Leader Guide

Video Leader Guide

Welcome back, everyone! Today is the second lesson of our Superbook adventure, “Jesus Heals the Blind.” Jesus sometimes used unusual methods to heal people. Yet no matter how He chose to do it, the results were always the same—people were healed and God was glorified. Now, it’s time for us to glorify God as we sing and worship Him! 

Play Video: (Song) Follow Jesus (3 minutes)

Follow Jesus

Preview the song so you can help the children sing along with the music.

SuperTruth and Discussion (2 minutes)

Our SuperTruth today is: “I will follow Jesus.” Can we still follow Jesus today even though He is not physically on the earth? Yes.

How? Children answer.

Some of the best ways to follow Jesus are by praying, reading the Bible, and obeying His Word. Let’s talk about each one.

How does praying help us follow Jesus? We share our thoughts, concerns and praises with Him, and He answers us.

How does reading the Bible help us follow Jesus? He shows us what path to take.

How does obeying God’s Word help us follow Jesus? The more we obey Him, the more we know which way is the right path.

Are there other ways we can follow Jesus? Children answer. 

Introduce Condensed Bible Story (1 minute)

If all children watched the Bible story video in the previous lesson, you may skip it here and go straight to the Bible Background Video.

Now we’ll watch a short version of our Bible story. If you’ve seen it before, notice when the Pharisees say they are disciples. Were they disciples of Jesus or someone else?

Play Video 4: Condensed Bible Story (12 minutes)

Condensed Bible Story

Superbook takes Chris, Joy and Gizmo to meet Jesus as He cures three people who are physically blind, and also opens the eyes of others who are spiritually blind. Chris returns with a desire to go to church with his mom and dad.

Discussion (2 minutes)

What did Jesus do after He spit in the dirt and made mud? He spread the mud on the eyes of the man who was blind.

What did Jesus tell the man to do? Wash in the pool of Siloam.

What happened when he did? He could see.

That was an amazing miracle! If you had been born blind and were instantly healed, what could you do now that you never could do before? Children answer.

If you had been one of the people in the crowd who witnessed that miracle, how would you feel? Children answer.

Was everyone happy about this miracle? No.

Why were the Pharisees upset after Jesus performed such a wonderful miracle? Jesus healed the man on the Sabbath. According to Jewish law, no work should be done on the Sabbath—so they accused Jesus of breaking the law.

The religious leaders were angry at Jesus, and they were also mad at the man who was healed! The man was living proof that Jesus’ power was from God! What did they do to the man? They had him thrown out of the Temple.  

In Bible times, it was a very serious thing to be thrown out of the Temple. It meant you were separated from the center of Jewish worship. Other people would probably reject you and shun you, thinking you were a bad person. When Jesus learned this had happened to the man He had healed, He went to him and revealed that He is the Son of God. The man’s spiritual eyes were opened, and He worshiped Jesus! Jesus healed the man’s physical eyes and his spiritual eyes.

Introduce Bible Background Video (1 minute)

In today’s Bible Background video, we will explore some of the places where Jesus walked and performed His miracles. In the video, Gizmo will ask some questions. Wait for him to give some answers, then call out the one you think is right!

Play Video 5: Bible Background (7.5 minutes)

Bible Background

Play Video 10B: SuperVerse Graphic

SuperVerse Graphic 2

Graphic loops 2 minutes without audio; turn off or freeze video after children repeat the verse.

SuperVerse Discussion (1 minute)

The SuperVerse today is Ephesians 1:18:

I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which He has called you, the riches of His glorious inheritance in His holy people.

Did you know that our hearts have eyes? They’re not eyes that blink—they’re spiritual eyes that see things by faith. So this verse is a prayer that people’s hearts will understand what Jesus has done for us and appreciate all that He has given us.

Let’s say the SuperVerse together. Ephesians 1:18:

I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which He has called you, the riches of His glorious inheritance in His holy people.

Children will have more time to learn the SuperVerse in Small Group. If younger children are not able to memorize the entire verse, be sure they understand its meaning.

