Doubting Thomas At-A-Glance

Lesson Doubting Thomas At-A-Glance

Scripture Reference Lectionary Sunday/ Lesson Focus John 20:19-31 Church Season Say “Yes!” to Jesus. Easter 2

Gather (10 minutes)

Spark Resources Supplies

Arrival Time Activity Pages Markers, pencils, note cards Kids decorate a “yes” and a “no” card and do an Activity Page.

Circle Time Leaflet “Yes” and “no” cards from Arrival Kids greet each other with a class cheer, hear Time about the lectionary season, and use their “yes” and “no” cards to answer questions.

Prayer Time None None Kids say a “yes” cheer prayer and add high fives.

Open the Bible (15 minutes)

Spark Resources Supplies

Doubting Thomas Storytelling Spark Story Bible Samplers “Yes” and “no” cards from Arrival Leader or kid reads aloud from the Spark Story Time Bible and kids hold up their “yes” and “no” cards when leader cues them in the story.

Believe in Jesus! Leaflets, Lesson Stickers None Kids read a rebus retelling of the story.

I Can Say “Yes!” Leaflets Pencils, markers Kids check off their favorite ways to say “yes” to God and draw their best idea.

Activate Faith (15 minutes)

Spark Resources Supplies

B Is for Believe Leaflets Pencils Kids review the Bible story message and search for objects that begin with the letter B.

Secret Sign Leaflets Pencils, whiteboard, dry-erase Kids practice making the Christian fish symbol marker and discover its origins.

Just Say, “Yes!” None “Yes” and “no” cards from Arrival Kids turn their “yes” cards into door hangers that Time, extra note cards, chenille remind them to say “yes” to Jesus. stems, single hole punches, markers

Send (5 minutes)

Spark Resources Supplies

Good-bye Time Leaflets Pencils, scissors Kids select what they will do at home this week, say the lesson focus statement, and do a good-bye action rhyme.

Prayer Time Leaflets, Family Pages None Kids pray “yes” to God in different languages.

Arrival Time

Set out markers, pencils, and copies of the Activity Page for this lesson. Also set Spark Resources out note cards, and markers on a table. Make a sample “yes” and “no” card as Activity Pages examples for the kids. Use bright letters and draw a fancy border.

We’re going to practice saying “yes” and “no” today. So let’s get started. As Supplies kids arrive, ask them an assortment of yes and no questions. You may add silly Markers questions, too. Here are some examples: Did you drink orange juice for breakfast Pencils today? Did you walk to church? Do you have a pet? Can you drive a car? Do you Note cards have eleven toes? Is your tongue green? Do you live on the planet Earth? Do you have two ears?

How can we say “yes” and “no” without using our voices? Affirm responses.Let’s all nod our heads to say “yes.” Nod your heads. Now let’s all shake our heads “no.” Shake your heads. Can you think of another way to say “yes” and “no”? Pause. We’re each going to write “yes” and “no” on two note cards. Then we can hold up our cards to show “yes” and “no.” Show the kids the cards you made. Give each kid two cards to decorate. Write the word YES on one of your cards and the word NO on the other card. Then make a fancy border. Give kids time to complete their cards.

Invite kids to do the Activity Page. When all kids have arrived, invite them to join you in a circle or small group and bring their “yes” and “no” cards with them.

Circle Time

Let’s all stand in a circle and put one hand in the middle, so our hands stack on Spark Resources top of each other. Place your hand in first to demonstrate. After everyone has a Leaflet hand in the circle, shout together, God loves everyone! God knows our names! Now, we’ll each shout our own name out loud and lift up our hand starting with Supplies “Yes” and “no” cards from the person whose hand is on top. Kids take turns saying their names, in the order Arrival Time their hands are stacked from top to bottom. After all names are said, tell everyone, Raise both of your hands high and shout, “Praaaise God!”

Ask everyone how they showed love to someone or helped another person during the last week.

Hold up the leaflet and point to the cross on the white background.Let’s count to 50 together. Count to 50 out loud with the kids. We counted to 50 because we’re in the “50” time of the church year. There are 50 days between Easter and the next big day in the church, Pentecost. Why is Easter such a big day for Christians? (Jesus rose from the dead on Easter.) I wonder if you know why Pentecost is such a big day in the church. (The Holy Spirit arrived on Pentecost.

