At the beginning of a new school year, children will be feeling a range of emotions about the challenges ahead.  This lesson reminds them Jesus was a kid once, too.  He learned to sit, listen and ask questions.  Let’s encourage our kids to start the year off in a positive way.  I initially wrote this lesson for a school-based program so unchurched kids had a link between baby Jesus at Christmas and the grown-up Jesus in His ministry years on earth. 

A free download of this lesson is available here: https://cooeekidsministry.com.au/bible-lessons/

Warm-Up Activity:

Draw or tape a hopscotch at the door to your Kid’s Church.  Everyone must hopscotch their way inside…even the grownups!

Character:  Principal Whyteboard

Ask one of your leaders to become Principal Whyteboard, dressed in a suit and tie (or shorts and long socks) and wearing a borrowed cap and gown if possible.  Principal Whyteboard tells jokes and even tries to dance along to the praise songs. 

Character Introduction:

Leader:            Good morning kids!  Welcome to Kid’s Church…

Principal W:    (entering ringing a handbell)

                        All right students!

                        Take your seats.

Leader:            Excuse me?

                        Who are you?

Principal W:    Who am I?

                        Who are you?

Leader:            I’m __________.        

Principal W:    I’m Principal Whyteboard.

                        Let me assure you your presence here is

                        like a broken pencil.

Leader:            Why is my presence here like a broken pencil?

Principal W:    Because it’s pointless!

                        I have been educating children for years.

                        And teachers for that matter.

                        I have already had to rescue the music teacher today.

Leader:            Why did you have to rescue the music teacher?

Principal W:    She locked herself out of the classroom

                        because her keys were in the piano.

Leader:            Okay, let me explain something.

                        This is not school.

                        This is Kid’s Church.

Principal W:    Don’t children learn things at Kid’s Church?

Leader:            Of course they do.

Principal W:    Well then I’m staying.

                        I am like a calculator.

Leader:            Why are you like a calculator?

Principal W:    Because you can count on me!

Leader:            (to the children)

                        What do you say, kids?

                        Should Principal Whyteboard stay in Kid’s Church today?

                        (have some fun with this!)

Principal Whyteboard, are you ready to sing

                        and praise Jesus?

Principal W:    I was born ready!

Insert your Praise and Worship time here!

Bible Lesson:  Jesus as a Boy in the Temple

Bible Reference:  Luke 2:41-52; Philippians 2:6

For flashcard illustrations or a PowerPoint presentation of this story visit Free Bible Images: https://www.freebibleimages.org/illustrations/

Leader:            Time for our Bible Story.

Principal W:    What are you teaching today?

Leader:            I’m teaching the children about the time Jesus’ parents thought he was lost.

Principal W:    How distressing.

                        I’ve never lost a student.

Leader:            Jesus, with his Mum and Dad, was travelling with a large group of people.

They were all going to Jerusalem, same as they did every year, to celebrate the Feast of Passover.

Principal W:    The Feast of Passover…let me think.

                        Ah yes.  Devout Jews would celebrate the Feast of Passover

                        as required by the Law of Moses.

Leader:            Right!  Remembering when death ‘passed over’ the homes of the Israelites who had marked their door lintels with lamb’s blood like God told them to.

                        So, off the family goes to Jerusalem.

Jesus was 12 years old.

Principal W:    Hmmm.  Year 6.

                        Are there any Year 6’s here?

                        (show of hands)

                        You’re all growing up.

                        Oh, Jesus was growing up, too.

                        He was such a cute baby in that stable.

Leader:            After the Feast, it was time for everyone to head home, except Jesus stayed in Jerusalem.

Principal W:    Excursions are so difficult.

They should have done a head count.

Leader:            At first Mary and Joseph weren’t worried.

                        They thought Jesus was somewhere in the large group of travellers.

                        They walked for a whole day before they realised he was

                        nowhere to be found.

                        They looked for him among family and friends but when

                        they couldn’t find him they returned to Jerusalem.

                        They searched for him for three days.

                        Finally, they found Jesus in the temple.

                        He was sitting among the teachers, listening to them and

                        asking questions.

