Leader Guide

Video Leader Guide

Welcome (2 minutes)

Welcome back for the last lesson of our Superbook adventure, “The Birth of John the Baptist.” Here is a question for anyone who was here for the first two lessons. How did Mary know that Elizabeth was going to have a baby? God’s angel, Gabriel, told her.

That’s right! Now, this question might be more difficult. When Gabriel visited Mary, he said Elizabeth had been pregnant for how many months? Six months.

Yes, you really listen well! Today, we are going to learn more about how we can always trust God’s promises. What were two promises that God kept in the Bible story we have been discussing the last two lessons? Elizabeth and Mary would both have sons.

Now let’s worship God, who keeps His promises, as we stand and sing The Salvation Poem.

Play Video 7:(Song) The Salvation Poem (3 minutes)

Be sure to preview the song so you can sing along with the children.

The Salvation Poem

SuperTruth and Discussion (2 minutes)

Our SuperTruth for today is: “I can trust God’s promises.” Let’s say that together: “I can trust God’s promises."

Have you ever made a promise that you didn’t keep?

Has someone ever made a promise to you that they didn’t keep?

Yes, it is disappointing when a promise is broken, even if the person tried very hard to keep it!

Even when we can’t trust others, we can always trust God! He won’t let us down or forget a promise He has made. There is nothing that can stop Him. If God said it, we can believe and trust it!

Where can we find God’s promises? In His Word—the Bible!

Introduce Condensed Bible Story (1 minute)

If most or all children watched the Bible story video in a previous lesson, omit it here and go straight to the SuperVerse.

If you saw the full Superbook video in Lesson 1, you’ll remember that Joy and Chris were babysitting an energetic 2-year-old named Charlie. Do you remember what Joy said about taking care of Charlie? She doesn’t want to help take care of him - “No way. Not now. Not ever!”

Yes, that’s when Superbook took Chris, Joy, Gizmo, and Charlie to meet Elizabeth and Zechariah in a small town outside of Jerusalem. For those of you who haven’t seen our Bible story yet, we are going to watch a short version now. After you see the video, you will see how the birth of John the Baptist causes Joy to see things a little differently. And if you’ve already seen it, look for different ways that Zechariah communicated with people.

Play Video 4: Condensed Bible Story (11.5 Minutes)

Condensed Bible Story

Superbook takes Chris, Joy, Gizmo, and Charlie to meet Elizabeth and Zechariah, who learn they will have a baby in their old age. Our heroes deduce from past adventures that this unborn baby will grow up to be John the Baptizer. They also learn that God has amazing plans for each of us and every child can grow up to be someone special.

Play Video 10C: SuperVerse Graphic 3

Graphic loops 2.5 minutes without audio; turn off or freeze video after children repeat the verse.

SuperVerse Graphic 3

SuperVerse (2 minutes)

Our SuperVerse today is found in Luke 1:70–71a:

Long ago the Lord promised by the words of His holy prophets to save us.

This is part of Zechariah’s prophecy and prayer after his son, John the Baptist, was born. Why was it a miracle that people could hear Zechariah prophecy? He had been unable to speak because he didn’t believe Gabriel’s words in the Temple.

Let’s say the SuperVerse together in a different way. Let’s say the SuperVerse very softly together. Softly: Let’s try it! Everyone softly says the SuperVerse.

Normal Voice: Okay, now let’s shout the verse together this time; ready, set, go! Everyone shouts the SuperVerse together.

Nice job! God sent us a Savior just like He promised many years ago. Jesus still saves, forgives, and is preparing a place for us in heaven!

Children will have more time to learn the SuperVerse in Small Group. Younger children may not be able to memorize the entire SuperVerse. They may simply repeat it several times while older children may memorize part or all of it. Be sure all children understand its meaning.

Introduce Signposts Video (1 minute)

Let’s watch our Signposts Video to see how the birth and ministry of John the Baptist and Jesus were prophesied and connected!

