Jesus is the King Day
1
Opening Skit
R: Good morrow to thee, fair lady.
L: Good morrow to thee, sir.
R: Couldst thou tell me what is this place and what is yon company?
L: Why, certainly. This is ____(town, state) and these children are here for Bible school.
R: ____? (town? state?) I have never heard of such a place. And what is "Bible school"?
L: Bible school is a place where children can come to learn about the High King.
R: The King! I am on a quest to learn about the King!
L: Well, you have come to the right place. Where do you come from, anyway.
R: From
L: But that's in
R: You have said rightly. I was in the service of the earl when Richard was deposed and Henry became king. At that time...
L: Richard! Henry! What are you talking about? If you mean Richard II and Henry IV that was, um, is, um... What year is it?
R: Why, we are in the Year of Our Lord 1402.
L: 1402!
R: ____ (present
year)? Do you mean it is not 1402 and I am not in
L: I'm afraid not, but don't worry. The King will take care of you. Meanwhile, we can help you in your quest and you can help us learn about the Middle Ages.
R: This is most disturbing. Yet methinks I have little choice in the matter unless perchance you know how to return me to mine own century. What are the Middle Ages?
L: When you lived... uh, are living. Actually, from about 500 to about 1500. By the way, what is your name?
R: I am Sir Rupert Hubert Stubert the fourth.
L: Welcome Sir Rupert. Well, will you stay and help us?
R: I am at thy
service, milady.
Jesus is the King Day
1
Bible Lesson
GOD IS KING
Matthew 2:1-11
Lesson Focus
God is the Almighty, High King of Heaven; Jesus, His Son, was born a King; the king has an enemy, Satan; Jesus is a good King, unlike Herod, a bad king; we owe allegiance to King Jesus.
Response
To bow in submission to Jesus the King. [Pray for this; only God can bring about a proper response.]
Memory Verse
Psalm 95:3 - "For the Lord is the great God; the great king above all gods."
Lesson Procedure
1. The King
If possible, hold up a crown or a picture of a king or crown. Ask what a king is (P), what a king is like, and what he does. [He has power, authority, and riches. Hopefully, he is good and wise. He judges his people, leads them, and defends them; write these attributes on the board]. Have your students give examples of kings, fictional or historical. Ask if all kings are good (the mere recognition of the fact they are not is sufficient; try not to get into the implications of obedience to evil authorities at this time, except possibly briefly with K). Ask your students if they know who is the good King who is ruler over all the kings of the world. Present the memory verse at this time. Have different students look up and read at least some of the following verses which speak of God as being King (you may read a verse or two to P): Psalm 47:2; Isaiah 43:15; Psalm 74:12; Psalm 10:16; Psalm 145:1.
2. The Kingdom
(S and K) Every king has a kingdom. A kingdom is where the king reigns, where he has authority. Where is God's kingdom? [The Bible speaks of Christ's kingdom in present and future aspects. He is King now, but someday His reign will be obvious to all and "every knee shall bow."] The King wants to bless the subjects of His kingdom (Matthew 4:23; 10:7-10; Romans 14:17). Although all come under the King's authority, not all have the privileges of being in His kingdom (Ephesians 5:5; Matthew 7:21; 19:23-26; John 3:3). The King tells us how we should respond to Him (John 3:3; Mark 10:14-15; Matthew 6:33).
3. The King's Enemy
Tell your students that the King has an enemy. Ask them who this is [Satan, also called "the dragon" in Revelation 20:2]. Explain that Satan once served the King, but that he rebelled against Him. Satan wants people to serve him instead of God, the true and rightful King. Satan is evil, a liar and a murderer who promises good things to those who follow him, but really will only hurt them, his captives. God is stronger than the dragon, but allows him to live for now.
