The Sign of Jonah

Passage

Familiarize yourself with the following passages:

Matthew 12:38-45, 16:1-4; Mark 8:11-13; Luke 11:29-32

Jesus had been doing many miracles. Now, the Pharisees and teachers of the law wanted Jesus to do a special miracle just for them. Jesus called them wicked! He said only one sign was going to be given to them; the sign of Johan. Johan was in the belly of the great fish for three days and three nights. Jesus said just like Jonah, He would be in the belly of the earth for three days and three nights. Jesus said when Nineveh heard of their impending destruction, the repented of their sinful ways, but now someone far greater than Jonah was here and no one is repenting. The people of Nineveh will be present with the people of Jesus’ time and condemn them for their unbelief. Jesus also told a short parable of a man who had a demon. When the demon left the man it searched the earth for a new place to live, but could find nothing. The demon decided to return to his former home. When he arrived back to the man, he found that everything had been cleaned up and put in order. So, the demon went and found 7 other more wicked demons to go and live in the man. Now the demon possessed man is worse off than he was before. This is how it is with the wicked generation that lives with Jesus.

Object Lesson:

Mud Balls

Supplies Needed:
• 2 glass bowls
• 8 squishy balls
• Bucket of muddy water
• Cleaning rags
• Large ball that fills bowl (basket ball)
Directions:
1. Before class, put the squishy balls in the muddy water. Take one ball out and put it in a glass bowl.
2. When all the children are sitting, place the bowl with the muddy ball in the center for all to see. When you tell the children about the man with the demon, roll the ball around in the bowl until the bowl is pretty dirty. Remove the ball when the demon leaves the man. Put the ball back into the bucket of muddy water with all the other balls.
3. Take a rag and begin cleaning the dirty bowl. The story says the man cleaned up and put everything back in order. Show the children the now clean bowl.
4. Bring forward the bucket of muddy water. Take out the first ball and put it in the clean bowl. Add the rest of the muddy balls when you tell the children that the first demon invited 7 more wicked demons to live with him.
5. Ask the children which was better, the one ball, or the 8 balls.
6. Ask the children how we can prevent all the dirt from getting into our bowls. Tell the children that only Jesus has the power to make and keep us clean, because on our own, we will continue to do dirty things. Take the large ball and put it in the second glass bowl.
7. Tell the children that there is no way for the muddy balls to get into this bowl as long as the large ball is here.

Memory Verse:

Matthew 12:40

For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

Jesus Connection:

In this passage, Jesus is predicting his resurrection. He would indeed die and be buried, but three days later he would come out of the grave! Jesus has power over this wicked, sinful world and over death!

Songs

Hey Jonah

To the tune of ‘Jesus Loves Me’

Jonah, Jonah, have you heard?
Said the Lord, "Go preach my Word."
Jonah said, "That's not for me!"
Took a ship and fled to sea.

Hey, Jonah, Jonah!
Hey, Jonah, Jonah!
Hey, Jonah, Jonah!
You should obey the Lord.

Though he thought he'd get away,
Soon the ship began to sway.
Jonah said, "It's for my sin!
Pick me up and throw me in."

Hey, Jonah, Jonah!
Hey, Jonah, Jonah!
Hey, Jonah, Jonah!
You should obey the Lord.

When it seemed that he would drown,
Came a fish and gulped him down.
Jonah prayed, "Lord, I'll obey;
Tell the folks about your way."

Lord, I'll obey You!
Lord, I'll obey You!
Lord, I'll obey You!
I will obey the Lord.

Games/Activities

Fill the Bucket

Supplies Needed:
• 2 buckets
• Lots of balls/paper balls
Directions:
1. Place all the balls in a large pile at one side of the room and the two buckets on the other side with some space between them.
2. Divide the class into two teams. Everyone will throw the balls as fast as they can into the buckets. In order to throw the balls, they must be standing behind the line where the ball pile is located. They may run forward to retrieve balls that missed the buckets, but they cannot throw it until they return to the throwing line.
3. The team with the most balls in their respective buckets wins.

