Week 31 · about 45 minutes
John Prepares the Way
Matthew 3 · Memory verse Mark 1:3
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Queues the lesson plan, a coloring page from this part of the Bible (A Dove at the River), the related word search and answer key (Names of Jesus), the memory-verse tracer, and a parent slip.
Five-minute object lesson
Prop: a paper road
Hold up a paper road. In about five minutes, tell the class this: John the Baptist calls people to turn around and get ready for Jesus. Show the prop and ask, “What does this have to do with John Prepares the Way?” Let two children answer. Then read Mark 1:3 together: “the voice of one crying in the wilderness, ‘Make ready the way of the Lord! Make his paths straight!’”” Close by asking one child to say the lesson back in their own words, using the prop.
Story script
John lived simply in the wilderness, and crowds walked out to hear him. He did not dress to impress. His message was clear: turn from your sins, because the kingdom of heaven has come near. People confessed the wrong they had done, and John baptized them in the Jordan River as a sign of a washed, ready heart.
Some people wanted the honor of looking religious without changing. John told them that real fruit matters more than a famous family name. He said someone greater was coming, and he was not worthy to carry that person’s sandals. John’s job was to prepare the way, not to be the way.
Getting ready for Jesus looks like honesty. It is sweeping the path: saying sorry, making a wrong right, and watching for the King. John was happy to point past himself.
Before you sleep, you can make a straight path in your own heart. Tell God one thing you want to turn from, and thank him that Jesus is the greater one John promised.
Group game
Smooth the paper road by moving blocks out of the way. Say one thing that helps a friend come closer to Jesus.
Craft
Draw John by the river and a clear path. Write prepare the way.
Memory verse
Mark 1:3
“the voice of one crying in the wilderness, ‘Make ready the way of the Lord! Make his paths straight!’””
Take-home prayer
Lord, prepare my heart. Help me turn from what is wrong and welcome Jesus with a straight, honest path. Amen.