Grades 1-2 Lectionary Leader Guide. Spark Sunday School wearesparkhouse.org © 2015 sparkhouse. Doubting Thomas — 3 All rights reserved. May be reproduced for local only. It’s the birthday of the church.) In early church times, people spent the 50 days between Easter and Pentecost learning as much as they could about following Jesus. They spent 50 days saying “yes” to Jesus! Let’s count backward from 50 down to 1 this time. Count backward from 50 out loud with the kids.

When you got here today you made “yes” and “no” cards. Let’s see them! Give kids time to hold up their cards. We’re going to use those cards in a little game. I’ll ask a question and you can answer by holding up your “yes” card or your “no” card. Be prepared for different responses.

Are you in Sunday school? Do we come to Sunday school on Tuesdays? Are you going to learn how to play soccer today? Are we going to learn how to follow Jesus today? Did you put on shoes this morning? Did you have spaghetti for breakfast this morning? Did you skateboard to Sunday school this morning? Did you wear your swimming suit to Sunday school this morning? Does God love us when we do things that are wrong? Does God want us to be kind and help others?

Prayer Time

Let’s pray a Say-Yes-to-Jesus prayer. Give each other a high five whenever you hear me say “Yes!” Spark Resources None Loving Jesus, You rose from the dead on Easter. Yes! Supplies You came to your disciples and shared your peace. Yes! None You gave them a job to do. Yes! You wanted your disciples to say . . . Yes! To tell the rest of the world about you. Yes! And you want us to say . . . Yes! To share your story and your love. Yes! Amen.

4 — Doubting Thomas Grades 1-2 Lectionary Leader Guide. Spark Sunday School wearesparkhouse.org © 2015 sparkhouse. All rights reserved. May be reproduced for local use only. Open the Bible (15 minutes)

Doubting Thomas Storytelling

Our story is called Doubting Thomas. Before we read the story, let’s make Spark Resources sure we know what “doubt” means. Who can tell me what it means to doubt Spark Story Bible Samplers something? (You think it’s not true or you don’t believe that it is true.) So if I said there’s going to be a rocket landing in the church parking lot today, would you Supplies “Yes” and “no” cards from doubt it? Pause for responses. What if I said we’re going to read the story now? Arrival Time Would you doubt that? Pause.

Pass out the Spark Story Bible Samplers and invite everyone to find Doubting Thomas on pages 4–7. Wait until all kids have found the story, assisting those who may need help. Encourage kids to follow along as you read or ask for a volunteer to read aloud.

Let’s use our “yes” and “no” cards to help tell the story. Watch me, and hold up the card that I hold up. Have fun with this. Hold up the “yes” card when the disciples welcome Jesus, the “no” card when Thomas gets stubborn, and the “yes” card when Thomas believes in Jesus. Hold up the wrong card (the “no” card) at the end of the story, so kids will correct you. They are saying “yes” to Jesus when they do so. Collect the cards.

Have a brief conversation about the story. Ask the kids these questions:

1. Did Jesus give Thomas a second chance to believe he was alive? (yes)

2. When did Thomas believe that Jesus was alive? (when he touched Jesus’ wounds)

3. What would you say to Jesus if you were one of the disciples? Affirm all responses.

If kids are not already seated at a table, move to one for this activity. Give each kid Spark Resources a leaflet. Leaflets Lesson Stickers Look at the Bible story picture on the first page of your leaflet. Let’s all read aloud the words inside Thomas’s speech bubble: “I don’t believe you.” When did Supplies Thomas say this? (before he saw Jesus and touched Jesus’ wounds) But who else is in None our Bible story picture besides Thomas? (Jesus) So what should Thomas’ speech bubble say? (I believe!) Hand out large stickers to kids. Pause to give kids time to place their large sticker.

On Easter we know that Jesus is alive. But Jesus’ disciples had to find out that news. Let’s go with the disciples to a house in Jerusalem and find out what happened. We’ll read the picture story together. You can name the pictures, and I will read the words. Before we begin, let’s name all the little pictures on the top of the page. Raise your left hand. We’ll begin by naming the little picture on the left side and move across to the right side: Jesus, friends, night, Thomas, hands. Ready! Let’s read our story. Read the rebus story aloud, pausing to let kids name the pictures.

Let’s look at the bottom of this page and read about where we can find this story in the Bible. Today’s Bible story, Doubting Thomas, is from the Gospel of John. John wants everyone to believe in Jesus. His Gospel book is filled with stories that help people believe that Jesus is God’s Son.

