FAITH QUEST

Peter’s Denial

February 6 – March 6, 2005

Creation Station

Scripture: Matthew 26:31-35 and 56-75 (other accounts are found in Mark, Luke and John)

Key Scripture Verses: Matthew 26:34. Jesus (said), “I promise you that before a rooster crows tonight, you will say three times that you don’t know me.” Matthew 26:74 and 75b Peter began to curse and swear, “I don’t know that man.” Right then a rooster crowed. Then Peter went out and cried hard. (Contemporary English Version)

Memory Verse:

“All of us have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory.” Romans 3:23 (CEV)

Offering: One Great Hour of Sharing

Concepts:

· Jesus’ prophecies always come true.

· We may deny our faith in Jesus, but Jesus is always faithful to us.

· Even though we all make mistakes, we can still do great things to honor God.

Objectives:

1. Learn that although Peter was a disciple of Jesus, he was also man who made mistakes.

2. Understand that Peter was truly sorry for lying about not being a follower of Jesus.

3. Recognize that we all are weak and can make mistakes, but when we are sorry about our sins, we can still be followers of Jesus.

4. Children will create a portrait of sadness - Peter’s or their own.

Procedure:

Welcome and Introductions:

1. Welcome the children and introduce yourself. Wear your nametag. Make sure that everyone is in the right classroom! Children will either already have name tags on, or will get a nametag from their shepherd. Make sure that you know everyone’s name and greet the students individually. Remember you are interacting with a different group of students each week that may not know you.

2. Start the “lesson time” with prayer. Perhaps: Dear Lord, teach us right from wrong so that we may be faithful to you. Amen.

Bible Lesson:

1. Today’s lesson is about Peter. Who was Peter? He was a man, a disciple, the disciple to whom Jesus said, “I will call you Peter, which means a rock. On this rock I will build my church.” Matthew 16:18). When Jesus said this, he knew that he could depend on Peter to someday follow through with all that Jesus was teaching. And, Jesus was right. Peter did become the leader (minister) of the first Christian community in Jerusalem and he helped spread Jesus’ message for many years after Jesus went to heaven.

2. Some of you have already learned things about Peter. Who can name lessons where Peter was included? (He was in the boat with Jesus when a great storm came, another time Peter tried to walk on water, Peter was one of three disciples who Jesus asked to go with him when he prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane and he went to see Jesus’ empty tomb). Each time Peter stumbled and didn’t show as much faith in Jesus as Jesus showed for Peter. But Peter loved Jesus and kept trying to do what Jesus asked of him.

3. Today’s story starts at the Last Supper when Jesus knew that he was going to be betrayed by Judas, arrested and put on trial. Jesus said, “During this very night, all of you will reject me.” When Peter heard this, he couldn’t believe that he would ever behave that way. He was proud to be a special friend of Jesus and he loved Jesus. He told Jesus, “Even if all the others reject you, I never will.” Jesus replied, “I promise you that before a rooster crows tonight, you will say three times that you don’t know me.” Soon all that Jesus prophesied came true. Like the shepherd that Jesus was, he was stuck down and the disciples scattered like sheep. Jesus was arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane and the other disciples ran away. Peter sat outside the palace where Jesus was tried, afraid to go in. Three times people asked him if he was one of Jesus’ followers. Each time Peter lied. First he said that he didn’t know what they were talking about. Then he said he didn’t know Jesus. Lastly, he cursed and swore that he didn’t know Jesus. Then a rooster crowed and Peter remembered what Jesus had said. This made Peter cry. He realized that fear had caused him to lose faith and sin by denying Jesus. He cried because he was disappointed in himself and ashamed of how he behaved.

Application:

1. Create! READ the Bible story (1-3 above) with expression.

2. Tell the children that they will be using a paper plate to create a portrait of sadness. They will also learn how to draw a face so that it looks real.

3. Ask them to think about how Peter’s face might have looked when he was so disappointed in himself. Place a small mirror on each table and let them study how their faces look as if they were crying.

4. Steps: Show the samples. Notice that there is a + in the center of each plate and the eyes and nose are on the +. Pass out pencils, markers and paper plates. With pencil, first put their name on the concave side. Then turn the plate over and lightly draw crossed lines from top to bottom and side to side on the convex side. Using markers, draw the eyes on the horizontal centerline. Draw the nose on the vertical line. The mouth corners should extend to line up with the center of each eye. Ears start even with the eyes, go up and around and end up even with the bottom of the nose. Maybe you never noticed this – but look at your classmates and see. Hair and other features can be added and all can be colored in as desired. Remember, this is a picture of how we feel about ourselves when we have sinned. So, it can be of how we think Peter looked or a self-portrait, both sad.

5. Clean up! Involve everyone in cleaning up so that you will have time to share together in the closing. You may want to have a prearranged signal for clean up and tell them at beginning of art project what that will be - perhaps giving them a 5 minute warning and then the final clean up notice to allow those who need a bit more warning that they need to complete whatever they are working on.

7. Turn out lights and lock the classroom door when leaving.

Reflection Time:

1. Ask the shepherds to pass out Journals and pencils/markers. The children should spend a few minutes reflecting upon the morning's lesson – Is it easy to say that you will or won’t do something ahead of time? Is it enough to say what you will do? Did Jesus know what Peter was going to do? Why did Peter cry? Can you think of a time when you were disappointed in yourself? When we are sad about having sinned, how can faith in God help us to do the right thing?

2. At 10:40 ask the kids to close their journals and prepare for the closing prayer.

Closing:

1. Encourage them to remember that Jesus knows that we are not perfect, but he has faith that we can do good.

2. Tell them that their Pennies will be given to One Great Hour of Sharing.

3. Say the Key Memory Verse together (see above). You may want to have this verse printed on a banner and hung in the room, write it on the white board in the room, or have it on slips of paper that each child can take home.

4. Pray! Ask the children if they have any prayer requests. Ask God to have mercy when we sin and to give us the strength and courage to do what is right.

Teacher preparation in advance:

1. Read the scripture passage and attend the Faith Quest Leaders Workshop.

2. Practice reading the Bible story (above) with expression.

3. Prepare an opening prayer in case nobody volunteers to pray.

4. Check the art room and the supply closet to see what supplies exist.

5. Experiment with what the children will be doing.

6. Prepare all the materials you will need for the creation process. Have the materials ready to go. There will be limited time for the creation process, so do everything you can to conserve time.

7. Decide how you want to close the lesson. Prepare a prayer or ask for suggestions.

Materials:

Samples

Heavyweight paper plates

Pencils

Markers

Mirror for each table

References:

Samples and paper plates will be provided.