Scripture: Luke 10:38-42
Memory Verse: “Be still, and know that I am God”
—
Psalm 46:10 (CEV)
Offering: Food Bank
Concepts:
Objectives:
1. Older children will locate the story of Mary and
Martha in their Bibles. Younger children will learn that the story is in Luke.
Procedure:
Welcome and Introductions: (10:00)
1. Greet the children and introduce yourself. Wear your
name tag. Make sure the children are wearing name tags. If not, ask the
shepherd to supply a temporary badge. Remember you are interacting with a
different group of students each week who may not know you.
2.
Open with a brief
prayer (optional, as they have just prayed in Great Hall).
3. Explain the purpose of this workshop. Today we’ll talk about the story of Mary and
Martha and the choices that they made, and we’ll play a game where you’ll have
to make some choices.
Scripture/Bible Story: (10:05)
1. Start with a discussion
of what happens when friends/family get together:
2. Now let’s look
at the story in the Bible about what happened when Mary and Martha had a very
important guest in their home.
a.
Grades 1-2 will
not use Bibles, but do open yours to show them that the story is in Luke. For
grades 3-5, make sure everybody has a Bible. Extra Bibles are in the room. Help
the students to find the book of Luke. (Get the shepherds to go around the room
and help with this.)
b.
If necessary,
review the organization of the Bible: The Bible is divided into two big parts,
the Old and New Testaments. Each part is made up of books, which are divided
into chapters and verses. Remind them that the first four books of the New
Testament are the gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John. Show them that if they
open their Bible in the middle, they’ll usually land in the book of Psalms in
the OT. Point out that the book name is at the top of each page. After finding
Psalms, if they then take the pages on the right side and divide them in half,
they’ll land somewhere in the gospels. From there they should be able to find
Luke.
c. After they’ve found Luke, help them find
chapter 10, then verse 38. Some of the children will confuse chapters and
verses. Show them that chapter numbers are the big ones, and also are at top of
every page.
3.
Read the story from
the CEV or review it using the summary below as a guide. Either way, be
dramatic! Unless this is the first Sunday of the rotation, let the children
help you tell the story. This will give you an idea of how much they already
know. Other ideas for reviewing the story in later weeks:
Story Summary
Jesus and his
disciples were traveling and they came to the village where Jesus’ friends Mary
and Martha lived (According to the book
of John, the village was
Martha welcomed Jesus into her home and got busy
cooking and taking care of the guests. Meanwhile, her sister Mary sat down in
front of Jesus and listened to everything he said. Martha was worried about all
the work that had to be done and irritated that Mary wasn’t helping. Finally,
she went to Jesus and said, "Lord, doesn't it bother you that my sister
has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her to come and help me!"
Jesus answered,
"Martha, Martha! You are worried and upset about so many things, but only
one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen what is best, and it will not be taken
away from her."
Application: (10:15)
Have the children stand in the center of the room.
Designate the corners of the room A, B, C, D. Use the questions at the end of
the lesson plan (and feel free to add some of your own). Read the questions;
after each question have the children go to the corner that represents their
choice. Emphasize that there are no right or wrong answers and that people will
make different choices. For some of the questions, have them act out their
choice as they go or after they get there (see suggested actions on third question).
After each choice, have the children return to the
center of the room.
The questions near the end might be better for the
older children; use your judgment as the game goes on.
Reflection Time: (10:30)
Gather the class in
a circle and discuss:
In the game, was it sometimes hard to choose? Did
anybody make a choice because it would be the easiest thing to do? Because one
of your friends made that choice? Did anybody try to get a friend to make the
same choice?
In the Bible story, I wonder why Martha was upset. (She was
doing all the work; Mary was enjoying time with their guest.)
What did Jesus tell Martha? (That she was worried about things that weren’t important, that Mary
had made a better choice. Don’t worry about little things.)
Why was Mary’s choice better? (Because at that particular time, listening to Jesus and learning from
him was the most important thing.)
Does this mean that chores aren’t necessary? Doesn’t
somebody have to cook and clean? What could Martha have done differently? (Maybe prepared ahead of time if she knew
Jesus was coming; asked Mary for help before Jesus got there; fixed a simpler
meal, not worried about having everything perfect, not tried to force Mary to
make the same choice she did, etc. We don’t know all the circumstances so we
can’t be sure what all Martha’s options were; we just know she was so worried
about her chores that she was missing the point of having Jesus visit.)
Remind the class: Martha’s
mistake was forgetting what was most important at that moment. Some other time,
Martha’s housework might be the most important thing. Also, Martha was wrong to
assume that her choice was the right one for Mary. Do the best you can and
don’t worry about what others are doing.
Recite the Bible memory verse learned in the Great
Hall. “Be still and know that I am God.”
Psalm 46: 10. Who in the story did
that? I wonder how we can we do it? (Prayer,
talking to people you respect, think about things you’ve learned at church or from
the Bible, have quiet time to think and meditate, etc. Jesus wants us to
listen to God.)
Journals (10:35): Pass out the journal pages and ask the shepherds to
pass out pencils/markers. Optional: Give the children a sticker or some other
memento to paste in their journal pages as a reminder of the workshop. Read the
prompt out loud and offer suggestions if needed. If they don’t know how to
spell a word, write it on the white board. Those who finish early can turn the
page over and do the activity on the back.
Ask the students to put away their pencils/markers and sit quietly.
Encourage the children to bring an offering next week. Remind them that
the offering from this rotation will go to the Food Bank.
Prayer (suggestion): Lord, please
help us to be still and listen to you, and help us make good choices. Amen.
Tidy and Dismissal: Ask the children to help collect Bibles, pencils, etc.
When the room is tidy, dismiss the class.
Note:
Sometimes the kids participate better if they get little rewards along the way.
Especially for the older, more sophisticated kids, it gives them an “excuse” to
show some enthusiasm (“I’m just doing it for the candy”). Skittles seem to be
the general favorite, but for this workshop consider using M&Ms (Mary &
Martha, get it?). Give kids an M&M for bringing their Bible, for finding
the Bible passage, for answering a question, one to everybody if the discussion
of the story goes well, one to everybody who acts out a choice during the game,
one to everybody who writes in their journal, one to everybody on the way out
the door, etc. — and tell them that from now on, when they eat M&Ms they
should think of Mary and Martha. Have several small jars of M&Ms on hand
and have the shepherds help with distribution. (Check with shepherds and make
sure nobody is diabetic or has a peanut allergy. Peanuts are listed as an
ingredient even on plain M&Ms
Extra Activity if time
permits:
Grades 1-2:
Play telephone. Have everyone line up with the teacher being at one end.
Explain that you will whisper something in the first child’s ear and he/she is
to repeat what you said, whispering in the next child’s ear and continue down
the line until the last child (you can mix the line up and give all kids a
chance to be at beginning or end of the telephone line). That child is to say
out loud the message he/she received. Was the message that the child said the
same as the original message? Do this with a quiet room and then with a loud
room (have shepherd bang on something).
Phrases to use: "Jesus
loves me", "She sells seashells”, “Make good choices,” “Praise be to
God."
Afterward, ask:
Was it easier to hear the
message that was being passed along when it was quiet or noisy? When do you
think it’s easiest to talk to and listen to God? While you’re watching a movie
or listening to music? Or when you’re praying or at church or Sunday school?
Jesus wants us to take some time to listen quietly to him and talk (pray) to
him.
Grades 3-5: Play
a few rounds of “who can find the Bible passage first.” Have them close their
Bibles between passages. Try the memory verse and these passages where Mary and
Martha are mentioned:
Psalm 46:10 (the
wording will be different in the CEV)
John 11: 1
Luke 10: 38
John 12: 1-3
Teacher preparation in
advance:
1.
Read
Luke 10:38-42. You might also read John 11, for the story of Jesus healing
Lazarus, the brother of Mary and Martha. Another interesting passage is John
12:1-8. Notice that Martha, true to form, is serving dinner while Mary is
pouring oil on Jesus’ feet!
2.
Attend
the Faith Quest Workshop Leaders Bible Study.
3.
Prepare opening
and closing prayers.
4.
Room
set-up (must wait until after
5.
Optional: Bring a CD or taped music for background
music while you are gathering, meditative music for Reflection time. A boom box
is located in the Puppet workshop cabinet.
6.
Write the memory verse
on the white board or display it in the room some other way. (Look in the
supply bin for a dry-erase marker.)
7.
Post
signs designating four corners of the room as A, B, C and D.
Supply List
Extra Bibles
Pencils (in supply bin; the
shepherds also have pencils)
Journal pages
Four signs: A, B, C, D
M&Ms (optional)
References
Cathy W. Disciple Builders.
Rotation: “Too Busy For Jesus.” Disciple Playhouse Workshop.
http://rotation.infopop.cc/eve/ubb.x/a/tpc/f/7456088121/m/516107342
St. Elmo’s Choir. “Mary and Martha.” Bible
Skills and Games Workshop. http://rotation.infopop.cc/eve/ubb.x/a/tpc/f/7456088121/m/1996016741
Storytelling ideas:
http://www.dennisdewey.org/Dennis8.htm
Questions
for Game
1. What are you
most thankful for?
A. Your parents
B. Your friends
C. Your pet
D. Your brother or
sister
2. What part of the
church service do you like best?
A. Singing hymns
B. Children’s Sermon
C. Apostle’s Creed
D. Lord’s Prayer
3. For this
question, you don’t just go to a corner; you act out your choice. The Bible
tells us to love our enemies. How would you show love for an enemy?
A. Pray for him. (Pray your way to the corner.)
B. Invite him to a
party. (Invite someone else as you go to the corner)
C. Help her with
her homework. (Act this out with someone after you get to the corner)
D. Say something
nice to her. (Act this out after you get to the corner)
4. Which of these
rooms in the church do you like best?
A. Sanctuary
B. Fellowship Hall
(downstairs)
C. Great Hall
D. Kitchen
5. I’m going to
name four of the Faith Quest workshops. Which do you like best?
A. Apostle’s
Playhouse
B. Holywood
C. Praising Puppets
D. Creation Station
6. Act this one
out: How do you praise God?
A. Singing
B. Talking about God.
C. Praying
D. Helping other
people
7. Complete the
sentence: One person in the Bible that I wish I could be like is:
A. Noah
B. Daniel
C. An angel
D. A shepherd
8. Act this one out
with your facial expression. Complete the sentence:
I need prayer when
I’m:
A. scared
B. sick
C. trying to make a
decision
D. trying to do
something hard
9. Complete the
sentence: A Christian is one who:
A. Believes in
Jesus
B. Loves Jesus
C. Tries to live
like Jesus
D. Tells others
about Jesus
10. Complete the
sentence: I wish God would:
A. Stop all the
wars in the world.
B. Give everybody
in the world enough food to eat.
C. Save the world
from pollution.
D. Make sure
everybody has medical care.
11. Which of the
following do you need most in your life at this time?
A. Love
B. Joy
C. Peace
D. Hope