spring quarter

3rd-6th

Teaching Kids God’s Story Narrative Lectionary, Year 2

Teacher’s Guide

Spring Quarter March 1 to May 31, 2020

Publisher

Gregory Rawn

Editors

Kari Osmek Cynthia Fairman Paulson Elaine Seekon

Writers

Kari Osmek Renae Boehmer Victoria Hoppes Rev. Anna Shirey Anne Tews Schwab

Living the Word: Teaching Kids God’s Story, 3rd-6th (Narrative Lectionary, Year 2) Text and illustrations copyright © 2014-2019 by Spirit and Truth Publishing All rights reserved. No part of this curriculum may be used or reproduced in any other manner whatsoever without written permission. For information, contact Spirit and Truth Publishing at www.SpiritAndTruthPublishing.com. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture is quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Graphic Designers

Nicholas McDougal Benjamin Borter

Layout

Nance Keyes

Illustrators

Amanda Wolfe Rev. Tom Pairan

3 © 2014-2019 Spirit and Truth Publishing—All Rights Reserved

Key Verse:

[Jesus said] “You lack one thing: go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor… then come, follow me.” Mark 10:21

The Point:

Living in God's kingdom is not about possessions, but about our love toward others.

Making Connections:

The Call to Serve

Bible Nuts & Bolts:

Images of God

Spiritual Practice:

Service

Lesson #2-25

Sunday, March 1, 2020

Mark 10:17-31 3rd-6th

4

© 2014-2019 Spirit and Truth Publishing—All Rights Reserved

Lesson #2-25 (3rd-6th) March 1, 2020

The greatest gift is God.

Any object of value

Imagine what God looks like.

Bibles Paper Markers or colored pencils

Participate in a dramatic reading.

Activity Sheet #2-25.A Optional: costumes

Collect coins for a group offering.

Shoe or other small boxes Markers or crayons Stickers Tape

Use resources to learn the history of this image.

Internet-connected devices Optional: Bible atlases or encyclopedias

5



Participate in a moving object lesson.

Chair Blanket Large garbage bags Crumpled paper

Play a game to remember the story.

Paper Pens or pencils

Optional ongoing activity.

Bible Book page (found at end of lesson) Cardstock or plain paper Pens or pencils Markers or crayons Optional: three-ring binders, hole punch

None



Making Connections Last week, students learned about Peter’s confession and Jesus’ transfiguration. This week, the story will continue in the Book of Mark, moving from the revelation of Jesus as the Son of God and our call to show our love to Jesus through worship, to a specific story of a young rich man who comes to Jesus asking what he can do to gain eternal life. Now we begin stories of Jesus’ call to each of us to serve.

Story Summary: Jesus and the Rich Man The story of the day is more about grace than it is about wealth. It is more about love than it is about money. A young rich man asks Jesus what he can do to save himself, and Jesus answers with love. Jesus tells the young man that that he loves him, and he calls the young man to follow him and form a close relationship with him. But the young man’s money proves to be an insurmountable obstacle, and so he walks away from Jesus. Jesus tells his disciples of the young man’s dilemma, comparing the difficulty of a person gaining eternal life without God’s help to the difficulty of a camel fitting through the eye of a needle. When the disciples ask how anyone can be saved, Jesus replies that there are some things people cannot do alone, but that God can do anything. Only with God are all things possible!

The Point Living in God's kingdom is not about possessions, but about our love toward others. Wealth was considered a sign of God’s blessing in Jesus’ time. When Jesus tells the man that he must give up everything he owns, it seems both to him and the disciples like Jesus is telling him to abandon that with which God had blessed him. Jesus is not just asking for obedience. He is asking for sacrifice. He is asking for us to follow him to the cross.

Bible Nuts & Bolts: Images of God The Bible has a wide variety of images to describe God. There are so many images to describe God because all language we use is limited and God is infinite. By using a wide variety of images, it can help us to further our understanding of God. There are many images of God in the Bible. God is compared to nursing mother and a comforting mother. In Matthew 23:37 and Luke 13:34, Jesus refers to himself as a mother hen. God is also compared to a king, father, a dove, fire, a rock, judge, creator, shepherd, a still small voice, a warrior, the prince of peace, a servant, and many more.

Spiritual Practice: Service Jesus tells the rich man, “You lack one thing.” What is that one thing? What is gained by selling everything? Jesus did not tell him to throw away his many things. He did not tell him to give the proceeds to the temple. He told him to give it to the poor. We can see what happens when we serve, but we are not likely to discover that “one thing” until we have given what we have out of joy and obedience, and have forgotten about our search for the answers.


