

    Instruct "Peter' to lounge down on the floor.


5. Select another volunteer to come up. Explain the following:
    Now it's time to meet our villain, the peacebreaker. He was also a disciple of Jesus, one of the guys who, like Peter, followed Jesus around. His name was Judas, and that's who you'll represent.
    Write "Judas" on one of the name tag stickers, and have your volunteer stick it to his/her chest.
    But Judas wasn't a very good follower of Jesus. Being a villain and peacebreaker, he was only looking out for himself. And he wasn't with Jesus and the rest of the disciples of Jesus on this night. He was off meeting with another group of villains.
    Instruct "Judas" to stand off to the side of the teaching area. Select another child to come forward and stand near "Judas." Explain the following:
    You see, there was a group of people who didn't like Jesus one bit. Even though Jesus never did anything wrong, they hated him. They were called the Pharisees. They didn't like what he did and they didn't like what he said. They hated him so much, they wanted him dead. That's who you'll represent, the Pharisees.
    Write "Pharisees" on a name tag, and have your volunteer stick it to his/her chest.
    They had a plan to get Jesus. They wanted to have him arrested and put to death by the government. But they were having trouble finding a time to sneak up on him and arrest him.
    That's where our peacebreaker and villian, Judas, comes in. He said to them, "I'll tell you where Jesus is so you can arrest him, but it's going to cost ya!" So the group of villains gave Judas a bag of money, and Judas got ready to lead them to where Jesus was.
    Hand the bag of coins to Judas and instruct him/her to place it inside his/her pocket.

6. Explain the following:
    Judas led his group of villains, the Pharisees, and a few soldiers to the garden where Jesus was praying. Jesus, since he was God, knew that this was about to happening, so he stopped praying and went to his disciples.
    Instruct "Jesus" and "Peter" to stand up and "Judas" and the "Pharisees" to stand near. them.
    Judas showed the Pharisees which one was Jesus, and the soldiers moved forward to arrest him.
    Instruct the "Pharisees" to step towards "Jesus."
    Jesus, the peacemaker, knew that God would be with him even if he was arrested by the soldiers. He was willing to go with them. He wasn't going to fight.
    Peter, on the other hand, still wasn't sure if he could trust God to take care of Jesus. So, instead of being a peacemaker, he became a peacebreaker.
    This next part of the story is where all the action is. And just like a good action movie, we're going to do it in slow-motion.
    Peter looked at the men there to arrest Jesus and pulled out his sword. (Have "Peter" slowly hold up his sword.)
    He then lifted his sword high above his head... (Have "Peter" raise his sword above his head slowly) and swiped at his head. (Have "Peter" slowly move his sword toward the head of the "Pharisees." Right as he's about to make contact, quickly say the following line.)
    But, his aim was off! Instead of hitting the man in the head, his sword missed just a little bit, and hit him in the ear, slicing it clean off. (Have "Peter" slowly and carefully move his sword past the ear of the "Pharisee.") The man, who was just a servant to one of the Pharisees, fell to the ground in pain. (Instruct the "Phrarisees" to fall to the ground.)
    Now that the action's mostly done, we'll go back to regular speed. Jesus looked at Peter and said, "Put your sword away!" (Instruct "Jesus" to say this.) And Peter did so. (Instruct "Peter" to hold his sword down by his side.)
    Seeing the man in pain, Jesus reached out to him and touched his ear. (Instruct "Jesus" to put his hand over the "Pharisees" ear.) When Jesus pulled his hand away, the man's ear was completely back to normal.
    After all this, the Pharisees and their men grabbed Jesus and led him away to be arrested.
    Instruct the "Pharisees" to grab the arms of "Jesus," hold them behind his back, and lead him off to the side of the teaching area. After this, instruct your volunteers to return to their seats.
    You may ask why didn't Jesus fight back. Jesus hadn't done anything wrong. They had no reason to arrest him. But Jesus knew that God had a plan for him, and being arrested was part of it. So, instead of fighting the guards like Peter and refusing to be arrested, he did the right thing and let them take him away.
    Sometimes heroes and peacemakers do have to fight. If you saw a little old lady getting beat up in the park by someone, you'd probably do everything you could to help her out. Peacemakers never start a fight, but sometimes that have to fight to protect themselves when someone chooses to keep fighting with them.
    Above all else, peacemakers trust that God is in control of everything and do the right thing. When people say mean things about them, they don't say mean things back. If someone stole from them, they don't steal something back. Instead, they pay back the bad with good.
    You see, Jesus wasn't just arrested and put in prison. He was then beaten, and put to death by the people in charge of the government. But, because he was God inside the body of a man, his death was enough to pay the price for all the bad stuff we've ever done, if only we believe in him. Jesus was a real peacemaker and a real hero.