Play Video 6: Signposts Video (3.5 minutes)

Signposts Video

Prayer and Send-Off (2 minutes)

Let’s pray before we move to Small Group.

Dear God, thank You for sending a Savior, which was prophesied long ago by the Old Testament prophets. We praise You that we are redeemed, rescued from sin and death, to serve You until we come to heaven to live forever! We praise You for being our God in whom we can trust! In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.

Today in Small Group, we are going to play a fun game about God’s promises called “Still Standing!” Are you ready to play?

Teachers take children to Small Group classes for Grades 1–3 and 4–6. If the combined group is small, all children may stay together for Small Group time.

Game

Today’s SuperTruth says: “I can trust God’s promises.” You are going to play a game about God’s promises. You will roll the balls to try and knock the cups off of the poster board. The first team to do this wins! We will discuss the game and how it relates to God’s promises when you finish!

Divide the children into two teams. Each team will form a line at the opposite end of the room, about 10–12 feet from the cups.

The first player for each team will roll two balls, one at a time, toward the cups. The goal is to knock the cups off the poster board.

Once the player has rolled the balls, they will quickly walk to the other end.

Sixth grade helpers or other volunteers should gather the two balls and give them to the next player to roll.

Play will continue until all the cups are knocked off the poster boards except the “Promise Cups,” which will not move.

After children realize that it is impossible to knock the Promise Cups over, turn the two cups over, remove the tape, and pour the coins out. Have a child read the writing in the cup.

Hold the two “Promise Cups.” Oh, now we know why you could not move these cups—they contain God’s promises!

Read Psalm 119:89:

Your eternal word, O Lord, stands firm in heaven.

Who can tell me how this verse is connected to the game we played?

Yes, the cups containing God’s promises stood firm! God’s Word contains His promises. Every promise made thousands of years ago still stands firm today, and those promises will still be standing tomorrow and forever! Eternal means that there is no end!

The verse says that God’s word stands firm, where? In heaven.

Turn over the poster board and hold it up so children can read “EARTH.” That means that even though the promises are given to us on Earth, they are rooted, or their source is in God. They remain in heaven! There is not an event on Earth that can affect His promises to us! They stand firm with God in heaven; unstoppable and immovable!

If time permits, set up the game again, except for the “Promise Cups,” and play to see which team can knock over all of the cups first!

Conclusion: It was easier to complete the game the second time, right? Nothing on Earth stands firm like God’s Promises! Now, let’s find out more about His promises from our Signposts video!

Teaching

Have a child select the first Signpost card from the pile and read it aloud. Tape the card to the wall or prop it up against the wall so children can see it. Lead a discussion with the information below. Repeat this for the two remaining Signpost cards. Additional material is included for Grades 4–6 to look up and discuss.

Signpost 1— Gabriel and Zechariah

Zechariah was offering incense in the Temple when Gabriel appeared to him. Gabriel told Zechariah not to be afraid. He said that God had heard Zechariah’s prayer, and that Elizabeth and he would have a son and name him John. Gabriel said that John would be great in the eyes of the Lord and he would be filled with God’s Spirit even before he was born! John would touch the hearts of fathers and cause rebellious people to accept godly wisdom.

Gabriel was referring to John as an adult. John would become a powerful preacher who would call others to turn to God and stop sinning; this is called repentance. Gabriel said that John would have the spirit and power of Elijah and would prepare the way for the coming of the Lord. The prophet Elijah lived about 850 years before John the Baptist was born. It was predicted that someone like Elijah would come before the Messiah, who is God’s Son, Jesus. And Jesus told people that John represented the prophet, Elijah.

OPTIONAL VERSES FOR GRADES 4–6

Luke 1:11–13:

¹¹ While Zechariah was in the sanctuary, an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing to the right of the incense altar. ¹² Zechariah was shaken and overwhelmed with fear when he saw him. ¹³ But the angel said, “Don’t be afraid, Zechariah! God has heard your prayer. Your wife, Elizabeth, will give you a son, and you are to name him John.

