Four Friends (Mark 2:1-12)

This stroy is one that is frequently included in children's curriculum and with good reason. It's a great story. When using it with children there are several different themes you could focus on. 

Of course, there is the theme of friendship. The four friends were so determined to get their paralyzed buddy to Jesus that they went to great lengths to do it.

There is also the fact that the people in the house did not believe that Jesus was God. Therefore, they did not believe he could heal the man. Obviously, he proved them wrong. 

Lastly, it is a story of faith - the faith the friends had in Jesus, the faith the paralyzed man had in Jesus and in his friends, and the faith the people did not have in Jesus' power. 

A few years ago, I was looking for a creative way to tell this story and stumbled across this YouTube Video. It was such a creative yet simple way to tell the story. I used this example and assembled my own "magic storyteller" using four bright yellow sentence strips and a few brads.  

(By the way - This is not me in the video and I take no credit for this amazing creativity!)

Wasn't that cool??? I've done this a few times now and, every time, the children and the grownups are all amazed - which is crazy because it really is so simple! 

Here is a link to a printable version as well. Give it a try and your kids will think you're magic, too! 😊