Make Your Father Proud

Theme: Be the kind of child that would make God proud of you. The baptism of Jesus Object: A photo album and an iPhone Scripture: At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. As Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: "You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased." Mark 1:9-11 (NIV) This is a photo album that has some pictures we took of our son as he was growing up. We started taking pictures of him the very first day he was born and we haven't stopped to this day. People don't use put pictures in photo albums much anymore. I guess you might say that this is the new photo album. (Hold up an iPhone.) I guess we don't really need a photo album. We always have our camera with us and as soon as we take a photo, it is right there on our phone for all to see. When I see someone at church showing a friend their phone, I can be pretty sure they are showing them a picture of their child or grandchild. Almost everyone is on Facebook these days. When you go to your Facebook page, it is full of the photos posted by your Facebook friends of their children or grandchildren. Do you know why people like to show pictures of their children? It is because they love them and they are proud of them. They are proud of them on the day they are born and they are proud of them when they learn to walk and talk. They are proud of them when they start to school, when they play sports, or when they play in a piano recital. In each and every stage of life, parents are proud of their children. Do you think God was proud of his Son, Jesus? I know he was! How do I know? The Bible tells me so! The Bible says that when Jesus was baptized, there was a voice from heaven that said, "You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased." Why do you think God was proud of his Son? I think it made God proud to watch him grow. The Bible tells us that "Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men." (Luke 2:52) It always makes a father proud to watch his children grow in maturity and become wiser. And, of course, a father is always proud when his child is well- liked and respected by other people. Another reason that God was proud of his Son is that Jesus always did what his Father told him to do. Do you always do what your father tells you to do? I doubt if any of us could answer "yes" to that question, but Jesus could. Jesus said "I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me." (John 6:38) That would make a Father proud, wouldn't it? The Bible tells us that when we trust in Jesus as our Savior, we become the children of God. Wouldn't you like to be the kind of child that would cause God to look down from heaven and say, "My child, I'm proud of you!" Dear Father, help us to be more like Jesus, so that we will be the kind of child of whom you can be proud. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Group Activities Page Coloring Page Crossword Puzzle Decoder Puzzle Multiple Choice Quiz Word Search Puzzle Worship Bulletin (DOC) (PDF)

PHOTO ALBUM: Give the children several pieces of paper to create a small booklet. Let them use their imagination to make a booklet about today's lesson writing "In You I Am Well Pleased" on the front cover and then on the following pages have them write things that would make our Heavenly Father proud. For example: BE HONEST; BE FAITHFUL; BE TRUTHFUL; RESPECT OTHERS; BE FAIR; LOVE ONE ANOTHER; OBEY YOUR PARENTS. The pages of the album can then be stapled together or hole punched and tied together with ribbon or yarn. BAPTISM BANNER: Have the children create a banner saying "BAPTISM: A PICTURE OF A CHILD OF GOD" or something similar. Let them decorate with a picture of someone being baptized. Add a prayer at the bottom of the banner asking God to help us to be the kind of child of whom he can be proud. CLOUD POSTER: Let the children make a large cloud shape out of poster board and glue some cotton around the edges. Using colored markers, have them write "You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased." Mark 1:9-11. The clouds can then be tacked to the classroom wall. PROUD OF ME PICTURE: Give each child a piece of construction paper. Have various cut outs of circles, rectangles, triangles and squares for children to use having fun forming a picture of themselves by gluing the different shapes onto the construction paper. The children will draw a face, hair, and other features on their "child" to make it look like themselves. Under the picture they have created, have them write IS JESUS PROUD OF ME? Have a discussion about things that make Jesus proud of us as his children! DO WHAT I DO GAME: Let the children take turns being the LEADER and have the other children will copy whatever the leader does. Continue to play until all the children have had a turn being the leader. The faster this goes, the more fun it will be for the children. Tell the children that it is always important for us to do whatever Jesus taught us to do in the Bible. PROUD OF YOU RELAY: Divide the children into teams. Have the children run to a basket containing slips of paper with a type of behavior written on it. (Examples: tell the truth; be polite; obey your parents; be honest; be bossy; being rude; cheating) The child will take one, read it, and tape it to a poster board under the heading of GOOD or BAD depending on whether they think the activity would make Jesus PROUD of them. When the activities have all been posted, discuss why they think the activities would, or would not, make Jesus proud of them. PROUD CLOUD: Have the children trace and cut out a cloud from construction paper and glue some thin wisps of a cotton ball around the edges. Give children markers to write today's Bible verse in the "PROUD CLOUD" and hang from the ceiling around the classroom with ribbon or thin wire. CLOUDS TREAT: Give each child some colored or white marshmallows as a treat and talk about the voice that came out of the heavens in our story! Although it might be a bit messy, you might choose to give the children a toothpick to stick into the marshmallows and dip them in chocolate, caramel or some other topping. Song: "I Have Decided to Follow Jesus" - Hindustani Folk Song Song Sheet (PDF) - Music and lyrics Piano Accompaniment (MP3) Right click and save to your computer. Song: "To Be Like Jesus" - Traditional Song Sheet (PDF) - Music and lyrics Piano Accompaniment (MP3) Right click and save to your computer. A New Life in Jesus