Lesson #2-25 (3rd-6th) ⚫ March 1, 2020

The greatest gift is God. You will need: Any object of value

During class:

1. I brought in something very special today. Show the item that you brought and explain why it is special to you.

2. Do any of you have something that is really special? Allow students time to share. 3. We all have things that are special to us, and there is nothing wrong with that.

But in our story today, we are going to hear about someone who thought that money and wealth were really special. However, when he met Jesus, he learned that some things are even more important than money. We will hear more about this as we learn our story today.



Imagine what God looks like. You will need: Bibles Paper Markers or colored pencils

During class:

1. Sometimes it is hard to imagine what God must be like. We know that God is very loving and loves us all very much, so we know what God is like. And we know that Jesus is God’s son. But it is hard to imagine God.

2. Invite other students to pair up and look up the following passages to find the comparisons themselves. For younger students, simply read them the list. The Bible gives us some ideas. The Bible says that God is like lots of different things. Sometimes God is like a mother (Isaiah 49:15 and Isaiah 66:13). Jesus even refers to himself as a mother hen (Matthew 23:37 and Luke 13:34.) God is also compared to a king (Psalm 47), father (Luke 12:32), a dove (Matthew 3:16), fire (Hebrews 12:29), a rock (Psalm 18:2); judge (75:7), creator (Genesis creation narratives—Genesis 1 and 2), shepherd (Psalm 80:1), a still, small voice (1 Kings 19:11-13), a warrior (Exodus 15:3), the prince of peace (Isaiah 9:6), and a servant (Isaiah 53).

3. What do you think God is like? Draw a symbol or picture of your idea of God. Maybe you think of God as love, and want to draw a heart. Or maybe you think of God like one of the things we just talked about. Draw your picture, and then we will take time to talk about your thoughts.

4. Allow students time to create, then share their work.



Participate in a dramatic reading. You will need: Activity Sheet #2-25.A Optional: costumes

Before class:

1. Make copies of Activity Sheet #2-25.A for each student. During class:

1. We know that material possessions are not as important as our love for and faith in God, but sometimes it is hard to give up riches and treasures.

2. In today’s reading, a rich young man is dismayed when Jesus tells him to give all of his possessions to the poor in order to enter the kingdom of God.

3. Choose roles and pass out Activity Sheet #2-25.A and costumes to all students. 4. If you met Jesus and heard this same advice, what would you do? What would be

the most difficult thing for you to give up? 5. Jesus is not saying that our material things are bad. But what Jesus is saying is

when those items become so important that we lose sight of everything else—including our relationship with God—then they are a problem. Jesus wants us to put our relationship with him above everything else.



Collect coins for a group offering.

You will need: Shoe or other small boxes Markers or crayons Stickers Tape

Before class:

1. Make sure there are enough shoeboxes for each student plus extras. 2. You may want to choose a group or organization to receive the donation so you can

promote it with the students. A second option would be to allow the students to choose; in this case, provide information on a number of organizations in your community for them to review.

During class:

1. In our story today, Jesus tells the rich young man that the best way to show love for God and others is by giving back to others. Jesus wants us to share with other people. Jesus wants us to give to those who are in need. Jesus wants us to serve others in a spirit of love and grace.

2. The young man in the story loved his money, and did not know how to give it away. We might love our money, too, but with Jesus’ help, we can practice giving it away.

3. Today we are going to make special boxes to bring home and collect loose pennies (or any other coins) that we have.

4. Pass out the shoeboxes so each student has one, then assist students in decorating their boxes with the collected supplies.

5. As the students are decorating, have them write the verse of the day on the top or side of each box.

6. After all boxes are decorated, gather the class together and say a prayer over the boxes, asking God to bless them and offering their contents to others in need.

7. In a couple of weeks, we will bring our boxes back to class, and put all of our money together to help other people who need help.



Use resources to learn the history of this image. You will need: Internet-connected devices Optional: Bible atlases or encyclopedias

Before class:

1. Make sure that you have wireless access. During class:

1. Much of the writing in the Bible includes colorful imagery, poetry, and stories that teach but are not necessarily literal. Jesus’ use of the comparison of a camel going through the eye of the needle is one of those images.

2. Allow students to look up the reference on the Internet or in the reference books and see what they discover.

3. The Eye of the Needle Gate in Jerusalem is a stone gate that is short and narrow enough that camels would need to kneel to try to go through. It is unclear whether the particular gate existed at the time of Jesus, but this phrase was not meant to be taken literally.



