Jesus Wants Me for a

Sunbeam “Let your Light so Shine!”

A Study of the New Testament for Children

“Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam” – Page ii

“Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam”

A study of the New Testament for Children

© 2015 by Julianne S. Kimber

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Except for immediate family members,

no portion of this book may be published in any manner,

printed or electronically, only by permission from

the author.

Published by

Textbook Publishers

“Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam” – Page iii

Dear Parents and Teachers,

Welcome to “Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam – A study of the New Testament for Children.” You will find this to be a unique and exciting way to teach Jesus’ teachings and His life to children. It is based on what we call “hook dates.” Hook Dates are ten major dates that correlate with the life and times of Jesus and the children will be building their knowledge about Him as they learn about those ten major dates. The hook dates and teachings in this manual are taken from the writings of Reverend Bob Smith and the late Rev. Donald N. Sills. They created a manual for older age groups covering the same hook dates, called “The New Testament – a Perspective Study.” We have used some of their materials to create a younger version of that information so that children can learn the significance as well as the details of the most important Life ever lived on the face of the earth. These lessons are based on a three-day a week schedule, and are designed to be approximately 45 minutes. As parent or teacher, you will be going through the hook dates three times during the school year. Each time through, a different emphasis will be discussed with each hook date. The children will learn Christian doctrine as well as historical facts and stories of the New Testament. For simplicity, the King James Version (KJV) of the Bible is used for this manual. The children will be learning and memorizing the hook-dates by using the metaphor of a Christmas tree. The tree has ten branches – one for each “hook date.” The children will be decorating their own the tree with ornaments which represent the various key personalities and events that belong to that branch – or date. As they learn about each date and how it relates to the life of Jesus, the children will end up with a beautifully decorated tree, with a star at the top. The children will even learn about different gifts from the heart that they can give to Jesus and place under their hook date tree. In addition to learning about Jesus, it is hoped that the children will want to be more like Him by becoming His “sunbeam” – shining for Him each day. “I’ll Be a Sunbeam” is the theme song for the entire study, and the children will enjoy singing it often and learning how they can be a sunbeam by giving their hearts to Jesus. We hope you will enjoy teaching from this manual and that love for our Savior will grow in the hearts of the children as they come to know Him and serve Him with each lesson. Thank you for using this manual for your little ones.

“Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam” – Page iv

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PART 1 – INTRODUCTORY LESSONS………..…………………………………………………..….Page 1

LESSON 1 – Jesus Wants Me For a Sunbeam

LESSON 2 – What is in the New Testament?

LESSON 3 –The Eight Authors of the New Testament

LESSON 4 – Building a Christmas Tree With Hook Dates

LESSON 5 – Ornaments on the Christmas Tree (Key Personalities)

LESSON 6 – More Ornaments and Gifts Under the Tree (Key Events)

PART 2 – HOOK DATES LESSONS ………..……………………………………………………….….Page 33

Hook Date 750 B.C. – Isaiah – Prophecies ……………..………………………..……..…..….Page 35

LESSON 7 –PART 1: Isaiah Sees the Birth of Jesus in Vision

LESSON 8 –PART 2: Isaiah Sees the Life of Jesus in Vision

LESSON 9 –PART 3: Isaiah Sees the Second Coming of Jesus in Vision

Hook Date 63 B.C. – Pompey – Rome Conquers Israel…………………………………..…Page 49

LESSON 10 – PART 1: Pompey Fulfills Part of Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream LESSON 11 – PART 2: Roman Law vs People’s Law in Palestine (Israel)

LESSON 12 – PART 3: How Pompey Conquered Palestine (Israel)

Hook Date ½ B.C. – John the Baptist – Forerunner ……………………………………..…..Page 65

LESSON 13 – PART 1: John’s Miraculous Birth

LESSON 14 – PART 2: Miracle at the Temple

LESSON 15 – PART 3: John Baptizes at the River Jordan

Hook Date – 0 – Jesus – Birth ……………………………………………………………..…………….Page 81

LESSON 16 -- PART 1: The Big Announcement

LESSON 17 – PART 2: A New Star, Shepherds and Angels

LESSON 18 – PART 3: Gifts for Jesus and a Narrow Escape

Hook Date A.D. 12 –In the Temple …………………………………………….……………………….Page 99

LESSON 19 -- PART 1: The Son of God Goes Missing!

