Lesson 3: The beatitudes.
Passage: Luke 6:17-23 - During his famous Sermon on the Mount, Jesus gives a list of unexpected blessings — to those who are poor, who are hungry, who weep, and who are hated, excluded or insulted. These people, Jesus says, are blessed and will receive their reward in the kingdom of God.
Big Idea: You are blessed.
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.
Warm Up Activity: Class Restaurant — Activity Leader
This is an imagination activity where most of the kids will sit at the table and a few kids will be the “servers”. The servers will hand out paper plates and cutlery and take orders, pretending to serve the other kids their orders. Do this several times and switch who the servers are. A fun thing for the server to do is bring the “wrong order” and have to run back and forth for the kids.
Preliminary Discussion — Bible Story Leader
Today is our third Sunday learning about the teachings of Jesus! Last week we learned about the story of the poor woman who gave two small coins to God, and Jesus said that she was giving more than anyone because she was giving her very best! This week we’re going to be hearing another one of Jesus’ messages.
Let’s watch our video to find out more…
Video Lesson — Bible Story Leader
Follow Up Discussion — Bible Story Leader
In this story we learned about what Jesus said about the people who are blessed by God! Does anyone know what it means to be blessed?
What kind of people did Jesus say were blessed?
Why do you think Jesus said these people are blessed?
Do you think that you are blessed by God? Why or why not?
Do you think that you are still blessed even when you are having a hard time and feeling sad or frustrated?
Prayer — Bible Story Leader
"Dear God, thank you for the teaching of Jesus we learned about today about how Jesus said that we are so blessed by God because God loves and cares for each one of us. Even those who are poor or hungry or who are being treated badly can still remember that God loves them and and will bless them with good things and a great reward for all the hard things they went through. We can stay joyful even when things are not going the way we want them to, because we know that God is with us and says that we are blessed. In Jesus' name, Amen."
Activity: Table Murals — Activity Leader
Kids will work together at their tables and create murals of the Beatitudes that they learned about. They will draw pictures of ways they are blessed.
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 in a circle on the circle time rug. Welcome them to class.
Warm Up Activity: Silly Server Game — Activity Leader
Divide the class into two or three lines. The kids will hold a plate with a ping pong ball in it and run to one side of the room and back without the ball dropping. If the ball drops the kid starts over. Each time is trying to finish the fastest.
Preliminary Discussion — Bible Story Leader
Today is the third week of our series about the teachings of Jesus! Last week we learned about the story of the poor woman who gave two small coins to God, and Jesus said that she was giving more than anyone because she was giving her very best! This week we’re going to be hearing another one of Jesus’ messages.
Let’s watch our video to find out more…
Video Lesson — Bible Story Leader
Follow Up Discussion — Bible Story Leader
In this story we learned about what Jesus said about the people who are blessed by God! Does anyone know what it means to be blessed?
What kind of people did Jesus say were blessed?
Why do you think Jesus said these people are blessed?
Do you think that you are blessed by God? Why or why not?
Do you think that you are still blessed even when you are having a hard time and feeling sad or frustrated?
Prayer — Bible Story Leader
"Dear God, thank you for the teaching of Jesus we learned about today about how Jesus said that we are so blessed by God because God loves and cares for each one of us. Even those who are poor or hungry or who are being treated badly can still remember that God loves them and and will bless them with good things and a great reward for all the hard things they went through. We can stay joyful even when things are not going the way we want them to, because we know that God is with us and says that we are blessed. In Jesus' name, Amen."
Activity: Table Murals — Activity Leader
Kids will work together at their tables and create murals of the Beatitudes that they learned about. They will draw pictures of ways they are blessed.
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: Silly Server Game — Activity Leader
Divide the class into two or three lines. The kids will hold a plate with a ping pong ball in it and run to one side of the room and back without the ball dropping. If the ball drops the kid starts over. Each time is trying to finish the fastest.
To make it more challenging, have the kids hold their plates with one hand like a server or add more ping pong balls to the plate.
Preliminary Discussion — Bible Story Leader
Today is week 3 of our new series on Jesus’ teachings.
Can anyone remember the story that we learned about last week about the poor woman in the temple?
What was the lesson that we learned from that story?
Today we’ll be hearing another story of Jesus and finding out what the lesson is that we can learn from it. Let's watch our video to find out more...
Video Lesson — Bible Story Leader
Follow Up Discussion — Bible Story Leader
In the story, Jesus is teaching his followers about those who are blessed by God. This part of Jesus’ teachings is also called The Beatitudes, which means The Blessings. Can anyone remember which kinds of people Jesus said were especially blessed by God?
Why do you think Jesus mentioned the poor, the hungry, and those who are treated badly, as those who are especially blessed by God?
Do you feel like you are blessed? What kind of things do you see as blessings in your life?
Do you still feel blessed even when life is hard or things are not going your way? Why or why not?
Prayer — Bible Story Leader
"Dear God, thank you for the teaching of Jesus we learned about today about the blessings that Jesus pronounced on those who are poor, hungry, and mistreated. Thank you that we are all blessed by God in our own ways, and that even when life gets hard, we can remember that we are still blessed because God is with us through the hard times and has promised us the kingdom of heaven. In Jesus' name, Amen."
Activity: Table Murals — Activity Leader
Kids will work together at their tables and create murals of the Beatitudes that they learned about. They will draw pictures of ways that they are blessed. You may want to separate the tables so that kids can work together in smaller groups on their murals, then we’ll tape them up between services.
Dismissal: Collect tags and make sure each child leaves with their caregiver.
For Parents:
Follow-up questions.
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What was the story you learned about in class today?
Who are the people that Jesus said are blessed by God?
Why do you think that Jesus said that these people are blessed even though their lives are so hard?
What are some ways that you feel blessed by God? Or what are some things that you are thankful to God for?
Do you think that you are still blessed even when you go through hard things? In what way are you still blessed?
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What was the story you learned about in class today?
Who are the people that Jesus said are blessed by God? Is that surprising to you? Why or why not?
In what ways are these people blessed even though they are poor, hungry, or being treated badly by others?
Do you think that God sees and cares about the difficult things we go through in life?
In what ways have you been blessed by God? Or what are some things that you are thankful to God for?
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What was the story you learned about in class today?
Who are the people that Jesus said are blessed by God? Why do you think Jesus mentioned these groups of people?
In what way do you think that those who are struggling in life (the poor, the hungry, the mistreated) are blessed by God?
Do you feel blessed by God? In what ways?
What can you do to remind yourself that you are blessed even when you are going through difficult things?
