John the Baptist Baptizes Jesus

Storytelling Workshop

Summary of Lesson Activities:
The children will hear the story of John the Baptist and his baptism of Jesus in a way that involves all of their senses. They will think about how John lived his life in the wilderness and was in tune enough with God to recognize Jesus, the Christ. They will also consider how they can do God’s work, just as John did.

Scripture Reference:

Matthew 3:1-17; Mark 1:1-11; Luke 3:1-22

Memory Verse:

Matthew 3:17(NLT)

Lesson Objectives:

• experience quiet time to listen for God’s will for our lives and talk about the value and necessity of finding a quiet time and place to do so regularly.
• understand that our role in sharing the good news of Jesus Christ is never more than what we are able to do—we may be one of many people that God will ask to help someone become a child of God.

Teacher preparation in advance:

• Read the scripture passages and lesson plan and attend the Bible Study, ...
• Practice telling the story. Learn it well enough so you can tell it with minimal looking at your notes.
• Look up the italicized words in the story so you can be ready to tell the children what the words mean.
• Learn the memory verse.
• Consider the age level adjustments needed each week (those included in the lesson plan and your own). Confer with the Shepherd on “Stretchers” to use, especially with the youngest children.
• To our teachers at RCC: The design of this workshop is very intentional. The activities and discussion questions for this workshop were designed to meet the goals of the entire rotation and the educational objectives of the Rotation Model (tm) at River Community Church. While we feel it is important to follow the serendipitous leading of the Holy Spirit, please do not change the lesson plan without consulting a Curriculum Planning and Writing Team member.
• Check out the room before your first Sunday workshop so that you know where everything is located. 

Room set-up:
The drama room should be prepared with a comfortable seating area. The fountain should be set up on a table off to the side. You will need some sort of table for the candle during the scripture/story passage. You may want to use a table big enough to sort out all of your story objects so they are ready when needed, or put your objects on a separate table or keep them hidden in a basket.


Supply List:

• dictionary
• pictures of the wilderness (such as http://www.biblepicturegallery.../free/Pics/Moab3.gif , http://www.biblepicturegallery...free/Pics/Hills2.gif )
• a small piece of burlap for each child
• Bit-o-Honey candy for each child or Honeycomb cereal
• map of the Holy Land
• pictures of snakes (brood of snakes, preferably)
• rock (preferably a rough, unattractive one)
• picture of an apple or other fruit tree (olive tree: http://www.biblepicturegallery...free/Pics/Olive1.gif )
• candle and matches
• pictures of grain threshing or winnowing (see http://www.biblepicturegallery...ures/Agriculture.htm )
• fine art prints of the baptism/heavens opening/descending dove, preferably in different styles (many are available at http://textweek.com/art/art.htm )
• lightweight plastic bowl with water in it and an inch or two of sand in the bottom
• towels
• memory verse written on big paper so all can read it
• a small water fountain (one of those relaxing sounds environment ones -- I found one for about $20 at Linens 'n Things -- just keep your eyes open at drug stores, discount stores, department stores, etc.)
• CD of water sounds/music and CD player
• Memento: water splash stickers
• Shepherd Time: blank paper - plain or lined

Presentation

Opening-Welcome and Introductions:
Greet the children and introduce yourself. Wear your name-tag. (Remember, you are interacting with a different group of students each week who may not know you.) Make sure the children are wearing name-tags.

We had an opening prayer during the gathering time, but you may open with prayer if you feel led to do so.

Explain the purpose of this workshop: Today we will look at John the Baptist and how he baptized Jesus. We will also think about how John lived his life in the wilderness, and was in tune enough with God to recognize Jesus, the Christ. We will also think about how we can be a witness and tell others about Jesus.

Dig-Main Content and Reflection:

Scripture/Bible Story:
Reading the scripture: Matthew 3: 1-17.
Show the children how to find Matthew at the beginning of the New Testament. Explain that the New Testament is the stories and letters that relate to Jesus’ life and death and resurrection and the things that take place after that. It is in the back part of the Bible and begins with the four Gospels — the Good News stories about Jesus: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.

After all of the children have found the passage, have them close their Bibles and set them aside. Tell them you will be reading the story as they listen and experience it.

Tell the story verse by verse to make sure the children understand the story using the props and sensory experiences as indicated in the attached script. If there are unfamiliar words, explain them. (Some words that might cause problems are italicized in the script that follows. If in doubt, ask the children what a word means. You may be surprised at some things which you think the children understand, they have no idea what it means. Have a dictionary handy and use it if necessary so that the children will know that even adults need help understanding and clarifying some things.)

Application:
After telling the story with the sensory objects, answer any questions the children have.

