Curriculum
Jesus, the One and Only
Memory Verse:
“And a voice came from heaven: ‘You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.’” (Luke 3:22)
Bible Background
What Kids Will Learn
God loved Jesus as His one and only Son. God was proud of Jesus, and He wanted everyone to know how much He loved His Son.
Scripture Summary
It had been more than 400 years—several generations—since the last prophet in Israel. As captured in the Old Testament, God spoke through prophets pleading with people to turn from wicked ways. Prophets also foretold of a Messiah that would come and save the Israelites. John the Baptist, Jesus’ relative, broke the long silence and lived his life preparing the way for Jesus, the Messiah.
John the Baptist baptized people as a symbol of washing away their sins when they turned to God. People mistook John for the Messiah, and he was quick to correct them. He baptized with water, but One was coming who would baptize with the Holy Spirit.
Crowds of people continued to follow John and hear his message of turning away from sin and turning to God. John also foretold of the Messiah who would stand in judgment over all people, separating those who followed God from those who rejected Him.
Jesus, like so many of John’s followers, was baptized. Jesus was fully human and fully God. When John baptized Jesus, the Holy Spirit came down in the form of a dove and landed on Jesus’ shoulder. And God’s audible voice boomed with His affirmation and pride in His one and only Son saying, “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”
Near the end of his life, John was thrown into prison by Herod because he rebuked Herod. Herod’s niece, Herodias, would then trick Herod into killing John.
Why Is This Important
With Jesus being God’s one and only Son, it made it that much more difficult for God to give Jesus up when He died on the cross. And that huge gift of sacrifice showed just how much God loves you and me.
Teacher Devotion
Scripture
“For there is one God and one Mediator who can reconcile God and humanity—the man Christ Jesus.” (1 Timothy 2:5)
During the recent appliance shortage, our oven went out. And…the part that could fix the problem was no longer manufactured. We needed to get a new oven. While we thought a quick trip to the store would land us our replacement oven in just a few short days, we found that the country had an appliance shortage. We would be without an oven for a solid eight weeks.
Think of things that you possess only one of. Take a moment and ponder, as many people have multiple pairs of shoes, phone chargers, hoodies, books, and even cars. What did you come up with?
Not sure about you, but I only own one:
- Bicycle
- Suit
- Dog
- Refrigerator
- Phone
In our culture, it’s hard to fathom just one of something. I have multiple copies or colors of many items to fit my desires. I have duplicates of my house key. I have several backpacks—depending on the length of my outdoor adventure. And don’t get me started on how many water bottles are in my home. We might have different things on our lists, but we can all agree that when we have just one of something, it’s harder to replace or go without that one thing.
God has only one Son, and Jesus is irreplaceable. But that didn’t stop God from displaying His great love for us. Even though Jesus was God’s only Son, God freely gave up Jesus to die for our sins. God knew the anguish, the sorrow, the pain that His plan entailed. He also knew the great joy and freedom Jesus would bring to the world.
Prayer
Dear God, thank You for giving up Your only Son, Jesus. I can’t fathom how You made that decision—especially for me. But You did, and I’m glad. Thank You for loving me that much. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Bible Memory Verse
You’ll Need: Bibles, “Dove” handouts, Scissors, Duct tape
Get Ready: Print out two sets of the “Dove” handout (all three pages), and cut out the doves containing words from the Bible memory verse. Make a line down the middle of the room using duct tape. Hide one set of the doves on one half of the room and the second set on the other half of the room.
“And a voice came from heaven: ‘You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.’ ” (Luke 3:22)
Lead kids in these steps to learn today’s Bible Memory Verse:
- Invite kids to open their Bibles to Luke 3:22.
- Ask volunteers to read the verse aloud multiple times so it becomes familiar to the kids.
- Form two teams.
- Explain to kids that they will search for the doves hidden on their side of the room and work together to put them in the correct order.
- The first team to find all its doves and put the Bible verse in the right order wins.
- Read Luke 3:22 aloud once more as a class.
SAY: Great job finding the doves and putting the Bible verse in order!
Today we’re going to learn about a time the Holy Spirit came to Jesus in the form of a dove, and God delivered a very important message.
Interactive Bible Experience
You’ll Need: Bibles, Bucket of water, Pair of sandals or flip-flops
Get Ready: Hide the pair of sandals in the room.