Participate in a moving object lesson. You will need: Chair Blanket Large garbage bags Crumpled paper

Before class:

1. Fill the bags with the crumpled paper. During class:

1. In today’s story, the young rich man loved his money too much to give it away even when Jesus tells him to. Sometimes it is hard to let go of things, even when we know we should. Sometimes it is easier to think that we can bring everything with us no matter where we go. But what happens when our stuff gets to be too much, and we cannot fit through the doorway?

2. Make a small “doorway to heaven” by putting a blanket over a card table or chair. Let’s pretend this is our entrance to heaven, to God’s kingdom, to Jesus’s house.

3. Bring out the garbage bags that are stuffed with the crumpled paper. Now, let’s pretend that these are our bags of money or toys that we have worked very hard for and we do not want to let go of. Can we get through the doorway with our moneybags?

4. Give students a large bag of “money,” and encourage them to go through the entrance. Let them discover that they will not fit unless they give their moneybag away.

5. With the entrance so small, and our moneybags so big, we found out that we had to let the money go in order to get through the entrance. That is what Jesus was really saying to the young man. Jesus was telling him that God comes first, before money and any of our stuff. But it is important to remember that this does not mean that Jesus wants us to give up our favorite teddy bear to get into God’s kingdom. What it means is that everything we have is really God’s, and that it is important for us to share. Jesus wants us to love him so much that we are willing to share our most important items with other people.



Write creative descriptions. You will need: Paper Pens or pencils

During class:

1. Much of the writing in the Bible includes colorful imagery, poetry, and stories that teach but are not necessarily literal. Jesus’ use of the comparison of a camel going through the eye of the needle is one of those images.

2. What are some other descriptions that Jesus might have used? How would you creatively describe something that’s difficult? Work together with someone else to come up with similes (saying something is like something else) to describe how difficult it is for someone who is too attached to their money to enter heaven.

3. Give students time to work, and then invite them to share their creations.



Optional ongoing activity. You will need:

Bible Book page (found at end of lesson) Cardstock or plain paper Pens or pencils Markers or crayons Optional: three-ring binders, hole punch

Before class:

1. Make copies of this week’s Bible Book page on cardstock or copy paper for each student.

During class:

1. Hand out Bible Book pages. 2. What are some of the important things we have learned from today’s story?

[Answers will vary.] 3. On the bottom of your page, please write one or two important things that you

have learned from the story today. In the middle of the page, draw a picture from the story or illustrate one of the important things you’ve learned. Don’t forget to put your name on the back of the page, please!

4. Optional: Collect and three-hole punch the pages, and put them in individual binders for each student to be kept at church until the end of the year. If you wish, you can investigate other options for binding the Bible books through a local print shop at the end of the year instead of using a three-ring binder.



Before ending class, make a point to come together to pray. Use the following or say your own prayer.

Dear God, Thank you for showing us that what we do is more important than the things we have. Thank you for your unconditional love and support. Thank you for making all things possible. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

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Lesson #2-25 (3rd-6th) ⚫ March 1, 2020 Activity Sheet #2-25.A


Characters:

Narrator Jesus Rich man

Narrator: One day, Jesus was walking along with his disciples, talking and minding his own

business, when out of the blue, a young man ran up and knelt right in front of him.

Rich man: (kneeling) Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?

Jesus: Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone.

Narrator: The rich man realized his mistake, and quietly waited for Jesus to continue, to tell

him the secret, to give him advice on what he could do to be sure he would inherit eternal life.

Jesus: To inherit eternal life, you must follow the commandments: Do not murder, do not

commit adultery, do not steal, do not lie, do not cheat, honor your father and mother…

Narrator: Jesus listed many commandments, and the rich man grew excited and happy, for he

had kept these commandments since his youth, and certainly that would mean he would soon

inherit the kingdom of God.

Rich man: Teacher, I have kept all these commandments since I was very young! Certainly,

this means that I will inherit the kingdom of God after all?

Jesus: (smiling) I love you, and want you will come and follow me in love and faith, but there is

one more thing you must do.

Rich man: Tell me, and I will do it.

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Lesson #2-25 (3rd-6th) ⚫ March 1, 2020 Activity Sheet #2-25.A


Jesus: Go and sell all that you won, and give the money to the poor, then come and follow me.

Rich man: (Silently shaking his head, turning his back and slowly walking away.)

