Lesson Activities

“jesus said ... ‘the father has sent me. so now i am sending you.’” —JOHN 20:21
51981 TUM Teachers Guide 8.indd 1 2/26/13 11:26 AM

the
ultimate
savior
Lesson3
God’s Great Gift
Key Verses:
Matthew 1:18-25 and
Luke 2:1-20
Lesson 3—The Ultimate SAVIOR
Activity 1—Fruit Roll Relay (A game to review last week’s lesson)
Prepare: Gather grapes (or other small fruit), two spoons, four bowls (or similar containers). Mark a
start line and a finish line approximately 10 feet apart or on opposite sides of the play area. Divide
grapes between two of the bowls. Place a spoon in each bowl. Wash some additional fruit for a snack.
Form two teams of equal number. Each team lines up behind the start line. Place a bowl of grapes in
front of each team. Place an empty bowl on the finish line for each team.
Key Focus
In this lesson the children will understand that:
• Jesus was fully God and came to earth fully human and lived
a sinless life.
• Jesus is their Savior. He is the only way to fix our sin problem.
Prepare
THINK
When we look through history, we see the terrible consequences
of our problem with sin. Wars, poverty, and disease destroy lives.
It is incredible that Jesus decided to fix the problem Himself. He
gave up a perfect life in heaven, where He lived in all the glory
He deserves, and became a helpless baby born into a poor family
who were refugees. He showed great humility to be our Savior.
READ
Carefully read the story of Jesus’ birth. Pray for the children in
your group by name. Review the material in the student book
on pages 15–19. Underline the important parts.
DO
This week, collect a few objects that are small but precious. How
did you decide what was valuable Was it valuable to everyone
or just you You will need to show these objects to the children.
Opening Activity
You may choose to do one or all of these activities as the children
come to class.
• Student books
Materials
Needed
• A bag of grapes, 4 bowls,
and 2 spoons (Opening
Activity option)
• A set of keys and
blindfold for game
(Opening Activity option)
• Dress-up clothes and props to
re-enact the story of Christ’s
birth (Lesson Presentation)
• String or cord,
clothespins, sheets of
paper (Memory Verse)
• Paper, markers, and tape
(Lesson Activities)
• A large clear pitcher, a
bottle of bleach, red food
coloring (Lesson Activities)
• A large waste can, tape,
scissors (Lesson Activities)
Present: Let’s play a game to review what we learned in the last lesson. Because fruit was a big
part of our story last week, we’re going to play a game with it! When I signal, the first person on
each team puts a grape on their spoon, races to the finish line, and drops the grape into the bowl.
The first child to drop a grape into the bowl wins a point for the team and the privilege for the
team to answer a question. If your team gives the correct answer, the team gets a point. If not,
the other team gets a chance to answer the question for the point.
Continue playing until all children have had a turn to race.
Review questions:
1. After Lucifer became evil, what was his new name (Satan.)
2. What is the name of the garden where Adam and Eve lived (Eden.)
3. What did Adam and Eve do to disobey God for the first time
(Ate fruit from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.)
4. When you sin, who are you saying is more important than God (Yourself.)
5. Were Adam and Eve allowed to go back into the garden (No.)
6. God created you to have a special _____ with Him. (Friendship.)
7. Who sins (Every human.)
8. What did all of Adam and Eve’s children do (Sin.)
9. True or false: All of the evil and pain in the world is because of sin. (True.)
10. What is the name of the list of rules God gave to us (Ten Commandments.)
Activity 2—Rescue the Keys
Prepare: Greet each child individually when they arrive. Remember to use their name. Gather the
children and have them sit in a circle. One child sits in the middle and is blindfolded or has their eyes
closed. On the floor in front of them is something that is difficult to move without making a noise
(e.g., a bell or a set of keys). Choose one person from the circle to try to rescue the object without
being noticed.
Present: The blindfolded person has three chances to point directly at the person doing the rescuing.
If they succeed, the rescuer returns to their seat and another child is chosen. If the rescuer succeeds,
they get to sit in the middle. The idea of this game is to understand that the rescuer came quietly.
Lesson Presentation—The Great Savior
Prepare: Hand out the student books and allow the children to browse through them.
