My Wonder Studio

Note to the parent or teacher: Here is a 30-minute lesson plan to supplement “The Parables of Jesus: The Good Samaritan.” It goes with the lesson objectives, “Study more of the parables that Jesus taught and their meaning” (Christian Life and Faith: Biblical and Christian Foundation: Jesus, God’s Son-2b); and “Learn the joy of thinking of another’s need for encouragement instead of being self-absorbed with one’s own problems” (Character Building: Social Skills: Compassion-2c).

Read “The Parables of Jesus: The Good Samaritan." (Read this parable in Luke 10:25–37.)

Answer the questions in “Quick Quiz: Bible Who, What, Why, and Where on Compassion.”

Watch “The Good Samaritan.”

Ask who the Good Samaritan might represent. Then talk about the traits of the Good Samaritan that are traits that would be a good reflection of Jesus. For example:

• Putting the needs of others before his own;
• Not being concerned about what others might think of him for helping a stranger;
• Not fearing for his own life, such as if the robbers returned;
• Offering to repay the innkeeper for whatever it cost to care for the injured man

Read “Kindness Pays Forward.”

Talk about the potential for paying kind deeds forward that this parable holds. For instance, the first one to come to mind is how the man who was saved might then go on to help others. Perhaps the innkeeper was more willing to help others after seeing this example of caring. Both the injured man and the innkeeper would likely tell others the story of what took place, who would then be encouraged to help others due to this testimony.

Read “A Thought for the Day: Bear Someone’s Burden.” Bring out how people have both big and small needs. Listening intently to someone is one way to help others. In this article, it’s listening to someone who needs encouragement. It’s also important to listen to someone who wishes to talk about a happy event in their life.

Reflect together about how we can be like Jesus by pitching in to help others, whether for a big or small need. Consider together the events of the past week and the opportunities there were to put this principle into action.

Enjoy this example of pitching in where there’s an unanticipated need: “Student Surprises Cheerleader when Military Dad Can’t Make It.”

Additional material:

• “Level 2 Lesson Plan: Thinking of Others”

Note to the parent or teacher: Here is a 45- to 60-minute lesson plan to fill out the post “The Parables of Jesus: The Mustard Seed.” (It can also be broken into two smaller sessions.) This goes with the lesson objectives, “Study more of the parables that Jesus taught and their meaning” (Christian Life and Faith: Biblical and Christian Foundation: Jesus, God’s Son-2b); and “Be able to identify steps to strengthen and increase one’s faith” (Christian Life and Faith: Biblical and Christian Foundation: Faith-2c).

Read the first paragraph of “The Parables of Jesus: The Mustard Seed.” (You can also read this parable in Matthew 13:31–32.) 

Explain to the children how though the mustard seed isn’t the smallest seed in the world, it is one of the smaller seeds to be sown in a garden. The type of mustard commonly grown in Israel during Jesus’ day could grow to be two or more meters (yards) tall. Jesus wasn’t making a scientific statement, He was using this commonly known seed and plant to express points about the kingdom of heaven and about faith. Faith—even a small amount of sincere faith—can bring about great things.

Read “Power-Up Devotional #8: Spirit Fruit: Kindness.”

Discuss with the children how the mustard seed in this parable represents our deeds of kindness and compassion shown towards others.

Read “Kindness Pays Forward.”

Read or listen to “Madeleine’s Misdemeanor.”

Listen to “The Smallest Seed—The Parable of the Mustard Seed.”

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Read the second paragraph of “The Parables of Jesus: The Mustard Seed.” (You can also read this lesson on faith in Luke 17:5–6.) 

Listen to “Faith as Small as a Mustard Seed.”

Listen to “Audio: According to Your Faith.”

Read “The Fuel of Faith.”

Read “The God Factor.”

Read “Adventures in Hebrews 11” Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3.

Ask the children what a mustard seed would need to grow. Answers would be: soil, water, and sunshine.

Discuss how faith can grow as we exercise it by taking needs and situations to Jesus for His help and solutions; it grows much as the mustard plant from its tiny seed as long as it is planted in the good soil of a warm, compassionate heart, watered by God’s Word and testimonies of faith, and shined upon by thankfulness and praise to God for the answers.

Talk together about answers to prayer, both big and small, that you and your children have experienced. God blesses our actions of faith even when we feel our faith is small and inadequate. Faith grows when it is put into action.

