Lesson 1: Jesus arrives in Jerusalem.
Passage: Matthew 21:1-11 - Jesus arrives in Jerusalem with his followers and requests for a donkey to be brought to him, so he can ride into the city on it. This was in fulfillment of the prophesy that the Messiah (promised king and saviour) of Israel would come to them riding on a donkey. A large crowd had gathered at the city gates and were spreading cloaks and palm leaves on the ground in front of Jesus, shouting praises to him as he passed.
Big Idea: Jesus is God’s promised king.
For Teachers:
Lesson plan.
-
Welcome Activity: (5 minutes) - All leaders
Greet the children with the iPad roster outside the classroom door. Check-in the children in your classroom as they arrive.
Invite the children in to sit in a circle on the circle time rug.
Once everyone has arrived introduce yourselves and explain what they will be doing today.
Circle Time Question: Ask them to share what their favourite animal is?
Body Break Activity: — (3 minutes) Animal Freeze Dance
Select Animal Freeze Dance video from Playlist
Transition to Bible Lesson (2 minutes)
That was amazing kids! You guys have great animal moves.
Now it’s time to have a seat, can you let me know you are ready to listen by giving a thumbs up?
Great work, let’s begin…
Bible Lesson: (8 minutes)
Preliminary Discussion — Bible Story Leader
Well today our bible story has an animal in it. Do you have any guesses on what kind of animal it is? (a donkey)
Today we will be talking about how Jesus entered Jerusalem riding on a donkey! Let’s read our story and find out more…
Read Storybook bible story - The triumphal entry.Good listening kids, let’s watch our video and see how it connects with our story.
Play video - Easter Stories with Nana Alex Lesson 3 Jesus enters Jerusalem
Video Lesson — Bible Story Leader
Follow Up Discussion — Bible Story Leader
Why do you think everyone was so excited when Jesus came to the city of Jerusalem?
(They thought Jesus would be their new king)
If you heard that Jesus was coming here to our city would you be really excited too?
Do you think you and your family would be celebrating and going to see what was happening?
Before we do our craft and play time let me pray for us. Let’s close our eyes and talk to God…
Prayer — Bible Story Leader
“Dear God, thank you for the story we heard today about how Jesus came to Jerusalem and all the people were praising him, because they knew that he was the promised King. Please help us to keep on learning about Jesus and following his example, so that we can also help to spread God’s kingdom on the earth - by showing God’s love and goodness to everyone around us. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”
Activity: (10 minutes) Jesus and donkey diorama craft
Kids will colour and decorate paper with stickers and use a glue stick to make their craft 3D.
If a child is uninterested in the activity, allow them to move to free play.
Dismissal: Dismiss children manually with Roster Ipad and make sure each child leaves with their caregiver.
-
Welcome Activity: (5 minutes) - All leaders
Greet the children with the iPad roster at the front of the classroom
Check-in the children in your classroom as they arrive and the children to have a seat on the rug.
Once everyone has arrived introduce yourselves and explain what they will be doing today.
Get to know you Question: Ask them to share what their favourite animal is?
Body Break Activity: (3 minutes) — Animal Freeze Dance
Select Animal Freeze Dance video from Playlist
Transition to Bible Lesson (2 minutes)
That was amazing kids! You guys did great animal moves.
Now it’s time to get ready for our bible story, can you have a seat and let me know you are ready to listen by giving a thumbs up?
Great work, let’s begin…
Bible Lesson: (10 minutes)
Preliminary Discussion — Bible Story Leader
Well today our bible story has an animal in it. Do you have any guesses on what kind of animal it is? (a donkey) Now that it’s almost Easter, and we’ll be learning all about the story of Easter and why it’s so special to us. Let’s read today’s story… (Read the triumphal entry from the story book bible)
Good listening! Now let’s watch our video for today to find out more…
Video Lesson:
Play Breaking News - Jesus arrives in Jerusalem
Follow Up Discussion — Bible Story Leader
Why do you think everyone was so excited when Jesus came to the city of Jerusalem? (They thought Jesus would be there new King)
If you heard that Jesus was coming here to our city would you be really excited too? Do you think you and your family would be celebrating and going to see what was happening?
What do you think the Kingdom of God is like that Jesus promised? Do you think it’s like a castle with kings and queens and princes and princesses? Or is something else?