LESSON 20 – PART 2: “Increasing in Favor with God and Man”

LESSON 21 – PART 3: Obedience and the Missing Years of Jesus

“Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam” – Page v

Hook Date A.D. 30 – Jesus Age 30 – His Ministry ……………………………………..………Page 113

LESSON 22 -- PART 1: Jesus in the Wilderness – Temptation #1

LESSON 23 – PART 2: Jesus in the Wilderness – Temptation #2

LESSON 24 – PART 3: Jesus in the Wilderness – Temptation #3

LESSON 25 – PART 4: Jesus Calls His Apostles

LESSON 26 – PART 5: Jesus, the Master Teacher – Beautification of the Spirit

LESSON 27 – PART 6: Jesus, the Master Healer

Hook Date A.D. 33 – Jesus Age 33 – Death and Resurrection………………………..…..Page 143

LESSON 28 – PART 1: Last Week in the Life of Jesus

Session #1: Jesus Knew This would be his Last Week on Earth

Session #2: Jesus Enters Jerusalem for the Passover

Session #3: Jesus Cleanses the Temple

Session #4: Jesus Answers Questions at the Temple

Session #5: The Passover Feast

Session #6: The Garden of Gethsemane

Session #7: The Betrayal

Session #8: The Illegal Trials of Jesus

LESSON 29 – PART 2: Jesus is Crucified

LESSON 30 – PART 3: Jesus is Resurrected

Hook Date A.D. 65 – Paul and Peter – Missionaries…………………………………..………Page 179

LESSON 31 – PART 1: The Day of Pentecost

LESSON 32 – PART 2: Saul is Converted

LESSON 33 – PART 3: Peter Leads the Church

Hook Date A.D. 75 – John the Revelator – Book of Revelation………………….………Page 195

LESSON 34 – PART 1: Persecutions – John’s Exile to Patmos

LESSON 35 – PART 2: Understanding Symbols in the Book of Revelation

LESSON 36 – PART 3: The Book of Revelation and the Future

Hook Date A.D. 2000+ -- Jesus the Messiah – Millennium………………………………….Page 213

LESSON 37 – PART 1: Prophecies of the Return of Jesus

LESSON 38 – PART 2: Conditions of the World during the Millennium

LESSON 39 – PART 3: Preparing for the “Day of the Lord”

LESSON 40—Summary Lesson

“Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam” – Page vi

PART 3 -- THE PARABLES OF JESUS (Second Time Through the NT)…………………..Page 235

The Sower

The Wheat and Tares

The Mustard Seed

The Leaven

Treasure in the Field and Pearl of Great Price

The Net

The Lost Sheep

The Forgiving King

Laborers in the Vineyard

The Ten Virgins

The Talents

The Good Samaritan

The Prodigal Son

The Rich Man and the Beggar

PART 4 -- MAKING ACTIVITY BOOKS (Third Time Through the NT)…………………….Page 245

“Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam” – Page 7

PART 1

INTRODUCTORY LESSONS

“Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam” – Page 8

INTRODUCTORY LESSON 1

JESUS WANTS ME FOR A SUNBEAM

Purpose of this Lesson: To introduce the theme for this New Testament manual, and teach the

song “I’ll Be a Sunbeam,” as well as to learn some of the things the children can do to “shine for

Him each day.”

Materials needed:

Bible

Copy of the song “I’ll Be a Sunbeam” for each child (included)

Large yellow “sun” for the classroom wall (with a smiling face – abt. 18” in diameter)

A “ray” or “sunbeam” for each child to color – cardstock

Coloring utensils / markers

Scissors

Paper plate, glue stick, yellow construction paper, and a small picture of Jesus for each

child.

Lesson: Welcome the children to class and the study of “The New Testament.” Tell them that

the name of this class is called “Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam.” They will have lots of fun as

they learn about Jesus and His life.

Hold up a copy of the Bible and explain the difference between the Old Testament and the New

Testament. The Old Testament contains words written by prophets who lived on the earth

before Jesus was born, like Isaiah, Moses, and Samuel for example. They wrote about Jesus’

birth, life, death, and resurrection.

Ask: What is something that you remember learning from the Old Testament? (Discuss)

The New Testament contains writings about Jesus’ life and teachings. These were written by

people who actually lived on the earth and knew Jesus as their Friend – like Matthew, Mark,

Luke and John.