Theme: Baptism is a symbol of new life in Christ - Baptism of the Lord Object: Several new items. Scripture: And so John came, baptizing in the desert region and preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem went out to him. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River. Mark 1:4-5 (NIV) Sometimes, when we meet a friend we may say, "What's new?" It has only been a couple of weeks since Christmas, so if I were to ask you, "What's New?" you would probably have a lot to tell me about. (If time permits, allow the children to tell about something new that they have.) All of us like new things, don't we? Don't you just love the look and feel of new clothes? Well maybe children don't get as excited about new clothes as we adults do, but I am sure you get excited about new toys! You have probably spent hours playing with the new toys you received for Christmas. One thing I really enjoy is a new beginning. We are at the beginning of a new year. What an exciting time! It is a chance to start over. It is a time to try to do things better than we did last year. Today, we are going to talk about another new beginning. It is better than the beginning of a new year -- it is the beginning of a new life. A new life in Jesus. In the Bible we read about a man called John the Baptist. John went all around the countryside in Judea telling people to repent and ask God to forgive them of their sins. When they confessed their sin and asked God to forgive them, John baptized them in the river Jordan. They were baptized to show the world that God had forgiven their sins and they were washed clean. This was a new beginning for them. Even Jesus himself went to John the Baptist and was baptized by him. We still baptize people today. Perhaps some of you have been baptized. When we are baptized, it is a picture of what Jesus has done for us. He died, was buried, and rose again to wash away our sin and give us a new life in him. Now, that's what I call a new beginning!

Dear Father, we thank you that Jesus, who was without sin, washes away our sins and gave us a new life. In Jesus' name we pray, amen. Group Activities Page Coloring Page Crossword Puzzle Decoder Puzzle Multiple Choice Quiz Word Search Puzzle Worship Bulletin (DOC) (PDF)

SIGNS GAME: The teacher will have signs to show to the children, such as a STOP sign, a GO sign, a RAILROAD SIGN, etc. The children will do whatever the sign says. Let children know that today we will talk about a SIGN of a new life... baptism.

SIGN LANGUAGE: Teach children a few sign language motions and then children can watch the teacher or other classmates make signs for what they want the children to do each time.

SIGNS BOOKLETS: Give children 1/4 sheets of construction paper to form a small booklet. The title page can be decorated to say NEW LIFE IN JESUS.. and each page can have a picture of a road SIGN. The last page can have a picture of a little stick person coming out of the water to show the SIGN of Baptism...the beginning of a new life.

WORDLESS BOOKLET: Give children 5 sheets of construction paper, cut in half. Each child will need a black page for sin, red page for Jesus' blood, white page for purity, yellow page for heaven and a blue page for baptism. The children can decorate each page with symbols, etc, but no words. Let children take turns telling what each page stands for in their booklet.

CROSS BOOKMARKER: Provide children with a cross to trace and cut out and decorate with glitter glue and markers. Tie a thin red ribbon to a hole punched in the top and let children write NEW LIFE IN JESUS who washed my sins away. Tell children the red ribbon can remind them of Jesus' blood that was shed for our sins.

BIBLE VERSE PUZZLE: Today's Bible verse (or a portion of the verse) can be typed or written in big letters on construction paper and cut into several sections. Let children put the verse together as a puzzle and recite the words on the puzzle verse. If time allows, let the teacher and children recite the Bible verse and EMPHASIZE a different word each time, such as emphasize CONFESSING the first time and SINS the next time, and BAPTIZED the next time, etc.

WATER WORKS: Give children blue paper to tear into pieces to glue onto another piece of paper to look like water. Children can draw a person coming out of the water as in baptism, and write words from today's lesson on the waves of the water.

BIBLE WORDS HUNT: The teacher can have parts of today's Bible verse written in big letters on a large poster board. The words that are missing can be hidden around the room for the children to find at the appropriate time and tape the missing word to the Bible verse poster. Words to HUNT for could be BAPTIZING, DESERT, PREACHING, REPENTANCE, FORGIVENESS, SINS, COUNTRYSIDE, JERUSALEM, CONFESSING, BAPTIZED, JORDAN RIVER, MARK.

