Mikal Keefer - 13 Very Surprising Sayings and Why Jesus Said Them

13 VERY SURPRISING SAYINGS AND WHY JESUS SAID THEM

Published by David C Cook

4050 Lee Vance Drive

Colorado Springs, CO 80918 U.S.A.

David C Cook U.K., Kingsway Communications

Eastbourne, East Sussex BN23 6NT, England

The graphic circle C logo is a registered trademark of David C Cook.

All rights reserved. Except for brief excerpts for review purposes, no part of this book may be reproduced or used in any form without written permission from the publisher.

All Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

LCCN 2017952579

ISBN 978-1-4347-1255-4

eISBN 978-0-8307-7297-1

2018 David C Cook

The Team: Lindsay Black, Amy Konyndyk, Rachael Stevenson, Lu Ann J. Nickelson, Abby DeBenedittis, Susan Murdock

Cover Illustration/Design: Dennis Jones

First Edition 2018

Midway through the festival, Jesus went up to the Temple and began to teach. The people were surprised when they heard him.

John 7:1415

Love everyoneeven the meanies!

Matthew 5:4347

Dont try to even up the score.

Matthew 5:3839

Your thoughts matter, just like your actions.

Matthew 5:2122

Dont worrytrust God.

Matthew 6:2527

Be joyfulno matter what.

Matthew 5:1012

Jesus is the only way to God.

John 14:69

Serve others.

Mark 10:4345

Love Jesus most of all.

Matthew 10:3739

You have good news to share.

Matthew 4:1820

Forgiveand forgive again.

Matthew 18:2135

Have faith in God.

Matthew 17:2021

Keep your focus on God.

Luke 18:1827

You can be friends with Jesus forever.

John 3:16; 12:25; 1 John 5:13

First, thanks. Thanks for caring about children and for helping them explore the surprising things Jesus said. Because Jesus did say some surprising stuffstuff that left even his closest friends scratching their heads, wondering if he was serious. The first will be last? Start fishing for people? Love your enemies? Really?

And if some of what Jesus said confuses grown-ups, imagine how confusing it sounds to children. Well, no more. Youre about to help kids discover the faith-building, life-changing truths tucked into some of Jesuss most surprising sayings.

These sessions for elementary kids are carefully designed to make your life easier. Theyre light on supplies, quick to prepare, and long on fun. Youll find most supplies in the churchs supply closet or kitchen or at home in your garage, pantry, or junk drawerno need to spend time ordering materials online.

Because these sessions are created so beginning teachers or mature teenagers can lead them confidently, you wont need highly trained teachers. And the variety of options in each session will snag the attentionand hold itof first-grade through sixth-grade children, including the boys!

Best of all, youll see kids grow in their faith as they open their hearts to what God shares with them through these 13 sessions.

Preparation is easy too. Each session, youll focus on one key Bible truth, which children will explore and apply. Youll drive that point home through Bible exploration, fun discussions, giggle-worthy games, and Oh, wow! activities that engage kids in multiple ways through multiple learning styles.

Each week, your children will actually experience a Bible truth. Theyll discover it, ponder it, talk about it, pray about it, and apply what they learn. If thats what youre looking forfor your children to do Gods Word instead of just hear ityoure in exactly the right place. And heres a tip: supersize the learning by using a kid-friendly version of the Bible to make sure Jesuss words are understood by children.

We get it: sometimes, you have to punt. A sermon goes long or short. Kids are quick to dive into a lesson or need some time to warm up to being together. Older kids might zip through an activity while their younger friends take a little longer.

Relax. Weve got you covered.

You can use these sessions with kids in practically any setting: in Sunday school, childrens church, evening programs, or while kids parents are attending an adult class or small group. Theres maximum flexibility because each session is written to last 45 minutes and then provides enough extras to fill a full hour. These sessions stretch to fit exactly what you need, when you need it. Theyre

• multi-agedsuitable for mixed ages of elementary children;
• easily adaptedsessions work for just a couple kids or a packed classroom;
• relationalchildren grow close to Jesus and one another;
• flexiblebrimming with options to fit varying time frames; and
• funeven easily distracted kids will engage, learn, and grow.

So are you ready for some fun? Lets dive in!

The Point: Love everyoneeven the meanies!

Scripture Connect: Matthew 5:4347

Supplies for all session 1 activities options: colored paper plates, flour or clean sand ( cup per child), table, plastic cups (1 per child, plus a few more), stopwatch, Bible, scraps of paper, pen, container (bowl, box, basket, or paper bag), index cards (1 per child), pencils

Ask your kids if they have enemies, and they may answer with puzzled looks. Thats because enemies isnt a word kids tend to use. But ask about bullies or mean kids, and youll discover that kids worlds are full of enemies.

That was true of Jesuss world too. There was no shortage of bullies in his life, of people who wished him harm. Yet Jesus told his followers to not just tolerate enemies but to actually love them. To pray for them.

And Jesus didnt just talk about loving enemies; he showed us how that surprising way of treating enemies looks when lived out. As you share this session with your kids, youll help them discover that they too can love everyoneeven the meanies!

Time: about 5 minutes, depending on attendance

Supplies: none

After the kids arrive, say: When people like a movie, they sometimes give it a thumbs-up. (demonstrate) If they really like the movie, they give it two thumbs-up. If they dislike or really dislike the movie, they give it one or two thumbs-down. (demonstrate)

Say: Please rate how this past week has gone for you. Was it a one or two thumbs-up week? A one or two thumbs-down week? Or maybe youd give it one thumbs-up and one thumbs-downit was a good and bad week. Rate your week now.

After kids rate their weeks, give them 30 seconds each to explain why they rated their weeks as they did. Youll go first, sharing a story that models the sort of brief, personal stories you hope kids will share too.