On the Road to Emmaus
Group Activities

Sermon Title: "On the Road to Emmaus"or "Open Our Eyes, Lord"

Scripture Reading: Luke 24:13-35

"SEEING" our Bible Verse:

Write the Bible verse, "Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him." (Luke 24:31a) in very small print on several pieces of paper on the wall of the classroom. Give each child a turn at using binoculars from across the room to find and read the Bible verse on one of those small pieces of paper. (If children are too young to read, they can use the binoculars to find the word JESUS written in tiny print somewhere on the classroom wall.)

"SEEING" our Bible lesson:

After the story today has been told, the teacher will bring the children to a designated area and ask them questions about the story that they'll need to find with the binoculars. (The answers will be written in VERY small print around the room for children to find and read with their binoculars.

"SEEING" Game:

Give each child an opportunity to DO SOMETHING while the other children observe them and try to detect what they are doing. (Suggest to the children that they do SMALL motions such as wink an eye, move one finger, move a toe, wiggle an ear, wag their tongue.) When a child feels he can guess, he says, "I SEE, I SEE"! If children can not guess what the other child is doing after several tries, then the children will "need help in seeing", just as was taught in our lesson today.

SEEING outside:

If weather permits and the teacher chooses to allow for outside time for class, the children can take turns using a binocular to SEE THINGS far away that they have never seen or noticed before. The BIBLE VERSE today could be shared outside and written in various colors of CHALK on the parking lot.

CHALK "SEEING":

Take the children outside and let them draw a big pair of eye glasses on the parking lot before the teacher begins the Bible lesson. After the lesson, have a discussion about what the disciples had trouble seeing and understanding in today's lesson.

BIBLE VERSE HUNT:

This activity can be done indoors or outdoors. The teacher will have words from today's Bible Verse written on several pictures or drawings of eye glasses. These will be hidden and the children try to find the glasses with words from the Bible verse on them and put them in order. The children will then try to memorize the verse together.

EYE SEEING CHART:

Let the children make an EYE CHART, similar to one in a eye doctor's office. The letters on the first line will be BIG, the letters on the second line will be a little smaller, the letters on the 3rd line will be a little smaller. The TITLE might be "SEEING JESUS". The teacher might write the words on a chalk board for the children to copy. Suggestions: JESUS HELPS US TO SEE AND UNDERSTAND OUR LIVES, or JESUS HELPS ME UNDERSTAND MORE CLEARLY WHEN I AM CONFUSED, or JESUS HELPS ME SEE THAT HE LOVES ME AND THERE IS NOTHING TO FEAR! For younger children, the teacher can have the letters lightly drawn for the children to trace over the above words on their eye charts!

"SEEING" MINI TREATS:

The teacher will hide very small pieces of candy that the children may have to try HARD to "SEE" the treats with or without the help of binoculars!

WALKING WITH JESUS:

Have the children cut out several tracings of feet and give them to a helper who can put these cut out "feet" on a long path around a designated area. At the end of the "feet path", the children will read what is written on the final FOOT drawing—which could be today's Bible verse, or just the word JESUS!

JESUS JEWELRY:

Give the children letter beads and a bracelet ribbon or plastic thread, to string a bracelet that can say, FOLLOW JESUS or I SEE JESUS to wear as a witness for Jesus and to tell others about today's story!

GRAHAM CRACKER ROAD:

For a story snack today, let children spread peanut butter on some graham crackers and sprinkle with cookie crumbs to represent a road with dirt on it. Gummy bears or something similar could be used to represent people walking on that graham cracker "road" if desired!

Song: "Open My Eyes that I May See" by Clara H. Scott

Words and Music (pdf)

MP3 Piano Accompaniment - (Two measures introduction and sing twice.)