Preschool Bible Lesson - The Greatest Commandment (Part 1) - Prayer

Lesson Overview

9:45 - sign in, free play time
10:05 - opening prayer, Game: God Hears Me
10:15 - Bible Story Lesson: Jesus teaches us to pray
10:40 - snack
10:45 - Bible Craft: Prayer Mat
11:15 - circle prayer time and story "Thank You Prayer"
11:20 - story: History of the Pretzel, hand out fresh bread pretzels
11:30 - closing prayer, coloring sheets, free play time 
11:45 - pick up

 Bible Story Lesson

 

Jesus teaches that w can show love to God by giving to the poor, by praying and by having faith that God will meet our needs.

Today we are going to learn how God would like us to pray. In Matthew 6:5-15 Jesus talks to us about prayer.

The first thing that Jesus tells us about prayer is that we should not show off when we pray. He says to go find a quiet place to pray to God.

The second thing that Jesus says is not to use meaningless words when we pray. Jesus says that God wants us to pray to him using simple, meaningful words because God knows what you need before you ask him.

Then Jesus told us how to pray. You may not understand the Lord's prayer when you first hear it or say it, but we are going to go through it and I will try to explain what each part means.

Our Father which art in heaven - this means that we are praying to our father in heaven. It reminds us that we are praying to God and it reminds us that we are not alone. God is our loving father and we are his special children.

Hallowed be thy name. - means that God's name is holy. We need to treat him special because he is God. We also need to be respectful to him when we pray. We show respect by folding our hands, bowing our heads and closing our eyes.


Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. - This part of the prayer means that we are praying for heaven to come so that there will be peace and love on earth like there is right now in heaven.


Give us this day our daily bread. - means that we ask God to give us everything we need to live - food, water, clothing, and shelter. We don't need a toy or lots of money, but we do need food and water to live.

And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. - this is the part of the prayer where we ask God to forgive us for hurting others. (Asking for forgiveness means that we are sorry and do not want to do the mistake again.) The second part to this is that we have to forgive others who have hurt us. If we don't forgive others who hurt us, Jesus says that God can't forgive us. God will only forgive us in the same way that we forgive others.

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil - sometimes it seems like it is more fun to do something else rather than to obey. This is called temptation. In this part of the prayer, we are asking God to help us do the right things.

For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever - The last part of the prayer means that we know the Earth and Heaven is God's and that God has all the power and the glory over them for ever.

Amen - closes the prayer. It means "Truly, Indeed, I agree."

(For Bible Story lesson visuals, use Betty Lukens Bible in Felt visuals. Can be purchased from http://www.thefeltsource.com/BibleStories.html )

(Search for Bible text in any version at http://www.biblegateway.com/)

Bible Craft

Prayer mat

Materials (per each student)
1 solid color cloth place mat (preferably in light color) with the words "(child's name) Prayer Mat" written on it in black.
fabric paint, tempera paint or permanent markers
no-sew iron on appliques (for older children ages 6+)

Instructions
Have the child decorate the prayer mat as desired. Once it is completed and dry, recommend that the child place it by his/her bed to remind them to kneel down and pray a prayer to God when they first wake up and before they go to bed.

Preschool Bible Lesson - Good Samaritan on Flannel Graph Board

The Good Samaritan

Preschool Bible Lesson - Jesus' Greatest Two Commandments (January 19, 2011 lesson)

Lesson Overview

9:45 - sign in, free play time
10:05 - opening prayer, Bible lesson
10:20 - creative activity: who's my neighbor paper craft
10:30 - snack
10:40 - story time: "Good Sam"story from http://childrenschapel.org/biblestories/goodsam.html
10:50 -dvd:Veggie Tales: Tale of Two Cities
11:15 - closing prayer, coloring page, Good Samaritan song, free play time
11:30 - pick up

 Bible Story Lesson

 

The Bible tells us that when Jesus was an adult, an important teacher came up to Jesus and asked "Which commandment is the most important?" Jesus answered him saying "Love the Lord your God. The second most important commandment is this: Love your neighbor as yourself. There are no greater commandments than these." (Mark 12:28-34)

The teacher asked Jesus who his neighbor was. Jesus told him this story: (Luke 10:25-37)

³⁰ In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. ³¹ A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. ³² So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. ³³ But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. ³⁴ He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. ³⁵ The next day he took out two denarii^[c] and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’

   ³⁶ “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”
 ³⁷ The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.”
   Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”

(For Bible Story lesson visuals, use Betty Lukens Bible in Felt visuals. Can be purchased from http://www.thefeltsource.com/BibleStories.html )


(Search for Bible text in any version at http://www.biblegateway.com/)

Bible Craft

"Who's my neighbor" Paper Craft from DLTK at http://www.dltk-bible.com/guides/parables_4.htm

Preschool Bible Lesson - Jesus as a boy

Lesson Overview

9:45 - sign in and free play time
10:05 - opening prayer, Bible lesson - Jesus as a Boy
10:20 - craft activity: Bookmarks for Bibles - paper bookmarks decorated and laminated.
10:40 - snack: Jennifer to bring
10:50 - Bible story books
11:00 - craft activity: coloring fish for game
11:05 - carnival games: "children's activities from ancient times" theme: fishing, throw "rocks" into cups, pennies in the water,  acting out David and Goliath
11:25 - coloring sheet Jesus-InTheTemple, closing prayer
11:30 -sign out

Bible Lesson

The Bible does not say very much about Jesus as a boy. There are only two stories in the Bible about Jesus as a boy.  The first story was Jesus at two years of age when the wise men came to visit him. The other story is about Jesus at 12 years of age.

Each year, Jesus and his parents went to Jerusalem to celebrate the passover feast. (Do you remember the passover from our story of Moses?) When the days of the Passover feast had ended, Mary and Joseph packed up and journeyed out of Jerusalem with their caravan. (A caravan is a long line of people traveling together with their animals.) The journeyed for a whole day and looked for Jesus. They thought that Jesus was with some of their relatives or friends. They searched the whole caravan but could not find Jesus anywhere. Mary and Joseph decided to travel back to Jerusalem.

They looked for Jesus for 3 more days. (How do you think they would have felt? How do you think your parents would feel if you were missing for 3 days?) After 3 days they finally found him sitting in the temple with the teachers. He was listening to them and asking questions. He was also answering their questions. All of the people who heard Jesus talk were amazed at how much he understood. Mary and Joseph were surprised and  amazed too.

Mary said to Jesus, "We have been so worried about you. How could you do this to us?"

Jesus answered, "Why were you looking for me? Do you not know that I need to be in my Father's house?"

Mary and Joseph did not understand what Jesus had said to them. Jesus went back to Nazareth with them. 
As Jesus grew up, he obeyed his parents at all times. Mary kept these things in her heart. As Jesus grew older, he grew in wisdom and favour with both God and men.

Q. Why did Mary, Joseph and Jesus go to Jerusalem?
A. To celebrate the Passover Feast.

Q. Where did Mary and Joseph finally find Jesus?
A. In the Temple.

Q. What was Jesus doing in the Temple?
A. Learning everything he could by listening and asking questions. Then he would answer the teachers questions (much like we are doing now.)

Q. What does the Bible say Jesus did when he got home with his parents?
A. Obeyed his parents at all times, grew in wisdom (learned everything he could), grew in favour with God (he loved and obeyed God), and grew in favour with men (he loved people and showed them kindness)

Q. How can we be like the boy Jesus?
A. Obey our parents always, learn everything we can from our parents, grandparents, teachers and priests), love God and obey his commandments (the 10 commandments), and be nice to others.