Man Through the Roof
Video Workshop
Summary of Lesson Activities:
This Video Workshop lesson is written for Grades K-3 and uses clips from two animated videos: "The Miracles of Jesus" (Greatest Heroes and Legends series) and "Jesus is the Good News" (What's in the Bible?, Vol. 10). Children will watch portions of these two videos as they examine the scripture and consider what it conveys about the identity of Jesus and the importance of faith.
Scripture Reference:
Mark 2:1-12, also Matthew 9:2-8 and Luke 5:17-26
Memory Verse:
1 John 3:18: “Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.”
Workshop Objectives — At the end of the Rotation, the students will
- Be able to identify Matthew, Mark, Luke and John as the four Gospels and know they are where we find the stories about Jesus.
- Be able to locate and read the texts.
- Know that Jesus chose to heal this particular man to show he had God’s power to heal and forgive.
- Understand we show our faith in God by helping and praying for others.
- Know that Jesus is someone to whom you take your friends, even if there are obstacles.
- Know that God can make a difference in the life of a friend.
- Be able to repeat the memory verse.
Supplies:
- DVD #1: The Miracles of Jesus, Greatest Heroes and Legends of the Bible series.
- DVD #2: Jesus is the Good News, What’s in the Bible? Series, Vol. 10
- Popcorn
- White board with marker
- Various Bibles
- Children’s Bibles
- Markers/pencils
- Decorated carpet square
- Bowl of small candies
- Questions for memory review game
- Cd and cd player
Leader Preparation in Advance:
- Read the scripture for this lesson.
- Read and reflect on the background material provided for this lesson.
- Preview the DVDs and be familiar with starting and stopping points.
Before Start of Class:
- On the white board, write this word: blasphemy
Presentation
Opening- Welcome and Lesson Introduction:
Greet your students warmly, welcoming them to the Holywood workshop. Introduce yourself and any other adults.
After week 1, ask: Who can tell me what your Sunday School lessons have been about this month? (See how much they can tell you.)
Say: Today we’re going to watch a couple of different videos that will help us learn more about our scripture. But before we do that, raise your hand if you have a Bible at home.
(Note: Most if not all of the 3rd graders should have the same Bible, and they should be bringing them to Sunday School.)
Ask: Does it look like this? Or this? Or this? (Show different Bibles)
Say: My goodness! All these Bibles look so different, but inside they have the same stories. Here’s a question I bet you don’t know the answer to:
Ask: How many books are in the Bible? (66)
Say: In the Old Testament, you have stories that happened before Jesus was born. Let’s see if we can think of some. (Creation, Noah’s Ark, David and Goliath, Daniel in the Lion’s Den, Moses, Abraham (rotation topic in the fall), Jonah and the Whale, etc.)
Say: In the New Testament, there are stories that happened after Jesus was born. In fact, one of the first stories was about his birth in a manger. Then he grew up and began his ministry of teaching and healing. That’s what we’re going to talk about today…his miracles of healing and showing love to others.
Dig-Main Content and Reflection:
Application #1: Miracles of Jesus DVD (total running time for clip is 8 minutes)
Distribute popcorn.
Say: The first video we are going to watch this morning shows Jesus performing several miracles, including the one that is the focus of our scripture. In the opening scene, he is crossing the Sea of Galilee in a boat with some of his disciples when a big storm blows in…let’s watch and see what happens.
Insert Miracles of Jesus DVD. Go to Scene Selection. Choose Chapter 4: Miracle Worker. Start movie. Pause at the end of the storm scene.
Ask: What questions did Jesus ask his disciples? (“Have you no faith?” “Do you not trust me even yet?”)
Say: Even Jesus’ own disciples don’t understand that he is God.
Restart the video. Pause after narrator says, “These miracles of Jesus strengthened the faith of his followers but others saw Jesus as a threat and they feared him.”
Ask: How did the crowd react when they saw what Jesus did for the paralyzed man? (Some were amazed. Others saw Jesus as a threat and they feared him.)
Say: In the next scene, you will see Jesus calling Matthew to be one of his disciples. Matthew was a tax collector, and people didn’t trust him. We learned this part of the story in our workshops last month.
Restart the DVD. Stop after Jesus says to Jairus, “Give her something to eat and tell no one what has happened here.”
Ask:
- What does Jesus say healed the old woman? (Her faith)
- What does Jesus say to Jairus before he enters the house? (Go on believing and your daughter will be alright.)
- What is faith? (accept all answers …lead them to understand that faith is believing in something you can’t see.)
Say: The four men who took their friend to Jesus had faith that Jesus could heal him. The old woman had faith, so much that she believed she only needed to touch Jesus to be healed. Jairus also had faith that Jesus could heal his daughter, but he got more than he ever expected when Jesus brought her back to life. When we have faith, God will do amazing things.
Say: Before we watch our 2nd video, let’s take a closer look at the story of the paralyzed man in our Bibles.
Scripture:
Review the organization of the Bible:
Ask:
- Where in the Bible did we say you would read about Jesus healing people, in the Old Testament or the New Testament? (New)
- 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.” In the Gospels Jesus teaches us the good news about God’s love. There are four Gospels. Different people wrote the four Gospels. Sometimes they tell the same story; sometimes the stories are slightly different. Our story for today is told in three of the Gospels. We are going to read the story from the Gospel of Matthew. See if you notice any differences from the movie version we just watched.
Grades 2-3:
Distribute Bibles.
Remind them about the quick way to find the New Testament: dividing the Bible in half gets them near Psalms in the OT. Dividing the back half in half again gets them near the beginning of the NT.
After they have found Matthew tell them to find Matthew 9:2-8.
Offer help as needed. Point out that the book name is at the top of each page. Some of the children may confuse chapters and verses. Show them that chapter numbers are the larger ones.
Grades K-1:
Explain to the children where this story is found and show them in your Bible.
All grades:
Read the scripture to them. Have the older children follow along in their Bibles.
Have them watch and listen for any differences between the Bible version and the movie version of the story.
When you finish reading, ask for volunteers to share any differences they noticed. (Matthew’s account does not mention how many friends and there is no mention of having to get to Jesus through a roof – explain that those details are included in the other gospel accounts)
Say: The teachers of the law use a big word to criticize Jesus. They say he is “blaspheming.”
Ask:
- Does anyone know what blasphemy means (refer to the white board)? [allow for any answers…lead them to understand that blasphemy is was considered a sin that occurred when someone claimed to be God.]
- What authority does Jesus says he has? [the authority to forgive sins]
- Why does Jesus have this authority while the Pharisees (or teachers of the law) do not? [Jesus was the Son of God. Jesus is God. So Jesus wasn’t blaspheming.]
Application #2: What’s in the Bible? DVD (total running time for clip is 6 minutes)
Say: Now we are going to watch a video clip that talks about the beginning of Jesus’ ministry on earth and what kinds of things he was doing, including recruiting his helpers or disciples.
Ask: How many disciples were there? (12)
Say: Towards the end of this clip, Phil, the narrator, explains that Jesus showed the people he had authority over several things. Listen for these, and we’ll see if you can tell me what those things are when we finish watching.
Insert What’s in the Bible? DVD. Go to chapter selection, Part 2, then choose Chapter 3: “Jesus’ Ministry Begins.”
Start video. Stop after the narrator says, “They wanted to arrest Jesus and put him on trial for blasphemy but they had to find a way to do it quietly or it would cause even bigger problems.” (If you get to the section when Jesus asks his disciples “Who do you think I am?” you’ve gone too far.)
Ask: Who can tell me what things Jesus demonstrated his authority over? (nature, sickness, hunger, death)
Say: Jesus was and is God. The Pharisees (or the teachers of the law) and the Sadducees did not understand who he was and that’s why they were afraid of him. Eventually they had him crucified for blasphemy.
Ask: What’s blasphemy? (claiming to be God)
Say: But that’s a story for another time. For now, let’s get back to our story of Jesus healing the paralyzed man.
Wrap it Up:
- Do you think the people who saw Jesus heal the paralyzed man told anyone else about what they had seen? [Yes and that was how more people learned about Jesus and believed in his teachings.]
- Can we still bring friends to Jesus, even though he is not here in person at Lewis Center United Methodist Church teaching and healing? [Yes, by bringing them to church with us, by telling them the stories from the Bible, by telling them the things Jesus has done in our lives.]
Closing:
Ask: Do you have someone you love that you want to bring to God? Think about that person (a friend, a family member, a classmate) you want to know Jesus better, someone you can show love to through your actions. Think about that person or those people in your hearts as we pray. Remember, God hears all your prayers, spoken and unspoken.
Pray: for the children and their friends. [Sample prayer: Jesus, thank you for these children and their friends and families. Hear their prayers that they and those dear to them will grow closer to you and know you as a personal friend and Lord and Savior. Help these children to be faithful friends to all they meet. Amen.]
Review the memory verse, using the strategy provided or one of your own.
If there is extra time…
Play the following memory game to review the facts of the story. It is played much like musical chairs. Have the children stand in a circle. Place the decorated carpet square among the children (so it is a part of the outer circle). Tell the children they will need to walk in a circle while the music is playing. When they come to it, they should walk on the carpet square. When the music stops, they need to stop. Whoever is standing on the carpet square will answer a question about the story. (See last page of lesson plan for questions.) If he/she gets the question right, offer a small piece of candy. The restart the music and play again. The CD player is in the room on the media cart.
Have the shepherds distribute the activity packets and give the children time to work on them.
Questions for Memory Game
- Is the story of Jesus healing the paralyzed man found in the Old Testament or New Testament? (New)
- The story of Jesus healing the paralyzed man can be found in what book of the Bible? (Name 1 – Matthew, Mark, Luke)
- Name the four Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John)
- Why couldn’t the friends bring the paralyzed man into the house? (crowd)
- How did the friends solve the problem of getting the paralyzed man to Jesus? (they lowered him through the roof)
- What does paralyzed mean? (can’t move)
- What did Jesus say first to the paralyzed man? (Your sins are forgiven.)
- How did the people react when Jesus healed the man? (Some were amazed; others complained – they felt threatened)
- Why was Jesus able to make the man well? (He is God)
- What does the word “blasphemy” mean? (claiming to be God)
- In Jesus’ day, what was the penalty for blasphemy? (death)
- Name one thing over which Jesus proved he has authority. (nature, sickness, hunger, death)
- Why had so many people gathered in the house? (to listen to Jesus)
- Who touched Jesus’ robe to be healed in our movie? (old woman)
- What miracle did Jesus perform when he was in a boat with some of his disciples? (calmed the storm)
- What did Jesus do for Jairus’ daughter? (brought her back to life)
- What does the word, “Gospel” mean? (good news)
- True or False. The Old Testament is full of stories before Jesus was born. (True)
- True or False. The New Testament is full of stories after Jesus was born. (True)
- True or False. There are 16 books in the Bible. (False – there are 66)
A lesson written by Amy Dunlop from Lewis Center United Methodist Church, Lewis Center, Ohio.
A representative of Rotation.org reformatted this post to improve readability.
