FAITH CHALLENGE

Jesus: Passion and Resurrection

Holy Week Meditations

Lesson A, Week 2

Scripture:          Matthew 26-27 (CEV)

Memory Verses:       “Even when we were God’s enemies, he made peace with us, because his Son died for us.” (Romans 5:10, CEV)

“God loved the people of this world so much that he gave his only son, so that everyone who has faith in him will have eternal life and never really die.” (John 3:16, CEV)

Concepts:

Note to Guide and Coaches:  This lesson’s focus is on learning the sequence of events of Holy Week, the last week of Christ’s life and ministry.  Rather than teach concepts derived from a specific Bible story, this lesson teaches the events themselves as they unfold.

Objectives:

·       Students will review the sequence of events of Holy Week.

·       Each class will reenact three of the final six events—the last supper, Jesus’ agony in Gethsemane, Jesus’ arrest, Jesus’ trial before Pontius Pilate, Jesus’ crucifixion, the burial of Jesus—using a method called “Frozen Pictures.”

·       Students will write a prayer to accompany each scripture lesson and their reenactment of it.

Gathering Time (Coach)

1.     The Coach leads the opening routine: snack, fellowship, Prayer Wall activity, and Prayer Chain.  Name tags are available.

2.     The Coach reviews the timeline and the previous week’s workshop activity. 

3.     Introduce the Guide, who leads the Workshop Lesson.

Workshop Lesson Procedure (Guide)

Scripture/Bible Story:

1.     Explain the purpose of this workshop. Recall that last week’s lesson focused on the sequence of events of Holy Week.  This week’s lesson will concentrate on six of the last events: the last supper, Jesus’ agony in Gethsemane, Jesus’ arrest, Jesus’ trial before Pontius Pilate, Jesus’ crucifixion, the burial of Jesus.  Each class will reenact three of these events using a technique called “frozen pictures” and write a prayer that relates to the event.  “Silhouettes” of their reenactment and their prayers will be placed in the sanctuary during Holy Week to offer the congregation an opportunity to meditate and pray during Holy Week

2.     Review the sequence of events of Holy Week.  You can conduct this review in several ways:   Have the children call out the events in order as you write them up on a flipchart or white board.   Hand out the puzzles from last week and see if they are still able to solve them.

 

Note to Guide: Each class will portray and write prayers about only three of the final events of Jesus’ life.  Think about class attendance when dividing up the events among classes.  Some events lend themselves to larger groups and some to smaller ones:

·       Last Supper: Jesus and his disciples: up to 13 people

·       Jesus praying in Gethsemane: Jesus, Peter, James, John

·       Arrest of Jesus: Potentially many people (Jesus, soldiers, disciples, crowd)

·       Trial before Pilate: A few people (Jesus and Pilate) to many (add soldiers and the crowd)

·       Crucifixion: A few people (Jesus and the women) to many (add soldiers and the crowd)

·       Burial of Jesus: A few people (Jesus, Joseph, Mary Magdalene, “the other Mary”)

 

Application:

  1. Hand out the copies of “Jesus’ Last Week” used in the last lesson.  Draw students’ attention to the last events: from the Last Supper to the death and burial of Jesus.
  2. Ask volunteers to read the three events you have chosen for the class to focus on. After each reading, discuss the following and make notes on three different pieces of flipchart paper.

·       What is happening in this scene?

·       Who is there?

·       What is each participant doing?

·       What do you think each participant is thinking or feeling?

  1. Divide the class into three groups appropriate for the three events you’ve decided to portray this week.
  2. Spend several minutes helping the class understand what they will do:  They will create a single scene to depict one of the last events of Jesus’ life.  Remind (or show them) the copies of paintings from last week’s lesson.  Explain that the artist did not show everything that was happening in the entire Bible passage, but focused on one part of it.  They will do the same. After they create their scene, the guide will photograph the group.  Later, we will manipulate the photograph to create a dark/light image similar to a silhouette.  This dark/light image will hang in the sanctuary—not the photograph.  Therefore, students must consider what their scene will look like in this format.  For example if everyone is clumped together, details of their scene will be lost. They need to allow space between the people and perhaps have a prop that will help distinguish what is happening ---such as a table, a cup for the Last Supper or a cross for the crucifixion. 
  3. Allow the groups to choose costumes and tell them to discuss how they will portray their scene: who will play each part, what each person will be doing, what kinds of emotions they will express through their body language.  Remind them to refer to the discussion notes on the flipchart paper from earlier in the class. 
  4. Practice the scenes.  You might have someone shine a bright light/floor lamp on the group after they are in place so you can gauge the effectiveness of their scene for a silhouette.
  5. Present each scene one at a time and photograph using a digital camera.
  6. Hand out paper and pencils and ask each group to compose a prayer about their scene. If groups are having trouble with the prayers a few suggestions are:

·       thanks to God for sending God’s son to die to give us eternal life;

·       sorrow that the world and even Jesus’ disciples rejected, denied, and betrayed Jesus;

·       hope in the promise of eternal life; 

·       joy that even today when we participate in the Lord’s Supper, we share table fellowship with Jesus and all of his disciples, past and present. 

Note to Guide—Even though writing the prayer is last, be sure to allow enough time for each group to complete their prayer thoughtfully.  This is a vital part of what will hang in the sanctuary.

 

Wrap-up:

1.     Ask students to tidy up.

2.     Ask each group to share the prayers they have written.

3.     Collect the prayers and tell the children that on Palm Sunday the classes will meet in the sanctuary, where they will be able to see their scenes and prayers on the walls.

Closing (Coach):

1.     The Coach conducts the closing prayer time.

2.     Close/lock the door and turn off the lights.

Guide preparation in advance:

1.     Check out the room before your first Sunday workshop so that you know where everything is located.

2.     Decide before the class meets which class will portray which events. 

Supply List

·        digital camera.

·        Costumes.

·        Paper and pencils or pens for writing prayers.

·        Scripture handouts (“Jesus’ Last Week”) and puzzles from last week’s class.

·        Optionally, a bright flashlight or spotlight so that kids can “try out” the silhouette effect of their scene before it’s photographed.