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ook 1—god’s great gift
Lesson 3—The Ultimate SAVIOR
Present: Read the Bible story of “The Ultimate
Savior,” found on pages 15–19, to the children.
They can follow along in their own books.
Questions to discuss:
• Were the shepherds frightened when they saw
the angel (Yes.) Why
• What special things happened with Jesus’ birth
(Angels visited; Mary was a virgin; Jesus born in a
stable; prophets’ words fulfilled; host of angels.)
• What messages did the angels give in the story
(Do not be afraid; Mary is carrying God’s Son in her
womb; call Him Jesus the Messiah, because He will
save people from sin.)
Living Nativity
Prepare: Prior to having the children read the story of Christ’s birth found on pages 15–19, bring in
appropriate props such as a shepherd’s staff, headdresses, robes, a baby doll, a small box to represent
a manger, etc. Choose children to pose as various characters in your nativity scene (shepherds, Mary,
Joseph, angels).
Present: Either you read or select various older children to read the various segments of the story.
As each is read, have your actors come to the front of the room and “freeze” as if they were in a picture
of what took place.
What we are about to read is actually one of the most amazing stories ever told. This story has
been shared all over the world for thousands of years. Here in America it is most often read around
Christmastime. Let’s read it and act it out together.
Memory Verse
God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son. Anyone
who believes in him will not die but will have eternal life. John 3:16
How to learn the memory verse:
Have the children repeat the verse aloud together and then play this
simple game.
Prepare: String a cord across the front of your room about 4 feet off the ground. Have several
clothespins already placed on the cord. Have children write the memory verse on sheets of 8.5"x11"
paper, one word per sheet. Gather up all the sheets.
Present: Have the kids form a line on the side of the room opposite the cord. Hand out one sheet to
each child. When you say “go,” have the first child in line run up and clip their sheet to the cord using
the clothespin. Have them try to put the word in about the right order of where they think it should
go. Once all the children have pinned up their sheets, select a child to come up to the cord and place
the first word of the first sentence to the far left side of the cord. Have all the children come up one at
a time to repeat this process until the entire verse is spelled out correctly.
Lesson Activities
1. Picture Yourself
Draw a picture of yourself in the middle of a piece of paper. Around the outside of the drawing,
write speech bubbles that answer each of these questions about the birth and life of Jesus.
• The most surprising thing about Jesus’ birth was ...
• If I visited Jesus just after He was born, I would give Him ...
• When I think about the things Jesus did in His life, it makes me feel ...
• I need Jesus to save me from ...
2. From the Student Book: An Amazing Life
Prepare: Have four children look up the Scriptures listed on page 20 of the student book that
describe various miracles Jesus performed.
Present: Have your readers read the verses aloud.
Questions to ask:
• Jesus walked on water. What does that tell us about God
(That He has authority over all the things He has made, including the waves and the weather.)
• Jesus taught the people. What does that tell us about God
(That He wants us to know about Him and His ways; that He wants to help us live right.)
• Jesus brought the little girl back to life. What does that tell us about God
(That He has power over death; that He cares about us.)
• Jesus healed people. What does that tell us about God
(That He has compassion for our hurts and needs; that He cares about us; that He is all-powerful.)
3. Jesus, Gives Us a New Identity
Prepare: Either prior to class time or at the beginning of this activity, provide strips of paper, roughly
2"x8", enough for each child to have at least two strips. Using a marker, have the children come up
with several common sins or unkind characteristics and write one on each strip of paper (lying, bad
language, bullying, stupid, ugly, etc.). Also, create several strips of paper that each say “child of God.” (Be
sure to have enough for each child.) Put a piece of masking tape on the end of each strip so that it can
be taped to a child.
Present: Often we attach labels to ourselves based on our behavior or what others may say
about us. (Ask the children to pick up one of the strips of paper with a sin written on it and tape it
to themselves.) It doesn’t feel good to think about ourselves like this does it (Allow for response.)
It can feel just as bad when others say mean or unflattering things about us. (Have kids pick up a
negative characteristic and tape it onto another child.) Sometimes, we can start to believe that’s
who we really are.
