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21th week of our Journey - LIGHT - Let your Light shine

This week’s destination: LET YOUR LIGHT SHINE
• Let your light shine before men
• Parable of the Good Samaritan

MATERIALS:
Hankies for the robbers. Sticks. Wraps, prayer shall, sash, rags, bottle of oil, bandages, coins, Jesus crown. Print lyrics and music sheets. 2 Candles, 2 plastic water bottles with the bottom cut off and the candles placed in the bottle like a candle holder. Two flashlights one of the flashlights should be covered over with masking tape so that the light is hidden. Basket or bucket. Cloth wraps to help with the costumes for the dramatizations. White cloth torn into strips to make bandages.

AS KIDS ARRIVE PRIOR TO THE LESSON:
Welcome Teacher/Trainers, Trainers and students. Get the kids to start colouring the Visual Aids needed.

1. OPENING GAME: (10 minutes)
Tell the children that you are going to read some statements that might be ways to shine in the world and show love to those around you. Ask them to stand if they agree. If they disagree they should sit down with arms crossed. Relate each example to being shining lights and the idea of loving your neighbour and doing good deeds.
*We don’t need to help people if we are watching TV.
*We should be extra nice to kids at school who have trouble making friends or who are different to us.
*We should obey our parents right away.
Make up more questions to get the children standing up and sitting down in response making it into a fun game.

2. TEAM GAMES: (10 minutes)
Have the group split into two teams, divide each team placing them at each side of the room. Light the two candles within the plastic bottles. The aim is to run across the room with your lighted candle without it blowing out and hand it over to your team member and say “Let your light shine” who runs back and hands it over to another member of the team and says “Let your light shine” the game is over when one team has successfully handed over the candle to every member of the team, they then all shout “Let your light shine” .

3. ACTIVE PRAISE CHORUS: (10 minutes)

This Little Light of Mine

This little light of mine
I'm going to let it shine
(Repeat three times)
Let it shine, all the time, let it shine

Hide it under a bushel? No!
I'm going to let it shine
(Repeat three times)
Let it shine, all the time, let it shine.

Don't let Satan [blow] it out!
I'm going to let it shine
(Repeat three times)
Let it shine, all the time, let it shine

Let it shine till Jesus comes
I'm going to let it shine
(Repeat three times)
Let it shine, all the time, let it shine

4 . INTIMATE WORSHIP: (5 minutes)
Light of the world (See lyrics and music video)
Prayer: Heavenly Father let our light shine before men, that they may see our good deeds and praise you Heavenly Father. We thank you tat the people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned. Help us to walk in that light, the Light of the World, Jesus.

5. TEACHING:
a. “Back Track”
What is a lamp unto my feet? (Thy Word)
Who is the Light of the World? (Jesus)
Can anyone recall last weeks Bible verse?
(Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path. Psalm 119:105)

b. Sword Play (Give each child a Sword Play track to take home)
Ready…Swords up… Matthew 5:16 … CHARGE
Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven. (Matthew 5:16)

(Dramatization: Child with candle doing good deeds – helping a child that has fallen over, comforting another that is upset etc – they all at the end praise God in Heaven.)

c. Teach the Lesson (15 minutes)
Introduction: Turn on a torch and try to blow it out it obviously does not blow out. Hey! I couldn't blow out this torch! I tried, but it just kept shining. Does Satan ever try to blow your light out? If you make up your mind to let your light shine for Jesus, there is no way that Satan can blow it out because the Bible says, "Greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world." Jesus is your light. Lift him up high because Jesus said, "If I be lifted up, I will draw all men to me."

Today I brought in two flashlights. (One of the flashlights should be covered over with masking tape so that the light is hidden) Imagine if I had to find some people who were lost out in the dark of night. Which of these flashlights would you rather have? Why? (Let children discuss) Remember Jesus told his disciples to “Let your light shine before others that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.” When we live in the light and love of Jesus our lives are like a light that shines out for all to see. That reminds me of this flashlight here. On the other hand, if we don’t shine the light and love of Jesus to others and just think about ourselves then we are like this flashlight that’s covered with tape. Children, since we want to be like this flashlight let’s ask God to help us live the way he wants us to live; then the love of Jesus will shine through us light a bright light!
Extracts from www.sundaychildrensfocus.com

Have a lit candle hidden under a basket or bucket. Just like a candle can light your way in the dark, Jesus says that Christians are to be like lights in the world. He says in Matthew 5:14-16, “don’t hide your light under a basket! Instead, put it on a stand and let it shine for all.” (Now uncover the candle.)

Jesus doesn’t want us to keep our Christianity a secret. He wants us to tell others about Him! And do you know what the best way is to tell others about Him? It’s to do good to others. What are some ways we can do good? (Allow for answers: love others, help people, smile, be kind, etc).

In the Bible Jesus tells a story about doing good it is called the parable of the Good Samaritan. Choose a narrator and have the children act out today's Good Samaritan story with the man travelling from Jerusalem to Jericho and being attacked by robbers.

Some children could be the robbers. (With hankies covering their nose and mouth armed with sticks.)

One child can be the priest who crossed over to the other side of the road and continued on his way. (Wrap around waist and prayer shall over his head)

One child acting the Levite who ignored the hurt man. (Wrap around waist and sash)

One child can be the GOOD SAMARITAN and one could be the innkeeper if there are enough children.

One person can be Jesus telling the story and asking the final question. "Which of these three men was a neighbour to the man who was attacked by the robbers."

One child can be the lawyer who answered, "The one who helped him."

The world is full of people today who are in desperate need of a neighbour. "Won't you be my neighbour?" they ask. Just as the good Samaritan in the story helped the one in need, Jesus says to you and me, "Go and do the same."

Extracts from www.sermons4kids.com

Some individuals who were very religious didn’t want to get too involved in helping another in need. The Samaritan showed true love when he was willing to take some risks and get his hands dirty by helping out the dying man. The Israelites hated the Samaritans. The Samaritans were a different race of people (of Israelites married to Canaanites). The Israelites looked down on the Samaritans.

They despised them and wouldn’t even speak to them on the street. (Acts 10:28) If we learn to hate people because they look different from us, then we think we are better than others because of our race. This is called racism. Jesus taught that this is wrong. It must have made the teachers mad to hear Jesus make a person that they hated the “good guy” in this story. Our race does not matter to God. We should be willing not only to help people in need, but also learn to love all people as God does. The Samaritan didn’t think he was better than others. He didn’t think he was too good to help. He showed mercy to the beaten stranger and treated him like a neighbour. This is how Jesus turns the ways of the world upside-down. He teaches us to love our enemies, to love all people, and not just to love those that look and act and think as we do.

Extracts from www.childrensermons.com

6. APPLICATION / ENCOUNTERING GOD: Refer to our Encountering God Handbook for ideas for this important section of the session. Experience the Holy Spirit Learning Centers creating an atmosphere for this experience.

Get the children to come forward and start doing kind things to encourage each other.

CLOSING PRAYER: Let us pray like King David in Psalm 18:28 Lord, keep my lamp burning.

Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for sending Jesus to be the Light of the World. May we lift Him up and let His light shine through us. Jesus told us in Matthew 5:14 “You are the light of the world.” So let our light shine before others, that they may see our r good deeds and glorify our Father in heaven. May our lights shine like starts in the universe. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.

TAKE HOME PAGE:
Optional: ‘Take Home Quiz’ books are available for the children at the end of this session.

NEXT WEEK:
We will learn about reflecting the love of Christ

CLICK to view Session #22.