Crafts

Whale Stained Glass

Supplies Needed:
• Whale and Jonah tracing template
• Blue paper, full pages cut in half
• Black paper
• Scissors
• Yellow and orange tissue paper cut into small squares
• Glue
• Contact paper cut into the sizes of the blue paper
Directions:
1. Trace the whale template onto blue paper. Cut out the whale so that the outside remains whole. Discard the inside. Trace the Jonah template onto black paper. Cut out Jonah.
2. Taking one piece of contact paper, peel off the backing, laying it adhesive side up in front of you. Take the yellow and orange tissue paper and stick it to the adhesive side of the contact paper.
3. Place Jonah in the center of tissue paper page. Cover the tissue paper page with a second page of contact paper, adhesive side down.
4. Take the two blue papers with the fish cut out and hold them up so that they line up the same.
5. Place one blue fish on each side of the tissue paper contact page. Glue the blue pages to the contact paper.
6. Turn the completed craft over, so you can no longer see Jonah. Hold up to the light to reveal Jonah inside the fish!

Coloring Page

A Bleeding Woman and A Dead Girl

Passage

Familiarize yourself with the following passage:

Matthew 9:18-26; Mark 5:21-43; Luke 8:40-56

Jesus and his disciples had sailed across the sea. When their boat reached the other side, a great crowd gathered around Jesus. A ruler from the synagogue, named Jarius, found Jesus and asked him to come to his house and heal his daughter who was dying. Jesus agreed to come. On their way to Jarius’ house, a woman who had a problem with bleeding was in the crowd. She had tried every possible thing to cure her aliment, and had spent all her money doing so, but she only got worse. Upon hearing that Jesus was nearby, the woman went looking for him, thinking that if she could just touch he clothes she would be healed. The woman pressed through the crowd and touched the edge of Jesus’ clothes. As soon as she did this, she could feel in her body that she had been healed. Jesus also knew immediately that power had flowed out from him. He asked the crowd who had touched him. The disciples thought Jesus was crazy for asking this, since there were so many people crowded around and pressing against Jesus. Jesus insisted that he had been touched, and continued to look for the person. Finally the woman who had been healed bowed down before Jesus and confessed that she had touched Jesus. Jesus told her that her faith had made her well. As this conversation was happening, someone from Jarius’ house came to tell him his daughter was dead. Jesus told Jarius to not be afraid, just believe. Upon arriving at the house, Jesus told the mourners to leave because the girl was not dead, only sleeping. He took three disciples and the girl’s parents into the house, took the hand of the girl and told her to get up. Instantly the girl stood up and walked around and Jesus encouraged the parents to give her something to eat.

Object Lesson:

The Sense of Touch

Supplies needed:
• Dark plastic bags
• A piece of satin cloth or binding
• A pencil
• An apple
• An ice cube
• Ect…
Directions:
1. Put your objects into dark plastic bags.
2. Tell the children that we gather information through our senses. Today we will explore the sense of touch.
3. Have the children reach into a bag and describe what they feel without looking at it. (soft, hard, long, sharp, cold, wet…) They do not have to guess (unless you want them to), but simply describe.
4. Ask the children what they think it must have felt like for the woman who touched Jesus’ clothes.

Memory Verse:

Mark 5:34

He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.”

Jesus Connection:

Jesus has the power, not only to heal, but to save us from death. Jesus spoke to the little girl and she was raised to life. If you have not been saved by Jesus, then you are like the little girl who was dead. (Ephesians 2:1) Without Jesus we cannot live a life that is pleasing to God. We are full of sin. Sin leads to death and that death separates us from God. God loves us so much that he does not want us to die. He sent us Jesus to die in our place. Jesus was buried and 3 days later was raised from the dead. Jesus died so that we do not have to. We must take Jesus’ advise when he says, “Don’t be afraid; just believe.” (Mark 5:36)

Songs

Only Believe

http://www.sermons4kids.com/only_believe_songsheet_2.pdf
Only believe,
Only believe,
All things are possible,
Only believe.

Only believe,
Only believe,
All things are possible,
Only believe.

