John 1 (Jan. 21-27)

We Have Found the Messiah

In the Manual, it asks:
Have you ever wondered whether you would have recognized Jesus of Nazareth as the Son of God if you had been alive during his mortal ministry? ... The Savior knows us and loves us and wants to prepare us to receive "greater things." 

The object of this lesson is to instruct the children how they might accept the invitation to "come and see" for themselves, how to know their Savior.

Invite Sharing:

Ask the children to share what they know about Jesus. Show pictures of Him, and ask the children describe what is taking place.

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.

Some Activities We Plan to Do:

Beforehand, gather together:

 1. Draw the Plan of Salvation on the board also write, "All things were made by Jesus Christ"
2. Download the video suggested for this lesson entitled, "Introduction: Our Heavenly Father's Plan"
3. Something I'll claim Brian made for me
4. Paper and crayons or markers
5. Flashlight, big box, secret objects (BOM, picture of christ and temple, some funny toys)
6. Bring a treat with a tag that says "Having something feels nice. Sharing it with others feels nicer."

1. Show picture associated with this lesson in the Come follow me- Individuals and Families lesson. Ask the children if they know anything about what Jesus did before He was born. Show them your drawing of the Plan of Salvation and go over it.

2. Show the video suggested for this lesson. Ask them to tell you one thing they learned after watching it. Tell the children that everyone who has ever lived, is living now, or will live first lived with Heavenly Father as spirit children before they were born.

3. I will bring something in that I'll claim Brian made for me. I'll tell the children it took him a long time to make. He researched it, went to the store many times and spent a lot of time and money to make it. He made it for me because he wanted me to have something beautiful. Then I will destroy it in front of them. Watch their reactions, chances are they are going to be shocked. Ask them what's so wrong about what I did? How should I have treated the thing Brian made for me? How do they think Jesus wants us to treat the things he has created for us?

4. Read John 1:3 and have the children draw a picture of all of their favorite creations. Have them memorize the phrase, "All things were made by Jesus Christ." How can we be kind to the creations Jesus created for us? (be respectful, treat animals kindly, enjoy it etc.)

5. The symbolism of light can help children understand the Savior and His Gospel. How can you inspire the children to seek the light of the Savior when the world seems dark? Take out your box with the "secret objects" you decided on before hand. We will pick a variety of objects that are fun and relevant. Some relevant objects would be the scriptures, a picture of christ, a picture of the temple. Some fun things we'll use are probably some silly toys we'll grab from our daughter's toy box- just to make them laugh. We'll turn off the lights and one at a time the kids will come up and try to guess what is in the box- hopefully we will be able to get the room dark enough that it will be difficult. After each child has had a chance we will ask them to tell us what was in the box. They won't know. Then we will take out a flashlight and shine it into the box and have them all come up again and tell us what is in the box. We will explain that Jesus is like the flashlight- he makes things more clear in the darkness. He is hope. He is comfort. You can always turn to Jesus when you are afraid, lonely or lost.

6. Give the children the opportunity to tell the class about something that they love. Help the children see how sharing the gospel can be like sharing other things we love. Tell about how when people used to ask me what I did over the weekend, I would always tell them about what I did Friday, Saturday and Sunday night... but I always skipped over church. I decided to start including it and just casually mentioning that I went to church gave them the opportunity to ask me more about it if they wanted to. That way I felt I wasn't pushing it on them because they were the ones asking.

7. Bring a treat to share with them, write a tag that says: "Having something feels nice. Sharing it with others feels nicer."

I hope this has been helpful to you.