========================================================== Title: Primary Sabbath School Program, September 11, 1999 From: NAD Children's Ministries (author: Lisa Seeders) Date: June 25, 1999 Abstract: Activities to use as a supplement to help teach the lesson, A HAPPY SABBATH FOR A SICK MAN ========================================================== Lesson Aim: Jesus showed me it is good to help people on the Sabbath. Memory Verse: "Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath." Matthew 12:12, NIV GETTING THEIR ATTENTION - CRIPPLING CHALLENGE Materials needed: Sheets (one for each child) Glass Tumbler (one for each child) Pitcher of water WHAT THE TEACHER DOES: (To prepare ahead) Line the glass tumblers on a low table or on chairs across the front of the room. Fill each glass with water. WHAT THE STUDENTS DO: Have each child lay down at the back of the room. With their ankles crossed, wrap each child's legs tightly together with a sheet from the waist to the ankles. Give them 3 minutes to try and figure out a way to reach a glass of water at the other end of the room. At the end of the 3 minutes have them return to their seats. Ask, "Suppose every time you wanted something you had to go through this same ordeal? Suppose you had to struggle like that for most of your life? The man in our story today had been crippled for 38 years. He saw something just in reach that he wanted very badly. GO STRAIGHT INTO THE BIBLE STORY. GETTING INTO SCRIPTURE - BIBLE STORY DRAMA Materials needed: Blanket/pillow Area rug OR piece of blue felt OR a blue blanket (to represent the pool) Bibles Choir or baptismal robes WHAT THE TEACHER DOES: (To prepare ahead) Spread out the area rug, blanket or felt piece in the middle of the room. Make-up cue cards by printing the following statements on square pieces of poster board. "Do you want to be healed?" "I have no one to help me into the water. Someone else always gets there first." "Get up. Pick up your bed and walk." "Why are you carrying your bed on the Sabbath? That is against the law!" "The man who healed me told me to pick up my bed and walk." "Who told you that?" "Go. Don't sin anymore." WHAT THE STUDENTS DO: Select one student to represent the crippled man in the story, one to represent Jesus, several to represent the Pharisees and the rest can be other sick observers at the pool. Place the crippled man on the blanket and pillow at the pool. Place the other sick observers around the pool. Dress the Pharisees in choir or baptismal robes and have them carry Bibles. They stay further back around the peripheral of the pool. Jesus stays back in a corner of the room until time for Him to approach in the narration. Go through narrating the story. At the appropriate times, using the cue cards have the children add the dialogue. Move them around as needed to enhance the story effect. GETTING INTO SCRIPTURE - SABBATH PLACE MAT Materials needed: Clear contact paper OR laminating machine Plain vinyl tablecloth OR posterboard Markers Bibles Scissors WHAT THE TEACHER DOES: (To prepare ahead) The children will make place mats either from posterboard covered with contact paper or laminated OR plain vinyl tablecloths. Cut the posterboard or vinyl tablecloth into ovals or squares that measure 15" in length by 10" high. If you are using posterboard cut the clear contact paper into 17" by 12" pieces. (If you use vinyl tablecloths, you won't need to cover them with contact since they are washable already.) WHAT THE STUDENTS DO: Look up the memory verse in the Bible. Talk about how lawful means obeying or keeping the law. Give each child place mat materials. Have them print the memory verse in large bold letters across the top of the mat including the text. Discuss together all the good things that can be done on the Sabbath. Write the children's ideas and suggestions on a blackboard, newsprint pad or write-on/wipe-off board for them to copy onto their place mat. (Younger Primaries will need help with the writing.) Put small squares beside each of their ideas. Laminate the place mat or cover in clear contact paper. Encourage the children to get their "Sabbath place mat" out each week at breakfast time. Ask them to think of their situation and what ideas from off the mat they could actually try on that Sabbath day. They can put a check in the box beside the activity if they want to keep track of what things they have done. ACTING ON SCRIPTURE - JELLY-BEAN SABBATH Materials needed: Clear glass jar Jelly beans (enough to fill at least half the jar) Ziplock bags or baby food jars (one for each child in the class) White sticky labels Permanent marker WHAT THE TEACHER DOES: (To prepare ahead) Empty the jelly beans into the clear glass jar. WHAT THE STUDENTS DO: Show the children the glass jar of jelly beans. Tell them that the jar represents all the things they can do on Sabbath to do good. Have them write their name on the sticky label and adhere it to a Ziplock bag or baby food jar. For every idea that a child thinks of that represents doing good on the Sabbath everyone in the class removes a jelly bean from the glass jar and adds it to their bag or jar. Ideas cannot be repeated. Challenge the children to see if they can remove all the jelly beans from the glass jar. This will take more than one Sabbath. They can ask anyone in the church or in their family for ideas and help. Keep their bags or jars in the classroom until the activity is brought to a close. See how many weeks it takes to clear the glass jar of jelly beans.