Time
30 minutes
Description
This lesson teaches that the most important question to answer correctly in this life is the question Jesus asked of His disciples, “Who do you say I am?” Answering that question correctly changes who we are and makes us children of God, and who we are to God matters even more than what we do in this life.
Scriptures
- Matthew 16:13-18
- John 1:42
- 2 Corinthians 5:17
- 1 Peter 2:9-10
Materials
- The following supporting materials can be found at www.teachingthem.comon the Lesson and Material Downloads page.
- “Dot and the Line, The (OBJ LESSON)” (Object lesson that you will teach in the middle of this lesson to explain the difference between our life on earth and eternity. There are a few optional supplies you might want to gather for this part of the lesson that are mentioned in the document.)
- “Who and the Do, The – Signs” (This file also includes a slide with one of the main teaching points. You can project this if you are using PowerPoint.)
- Bible
Preparation
- Print out “The Dot and the Line” object lesson, and review it to make sure you are ready to teach it.
- Gather any props for “The Dot and the Line” if you intend to use them.
- Print out the “WHO” and “DO” signs.
- Put markers in the Bible in the place where you want your volunteers to read the Scriptures for the lesson.
- Practice the script.
Procedure
- “Jesus asked his disciples a very important question one day. ‘Who do people say that I am?’ (Have volunteer read Matthew 16:13-14.)
- “They replied, ‘Some say John the Baptist.’”
- “That was strange. How could Jesus be John the Baptist? John the Baptist was a good friend of Jesus’, but he had been killed by an evil king named Herod not long before.”
- “Even if it were possible for people to come back from the dead, Jesus couldn’t have been John the Baptist, because they lived at the same time.”
- “Then they said, ‘Some say you are Elijah or Jeremiah or one of the prophets.’”
- “All these people were dead long before, but they had all been godly men who had shared God’s word. Elijah was even able to do miracles like Jesus.”
- “They thought Jesus might be one of these people because of all the miracles they saw Him do and the truth they heard Him speak.”
- “Then Jesus asked them an even more important question.” (Have volunteer read Matthew 16:15)
- “Jesus asked them, ‘Who do you say I am?’”
- “This is the most important question you will ever answer in your entire lives!”
- “It’s more important than questions on a test at school.”
- “It’s more important than questions your parents ask you.”
- “It’s more important than a question a police officer or a fireman might ask you.”
- “It’s even more important than a question a game show host would ask you if you were about to win $1 million!”
- “Touch your neighbor, and say, ‘Man! That IS an important question!’”
- “This question is so important, because it determines where you will spend eternity.”
- “And maybe you’re thinking, ‘Huh? What’s eternity?’”
- “I’m glad you asked! Let me show you!”
- (Facilitate “The Dot and the Line” object lesson.)
- “So what was the question that I said was so important?” (Expected response: “Who do you say Jesus is?”)
- “Right! And our friend Peter is going to help us with the right answer.” (Have a volunteer read Matthew 16:16.)
- “Who is Jesus?” (Expected response: “The Christ, the Son of the living God.”)
- “What does that mean? Does anyone know what a Christ is?” (Expected responses: “Savior, Expected Deliverer, Messiah”)
- “He was the One that the Jews had been waiting for! The One the Scriptures talked about!”
- “He was the One who they expected to be their King!”
- “That’s the right answer to the question, ‘Who do you say Jesus is?’”
- “Jesus is our Savior, our Lord, our King and our God.”
- “If you get this answer right, it will make your Dot better and your Line very, very good.”
- “Jesus was really happy that Peter got the question right.” (Have volunteer read Matthew 16:17-18.)
- “This is not the first time Jesus has given Simon the name Peter, remember.” (He also did it in John 1:42.)
- “Jesus said Peter was a ‘rock,’ because he wanted him to become someone all the others could depend on – someone who was strong and unmovable in his dedication to God.”
- “And you know, Simon is not the only one who got a new name in the Bible.”
- “Can anyone remember any of the others who got new names?” (Expected responses: “Saul-Paul, Abram-Abraham, Jacob-Israel, Sarai-Sarah…”)
- “The Bible says, ‘Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!’” (2 Corinthians 5:17)
- “When God changes your name, it’s because He sees you as He knows you will be, not as what you currently are.”
- “Peter didn’t act like a ‘rock’ when Jesus gave him his new name. It took many years for him to change.”
- “But God looks past your behaviors to your relationship to Him.”
- “He cares more about your WHO than what you DO.” (Invite two volunteers to the front and give one the “WHO” sign and one the “DO” sign. It might be better to have one girl and one boy for comedic effect because you will be giving them a big hug a few times that squishes them together.)
- “Touch a neighbor and say, ‘He’s cares more about my WHO than what I DO!’” (Point to each volunteer as you mention their sign.)
- “No matter what bad stuff you DO, God will always love you because of WHO you are to Him.” (Point to each volunteer as you mention their sign.)
- “Before you ask Jesus into your heart, you are God’s incredible creation, and He loves you because of that.”
- “But after you ask Jesus into your heart, you become a son or daughter of God! A child of the King! A prince or a princess! You’re royalty!”
- “Turn around and tell somebody, ‘I’m royalty!’” (You may want to have a volunteer read 1 Peter 2:9-10.)
- “When you ask Jesus into your heart, you move from being someone who isn’t one of God’s people to someone who is one of God’s people. That’s SO awesome!”
- “Now just because God cares about your WHO more than what you DO doesn’t mean that He doesn’t care at all about what you DO.” (Point to each volunteer as you mention their sign.)
- “He does care a lot.”
- “He says that because of your new WHO (child of God) when you accept Jesus as your Lord, what you DO should get better and better every day.” (Point to each volunteer as you mention their sign.)
- “Peter didn’t act like a ‘rock’ when Jesus gave Him the name, but Jesus expected him to work toward becoming more and more like a rock every day.”
- “And the same is true for you.”
- “Children of the King act in a different way that those who aren’t children of the King.”
- “The King expects more out of you.”
- “That means that you have to follow your leader – DO what you see Him doing in the Bible.”
- “You won’t be perfect. You’ll make lots of mistakes, but keep trying every day.”
- “You goal is to make what you DO match your WHO.” (Bring your two volunteers close together, and give them a big squeeze for comedic effect.)
- “When they don’t match (push volunteers apart) people get confused.”
- “They say, ‘I thought he was a child of the King, but he’s telling lies.’ or, ‘I thought she was royalty, but she is acting nasty to her friends.’”
- “It’s hard for them to understand how your WHO and what you DO can be so different.” (Point to each volunteer as you mention their sign.)
- “So bring those two together (bring volunteers in close for another big hug!) so that no one will be confused.” (Thank and dismiss your volunteers.)
- “Touch your neighbor, and say, ‘I’m gonna make what I DO match my WHO!’”
- “And what is your WHO again?” (Expected response: “Child of the King or Child of God!”)
- “So remember, the most important thing in life is WHO you say Jesus is.”
- “If you get that right, it will change your WHO forever and make you a Child of God.”
- “And every day, we should work at making what we DO match our new WHO!” (You might want to reinforce the lesson by having everyone saying the Rhyme Time below several times.)
Rhyme Time
When I trust in Jesus
He changes my WHO.
Now I try every day
To improve what I DO.
Teach Them 