Thanks for sharing, I love hearing your thoughts about the stories in the bible. Before we move on I am going to pray for us, lets close our eyes, bow our heads and talk to God…
Prayer
“Dear God, thank you for the story we heard today about how Jesus came to Jerusalem and all the people were praising him, because they knew that he was the promised King. Please help us to keep on learning about Jesus and following his example, so that we can also help to spread God’s kingdom on the earth - by showing God’s love and goodness to everyone around us. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”
Activity: (10 minutes) Jesus/donkey diorama craft
Kids will decorate and colour a pre-cut craft with stickers and use a glue stick to make the craft 3d.
Dismissal: Use Roster iPad to dismiss each child and make sure each child leaves with their caregiver.
-
Welcome — (5 minutes)
Introduce yourself, welcome the kids to class. Ask about their weeks.
Warm Up Activity (5 minutes)
Would You rather Animal Edition
Kids will answer animal related would you rather questions from a bowl. Play until everyone has a chance to participate.
Bible Story Lesson: (10 minutes)
Today we are going to be starting a new series about the Good News of Jesus and the story behind Easter. The story of Easter is all about the end of Jesus’ life. It begins when Jesus and his disciples arrived in the city of Jerusalem. Could I get a volunteer to read the bible story?
Bible Reading - Read Matthew 21:1-11
When Jesus and his followers were arriving in the city of Jerusalem, Jesus told two of his followers to go and get a donkey from the village and to bring it back to him. This is because there was a prophet a long time ago who said that the King of Israel would come riding on the back of a donkey. Jesus’ followers did what he said and brought a small donkey to him. Then, as they entered the gates of Jerusalem, a big crowd gathered and started spreading their coats and palm branches on the ground in front of him as he passed by. They were all shouting and praising Jesus, saying, “Hosanna to the Son of King David” and “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.”
Let’s watch our video to find out more about the story…
Video Lesson — Play Breaking News: Jesus arrives in Jerusalem from the playlist.
Follow Up Discussion — Bible Story Leader
In the story there are some Hebrew words that are mentioned, like Messiah and Hosanna. Does anyone know what those words mean?
Messiah - the promised Savior that the Jewish people believed God was spoken about by the prophets in the Old Testament.
Hosanna - a word that means “Save” but is used to express adoration, praise and joy.
So everyone was really excited when Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, because they believed he was the promised Messiah - but they had a little bit of a different idea of what the kingdom of God was than Jesus did. Can anyone think of what they might have been expecting Jesus to do?
What kind of kingdom did Jesus teach his followers that he was going to bring?
We learn in the Bible that Jesus brought the kingdom of God when he came to earth, but it’s not fully here yet and we have to wait until Jesus comes again. What do you think are some things we can do now to be part of what God is doing in the world while we wait for the kingdom of God to fully arrive?
Prayer — Bible Story Leader
“Dear God, thank you for the story we learned today about Jesus entering the city of Jerusalem as the promised King and Messiah. Even though Jesus’ kingdom was not what people were expecting, we know that it is even better than they could even imagine - a world that is made right. And we continue to hope and pray for the day when we will see that kingdom come in fullness. We pray that as we live life in this world, we will see all the different opportunities we have to participate in the work that you’re doing - spreading God’s love, goodness, peace, and justice to those around us, whether in small and big ways. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”
Activity: (10 minutes) Jesus/Donkey Diorama
Kids will colour, cut and paste the pieces to create a 3D craft of today’s bible story.
Dismissal: Dismiss children using iPad roster and make sure each child leaves with their caregiver.
For Parents:
Follow-up questions.
-
What was the story you learned about in class today?
What do you think about Jesus riding into the city on a donkey? How come Jesus didn’t ride on something fancier?
Were the people pretty excited to see him? What did they do to show how excited they were?
What kind of king do you think Jesus is like? What are some ways we can be more like Jesus?
-
What was the story you learned about in class today?
Why do you think Jesus rode into the city on a donkey? What does it say about Jesus that he chose to ride a donkey and not something fancy like a chariot?
Why were the people so excited to see Jesus? Why did they think he was so special?
What kind of king do you think Jesus is like? What are some ways that we can be more like Jesus?
-
What was the story you learned about in class today?
What do you think it means when people say that Jesus is the Messiah?
What do you think it says about what kind of king Jesus is that he came into Jerusalem riding on a donkey and not on a chariot like other kings would?
How would you describe what the kingdom of God is like? What are some ways we can we be part of that kingdom now?
