But Jesus called the children to him and said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.”

Luke 18: 16

Trinity Kids provides spiritual guidance, education, & community for children from infancy through 5th grade. For Preschool through 5th grade, the “contemplative model”; of children’s ministry is used to provide the framework for learning about the stories of the Bible, with a focus back to the gospel & salvation of Jesus Christ. Lessons and discussions are hands-on, reflective, and open-ended. Please contact Julia Guy (julia@trinityanglicanmission.org) with any questions or to learn more about Godly Play and the contemplative model.

Wednesday, January 9, 2013

The Personhood of Jesus (4th- 5th Grade Class, December)


Please forgive the belated nature of these lesson summaries! It was an oversight on my part. ~Julia 

Week 1

Season of the Church Year: Advent, Preparing for Christmas (purple) 
Story in Scripture: Matthew 8: 14-17 & Proverbs 30:4

This week, we began discussing Jesus and the man he was when he walked in flesh on the Earth. Throughout this month, we will be considering how Jesus fulfilled prophecy, how he treated others, how he glorified God, how we can emulate him, and how we know that he is fully God and fully man. It’s a lot to learn and to discuss, so I urge you to make time to discuss it at home as well. Today, we thought about some of the things that we might already know about who Jesus is and we also talked a lot about the things that the prophets said about him. Much of our conversation centered around people who expected the Messiah. Jesus was a different kind of King; he was a very different kind of ruler. We will continue to build on our knowledge about Christ as the weeks continue. Thank you for your partnership in helping your child to understand and think about Jesus.

Guiding Questions for Discussion:
*I wonder why God sent so many prophecies to those people that lived a long time before Jesus?
*I wonder what the people thought when they heard about Jesus for the first time? I wonder if they remember the prophecies?
*What must it have been like for the prophets to write about God’s son…. And know that they wouldn’t be alive when he was actually born?
*Do you think that Jesus was the kind of Messiah, or King that the Jewish community expected?
*How do you think Jesus’ birth and life surprised the people that loved God?

Prayer:
“Dear God, thank you for your Son, Jesus Christ. Help us to grow in our understanding of who he is. Help us to learn from the prophets and the ways that they helped lead the way for the work that Jesus did. We know that Jesus is with us each day. May we think of him in how we treat others and make choices at home, at school, and in our neighborhoods. Amen.”

Week 2

Season of the Church Year: Advent, Preparing for Christmas (purple) 
Story in Scripture: Luke 6: 31, John 15: 12, Luke 22: 47- 51

After taking a moment to review our discussion last week about how Jesus fulfilled prophecy about the Messiah, we continued out conversation by considering how Jesus treated others. The New Testament is full to the brim with lessons about this. Through parable-sharing, conversation, healing, guidance, friendship, and sacrifice, Jesus demonstrated God-with-us. We segmented our discussion around these topics: (1) He healed, (2) He helped, (3) He cared, (4) He shared [about God and the Kingdom of Heaven]. We spent considerable time thinking about how Jesus responded to very specific, Biblically referenced situations. We thought about how Jesus responded to temptation, to lies, to pain, to sadness. We also thought about how we might respond in similar situations. If Jesus prayed, “Forgive them Father, for they know no what they do.” (Luke 23: 34a), then how should we respond when others hurt us? In the next few weeks, we will be moving on to the topics of how Jesus glorified God, how we can emulate him, and how Jesus was fully God and fully man. I encourage you to continue to have open discourse with your children about these important topics, especially as we prepare our hearts for Christmas morning.

Guiding Questions for Discussion:
*I wonder why God sent so many prophecies to those people that lived a long time before what it was like to be healed by Jesus?
*I wonder if people were often surprised when Jesus responded with love instead of revenge or meanness?
*I wonder why Jesus treated others the way he did?
*I wonder how you could remember to treat others the way Jesus did?

Prayer:
“Lord, you cared so much for us that you sent your son Jesus to live with us and teach us about the people that we should be. We can learn so much from the ways that he cared for others and treated them perfectly. Help us to be like Jesus in our daily lives. Go with us into the situations that are tough and give us the strength to do the right thing and treat others as Jesus did. Amen.”

Week 3 

Season of the Church Year: Advent, Preparing for Christmas (purple) 
Story in Scripture: John 13: 31- 32, John 17: 1- 26

After taking a moment to review our discussion last week about how Jesus treated others and how we can emulate him in our own lives, we spent time this week learning about and considering how Jesus glorified God. This discussion dovetailed well in to remembering how Jesus treated others, as he glorified God in his love, compassion, and care for those around him. We began by reflecting on the things that we may choose to do that make our parents “proud.” Students thought about everything from doing their homework to helping a friend being bullied. Their experiences helped to provide a connection to the ways that Jesus made God “proud.” But glorifying God is much bigger than just making God proud. Jesus’ glorification of our Father manifested and culminated in his absolute sacrifice for our sins. He fulfilled his Father’s plan and therefore allowed for reconciliation between God and all the people of the world. What a magnificent thing! We also discussed how Jesus glorified God by being humble, serving others, praying, and sacrificing. In continuation of our lesson last week, we continued to think about ways that we can also glorify God in our daily lives. In the small and the big things… just like Jesus did. In the next few weeks, we will be moving on to the topics of how we can emulate him, and how Jesus was fully God and fully man. I encourage you to continue to have open discourse with your children about these important topics, especially as we prepare our hearts for Christmas morning.

Guiding Questions for Discussion:
*I wonder what it was like for the people who were friends with Jesus when he explained what he would be doing to glorify God?
*I wonder how we can glorify God in our own lives? How can we glorify God at home…. at school… with our friends and family?

Prayer:
“Dear God, thank you so much for the sacrifice of your son! I have so much gratitude for the sacrifice of Jesus and the way that he glorified you in his life, death, and resurrection. Help me to live my life in a way that also glorifies you.  Amen.”

Week 4  


Season of the Church Year: Common Time/ Great Green Growing Season (green)
Story in Scripture: 2 Timothy 2: 1-5, Philippians 2: 5-8

After taking a moment to review our discussion last week about how Jesus glorified God, we spent time this week learning about and considering how we can emulate Jesus. This topic came up earlier in the month when we thought about the ways that Jesus treated others. We wondered how we could use his example to treat those around us well. Today we spent significant time learning about the ways that Jesus spent his time…..Of all the stories in the Gospel, we grouped his actions into these 5 areas: Jesus took time to (a) Listen & Learn, (b) Spend Time Alone with God in Prayer, (c) Serve the Needy, (d) Teach about Salvation, (e) Train or “Make Disciples.” Focusing on these five areas allowed our discussion to stay focused. Please continue the conversation at home to help your child think about and internalize the ways that they can spend their time like Jesus. Next week, we will be concluding our lesson series about the Personhood of Jesus by learning about how Jesus was fully God and fully man. I encourage you to continue to have open discourse with your children about these important topics, especially as we prepare our hearts for Christmas morning.

Guiding Questions for Discussion:
*I wonder how we spend our time?
*I wonder what things fill up most of our day?
*I wonder how we can do the things that Jesus did, even in the midst of our busy lives?

Prayer:
“Father, please help me to be like Jesus. Help me to love, listen, and learn. Help me to make time to spend with you in prayer, help me to serve those who have need, help me to share about salvation with others, and help me to become a disciple of you. I pray that others would understand you better because of the way that I act like you and make choices that you might make. Amen.” 


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