4. Jesus was born a King (Matthew 2:1-11)
Background
Information - The chief priests and teachers of the law were the religious
authorities of
The
magi (KJV wise men) were
astrologers whose observation of a heavenly phenomenon and perhaps their study
of the Old Testament motivated them to take a lengthy, costly journey to search
for the king they believed had been born in
Herod
the Great (one of several Herods mentioned in
Scripture; he became king 37 B.C.) was a shrewd ruler who engaged in numerous
building projects, including the renovation of the
Introduce this section as follows: "Have you ever read a story about how a king disguised himself, perhaps in beggar's rags, to go and live among his subjects? Did you know that Jesus, the Creator and King of the whole universe, did that? He left heaven, where everything is beautiful and nothing bad ever happens, to live on earth. He did not come as a man to live in a palace, but as a baby born to poor parents. I want to tell you about something that happened, probably when Jesus was about two years old, but before I read the story from God's Word, the Bible, I would like to tell you about the people who will be in today's story."
You may like to have members of your class come up to pretend to be the different characters in Matthew 2. You may use props to add interest [such as a shawl for Mary, scrolls and a star chart for the magi, a crown (it may be cardboard covered with aluminum foil) for Herod and possibly a scepter, scrolls for the priests and teachers of the law and possibly some sort of robes for them and/or other characters; students will enjoy holding or wearing something and standing in front of their peers, but you should keep it simple]. Ask your students if anyone can tell you who Mary was. Ask them what they know about the four other people/groups of people mentioned in the text (Jesus, Herod, chief priests and teachers of the law, and magi). Then give them additional information appropriate to their age level (e.g., P - "Herod was a bad king who would even order people to be killed if he didn't like them; K - as in background information). You need not go into details on Jesus' identity since you will cover His life, death and resurrection tomorrow, but do point out that He is a King (presented in today's text) and that He is God's Son (John 3:16).
Read
Matthew 2:1-11. Ask, "How were the attitudes and actions toward Jesus of
Herod, the priests and teachers of the law, and the magi different? [Herod
hated him and tried to destroy Him. Herod wanted to be king and didn't want
anyone to rule over him. The priests and teachers of the law were very
religious; from their study of Scripture (they quote Micah 5:2) they knew that
a king would be born in nearby
5. Which Side Are You On?
In the Bible story we just read, who do you think were following Satan's ways? Who made Jesus, the true King, their Lord? How about you? Do you want to be on the King's side or the dragon's side? Now wait, wait, wait! Most of you said you want to be on the King's side - but realize, there is a cost. It is worth it, but there is a cost. What did it cost the wise men? [They had to change whatever they usually did to make a long trip with perhaps uncomfortable places to sleep and bad food; the trip may have been dangerous; they had to spend lots of money for the trip and for gifts for the king; others may have laughed at them for taking such a long trip just because they saw something in the sky; Herod could have had them killed]. Do you like to do what you want to do when you want to do it? We all like to be "little kings"; we like to do whatever we want to do and have everyone else serve us and tell us how wonderful we are. If we swear allegiance to the King, Jesus, that means He is the boss of everything in our lives. Whatever He says we must do, even if we don't feel like it. Whenever He says "go," we must go. If the King says, "Help your little brother pick up his toys," you must do it. The King says children must obey their parents, so if your parents say, "Do your homework before you go out," you can't say, "I've just got a few math problems to do so I'll do them later." If the King says, "Be nice to the new kid who's bossy and mean" or "Give the last chocolate chip cookie to your little sister," you must obey. Sometimes doing what the King wants is hard. But God is the King of the universe. He made us, we owe Him everything, and we need to bow before Him and take Him as our King. If anyone would like to talk to me about how you can make Jesus your King, please come to see me when your class has refreshment time [or whatever time you as a teacher are free].
Activity
If you have time, have your class do the following responsive recitation.
Pages: Teacher says the first half and the students respond.
Who made the world? (teacher) Jesus the King (students)
Who's stronger than Satan? Jesus the King
Who is Lord? Jesus the King
To whom should we bow? Jesus the King
Who is Jesus? Jesus is the King!
Squires and Knights: Have your students imagine an ancient walled city with the king coming to rule. Some people are questioning who the king is and others are answering. Have half your class read the words from Psalm 24:7-10 written in regular text and half read the words in italics. Tell them to read in voices of great anticipation as if the King were really coming to the city.
Materials
A crown or picture of a king or crown; props listed under Lesson section #3.
Pages: Tomorrow your students will act out
Jesus' entry into