Lessons Archives - Page 9 of 112 - Jesus Without Language

These games tie into the idea of predictions, of God being all knowing, and of the disciples’ confusion.

This is part of a single lesson pack, all ready to print and go.

Guess the number

All Ages

Any size group

No Setup time

Quiet game

Can be seated

Working in pairs, have one child choose a number and the other child guess what it is. The child who chose can’t speak, only make faces. (For younger children, choose a number below 20.)
Link: Jesus wasn’t guessing, he knew.

Follow the leader

Under 7’s

Any size group

No Setup time

Quiet game

Space needed

In this classic game, you follow the leader around the room, imitating their actions.
Link: We try to guess what will come next, we don’t know, like Jesus did.

Meet the line

All Ages

Big group

No Setup time

Noisy game

Space needed

Blindfold one child and place them on one side of the space. The other children make a line on the opposite side of the space. (Make sure they have a little room behind them.) The line should be silent! The blindfolded child needs to walk towards the group with their arms outstretched to meet the line. When someone touches their hand, they should stop walking so they don’t push people over. The further the distance and faster the walk, the better this works.
Link: It’s really difficult to judge when the line will come. We don’t know the exact future like Jesus did, but we know God will always “catch” us.

Snakes and ladders

All Ages

Small group

Requires setup time

Quiet game

Can be seated

Play this classic game.
Link: Death may have felt like a defeat for Jesus’s friends, but Jesus knew it was a small snake and a bigger ladder!

Jesus knew he would die, scripture shows he tried to tell his friends, but they couldn’t understand him. This split pin (brad) craft shows the predictions Jesus made, accompanied by the startled faces of the disciples.

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This is a difficult passage in some ways. The young man’s failings are not clear-cut, he seems to genuinely want to do what is right, but money has become more important to him than his belief. It’s essential to stress that riches does not stop you from entering the Kingdom of God.

This retold version of the Bible passage is supplied for inspiration, feel free to omit or embellish to give it your personal voice.

Main Passage :Mark 10:17-31

Biblical retelling of The Rich Man (Mark 10) for youngsters.

This is part of a single lesson pack, all ready to print and go.

It was time for Jesus and his friends to leave. Everyone picked up their things, shook off any dust and placed them into bags if they could. But before they could move, a young man ran up to them. He knelt down in the grass by Jesus’s feet and begged to ask just one question.

“Good teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to live with God in heaven forever?”

Jesus looked down at the man. He looked like someone important. His clothes were very fine and his cloak looked warmer than any Jesus’s friends carried. He must really, really want to know the answer to this question if he would run so far and risk making his fine clothes stained.

“You know the commandments,” said Jesus.
“Do not kill; do not envy what is not yours; do not steal, do not lie; do not cheat; honor your parents.”

“Yes, yes,” interrupted the man, “I have kept those commandments since I was a child.”

“Then you are missing just one thing,” said Jesus sadly, for he could see the man’s heart.
“Go, sell all you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

The man looked around at Jesus’s followers; they travelled with so little. He stood slowly shaking his head. He had worked hard to gain his money, to sleep in comfortable beds and wear fine clothes. He wouldn’t give that up.

Some of Jesus’s followers had gathered to hear the man’s question, and they watched as he walked away.

“How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!” sighed Jesus.

The disciples looked confused; so Jesus tried using a picture.

“It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.”

“Then who can be saved?” asked one of the disciples.

Jesus’s sad face disappeared and was replaced by a cheeky grin.

“With God all things are possible!” he laughed.

“We’ve given up everything to follow you Jesus,” came Peter’s voice.

“Yes, and I promise not one thing you have lost won’t be repaid 100 times over. But the first, they will come last, and the last will be first.”

The disciples had heard that last line before; with Jesus everything seemed upside-down. They picked up their things and left the rich man behind.

Here are the images you need for the hero’s attributes linked to The children and Jesus.
Each hero set contains a high quality graphic of the character, a take home bible card and a colouring page.

The images are displayed small here, click on the image you wish to have, then save the image that loads.
(Please note : these images have no watermark but are not copyright free, they are only intended for classroom use.)

English

Individual Graphics

This is a really straightforward pop-up card mechanism that shows Jesus removing the barrier the disciples were proving to be between himself and the children. It features the hero graphics provided with the lesson.

My printer was behaving strangely, I apologise for the weak-looking images.

This is part of a single lesson pack, all ready to print and go.

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This may seem like a deep tenant of theology to teach kids and seem overly sombre for their innocence, but it’s so central it shouldn’t be skimmed. Jesus was more than powerful enough that he didn’t need to allow himself to be captured, powerful enough that he could have stopped the crucifixion at any point, he went willingly. He went because there was a bigger story happening. He loved his disciples enough to prepare them.

This retold version of the Bible passage is supplied for inspiration, feel free to omit or embellish to give it your personal voice.

Main Passage : Mark 9:30-37

Biblical retelling of Jesus Knew he would die (Mark 9) for youngsters.

This is part of a single lesson pack, all ready to print and go.

The crowd travelling with Jesus was getting near Galilee. Some of the disciples were looking forward to seeing their family.

“Do you want to stay at my house tonight, Jesus?” asked Andrew.

“We could find some space at our house too!” said John.

Jesus shook his head. “No, we won’t stay. I don’t want people to know we are here.”

Andrew and John looked disappointed. Jesus saw their faces and paused. “I have some important things to teach you,” he said. “I don’t want a crowd.”

They understood that. When people heard Jesus was near, the crowd gathered in minutes. People who were sick were pushed to the front to be healed, and kids ran up to see. Jesus had become a celebrity.
When they stopped, the disciples gathered round to hear what Jesus was going to teach them. Jesus breathed in a deep breath.

“The Son of Man is going to be handed over into the hands of men. He will be betrayed.”

The disciples shuffled uncomfortably. Jesus called himself “the son of man.” They knew some people hated Jesus, but who would betray him?

“They will kill him.”

Jesus paused. Some of the disciples looked shocked, some sad. Some seemed not to believe him. Jesus was the Messiah, the rescuer. How did him dying help his people? But Jesus wasn’t finished.

“And after he is killed, he will rise three days later.”

Nobody said anything. Did they hear him? Did they not have questions?

They did have questions, lots and lots of questions. They didn’t understand what Jesus had said. They whispered one to another all evening, but nobody questioned Jesus. They were afraid of what his words meant.

But Jesus was sure. Jesus knew the big plan of what would happen. Jesus knew that nothing could stop God’s new kingdom coming: not the religious leaders, not the weak disciples, not the armies and people in power. Nothing. Not even death.

Jesus knew he would die, He walked in the shadow of the cross willingly. This little 3D image is simple to make and quite striking. If you are in a rush, you can skip the hands section and it still looks great!

This is part of a single lesson pack, all ready to print and go.