Does anyone know the special name we use for this Sunday? Allow children to answer. This Sunday is called Palm Sunday. We are going to read about why it’s named Palm Sunday in a minute but before we do I want to talk to you about what happens between Palm Sunday and Easter. Read children “Jesus Gets Ready to Die” from Ralph Milton’s Lectionary Story Bible Year B. It does an excellent job of explaining that Palm Sunday is the beginning of a sad story. Today we are going talk about how the story begins.
Have you ever seen someone important arrive somewhere? Maybe in a movie, or on TV? What was it like when that important person arrived? Allow children to answer. They may describe a movie star on the red carpet or the president’s entourage. When the people see someone important how do they act? Allow children to answer. In Jesus’ time someone really important, like a king or a Roman general, would have ridden into town on a magnificent horse…but Jesus does something different. Let’s read to find out what happened when Jesus came to Jerusalem. Read Mark 11:1-11 from Ralph Milton’s Lectionary Story Bible Year B.
Jesus made a choice to enter into the Jerusalem in a different way than a king or Roman general. What did he do differently? Allow children to answer. Jesus chose to enter into Jerusalem on a donkey. Mark also tells us that Jesus plans to return the donkey to it’s owner. Which is different than what a king or Roman soldier would have done. And yet, as Jesus enters into Jerusalem he is treated like a king. Not because of how Jesus comes into Jerusalem, in fact Mark tells us that Jesus remains silent…Jesus doesn’t ask to be treated like someone special. He is treated like a king by the people! Think back to how important people are treated nowadays. You told me that people scream and cheer and take pictures. I think the people of Jerusalem also screamed and cheered for Jesus. They didn’t take pictures of course, but what did they do? Allow children to answer. They laid down their cloaks and palm branches so that even the donkey would have a soft place to walk. Every year on Palm Sunday we remember that Jesus never asked to be someone important. And yet because of the love he showed everyone, people will always remember him that way. Even now, many Many MANY years later we still lay down Palm leaves to honor Jesus.
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Every Wednesday I share a lesson based on the lectionary. These lessons are meant to be used for a children’s moment (aka children’s sermon, children’s liturgy, children’s church, etc), sunday school, or even as a family devotion in your own home.
I have taken the lesson above and written it into a lesson plan format. I have also added a Respond and Extend section to the downloadable lesson. These are additional ideas for the children to respond to the main lesson and then an extension activity for them to do at a later time. The extension activity includes a handout to send home with directions.
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Have you ever experienced something so amazing that you wish you could just stay in that moment forever, and never go home? Share with the children a time in your life (preferably from your childhood) that you felt that way. It doesn’t have to be deep and meaningful, just a moment that you didn’t want to end. Then allow children to share a few ideas from their lives.
We’ve all been sick before. What happens when you are sick? Can you be with other people when you are sick? Allow children to answer. Help children realize that you may have to stay home from school/church/activities when you are sick, but that they still aren’t totally alone. In our community, when we get sick there are people to help us. Like our parents, or grandparents, doctors and nurses. You usually have to stay home from school/church/activities when you are sick so that you don’t spread germs, but your family is still there to take care of you. But in Jesus time if you were sick you weren’t allowed to be around anyone. You couldn’t be a part of the community anymore.
I bet you have been sick before right? At this time of year, it seems like people get sick a lot! When you feel sick is there anyone that helps you feel better? Allow children to share who helps them to feel better when they are sick. What does your {Mom, Dad, etc} do to help you feel better? As children share focus your response on anything done with hands. So if the child says something like, “My mom hugs me” you might say, “That must feel good when your Mom uses her hands to hold you tight.”
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Have you ever been taught something that was confusing to you? How did you figure it out? Did someone explain the idea to you in a simpler way that helped it make more sense? Who was it that helped you figure it out? Allow children to share examples of who helped them. Perhaps a teacher, a parent, a friend…
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How many of you have ever been fishing? Who can tell me how to catch a fish? Allow children to answer with basic steps of fishing (pole, place something on a hook, cast line into water, wait, reel in fish, etc).
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I bet you’ve all taken a bath before. Right? Why do we take baths? Allow children to answer. That’s right…we take baths to get clean. How many of you know what it means to be baptized? How is being baptized different than taking a bath? Allow children to share ideas about ways that baths and baptism are different. Acknowledge their comparisons but don’t correct or clarify any of them just yet.
All of this can be yours for less than a dollar!! Just click the Add to Cart button to download your copy today! Payments can be made with Paypal, Google Checkout, or you can enter your credit card as a Paypal guest (no account required). Once you have made your purchase an email will be sent to you with download directions.