Lesson 3: Whoever is not against us.
Passage: Mark 9:38-41 - Once when Jesus and his disciples were together, John spoke up and said that they had seen someone driving out demons in Jesus’ name, but that they told him to stop because he wasn’t one of the disciples. Jesus responded that they shouldn’t have stopped him, because anyone who isn’t against them is on their side.
Big Idea: God’s goodness is shared.
For Teachers:
Lesson plan.
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Welcome — Activity Leader
Have the children sit in a circle on the circle time rug. Welcome them to class and introduce yourselves.
Warm Up Activity: Storytime — Activity Leader
Read: A Church For All
Preliminary Discussion — Bible Story Leader
Today we’ll be learning more about the Kingdom of God and what it’s like.
Some things we learned so far are: that God’s kingdom is everywhere, Jesus is the king and he’s a good king too, and that anyone who wants to be great in God’s kingdom doesn’t have to be big and strong, but instead they should be humble and gentle.. like little children!
Today’s story will be about sharing God’s goodness.
Have you learned about sharing in school and at home? Is sharing easy or hard to do? Can you think of a time when you had to learn to share?
Video Lesson — Bible Story Leader
Follow Up Discussion — Bible Story Leader
In the video we watched, Patricia and Alex were on their tour of the Kingdom, but then while they were riding on the boat, they saw another group of people doing the same thing as them. How did they feel about that?
Has there ever been a time when you saw someone else copying you or doing the same things as you? How did you feel about it?
When Jesus’ disciples saw other people doing miracles just like Jesus was, how did they do? What did Jesus say about it?
Do you think that there is lots of God’s goodness for everyone and that we can all share? How do you think we should feel when we see other people doing or having good things?
Prayer — Bible Story Leader
“Dear God, thank you that there is enough of your goodness for everyone, and that your love is meant to be shared. Thank you for Jesus’ example, and how even he didn’t get upset or jealous when he saw other people doing miracles just like him. Instead, he was happy to see that God was doing great things in their lives too! Please help us to be happy for others when they get good things from you, because we know that you are good to us too! In Jesus’ name, Amen.”
Craft: Flower Pot Craft— Activity Leader
Decorating a flower pot using q-tips, paint, and a paper pot.
If a child is not interested in the activity, allow them to move to free play.
Dismissal: Collect tags and make sure each child leaves with their caregiver.
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Welcome — Activity Leader
Have the children sit near the TV. Welcome them to class. Introduce yourselves.
Warm Up Activity: Storytime — Activity Leader
Read: A Church For All
Preliminary Discussion — Bible Story Leader
Today we’re continuing our series on the Kingdom of God.
So far we’ve learned that God’s kingdom is everywhere, that Jesus is the king and that he’s a good king too, and that if anyone wants to be great in God’s kingdom they don’t need to be big and strong, but instead they should be humble and gentle, like Jesus and like little children.
Today’s lesson is going to be about competition in God’s kingdom.
Can anyone tell me what competition is? Have you ever been in a competition?
Do you think that sometimes Christians compete with one another in some ways? How so?
Video Lesson — Bible Story Leader
Follow Up Discussion — Bible Story Leader
In the video, Patricia and Alex are on a boat ride in the Kingdom. What do they see when they’re touring around?
How did they react when they saw another tour group doing the same thing as them?
That reminded Alex of a story from the Bible about a time when Jesus and his disciples saw another group of people doing miracles just like them. How did the disciples react? What did Jesus have to say about it?
Why do you think the disciples got upset and wanted to stop the others from doing miracles like them? Do you think maybe they got jealous, seeing that God was blessing and doing great things through other people too, and not just them?
How do you think Jesus would want us to react when we see others being blessed or great things happening in their lives? Do you think there’s enough of God’s goodness and blessings for everyone?