Games/Activities

Just Believe Balloon Popping

Supplies Needed:
• 22 balloons
• 2 pieces of paper
• Marker
• Scissor
• 2 large bags
Directions:
1. Before class, write the words “Just Believe” on two pieces of paper. Be sure to write the words so that none of the letters are touching. Cut out the letters like a puzzle, being sure to keep the two sets of pieces separated. Put one letter into each balloon and fill the balloon with air. Place each set of balloons into its own large bag, to keep them separated.
2. Divide the class into two teams. Give each team one bag of balloons.
3. When you say go, have the children race to pop all their balloons, retrieving the papers that are in each balloon. Tell them to put all the pieces of the puzzle together to reveal the secret message, “Just Believe”.

Crafts

Only Believe Picture

Supplies Needed:
• Only believe craft template
• Paper brads
• Colors
• Scissors
Directions:
1. Color the craft template.
2. Cut the excess paper off following the lines provided. Set aside the bed.
3. Cut out the little girl. Cut her in half along the line provided.
4. Fasten the little girl to the bed by using a paper brad.
5. The children can retell this part of the story using their picture. The girl can be laying down on the bed, sitting up, or standing beside the bed as they tell the story.

Coloring Page

The Call of Paul and Barnabas

Passage

Familiarize yourself with this passage:

Acts 13:1-12

Paul and Barnabas have returned to the church in Antioch, with John Mark, after having delivered gifts of help to the church in Jerusalem. Now the church in Antioch was praying and fasting to see what God would have them do next. During this time of prayer, the Holy Spirit speaks to the church and tells them to set apart Barnabas and Saul for the work God had prepared for them. The Spirit promised to guide them to the right places. So Saul and Barnabas sailed to the island of Cyprus. They arrived at Salamis and shared the gospel with the Jews there. They then traveled all throughout the island preaching the Good News, until they finally arrived in Paphos. Once in Paphos, the proconsul, Sergius Paulus called for Barnabas and Saul because he wanted to hear the word of God. (This is where Saul starts referring to himself as Paul, using his Roman name instead of his Jewish name) They received opposition in the form of a man named Elymas, a Jewish sorcerer and false prophet. Elymas tried to turn the proconsul from the faith. Paul became filled with the Spirit and proclaimed to Elymas that he would become blind for a time because of the evil deeds he was doing for the devil. Immediately, Elymas became blind! When the proconsul saw this he became a believer in Jesus Christ because of the teaching about the Lord.

Object Lesson:

Pack Your Bags

Supplies needed:
• White board
• Dry erase markers
Directions:
1. Before class, draw a suit case on the white board.
2. During class, start your story time by directing the children’s attention to the drawing on the white board.
3. Tell the children that they are going on a trip, but they will not know where they are going or how long they will be gone. Assuming there will be food and water wherever they go, ask the children what items they would pack in their suit case. Draw these items on the white board, in and around the suit case. (ie: passports, clothes, camera, bible, journal and pens, favorite toy, phone, a map…)
4. Tell the children that they are about to hear a story of some men who when on a trip without knowing where they were going or how long they would be gone.

Places on the Map

*This activity is used for those who are going through the book of Act, story by story.  It is intended to show the children the key locations of the stories as well as to track Paul’s missionary journeys.
Supplies Needed:
• String
• Scissors
• Sticky tack, tape, or thumb tacks
• List of the cities from today’s story:
          Antioch
          Salamis
          Paphos
          Cyprus
Directions:
1. Before class, make sure the map you are using as today’s story locations written in their appropriate places. If you are using a map you made, be sure to write in these locations.
2. Pre-cut the lengths of strings needed to fit between the cities in the order that they appear in the story.  Set aside the string for future stories. (You will want to use the same color string for the entirety of each missionary journey.
3. During the story, point out the cities on the map as you mention them to the children. As Paul moves from place to place during the story, take the appropriate string segment and fix it to the map. (ie: from Antioch to Salamis; from Salamis to Paphos).
4. Save your newly edited map for future lessons!