Principal W:    Sitting, listening, asking questions.

                        Everything a teacher could hope for in a student!

Leader:            The teachers in the temple were impressed, too.

                        Everyone who heard Jesus were amazed at his understanding

                        and his answers. 

When his Mum and Dad found Jesus they were overwhelmed.

                        ‘Why have you treated us like this?’ his Mum said.

                        ‘Look, your father (meaning Joseph his human father) and I have been looking for you anxiously.’

Jesus was surprised.  He said, ‘Why were you looking for me?  Didn’t you know that I must be in my Father’s house?’

Principal W:    His Father’s house?

                        A reference, surely, to the fact that Jesus was God’s son, not Joseph’s.

Leader:            Jesus left Heaven to come into this world as a little baby.

                        He left his position and surrendered his omnipotent (all powerful), omniscient (all knowing) and omnipresent (able to be everywhere at once) power to become human like us. Jesus’ Mum and Dad really should have

checked the temple first!

Jesus had to devote time to his Father God to learn and prepare himself for his mission on earth.

Principal W:    And that mission was the most important mission in the history of the world.  To one day die on the cross for the sin of everyone.

Leader:            In the meantime Jesus needed to grow and learn.

                        He was an obedient son.

He left with Mary and Joseph to go back home to Nazareth.

But his Mum never forgot.  She thought about all these things and kept them in her heart.

The Bible tells us Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour

with God and with people.  He grew into a man.  He became a carpenter and

did everything expected of an eldest son.  Until, 18 years later, at the age of 30, his ministry begins!

Principal W:    You know the part I like best?

                        Jesus looked for teachers.

                        (Talks to the children)

                        Children, look for good teachers all through your life.

                        Especially in Church where you’ll learn more about God, Jesus and the

                        Holy Spirit (who is the best teacher of all).

                        Listen to what your teachers say, ask questions, give answers and you will 

grow in wisdom and understanding just like Jesus.

Ministry to the Children:

Leader:            Jesus’ mission here on earth, the reason He came as a little baby, was so that when the time was right, He would die on a Cross for the sins of the whole world.

                        Jesus died in our place.  He never sinned but we have. 

Instead of us being punished for our sin, He took our punishment.

He rose from the dead and is now back in His rightful place in Heaven.

He wants us to join Him there one day.

But to get there you must ask Him to forgive your sin, ask Him to come

into your heart, and live for Him for the rest of your life.

Leader:            Let’s pray and ask Father God to help every student as you begin a new school year.

(Prayer)

Quiz:

Form two teams.  Principal Whyteboard can ask the questions and award outrageous points!

Optional extra prop idea:  you can make a giant pencil using pool noodles, gaffe tape and giant chalk.  You’ll find instructions on the internet.   Principal Whyteboard can use the giant pencil to point to children and keep the tally.  

Principal W:    Now, it’s time for a quiz!  I love a good quiz.

Q:        How old was Jesus in this Bible story?

A:         12 years old.

Q:        What was the name of the feast Jesus and his family were going to?

A:         Passover.

Q:        What did one maths book say to the other?

A:         Don’t bother me.  I’ve got my own problems.

Q:        What Old Testament story did the feast celebrate?

A:         A night long ago when the Lord passed over the homes of the Israelites

            but the firstborn sons of the Egyptians died.

Q:        How long was it before Joseph and Mary noticed Jesus was missing?

A:         One day.

Q:        What was the name of the city where they looked for Jesus?

A:         Jerusalem.

Q:        Why can’t you do a test in the jungle?

A:         There are too many cheetahs.

Q:        Where did they find Jesus?

A:         In the temple.

Q:        What 3 things was Jesus doing?

A:         1. Sitting 2. Listening 3. Asking questions.

Q:        Why did the children eat their homework?

A:         Because the teacher told them it was a piece of cake.

Q:        What amazed the teachers in the temple?

A:         Jesus’ understanding and answers.

Q:        What four things did Jesus grow in?

A:         1. Wisdom 2. Stature 3. Favour with God 4.  Favour with people.

Q:        What was Jesus’ mission on earth?

