John the Baptist (Luke 3:1-6)
Today's story looks how John the Baptist prepares the way for Jesus. John the Baptist anticipated a messiah who would be greater than himself. John is portrayed as the forerunner of Jesus who prepares the people for Jesus' ministry. John baptised Jesus and was beheaded by Herod.
Road Sign talkSermon given on Luke 3:1-6, where John the Baptist talks about making the way straight to the Lord.
Talk uses roadsigns as a visual prompt. What you'll need:
Road Sign QuizWhat you need:
Interactive journey prayersWhat you need:
A journey to JesusWhat you need:
Create a simple obstacle course, but keep a clear path down the middle from the beginning of the course to the end. Make sure the beginning and end are clearly marked. Invite 3 people to come up and go from the start to the finish. (note- have the second and third people turn their backs to the course so that they can’t see what the people ahead of them have done). Some people might choose to go through and around the obstacles, others might go straight from one end to the other. Say something like: When roads are built, the engineers who design them work really hard to make the roads as easy as possible to drive on. They work so that the mountain roads aren’t too steep. Sometimes if the mountain is too high and rocky, workers might build a tunnel straight through the mountain to make driving easier. Instead of scarey, wild turns, engineers smooth the roads as much as possible so that they’re mostly straight. In our course, there was both a twisted obstacle way to go and a simple, straightforward way to go. Some people chose to go through the obstacles, others went straight to the prize. (if that’s the case) In our Bible reading today, we heard about John the Baptist helping people get ready for Jesus’ coming. Can you think of some ways that we get ready for Christmas? (allow answers- buying gifts, going to church, lighting Advent candles, putting up the Christmas tree, etc). Those are good answers and you’re right. December is a really busy time for most of us with all the getting ready that we do! Some of it’s really important and maybe some of it isn’t so important, but it’s easy to get caught up in all the excitement of the season. In our Bible story today, John is a bit like a road engineer. He wants it to be easy for people to get to Jesus, so he reminds them about what’s really important. John the Baptist was living in the desert. He was helping people get their hearts ready, not their houses or their clothes or anything like that. He wanted people to be able to recognize Jesus when he arrived and to know that Jesus was coming to offer them love and forgiveness. By helping people open their hearts to Jesus and his love and forgiveness, John the Baptist was making a straight, easy road for people to follow. Today it’s the same. We are asked to spend time getting ready for Jesus, opening our hearts to him and being excited that he’s in our lives. Sometimes with all the busyness and craziness in our lives- especially in December, it can feel like we’re on a steep and wildly curvy mountain road, but it doesn’t have to be like that. We can take the straight and gentle path to Christmas. Memory VerseIn the desert someone is shouting, “Get the road ready for the Lord!” Luke 3:4
What you need:
For younger children use “Get the road ready for the Lord” Luke 3:4 |
I wonder...
Gospel ConversationsEnter John the Baptist! Preparing the way for Jesus, preaching in the wilderness, fulfilling Isaiah's prophecy of one who will point towards a time when all people will know the salvation of God. A wonderful Gospel this week, and Michael Godfrey is joined by Alec Clark, Judy Ringland and Anne van Gend to unpack it together.
Helping our children find peaceRegularly we each experiences challenge and disappointment along with joy and successes. Children are just the same. At times our homes can be hotbeds of discord and acting out- often because we feel safe when we’re with our family and are less controlled. But, children need opportunities to experience real peace, even when things are rough, and that peace can start with us.
The following are a few tips that can help parents create peace at home:
Making it easier for childrenSometimes, without even thinking about it, we can put obstacles in the way of our children coming to Jesus. We can expect a certain kind of behaviour or a certain way of dressing. Perhaps we have an expectation that children will sit quietly or speak kindly to each other. These are all good things, but they don’t necessarily have anything to do with our children’s relationship with God. This week, let’s make it easy for the children in our care to get to know Jesus, by allowing them to come just as they are to a God who loves them, just as they are.
Journey gameWhat you need:
Have the groups play the game by rolling the die, moving their marker and doing what’s written on the board. Note: you can make enough game boards to send one home to each family. If possible, include 4 playing pieces and a die in a small bag. Who was John the Baptist?
