Memory Verse

“Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No man comes to the Father except through me'” ~John 14:6

Day 1-Jesus As a Boy

• Pray.
• Introduce the memory verse.
• Read Luke 2:41-52.
• Talk about it.
  • Who are the people involved in the story?
  • What happened?
  • When did this take place? How old was Jesus?
  • Where did this story take place? Where was Jesus?
  • Why was He in the temple?
  • How does Jesus show that He is different from all other boys his age?
  • How does He show that He is still fully God?
  • How does He show that He is fully human?
  • What can we learn from Jesus about how we should be living our lives?
• Activity Idea
  • Make a Jesus Journal or Jesus notebook.
    • Get a blank notebook or staple several pieces of paper together to create your own notebook. You could also just use a pocket folder and collect the papers daily.
    • Depending on the age/ability level of your children, have them write a short summary or what stands out to them the most, or they can draw or color a picture of the story of Jesus they read each day.
    • Older kids (or parents) may want to pick one verse from the passage and “SOAP” it.
      • S=What Scripture verse stands out the most to you?
      • O=What observations do you make about it?
      • A=How does this apply to your life?
      • P=Pray about what God is teaching you through this verse.

Day 2-Jesus’ Baptism

• Pray.
• Practice the memory verse.
• Explain that several years have passed since Jesus was twelve and got separated from His parents and went to the temple. Luke 3:23 tells us that He was about 30 when He began His ministry.
• Read Matthew 3:1-6.
• Read Matthew 3:13-17.
• Talk about it.
  • Who are the people we read about in this story?
  • What event took place?
  • When did this happen? How old was Jesus?
  • Where did it happen?
  • Why did it happen? (verse 15) See note on Jesus below to help explain why.
  • How do we see all three Persons of the Trinity in this story?
    • God-spoke from Heaven saying, “This is my beloved Son in whom I am well-pleased.”
    • Jesus-was baptized by John which identified Him with sinners. He wasn’t a sinner, but He would one day bear our sins so that we could bear His righteousness. (2 Corinthians 5:21)
    • Holy Spirit-descended upon Jesus. Luke 3:22 says that “the Holy Spirit descended upon Him in bodily form like a dove.” So this was a visible thing that the people could see. “Like a dove” is a picture of gentleness.
  • What are you going to remember from what we read today?

Day 3-Jesus is Tempted

• Pray.
• Practice the memory verse.
• Talk about what temptations are. Temptation is a desire or a consideration to do something that is wrong, unwise, or that you have been told not to do.
  • Have them give examples of how they are tempted.
  • Parents, give your kids an example of a time when you were tempted. They love hearing stories of when you were a kid.
• Read Matthew 4:1-11.
• Talk about it.
  • Who was being tempted?
  • Who was tempting Him?
  • Explain that this event took place right after Jesus was baptized. Mark 1:12 says “Immediately the Spirit impelled Him to go out into the wilderness.”
  • How did Satan tempt Jesus?
  • How did Jesus fight against the temptation? (Hebrews 4:12)
  • Remember that Jesus was filled with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit empowered Jesus to remain strong even when He was physically and emotionally weak (due to 40 days of fasting in the wilderness).
  • When we accept God’s gift of salvation and in faith, fully surrender our lives to Him, He fills us with the Holy Spirit. (Ephesians 1:13) We have that same power in us that Jesus did to help us overcome our temptations. (Acts 1:8, Ephesians 3:16-20)
• Read 1 John 4:4.
  • What are you going to remember the next time you are tempted?
  • How can you follow Jesus’ example of how to overcome temptations?

Day 4-Jesus Begins His Ministry

• Pray.
• Practice the memory verse.
• Quickly review what you read yesterday.
• Read Mark 1:14-20
  • Briefly summarize the first part of what you just read.
    • John the Baptist had been arrested because Herod (different Herod than the one when Jesus was born) didn’t like what John had said about him.
    • After His temptation in the wilderness for 40 days, Jesus began his ministry in Judea (John 2:13-4:4) and news was spreading about Him (Luke 4:14-15).
    • He came to Galilee to preach the good news of salvation.
  • Discuss
    • Who were the four men that Jesus called? Explain that Simon is more commonly known to us as Peter. (Matthew 4:18)
    • What did they do for a living?
    • What did Jesus tell them?
    • What does Jesus mean when He said, “I will make you become fishers of men?”
      • It means to tell others about Jesus and teach them the good news of salvation so that more people will know Him as their Savior and Lord. (Matthew 28:19-20, Acts 1:8)
    • These men had been hearing about Jesus and they had been listening to what He was saying. (In fact, John 1:35-42 explains that Andrew and Peter had already met Jesus before.) What did they do when He called them to follow Him?
    • Is the call Jesus gave to these four men the same for you?
      • Does He want you to follow Him?
      • Does He want you to tell others about Him?

Day 5-Jesus Taught, Preached, and Healed

• Pray.
• Practice the memory verse.
• Read Luke 4:31-32.
• Read Luke 4:38-39.
• Read Luke 4:40-44.
• Talk about it.
  • Who is the main person in these events?
  • What are some things that happened on this day that we just read about?
  • When did this happen? What day of the week was it? (verse 31)
  • Where did Jesus go the next morning? (Mark 1:35 is more specific and tells us that “In the early morning while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house, and went away to a secluded place, and was praying there.”).
  • Why did the crowds want Jesus to stay?
  • Why did Jesus have to leave? (verse 43)
  • What was your favorite thing about what we read today?
  • What did you learn today that helps you understand more about Jesus?