Matt. 14-15; Mark 6-7; John 5-6 ( Mar. 25-31)
Be Not Afraid
The object of this lesson is to discuss the feeding of the 5000, the miracle at the pool of Bethesda and when Jesus walks on water. We will also discuss how these stories can help us overcome fear, with the help of our Savior, in our own lives.
Invite Sharing:
Ask the children ways they tried to make "good ground" in their life this past week.
Teach the Doctrine:
Brian and I are at an advantage this year that we are teaching children 7-8 year olds which means that we can really pick and choose activities from both the "younger children" and the "older children" sections.
Beforehand, gather together:
1. Basket of bread.
2. Download the 2 videos mentioned in activity 1 and activity 3.
3. Small puzzle with one piece missing.
4. Treats.
2. Download the 2 videos mentioned in activity 1 and activity 3.
3. Small puzzle with one piece missing.
4. Treats.
1. The Miracle at the Pool of Bethesda.
While researching this story, I found a lot of cool and interesting things you may want to incorporate into your lesson. I learned that historians believed this story to be just that- a metaphorical story as there was no proof of a pool in the location described. However, in the 19th century, the remnants of a pool identical to the story was found- Down to the five pillared building.
We also learned that it is believed that the paralytic man had been a paralytic for 38 years. We learned that the pool of Bethesda was considered a mystical pool, because every once in a while, the pool would "unexplainable" stir on its own. When the pool stirred, it was believed that anyone who needed to be healed could get into the pool and be healed.
We will show the video, "Jesus Heals a Man on the Sabbath." Beforehand, we will tell the children to look out for things that teach about Jesus' kindness and love.
We will ask the children a few questions after they watch the video:
1. What did you notice about the location of the pool? Did it seem clean or dirty?
2. Do you think the people that resided by this pool were people that society treasured or were they perhaps outcasts?
3. What reason did the man give for not "being whole"?
4. What did Jesus ask him to do?
5. Why did the pharisees seem upset?
6. What did the man really need? A mystical pool or the Savior?
7. What did you see in the video that taught you about Jesus' kindness and love?
8. How can we demonstrate this type of love in our own lives?
This story is also significant as historians believe this is when the pharisees began to actively persecute Jesus. Before this, they were merely annoyed and irritated by him. But he hadn't done anything that they perceived to be "unlawful." Because the man was healed on a Sunday- Jesus had thus broken a law and could be actively pursued as a "law-breaker." They asked the man who was healed who had done this- the man didn't know his name. It wasn't until a few weeks later when Jesus returned to check on the man. This is also when Jesus instructed him to heal his spirit now that his body was made whole.
Ask the children to think of something in their mind that makes them sad or afraid. Tell them about a time in your life when you received help from the Savior during a difficult time. Tell the children that oftentimes, when we think of the atonement and when Jesus suffered in the Garden of Gethsemane, they only remember that Jesus suffered for our sins. But he did so much more than that in the garden. He suffered all of our fears, all of our sicknesses, every death of a loved one, everything that has ever brought someone anything but happiness or joy. He did this so he could relate to us. Jesus knows all of our problems and fears and he wants to help us.
2. The Feeding of the 5000.
Before you retell the story, show the children the basket of bread that you brought from home. Have them guess how many "good sized" pieces you could break a single slice of bread into. Write the guesses on the board. Then go ahead and break the slice of bread into decent sized pieces (the size of sacrament bread as a reference). Give a prize to whoever was the closest.
Then we retell the story. We will emphasize that the person who volunteered to bring food was a boy not much older than they are now. Afterwards, we will ask them to share their thoughts on the story.
Give them children a small puzzle to complete with one of the pieces missing. Explain that we are each like a puzzle piece- we all have something important to contribute to the lives of others. How do the children contribute to their families or this class?
3. Jesus & Peter Walk on Water.
Show the children the video, "Wherefore Didst Thou Doubt" Ask them to look for signs of faith and fear.
