Unit 10 / Lesson 3
The Good News
Slides for the Lesson
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Teacher's Prep
Games
Team Pen
Watch this video to get an idea of what the game is like:
YouTube: Team-building activity "Team pen", by Мария Гончарова
Materials:
A roll of string or yarn
Felt markers (one per group of five)
White paper
Tables (one per group of five)
Tape
Assembly
For each child, cut a length of string about 60 centimeters (5 ft) long.
Tape five lengths of string to each felt marker
Stacking Cereal
Materials needed
About one table per group of four
Hand sanitizer (to use before touching food)
A bowl per group of four
A box of cereal that is easily stacked (Cheerios, Froot Loops, Shreddies)
If you play this game often, switch up the cereal to keep things fresh, if desired
Memory: Team Edition
Materials:
One deck of cards for every 4-6 children
One table for every 4-6 children
Check that the cards are shuffled before the lesson.
If you are not familiar with the Memory game, please see this video:
Paper Cup Phones (Main Activity)
See this video for instructions
Paper Cup Telephone | Only 3 Materials and 3 Easy Steps for Kids | How to Make Paper Cup Telephone, by Hungry SciANNtist
Materials:
2 paper cups per child
About 20 feet of string per child
2 toothpicks or paper clips per child
Tape to secure toothpicks or paper clips to the inside of cups
You will want to test out the craft yourself before class, and have it available as a model for the children to copy
Important note: for the craft to work, the string must be taut. One person should speak into the cup at one end, and another person should listen with their ears at the other end.
For the science behind why this craft works, and for more detailed instructions, you may see this blog:
In short, sounds made into one cup cause vibrations that are passed along the string, as long as there is tension in the string. The cups and string are made of solids, which transmit sound more efficiently than air, so that a whisper in one cup can be heard in the other cup.
Note: the point of the toothpick is to prevent the string from breaking the bottom of the cup. It allows for greater string tension, which helps the cup phone to operate properly.
Intro
SLIDE 1
Gathering
How was your week?
Series Intro
Lately, we have been learning about a list of things that almost all Christians believe, called the Apostles’ Creed
SLIDE 2
We're learning that list a little bit at a time. Let's read the bits we've covered so far:
I believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit
and born of the virgin Mary.
SLIDE 3
This week we're focusing on the next bit of the Apostle's Creed. It says:
He suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried;
he descended to hell.
The third day he rose again from the dead.
Our lesson today is about Jesus dying for us, rising again, and how we can know that it actually happened.
It’s a lesson on the greatest news in all the world.
Intro Game: Team Pen
Instructions
Let’s start the lesson with a game! It's called "Team Pen."
SLIDE 4
Let's watch a quick video to see what the game is like.
YouTube: Team-building activity "Team pen", by Мария Гончарова
SLIDE 5
We will form teams of five people each. Everyone on the team will hold one string, and you'll work together to draw a picture.
I'll tell you a picture to draw, and then you'll have three minutes to draw it as nicely as you can.
Teacher: instruct the groups to draw the following pictures one round at a time (giving extra time if teams need it):
Shoe
Spider
House
Debrief
We played this game because it's a bit like talking to people about Jesus. Even when we know what we’re trying to say, it can be really hard to say it. But, if we work together with our friends, we can help people to get the big idea.
First, we need a really clear idea in our minds about what we need to say.
Big Question
Our big question is: What do we need to say about Jesus?
SLIDE 6
Big Idea
Our big idea for this lesson is that we need to say two things:
1. We have good news about Jesus, and
2. We know the good news is true.
SLIDE 7
Bible Reference
That's what we'll see from our Bible passage. Let’s read what Paul wrote in the Bible:.
1 Corinthians 15:3-8 (CEV)
3 I told you the most important part of the message exactly as it was told to me. This part is: Christ died for our sins, as the Scriptures say. 4 He was buried, and three days later he was raised to life, as the Scriptures say. 5 Christ appeared to Peter, then to the twelve. 6 After this, he appeared to more than five hundred other followers. Most of them are still alive, but some have died. 7 He also appeared to James, then to all of the apostles. 8 Finally, he appeared to me, even though I am like someone who was born at the wrong time
Point 1
Our first point is, we have good news about Jesus.
SLIDE 8
Game: Stacking Cereal
Instructions
We'll start our point with a game! It's the cereal stacking game!
We'll make teams of four people each, and each team will have their own table.
Your team will be making a tower of cereal, and we'll see which team can make the tallest tower in five minutes!
Teacher: provide cereal, tables, and a timer for the children
Debrief
In this game, you all tried your best to make the tallest tower. You probably had a hard time because cereal can be really tricky to stack!
Imagine if you had someone on your team who was amazing at stacking cereal. Imagine that they were the best in the world at it, and they could stack the cereal sky high. Then no matter how bad you were at stacking cereal, your team would win.
Bible Reference
That's a bit like knowing Jesus. Our Bible passage talks about the things that Jesus did for us, which we could never have done for ourselves.
Let's read the first half of our Bible passage again.
SLIDE 9
1 Corinthians 15:3-4 (CEV)
3 I told you the most important part of the message exactly as it was told to me. This part is: Christ died for our sins, as the Scriptures say. 4 He was buried, and three days later he was raised to life, as the Scriptures say.