Luke 1:15–17:

¹⁵ For he will be great in the eyes of the Lord. He must never touch wine or other alcoholic drinks. He will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even before his birth. ¹⁶ And he will turn many Israelites to the Lord their God. ¹⁷ He will be a man with the spirit and power of Elijah. He will prepare the people for the coming of the Lord. He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and he will cause those who are rebellious to accept the wisdom of the godly.”

Matthew 3:1–2:

¹ In those days John the Baptist came to the Judean wilderness and began preaching. His message was, ² “Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near.”

Malachi 4:5–6a:

⁵ “Look, I am sending you the prophet Elijah before the great and dreadful day of the Lord arrives. ⁶ His preaching will turn the hearts of fathers to their children, and the hearts of children to their fathers.”

Matthew 11:14 (cev):

“And if you believe them, John is Elijah, the prophet you are waiting for.”

Signpost 2 — Gabriel and Mary

God’s angel, Gabriel, brought a message to Mary about her cousin Elizabeth, saying that she would have a son even though she was old. We know her son was John the Baptist. Gabriel also told Mary that the Holy Spirit would overshadow her and she would give birth to God’s Son. The baby’s name would be Jesus. Gabriel said that Jesus would be great and be called the Son of the Highest! We have many similarities:

• Gabriel brought the good news of both births.
• Both births were humanly impossible.
• Both sons were named by God.
• Both had a great purpose in God’s kingdom.
• John’s ministry would prepare the way for Jesus’ ministry.

OPTIONAL VERSES FOR GRADES 4–6

Luke 1:35–36:

³⁵ The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the baby to be born will be holy, and He will be called the Son of God. ³⁶What’s more, your relative Elizabeth has become pregnant in her old age! People used to say she was barren, but she has conceived a son and is now in her sixth month.”

Luke 1:30–32:

³⁰ “Don’t be afraid, Mary,” the angel told her, “for you have found favor with God! ³¹ You will conceive and give birth to a Son, and you will name Him Jesus. ³² He will be very great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give Him the throne of His ancestor David.

Signpost 3 - Zechariah Prophesies about John and Jesus

After John was born, the Holy Spirit filled Zechariah. When he said that the baby’s name was to be John, Zechariah could speak again! He spoke of how God would redeem His people through the coming Savior who was spoken about by the prophets of old. Zechariah then spoke of how his son, John, would prepare the way for Jesus by telling the people to repent of their sins.

OPTIONAL VERSES FOR GRADES 4–6

Luke 1:63–64:

⁶³ He motioned for a writing tablet, and to everyone’s surprise he wrote, “His name is John.” ⁶⁴ Instantly Zechariah could speak again, and he began praising God.

Isaiah 11:2:

And the Spirit of the Lord will rest on Him—the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.

Luke 1:67–68:

⁶⁷ Then his father, Zechariah, was filled with the Holy Spirit and gave this prophecy: ⁶⁸ “Praise the Lord, the God of Israel, because He has visited and redeemed His people.”

Luke 1:76–77:

⁷⁶ “And you, my little son, will be called the prophet of the Most High, because you will prepare the way for the Lord. ⁷⁷ You will tell His people how to find salvation through forgiveness of their sins.

Read about John the Baptist in Luke 1:80:

John grew up and became strong in spirit. And he lived in the wilderness until he began his public ministry to Israel.

Read about Jesus in Luke 2:40 (nkjv):

And the Child grew and became strong in spirit, filled with wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him.

Both men came into the world through miraculous births. They grew strong in God’s Spirit to perform the great works God planned to redeem His people! Yes, the birth of John the Baptist pointed to Jesus in many ways.

Discipleship Challenge/Practical Application

Give a Prayer Journal Pattern and materials to children who missed Lesson 1. Have them follow the instructions on the pattern to assemble their craft at home. Show them the sample craft that is assembled.

Did you use the Prayer Journals we made?

What kinds of things did you praise God for?

Would anyone like to share something that you prayed about?

Can someone tell us how God answered one of your prayers?

