LEADERS HUB
Year 1, Term 4, Week 3: Ideas for Senior Group
Week 3: Jesus is coming - The angel announces it!
Lesson Objective:
God sent an angel to tell Mary that she would have a son and call him Jesus. He would be a son of God and a King whose Kingdom will never end.
Bible Passage:
Luke 1:26-38 (Angel speaks to Mary)
Memory Verse:
Luke 1:32: He will be great and will be called the Son of God Most High. The Lord God will make him King, as his ancestor David was.
Story Idea: Potato Straw Experiment & Read It!
Potato Straw Experiment:
- Bring along a few potatoes and some plastic straws (if they have a bend in them, cut off the bent section so it's a rigid straw)
- Ask the kids if they think you can stab a straw all the way through a potato without bending the straw
- Allow a few kids to have a go - they will most likely struggle if they don't know the secret!
- Take a potato and a straw, hold your thumb firmly over the end of the straw, then stab the potato firmly with the other end so that the straw comes through (practice your technique first!)
- Having your thumb over the end is the secret because it forces pressure to build up inside the straw which helps to break through the potato
- Explain that the task seems impossible - but with the right technique - it's totally possible
Recap:
- Ask the kids if they can remember last weeks lesson and prompt them to remember that the angel said Elizabeth would have a baby, even though she was very old and it seemed impossible. Her baby - John - had a special message for everyone -- Jesus could forgive their sins!
Have the kids read Luke 1:26-38 in the Bible
Quiz Questions:
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1. How did Mary feel when the angel first spoke to her? Scared/confused
2. What message did the angel have for Mary? She was going to have a baby
3. Why didn't Mary think she could have a baby? She didn't have a husband
4. Who else have we talked about recently who had a miracle baby? Elizabeth
5. Elizabeth had baby John - what was John saying Jesus would be able to do for them? Forgive their sin
6. Who would Jesus be? King
7. How long will Jesus' kingdom last? Forever!
8. If Jesus is King - who are His people? Us - anyone who decides to follow Jesus
9. Do you think the angel is talking about a physical Kingdom here on Earth, or something more? God's Kingdom isn't just an area on Earth - it's a spiritual Kingdom and can include anyone who trusts Jesus - His Kingdom lasts forever in Heaven
10. In some way, are we already part of God's Kingdom? How? Yes - because we trust in Jesus - we are His people and He is our King already, and that will continue forever in Heaven!
Game Idea: Musical Statues
- Make a circle with marker cones
- Put on some music and have the kids walk/dance around the circle of cones
- When you stop the music, everyone should stop and freeze
- Kids who are caught moving can sit off to one side
- The last child left in wins!
Remind the kids that Mary stopped and listened to the angel - she trusted God's plan to bring King Jesus into the world!
Game Idea: Pass the Crown
- Use one of the dress up crowns and capes and bring along a block of chocolate on a plate, a die and a knife
- Have the kids sit in a circle around the chocolate plate and take turns rolling the die
- When someone rolls a six, they put on a crown and a cape and take turns cutting the chocolate into squares with the knife - when they cut off a square they may pick it up and eat it
- The game ends when all of the chocolate is gone!
Remind the kids that Jesus is King FOREVER - not just for a short time! And his Kingdom will be SO much better than chocolate!
Craft Idea: Fabric Angel
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You will need:
- White fabric or tulle
- Wide golden ribbon (ideally the type with wire in the edges)
- Narrow ribbon
- Metallic Pipe Cleaners
- Large Wooden Beads
- Scissors
- String
- Glue (PVA or hot glue)
Before the Lesson:
- Cut large strips of tulle or fabric and sections of ribbon long enough to fold into wings and for a loop to hang the angel by
- Cut small pieces of metallic pipe cleaner to fold into halos and arms
Have the kids:
- Tie a loop from the skinny ribbon
- Make a pile of tulle or fabric strips
- Thread a string down through their bead, around the tulle/fabric pile, then back up through their bead and tie it around the ribbon loop
- Fluff out their tulle
- Fold their wings from the wide ribbon
- Glue a halo and the wings to the body of the angel (with an adult if using hot glue)
- Make arms by looping a pipe cleaner around the back of the body to secure them
