Friday, March 27, 2015

Jesus Talks to God

by Kimber Bailey Scott
Mark 1:35; Matthew 14:23; John 17
SING:
I Pray to God (Tune: Here we go ‘round the mulberry bush)
Jesus prayed in the ‘morning
‘morning, ‘morning
Jesus praying in the morning.
He prayed and talked to God.

I pray to God in the ‘morning.
Morning, morning.
I pray to God in the morning.
I pray and talk to God.

I pray to God in the evening.
Evening, evening.
I pray to God in the evening.
I pray and talk to God.

I Will Pray (Tune: London Bridge)
*In the **morning, I will pray (fold hands)
I will pray, I will pray.
*In the **morning, I will pray (fold hands)
Thank you, God. (touch fingertips to lips on “thank” and point upwards on “God”)

CHANT:
I Will Pray Today
I Will Pray Today (fold hand in prayer)
I will say Good morning, God (Yawn and stretch)
I will say Thank You, God for my lunch (pretend to eat)
I will say Good night, God (pretend to sleep)
I will pray today. (fold hands in prayer)

I Will Pray Today (fold hand in prayer)
I will say Help me do right (nod head yes)
I will say Keep me from wrong (shake head no)
I will say Thanks for listening, God (cup hands behind ears)
I Will Pray Today (fold hand in prayer)

I Will Pray Today (fold hand in prayer)
I will say Help my family, God (make a wide circle with arms)
I will say Help my friends, God (Touch or hug a friend)
I will say Thanks for helping me, God (point to self)
I Will Pray Today (fold hand in prayer)

RHYME:
When I Pray
When I pray, I fold my hands (fold hands) and close my eyes. (close eyes)
I think about God & He hears me. ~Jean Katt
PRAY:
What do you pray about? It’s great that God hears and answers our prayers! (have them repeat you in short segments) Thank you, God, that we can talk to You. Thank you for listening to us. In Jesus name, Amen.

LESSON:
Jesus like to pray. He prayed to God a lot. Let’s find out when Jesus liked to pray. I’m going to do some actions that describe when Jesus liked to pray. You tell me what part of the day someone would do them. Watch closely. Yawn and stretch as if you were just getting out of bed in the morning. What time of the day do people usually yawn and stretch? Let me see how you yawn and stretch.

Now watch me again. Put palms of hands together and place hands against your cheek. Lay your head to the side as if sleeping. What time of day do people sleep? Let me see how you sleep.

Now you know when Jesus liked to pray. You are ready to help me tell the Bible story. When you hear the word “morning,” I want you to yawn and stretch. When you hear the word “nighttime,” I want you to pretend to sleep. And when I say, “Jesus talked to God,” I want you to repeat those words after me. Practice with the children. Open your Bible to Mark 1:35, Matthew 14:23 or John 17 and place it in your lap.

Jesus liked the morning time. Children yawn and stretch. It was a good time to pray to God. Jesus liked to pray in the quiet morning time. One day, Jesus got up before the sun was up. He walked from the house to find a very quiet place outside. Jesus got up early to pray to God. Jesus talked to God. Children repeat. He talked to God at the beginning of the day.

Jesus also liked the nighttime. Children pretend to sleep. It was a good time to pray to God. Jesus liked to pray in the quiet nighttime. Jesus talked to God. Children repeat. One night, Jesus told His friends to get into their boat and go across the lake. He told the other people to go home. Jesus did this because it was time for Him to pray and talk to God. Jesus talked to God. Children repeat. Jesus climbed up a mountain. Jesus talked to God Children repeat at nighttime.

What did Jesus talk to God about in the morning and at nighttime? He prayed for many things. He prayed for himself. He asked God to help Him. He prayed for His friends. He asked God to take care of His friends and watch over them. Jesus asked God to help everyone—even you and me. Jesus talked to God. Children repeat.

