Lesson 1: Jesus arrives in Jerusalem.
Passage: Matthew 21:1-11 - Jesus arrives in Jerusalem with his followers and requests for a donkey to be brought to him, so he can ride into the city on it. This was in fulfillment of the prophesy that the Messiah (promised king and saviour) of Israel would come to them riding on a donkey. A large crowd had gathered at the city gates and were spreading cloaks and palm leaves on the ground in front of Jesus, shouting praises to him as he passed.
Big Idea: Jesus is God’s promised king.
For Teachers:
Lesson plan.
-
Welcome — Activity Leader
Have the children sit in a circle on the circle time rug. Welcome them to class.
Warm Up Activity: Palm Leaves Freeze Dance — Activity Leader
Kids will play freeze dance while carrying palm leaves.
Preliminary Discussion — Bible Story Leader
Today we’re going to be starting a brand new series! We’ve been learning a lot about Jesus and how he told his followers lots of different stories, taught them important lessons, made miracles happen, and even went through a lot of different challenges. And during Christmas time, we learned about the story of Christmas and how Jesus was born. Now that it’s almost Easter, and we’ll be learning all about the story of Easter and why it’s so special to us.
The beginning of the story goes like this…
When Jesus and his followers were coming to the city of Jerusalem, Jesus told two of his followers to go and get a donkey from the village and to bring it to him. This is because there was a prophet a long time ago who said that the King of Israel would come riding on the back of a donkey. Jesus’ followers did what he said and brought a small donkey to him. Then as they entered the gates of Jerusalem, a big crowd gathered and started spreading their coats and palm branches on the ground in front of him as he passed by. They were all shouting and praising Jesus, saying, “Hosanna to the Son of King David” and “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.”
Now let’s watch our video for today to find out more…
Video Lesson — Bible Story Leader
Follow Up Discussion — Bible Story Leader
Why do you think everyone was so excited when Jesus came to the city of Jerusalem?
If you heard that Jesus was coming here to our city would you be really excited too? Do you think you and your family would be celebrating and going to see what was happening?
What do you think the Kingdom of God is like that Jesus promised? Do you think it’s like a castle with kings and queens and princes and princesses? Or is something else?
What are some things that we can do to make the world more like the Kingdom of God?
Prayer — Bible Story Leader
“Dear God, thank you for the story we heard today about how Jesus came to Jerusalem and all the people were praising him, because they knew that he was the promised King. Please help us to keep on learning about Jesus and following his example, so that we can also help to spread God’s kingdom on the earth - by showing God’s love and goodness to everyone around us. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”
Activity: Palm leaves craft — Activity Leader
Kids will decorate pre-cut palm leaves and glue them to popsicle sticks. Colouring pages will also be available.
If a child is uninterested in the activity, allow them to move to free play.
Dismissal: Collect tags and make sure each child leaves with their caregiver.
-
Welcome — Activity Leader
Have the children sit in a circle on the circle time rug. Welcome them to class.
Warm Up Activity: Palm Leaves Freeze Dance — Activity Leader
Kids will play freeze dance while carrying palm leaves.
Preliminary Discussion — Bible Story Leader
Today we’re going to be starting a brand new series! We’ve been learning a lot about Jesus and how he told his followers lots of different stories, taught them important lessons, made miracles happen, and even went through a lot of different challenges. And during Christmas time, we learned about the story of Christmas and how Jesus was born. Now that it’s almost Easter, and we’ll be learning all about the story of Easter and why it’s so special to us.
The beginning of the story goes like this…
When Jesus and his followers were coming to the city of Jerusalem, Jesus told two of his followers to go and get a donkey from the village and to bring it to him. This is because there was a prophet a long time ago who said that the King of Israel would come riding on the back of a donkey. Jesus’ followers did what he said and brought a small donkey to him. Then as they entered the gates of Jerusalem, a big crowd gathered and started spreading their coats and palm branches on the ground in front of him as he passed by. They were all shouting and praising Jesus, saying, “Hosanna to the Son of King David” and “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.”
Now let’s watch our video for today to find out more…
Video Lesson — Bible Story Leader
Follow Up Discussion — Bible Story Leader
Why do you think everyone was so excited when Jesus came to the city of Jerusalem?
If you heard that Jesus was coming here to our city would you be really excited too? Do you think you and your family would be celebrating and going to see what was happening?