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ook 1—god’s great gift
But Jesus came not only to show us who God is and what He is like—Jesus came to make us what
the Bible refers to as a “new creation.” He wants to give us a brand-new, wonderful identity. You
know what it is (One by one, go to each child and remove the negative behavior or characteristic
and replace it with the “child of God” strip of paper.) He wants to give you a new identity—as a
child of God. What does it mean to be God’s child (Allow for response—but discuss being loved
unconditionally, accepted, forgiven, part of God’s forever family, etc.) Jesus came not only to show us
how to live the way God wants, but to free us from these negative things and give us a new identity
in its place, one that is truly wonderful. Jesus came to help us become known as “children of God.”
4. The Power of Jesus to Forgive Our Sins
the
ultimate
friend
Lesson4
God’s Great Gift
Key Verses:
MatThew 27-28
And John 20:24-29
Prepare: Fill a large clear pitcher about one quarter full of water. Have a second pitcher filled with
bleach but labeled “JESUS.” Please use caution to protect the children from the bleach.
Present: Our lives were intended to be holy and clean, just like God. But as we learned last
week, sin came in and muddied that up. Drop in just a few drops of red food coloring and watch
the water turn red. But Jesus came to take away our sin. He lived a perfect life, so only He has the
power to do this.
When we invite Jesus into our lives (slowly pour the bleach into the now colored water), He cleans
up our lives by taking away all our sin. Watch as the bleach slowly turns the red water clear again.
Prayer Time
Group the children into pairs. Share with your partner one thing from today’s lesson where you
want to be more like Jesus, or one thing that Jesus did for which you are thankful.
Allow time for the children to pray together.
Dear God, thank You for loving me and sending Jesus to save me. Thank You that Jesus showed
us what You are like. Help us remember that He is Your special gift to us. In Jesus’ Name, amen.
Take-Home Challenge
Which is more powerful, your sin or Jesus This week, write down at least one thing that
you did wrong.
Once they realize this, have them stop and say a quick prayer to thank Jesus for His power to forgive
them of their sin and keep them as God’s child.
If possible, have the child draw a picture of a small firecracker next to the name of their sin. Then
have them write the name JESUS and draw picture of a big bomb next to His Name. This represents
His great power to destroy the small power of sin.
Key Focus
In this lesson the children will understand that:
• The problem of sin has been solved once and for all by Jesus.
• We can now be in a right relationship with God.
Prepare
THINK
This week we will be talking a lot about the great swap. Jesus
got what we deserved—death and punishment for our sin.
If we believe and trust in Jesus, we can have friendship and
favor with God forever. It is amazing! Jesus dying and coming
back to life shows us that God is just and loving. He had to
deal decisively with sin because it is so destructive, but He
loves us and found a way for us to be forgiven and released
from our punishment.
READ
Read the story of Jesus’ death and resurrection found in the
student book on pages 22–26. Be reminded of His power to
forgive you and be prepared to share the joy of this freedom
from sin with your children.
DO
Think about what trading is like. We usually try to be as fair as
we can when we trade. Both people make sure that the traded
objects are of equal value. But God’s “ultimate exchange”
gave us the greatest blessing of all
time! Cultivate a heart of praise
throughout the week, rejoicing in
this amazing free gift of salvation!
• Student books
Materials
Needed
• Several toys and objects ranging
from simple (a whistle, pencil,
deck of cards, etc.) to more
expensive (a radio-controlled car,
doll, basketball, etc.), and boxes
to cover them up (Opening
Activity option)
• Something representing nature
or creation (a flower, toy horse,
etc.), a crumpled sheet of paper,
a precious gem or ring, a small
wooden cross, a softball-size
rock, and a shoe box (Lesson
Activities)
• Popsicle sticks, wooden dowels
or pipe cleaners, tape (enough
for all children to make a cross)
(Lesson Activities)
“Christ didn’t have any sin. But God made him become
sin for us. So we can be made right with God because of
what Christ has done for us.” —2 Corinthians 5:21
• Paper bags, assorted craft
supplies, notebook paper, wood
scraps, cloth, and gold or yellow
crayons (or gold and yellow
paper) (Lesson Activities)
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51981 TUM Teachers Guide 8.indd 28-29 2/26/13 11:26 AM

TheUltimateMission.org
1 Billy Graham Parkway
Charlotte, NC 28201
1-877-2GRAHAM (1-877-247-2426)
51981
51981 TUM Teachers Guide 8.indd 80 2/26/13 11:26 AM