Ask: What is something that you remember learning from the New Testament? (Discuss)

Tell the children that the most important thing they will be learning from the lessons in this

class is how to become more like Jesus – to do as He did when He was on the earth.

Ask: How did Jesus treat people when He was on the earth? (Discuss)

“Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam” – Page 9

One of the greatest things Jesus did was to SERVE and HELP others. It didn’t matter to Him if

people were diseased, crippled, sick, or even if they had died. He gave everyone who came to

Him His love and He served and helped them. And of course we know that He even died for us.

That was the greatest sacrifice of all. And we will talk about that in our lessons later on.

Explain to the children that when we serve others as Jesus did, we are becoming like Him!

Jesus is the light of the world, like the sun in the sky. He is the Son of God (sun and Son). And

we can imagine that you – the children that Jesus loves so much – are like His “sunbeams.” You

shine for Him whenever you help or serve others!

Music: Let the children find their copy of the song “I’ll Be a Sunbeam” in their Activity Books,

and teach or sing all verses. Discuss especially the meaning of the last verse which mentions

service. After the song, ask: Can you think of ways that you could serve Jesus? (Discuss)

Tell the class that tomorrow they will be learning more about the New Testament, and you will

be teaching them a new song that they might not have heard before.

Class Activities: (Choose one or do all)

1. Let each child color the large “sunbeam” in their activity packets, to be placed around a

round happy sun on the wall of the classroom.

2. Make a paper plate sun, covering inside with a round circle of yellow construction paper.

Glue or staple colored “sunbeams” all around the outside edges. (The sunbeam pattern is

included in the activity packets.) Have the children write their name on the back. Give them a

sticker or picture of Jesus to place on the back of the plate near their name. Tell the children

that they can take it home to put in their room to remind them to be a sunbeam for Jesus.

3. SERVICE SUNBEAMS: Have the children think of someone they want to surprise, and decide

on an act of kindness or service they could do for that person without him or her knowing

about it. If they wish they can write down the person’s name and the service they want to do.

Sometime during the next lessons, you may want to have the children share what happened.

(Ideas: Do the dishes without asking, clean sister’s room, put a candy bar or treat under

someone’s pillow, make a special dessert for everyone, dust and/or vacuum the living room,

take care of the baby so Mom can take a nap, etc.) ALTERNATE ACTIVITY: They can put another

“sunbeam” on their paper plate every time they do a service for someone.

“Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam” – Page 10

“Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam” – Page 11

SUNBEAMS FOR THE CLASSROOM

On card stock, copy this suggested “sunbeam” for each child, have them color it red, yellow or

orange, write their name on it and cut it out. Then place each sunbeam around a large yellow

“sun” (with a smiley face) made from poster paper and mount on the wall of the classroom.

Above the sun you could place a sign that says “Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam.”

This smaller sunbeam

pattern can be used

for the paper plate

activity.

“Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam” – Page 12

INTRODUCTORY LESSON 2

WHAT IS IN THE NEW TESTAMENT?

Purpose of This Lesson: To help the students become familiar with and memorize the Books in

the New Testament.

Materials Needed:

Bible

Copy of the song “Books of the New Testament” (included)

Copy of word search for each student (in Activity Books)

Optional: Word Strips with the names of each Book of the New Testament

Review: Review with the students the Lesson from yesterday. Did they do a secret service

project for someone? Let the children share their experience if they wish.

Lesson: Explain that today you will be teaching them about the books in the New Testament.

There are 27 of them! Each one is special and unique, and each one has a special message for

each of us to learn about Jesus and His teachings.

Ask: Do you know the first four books? Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Today you will be

learning a song that will help you memorize all 27 books in the New Testament.

Have the children open their Bible to the beginning page which shows the list of the Books in

the Bible. Read together the list of the Books in the New Testament. Have the students repeat

the name and clarify the pronunciation of each Book. Compliment the children on their abilities

to pronounce such big words. Their parents and friends will be very impressed!

Have them turn to the song in their workbooks. Hum the tune a few times if the children are

not familiar with the tune of “The Ants Go Marching.” Then sing it together.

You may wish to arrange to have the children perform “The Books of the New Testament” as

well as “Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam” at a future Parent Night meeting or for a group.

After the children have learned the song, explain briefly what each of the books is about:

1. Matthew, Mark, Luke and John give an account of Jesus’ birth, life, teachings,

death, and resurrection.