Light of the World
Jesus, Our Lord Series:
Lesson 2
(NOTE: Some of the activities in this lesson are also used in “Christmas Theme: Lesson 4—The Light of the World.”)
LESSON OVERVIEW*
Key Point: ] Jesus is the light who guides us
Repeat this phrase throughout the lesson.
Bible Story: John 10:7-15
Challenge Verse: John 8:12—Jesus said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
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ITEMS NEEDED
Each class needs the following:
Memory Verse Sign
Sticker sheet
A White Candle for each child
1 Lighter
5 Tea Candles
A bag of old crayons
A bag with L-I-G-H-T letters cut out. (See the page at the end of the lesson.)
A bag with 30 Starbursts
A brown paper sack with “Be the Light” slips of paper inside. (See the page at the end of the lesson.)
BEFORE CLASS
– Prepare the Attendance Chart with the name of each student from your roll.
– Post the Bible Book Chart in an easily readable area.
– Hide the letters spelling the word LIGHT.
– Set out the candles where they are readily accessible, but be sure to keep the lighter out of sight and hidden away where students can’t get to it.
– You may want to put butcher paper on your craft table to help with clean-up.
– Pray for each student by name.
AS STUDENTS ARRIVE
– Greet each student by name as they enter.
– Give each student an attendance sticker for the attendance chart, and feel free to add guest names to the chart. This will give them a sense of belonging.
– Get to know any guests and help them fill out a guest form.
– Be sure to smile—Your smile and attitude sets the atmosphere as students enter.
OPENING ACTIVITY
As the children enter tell them that you have hidden 5 letters somewhere in the room. They are on small pieces of paper. Challenge them to find all five. Once all the pieces have been found, tell them that it spells the word “LIGHT.”
Ask the students: Can anyone say last week’s memory verse?
If they can say it, give them two Starbursts.
Get Ready for a Bible Drill
Find…Philippians 2:15…Go!
Read Philippians 2:15 from your Bible
Give all your students a Starburst and SAY:
These are Starbursts and the verse we just said mentioned stars.
Ask the students: Who remembers what it said about stars?
(Answer: Shine like stars in the universe.)
Ask the students: What does that mean?
(Answer: God wants us to shine, or show, his love and life to others.)
Choose 1 volunteer to turn the lights off.
(Even without a flashlight your class shouldn’t be dark).
Ask the students: Tell us about a time you were guided by a light. (Examples might include using a flashlight on a walk, using a camping lantern, and having a nightlight in your bedroom.)
Ask the students: What is the brightest light you have ever seen?
Ask the students: How do you think God is like a light?
SAY: Last week we talked about some things that you were afraid of (like being afraid of the dark) and learned that ] You can trust Jesus who is the Good Shepherd
SAY: This week we are going to learn that Jesus is the Light who Guides Me
Control Tool
SAY: From now on anytime I say “Jesus is the Light who…” I want you to say, “Guides me!”
Practice a few times. Challenge them to say it louder.
SAY: Jesus is the Light who…(Students: Guides me!)
LESSON ACTIVITY
Activity: Be the Light
After turning the lights back on…
Choose 1 volunteer—This volunteer will reach in the bag and pull out a slip of paper. The slips of paper will instruct the student what to do. This student will be the “Light,” showing everyone else what to do. The Light may not speak (unless the instructions say so) but should lead everyone in accomplishing what is written. Once you, as the teacher, see that the instructions have been followed, tell everyone to give him a hand, then point to someone else and say, “Be the Light.” They’ll come forward and thus the game continues. If a student doesn’t want to lead, don’t make them, but let everyone who wants to go have that opportunity.
(For an even greater challenge, set up with another class or even another grade a fun competition, where, after doing this game, the two classes meet together. Each class forms a line. On “Go” the first person races down and shows everyone else on his team what to do. Everyone else on his team does the action and he races back and tags the next person, and so forth, until all the challenges are complete.)
Discussion
Ask the students:
– What was hard about being the Light? (I couldn’t talk; I wasn’t sure how to do the instructions; I felt kind of strange; I felt kind of alone; they didn’t understand what I was doing.)
– What was fun about being the Light? (Being the leader; watching everyone be silly; figuring out how to teach them something.)
Read from your Bible Matthew 5:14
“You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden.”
– How does this verse remind you of our game? (Both of them talk about the light; everyone can see a city on a mountain, and everyone could see us doing the instructions.)
– What does Jesus mean when He says, “You are the light”? (That we should do good things; that we should help other people follow Him; that we should guide other people to God; and shine, or show them, His life and love.
– When you’re at school, why is it sometimes hard to be a light? (I don’t always want to do the right thing; some people think you’re weird if you’re a Christian; your friends want to do wrong things.)
SAY: It can be hard to be a light. But when we shine Jesus’ love to our friends, we’re doing the best thing we can, which is showing someone about Jesus. By being a light Jesus isn’t asking you to do silly things, like what we did in our game. Jesus wants you to bring hope, courage, and joy to people. He wants you to follow God’s Word and tell everyone that Jesus saves us.
Challenge:
(1) Everyone turn someone next to you, give them a high five and say, “Jesus loves you.”
Great job!
(2) Now stand up, give three people a low five and say, “Jesus will take care of you.”
(3) Now shake five people’s hands and say, “You can trust Jesus.”
On the count of three, everyone sit down as fast as you can.
Ready…one…two…everyone say, “Jesus loves you!” (Kids: Jesus loves you!)
Ready…one…two…everyone say, “You can trust Jesus!” (Kids: You can trust Jesus!)
Ready…one…two…three…sit down!
(Be sure to praise different students for what they did: How fast they sat, how loud they were, for what a great smile they had, etc.)
