Lesson 5: The Lord’s prayer.
Passage: Luke 11:1-4 - Jesus taught his followers how to pray. His prayer, as recorded in the Gospel of Luke, goes: “Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread. Forgive us our sins for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. And lead us not into temptation.”
Big Idea: How should we pray?
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: — Activity Leader
Preliminary Discussion — Bible Story Leader
Today is our last Sunday of our series where we’ve been learning about the teachings of Jesus! Last week we learned about how about Jesus said that we should love everyone, even those who we don’t really like or who are mean to us, just like Jesus loves everyone no matter what.
Today we’re going to be learning about another one of Jesus’ lessons. Let’s watch our video to find out more…
Video Lesson — Bible Story Leader
Follow Up Discussion — Bible Story Leader
In this story Jesus teaches his friends how to pray. Do you ever pray to God? What is that like? What kind of things do you say to God when you pray?
When Jesus prayed, he called God “Father” or “Dad”. Do you think that God is like a parent to us? In what ways?
What are some of the things that Jesus taught his friends to pray about? (for God’s goodness to spread in the world, for the food we need to eat, to say sorry when we did something wrong…)
Do you think that God really listens to our prayers and wants to know what we’re thinking and feeling?
Prayer — Bible Story Leader
"Dear God, thank you for Jesus’ lesson about how to pray. Thank you that you are a God who listens to us when we talk to you. We can pray and talk to you anytime we want, about anything we want. When we pray, we can remember that you are like a parent who loves us and who takes care of us, giving us the things that we need every day and forgiving us when we do wrong. Thank you so much for the gift of prayer. In Jesus' name, Amen."
Activity: — Activity Leader
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: — Activity Leader
Preliminary Discussion — Bible Story Leader
Today is our last Sunday of our series where we’ve been learning about the teachings of Jesus! Last week we learned about how about Jesus said that we should love even our enemies, those who we don’t really like or who are mean to us, just like Jesus does.
Today we’re going to be learning about another one of Jesus’ lessons, this time it’s about prayer. Let’s watch our video to find out more…
Video Lesson — Bible Story Leader
Follow Up Discussion — Bible Story Leader
In this story Jesus teaches his friends how to pray. Do you ever pray to God? What is that like? What kind of things do you say to God when you pray?
When Jesus prayed, he called God “Father” or “Dad”. Do you think that God is like a parent to us? In what ways?
What are some of the things that Jesus taught his friends to pray about? (for God’s goodness to spread in the world, for the food we need to eat, to say sorry when we did something wrong, to forgive others when they do wrong to us…)
Do you think that God really listens to our prayers and wants to know what we’re thinking and feeling?
Have you ever had a prayer answered? What was it?
Prayer — Bible Story Leader
"Dear God, thank you for Jesus’ lesson about how to pray. Thank you that you are a God who listens to us when we talk to you. We can pray to you anytime we want, about anything we want. And when we pray, we can remember that you are like a parent who loves us and who takes care of us, giving us the things that we need every day, forgiving us when we do wrong, and also teaching us to forgive others in the same way. Thank you so much for the gift of prayer. In Jesus' name, Amen."
Activity: — Activity Leader
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: — Activity Leader
Preliminary Discussion — Bible Story Leader
Today is the last day of our series on Jesus’ teachings.
Can anyone remember the teaching that we learned about last week?
What are some ways that you have put Jesus’ teaching about loving our enemies into practice?
Let's watch our video to find out more about today’s lesson...
Video Lesson — Bible Story Leader
Follow Up Discussion — Bible Story Leader
In the story, Jesus is teaching his followers about prayer. What has your experience with prayer been like? Do you find it easy or hard to pray?
In Jesus’ prayer, he called God “Father.” What do you think this was mean to teach us about what God is like? How would it affect your prayers to know that you’re praying to God as a heavenly parent?
What were some of the other things that Jesus taught his followers to pray? Why do you think that these were the things he wanted them to pray about?
Do you think that prayers need to be long and complicated or that you need to make sure to say all the things things? Why or why not?
How do you think learning about Jesus’ prayer might change the way that you pray?
Prayer — Bible Story Leader
"Dear God, thank you for the teaching of Jesus about prayer. Thank you for the reminder that when we pray, we are praying to a God who is like a parent to us, who loves and cares for us, and who listens. We’re not praying to a God who is far away and distant, but a God who is close to us. Thank you that prayer doesn’t need to be long and complicated but can be simple and straight to the point. Please help us to remember in our prayers things like God’s kingdom and praying for what we need and asking for forgiveness while also learning to forgive others. Thank you most of all for the gift of prayer. In Jesus' name, Amen."
Activity: — Activity Leader
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?
What was Jesus’ prayer like? What did Jesus call God in his prayer?
Do you think of God as a parent like Jesus does? What are some ways that God is like a parent?
What are some of the other things that Jesus taught his followers to pray about? (God’s goodness spreading in the world, the things we need, forgiveness…)
Do you like praying to God? What kind of things do you like to pray about?
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What was the story you learned about in class today?
What do you think about Jesus’ prayer that he taught his disciples to pray?
Why do you think Jesus called God “Father”? Do you think of God as a parent when you pray? What are some ways that God is like a parent to us?
What were some of the other things that Jesus taught his followers to pray about? Why do you think these were important to him?
What is praying like for you? What kind of things do you usually pray about? What part of Jesus’ prayer do you want to include in your own prayers?
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What was the story you learned about in class today?
What did you think about Jesus’ prayer? Was there a part of it that jumped out to you or that surprised you?
Do you think of God as a parent like Jesus did? How do you think it might change the way you pray to think of God this way?
What were some of the other things that Jesus taught his followers to pray about? Have you ever thought about praying for something like God’s kingdom and goodness spreading on the earth?
What is prayer like for you? What’s something that you’ll take away from Jesus’ prayer and include in your own prayers?