Hand out the three word stickers. Now look at the bottom of the third page in your leaflet. It has the same words that we just read, but it’s missing some important words. Use the word stickers to fill in the blanks. Which word do you think goes where? (Thomas, believe, Jesus) After attaching the stickers, read the statements together.

If you are interested in teaching your kids a Bible Memory Verse from this story, use this one. Teach it to them by inviting them to echo what you say, one phrase at a time.

Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” John 20:28

Invite kids to open to the second page of their leaflets.Jesus breathed on his Spark Resources disciples in a very special way. He said, “With this breath, I will always be in Leaflets your hearts, even when I am in heaven. You now have the power to do the things I’ve asked you to do.” We can say “yes” to Jesus by helping others and by caring Supplies Pencils for creation. Markers Let’s look at some pictures of ways we can say “yes” to Jesus. Raise your hand if you have a pet? Pause. What are some ways you take care of your pet? (feed, bathe, brush, love, play with, take for a walk) Find the picture of the boy taking care of his pet. How is he saying “yes” to Jesus? (He is feeding his cat.) If this is one of your favorite ways to help, use your pencil to make a check mark in the box beside this picture.

Raise your hand if you sometimes have homework. Pause. Have you ever helped someone with homework or read a story to a younger friend? Affirm responses. Find the picture of the girl helping her brother read a book. Helping with homework or reading Bible stories to others are ways to say “yes” to Jesus. Check off this box if you’d like to say “yes” this way, too.

Have any of you planted seeds or helped to plant a garden? What did you plant? Pause for responses. God created a beautiful world. One way we can say “yes” to Jesus is by caring for creation. Planting flowers, vegetables, and trees is one way to do this. Can you see another picture of kids caring for creation? (the kids who are recycling) Recycling is another great way to say “yes” to Jesus. Check off one or both of these boxes if you’d like to say “yes” to Jesus in these ways.

Our last three pictures are all about helping others. How are kids in these three pictures saying “yes” to Jesus? (helping to cook, being a friend, and giving a hug) Cooking is one way to help at home. What are some other ways? (picking up toys, unloading groceries, setting the table, caring for a younger brother or sister) Helping around home, being a friend, and giving a hug are all great ways to say “yes” to Jesus. If you like these ideas, check off the boxes beside them.

We have one thing left to do on this page. See the empty box? Think of another way you like to say “yes” to Jesus. Then draw a picture of it in the box. If kids doubt that they ever help someone, remind them that small acts such as cleaning up at the end of class time, smiling at someone who is sad, and tying a shoe are all ways to say “yes” to Jesus. Invite kids to share their drawings with the class.

B Is for Believe

Let’s look at the third page of the leaflet and read the title together: B is for Spark Resources Believe. What does “believe” mean? (to accept that something is real or true) Leaflets Thomas was not with the other disciples when Jesus first appeared to them. Supplies Thomas said, “I’ll believe when I can touch Jesus’ wounds.” When Jesus Pencils appeared again, Thomas touched Jesus’ hands and believed. After Thomas touched Jesus’ hands, what did Thomas believe? (Jesus had died on the cross and had risen to a new life, that Jesus was God’s Son.) As Christians, we believe that Jesus died on the cross and rose to a new life. We believe that Jesus is the Son of God.

What letter does the word “believe” begin with? (B) What are some things in our classroom that begin with the letter “B”? Affirm responses. Some things you may have in your room are a board (whiteboard), buttons, bracelet, barrette, braid, boys, Bible, books, and objects the color blue. Now let’s look at our leaflets and circle everything in the picture that begins with the letter “B.” You may work with a buddy—buddy begins with “B,” too. (Solution: boy, blanket, basket, bubbles, butterfly, bananas, bread, bracelet, ball, balloon, birthday cake, bag, Bible, book, bushes) Those are lots of “B” words. Now one of the things you circled teaches us about Jesus and helps us to believe in him. What do you think that is? (Bible) Jesus wants us to believe in him and follow his ways. The words in the Bible help us learn how we can follow Jesus and share God’s love with others.