Prayer — Bible Story Leader
“Dear God, thank you that there is always enough of your goodness to go around. Please help us to be the kind of people who celebrate with others when we see good things happening for them, instead of feeling jealous or competitive. We know that in your kingdom there is no need for competition or jealousy, and that you bless each one of us in different ways. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”
Craft: Flower pot craft — Activity Leader
Decorating a flower pot using q-tips, paint, and a paper pot.
Dismissal: Collect tags and make sure each child leaves with their caregiver.
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Welcome — Activity Leader
Welcome the kids to class, introduce yourselves.
Warm Up Activity: Blindfold Cotton Ball Scoop — Activity Leader
Kids take turns doing this one minute challenge.
They will be blindfolded and will try to scoop as many cotton balls into a bowl as they can in one minute.
Preliminary Discussion — Bible Story Leader
Today we will be continuing our new series on the Kingdom of God.
So far we’ve learned that the kingdom of God is everywhere, that Jesus is the king and that he’s a good king who loves and cares for his people, and we learned that if anyone wants to be great in God’s kingdom, they have to be humble and gentle like Jesus and little children.
Today will be all about competition in the kingdom.
What is competition? Have you ever been in a competition?
Do you think that Christians can sometimes be competitive? How so?
Video Lesson — Bible Story Leader
Follow Up Discussion — Bible Story Leader
In the video, what was it that Patricia and Alex saw when they were out on the boat? How did they each react to seeing another group doing the same thing as them?
That incident reminded Alex about a story in the Bible. What happened in that story with Jesus and his disciples?
Why do you think the disciples got upset when they saw others performing miracles like them? What was Jesus’ response to it?
Has there ever been a time when you saw that someone else was being blessed by God or that God was doing great things in their lives? How did you feel or react to that? Why do you think some people feel threatened when they see others being blessed or used by God?
What do you think is the lesson we can take away from today’s story?
Prayer — Bible Story Leader
“Dear God, thank you that there is always enough of your goodness and blessing to go around. Thank you that in your kingdom, there is no need for competition or jealousy when we see others having good things from you in their lives. Instead, we can celebrate how wide your goodness is that it extends to us all. Please help us to remember this any time we start to feel jealous or competitive. Please remind us that your love and goodness is for sharing and not for keeping to ourselves. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”
Craft: Collaborative Mural — Activity Leader
Kids will get to colour different pieces of this mural, which will spell out the phrase, “All Are Welcome Here”.
The mural is to be assembled later in the week.
Dismissal: Collect tags and make sure each child leaves with their caregiver.
For Parents:
Follow-up questions.
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What was the Bible story that you learned about in class today?
Why do you think Jesus’ disciples got upset when they saw someone else doing miracles just like them? Do you think they were jealous?
Have you ever felt jealous of someone else before? Has there ever been a time when you had a hard time sharing what you have with others?
Why do you think it can sometimes be hard to share or to see others having fun or having nice things?
What are some of the good and wonderful things that you have and that God has given to you? Do you think whenever we feel jealous of others we can remember all the good things we have and feel happy for them too?
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What was the Bible story that you learned about in class today?
Why do you think the disciples were so upset to see someone else doing miracles just like them? What was Jesus’ response?
Has there ever been a time when you felt jealous of someone else and what they had? Why do you think we feel that way sometimes?
What do you think is the best thing we can do when we see others being blessed by God and good things happening for them?
What are some of the great things that God has done for you or some of the ways that you’ve been blessed?
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What was the Bible story that you learned about in class today?
Why do you think the disciples got upset when they saw someone doing miracles who wasn’t one of them? Do you think it was partly jealousy that God was working through someone else too?
Do you think that God can work through anyone? Or is there anybody in the world that God can’t work through? What about people from different religions or with no religion at all?
When we see God doing great things in other people’s lives or through others, how do you think we should respond? Is it easy to celebrate other people’s blessings?
What are some of the blessings or great things that God has done in your own life? Do you think there is enough of God’s goodness and blessing to go around?
