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Experiencing Jesus

Table of Contents Welcome & A Note on Classroom Setup……………………………………………………………………………2

Who We Are……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………3

Week 1: The Disciples…………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 4

Week 2: Peter………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 10

Week 3: Peter’s Mother-in-Law…………………………………………………………………………………….. 14

Week 4: Zaccheus………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 18

Week 5: Mary and Martha…………………………………………………………………………………………….. 23

Week 6: Palm Sunday – The Crowd……………………………………………………………………………….. 28

Week 7: Easter – Mary Magdalene………………………………………………………………………………… 33

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Experiencing Jesus

Welcome

Welcome to Lent 2017, Experiencing Jesus! We are glad you are joining us as we experience Jesus through Bible characters who changed as a result of their encounter with Jesus. Each week follows the same format and includes all directions needed to complete the lesson. As with any lesson, feel free to modify or expand to meet your needs and the needs of your students.

A Note on Classroom Set-up Children love coming into a room that has been set up just for them. We invite you to walk into your classroom area, no matter what kind of space that is, and try to look at it as if it’s your first time seeing the room. What do you see? What’s missing? What do you really like? What would you want to change? What could make it more appealing to children? These are just a few of the questions to ask yourself in setting up your learning space. Ideally, your space may include: appropriately sized tables and chairs, an open area with a small table for your worship space, a cloth or piece of fabric of the appropriate liturgical color*, a Bible, a cross, a battery operated candle, an offering basket. Feel free to include any additional items that are special or have meaning for your group of children. Other basic supplies that will be helpful to have ready in your classroom include scissors, markers, crayons, colored pencils, pencils, glue & glue sticks, yarn, hole punch, tape, stapler, and Bibles. In each individual lesson, you will find additional supplies needed for that week. *Learn more about the seasons of the liturgical year, including a helpful visual depiction, here: http://www.seasonsonline.ca/files/symphony-of-the-church-yr.pdf One additional activity you might like to do is to have the children make a keychain-like tag each week with the word of the day and the Bible character. For this you will need pieces of paper cut in rectangles (or use a tag punch). Write the word on one side and the Bible character on the other. Use a hole punch to punch a hole and put them on a ring or piece of yarn, pipe cleaner, or ribbon. Add one tag each week of Lent and send the whole set home on Easter Sunday as a reminder of how each Bible character experienced Jesus and how we, too, might experience Jesus. Blessings to each of you as you travel through this holy season of Lent. Rev. Denise Bender Rev. Nani Arning

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Who We Are Rev. Nani Arning (Co-author) was ordained a Deacon in 2000 after serving as Diaconal Minister since 1984. She holds a Master of Arts in Christian Education, and has served professionally for 32 years in churches in Kansas and Colorado. She is a Certified Director of Christian Education, a trained Stephen Minister, and a member of the Christian Educators Fellowship in the United Methodist Church. Rev. Nani is passionate about nurturing and being in ministry with children, families, and adults, bringing faith stories alive in real and tangible ways, whether through Christian education, worship, music, or caring/nurturing ministries. Rev. Denise Bender (Co-author) holds a Master of Divinity from Iliff School of Theology and was ordained a Deacon in Full Connection in 2008. She has completed three units of Clinical Pastoral Education, in addition to serving a total of fifteen years as associate pastor at two churches in the Denver metro area. Her expertise is in faith development for all ages, mission and outreach, pastoral care and worship teams. As a founding partner of Sacred Stones Ministries, Rev. Denise is passionate about helping small and mid-size churches think outside the box of what is possible for faith formation. Rev. Kerry Greenhill (Editor) was ordained a Deacon in Full Connection in 2009, and has 14 years’ experience in local church ministry, with a focus on worship, adult spiritual formation, and mission/outreach. She has also served in a variety of non-profit administration and communication roles, and is fluent in Spanish. Rev. Kerry feels called to ministries of translation: communicating the needs and challenges of our changing society to those who are in the church, and interpreting the good news of God’s love in ways that make sense and bring healing to those beyond the church walls.

Sacred Stones Ministries is a non-profit ministry consulting group dedicated to equipping individuals and Christian communities to connect more deeply with God, with each other, and with the world. At Sacred Stones, we believe that ministry is too important to do alone. So every day, we partner with church leaders to mobilize congregations for service, develop faith formation and worship resources, and equip laypeople to lead ministry. Together, we are trying to cultivate a culture of discipleship committed to building the reign of God on earth. Learn more about us at www.SacredStonesMinistries.org.