Narrator: The rich man was shocked and saddened by Jesus’s words, and in the end, was

unable to make the choice that Jesus asked him to make. Instead, he went away feeling very

sad, unable to give up his possessions even for the glory of the kingdom of God. Jesus

watched the young man walk away for a moment before he turned to his disciples and said:

Jesus: How hard it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!

Disciple: (looking at each other with varying states of confusion and perplexed looking expressions) Why?

Narrator: The disciples did not understand what Jesus meant, so Jesus restated his thoughts in

a new way.

Jesus: It’s easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to

enter the kingdom of God.

Narrator: Well, this explanation was even more perplexing, and the disciples were even more

confused.

Disciples: Then is it impossible for us to be saved?

Jesus: It would be impossible for you alone, but not with God on your side, for with God, all

things are possible.

19


Lesson #2-25 (3rd-6th) ⚫ March 1, 2020 Bible Book

Mark 10:17-31

3rd-6th

Living the Word: Teaching Kids God’s Story

Narrative Lectionary, Year 2 (2019-2020)

Lesson #2-25 Mark 10:17-31


A young rich man asks Jesus what he can do to save himself. Jesus tells the young man that that he loves him, and calls him to follow and form a close relationship with Jesus. But the young man’s money proves to be an obstacle, and so he walks away from Jesus. Jesus compares the difficulty of a person gaining eternal life without God’s help to the difficulty of a camel fitting through the eye of a needle. When the disciples ask how anyone can be saved, Jesus replies that there are some things that only God can do.

Living in God's kingdom is not about possessions, but about our love toward others.

Jesus tells the rich man, “You lack one thing.” What is that one thing? What is gained by selling everything? Jesus did not tell him to throw away his many things. He did not tell him to give the proceeds to the temple. He told him to give it to the poor. We can see what happens when we serve, but we are not likely to discover that “one thing” until we have given what we have out of joy and obedience. Decide on one service project to work toward as a family during this unit about being Called to Serve.”

Images of God The Bible has a wide variety of images to describe God. There are so many images to describe God because all language we use is limited and God is infinite. By using a wide variety of images, it can help us to further our understanding of God. There are many images of God in the Bible. God is compared to nursing mother and a comforting mother. In Matthew 23:37 and Luke 13:34, Jesus refers to himself as a mother hen. God is also compared to a king, father, a dove, fire, a rock, judge, creator, shepherd, a still small voice, a warrior, the prince of peace, a servant, and many more.

Jesus taught his disciples about the cost of following him. On Ash Wednesday, he continued this teaching, say-ing that the greatest is the servant of all (Mark 8:27-9:8).

Jesus tells a rich man that following Jesus means giving up his connection to money (Mark 10:17-31).

Jesus teaches his disciples as they walk toward Jerusalem. James and John ask for places of honor, but Jesus teaches that the kingdom of God is not about places of honor, but about service to others (Mark 10:32-52).


Lesson #2-25 Mark 10:17-31

@ HOME

Family Discussions

Sunday—Read Mark 10:17-22 Jesus and the rich man. Share the one thing that would be the most difficult for you to give up.

Monday—Read Exodus 20:12-16 Commandments to live by. Watch a video such as the following as a refresher of the Ten Commandments. https://youtu.be/WcSZhSzzX9M (or search: ten commandments hand gestures video).

Tuesday—Read Mark10:23-27 Entering God’s kingdom. Jesus compares entering God’s kingdom to a camel going through the eye of a needle. Make up other comparisons.

Wednesday—Read 1 Timothy 6:6-10 The love of money. Talk about the ways that the love of money can get you in trouble.

Thursday—Read Mark 10:28-31 Eternal life to come. Play a game of Follow the Leader. Now turn around and play it the other direction.

Friday—Read Romans 8:18-25 Present sufferings, future glory. Name one type of suffering that you will be most anxious to see go away when God’s kingdom is known in its fullness.

Saturday—Read Mark 10:32-34 On the road to Jerusalem. Walk down the street, sidewalk, or through your house as you read this passage.

Use the questions below or other questions you think of to discuss today’s Scripture reading (listed above) with your family.

In what way does this text teach about the theme of The Call to Serve?

What does this scripture have to do with our lives today?

What part of this scripture is the most interesting to you? Why?

As you hear and study these stories each week, consider what God has to say to you and your family. What is God’s message to us? How should we respond?

Family Devotions

https://youtu.be/WcSZhSzzX9M

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