Miracles

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-Water Into Wine

• Pray.
• Practice the memory verse.
  • Look up the verse (John 14:6) in your Bible or have your kids look it up. If they are too young to read, show them where it is found, explain that John is in the New Testament and is one of the four gospels that tell about Jesus’ life. Read the verse from the Bible and highlight it.
• Today we will be talking about miracles.
  • Miracles are things that only God can do.
  • Miracles are signs, and signs always point to something greater.
  • What are some signs you see as you drive down the road. (McDonald’s or other restaurant sign, sign for a store, sign for the Zoo, etc)
  • The sign just points to the great thing that is coming up. If you go stand under the golden arches at McDonald’s, there is really not much to see there. You have to look past the sign, to what it is pointing to, in order to enjoy to the good stuff.
  • A miracle is a sign that points to something greater. When Jesus did miracles, He did them to point people to God. The miracles Jesus did show us that Jesus is Immanuel, God with us. They were a display of His power to help people recognize His glory and led many to believe in Him.
• Read John 2:1-11.
• Talk about it.
  • What miracle did Jesus do?
  • How was this a miracle? Remember, miracles are things that only God can do.
  • What happened when the people saw this miracle, this sign? (verse 11)

Day 2-A Paralyzed Man is Healed

• Pray.
• Practice the memory verse.
  • Have your kids write it down or trace the verse. If they are very young, write the verse down for them and have them color or decorate the page on which you wrote the verse. Hang the verse in a prominent place where they can see it and be reminded of it.
• Explain that Jesus had been healing many people, he had been casting out demons, and he had been preaching. Many people came so they could see for themselves the signs (miracles) He was doing and they were listening to what He was saying. As His reputation spread, many teachers of the law (scribes) and Pharisees (very strict law abiding Jews) also came to critically see and listen to to His claims.
• Read Mark 2:1-12 straight through or break it up.
  • Mark 2:1-2
    • Where does this story take place?
    • Who was there?
    • What was Jesus doing? “The word” He was speaking to them was the good news of the gospel-that salvation is through faith and given by grace, and it is the forgiveness of sins.
  • Mark 2:3-4
    • Who comes to the house?
    • What was the problem?
    • How did they solve it?
  • Mark 2:5
    • When Jesus saw the faith that these men had, He extended His grace and forgave the man’s sins. This was a picture of the gospel He had been talking about to the people just before the five guys got there.
  • Mark 2:6-7
    • The scribes were disturbed by what Jesus said. They knew that no one could forgive anyone’s sins except for God. They weren’t seeing that Jesus was God.
  • Mark 2:8-12
    • Because Jesus is God, He knew exactly what they were thinking. He could say, “Your sins are forgiven,” but no human could prove that because it is an invisible thing. So to show them that what He said had authority and was true, He did something that only God can do.
    • What miracle, what sign did He do?
    • This sign, healing a paralyzed man, pointed to something greater. It showed that He was God and had the power and authority to not only heal the physical problems that some have, but He also had the power and authority to heal and forgive the sin problems that we all have.
  • What will you remember about what we read today?

Day 3-Jesus Heals the Royal Official’s Son

• Pray.
• Practice the memory verse.
• Read John 4:46-54.
• Talk about it.
  • Who are the main people we read about?
  • Where are they? What had happened not too long before this in that same town?
  • What is the problem?
  • What did the royal official decide to do? (verse 47)
  • Jesus said, “Unless you people see signs and wonders, you simply will not believe.” (verse 48)
    • Jesus had been teaching about who He is and why He came, but He recognized that many people’s motivation for coming to Him was for His miracle working and not because He was the Messiah who had come to save them from their sins. He showed grace, sympathy, and patience for people like this by healing the royal official’s son even though the man’s approach to Jesus was more of desperation than appreciation of who Jesus was.
  • How did Jesus heal the man’s son? (verse 50)
  • What happened when the man realized that the boy was healed at the exact time that Jesus spoke the words? (verse 53)
    • The miracle was a sign that pointed him to God. His faith in Jesus as Messiah was strengthened and others believed also.

Day 4-A Widow’s Son is Raised

• Pray.
• Practice the memory verse.
• Read Luke 7:11-17.
• Talk about it.
  • Who is in the story?
  • What are they doing?
  • Where are they going?
  • How did Jesus feel when he saw the woman?
  • Why did He bring her son back to life?
  • After reading about this event, what is a word you would use to describe Jesus?

