Tell Me the Stories of JesusTell Me the Stories of JesusTell Me the Stories of JesusTell Me the Stories of Jesus . . . .

Jesus Heals a Blind Man on the Sabbath John 9

• How do we keep the Sabbath Day Holy?

• Have our children felt the power of the Savior’s Miracles? Do our children believe that “it is by faith that miracles are wrought,” and do they pray for miracles in their own lives? Elder Neil L. Anderson (April 2010)

Topics that can be discussed:Topics that can be discussed:Topics that can be discussed:Topics that can be discussed:

• Before you tell the story blindfold everyone – use fabric strips, scarves, ties, etc. When Jesus performs the miracle have everyone take off the blindfolds

• Tell/read the story

Jesus heals the blind man. 1. One day when Jesus was walking with His disciples, they met a man who had been blind since he

was born. The disciples asked if he was blind because he had sinned or because his parents had

sinned. 2. Jesus answered that neither the man nor his parents had sinned, but that the man

was blind so that the power of God would be made manifest on him. 3. Jesus spit on the ground and made clay out of the dirt and put it on the blind man’s

eyes. Then He told the man to wash his eyes in the Pool of Siloam, which means ‘Sent’. 4. As soon as the man washed the clay from his eyes, he could see! (remove blindfold) 5. From that moment it was known all over how Jesus healed the blind man. When his neighbors

saw him, they were not sure who he was. Then they wondered how he had been healed. The man told

them who he was and how Jesus had healed him. 6. Next, the man told the Pharisees that Jesus had healed him, and how it happened. Some of them

thought Jesus must be a righteous man. Some of them thought He was a sinner, since he

healed the blind man on the Sabbath. When the man who had been healed maintained that Jesus

was righteous, they were angry and threw the man out of their synagogue. 7. Jesus went looking for the man, and having found him Jesus asked him if he believed in the

Son of God. The man said to Jesus: “Who is he, Lord, that I might believe on him? 8. Jesus said: You have seen him, and you are talking to him! And the man said, “Lord, I

believe” and worshiped Jesus.

Make a Sunday Jar 1. Decorate a Jar together 2. Print, Laminate and Cut up the activity squares –

place them in the Jar 3. Decide that every Sunday each member of the

family will pick 3 activity squares and then choose one to immediately work on

4. Once the activity has been accomplished a snack/treat can be claimed!

The prophet Spencer W. Kimball counseled: “The Sabbath is a holy day in which to do worthy and holy things. Abstinence from work and recreation is important but insufficient. The Sabbath calls for constructive thoughts and acts, and if one merely lounges about doing nothing on the Sabbath, he is breaking it. To observe it, one will be on his knees in prayer, preparing lessons, studying the gospel, meditating, visiting the ill and distressed, sleeping, reading wholesome material, and attending all the meetings of that day to which he is expected. [Failure] to do these proper things is a transgression on the omission side.”

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Discussion & QuotesDiscussion & QuotesDiscussion & QuotesDiscussion & Quotes::::

Today is the Sabbath. It does not end if someone calls on the phone or knocks at our door inviting us to come out and play, go for a ride, to a ball game, or shopping; it does not end because we are on vacation or someone is visiting us, whether member or nonmember.

The Lord commanded: “Go ye out from among the wicked. Save yourselves. Be ye clean that bear the vessels of the Lord.” A critical element in observing this commandment is to “remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.” Elder H. Aldridge Gillespie, Of the Seventy

So many in our generation are missing great blessings by not honoring the Lord’s day. “And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.

“And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.” (Gen. 2:1–3.)

In biblical times this commandment to rest and worship was so strict that a violation of it called for the death penalty. (See Ex. 31:15.) Even the earth was given a Sabbath rest: “But in the seventh year shall be a Sabbath of rest unto the land, a Sabbath for the Lord: thou shalt neither sow thy field, nor prune thy vineyard.” (Lev. 25:4.)

The Sabbath was referred to in the Old Testament days as a blessed and hallowed day (see Ex. 20:11), as a symbol of a perpetual covenant of faithfulness (see Ex. 31:16), as a holy convocation (see Lev. 23:3), as a day of spiritual celebration (see Lev. 23:32).

Jesus reaffirmed the importance of the Sabbath day devotion, but he introduced a new spirit into this part of worship. (See Matt. 24:20.) Rather than observe the endless technicalities and prohibitions concerning what should and should not be done on the Lord’s day, he affirmed that it is lawful to do well on the Sabbath. (See Matt. 12:12.) He taught us that “the Son of man is Lord even of the Sabbath day” (Matt. 12:8) and introduced the principle that “the sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath” (Mark 2:27). He performed good deeds on the Sabbath, such as healing the man with palsy (see Mark 2:1–12) as well as the man with the paralyzed hand (see Matt. 12:10–13). So the divine mandate of Sabbath day observance in our day is now more of a manifestation of individual devotion and commitment rather than a requirement of civil law.

Over a lifetime of observation, it is clear to me that the farmer who observes the Sabbath day seems to get more done on his farm than he would if he worked seven days. The mechanic will be able to turn out more and better products in six days than in seven. The doctor, the lawyer, the dentist, the scientist will accomplish more by trying to rest on the Sabbath than if he tries to utilize every day of the week for his professional work. I would counsel all students, if they can, to arrange their schedules so that they do not study on the Sabbath. If students and other seekers after truth will do this, their minds will be quickened and the infinite Spirit will lead them to the verities they wish to learn. This is because God has hallowed his day and blessed it as a perpetual covenant of faithfulness. (See Ex. 31:16.)

Why has God asked us to honor the Sabbath day? The reasons I think are at least threefold. The first has to do with the physical need for rest and renewing. Obviously God, who created us, would know more than we do of the limits of our physical and nervous energy and strength.

The second reason is, in my opinion, of far greater significance. It has to do with the need for regeneration and the strengthening of our spiritual being. God knows that, left completely to our own devices without regular reminders of our spiritual needs, many would degenerate into the preoccupation of satisfying earthly desires and appetites. This need for physical, mental, and spiritual regeneration is met in large measure by faithful observance of the Sabbath day.

The third reason may be the most important of the three. It has to do with obedience to commandments as an expression of our love for God. Blessed are those who need no reasons other than their love for the Savior to keep his commandments. The response of Adam to the angel who asked Adam why he made a sacrifice unto the Lord is a model for all. Responded Adam, “I know not, save the Lord commanded me.” (Moses 5:6.)

What is worthy or unworthy on the Sabbath day will have to be judged by each of us by trying to be honest with the Lord. On the Sabbath day we should do what we have to do and what we ought to do in an attitude of worshipfulness and then limit our other activities. I wish to testify unequivocally concerning the blessings of Sabbath day worship in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Elder James E. Faust (Nov. 1991)

JESUS HEALS THE BLIND MAN JOHN 9:1-41

J F Q V Z L D K P C Q P H I E B K B T M C N B R D P M M F B

Z S I V V Q J V J B I U Z B R U S O Y T U C Q L D F V A H N

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M W W Z I P K L V C M T B A U J E B B G R C G J U D A J Q K

FIND THE WORDS OF THE VERSE BELOW IN THE PUZZLE ABOVE

"As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world."

JOHN 9:5