Questions:
1. Did the apostles know it was Jesus at first?
2. What caused Peter to start sinking?
3. What did Jesus say to Peter?
4. Why did everyone kneel to Jesus at the end of the video?
5. What does it mean to have faith in Jesus Christ?
6. How can we replace fear with faith in our own lives?
While researching this story, I found a lot of cool and interesting things you may want to incorporate into your lesson. I learned that historians believed this story to be just that- a metaphorical story as there was no proof of a pool in the location described. However, in the 19th century, the remnants of a pool identical to the story was found- Down to the five pillared building.
We also learned that it is believed that the paralytic man had been a paralytic for 38 years. We learned that the pool of Bethesda was considered a mystical pool, because every once in a while, the pool would "unexplainable" stir on its own. When the pool stirred, it was believed that anyone who needed to be healed could get into the pool and be healed.
We will show the video, "Jesus Heals a Man on the Sabbath." Beforehand, we will tell the children to look out for things that teach about Jesus' kindness and love.
1. What did you notice about the location of the pool? Did it seem clean or dirty?
2. Do you think the people that resided by this pool were people that society treasured or were they perhaps outcasts?
3. What reason did the man give for not "being whole"?
4. What did Jesus ask him to do?
5. Why did the pharisees seem upset?
6. What did the man really need? A mystical pool or the Savior?
7. What did you see in the video that taught you about Jesus' kindness and love?
8. How can we demonstrate this type of love in our own lives?
This story is also significant as historians believe this is when the pharisees began to actively persecute Jesus. Before this, they were merely annoyed and irritated by him. But he hadn't done anything that they perceived to be "unlawful." Because the man was healed on a Sunday- Jesus had thus broken a law and could be actively pursued as a "law-breaker." They asked the man who was healed who had done this- the man didn't know his name. It wasn't until a few weeks later when Jesus returned to check on the man. This is also when Jesus instructed him to heal his spirit now that his body was made whole.
Ask the children to think of something in their mind that makes them sad or afraid. Tell them about a time in your life when you received help from the Savior during a difficult time. Tell the children that oftentimes, when we think of the atonement and when Jesus suffered in the Garden of Gethsemane, they only remember that Jesus suffered for our sins. But he did so much more than that in the garden. He suffered all of our fears, all of our sicknesses, every death of a loved one, everything that has ever brought someone anything but happiness or joy. He did this so he could relate to us. Jesus knows all of our problems and fears and he wants to help us.
2. The Feeding of the 5000.
Before you retell the story, show the children the basket of bread that you brought from home. Have them guess how many "good sized" pieces you could break a single slice of bread into. Write the guesses on the board. Then go ahead and break the slice of bread into decent sized pieces (the size of sacrament bread as a reference). Give a prize to whoever was the closest.
Then we retell the story. We will emphasize that the person who volunteered to bring food was a boy not much older than they are now. Afterwards, we will ask them to share their thoughts on the story.
Give them children a small puzzle to complete with one of the pieces missing. Explain that we are each like a puzzle piece- we all have something important to contribute to the lives of others. How do the children contribute to their families or this class?
3. Jesus & Peter Walk on Water.
Show the children the video, "Wherefore Didst Thou Doubt" Ask them to look for signs of faith and fear.
Questions:
1. Did the apostles know it was Jesus at first?
2. What caused Peter to start sinking?
3. What did Jesus say to Peter?
4. Why did everyone kneel to Jesus at the end of the video?
5. What does it mean to have faith in Jesus Christ?
6. How can we replace fear with faith in our own lives?
4. Treat.
In a bag, we will put 5 oyster crackers and 2 Swedish fish. We will attach a tag that has John 6:9 written on it, “Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?”
In a bag, we will put 5 oyster crackers and 2 Swedish fish. We will attach a tag that has John 6:9 written on it, “Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?”
Encourage them to share their favorite story they learned today with their families after church.
I hope this has been helpful to you. See you next week!
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