Day 5-Jesus Stills the Sea

• Pray.
• Practice the memory verse.
• Jesus had been teaching by the sea one day to a very large crowd of people. (Mark4:1) Jesus was tired from at the end of the day and wanted to get away from the crowds.
• If you have younger kids, you could read this story to them while they are in the bathtub. Give them a boat or a bowl that could be used as a boat, put some Little People or other water-proof toys in the boat to represent Jesus and the disciples. Have them pretend play with their toys as you read or tell the story.
• Read Mark 4:35-41.
• Strong storms like this were common on the sea of Galilee, but this one must have been very severe if it scared the disciples, many of whom were used to being on the water (fishermen), so much that they thought they might drown.
• We see in the Bible that Jesus is both completely God and completely man.
  • How do we see Jesus’ humanity in this story? How does He show the disciples that He is man?
  • How do we see His deity in this story? How does He show the disciples that He is God?
  • What does this sign, the miracle of Jesus calming the storm, tell us about Jesus?
    • Examples:
      • It shows us that He is God and is in charge of all creation.
      • It shows us that He is man and needed a break from work so He could rest.
      • It shows us that He has compassion and cares about those He has made.
      • It shows us that He is worthy of and deserves our praise and our honor because He is God and He is good.

Parables

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-What is a Parable?

• Pray.
• Practice the memory verse.
• This week we will be reading about some of the parables that Jesus used when He was teaching. A parable is a story that Jesus used teach a lesson.
• Do you like hearing stories that your parents and teachers tell? When you hear a story that goes with something you are working on, does it help you understand it and remember it better? Can you think of a story that a parent or teacher has told that helps you understand something better?
• Read Matthew 13:10-11, 13. Have older kids read Matthew 10:13-17 and discuss how this was prophesied in Isaiah many, many years before Jesus spoke these words.
  • What question did the disciples ask Jesus?
  • Jesus taught using parables so that He could reveal truth to believers in a way that they could understand it better, and so they can remember the lessons He wanted them to learn.
  • Some people, however, heard these parables and did not understand. Why do you think they didn’t understand?
• Read Matthew 13:15.
  • These people heard the parables that Jesus spoke, but their hearts were hard, so they chose to shut their ears and close their eyes to what Jesus was saying and doing.
• Read Matthew 13:16.
  • What did Jesus say about the people who saw what Jesus did and heard what He wanted them to learn? Blessed means favored or happy. People who believe in Jesus see what He did and listen to what He taught and are able to understand His Truth more and more.
• As we get ready to read the parables that Jesus used to teach, give yourself a little check-up:
  • Are your ears listening to understand what He wants to teach you?
  • Are your eyes open to see what He wants to show you?
  • Is your heart soft to take in the Truth that is in His Word?
• Activity Idea
  • Salvation Object Lesson You can use this activity to show the difference between a hard heart and a soft heart.

Day 2-“The Wise Man Built His House Upon the Rock”

• Pray.
• Practice the memory verse.
  • Play “Popcorn” with the verse.
    • Designate the person who will say the first word of the verse. After he/she says it, anyone else can say the next word, but you can only say one word at a time. After someone says the second word, a different person (can be the first “player”) must say the third word. Play continues until the entire verse and reference have been said. If two people say the same word at the same time, you must start over at the beginning of the verse and try again.
    • Example- Player 1- “Jesus”, Player 2- “said”, Player 3-“to”, Player 2-“him”, Player 1 and 2-“I” Since player one and two said “I” at the same time, they must start the verse over and play again.
• What is a parable?
• Read Luke 6:46-49.
• Talk about it.
  • What parable did Jesus tell?
  • Younger Kids-Have you heard the song that goes with this parable? The Wise Man Built His House Upon the Rock
  • What is a foundation?
    • Talk about a time when they have seen a house being built. Have they ever seen the big concrete foundation. Describe what it’s like.
    • What is the job of the foundation?
    • What happens if there are problems with the foundation of a house?
  • In the parable, what happened to the two houses when the storm came?
  • What is Jesus teaching? What is He wanting us to understand?
    • When we recognize that Jesus is Lord. we must do what He says. We must obey and build our lives on God’s Word. When we have Jesus as our firm foundation, we will stand through every “storm”.
    • If we choose to just hear God’s Word, but we don’t do what it says, we will not have that firm foundation. Jesus shows us in the parable that if this is the case, we have nothing strong holding us up, so we will collapse when “storms” come and “the ruin will be great” (verse 49).
  • Which person in the parable do you want to be? What do you need to do?

