Children's Teacher: July- September 2020

By R.H. Boyd Publishing Corporation

Children’s Teacher is a teacher’s quarterly for children 11 and under. In addition to the exposition of the printed text, each of the thirteen lessons includes the purpose of the lesson, extensive teaching plans, lesson introduction, background of the lesson, meaningful insights, and related activities.

• Language: English
• Publisher: R.H. Boyd Publishing Corporation
• Release date: Jun 1, 2020
• ISBN: 9781681677330

Book preview

Lesson 1 for Week of July 5, 2020

PROOF POSITIVE

UNIFYING TOPIC

Proving Your Wisdom

LESSON SECTIONS

I. Jesus Affirms the Teaching of John (Matthew 11:7–11)

II. Many People Reject John’s Teaching (Matthew 11:12–19)

KEY VERSE

Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds. (Matthew 11:19, NRSV)

BIBLICAL EMPHASES

1.Jesus affirmed the ministry of John as being genuine and said that he was a prophet.

2.Jesus proclaimed that John was sent to prepare the way for Him, but many rejected John’s teachings, as they did Jesus’.

UNIFYING PRINCIPLE

People often label unusual or unexpected behavior as eccentric, foolish, or even wrong; and the persons who act in such unusual ways are vilified. What should be our assessment when someone’s behavior is unexpected? In Matthew, Jesus says His behavior and John’s, while unusual in their day, will eventually be proven wise by their subsequent deeds.

LESSON EMPHASES

•God has called all of His children to be His messengers and tell others about Jesus.

•We show the wisdom God has given us through our actions.

Target Emphases

PRESCHOOLERS: Preschoolers learn to follow wisdom by watching older Christians.

YOUNGER CHILDREN: Younger children understand that for others to know about Jesus, it is a part of their job to tell them.

OLDER CHILDREN: Older children know that through their wise actions, they can show others the love of and message of Jesus.

Materials Needed to Teach

For further reference, see today’s lesson from Boyd’s Commentary, New National Baptist Hymnal, 21st Century Edition #437.

Need more teacher helps?

Visit rhboyd.com.

Suggested Teaching Plan

GROWING WITH JESUS

MATERIALS NEEDED: markers, music player, paper with the words WISE and UNWISE taped to each end of the room.

GETTING STARTED: Greet each student as he or she enters the classroom. Start the class with a worship song. Ask the students to sing along. Begin the class with prayer.

A GREAT BEGINNING: Explain to the students that today’s lesson is about Jesus and John the Baptist. John the Baptist went before Jesus and prepared the way for Him to teach others. Explain that John the Baptist was a messenger. Ask what it means to be a messenger.

AN IMPORTANT LESSON: Read the lesson story for today. Explain that people didn’t like John the Baptist because he was different. He lived in the wilderness and dressed differently. Many people had a difficult time accepting him as a prophet. But Jesus defended John and encouraged the people to pay attention to what he preached. Jesus was also different because he hung out with people who were considered bad people. But Jesus did this to share His love with those who needed it the most.

KEEPING IT GOING: Introduce the word wisdom to the class and share with students that God gives us wisdom so we can bring glory to Him. Have students stand in the middle of the room. Ask the students to choose whether or not what you say is wise. If they think something is wise, they are to run to the wise sign, and vice versa. Then give them different scenarios, like eating healthy food or disobeying your parents. Allow students time to complete the activities in their student books. As they gather for prayer, ask them if they have any prayer requests. Dismiss the class after prayer.

JUST FOR YOU: Pray that your students will be messengers for God, growing in wisdom.

YOUNG LEARNERS

MATERIALS NEEDED: large cards with WISDOM, WISE, and UNWISE printed on them; large poster; music player; markers

GETTING STARTED: Before class, print the following situations on a poster: Skip class, say a kind word to a different student, steal from someone’s desk, call someone a bad name, make fun of another student, help a teacher carry her books, help a new student find their class, text parents when you’re going to be late. Welcome the students as they enter the classroom. Have Christian music playing. Begin the lesson with prayer.

JUMP START: Show the card with WISDOM on it and discuss what it means. Explain that wisdom is what helps us make the choices God wants us to make every day. In the lesson for today, wisdom is demonstrated in the lives of Jesus and John the Baptist.