Review “Crazily Cool Card Set: Faith.”

Additional material:

• Level 2 tag: faith

Note to parent or teacher: This 30- to 45-minute lesson plan is the conclusion of this series of lesson plans that highlight the various aspects of the lesson objective “God’s Law of Love” (Christian Life and Faith: Biblical and Christian Foundation: God’s Law of Love-1a–h).

Read “Love, the Greatest Commandment, Conclusion.”

Listen to “Audio: ‘Love Thy Neighbor.’”

Read “The Old Maple and the Fir.”

Listen to “The Love Chapter: 1 Corinthians 13” and follow this up by reading, “1 Corinthians for You Today!”

Read “The Love Game.”

Prepare the 18 cards of “Love Memory Joggers, Part 1” and “Love Memory Joggers, Part 2.” Set the cards in a box or envelope and draw one to review each morning or evening.

Read “Check Your Love Meter, Part 1” and “Check Your Love Meter, Part 2,” stopping after reading a page to reflect on the question presented. (Tip: Since there are 14 questions, you could consider spreading these out over the next week or two, addressing one or two questions a day.

Read “The Ways of Love.” (You might wish to follow this up by doing the activity on pages 7 through 9.)

Read “Bible Adventures with Joe Key: Slave for a Day.”

Note to parent or teacher: This 45- to 60-minute lesson plan is the fifth part of a five-part series of lesson plans that highlight the various aspects of the lesson objective “God’s Law of Love” (Christian Life and Faith: Biblical and Christian Foundation: God’s Law of Love-1a–h).

Read “Love, the Greatest Commandment, Part 8: Give, Don’t Steal.”

Ask your child if she has experienced a time when she wanted to take something that didn’t belong to her but decided against it. Talk about how it turned out. It’s quite possible she wasn’t given something similar as happened in this story. Talk about the other good things that could have resulted from having made the right decision, such as a sense of well-being or other positive results.

Read “Encourage Others—Be Courteous.”

Discuss the benefits of being generous in doing things for others.

Read “Bible Adventures with Joe Key: Out at Sea.” Then read Acts 27 and 28:1–10.

List, with your child’s participation, what Paul gained by his generosity, such as his life was spared, he was respected, he won others over to the message of God’s love through Jesus, etc.

Read “God’s Law of Love.”

Read “Life of Friends: Greedy Kitties.”

Ask your child if he remembers a time when he was greedy, and nearly lost (or did lose) the privilege of having something he wanted due to not being willing to share it with others. For example, he had been told he could only have a privilege if he shared with another, or a toy broke during a struggle over who got to play with it.

Then talk about a time he shared something, and yet in the end, he was still able to fully enjoy the thing he had wanted. You might have a story you can share about your own experiences along these lines.

Read “Love, the Greatest Commandment, Part 9: Speak Well of Others.”

Discuss how this story could have turned out if the boy hadn’t spoken up on behalf of Asher.

Read “Life of Friends: Our Words.”

Read “Jury and Judge for a Day.”

Talk about (if applicable) a time your child has spoken well of others and ways that might have helped the person. Also, if applicable, talk about damage done if your child knows of a time when she took part in talking about others in a hurtful manner.

Listen to “Audio: James 3.” Or read James 3 here.

Additional reading:

• “Every Feather”

Read “Love, the Greatest Commandment, Part 10: Be Happy for the Good Fortune of Others.”

Read “Life of Friends: Have Friends or Gloat.”

Examine together with your child if he has missed out on any friendships due to being jealous over another’s good fortune that he would like to have himself.

Read “Standing on God’s Word: Contentment.”

Discuss how when we focus on what we don’t have, we often miss noticing what we do have. Ask your child to think if she has made this error in any aspect of life, and if so, take time to look at that situation from the standpoint of gratitude and contentment.

Read “The Life of Friends: Honor Our Differences.”

Examine together with your child his friends and acquaintances to see if there is anyone who might be feeling left out and in need of appreciation for their own set of talents.

Read “Standing on God’s Word: Be a Good Listener.”

Discuss how listening to another person’s tale of good fortune is important. Ask your child to think of times she has enjoyed talking about something good that has happened to her and how she would have felt if no one had listened.

Additional reading:

• “But to Understand”

Note to parent or teacher: This 45- to 60-minute lesson plan is the fourth part of a five-part series of lesson plans that highlight the various aspects of the lesson objective “God’s Law of Love” (Christian Life and Faith: Biblical and Christian Foundation: God’s Law of Love-1a–h).