Memory Verse:

Acts 13:2

While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “ Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”

Jesus Connection:

God has placed a call on everyone’s life. Just like when Jesus appeared to Saul and called him to repentance, everyone everywhere has been called by God to repentance. (Acts 17:30) The proconsul heard Jesus calling in his heart and responded to Jesus’ call by believing in him! (Acts 13:12) For those who respond to God’s call to repentance, God also calls them to serve him. The Holy Spirit called Paul and Barnabas to a work that God had prepared for them. (Acts 13:2) They responded to this call by going into all the world, sharing the Good News of Jesus with everyone they met, allowing those who heard of Jesus to respond to God’s call on their lives.

Songs

This Little Light of Mine

This little light of mine,
I'm gonna let it shine.
This little light of mine,
I'm gonna let it shine.
This little light of mine,
I'm gonna let it shine,
Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.

All around the neighborhood,
I'm gonna let it shine.
All around the neighborhood,
I'm gonna let it shine.
All around the neighborhood,
I'm gonna let it shine,
Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.

Hide it under a bushel, NO!
I'm gonna let it shine.
Hide it under a bushel, NO!
I'm gonna let it shine.
Hide it under a bushel, NO!
I'm gonna let it shine,
Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.

Don't let set Satan [blow] it out,
I'm gonna let it shine.
Don't let Satan [blow] it out,
I'm gonna let it shine.
Don't let Satan [blow] it out,
I'm gonna let it shine,
Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.

Let it shine till Jesus comes,
I'm gonna let it shine.
Let it shine till Jesus comes,
I'm gonna let it shine.
Let it shine till Jesus comes,
I'm gonna let it shine,
Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.

Games and Activities:

Memory Verse Game:

Supplies needed:
• White board
• Dry erase markers
• Tape
• Soft balls
Direction:
1. Divide the memory verse into 10-12 segments (2-3 words in each segment).
2. Before class, make some squares on the floor at one end of the room with tape. Make the same number of squares as you divided the memory verse into. Put numbers in each square to correlate with the number of segments in your verse.
3. Have the children stand of the opposite side of the room, behind a line of tape.
4. Give the children a chance to throw the soft balls at the squares on the floor. One child at a time and one throw per child.
5. If a ball lands inside a square, write the appropriate segment of the verse on the board. If the ball lands outside the squares, or in a square that has already been revealed, that child is finished and goes to the back of the line to try again next time.
6. Repeat throwing the ball until all segments of the verse has been revealed.

God is Calling:

Supplies Needed:
• Bibles
• Verse passages for people who were called by God
Exodus 3:1-2, 10
1 Samuel 3:1, 10
Judges 6:11,14
Isaiah 6:1-8
Jonah 1:1
Matthew 4:18-22
Matthew 19:16,21
Ect….
Directions:
1. Write each reference on a separate small piece of paper before class.
2. Make sure each child, or small group of children has a bible.
3. Give each child of small group of children a reference to look up. If your children are too small to read or find the verses by themselves, you can look up the verse and read them for them.
4. Tell the children that the Bible is filled with stories of men and women who were called by God to do special thing. They are going to discover a few of those people today.
5. Read each set of verses out loud, one at a time. After the children hear the verses, ask them who God called.
6. After all the verses have been read, remind the children that God calls all of us for special things, just like he called these men and women of the Bible a long time ago.

Crafts:

Sponge Boats

Supplies Needed:
• Dish sponges
• Straws
• Duct tape in various colors
• Scissors
• Foam stickers
• Permanent markers
Directions:
1. Using scissors, cut two corners off of the dish sponge so that there is a point on one long end. Your sponge should now look like a house.
2. Using scissors, fold the sponge in half the long way, and make a small cut in the course side of the sponge, big enough for the straw to stand in, but not all the way through the sponge.
3. If you are using bendy straws, cut of the top part of the straw that has the bend. Discard this part.
4. Choose a color of duct tape. Tear off a long piece. Fold the tape in half so that you now have half the length.
5. Using scissors, fold the tape in half the long ways and make two small cuts, one near the top and one near the bottom, big enough for the straw to fit through.  This is the mast of the boat.
6. Decorate the mast with foam stickers and permanent markers.
7. Fit the straw through the cuts in the mast. Work the straw into the cut in the sponge. You now have a tiny sail boat that is fully water proof!

Coloring Page: