Rotation.org Writing Team

Jesus the Boy in the Temple

The "Jesus & Me in the Temple" Art Workshop

 Summary of Lesson Activity 

Using paints, fabric, and other creative materials, students will create a public mural of "what else" in the Temple Jesus was probably doing - experiencing - hearing - seeing - and paying attention to for the three days when his parents weren't around. As each class rotates through the workshop, they will add sections to the mural. Students will come up with examples of how they can be more attentive and participatory (like Jesus was), rather than just be seen in the room or running off, and add themselves to the Jesus in the Temple mural as well.

Scripture  

Passage: Luke 2:41-52

Key/Memory Verse: Luke 2:46-47   After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers.

Objectives

See the Bible Background for this set's complete list of objectives.

Objectives for this Workshop

Preparation

• Read Bible Background, scripture and this lesson.
• Set up the Art Workshop for painting the mural panels.

Materials List 

• White butcher paper
• Pencils, paints, brushes, drop cloths
• Fabric swatches, yarn, and other "applique" items to glue to the mural.
• Paste (instead of glue because it's stickier and will dry faster)
• Smocks
• dice or spinner (optional)
• bible (or bible storybook for younger children)
• whiteboard (appropriate marker)

Lesson Plan 

Overview (and teacher help notes):

Each week, students create part of a larger "Jesus & Me" in the Temple Mural. They will do so by tracing their upper torsos onto butcher paper "posed" to show the variety of ways Jesus was likely engaged at the Temple during his three days without his parents, and the ways your students can engage in their "temple" (church) more fully and attentively today.  After tracing, the poses will be decorated with paints and materials. (By tracing student poses from the waist up-only, you will save time and materials.)

The "poses" show Jesus and some of your students participating with other people in Temple/Church (teachers/priests/members) in the variety of activities discussed in the opening Bible study. The list created in the study will help determine the poses that the students will create.  "Other people" in the Temple/church can simply be drawn in the background to save time. However, Jesus and your students' poses are to be decorated so that they stand out.

For example, they may paint on Jesus' shirt, but paste yarn for his hair, and use stick-on "googly eyes" for his teacher's eyes. Or, after tracing, they may paste on a piece of fabric for Jesus' shirt, but paint his hands reading from a scripture scroll, and paste some grey "fun fur" for the priest's beards. If one of the students is posed helping with coffee hour, they could cut styrofoam cups in half and tape the halves to the mural paper. If the kids decide Jesus made an offering, they could tape pennies to the mural. 

Let the Mural Evolve Over the Weeks:

One of the great things about teaching the Art Workshop in Rotation is that each week the teacher can come with new materials and ideas to inspire the next class with and evolve the mural. For example, if the first week's class focused on Jesus making an offering in the Temple, the second week's class can focus attention on posing Jesus learning from teachers, and so on. Older or larger classes will likely be able to do quite a bit, while younger children may do well to focus on one thing. Duplication of themes and ideas is not a problem. Older kids can add their "offering pose" just as well as younger. Adjust materials and mural design to suit your time allotment, imagination, and student abilities.

Time Considerations:
Creating the mural will take most of your class time. Thus, the "Bible study" portion of this lesson is very short and many of your teaching points should be made as students work, and as you help individual students with their part of the project. Because each class will be working on the mural, the story and its meanings will continue to be reinforced, enhanced, and remembered! as the mural evolves and is display for some time to come.

If you only have one or two classes rotating through the Art Workshop, (or if you are a traditional Sunday School) it is recommended that you take two weeks to work on the mural so that you can have enough time to explore lesson concepts AND work out different ideas for poses and Temple activities in your mural. Invite the teens to add to the mural as well, either WITH the younger kids or in a subsequent week.

Ideas for Displaying the Mural:
Initially, you may just want to pin your mural sections to the wall. But depending on how it turns out, you may want it to have it "hang around" a lot longer in your hallway, and thus, you will probably want to add a border for looks (rather than a ragged edge). You can staple a pre-made cardboard border to it (the kind made for bulletin boards) to dress it up.  You may also want to apply clear packing tape to the back and seams to combine and reinforce panels into one mural. At some point, you should share the mural with the rest of the congregation, perhaps in a Children's Sermon.

Open

Reminder: Save plenty of time for the mural making. Some of the following points can be shared while students work on the mural.

Welcome your students and describe what they'll be doing today in the lesson.

