The Road To Emmaus (Luke 24:13-35)/What Does Jesus Look Like?

Most people have in their minds a preconceived image of Jesus. Typically, it's a Caucasian man with long-ish brown hair, wearing some kind of robe/toga type of clothing. Two truths, however, are that A) we don't really know what Jesus looked like because there are no photos or descriptions of his physical appearance and B) based on the region of the world where he lived, he probably was NOT Caucasian with blue eyes and light hair. (If you google "images of Jesus" as I suggest below, you will see that the vast majority portray him as a fair skinned, blue-eyed, rather svelte man.) 

Like most things, though, children want a picture of Jesus to associate with the man they learn about in bible stories. Often, the image they conjure is either one of a man who looks similar to other men in their lives or an image presented to them by books, television, etc. 

As adults, we are expected to have the answers and can find it hard to let that answer be, "I don't know." When it comes to the question of what Jesus looked like, though, that is precisely the answer we should give because it is the truth.   

The story of the Road to Emmaus is a great reminder of this, I think. In the story, Jesus resurrected walks alongside Cleopas and another man who certainly should have recognized Jesus, but did not. Their lack of recognition is a great segue into disucssing Jesus' appearance to children.

Recently, when I did a children's sermon on this, I "googles" some images of Jesus. Without telling the children who it was, I showed them a few and asked if they recognized the man in the picture. 

I showed the pictures int his order with the LEAST recognizable ones first:

1. Through advances in forensic science, an anthropologist proposed this image as that of a typical Galilean man. 
2. I like to call this one "movie star Jesus"
3. An African American image of Jesus
4. A little closer to the "typical" depiction of Jesus
5. The "status quo" blue-eyed, fair skinned Jesus

When I showed these pictures to the children, a few guessed the next to last was Jesus and they all said the last one was Jesus. However, they did not recognize the others as being Christ and even said the first one (probably the most culturally accurate) looked scary and mean. 

After that, I explained that there is no description of Jesus in the bible, so we really don't know what he looked like. I told them that it's okay to think about what He might have looked like and that we all might see something different in our minds when we think about it. I told them that I like to "see" Jesus in other people by noticing when people are kind or helpful - when people show love the way Jesus did. Even if we don't exactly know what Jesus looked liked, we know what he would have wanted to see in us and we can try to show Jesus to other people through our actions. 

Jesus Calms The Storm (Mark 4:35-41)

Today, I had one of my regular Wednesday morning chapel services with the preschoolers from our half day program. One things I love about kids (and something that makes other people uncomfortable) is that you just never quite know what they are going to say! As they were leaving today, I was bombarded with sweet, knee-level hugs. Then, one little boy (about three years old) asked,"Are you Jesus?" Before I could even answer, a little girl in his class piped up, "No! She's God!" Ha!! I explained that I was neither Jesus nor God, but I knew about them both and like helping kids learn about them, too. 

I guess, maybe, their question was understandable since I had just led them in creating and calming a storm - like Jesus! 😉

I love teaching children this story because it is one they can really relate to - which is not always the case with some of the more abstract bible stories and very concrete-minded little ones. However, almost all kids have experienced a thunderstorm and I would venture to say that most young children are at least a little scared of them. So, they can understand that the disciples were scared when they heard the thunder, saw the lightening, and felt their boat rocking and rolling in the waves. 

They can also understand the aspect of something that brings them comfort when they are scared - maybe a teddy bear, a special blanket, a pet, or a parent. So, I am able to correlate that to the way Jesus brought comfort to the disciples - he calmed the storm which also calmed the people's fears.

Giving young children the opportunity to move and/or participate in the story is a great way to grab their attention, to get them excited about what they are hearing, and help them remember what they have heard. So, here is a great, fun way to tell this story. 

This part is optional, but I like to begin by playing the sounds of thunderstorm for the children. You can find CD's with these sound effects, easily download a thunderstorm track, or even play one via YouTube. (THIS is video and sound of a storm at sea you could even show them.)

After listening to the storm sounds, I tell the kids that the bible story we are going to hear is about a big thunderstorm and that we are going to make our own storm with our bodies. Here's how you do that:

1. Begin by leading the children in rubbing their hands together (as if warming them up). 
2. Then, have children tap two fingers (index and middle) on the palm of their opposite hand. (Older children can snap their fingers, but young children do not have the dexterity to do this.)
3. Getting louder! Now, begin fully clapping hands.
4. Then, pat thighs using both hands.
5. Add some stomping for thunder!
6. Now, reverse! Do it all backwards to represent the storm calming down. 

Confused? Here is a YouTube video of some children doing a version of that might help to offer a better example. 😊

If time permits, I like to have the children make the storm once. Then I tell the story. After that, we make the storm again and I interject repeated bits of the story such as, "Oh, the rain is getting harder and I bet the disciples are getting worried!" or "Wow! It's a really big storm now and their boat is rocking on the waves!" and "Okay! Jesus is awake and the storm is beginning to clam down just like he told it to!" 
It's really a fun one to do and the kids always love it!  Do you have any fun ideas for engaging kids in this story?

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! 😊

Sink or Float: Jesus Walks On Water (John 6:16-25)

Each week, I lead a preschool chapel lesson with three, four, and five year olds from our church's half-day preschool program. It's truly the highlight of my week!

Last week in preschool chapel, I was teaching story of Jesus walking on water. I needed an attention grabber/demonstration that would incorporate water, but not get all the children wet! I went with an old standard - the sink or float game! 

To start with, I had a clear plastic tub filled about halfway with water. In a separate container, I brought several different objects that would be familiar to the children and made sure to include some items that would float and some that would sink. Some item suggestions are:

• wooden blocks (one big one and one small one)
• crayon
• marker
• cookie cutter
• plastic animal
• pencil
• small ball
• paper clip
• rock
• Legos
• keys
• toy food
• stuffed animal (if it can get wet)
• coins
• toy person (such as a Barbie doll)

I started by telling the kids we were going to play a game. I told them I would hold up an item and I wanted them to show me "thumbs up" if they thought it would float on top of the water or "thumbs down" if they thought it would sink to the bottom. I went through each item, holding it up, waiting for their response, and then testing it out. 

Shown are a metal cookie cutter, green block, rubber duck, and marker.

I used the toy person last. Then, I asked them what would happen if a real person tried to stand on top of the water. Many of them said, "He would swim!" Several, however, said the person would sink. Then, I told them the story of Jesus walking on water and Peter coming out to meet him.

Of course, the whole point of this particular bible story is to remind us that we need to keep our faith in God - when our faith waivers (like Peter's), we start to "sink." The concept of faith, however is difficult for really young children to understand. It's too abstract. So, I simply explained it by saying that when we forget Jesus loves us and is with us, we get in trouble - like Peter. But, if we remember Jesus loves us, we will be safe. 

In chapel, we don't do any crafts or activity sheets, but if you are doing this lesson in another context, here are some links to a few resources that might be helpful:

• Word Search
• Fill-in-the-Blank Decoder Activity
• Maze
• Find the Differences Pictures
• Some group Activities/Games

What creative ideas and activities do yo have for this lesson? 

Blessings,
Lisa
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