Keep using your Prayer Journals at home. You can even add more pages to continue on your journey with God! As your prayers are answered, make an entry—you will be amazed over time to see how God answers and speaks with you! God’s promises can still be trusted today; they are as powerful today as when He first spoke them into being. That’s because God’s Word never fails!

SuperVerse

In the SuperVerse, Zechariah prophesied about the promise that God had made hundreds of years before through the Old Testament prophets. The prophet Isaiah had predicted that someone would prepare the way for the coming of the Lord. This was a prophecy about John the Baptist. See Isaiah 40:1–3. Isaiah’s prophecy goes on to talk about the coming of the Lord to feed, care for, and lead His people. He will rule with power and reward His people. See Isaiah 40:9–12.

Yes, God promised over 2,000 years ago to save His people, and that promise is still in place today for us!

Read Romans 10:13:

“Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

Divide children into two groups—girls and boys, if there are enough of each. Have the two groups sit across from each other, perpendicular to the board. Start by saying the SuperVerse together aloud. Now, go back and forth between the two groups starting at one end. Each child will stand and shout one word of the SuperVerse in order. Have children sit down and do it again, starting at a different end. Have children try it once more without looking at the board as much as possible. Children with special needs may just shout the word and not stand.

Note: Younger children may not be able to memorize the entire SuperVerse. They may simply repeat it several times while older children may memorize part or all of it. Be sure all children understand its meaning.

Prayer

Read Luke 1:10:

While the incense was being burned, a great crowd stood outside, praying.

Zechariah was in the Temple burning incense before God. As Zechariah performed his duty as a priest, a great crowd stood outside the temple praying. The people could not enter the holy place. Only the priests from the tribe of Levi could minister to the Lord there. The most holy place was called the holy of holies, where the Ark of God was kept. Only the High Priest could enter the holy of holies in the Temple—once a year. This area was separated from the holy place by a tall, thick curtain. If a priest other than the high priest entered the holy of holies, he would die. And if a high priest was not properly cleansed and pure before God when he entered through the curtain to the holy of holies, he would die!

Thanks to what Jesus did on the cross, we can enter God’s presence with no fear of dying.

Read Hebrews 10:19–22:

And so, dear brothers and sisters, we can boldly enter heaven’s Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus. By His death, Jesus opened a new and life-giving way through the curtain into the Most Holy Place. And since we have a great High Priest who rules over God’s house, let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting Him. For our guilty consciences have been sprinkled with Christ’s blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water.

Isn’t that amazing? Jesus created a new way for us to come to God. When Jesus died, the curtain split in two from top to bottom. See Matthew 27:51. That curtain was very high and thick: no human could tear it. God tore the curtain to show that we can enter His presence because of Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross, once and for all paying the price for our sins. We can enter His presence not only once a year, but every moment of every day!

Let’s all stand and pray as the Israelites did while Zechariah ministered to the Lord. We will go around the circle and each thank Jesus for making it possible for us to enter God’s presence. You may say something like, “Thank You, Jesus,” “Praise You, Jesus,” “Thank You,” or thank Him in your own words. Go around the circle and allow children to thank Jesus.

Close in prayer: Jesus, we praise You for becoming the perfect sacrifice and making us pure and holy before God. Because of You, we can come boldly into His presence and talk with Him. Thank You for loving us so much that You died for us, then rose again to give us new life! In Your powerful name we pray, Amen.

Blindfold Game

This game has to do with what we learned in our Signposts video today!

Read Luke 1:5:

When Herod was king of Judea, there was a Jewish priest named Zechariah. He was a member of the priestly order of Abijah, and his wife, Elizabeth, was also from the priestly line of Aaron.

Zechariah and Elizabeth were descendants of Aaron from the priestly tribe of Levi. Aaron was the brother of Moses, and he accompanied Moses to confront Pharaoh, Egypt’s ruler. John the Baptist also boldly confronted an ungodly ruler—a king! Do you remember his name? King Herod.