Experiencing Jesus: Week 1 © Denise Bender 2017

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Experiencing Jesus

First Week of Lent: I Experience Jesus through the Story of the Disciples

Key Word: Invitation

BACKGROUND

Theological Idea

The objective for this series is to guide children in experiencing Jesus through biblical characters who choose to let Jesus into their lives. Today’s word is “Invitation.” The Disciples were normal people working at their jobs every day to support their families, worshipping God through their Jewish faith, and following the laws of the land. Jesus was probably a friend, or at least knew them, before he invited them to join him in his ministry. They experience Jesus through the invitation to follow him. Definitions Disciple: A person who follows Jesus. Following means to learn and live the way Jesus did. Apostle: A disciple who takes the lessons of Jesus into the world to help others learn about Jesus. Faith should be invitational. No one should feel pressured to believe one way or another. Our task as teachers is to offer the stories and the connections to feed a child’s spirit so that they want to know more about the community of faith in a way that speaks to that spirit. We invite the children to be part of the gathered community. We invite children to pray. We invite children to participate in the conversations where no answer is totally incorrect. We invite children to ask more questions and peer more closely into the mystery that is God’s Kin’dom. The following summary of the disciples is provided to help you, as the teacher, bring to life the 12 people who followed Jesus when he invited them. There were twelve disciples who followed and learned the ways of Jesus. Even though one of those disciples would betray him, even that person knew the stories of love and grace. Their names are Simon/Peter (aka Cephas), and Andrew, his brother; James (James the Elder), and John, sons of Zebedee; Philip; Bartholomew (aka Nathanael); Thomas; Matthew (aka Levi); James (son of Alphaeus); Thaddaeus (aka Jude); Simon the Zealot; and Judas Iscariot.

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Information below is based on traditional Christian teaching about the disciples. Before class begins find the towns below on a map and be ready to mark them with the children using a small figure of a person or a colored thumbtack to indicate the disciples. Andrew:

Fisherman Lived in Bethsaida and Capernaum Peter’s brother Patron saint of Russia, Scotland, and Greece Introduced Jesus to many people

Bartholomew or Nathanael

Came from Royal blood – Father was Talmai king of Geshur Lived in Cana of Galilee A great scholar in the law and prophets of the Hebrew scriptures Preached in India Founder of Armenian Church

James the Elder

Fisherman Lived in Bethsaida, Capernaum, and Jerusalem Brother of John; they were inseparable A person of courage and forgiveness

James the Lesser or the Younger

Lived in Galilee Brother of Jude and maybe Matthew Wrote the Epistle of James

John Boanerges

Fisherman – family was wealthy enough to hire others to help with fishing business Brother of James the Elder; Jesus gave the brothers the nickname “Boanerges,”

meaning “Sons of Thunder” Lived in Bethsaida, Capernaum, and Jerusalem He wrote the Gospel of John, I John, II John, III John, and Revelation An ambitious man with an explosive temper Learned to become more mellow learning about Jesus’s messages

Judas Iscariot

Jewish Nationalist Treasurer for the Apostles Betrayed Jesus for 30 coins Hanged himself after his betrayal of Jesus

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Jude or Thaddeus Lived in Galilee Brother of James the Younger and maybe Matthew Preached near the Euphrates River Believed that Jesus should be known to the world as King

Matthew or Levi

From Capernaum He was a tax collector Wrote the Gospel of Matthew Brother of James the Lesser Literate

Peter

Fisherman who lived in Bethsaida and Capernaum. Missionary to Babylon Married Originally named Simon; Jesus gave him the nickname “Cephas,” which means rock

and is equivalent to Peter Philip

Fisherman from Phrygia Stayed with Paul in Ceasarea Took the message of Jesus into the other parts of the world of the Middle East

Simon the Zealot

Home was in Galilee A Zealot who hated the Romans Devoted to the Judaic Law He became a follower and gave up his hatred to take on the ministry of Jesus

Thomas Didymus

Lived in Galilee A laborer in Parthia, Persia, and India Seen as a skeptic who needed proof

Experiencing Jesus: Week 7/Easter © Denise Bender 2017

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THE LESSON

Welcome/Gathering (5 minutes)

1. Welcome each child, call each by name, ask pertinent questions such as: What’s one thing you learned in school this week? What was the best part of the week? What did you notice about the weather this week?

2. Invite them to find a seat and be involved in an activity like play dough, Legos, coloring paper and crayons.

3. Have 5 minutes at the activity, then invite the children to clean up (always help them) and come to the interactive table for the lesson.