THE LESSON STORY: Read the lesson story. Explain that Jesus and John the Baptist were cousins. Share with the class the differences between the two men. John used godly wisdom to preach about and prepare others for the promised Messiah, and Jesus affirmed John to the people as a true prophet of God. John’s message was met with hostility because he looked wild and lived in the wilderness.

TAKING IT HOME: Using the prepared poster and WISE/UNWISE cards, have the students determine whether or not each response is wise or unwise. Have the students hold up the card they feel best describes the situation. Allow students time to complete the activities in their books. As they gather for prayer, ask if they have prayer requests. Close the class in prayer.

ENERGY TO EDUCATE: Pray that the students will use wisdom to share about Jesus with others.

ADVENTURERS WITH JESUS

MATERIALS NEEDED: music player, index cards, markers

BEFORE YOU BEGIN: Greet each student as he or she enters the classroom. Have an upbeat praise song playing as they enter. Begin class with prayer.

‘NET CHECK: Discuss and complete the activity from www.rhboyd.com. Bring extra copies to class for those who don’t have one. Check and discuss the answers together.

INTRODUCTION: Explain that today’s lesson is about Jesus and John the Baptist. Ask students to share their definition of wisdom and discuss their responses. Share that godly wisdom helps proclaim the Gospel, even when others come against its message.

TODAY’S LESSON STORY: Ask for several volunteers to read the lesson story aloud. Give attention to the differences between Jesus and John the Baptist. Explain that people did not like John the Baptist because He looked and acted different from the rest of the world. Ask the class if they have been judged because they are Christians. Ask how God want us to treat those who are different from us and why is it important to allow wisdom to help us tell others about Jesus.

LESSON REVIEW AND CLOSING: Let the students complete the activities in their student books and review the key verse. Using the index cards, have students write down today’s key verse. Tell them to use the cards as a reminder that wisdom is always the best choice, especially when they are being persecuted. After taking prayer requests, close the class in prayer.

— Lesson Overview —

Introduction

More and more in today’s world, kids are being pressured to conform to the world’s standards at younger ages. They are shown in TV shows, video games, movies, and many other outlets what the world expects of them and how they are to act. So sadly, even at this early age, it is important to talk to young students about what resilient, godly wisdom should look like. As with any other issue we have, the Bible has the answer and provides examples of what this looks like.

Often, Christians lose focus on the main objective that God has put in place for His followers: know Him and make Him known. This type of lifestyle takes resilient, godly wisdom as much now as any other time in history. For our students to be effective Christians, they first must understand that the things the world offers have no eternal value. Giving in to the things our flesh desires can often render us ineffective for the cause of the Gospel and push us away from our relationship with the Lord. Effectively, sin breaks the two tasks that God has given us in one fell swoop.

Today’s lesson puts the model follower of Christ on display and shows us what it looks like to cast the world’s cares out of who we are. John the Baptist wasn’t respected by the world’s standards. But in God’s eyes, he courageously lived by the wisdom given to him, dedicating his entire life to the call of knowing God and making Him known. Through today’s lesson, show your students that God’s plans for them will call them away from the world and toward resilient, godly wisdom in every aspect of their lives.

CREATE INTEREST: Ask the participants what they know about John the Baptist.

I. Jesus Affirms the Teaching of John (Matthew 11:7–11)

While in prison John had to find out more information about Jesus. He sent his disciples to learn whether or not Jesus’ ministry was still strong and if He should still be considered the promised Messiah. After responding to the inquires of John’s disciples, Jesus was standing in front of a crowd. He began speaking, asking them rhetorical questions, preparing to reinforce the message and purpose of John the Baptist.

Try to paint a picture of what John the Baptist looked like for your class. Matthew describes him as such, Now John wore clothing of camel’s hair with a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey (Matt. 3:4, NRSV). Explain that John’s style of preaching was forceful, encouraging people to come to terms with their sins and ask God for forgiveness. John was a prophet and did not fit into the same role as the priest or Rabbis. He was like the prophets of old, simply delivering God’s messages.

Jesus decided to focus His message on the character of John. He questioned the people as to why they cared so much about John’s appearance. He knew that many in the crowd were rejecting the godly wisdom of John simply because of how he preached and lived. Jesus described the kind of man they were looking for: one dressed in fine clothes and living in a king’s palace, how the rest of the world would want for this person to be. This was not at all like John the Baptist. In his wisdom, John’s focus was only on bringing glory to God and taking any good attention off of himself. Explain to your students that God honors those who point everything that they do back to the purpose and message of Jesus.