A:         To die on the Cross for the sin of the whole world.

Principal W:    Oh, where are my sunglasses?

                        (patting down his suit and gown again)

                        Have you seen my sunglasses?

Leader:            Principal Whyteboard, why do you need

                        sunglasses?

Principal W:    Because these kids are so BRIGHT!

Memory Verse:  Proverbs 1:7

Fear of the Lord is the foundation of true knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline.

Note: ‘fear of the Lord’ means proper respect and honouring of God because He created us.

Principal Whyteboard writes the Memory Verse on a whiteboard.  He leads the children in saying the verse with the actions below.  Then he erases a word or two at a time until the children are saying the verse without reading any words on the whiteboard.

Actions:         

Fear of the (bow down from the waist hands extended in front of you and palms down)

Lord (point up)

is the foundation (one fist on top of another ‘building’)

of true knowledge (use two hands to open book and nod head)

but (hold one hand up in stop sign)

fools despise (circle ears with forefingers to symbolize ‘crazy’)

wisdom (tap the side of head and nod)

and discipline (shaking finger)

Proverbs 1: (stop shaking finger and use as a number one)

7:  hold up seven fingers

Games:  Times Tables!

Set up different activities on table tops around the room.  Assign a leader and helpers at each table.  Divide the children into groups and assign them a table.  Set an alarm (a school bell sounding alarm would be awesome).  Whenever the alarm rings the children must stop the activity they are doing and move to the next table and begin a new activity.   Put Principal Whyteboard in charge of the alarm.   Please check for allergies before playing food games.

Table Top Activities:

Chocolate game:  Put a bar of chocolate on a plate in the middle of the table.  You’ll also need a knife and fork and a dice to roll.  Children take it in turns to roll the dice on the table.  When a child throws a six they use the knife and fork to cut a square of chocolate and eat one square at a time, as the dice is passed to the left for the another children to throw.  Anyone who throws a six takes over the knife and fork immediately and tries to cut another square of chocolate.

Speed Scrabble:  You’ll need the letter tiles from a Scrabble game but not the board.  Turn all of the Scrabble tiles face down in the centre of the table and mix them all up.  Then have each player take two tiles, keeping them face down.  The leader says, ‘Go!’  Everyone turns over their tiles.  Each player will be building their own mini Scrabble grid in front of them.  When tiles are turned over children start spelling with them as fast as they can. Once someone successfully uses all their tiles (and for the first round that’s just two tiles) they shout ‘go.’ Then each child grabs another tile from the pile. Now they have three tiles to use.  Then (just like in the round before) when a child uses all three tiles and calls ‘go’, everyone takes another tile.  Every round a child will get another tile making the grid larger and more complex. Tiles can be added onto an existing grid or the grid can be rearranged at any time.

Looking for Bookworms:  Place bookworms (Gummi worm lollies) on a paper plate and cover with canned whipped cream.  Hands behind their back, a child must find the bookworms, one at a time, with their mouth.  The child with the fastest time wins.

Marbles:  Place a hula hoop on the table.  Give every child a shooting marble.  Place 5-10 marbles inside the hoop.  Each child has a turn at flicking their shooter marble (out of their fist with their thumb) to hit as many marbles as possible out of the hoop.  The child keeps the marbles they knock out and gets another turn.  If the child doesn’t knock any marbles out, it’s the next child’s turn.  Play until the hoop is empty.

Other activities:  Yo-yo’s.  Elastics. 

Craft: 

Blackboard Biscuits:  Ice rectangular-shaped biscuits with black icing so it looks like a mini blackboard.  Decorate with sugar decorations from the baking aisle of the supermarket.  (The colours look like the colour of chalk.) 

Bookmarks:  Lots of designs are available on the internet.  Use wool or ribbon to make a tassel at the top of the bookmark.

Personalised Tin Pencil Holder:  Give each child a clean tin (with no sharp edges) to cover using any number of craft items such as paddle pop sticks, felt, paper, or even twine or raffia.  Decorate with ribbons, shapes, letters and numbers or jewels, using strong craft glue.