Scripture: Matthew 5:1-12
Concepts:
·
Jesus’ followers are gentle, kind, and peaceful.
·
We are disciples devoted to God, when we do God’s will.
Memory Verse: Proverbs
8:32 "Pay attention, my children!
Follow my advice, and you will be happy."
Objectives:
1.
Children will understand the beatitudes through discussion,
creating, and acting.
2.
The class will understand that the beatitudes are a description of
how God’s community of believers acts.
Procedure:
Welcome and
Introductions:
1.
Greet the children and introduce yourself.
2.
Explain the purpose of this workshop. The class will be reading
Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, which includes the Beatitudes. Then they will
discuss what the Beatitudes mean to us today. The children will act out a scene
of their own creation to show how we can follow Jesus’ advice.
3.
You have the option of video taping the skits and letting the kids
see their movie at the end of class. Instructions for video taping found in
teacher preparation section at the end of this lesson. If you find that the
classes are running too short this will add time and interest to the class. If
there is not enough time to complete activities you may opt not to record.
Scripture/Bible
Story:
Read Matthew 5:1-12. Have
children take turns reading aloud or you may choose to read to them (especially
when the material is new in the first few weeks of the rotation). Assist
children who need help with looking up the scripture.
A little background: The Sermon
on the Mount lays out the teachings of Jesus Christ for his disciples or
followers. The sermon describes what characterizes the community of believers
and what the Kingdom of God looks like. The Beatitudes describe the
characteristics of the collective community of Christians. An individual may
not have all the virtues described.
Note: Kirk’s children are given the Contemporary English Version (CEV)
Bible at the end of second grade. Attached to this lesson is a verse by verse
comparison of the CEV and the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) which may be
more familiar to many adults.
Application:
1. Discuss each beatitude with children, give or ask children
to give examples of how a person would act who is following each beatitude. See
attached “examples sheet” for ideas and suggestions.
2. A poster will be provided to write the children’s ideas on.
The poster will be similar to the Beatitudes worksheet attached to this lesson.
Beatitudes will be on the left and jotting paper on the right. Remove jotting paper
for each new workshop. Write the brainstormed ideas on the chart for the class
to see.
3. After discussing beatitudes ask children to form small
groups (2 to 3 per group). Depending on the group you may ask the shepherds to
help you assign groups or children can select their own groups. Each group can
choose a beatitude to act out. They can look at the poster where ideas were
written down for help. It does not matter if several choose the same one. They
shouldn’t tell which one they have chosen.
4. Next, the small groups develop a little skit or scene
demonstrating their beatitude. Give them about 10-15 minutes to practice.
Wander about from group to group giving suggestions and encouragement. They can
be acting out a modern or a biblical scene.
5.
After practicing have
children gather in a circle to watch each other’s skits/scenes. Have each group
perform without telling which beatitude they are acting out. When they
are done ask the audience to guess which beatitude was demonstrated and why
they thought so. Give praise and cheers (maybe a small prize such as a sticker)
for right answers.
Reflection Time:
Ask the shepherds to pass out the journals and pencils/markers.
Suggestion: You may wish to give the children a sticker or some memento to
paste in their journal as a reminder of the story or activity.
Prompts for journal writing:
Make strips of paper with the following sentences and put them in a bag. Ask
each child to pick a paper and finish writing their sentence. Then share your
answers. Option: try acting out the sentence instead of reading it. Younger
children may need to have their sentence read to them and can draw instead of
write.
Today I will
show mercy or comfort to…
Today I will be
humble about…
Today I will
make peace with…
Today I will
help the poor by…
When someone
calls me a name or treats me badly I will…
Today I will
follow and obey God better by…
Prayer: Ask for prayer requests and lead prayer. Example: Thank you God for giving us Jesus who
showed us how to be good Christians and told us about the Kingdom of God.
Amen
Teacher
preparation in advance:
1. Read the scripture passages and attend the Faith Quest
Leaders Bible Study.
2. Prepare a closing prayer.
3. Check out the room before your first Sunday workshop so
that you know where everything is located. The bin with supplies is located in
on the stage.
Supply List
·
Beatitudes poster
·
Video supplies if taping
·
camera, extension cord,
tripod, blank VHS tape, TV/VCR.
