Materials
24
SUGGESTED SEQUENCE
Sermon on the Mount
LESSON TITLE
Matthew 8; Jeremiah 29:13
WHERE TO FIND IT
Tip
Have fun with the extra games and activities today. They should help keep kids engaged for the whole lesson.
Note
This lesson has activities throughout the lesson. Read this lesson carefully before teaching.
Slide 1
Note: Give kids some free play time at the beginning. You could have some Kids’ Club music on in the background. Check out http://crossroadskidsclub.net/music/ for plenty of music!
*Quick Note: We’re going to try to do something a little different today. Instead of a smaller group activity and larger group presentation, we’re going to have four shorter activities spread throughout the lesson. So, plan for the presentation part to take a little extra time.
If you need a quick game to get started, play a quick game of Simon Says.
Slide 2
This section is all about engaging kids in part of God’s Story in a way that is understandable for each kid.
Say: We’re going to do something a little different today. Instead of starting with one game now, we’re going to do four games all through our lesson.
Ask: Does that sound good?
Say: Awesome! Let’s kids started.
Slide 3-4
Say: Today, we’re going to talk about how Jesus didn’t just talk to people. He actually went out and helped others. We’ll see in today’s story that Jesus went different places to comfort and be with people who needed him.
Say: Our story today picks up after Jesus came to the world, when he was living in a place called Galilee.
Say: We’re going to watch a video now about how Jesus preached to a large group of people on a mountain. Pay attention to what he tells people to do, but even more importantly, pay attention to what he actually DOES after he preaches!
Slide 5
Let’s look some places where Jesus went to comfort people throughout the story! We’ll play some games to try to remember some of the places Jesus went.
Slide 6
Activity 1: Picture Puzzle
To play the first game, we’re going to see little pieces of a picture one at a time. As you see each piece pop up, take turns trying to guess the first place Jesus went.
Do: Click to show different parts of the picture. As soon as students say hill or mountain, congratulate them.
Slide 7
Say: Now while Jesus was walking down the mountain, a man who was really sick came up to him, and asked Jesus to heal him. Nobody else wanted to touch this man, because if they did, they would get sick too! Do you think this guy needed comfort? (Let kids respond.) He sure did.
Ask: What did Jesus do when the man came up to him? (Let kids respond.) Yep, he touched the man, and healed him! That means all the guy’s sickness was completely gone!
Slide 8-9
Activity 2: Word Unscramble
Say: To remember where Jesus went next, let’s play our next game. I have three clues on the screen that will help you figure out the next place. The only problem is all the clues are mixed up.
Say (optional if you’ve printed the letter times): I have some letter tiles for each word to help you. You can work on your own or with a friend to try to unscramble the words.
Quick note: You could also create your own letter tiles without printing the sheet by writing the letters on small pieces of paper. Feel free to guide kids as much as needed especially if you have a younger group.
Do: Let kids try to unscramble the words. If kids seem to be getting agitated because they can’t figure out the words, go ahead and show the unscrambled words and see if they can guess town or city from those clues.
Slide 10
Say: Right! He went to a city/town called Capernaum!
Ask: Can you say, “Capernaum”?
Say: Capernaum was a really old city, and there were a lot of people there who didn’t believe in God. But do you think Jesus still wanted to show those people love? (Let kids respond.) Yes, he did! He loved everyone.
Ask: Do you remember who came up to Jesus when he got to the city? (Let kids respond.)
Say: Yep, a soldier walked up and asked Jesus to heal his servant. And Jesus did!
Ask: Do you think the soldier got comfort from Jesus? (Let kids respond.) Yes! Jesus showed him that his power is real, and he can comfort us no matter what.
Slide 11
Activity 3: 10 Questions
Say: Time for the next game. This one’s a twist on a classic.
Ask: Have any of you ever played twenty questions?
Say: We’re going to play a version, but you only get ten questions. The only rule is that you can only ask questions where the answer is yes or no. We’ll take turns and remember this is a place.
Slide 11 (Continued)
Do: Click the slide for each question asked to keep track. You can click at the bottom if they guess before they use all ten questions.
Quick note: Their goal is to guess house, but if they guess Peter’s house, that’s even better!
Say: Next, he went to Peter’s house.
Ask: What did Jesus do here? (Let kids respond.)
Say: Yep, he touched Peter’s mother-in-law, and she was healed of sickness! Then he healed a bunch of other people too. He showed a whole town of people that he was the real deal, and he meant every word that he spoke up on the mount.
Slide 12-13
Activity 4: Boat Puzzle
Say: One more activity to look at the last place Jesus went.
Quick note: There are two versions of the activity depending on whether you choose to print or not. Look below to see which fits your group.
Option 1 (Kids have printed sheets)
Say: Cut out the printed shapes. See if you can put them together to help remember the last place Jesus visited in this story.
Slide 14
Say: Now after a full day of preaching, traveling and healing people, Jesus was probably pretty tired. He and his disciples got onto a boat, maybe to relax and take a break. Then, suddenly it started to storm. Jesus was still taking a nap. His disciples woke Jesus up and he asked why they were afraid. Then, he calmed the sea!
Slide 15
Say: Jesus didn’t just spend his life preaching...he spent his life DOING. He showed people he was real by bringing them comfort and making them feel safe and happy! He took away people’s worries, fear and pain, and he wants to do the same for us. Let’s look at the verse we’re learning this month. It’s Jeremiah 29:13:
Say: Jeremiah 29:13 You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.
Pray: God, we need you to help us through hard things. We need you to comfort us. We trust and love you. Amen!
Slide 16
Music Note: You may know that your group connects with a specific Kids’ Club song, so we want to give you some freedom in choosing what song(s) work best for your group. Just click on the music videos slide, and it will open a separate Music Videos presentation. Select a song for your group. If you don’t know what to choose for this week, the song Do Like You Do would go well with what we’ve talked about.
Do:Choose a video (or videos) to play.
Slides 17-21
Quick Note: Each question has an image that goes with it. Click to a new slide for each question.
Ask:
Slides 17-21 (Continued)
Quick Note: Each question has an image that goes with it. Click to a new slide for each question.
Ask:
Slides 22-26
Say: We’ll memorize the verse with motions! Let’s break it up into the following sections. Repeat after me:
Quick note: Each section has it’s own slide. Click to advance after each bullet point.
Say: Now, let’s try to remember the whole thing.
Do: If you gave printed sheets to each kid (page 7), have them cutout the bookmark with the verse to keep as a reminder.
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