Day 3-The Seed and the Soil

• Pray.
• Practice the memory verse. Have each child say it by him/herself.
• Read or summarize Luke 8:4-8.
  • Have your kids picture in their heads what is happening in the story.
    • A farmer went out to plant seeds.
    • As he was sowing, some of the seed fell along the road where people walk and those seeds were stepped on and eaten by the birds.
    • Some of the seed fell on rocky soil. The seed wasn’t have been able to grow in that soil because it was too shallow and had too many rocks.
    • Other seed fell on some ground that had thorns. The seed grew into a plant, but as it grew, there were too many thorns around so the plant was overtaken by them.
    • Finally, some of the seed fell into the good soil that the farmer had plowed up. It was soft and rich and ready to take the seed. The seed that fell in this ground grew into a great crop!
    • Jesus said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” Do you have ears? Then let’s find out what Jesus wanted us to hear. We’re about to find out what this parable means.
  • Read Luke 8:9-15.
  • Jesus wants us to hear the Word of God and believe in Him. He wants us to trust in Him and be obedient. He wants us to bear good fruit (Galatians 5:22-23) as we grow, always remaining in Him.

Day 4-Put it on a Lampstand

• Pray.
• Practice the memory verse. Tomorrow will be the last day for this memory verse.
• Grab a small lamp (or use a flashlight) and a basket or big bowl (not see-through). Tell them that today we will be reading about these things, so we need to do a little test to see what happens.
  • Go into a dark room. Turn on the lamp. What happens?
  • But now what happens when I cover the lamp with this basket?
  • What happens if I stick the lamp under the bed?
• Read Luke 8:16. If you have older kids, read Luke 8:16-18.
  • Who told this story?
  • What do you think Jesus was trying to explain with this parable?
  • When we are in the dark and can’t see, but we have a lamp, it would be foolish for us to think, “I will turn this lamp on, but I’ll cover it up.” Would the problem of the darkness be solved?
  • Explain that back in the time that Jesus was telling this story, the “lamp” would really have been more like a candle. So, if you put a candle under a basket, the flame would go out. Same for under a bed. They usually slept on a pallet on the floor, so if someone put the candle under their bed, the flame would be extinguished.
• Read or summarize John 8:12.
  • When we hear the good news about Jesus-that He came to save us, it’s like we have been given a light.
• Read the first part of Luke 8:18.
  • When we hear the good news of Jesus, we must be careful how we listen and we must be careful about what we do with what we hear.
  • Should we cover up the light and not let others know about Jesus?
• Now take the lamp you used earlier and put it on a nightstand or dresser in the dark room. What happened?
  • What happens when we make the Light (Jesus) visible in our lives?
  • When we listen carefully to what Jesus teaches us, we understand that He wants us to live in such a way that all who see us will actually see Him. He wants us to tell others the good news that He can to save them. He wants people to come out of the darkness and into the Light.
• How can you make Jesus visible in your life so that those you are with today can see the Light?
• Song
  • Younger kids-“This Little Light of Mine”

Day 5-The Good Samaritan

• Pray.
• Record your kids saying John 14:6 by memory. My kids like to get on our “stage”, (the hearth of the fireplace) to record their verses with their “microphones” (wooden spoons, hairbrushes, anything goes).
• Ask, “Who would you say is your neighbor?”
• This was the exact question someone asked Jesus one day.
• Read Luke 10:25-29. If you have younger kids, you may want to skip this and go straight to the next passage
  • This man seemed like a very smart guy. But he also was prideful. He knew the law very well, but he wasn’t willing to admit his guilt in not keeping it. (see James 2:8-10) Instead he tried to justify his actions by asking, “And who is my neighbor?” Most scribes and Pharisees back then, only considered righteous. ‘good’ people as their neighbors. Those who were ‘wicked’, which would have included Samaritans, would have been considered as enemies not neighbors.
  • To answer his question, Jesus told a parable.
• Read Luke 10:30-37.
  • Explain that the priest and the Levite both worked in the temple. So basically, that’s like two very ‘good’ guys who go to church all the time.
    • How would you think these ‘good’ guys who are at church all the time should have responded to this man in need of help?
    • What did they do instead?
  • Explain that the Samaritan would have been considered more of any enemy than a neighbor. The Jews hated the Samaritans and they avoided each other. For a Samaritan to travel the road he was on would have been very unusual and risky for him.
    • What did the Samaritan do when he saw the man who needed help?
  • Jesus told this parable to help us understand who is our neighbor and how we should love our neighbor as ourselves (Leviticus 19:18).
    • Are neighbors just people who live close to us?
    • Are they just people who are similar to us?
    • Are they just people who we get along with?
    • Who are our neighbors?
    • What did God mean when He said to “love them [your neighbors] as yourself”?
    • Does anyone come to your mind that you need to love with that kind of love? Who? How can you show them love?
• Activity
  • Have your kids act out the parable.
  • Have your kids use some of their toys to retell the parable.
  • Use paper bags to make puppets of the characters in the parable. Then retell the story using the puppets.