The priests who served Israel were descendants of Aaron. Not only was Zechariah from Aaron’s family tree, so was Elizabeth, his wife. In Luke 1:76, Zechariah prophesied that his son would prepare the way for the Lord. God connected these people together to fulfill His grand plan! This game is similar to Pin the Tail on the Donkey. Your job is to re-connect the people!

Divide the class into two teams; they do not need to be exactly equal.

Have each team form a single-file line several feet away from their set of name cards on the wall.

Give each child a string with a piece of tape they will use to stick the tape to the wall.

Both teams play at the same time.

Explain that the goal is to tape pieces of string to connect all four name cards together.

A volunteer should stand with each team to blindfold players for their turns.

The blindfolded players will walk toward the cards; other players on the team should call out instructions to help guide them in where to tape the string: up, down, right, left, etc.

Each player will try to tape his/her string on one of the team’s cards in such a way that the string hangs down to touch another card beneath it. It will take at least 3 strings to connect the 4 cards—but probably more, because we’re doing this blindfolded!

Once the string is taped to the wall or to a Name Card, it should not be moved.

The player then removes the blindfold and walks quickly back to the team, and the next player takes a turn.

The first team to connect all four cards with their strings wins!

Optional: You may gently spin blindfolded players three times before they walk toward the wall.

Conclusion: It is amazing to see how God connects people and events together over thousands of years to fulfill His promises and complete His plan!

Activity

We can always trust God’s promises. However, before we can trust them, we must know them!

Read 2 Corinthians 1:20:

For all of God’s promises have been fulfilled in Christ with a resounding “Yes!” And through Christ, our “Amen” (which means “Yes”) ascends to God for His glory.

This verse tells us that through our relationship with Christ, all of God’s promises are available to us. Because of Jesus, we receive all of God’s blessings and promises—we are His children! When we trust in a promise, does God say “I’m not sure” or “Maybe”?

No, God says yes and Amen!

Amen means yes; so God says Yes to us because of Christ! And, with a thankful heart, we say “Yes” or “Amen” to God. This gives glory to Him because we trust in His Word and in His power to bring the promise to fulfillment!

Now, I am going to read some real promises from the Bible—but I’m also going to read some that are not true. After I read each promise, I’ll count to three. If you believe the promise is real and you can trust it, jump up and say, “Amen,” which means, yes! However, if you believe it is not a real promise, sit down, shake your head, and shout, “NO!” So, if you’re ready, stand and shout, “Amen!”

Read the promises from the Promise Page and count to three. Children will then respond. If it is a real promise, quickly read the reference and verse. If it is not a real promise, give a brief explanation, then read the reference and verse shown. Children with special needs may stay seated and just say no, Amen, or yes.

Optional: If it is culturally acceptable, you may have children give a “thumbs up” or “thumbs down” to show if each promise is true or false.

Conclusion: Great job! Those are just a few of God’s promises. The more we read our Bibles, the more promises we will discover to trust God for and say, “Amen!”

Craft

Give each child a coloring page, plus crayons, markers, or colored pencils. Have them put their names on the back of the page. Children may color while you lead the discussion below.

1. What did Elizabeth’s baby do when Mary greeted her? The baby jumped for joy.
2. Why did Elizabeth say Mary was blessed by God? She believed that the Lord would do what He said.

3. When the baby leaped inside Elizabeth, what else happened? Mary was filled with the Holy Spirit.

4. Imagine being Mary; how do you think you would feel knowing you were chosen to give birth to the Son of God—the Savior of the World?

5. Do you remember how long Mary stayed with Elizabeth? About 3 months.

Puzzle Game

In this activity, you will work in pairs to look up and read verses in the first chapter of Luke to solve a crossword puzzle. You will have 10 minutes to work on your puzzles. Then, we will go over them and you will be able to share your answers and complete any questions you were unable to finish.Give children time to work on their puzzles and then discuss the answers together.

Conclusion: God always keeps His promises. Today, we can trust Him just like the people did in the Bible. His Word never fails!