Secret Sign

Turn to the back page of your leaflets. Jesus’ disciples were afraid that they Spark Resources would be arrested and killed because they were followers of Jesus. They figured Leaflets out a way to secretly say “yes” to Jesus by using a fish sign. The disciples traced the first arc in the dust when they met someone new. If the person was a Supplies Christian, he or she would trace another arc, completing the fish sign. Pencils Whiteboard Let’s learn how to make the fish sign. First, be sure to write your name on the Dry-erase marker front of your leaflet. Pause to let kids do this. Now turn to the back of your leaflet. Find the empty box with the frame made up of little fishes. Then make an arc inside the box, like this. Draw the top arc to the fish on the whiteboard. Give kids time to do this. Now have another kid finish the fish sign by drawing the bottom arc like this. Draw the bottom arc on the whiteboard, completing the fish sign. Give kids time to pass their leaflets to another kid to complete the sign.Let’s try it again. This time find another friend to complete the fish sign. Give kids time to make fish signs with everyone in class. If the box is too small, they may write in the margins or other white space on other pages in the leaflet.

8 — Doubting Thomas Grades 1-2 Lectionary Leader Guide. Spark Sunday School wearesparkhouse.org © 2015 sparkhouse. All rights reserved. May be reproduced for local use only. Whenever you see a fish sign, you can remember to say “yes” to Jesus! And who remembers how we can say “yes” to Jesus? (by helping others and caring for creation)

Just Say, “Yes!”

Give kids their “yes” cards from Arrival Time. We’re going to make “yes” door Spark Resources hangers from our “yes” cards. Would anyone like a new card to make their door None hanger? Some kids may have arrived late. Others may have crumpled or bent their Supplies cards during the class. Give blank cards to those who want to make a new card. “Yes” and “no” cards from Let’s make sure we all have a big Y-E-S written in the middle of our cards. Now Arrival Time use markers to decorate your card. You may even decorate both sides. When Extra note cards you’re ready to make the hanger part of your door hanger, raise your hand. Go Chenille stems around to each kid, punching a hole in the two upper corners of the card, making Single hole punches sure that the holes aren’t too close to the edges. Now watch as I show you how to Markers make your hanger. Punch two holes in an extra card. Thread one end of a chenille stem through one hole, make a hook, and twist the end of the wire around the main wire. Repeat this for the other top end of the card. Now it’s your turn to make your hanger. Offer to help kids with this step.Take your door hanger home to hang on the door of your room. It will remind you to say “yes” to Jesus.

Look! We have our “no” cards left. What should we do with our “no” cards? Affirm responses.When are some times we should say “no?” Affirm responses. For our relationship with Jesus we don’t need the “no” cards. If you have a recycling box, place the cards in the paper-recycling box or throw them in the garbage.

Send (5 minutes)

Good-bye Time

Thank you for coming to class today! We learned about Thomas, who said “no” Spark Resources and then said “yes!” Was Thomas excited to see Jesus? (Yes!) Does Jesus want Leaflets us to say “yes”? (Yes!) When we say “yes” to Jesus, we are saying that we believe that Jesus loves us and that we will follow the teachings of Jesus. Supplies Pencils Direct attention to the back of the Faith on the Go! slip on the bottom of the back Scissors page of the leaflet. Kids can fill in the blanks with the name of someone they want to give this slip to, their own name, and today’s date. Encourage them to mark one or more of the ideas or add their own. Have kids cut the slip off on the line, ready to give to someone else.

After class, give this slip to someone you want to do the activity with. It’s like a coupon for time with you. Next week, we can tell each other what we did to share God’s love and remember our Bible story!

Grades 1-2 Lectionary Leader Guide. Spark Sunday School wearesparkhouse.org © 2015 sparkhouse. Doubting Thomas — 9 All rights reserved. May be reproduced for local only. It’s time for our Go Out! circle. Give kids time to stand with you in a circle. Today we heard: Say “Yes!” to Jesus. Let’s say it together: Say “Yes!” to Jesus. Let’s go out with God’s love! Say this rhyme together while doing the motions:

Put both hands in, Put both hands out, Put hands up high, And shake them all about. Spin around once, Spin again and shout: Go, God! Go, us! Let’s go out!

Prayer Time

People all over the world say “yes” to Jesus. People in Mexico say Si (SEE) to say Spark Resources “yes” to Jesus. People in French Canada say Oui (WEE) to say “yes” to Jesus. Leaflets People in Korea say Yeh to say “yes” to Jesus. We’re going to use all those Family Pages “yes”es in our prayer. Repeat each line after me:

Dear Jesus, Supplies We can say “yes” to you in Spanish—Si. None We can say “yes” to you in French—Oui. We can say “yes” to you in Korean—Yeh. Help us to say “yes” to you In all that we say and all that we do. Amen.

Be sure to send the leaflets, door hangers, and Family Pages home with kids.