APPLY:
When did Jesus pray? Yes, He prayed in the morning. Yawn and stretch. And He prayed at nighttime. Pretend to sleep. When do you pray to God? Could you pray before you get out of bed? Could you pray before you eat? Could you pray before you go to bed? Sing “I Pray to God” using the words “Morning” and “Evening.”
I Will Pray (Tune: London Bridge)
*In the **morning, I will pray (fold hands)
I will pray, I will pray.
*In the **morning, I will pray (fold hands)
Thank you, God. (touch fingertips to lips on “thank” and point upwards on “God”)

MEMORY VERSE:
The Bible tells us that God made the world. The Bible says, “I pray to you, Lord.“ Psalm 69:13 Can you say those words with me? Say them louder. Say them softer.

SNACK:
OPTION 1: If you want to use finger gelatin, prepare it before class. To make finger gelatin, boil 4 cups of water. Add 3 pkgs of gelatin and 4 envelopes of unflavored gelatin and dissolve in a 9x13 pan. Put in the refrigerator to set. Cut gelatin squares slightly larger than the largest cookie cutter. Place each square on a paper plate. Provide cookie cutters in shapes from nature such as stars, flowers, animals and so forth.

OPTION 2: If you want to use bread instead, get a loaf of white or white wheat bread. Bring peanut butter or jelly and a plastic knife. Provide cookie cutters in shapes from nature such as stars, flowers, animals and so forth to cut a shape out of the bread.

Show the children the cookie cutters. Here are the shapes of some things from God’s world. Let’s name these things. Do you have a kitty at home? You can say “Thank You, God, for kitties.” Do you see the stars in the sky at night? You can say “Thank You, God, for the pretty stars.” Our Bible verse says “I pray to you, Lord.” Let’s say our Bible verse together. Help the kids cut a shape from a piece of bread or from the gelatin. Help them spread peanut butter or jelly on the bread. As the children prepare the snack, talk about food. Do you like peanut butter? What food do you like? God gives us our food. We can thank God for our food.

ART/CRAFT:
Before class, prepare stickers by following the directions on the instruction sheet included. Draw a line across each piece of paper to divide the horizon from the ground. What color should we color the sky? What color should we color the ground? While the children color the sky and ground, What are some things you see in the sky? What are some things you see in the sky? Give children the sun and bird stickers to add to their picture. Jesus liked to talk to God. Let’s add our sticker of Jesus praying to God. Tell me what Jesus might be saying to God. Children may want to draw other things in the sky or on the ground.

GAME:
Jesus liked to talk to God. The Bible says that Jesus prayed in the morning. And the Bible says that Jesus prayed at nighttime. Lead them in singing:
I Will Pray (Tune: London Bridge)
*In the **morning, I will pray (fold hands)
I will pray, I will pray.
*In the **morning, I will pray (fold hands)
Thank you, God. (touch fingertips to lips on “thank” and point upwards on “God”)


Before class, put the pictures in a paper sack. Let a child pull out a picture. Sing: I Will Pray using the picture as a guide to singing the song. If a picture of food was pulled out, sing “for my food, I will pray, etc.” If a picture of a family was pulled out, sing “For my family, I will pray, etc.” We can be like Jesus. We can pray to God. When can we pray to God? We can pray in the morning. We can pray at nighttime. We can pray anytime!

NEED:
Heavy white paper
Markers, crayons or watercolors and brushes
Stickers on instruction sheet
Snack Option 1: make finger gelatin before class (boiling water, 3 pkgs jello, 4 envelopes of unflavored gelatin, 9x13 pan, knife), paper plates, cookie cutters in shapes from nature such as stars, flowers, animal, etc.
Snack Option 2: loaf of white or white wheat bread, paper plates, knife, peanut butter or jelly, cookie cutters in shapes from nature such as stars, flowers, animals, etc.
Napkins
Paper sack

Pictures of food, families, boys, girls, houses, etc

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