You can find more about John the Baptist in Matthew 3! Here are some activities that you may like to include, if you end up doing a deep dive on John.
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Media
Advent 2 from St Albans Diocese
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Saddleback Kids: Baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist
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Baptising with the Spirit (Luke 3:7-18)
Today's story looks how John the Baptist teaches about baptism and paves the way for Jesus
Going the Extra MileAs Christmas draws near, children will naturally be talking about Christmas and all the exciting things coming up. These conversations might include holiday plans, what they want (or are getting) for Christmas, what they want to do over the summer and more. This week, we want to shift the focus to giving and sharing, rather than getting. Saying it won’t necessarily make a difference, so instead, try living out the message that there is joy in giving, as well as receiving. Go the extra mile this week to help the children and others, and model the happiness it can bring when we give of ourselves and our things.
I wonder...
What's Behind My BackA game of guessing what's behind your back as an object is passed around.
What you need: 5-6 small objects (eg cellphone, pen, tape, hairbrush, etc) What you do: Players sit in a circle facing inwards. The ‘leader’ takes one of the objects and hands it (behind his/her back) to the player on his/her left. The object then travels around the circle. Each player must whisper in his/her neighbour’s ear what s/he thinks the object is before passing it on. When the object gets back to the ‘leader’, show the object to everyone. No looking! Continue play until all the objects are used or until the children lose interest. Swapping Clothes GameA fun and quick game where two players swap provided clothing
What you need: 4 of each: shirts (tee shirts or button down), sweatshirts, socks, hats, pants (these need to be fairly large) What you do:
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Joke: Streets of GoldWe all want to help our children experience joy. Sometimes it can be tempting to accomplish this through giving our children what they want (or what we think they want), but there’s another way to encourage and facilitate joy in the lives of our family. Instead of giving to them, create opportunities for your children to give to others. Not just physical things, but rather, find situations in which your family can serve and help those who are less fortunate. At Christmas time there are a number of possibilities. Try contacting the Salvation Army, the City Mission or speak with someone at your church to find a way for your children to experience the joy of Christmas through giving of themselves to others.
The Right-Side-Up GlassWhat you need:
Put the plastic tablecloth on the table, covered with newspaper (to absorb the liquid) Place a cup upside down on the table and says something like, “I’m really thirsty today. A nice cool glass of water is just what I need.” Pour some water ‘into’ the cup. Naturally nothing goes in to the upside down cup. “I wonder what happened?” (allow the kids to answer). “You’re right. I have the cup facing the wrong way. No wonder it’s still empty and I’m still thirsty!” Put a cup the right way up. Pour some water, take a sip, and say something like, “Mmmm - that’s much better. Just what I needed! You know, this reminds me of our passage today. John the Baptist was trying to help people get ready for Jesus and I think he was looking at all the people around him and thinking they’re a bit like the upside down cup. They’re not in a very good place to receive the living water that Jesus is going to want to give them. So he gives them ideas to help them have open hearts - a bit like our empty and rightside up water glass. As people asked him what they should do, he gave them good, concrete answers - sharing what they had, not stealing or taking more money than they were supposed to, not to accuse people of doing bad things when they hadn’t. As we prepare for Christmas and get ourselves ready for Jesus- those are good things for us to remember, too. |
Jesus is Baptised by John (Luke 3:15-17, 21-22)
John the Baptist anticipated a messiah who would be greater than himself. John is portrayed as the forerunner of Jesus who prepares the people for Jesus' ministry. John baptised Jesus and was beheaded by Herod.
Activities
Worksheet (Cartoon Church)
John the Baptist Games (Sermons 4 Kids)
Baking Paper Craft (Jesus without Language)
Story Boxes (Pretty or Practical)
John the Baptist Games (Sermons 4 Kids)
Baking Paper Craft (Jesus without Language)
Story Boxes (Pretty or Practical)
Media
Saddleback Kids: Baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist
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Saddleback Kids: Baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist, for toddlers.
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Mina Munns - the Baptism of Jesus
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