Then say: [adapted from “Stage Trek Productions - A Wilderness Experience,” Desoto Presbyterian.]
John lived a simple life in the wilderness to prepare himself for the ministry that God had chosen for him. He was an unusual man in his dress; he wore clothing of camel’s hair with a leather belt around his waist. He was also unusual in his food choices; he ate locusts and wild honey. The Bible tells us that when he was a little boy, he greatly loved God. He was living with God’s will as one who would prepare people for the coming of Jesus by urging them to repent, be forgiven, and to live lives worthy of God’s salvation. Perhaps in part because he chose to live in the wilderness, he was especially sure of God’s plan for his life. Away from civilization, he had time to stop and listen for God to speak to him.

Brainstorm: what are some activities that we do to talk to God and to listen to God?

One way to listen to God is to meditate and reflect with music or other soothing noise in the background. Listen, and when I stop the music, you can tell me about what you heard and thought. Sit comfortably. It’s okay to close your eyes, as long as you stay quiet and keep your hands to yourself. [Have the children sit very quietly without speaking for at least 3 to 5 minutes. Play some background music/water sounds and let them listen to the fountain. Light a candle.]

“Tell me now, what did you hear?” Allow time for all who wish to respond to do so. Accept all responses.


Younger Students: Prepare the way a way for the Lord. Isaiah 40: 3-5. Full body movement:
Remember last month during Advent and Christmas we talked about the prophet Isaiah. He told the people about a wonderful baby that would be born and would be king. He also told about someone who would be coming to prepare for and announce this king’s arrival. Any idea who that someone was?

Listen and move with me as we hear the word of the LORD: [Read Isaiah 40:3-5.]

“Listen! [hand cupped to ear to listen]
I hear the voice of someone shouting, [stand tall with arms outstretched as if spreading the word]
‘Make a highway for the LORD [march in place on highway]
through the wilderness. [push your way through bushes]
Make a straight, [point straight ahead, arm and pointer finger straight out]
smooth road [flat hand palm down passes over smooth road]
through the desert for our God. [hot desert, wipe forehead]
Fill the valleys [dig with shovel]
and level the hills. [bulldoze]
Straighten out the curves [pull an imaginary rope taut between your fists]
and smooth off the rough spots. [flat hand palm down passes over smooth road]
Then the glory of the LORD [hands ‘sparkle’ and ‘twinkle’ to show glory]
will be revealed, [shade eyes with hand as if looking]
and all people will see it together. [hold hands with those around you]
The LORD has spoken!” [hand cupped to ear to listen]

Reflect:
Pulling it all together (closing discussion):
[Adapted from Kirk of Kildaire “Redemption - Praising Puppets” Lesson Plan]
Let’s take a look at what another Gospel writer has to say about John the Baptist. Read John 1: 6-8.

Tell the children God sent John (a man) to tell everyone about Jesus. This was called “witnessing.” To witness means to say something is true because you know or believe it. Give an example of witnessing, such as that you could witness that this church is called the River Community Church or that a certain child or Shepherd’s name is “______.”

How do you think John knew what to say as he witnessed? God told John all the things he witnessed about—Jesus was in the beginning, Jesus is God, Jesus would become a human and come to Earth to be with human beings. John was not God or the light, just sent by God.

Read John 1: 9-11. Explain that no one knew who Jesus was at first. Jesus needed people like John to witness as to who he was. When Jesus was a man on Earth, lots of people did not believe or accept who Jesus was, but some did.

And those who believed are the children of God (John 1:12-13). They are God’s children because God made them so, not because they were good. It is by the grace of God that they — and we — are children of God. All that we need to do to become children of God is to believe in and accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior.

Read John 1: 29-34. John witnessed about what he saw.

God wants us to witness as John the Baptist did. God wants everyone to be a child of God. Your role in witnessing can be very simple—just sharing what they know about Jesus and behaving as Jesus would with love toward other people. We can play a part of anyone learning about Jesus (but do not have to do it all).

• Who was John the Baptist? What was he sent to do? Who sent him? [A man sent by God to witness about Jesus coming, about who Jesus really is.]
• What is witnessing? [Saying that something is true because you know or believe it.]
• Who are the children of God? [Anyone who believes and accepts Jesus.]
• Are you a child of God? [Try to direct this question to each person in the room.]

Review the memory verse.
The memory verse has been reviewed as part of the Storytelling activity. If time permits, ask for volunteers to say it by themselves. Reward those who try with a sticker.


By 11:45 a.m. ask the Shepherd to pass out the journal pages and pencils/markers. Suggestion: You may wish to give the children a sticker to paste in their journal as a reminder of the story and activity. (Water splash stickers would be appropriate.)