Ask: What's your favorite part of coming to church? Least favorite part?

(You may add a bit of fun to this question by having each student roll a die or use a spinner which decides which of those two questions they have to answer.)

Ask: When you get to be 11 or 12 do you think it gets easier to enjoy church, ...get up on Sunday morning, or harder?  (Follow up with "why did you say easier/harder?")

Say: In today's Bible story, we're going to read the only story in the New Testament about Jesus when he was a child like you. When he was about 12 years old he went to the Temple in Jerusalem with his parents to learn and worship.  Let's see how he handled it.... 

Read the Bible story about Jesus the Boy in the Temple and then ask the following questions:

Other than talking to his teachers, what other kinds of things would Jesus have done at the Temple?  

This may stump them a bit, so rephrase it:"what would you do here at the church for three days, if we had church all-day on Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday?"   

 Start a list on the board of all the things JESUS COULD DO AT OUR CHURCH on Sunday morning (and would do if our church lasted for 3 days.)

Note to the teacher:

The list you and the students create informs the "poses" that they will trace on butcher paper.

You should already have a bunch of "what would Jesus do" ideas ready to go, from the ritual to the mundane, worship to eating cookies.  As you write down their suggestions, add a few of your own to direct their thoughts to ways they can "act Jesus-like" to others. 

Here's a starter list:
Worship, fellowship, serve, give, counsel, study, sing, pray, bring, clean-up, honor others, hold doors, read, plan, greet people, welcome strangers, give directions, listen to the speaker, ask questions, befriend someone, etc. etc.  

The point is that these are all things Jesus may have done during his three days, and they are also things WE do, IF we are as engaged as he was. It's another way to think of "WWJD,"  i.e. What would Jesus do at our church?  

---

During the Mural Making Activity, add that some kids don't get these ideas.

• They show up, but act like they don't want to be there.
• They act bored, they run off to hide in rooms.
• They see someone who might be a stranger, but don't say hello.
• Someone says hello to them, but they don't speak back.
• They see someone putting cups on a table or cleaning up, but don't help.
  
  

During the Mural Making Activity, ask your students what they think Jesus might have been doing during those 3 days,  – what kind of "chores" or services do you think Jesus might have helped with in the Temple?

During the Mural Making Activity, ask your students to wonder out loud what Jesus did for food and sleeping arrangements during that time. Perhaps he was staying with a friend's family or relatives who were camped outside the Temple. I wonder if he even realized his parents were gone?  Have you ever been so involved in a project here at church that you didn't realize your parents were leaving? Or couldn't find you?  That's the kind of "paying attention" that God wants from us.

Towards the end of the Mural Making Activity, remind them that coming to church with the right attitude and participating in a variety of ways and places throughout the morning is an opportunity to be like Jesus.  

In that sense, we come to church on Sunday to "practice" for the rest of the week.

Design and Create

After the brief Bible study, have students pick one of the "What Jesus did in the Temple/What I should do in church" and "pose" it on a large piece of butcher paper, asking a friend to trace their pose.   Students may work in pairs, or simply help each other create their own "posed" WWJD" mural section.

Figuring out the pose is an important step and you will want to offer suggestions before they trace it.

See the "during the mural" notes above for important points to share.

Close 

Have each student/team show off their mural and describe it. Close with a prayer that others seeing this mural will be inspired to "be like Jesus" in our Temple, and everyday.

 
Additional Suggestions 

Age & Time Adaptations:  See notes in lesson above

Sidewalk Chalk Variation:  Create a sidewalk chalk exhibit for church members to view as they come out of church. (This would require plenty of kids.)  Create it as a "Footsteps of Jesus in the Temple" walk through.

Inter-generational:  This lesson would make a great evening art activity for all ages. After the study, split the group up with different assignments to depict "Jesus & Me in the Temple." 

Design and Display Variation:  Tack the mural to a sheet of drywall and cut holes so that students can stick their faces through the holes to be "in" the mural. Take photos! Have a Handy Church Member make the drywall stand up with a few pieces of 2x4 screwed in place. Be sure the base is wide enough so that it won't tip over when students place their heads through the holes and accidentally bump it.

Written by Neil MacQueen based on a great lesson concept by team member Stephanie Smith. 

Copyright © 2015 by Rotation.org 

Printed from https://www.rotation.org

Photo Credit: Kimberly Huff, used with permission.