SAY: It’s both easy and fun to tell other people about Jesus. It’s as simple as saying, “Jesus loves you,” or “Jesus will take care of you.” You can shine Jesus’ light to anyone you know.
BIBLE SKILLS
Review Questions
Instruct student to get their Bibles.
– Can anyone tell me what the word “Gospel” means? (Answer: Good News)
– Who can tell me the four Gospels? (Answer: Matthew—where the verse we read a minute ago is, Mark, Luke, and John)
– Can anyone tell me where the Gospels are found in the Bible? (Refer students to the Bible Book Chart.) (Answer: They are the first four books in the New Testament)
– Who remembers how to find Psalms in the Bible? (Answer: Hold your Bible sideways and open it to the middle. This is usually the book of Psalms.)
SAY: Hold your Bibles. (You may need to have extra Bibles ready for those who didn’t bring one. Encourage everyone to bring their Bibles next week. If you have a student who doesn’t own a Bible, get one for them from the shelves in the CROSSwalk Theater and even write an encouraging note to them inside.) When I say, “Ready,” hold your Bible between both hands, but you cannot open it. Then I will say a Bible reference and “Go.” If you open your Bible before I say “Go,” you will be out. Once you find what I’m asking for, raise your hand.
Ready…The book of Psalms—Go!
– Explain to the children that each book has chapters and help them find chapter 27.
– Explain that each chapter has verses and help them find verse one. Explain that you say it, “Psalm 27-1,” meaning chapter 27, verse 1.
Read Psalm 27:1 from your Bible
The Lord is my light and my salvation—whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life—of whom shall I be afraid.
SAY: In everyday life you don’t have to be afraid because ] Jesus is the Light that Guides
SAY: Let’s have another Bible Drill competition.
Ready…Psalm 23—Go!
SAY: This semester we want to challenge you to memorize
Psalm 23. As I read it, when you hear the word “He,” I want you to stand up and turn in a circle. When you hear the word, “You,” I want you run and touch a wall and without pushing, tripping, falling, or picking anyone’s nose, come back to your chair as fast as you can.
Read Psalm 23
(Pause for the student’s actions after the emphasized words)
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
Ask the students: Does anyone know who wrote Psalm 23? (Answer: King David)
SAY: Did you notice a change in David’s attitude during that chapter? At first he talked about God as “He,” as if he was distant, but after David “walked through the valley of the shadow of death”—after he went through a tough time, he referred to God as “You.” Something changed in that valley. David learned how close God was to him and that he could trust Him to be the Light that Guides.
SAY: Let’s have a Bible Drill.
Ready…The Gospel of John, chapter 8, verse 12—Go!
Read John 8:12 from your Bible
LESSON CRAFT
Discussion Questions
Use these as discussion starters while doing the craft. Don’t expect to cover all of the questions.
This week how can you shine your light so others can see Jesus in you?
What do you think would be some things people do on a playground or in sports that show they are following the light?
What are things people might do when they are living in darkness?
Who is someone you know who shines Jesus’ life and love?
Decorating Candles with Melted Crayons
Use butcher paper to cover the work area. You will also need a candle, lighter, and a bag full of old crayons. Have your students remove the paper coverings from the crayons. Each child will need a white candle.
The following precautions need to be carefully communicated and strictly enforced.
- A teacher must supervise the lit candle in the middle of the group.
- No one else is allowed to touch the candle.
- Nothing can be put into the flame other than a crayon with the paper removed.
- No crayon can stay in the flame for more than two seconds.
Each child (being closely supervised by the teacher) will take a turn holding a crayon over the burning candle and will then write on his candle with the crayon’s melted wax. Be sure to tell them that the melted end of the candle is hot.
Have the children draw a cross on the candle to represent that Jesus is the light of the world. Then let the children write their names (or initials) on the candles to show that Jesus’ light shines through them to the world. Be careful that crayons are not held over the flame for too long. This creates a bigger mess and the crayons are easier to write with when their ends are only slightly melted. A crayon will repeatedly need to be melted to complete each side of the candle.
During the craft time, let any students who have memorized verses quote them to you…This is also a good time for them to memorize John 8:12.
PRAYER TIME & WRAP-UP
Choose 1 volunteer—to turn out the lights.
Remind your students that we live in a world of darkness (which means the word is full of a lot of bad things), but that we can give thanks because ] Jesus is the Light who… Guides me!
SAY: Jesus loves you and He’ll never let you down or lead you the wrong way. You can trust Him because He’s the Good Shepherd and you can follow Him because He’s the Light who guides you.
List Prayer Requests
Pray that all in the group will be lights to the world reflecting Jesus.
EXTRA TIME
Use any extra time to help your students memorize the verse for today.
*Lesson adapted from Kids Kount Publishing, Kingdom Quest, “I AM” series, “The Good Shepherd” Lesson 4.
BE THE LIGHT ACTIVITY SLIPS
Please cut out and put in a bag. Each class will need only one set.
– Do 10 Jumping Jacks
– Sing or Hum, “Happy Birthday to You” while running around the room.
– Give each person a high five.
– Pretend to be a Monkey for 15 seconds.
– Shake hands with your teachers and say, “Thanks for caring about me.”
– Sing “Jesus loves me” in a whisper.
– Spin around in a circle 7 times.
– Do “The Wave.”
– Jump up and down 10 times, then yawn and say, “I’m tired.”
– As loud as you can yell, “I love Sunday School.”
– Clap your hands six times, touch two walls, and then say, “Jesus is the Light!”
– Make any animals noise and then say, “Of all God’s creatures, great and small, God loves me, the most of all.”
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