Find and print various photos of multicultural children with their families and show them to the children. Ask the children to describe what each of the families are doing. Next, have each child share ...
Find and print various photos of multicultural children with their families and show them to the children. Ask the children to describe what each of the families are doing. Next, have each child share a picture of their family during this time. Give each child a chance to talk about the people in their picture, who they are, how many people are in the picture and anything else they would like to share about the picture or their family.
You can read from a Children’s Bible, your Bible or use the following story.
Jesus Returns
John 20:19-29
After Jesus had died his disciples were afraid and were hiding in an upstairs room with the d ...
You can read from a Children’s Bible, your Bible or use the following story.
Jesus Returns
John 20:19-29
After Jesus had died his disciples were afraid and were hiding in an upstairs room with the door locked. They were afraid the leaders would send soldiers to arrest them because they knew and were friends with Jesus. Suddenly Jesus was there with them! “Peace be with you,” Jesus said. Jesus’ disciples couldn’t believe their eyes. The disciples cheered! They were overjoyed when they saw the Lord. The friends ate together and chatted happily.
Now Thomas, one of Jesus’ disciples was not in the room when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, “We have seen Jesus!” Thomas said to them, “I will not believe that Jesus is really alive until I see the nail marks in his hands and feet.” A week later Thomas and the disciples were in the house again with the doors locked. Jesus came and stood with them and said, “Peace be with you!” Then Jesus said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and touch the places where the nails went in. Stop doubting and believe.” Thomas said, “ You are Jesus, my Lord and my God.” Then Jesus said to him, “You have seen me and you have believed. Blessed are those people who haven’t seen me and still believe anyway.”
Jesus came back to life and showed many people that He was alive. Thomas saw Jesus and believed and many other people saw that he was alive and believed. Even though you may have not seen Jesus you can believe he is real!
Talk about what the Bible story was about by asking the children questions. You can decide ahead of time how you want them to answer the questions. I like to have the children raise their hand to answer the question. If they are incorrect that is fine. You can say what the answer is or ask: “Does anyone else have a thought or answer to the question?”
Questions to ask if you like:
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After Jesus had died how did Jesus’ disciples feel? (Afraid)
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The disciples were hiding in a room. Was the door locked or un-locked? (Locked)
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What were the disciples afraid of? (They were afraid that the leaders would arrest them because they knew and were friends with Jesus)
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Who appeared in the room with the disciples? (Jesus)
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What did Jesus say to the disciples? (“Peace be with you.”)
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Did Jesus and his disciples eat a meal together? (Yes)
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What was the name of the disciple who doubted that Jesus was
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What did Jesus tell Thomas? (Stop doubting and believe)
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Did Jesus show many people that he was alive? (Yes)
Prayer
While sitting on the floor with criss cross legs, have the children repeat after you. You can have them fold their hands and close their eyes or just sit quietly and say after you. Following is a prayer written out that you can use, or you can make up your own.
Dear God (children repeat)
Thank you for this day (children repeat)
Please help me (children repeat)
To believe in Jesus (children repeat)
Even though I can’t see him (children repeat)
I love You (children repeat)
Amen (children repeat)
Give each child a piece of construction paper and some crayons, colored pencils or markers. Your children draw a picture of themselves and their family. Let the children draw the picture of their fami ...
Give each child a piece of construction paper and some crayons, colored pencils or markers. Your children draw a picture of themselves and their family. Let the children draw the picture of their family however they like. They can just draw the faces or they can draw the whole bodies. You may want to remind the children to include details like hair, ears, eyes, and mouths in their pictures. Remember these drawings are how the child sees themselves and their families, so keep in mind that they may not draw the heads proportional to the bodies or they may not put the eyes in the accurate spot on the faces and that is okay.