Shepherd Time:
[adapted from Kirk of Kildaire “Redemption - Praising Puppets” Lesson Plan http://www.kirkofkildaire.org/...edemptionPuppets.htm ]

Explain to the children, “You don’t have to convince another person to believe in Jesus in order to be a good witness. (Remember that John told many people, and only some believed.) God is in charge of giving people believing faith. We are only called to be witnesses. God is very patient and will give a person a long time to learn about and understand Jesus in order to truly believe. Many people will play a part in making someone a child of God—think of all the teachers at church who are helping people learn about Jesus.”

Tell the younger children to think of someone to whom they would like to witness about Jesus. Ask them to draw a picture of themselves and that person together. They can write “I can witness” at the top of the picture or write it for them.

Ask the older children to think about witnessing. Then tell them to number their page 1 to 5. Ask them to try to list five different things to tell someone about Jesus (they don’t have to be complete sentences, keywords are fine). At the end of journaling, challenge them to try to find someone to witness to this week. Remind them that God wants us to be witnesses for God.


This is meant to be a time of reflection and introspection. Writing about faith helps clarify lessons. In addition to the suggested activity, children may draw pictures relating to today’s scripture or memory verse, list highlights of the day’s activities, or rephrase the memory verse. The journal pages will be saved and given to the children at the end of the school year.

You may want to provide an extra activity or worksheet for children who finish their journals quickly, such as coloring sheets, crossword puzzles, word searches, games. See the Workshop Leader’s Background Notes and rotation.org for ideas.

Before noon, ask the students to stop journaling for a moment and sit quietly for prayer so they can leave when their parents arrive. Allow them to finish journaling afterwards.

Closing: 
Dear God, help us to find you in the quiet places in our hearts, even when our lives are noisy. Help us to set aside time to know you and love your son and follow your Spirit’s guidance as we witness to all around us your saving Grace in Jesus. Amen.


Tidy and Dismissal:

• Ask children to help tidy the room. Give any specific instructions for clearing the workshop room.
• Collect the journal pages before they leave. Make sure their names and the date are on them.
• Give everyone the parent take-home flyer the first week of the rotation; give it only to children who were absent and have not yet received it the other weeks of the rotation.

Additional Suggestions:
You will need to decide how best to adjust the lesson for older and younger students. Keep the children active and involved in activity. Do what works for you and the children. Some ideas are included in the lesson plan. Be ready with the younger children especially to move on to something different if they seem restless.

For classes composed primarily of pre-readers, show the children how to find the passage in the Bible (for example, “To find the Gospels, open the Bible in the middle and then open the second half in the middle - you should end up in Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John. Our passage is in Mark) and then have them do it. After everyone has found the passage, have them close their Bibles and listen while you read.

FIELD TEST NOTE: there is more than enough here for a one hour class (I never got through everything -- but it is always better to have too much to do than not enough). Plan in advance what is most important for you to cover and keep an eye on the time.

Resources:

• Desoto Presbyterian Church, Dallas, TX. Lesson set posted at rotation.org: John the Baptist: Preparing the Way. “Stage Trek Productions - A Wilderness Experience.”
• Kirk of Kildaire, Cary, North Carolina. “Redemption - Praising Puppets” lesson plan: http://www.kirkofkildaire.org/...edemptionPuppets.htm
• Springler, Suzie. DCE Parkway Presbyterian Church, Metairie, Louisiana. Many ideas for praying around the fountain and talking with children about prayer and quiet time.
• Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.

John the Baptist Baptizes Jesus

Storytelling Workshop Script

Tell the children, “Listen for the word ‘repent’ and the word ‘turned.’ Whenever you hear either, stand up quietly and turn around in your place.”

Read each scripture line then say/do what follows.

• Matthew 3:1 In those days John the Baptist began preaching in the Judean wilderness.
  
  Show wilderness picture. Talk about what the wilderness was like.
  What do you think of when you hear the word ‘wilderness?’ Would you want to live there?
  
  
• His message was 2 "Turn from your sins and turn to God, because the Kingdom of Heaven is near."  3 Isaiah had spoken of John when he said,"He is a voice shouting in the wilderness:`Prepare a pathway for the Lord's coming! Make a straight road for him!'"
  
  Stand up, turn around.
  
  Walk across the room following an imaginary curvy line; walk in a straight line back to your seat.
  Which was the quicker way to get to where you were going?
  
  
• 4 John's clothes were woven from camel hair, and he wore a leather belt;
  
  [Give a small piece of burlap to each child.] Feel the rough, rough fabric and think about wearing something like it next to your skin all the time.
  
  
• his food was locusts and wild honey.
  