- Invite kids to open their Bibles to Luke 3:15-22.
- Instruct kids to search for the pair of sandals as you read aloud Luke 3:15-17.
- The child who finds the sandals will put them on his or her feet and play the role of Jesus.
- Ask for a volunteer to play the part of John the Baptist.
- All kids will line up in front of “John the Baptist,” with “Jesus” at the end of the line.
- Read aloud Luke 21-22 as “John the Baptist” pretends to baptize each child. The child playing John will dip a hand in the bucket of water and lightly tap each child on the head.
- As “Jesus” comes forth to be baptized, invite the kids to say the following in unison: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”
- Allow children to switch roles and repeat as time permits.
ASK:
- Why do you think people in the Bible assumed John the Baptist was the Messiah?
- Why do you think John the Baptist felt unworthy to untie Jesus’ sandals?
SAY: Many people thought John the Baptist was their savior, but they were wrong. Just like people in the Bible, we have to be careful to not confuse Jesus with someone who seems similar. Jesus is God’s one and only Son, and it brings us great joy to follow in His footsteps.
Snack
Dove Snacks
You’ll Need: Colored paper plates, Mini marshmallows, Candy corn
Get Ready: Have kids wash their hands.
Follow these steps for the “Dove Snacks”:
- For each child, hand out a paper plate, a handful of mini marshmallows, and a piece of candy corn.
- Invite children to form the outline of a dove on their plates with the mini marshmallows. Encourage them to discuss what it would be like for the Holy Spirit to come to them as a dove.
- When finished, instruct kids to place the candy corn on the dove’s mouth as a beak.
- Enjoy!
SAY: In today’s Bible passage, the Holy Spirit came down as a dove when the voice of God said, “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.” We are also pleased that God gave Jesus as our one and only Savior. We can take great delight in Him.
Game
Jesus Says Game
To play the “Jesus Says Game,” follow these steps:
- Explain that you are going to play a version of the game Simon Says, but Jesus will be the leader instead of Simon.
- Instruct kids to follow the commands you say ONLY when you say “Jesus says” before the command. Examples to use:
- Jesus says, “Touch your ear.”
- Rub your hands together.
- Jesus says, “Shake hands with your neighbor.”
- Jesus says, “Jump for joy.”
- Spin around in a circle.
- Jesus says, “Look up to the sky.”
- Do three jumping jacks.
- Give your neighbor a high-five.
- Jesus says, “Draw a heart shape in the air.”
- When a child follows a command that was not preceded by “Jesus says,” he or she is out of the game.
- The last child standing is the winner.
- Repeat several rounds as time permits, allowing volunteers to play the role of Jesus.
SAY: Sometimes it’s hard to tell Jesus’ voice apart from other voices. God warns us to watch out for false teachers who will mislead us. But no imitator of Jesus is worthy to fill His shoes. Following His voice alone glorifies God and gives us the best life.
ASK:
- What is one way you can spot a false teacher?
- How can you focus on following only Jesus this week?
Craft
Money-Maker Craft
You’ll Need: Construction paper in various colors, Card stock in various colors, Markers, Scissors, Glue
Have kids follow these steps to make the “Money-Maker Craft”:
- Give each child a piece of construction paper and a piece of card stock, each in a different color.
- Invite kids to draw and decorate three $100 bills on the piece of construction paper and cut them out.
- Instruct kids to glue their fake money to the card stock, leaving a space at the bottom.
ASK:
- What do you think you could buy with this money?
- Does having this money mean you’re rich? Explain.
- What does it mean to you that Jesus is our only real Savior?
- On the bottom of the card stock, have kids write “REAL OR IMITATION? DON’T BE FOOLED. JESUS IS THE REAL THING.”
- Invite kids to take their “Money-Maker Craft” home to remind them they can’t get rich with fake money, just like their hearts can’t be rich without Jesus.
Prayer
Jesus’ Sandals Prayers
- Have kids form a circle.
- Explain to kids that one at a time, they will silently pray for the child to their right.
- When finished with each prayer, the child will say “Jesus is the one and only Son of God” as he or she pretends to untie the sandal or shoe of the child receiving the prayer.
PRAY: Dear God, we know Jesus is so great that we are not even worthy to untie His sandals. Help us to remember there is no substitute for Jesus. We want to follow Him in all that we do. In Jesus’ name, amen.