What do you think the Kingdom of God is like that Jesus promised? Do you think it’s like a castle with kings and queens and princes and princesses? Or is something else?
What are some things that we can do to make the world more like the Kingdom of God?
Prayer — Bible Story Leader
“Dear God, thank you for the story we heard today about how Jesus came to Jerusalem and all the people were praising him, because they knew that he was the promised King. Please help us to keep on learning about Jesus and following his example, so that we can also help to spread God’s kingdom on the earth - by showing God’s love and goodness to everyone around us. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”
Activity: Palm leaves craft — Activity Leader
Kids will decorate pre-cut palm leaves and glue them to popsicle sticks. Colouring pages will also be available.
Dismissal: Collect tags and make sure each child leaves with their caregiver.
-
Welcome — Activity Leader
Introduce yourself, welcome the kids to class. Ask about their weeks.
Warm Up Activity: Palm Leaves Freeze Dance — Activity Leader
Kids will play freeze dance while carrying palm leaves.
Preliminary Discussion — Bible Story Leader
Today we are going to be starting a brand new series about the Good News of Jesus and the story behind Easter.
Does anyone know the reason why Christians celebrate Easter?
The story of Easter is all about the end of Jesus’ life. It begins when Jesus and his disciples arrived in the city of Jerusalem, and it goes like this…
When Jesus and his followers were arriving in the city of Jerusalem, Jesus told two of his followers to go and get a donkey from the village and to bring it back to him. This is because there was a prophet a long time ago who said that the King of Israel would come riding on the back of a donkey. Jesus’ followers did what he said and brought a small donkey to him. Then, as they entered the gates of Jerusalem, a big crowd gathered and started spreading their coats and palm branches on the ground in front of him as he passed by. They were all shouting and praising Jesus, saying, “Hosanna to the Son of King David” and “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.”
Let’s watch our video to find out more about the story…
Video Lesson — Bible Story Leader
Follow Up Discussion — Bible Story Leader
In the story there are some Hebrew words that are mentioned, like Messiah and Hosanna. Does anyone know what those words mean?
Messiah - the promised Savior that the Jewish people believed God was spoken about by the prophets in the Old Testament.
Hosanna - a word that means “Save” but is used to express adoration, praise and joy.
So everyone was really excited when Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, because they believed he was the promised Messiah - but they had a little bit of a different idea of what the kingdom of God was than Jesus did. Can anyone think of what they might have been expecting Jesus to do?
What kind of kingdom did Jesus teach his followers that he was going to bring?
We learn in the Bible that Jesus brought the kingdom of God when he came to earth, but it’s not fully here yet and we have to wait until Jesus comes again. What do you think are some things we can do now to be part of what God is doing in the world while we wait for the kingdom of God to fully arrive?
Prayer — Bible Story Leader
“Dear God, thank you for the story we learned today about Jesus entering the city of Jerusalem as the promised King and Messiah. Even though Jesus’ kingdom was not what people were expecting, we know that it is even better than they could even imagine - a world that is made right. And we continue to hope and pray for the day when we will see that kingdom come in fullness. We pray that as we live life in this world, we will see all the different opportunities we have to participate in the work that you’re doing - spreading God’s love, goodness, peace, and justice to those around us, whether in small and big ways. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”
Activity: Palm Leaves Craft — Activity Leader
Using a template, children will cut out palm leaves, decorate them, and glue them to popsicle sticks. Crossword pages will also be available.
Dismissal: Collect tags and make sure each child leaves with their caregiver.
For Parents:
Follow-up questions.
-
What was the story you learned about in class today?
What do you think about Jesus riding into the city on a donkey? How come Jesus didn’t ride on something fancier?
Were the people pretty excited to see him? What did they do to show how excited they were?
What kind of king do you think Jesus is like? What are some ways we can be more like Jesus?
-
What was the story you learned about in class today?
Why do you think Jesus rode into the city on a donkey? What does it say about Jesus that he chose to ride a donkey and not something fancy like a chariot?
Why were the people so excited to see Jesus? Why did they think he was so special?
What kind of king do you think Jesus is like? What are some ways that we can be more like Jesus?
-
What was the story you learned about in class today?
What do you think it means when people say that Jesus is the Messiah?
What do you think it says about what kind of king Jesus is that he came into Jerusalem riding on a donkey and not on a chariot like other kings would?
How would you describe what the kingdom of God is like? What are some ways we can we be part of that kingdom now?