Explanation
In these verses, Paul is talking about the most important news in all the world. Some of the really important news is actually bad news,
SLIDE 10
that we are sinners. That means we have really messed up, and we have done things that break our friendship with God, and we are in serious trouble because of our sin. The Bible tells us that sin leads to death. This is because when we break our friendship with God, we can't be with God anymore. Everything good comes from God; even life. So, a person who can't be with God actually can't live. That's why sin leads to death. That's the bad news.
But, the good news is that God loves us so much that He sent His son to die for us, so that we wouldn't have to die.
SLIDE 11
What's more, Jesus defeated death for us so that we can live forever, and we can enjoy our friendship with God, who loves us so much.
Application
This is what we want to tell everyone. We want to tell everyone that God loves us, but we are sinners who break our friendship with God.
SLIDE 12
So Jesus died for us and defeated death for us so we could live with Him forever.
The tricky thing is that most of the time, it's not the right time to talk about these things. When you're in school and the teacher is teaching things, that's the wrong time to talk about Jesus, and when you're at home and everyone is really busy, that's the wrong time to talk about Jesus.
But if you are nice to the people around you, are a good friend, and show people that you care, then sooner or later you'll get your chance to talk about Jesus.
Discussion Question
Let's pause for a discussion question:
SLIDE 13
How would you explain the good news to a friend?
Point 2
Our second point is, we know the good news is true.
SLIDE 14
Game: Memory: Team Edition
Instructions
We'll start this point with a game called Memory.
Teacher: you may want to play this short instructional video if you think any of the children are unfamiliar with Memory (the card matching game).
In order to play, we need to set up a table for every 4 to 6 people
On each table, we need to have a lot of cards upside down and spread out neatly.
Let's take a moment to set up the tables and the cards
Teacher: set up tables and cards with the children. Cards should end up in a grid formation.
Now everyone needs to find a partner, and when you've found your partner, go to a table.
Every table should have 4 people to 6 people. You and your partner should stand on opposite sides of the table, and you will be on opposite teams!
Everyone will go around the table turning over two cards, and seeing if they match. If they match, you get to keep the cards for your team. Be sure to work together with the people on your team and try to get as many matches as you can. If you run out of cards to match, you can start the game again.
Teacher: run the game for about 10 minutes.
Debrief
In this game we played, sometimes we know which card to turn over, because we've seen it before. On the other hand, we probably can't remember everything, so we need to rely on our friends to remember some things for us.
That's what it's like to know things about Jesus.
SLIDE 15
There are some things we can see for ourselves, but sometimes we need to trust someone else to see things we missed.
Bible Reference
That's what Paul is getting at in our Bible passage. He talks about all the people who saw Jesus alive again after He died on the cross.
SLIDE 16
1 Corinthians 15:4-8
4 He was buried, and three days later he was raised to life, as the Scriptures say. 5 Christ appeared to Peter, then to the twelve. 6 After this, he appeared to more than five hundred other followers. Most of them are still alive, but some have died. 7 He also appeared to James, then to all of the apostles. 8 Finally, he appeared to me, even though I am like someone who was born at the wrong time.
Explanation
SLIDE 17
Paul gave a list of all the people who saw Jesus after He rose from the dead, so that if anyone talked to those people, they would know that Jesus had kept His promise and had come back to life.
Paul wanted us to know that the story about Jesus wasn't made up, but that it really happened. Jesus really died for us, and He really defeated death for us so that we could live forever. The way He came back to life proves that He was not just another human being, but He was God just as He said.
Application
Anyone who lived back then could know that the good news is true. But those people aren't around anymore. So, how can we know today that Jesus did all these things for us?
One way we know is by reading what people wrote about Jesus. When we read the Bible, it's like listening to the people who saw Jesus.
SLIDE 18
We can also know Jesus for ourselves. When we do what God says, we find that His words are true, and He really does keep His promises. That makes us believe that the good news about Jesus is true.
Discussion Question
SLIDE 19
Let's pause for a discussion question:
What questions do you have about Jesus? Let's write them down! We can pass these questions on to a pastor or an adult who studies these things. When we can answer questions, we can feel more confident about the things we believe about Jesus.
Teacher: write down questions, and note who asked those questions. Pass questions on to a pastor or someone who studies these things. Return answers back to the children the following week. This might feel like a lot of work, but it could be a very significant exercise.
Conclusion
SLIDE 20
Let’s wrap up our lesson by going over the ideas again.
Our big question today was: What do we need to say about Jesus?
Our big idea was that we need to say two things:
1. We have good news about Jesus, and
2. We know the good news is true.
SLIDE 21
Main Activity: Paper Cup Phones
That brings us to our main activity for today. We are going to make paper cup telephones! We can make telephones that actually work! This craft reminds us that we have a message to share with everyone we know.
Let's watch this video to see how to make them.
Teacher: play this YouTube video:
YouTube: Paper Cup Telephone | Only 3 Materials and 3 Easy Steps for Kids | How to Make Paper Cup Telephone, by Hungry SciANNtist
These phones actually work when the string is tight! Now let’s make the telephones.
Teacher: distribute the materials, and help them make the craft step by step. You may want to run the video again and pause it after every step. You can have them test out their phones to end the lesson. Note: the phones only work when the string is taut.
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