SING A SONG: INTO MY HEART; TURN YOUR EYES UPON JESUS; WORDLESS BOOK CHORUS;

SHARE A SNACK: Children can be given licorice or other candies that could form a CROSS before eating and talk about today's lesson, or could enjoy a cupcake with a cross frosted on the top. Song: "Into My Heart" by Harry D. Clark

Words and Music (pdf) MP3 Accompaniment Track Song: "Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus" by Helen H. Lemmel

Words and Music (pdf) MP3 Accompaniment Track A Fresh Start

Theme: Our baptism marks the start of our new life in Jesus. The Baptism of Jesus. Object: A calendar or a list of New Year's Resolutions Scripture: As Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: "You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased." Mark 1:10-11 (NIV) What an exciting time this is -- the beginning of a new year. Some people make New Year's Resolutions. That means they make promises to themselves about things they hope to do in the new year. Did you make any New Year's Resolutions this year? Maybe some of you resolved to honor and obey your parents. Or perhaps you resolved to keep your room clean, or to make better grades in school. Those are very worthwhile resolutions for boys and girls to make. Don't you agree? Whether you make any resolutions or not, the new year gives you the chance to forget your past mistakes and look forward to doing better in the year ahead. I hope all of you will take advantage of the fresh start the new year offers us. In our Bible lesson today, we read about a man called John the Baptist. John went all around the countryside in Judea telling people to turn from their sin and to ask God for forgiveness. After they repented of their sin and received God's forgiveness, John baptized them in the river Jordan. They were baptized to show others that God had forgiven their sins and washed them clean. God's forgiveness had given them a fresh start in life. Jesus himself was baptized by John, and he commanded us to go into the all the world and make disciples, teaching them all that he taught us, and baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Because Jesus commanded it, the church still baptizes people today. When we see someone baptized, it shows the world that their sins have been forgiven and they have been given a fresh start in life through Christ Jesus. God's forgiveness gives us a fresh start. Let us make the most of it as we live a new life in Christ. Let us pray: Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen Group Activities Page(Crafts, games, songs and more!) Coloring Page Crossword Puzzle Decoder Puzzle Dot to Dot Puzzle Dove Craft Multiple Choice Quiz Word Search Puzzle

FRESH START DASH: Let children line up against a wall and when the teacher yells RUN to the wall... or HOP to the table... or JUMP to that chair, etc. Then shout FRESH START and children will race back to line up by the wall again, to do an activity together for run, jump, hop, etc. Play FRESH START as many times as time allows and then tell children that today we'll learn about a FRESH START in our Bible lesson.

POPCORN FORGIVENESS: Let children get around a large bed sheet and stand far apart to make the sheet tight. Put a light weight ball for each team (if desired) or for each child and try to POP the balls off the sheet. The last ball left on the sheet (or a parachute if one is available) is the winner. Tell children that GOD forgives us more times than those balls were popping up and down. Continue to play again if time allows.

BUBBLE PLAY: Give children bubbles to try and blow and pop or to put bubbles inside another bubble, etc.Let children know that all the bubbles that they are blowing and see flying through the air can remind them of all the times that GOD forgives, as we'll learn from our lesson today!

FRESH START NEW YEAR BOOKLET: Give each child some construction paper that has been cut into quarter sheets and let children staple to pages together or tie together with yarn. Each page can be pictures or words or stickers to remind children of "fresh starts" that they can make after God forgives us, such as a fresh start from lying, cheating, stealing, disobeying, using God's name in vain, etc.

THUMBPRINT our BIBLE VERSE: Give children paper to draw a picture of our Bible verse today and use an ink pad to make a thumb print and add arms and legs and hair for JESUS coming up out of the water and a finger print to make it look like a dove in the picture. Write the Bible verse on the waves of the water in the picture.

"FRESH START" STAND UP CARD: Give children colored card stock paper to fold to make a card. Write FRESH START on the front of the card and add smiley stickers inside the card and write GOD'S FORGIVENESS GIVES US A FRESH START! Encourage children to set their new card on their kitchen table and talk about God's forgiveness at meal times. NEW YEAR PRAYER BANNER: Give each child a long banner out of construction paper and attach a string or yarn at the top to hang from a wooden dowel. Children can write out or tape the typed words (that the teacher has prepared ahead of classtime) of the Lord's Prayer for children to put on their NEW YEAR BANNER. Give children art supplies to decorate the border of their banner, as well. Children could then write names of people to PRAY for during the coming year!

CALENDARS: Give children calendars that have been purchased from the Bible Bookstore with Bible verses and pictures on them as a New Year FRESH START gift, or print off calendar pages from the computer for 2009 and let children color each month and write in important dates or favorite Bible verses on their own calendars and take them home to hang in their bedrooms.

POPCORN TREAT: Let children enjoy some popcorn while talking about God's forgiveness and the things that they have learned in today's lesson. Song: "O Be Careful Little Eyes What You See"

Words and Music (pdf) MP3 Accompaniment Track