Centering Activity (5 minutes)

Invite the children to sit in their chairs with feet on the floor, hands in their lap, and eyes closed. Say:

“This has been a busy week. Now it is time to learn more about Jesus. Take a slow, deep breath. Raise your arms over your head. As you slowly breathe out, bring your arms down to your lap.” (Repeat 3 times.)

Engaging the Essence (10 minutes)

The following activity helps the children prepare for the main topic of the lesson. 1. Say: “Today we are going to talk about inviting. Do you know what an invitation is?”

(Be affirming with all answers.) “An invitation is when you ask someone to do something with you. Usually that something is something fun or something that you would like to do.”

2. Ask: “When was the last time you invited someone for a play date or other fun time?” “What kinds of things did you say?” “What kinds of things did your friend say?”

Activity: Making Invitations

1. Supplies: - Construction paper in various colors - Crayons, colored pencils, or markers - Scraps of ribbon or fabric - Glue

2. Instructions: Say: “We are going to make invitations. Think about someone that you would like to invite to a play date, or a movie. You could even invite your parents or grandparents (etc.) to a game night or a walk in the park.” Make sure each invitation includes: Date:

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Event: Your Name: Who the invitation is for: Where is the event:

Prayer (5 minutes)

Say: How can we pray for you today? (After joys and concerns, pray for the children and tie it into the upcoming lesson by saying, “Open our hearts to hear your Word.”)

Connection with the Ancient Stories (10 minutes)

The following scripture is in two translations. There are many translations of the Bible and so reading several translations can help us understand the nuances of the scripture. Invite the children to get out their Bibles or find one of the classroom Bibles. Say: Let’s find the scripture for today in our Bibles. Today’s scripture is Mark, Chapter 1, Verses 16-20. Is the book of Mark in the Old Testament or New Testament? Mark is one of the four Gospels. “Gospel” means “Good News.” They are the stories of Jesus’ life on earth. Let’s read it. (Help the children find the passage even if they are not readers. It is nice for them to know the Bible is a book for all times and ages.) Mark 1:16-20 (NRSV)

16 As Jesus passed along the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the sea—for they were fishermen. 17 And Jesus said to them, “Follow me and I will make you fish for people.” 18 And immediately they left their nets and followed him. 19 As he went a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John, who were in their boat mending the nets. 20 Immediately he called them; and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men, and followed him.

Mark 1:16-20 (The Message)

16-18 Passing along the beach of Lake Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew net-fishing. Fishing was their regular work. Jesus said to them, “Come with me. I’ll make a new kind of fisherman out of you. I’ll show you how to catch men and women instead of perch and bass.” They didn’t ask questions. They dropped their nets and followed. 19-20 A dozen yards or so down the beach, he saw the brothers James and John, Zebedee’s sons. They were in the boat, mending their fishnets. Right off, he made the same offer. Immediately, they left their father Zebedee, the boat, and the hired hands, and followed.

Engagement Through Discussion (10 minutes)

1. Who were the disciples? (Good answers include the names of the 12, or their jobs, of that they wanted to follow Jesus and learn the lessons he had to teach.)

2. How did the disciples know about Jesus? (Some were his friends, brothers, or strangers who didn’t know but were invited to follow.)

3. What did Jesus do to get the disciples to follow him? (He asked and they said yes.)

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4. What is a disciple? (A follower of Jesus.) 5. What do disciples do? (Listen and learn the lessons of Jesus.) 6. What kinds of lessons did Jesus teach? (Peace, love, grace, forgiveness) 7. How can we be disciples? (Learn about Jesus and then put those lessons into action

in our lives.)

Activities to Remember the Story (15 minutes)

Choose one or both depending on children’s ages and amount of time available. Footprints: I Walk With Jesus (http://www.catholicicing.com/walk-with-jesus-craft-for-the-letter-w/)

1. Supplies: - Construction Paper - Large paint brush - Paints - Paper towels - Crayons

2. Instructions: a. Paint each child’s feet with the color of their choice. b. Have them walk on paper to make footprints. c. Write “I Walk with Jesus” on the paper.

CD Fish (http://www.healthyhappythriftyfamily.com/2015/03/crafting-alphabet-f-is-for-fish.html)

1. Supplies: - 1 CD per child - Construction Paper - Craft glue - Sequins - Chenille stems

2. Instructions: a. Cut the fin shapes out of construction paper. b. Glue the fins to the back of the CD (except for the front

fin) so the cut edge won’t be seen. c. Glue on googly eyes. d. Place dots of craft glue around the CD and place sequins onto the glue. e. Form a mouth out of a chenille stem and glue onto CD.

Blessing (1 minute)

As children leave, send them out with the blessing: God loves you and invites you to follow Jesus.