Read “Love, the Greatest Commandment, Part 6: Help One Another, Don’t Hurt Others.”

Read “The Life of Friends: Admirable Strengths” for more on the importance of not putting others in danger.

Read “Tales of Farm Friends: Star: Spirited but Gentle.”

Read “How God Blessed Joseph.”

Talk about how even though God made good out of the difficulties Joseph faced, it was very wrong of his brothers to sell him into slavery.

Read “Standing on God’s Word: Lifting Others Up.” Explain how saying unkind words, though they may not put someone in danger, can still hurt the other person’s feelings.

Read “The Life of Friends: Respect Wins.”

Read “Turning Mistakes into Something Good” for other examples of God making something good out of something that is wrong, including the hurt of unkind words.

Read “Bible Adventures with Joe Key: The Old Man and the Sailing Vessel” and the full story of Noah and the ark in Genesis 6-8.

Talk about how God is very concerned about the state of the world He’s given us to live in, and He wants us to care for it and each other. In the days of Noah, people had become very bad and were doing things that hurt themselves and others, but the Flood gave the world a new beginning. God asked Noah and his family to help by preserving the various species of animals.

Additional reading:

• “Love Never Fails to Love”
• “Every Feather”

Read “Love, the Greatest Commandment, Part 7: Faithfully Care for One Another.”

Discuss the importance of your family unit and each person doing their best to be helpful and care for each other.

Read “A Lovely Nest.”

Read “The Life of Friends: Guarding Friendship.”

Discuss how at times there will be misunderstandings in families and amongst friends, but it’s important to guard our relationships and do our best to overcome misunderstandings. Talk about how we need each other.

Read “Standing on God’s Will: Don’t Argue, Have Fun.”

Read “Standing on God’s Word: Considering Others.”

Read “Celebrating Birthdays” and “Standing on God’s Word: Happy Birthday.”

Discuss how birthdays are a good opportunity to keep family and friendship relationships strong by showing one another appreciation.

Note to the parent or teacher: Here is a 30- to 45-minute lesson plan to fill out the class “Cities of the Bible: The City of Nineveh,” that covers the lesson objectives: “Learn of more of the lives of the great men and women of the Bible” (Christian Life and Faith: Witnessing and Missionary Training: Great Men and Women of God-2a); and “Be able to describe what it means to be judgmental, and the negative effects of such an attitude; identify ways to show compassion rather than passing judgment.” (Character Building: Social Skills: Compassion-2b).

Read “Cities of the Bible: The City of Nineveh.”

REVIEW PARAGRAPH 1:

Read Genesis 10:1–11 and help the children find the answer to these questions:

• Was Nineveh built before or after the flood in Noah’s lifetime? (Answer: After.)
• Besides being the founder of Nineveh, what else was Nimrod known for? (Answer: Being a great hunter.)
• What was the ancient name of the region where Nineveh was built? (Answer: Assyria.)

Read 2 Kings 19:31–36 and Isaiah 37:33–37 (For those interested, here is the fuller story in Isaiah 37:10–37.)

• The historical context

REVIEW PARAGRAPH 2:

Read Jonah, chapters 1–4 or a shorter version in a children’s Bible.

Reflect with the children about how it must have been for Jonah. The people of Nineveh were known for being cruel and evil, even posing a threat to the people of Israel. Maybe that’s why he didn’t want to warn them. When he finally did, thinking they would be judged, he was disappointed when they repented and were shown mercy.

Ask the children if they have ever been upset at another child who has been unkind to them, and maybe even thought it was unfair when the other child received attention from other friends, family, or teachers rather than consequences. Talk about how in such situations, even if it’s difficult to show the same mercy God shows, we can look to Jesus for help to do so.

Reflect with the children on how the people of Nineveh did not know how to live right (Jonah 4:11). Then talk about how helpful it is for us to have the examples in the Bible, especially in Jesus’ life, of how to live in a compassionate and caring manner.

REVIEW PARAGRAPH 3:

Read Matthew 12:38–41.

Ask the children what similarities there were between Jonah’s and Jesus’ messages to the people, and how these messages helped to change them.

REVIEW PARAGRAPH 4:

Find on a map the city of Mosul, where remnants of old Nineveh can be seen today.

Additional material:

• “When and how was Nineveh destroyed?”