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Easter Through the Eyes of Peter

Drama Workshop

Summary of Lesson Activities:

The children will hear the story of Peter’s denial and restoration. Then they will enact the restoration portion of the story by following the lead of a narrator retelling the story.

Scripture references, and lesson objectives

See here.


Leader Preparation:

  • Read the scripture for this lesson.
  • Read and reflect on the overview material provided for this lesson. cover of book - Journey to the Cross
  • Gather the following materials:
    • Bibles (for 3rd grade and up)
    • Bible storybook: Journey to the Cross
    • Costumes
    • Boat (see resource list at end of lesson for material to construct)
    • Fishing net
    • Videotaping equipment and a way to watch the video
    • Copies (2) of the narrator’s script
    • Map of Jesus’ time (to find where Sea of Galilee is - optional)



Lesson Plan: Opening

Do:  Greet your students warmly, welcoming them to the Drama Workshop. Introduce yourself and any other adults.

Ask:  Does everyone know what we do in a Drama Workshop? (allow a few answers)
Say: In the Drama Workshop we act out stories from the Bible. I wonder what story we will be enacting today? (allow a few answers)

Say: Today we will act out the story of Peter and some disciples on a Sea of Galilee fishing trip, a trip that is full of surprises! First, let's have a time of prayer.

Do:  Ask for any prayer requests. Ask if anyone would like to lead the group in prayer. Be prepared to say a prayer yourself, working in prayer requests. A suggestion: “Dear God, We are thankful that you forgive us when we fail you.  Thank you for many second chances! Amen.”

Dig

Ask:  What holiday is coming up soon? [Or, what holiday just happened?] (Easter) Why do we celebrate Easter?

Say:  We celebrate Easter to remember that Jesus, who had been killed, came back to life again!

Ask:  Where in the Bible would we read about Jesus and his disciples? (in thNew Testament)
What are the first four books of the New Testament? (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John)
What do we call those first four books? (the Gospels)

Say:  The word Gospel means “good news.” The first four books of the New Testament tell the story of the good news about Jesus.

For 3rd grade and up:

Say:  Part of our story can be found in all four of the Gospels – each gospel telling the story a little differently.

Ask:  Why do you suppose that the four Gospels might tell the story with slightly different details? (accept all answers: written by different authors, at different times; they all saw the same things happen but wrote about it differently; they wanted to place a different emphasis)


For all students:
Say:  We find our story in the Gospel of John. I am going to tell you the first part of our story using this Bible storybook called Journey to the Cross.

Note: In later weeks of the Rotation, show the pictures and have the students tell you the story. Fill-in any missing details.


Do:  Show the picture on page 72 and 73. Ask the children if they remember the Last Supper.
Tell them that the first part of our story took place at the Last Supper.

Say:  At the Last Supper Jesus told his disciples, “My children, I will be with you only a little longer. Where I am going, you cannot come. Peter, one of his disciples, asked him, “Lord, where are you going?” Jesus replied, “Where I am going, you cannot follow now, but you will follow later.” Peter asked, “Lord, why can’t I follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.” Then Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, before the rooster crows (before morning), you will deny me three times!” Peter said, “Even though I must die with you, I will not deny you.”

Ask:  What does “deny” mean?

Say: When someone denies something they are saying that something is not true. They don't want to own up to something!
Do:  Give an example, such as denying you broke a window.

Do:  Show the picture on page 84 and 85. Ask the students if they remember that after the Last Supper, Jesus went to the garden of Gethsemane. Jesus prayed there and later, Jesus was arrested.

Do:  Read pages 101 – 104. (Showing the picture on pages 102 and 103.)

Ask:  So what was Peter’s denial? (saying that he did not know who Jesus was)
How did Peter feel about his denial?
What happened to Jesus?

Say:  Jesus was killed on a cross. After he died he was taken from the cross and his body was placed in a tomb – a cave in the rocks. On the third day, some women went to the tomb.
Ask:  What did they find?

Say: They found that the tomb was empty! Jesus had risen!

Do:  Show the picture on page 210 and 211.
Say:  Jesus showed himself to his disciples. The disciples were very surprised but overjoyed that Jesus was alive again! Now, let's read what happens a few days later.

For 1st and 2nd grade:

Do:  Read pages 221 – 225. (You may paraphrase part of this story if you’d like to shorten it or, in later weeks of the Rotation, ask the students to tell you the story.)

For 3rd grade and up:

Say: Let's find the next part of our story in the Bible.
Do:  Distribute Bibles. Have the students find the book of John, chapter 21, verse 1.
Notice when someone remembers the quick way to find the New Testament. Have them show the rest of the class: dividing the Bible in half gets them near Psalms. Dividing the back half in half again gets them near the New Testament.

Say: Do you suppose it is a problem that only one of the gospels tells us the second part of our story? (Help students to realize that not everything Jesus said and did was written down.)

Do:  Have students take turns reading verses 1-17.  [If this is a week early in the Rotation, read the scripture together. Towards the end of the Rotation, ask the students if they can tell you the story. Have them check their Bibles for accuracy.]

Enacting the story!

Discuss before acting out the story (optional):

  • Who were the characters in our story: Jesus, Peter, Thomas, Nathanael, James and John (sons of Zebedee), and two unnamed disciples.
  • Where did the story take place: Lake Tiberias (another name for the Sea of Galilee).
    Do:  Find it on the map.

Do:  Warm-up exercises: (if time permits) Mime the emotional responses of...

  • Peter when he realized it was Jesus he saw on the shore.
  • Peter when he was asked the first time, “Do you love me?”
  • Peter when he was asked the third time, “Do you love me?”
  • Jesus, asking Peter, “Do you love me?”
Note that there are a variety of responses that may be correct. We don’t know if Jesus was sad or angry; if Peter was puzzled or sad or irritated by the repetition. Encourage the students to respond freely and creatively.

Do:  Assign parts and act out the story as the narrator reads through the script. (The script is attached here and linked at the bottom of this lesson at rotation.org.)
Allow time for creative responses.

Have someone videotape the enactment.

Discussion

Ask:  What did Peter promise Jesus at their last meal together? (He said he was ready to die for Jesus! John 13:37b)      
I wonder why Jesus asked Peter three times, “Do you love me?”
What did it mean when Jesus asked Peter to “Take care of my sheep?”
Do you suppose that we too are called to "feed sheep"?
What would that look like?
What do we learn about forgiveness from this story?


If you have extra time:

  • Watch the video of the drama.
  • Discuss what can be added to the enactment, change actors, and do the enactment again.


Resources:

Bartholomew, Gilbert L. “Jesus and Peter Talk after the Resurrection.” The Journal of Biblical Storytelling, 1999 (volume 9, number 1).
Christine OC. “Easter through Peter’s Eyes: Denial/Repentance/Forgiveness–Bible Skills & Games Workshop.” Rotation.org. Aug. 7, 2003.
Crane, Amy. “Jesus and Peter: No Matter What, God Gives Me Another Chance. (A creative dramatics lesson plan).” Rotation.org. 2001.
Filson, Floyd V. The Layman’s Bible Commentary: John (volume 19). John Knox Press, 1963.
Haidle, Helen. Journey to the Cross. Zondervan Publishing House, 2001.

For boat construction materials, use a heavy-duty corrugated paper that looks like wood. Try your local party store, or use this online source:  M&N Party Store. Search "corrugated paper".



A lesson written by Carol Hulbert and Carol Teener
from First United Methodist Church,
Ann Arbor, MI
Updated by Carol Hulbert in 2018.

Attachments

Last edited by Luanne Payne
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