References
·
Notes supplied by Lori Houck
for curriculum writers Bible study July 21, 2002
·
Drama/Bible Game Workshop by
Neil MacQueen from Workshop Rotation ideas and Lesson exchange
·
Art Workshop by Neil MacQueen
from Workshop Rotation ideas and Lesson exchange
Comparison of CEV and NRSV Matthew 5:1-12
Contemporary English Version
|
New Revised
Standard Version |
|
When Jesus saw
the crowds, he went up on the side of a mountain and sat down. |
When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he
sat down, his disciples came to him. Then he began to speak, and taught them,
saying: |
|
God blesses
those people who depend only on him. They belong to the kingdom of heaven. |
Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of
heaven. |
|
God blesses
those people who grieve. They will find comfort! |
Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. |
|
God blesses
those people who are humble. The earth will belong to them. |
Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. |
|
God blesses
those people who want to obey him more than to eat or drink. They will be
given what they want. |
Blesses are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for
they will be filled. |
|
God blesses
those people who are merciful. They will be treated with mercy! |
Blesses are the merciful, for they will receive mercy. |
|
God blesses
those people whose hearts are pure. They will see him! |
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. |
|
God blesses
those people who make peace. They will be called his children! |
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of
God. |
|
God blesses
those people who are treated badly for doing right. They belong to the
kingdom of heaven. |
Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake, for
theirs is the kingdom of heaven. |
|
God will bless
you when people insult you, mistreat you, and tell all kinds of evil lies
about you because of me. Be happy and excited! You will have a great reward
in heaven. People did these same things to the prophets who lived long ago. |
Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and
utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be
glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted
the prophets who were before you. |
Worksheet
Examples
of Beatitudes and what they mean for us
Contemporary English Version
|
What this
means? |
|
When Jesus saw
the crowds, he went up on the side of a mountain and sat down. |
|
|
God blesses
those people who depend only on him. They belong to the kingdom of heaven. |
|
|
God blesses
those people who grieve. They will find comfort! |
|
|
God blesses
those people who are humble. The earth will belong to them. |
|
|
God blesses
those people who want to obey him more than to eat or drink. They will be
given what they want. |
|
|
God blesses
those people who are merciful. They will be treated with mercy! |
|
|
God blesses
those people whose hearts are pure. They will see him! |
|
|
God blesses
those people who make peace. They will be called his children! |
|
|
God blesses
those people who are treated badly for doing right. They belong to the kingdom
of heaven. |
|
|
God will bless
you when people insult you, mistreat you, and tell all kinds of evil lies
about you because of me. Be happy and excited! You will have a great reward
in heaven. People did these same things to the prophets who lived long ago. |
|
Examples
of Beatitudes and what they mean for us
Contemporary English Version
|
What this
means/examples |
|
When Jesus saw
the crowds, he went up on the side of a mountain and sat down. |
|
|
God blesses
those people who depend only on him. They belong to the kingdom of heaven. |
|
|
God blesses
those people who grieve. They will find comfort! |
|
|
God blesses
those people who are humble. The earth will belong to them. |
|
|
God blesses
those people who want to obey him more than to eat or drink. They will be
given what they want. |
God will help people who want to
know God’s love and try hard to do what God and Jesus have taught us by
giving them understanding and knowledge of God’s love. Children who try to
learn about Jesus and follow his teaching will be happy because they will
know God’s love. |
|
God blesses
those people who are merciful. They will be treated with mercy! |
|
|
God blesses
those people whose hearts are pure. They will see him! |
Our hearts are pure when we are
only devoted to God, not distracted by money, TV, or too much “stuff”. |
|
God blesses
those people who make peace. They will be called his children! |
People who make peace try to
live in peace and help others live in peace. A child who helps two friends
make up after a fight is a peacemaker. |
|
God blesses those
people who are treated badly for doing right. They belong to the kingdom of
heaven. |
Have you ever
been teased for doing the right thing or not going along with the crowd?
Jesus understood this and tells us that God is with us always. |
|
God will bless
you when people insult you, mistreat you, and tell all kinds of evil lies
about you because of me. Be happy and excited! You will have a great reward
in heaven. People did these same things to the prophets who lived long ago. |
Jesus was treated badly by people
who did not believe his teaching. Still today people can be treated badly for
believing in Jesus. Christians need to take a stand for what is right even if
at times it is unpopular. |