  Sorry, no locusts today. [Give everyone a piece of Bit-O-Honey candy.]
  TALK ABOUT: why do you think John lived like this? Does this sound like a comfortable way to live?
  Remember what the wilderness looks like. Do you see any houses? [Show wilderness picture again.] Think about how it would feel to live in a place like this.
  
  
• 5 People from Jerusalem and from every section of Judea and from all over the Jordan Valley went out to the wilderness to hear him preach.
  
  Look at the map. Find: Jerusalem, Judea, Jordan River. Talk about how far it might have been for people from the places listed to walk to where John was preaching. (Compare distances to local landmarks — for example, from the church to the Winn Dixie on Airline Highway or the Target on Siegen Lane).
  Have you ever walked that far?
  
  
• 6 And when they confessed their sins, he baptized them in the Jordan River.
  
  define: confessed, sins, baptize
  
  
• 7 But when he saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming to be baptized, he denounced them. “You brood of snakes!” he exclaimed. "Who warned you to flee God’s coming judgment?
  
  define: Pharisees, Sadducees, judgement
  Does anyone know what a brood of snakes is? [Show picture.]
  
  
• 8 Prove by the way you live that you have really turned from your sins and turned to God.
  
  Stand up and turnaround again.
  
  
• 9 Don't just say, ‘We’re safe--we're the descendants of Abraham.’ That proves nothing. God can change these stones here into children of Abraham.
  
  TALK ABOUT: what does John mean by “descendants of Abraham” — who was Abraham? [Man of faith with whom God covenanted to make a great nation with many descendants. The Jewish people are his descendants/that great nation, God’s chosen people.]
  [Hold up a rock.] Can God turn this rock into a person? [Yes, nothing is impossible for God.]
  [Reread verse.] If you were one of God’s chosen people, how would you feel about John saying God could turn this rock [hold it up] into one of God’s chosen people?
  IF the children are GETTING RESTLESS: Stand and sing “Father Abraham, had many sons.....” with motions
  
  
• 10 Even now the ax of God's judgment is poised, ready to sever your roots. Yes, every tree that does not produce good fruit will be chopped down and thrown into the fire.
  
  [Show a picture of an apple tree.] Talk about how a farmer must spend time caring for a fruit tree — fertilizing it, treating for insects, watering it. If he/she does all that work, and there are no apples, should she keep spending time and money to take care of the tree?
  [No. Tear up the picture of the apple tree and throw the pieces aside as you reread the second half of the verse. FIELD TEST NOTE: tearing the picture really got their attention.]
  
  
• 11 "I baptize with water those who turn from their sins and turn to God. But someone is coming soon who is far greater than I am--so much greater that I am not even worthy to be his slave.
  
  Stand up and turn around.
  
  
• He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.
  
  Light a candle as you read the last part of this verse. Leave it lit in a safe place on your table as you continue.
  
  
• 12 He is ready to separate the chaff from the grain with his winnowing fork. Then he will clean up the threshing area, storing the grain in his barn but burning the chaff with never-ending fire."
  
  Explain grain winnowing process; show pictures.
  
  More fire. What else in this passage did John talk about burning? [trees that do not produce good fruit; Holy Spirit]
  
  
• 13 Then Jesus went from Galilee to the Jordan River to be baptized by John.
  
  Show the places on the map.
  
  
• 14 But John didn't want to baptize him. "I am the one who needs to be baptized by you," he said, "so why are you coming to me?"
  15 But Jesus said, "It must be done, because we must do everything that is right."
  So then John baptized him.
  
  John baptized Jesus in the Jordan River. Let’s feel the water as we think about that day. See how the sandy river bottom would have felt under their feet.
  [Have the children come to the table one by one and let each child run his/her hands in the water in a lightweight bowl. Let them feel the sand at the bottom. Have a towel handy. For bigger classes you will want two bowls with sand/water.]
  
  
• 16 After his baptism, as Jesus came up out of the water, the heavens were opened and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and settling on him.
  
  What do you think this looked like?
  Let me show you how some other artists chose to picture this.
  [Show several fine-art versions.]
  How do you think the dove moved?
  [Ask the children to get up and be doves and fly around the room and settle back in their chairs.]
  
  
• 17 And a voice from heaven said, "This is my beloved Son, and I am fully pleased with him."
  
  Define beloved
  Practice saying the memory verse different ways: loud, soft, gentle, boys’ voices only, girls only, ....
  
  
  
• The word of the LORD.
  Thanks be to God.

This lesson was written by Amy Crane for River Community Church in Prairieville, Louisiana. 

Copyright 2003 Amy Crane. Permission granted to freely distribute and use, provided the copyright message is included.

A representative of Rotation.org reformatted this post to improve readability.