Prayer and Send-Off (1 minute)

Let’s pray. Lord Jesus, thank You for sending the Holy Spirit to help us. Open the eyes of our hearts so we may see You better. Help us understand the amazing spiritual gifts You give us as we follow You. We want to live in a way that gives You glory. In Your name we pray, Amen.  

Next, you will play a game about giving away your life so you can keep it. Does that sound confusing? You’ll need to go to Small Group to find out what it means!   

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

Let’s say the SuperTruth together. “I will follow Jesus.”

Give a plate and pencil to each child. Have children draw a picture of themselves on the plate and write their name on it. If they are cutting out their own crosses, give a pair of scissors to each child and a cross pattern. Have children cut out the crosses, then mix the crosses in the box with the packing material.

After Jesus had healed the blind man in Bethsaida, He began to tell people what it really means to follow Him.

Read Mark 8:34–35:

³⁴ Then, calling the crowd to join His disciples, He said, “If any of you wants to be My follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow Me. ³⁵ If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for My sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will save it.”

Hold your plates in the air. These plates represent your lives.

According to the verses we just read, how can we save our lives? By giving them up for the sake of Jesus and the Good News.  

That is what this game represents. On your turn, you will play the game with one hand behind your back. Players will take their plates to the other end of the room and lay it down beside the box. Then they will find a cross in the box and bring it back. This represents laying your life down and picking up your cross to live for Jesus.

Divide the children into two equal teams. One child may need to play twice. If so, have the player make a second plate with his/her name on it and place another cross in the box.

Teams will make two separate lines behind the mark.

Are you ready to follow Jesus? Oh, just a minute, this seems a little too easy. Gather all of the plates and mix them up with the twenty extra plates on the floor, midway between the box and the starting mark.

There, that’s better; on your turn, you will need to find yourself first! When I say go, the first player on each team will walk quickly to the pile and find your own plate. You will travel to the box, lay your plate down, find any cross in the box, and carry it back to the starting mark. The next player then takes a turn. The first team to finish wins.

Optional play: announce different ways for players to travel back and forth, such as tip-toeing, marching, walking sideways, going backward, hopping, etc.

Conclusion: Great job laying down your lives and picking up your crosses. We’ll talk more about the game as we discuss what it really means to follow Jesus. 

Teaching

Let’s say our SuperTruth together. “I will follow Jesus.”

We are followers, or disciples, of Jesus. In the video, who did the Pharisees say they were disciples of? Moses.

John, one of Jesus’ disciples, wrote this in John 1:17:

We understand and appreciate the importance of God’s laws that He gave through Moses and the Ten Commandments. However, we are human, and we can’t keep every law perfectly every day of our lives. We are thankful that Jesus died to pay the price for our sins. If we break God’s laws, we have grace and forgiveness because Jesus is our Savior!

Bartimaeus had faith. Even though he sat beside the road and begged for money every day, Bartimaeus asked Jesus for something else. When he heard that Jesus was nearby, he shouted for Jesus to show him mercy. Even when others told him to be quiet and not to bother Jesus, he would not give up. What did he do? He shouted even louder.

When Jesus asked what he wanted, Bartimaeus said that he wanted to see. Jesus told him to go; his faith had healed him. Instantly Bartimaeus could see, and he followed Jesus down the road. So what does it really mean to follow Jesus?

Jesus gives us a very clear answer soon after Bartimaeus was healed.

Read Mark 8:34–35:

Bartimaeus did not have a lot to give up—he was a beggar. All he owned was probably just his coat and a mat. He also most likely did not have big plans for the future. He was simply trying to survive each day. So, for Bartimaeus, it was an exciting and welcome change to follow Jesus!

For those who enjoy God’s blessings, live a comfortable lifestyle, and have big plans for the future, it can be more difficult to follow Jesus. In our game, the crosses weren’t laid out so you could quickly them pick up. Picking up your cross is not easy. It is a commitment and a sacrifice. You must be willing to deny yourself and place your life in His hands. In our game, the crosses looked nice. But what about the cross where Jesus died—was it nice? No.

No, it was a painful way to die. The cross is a symbol of death. If we want to follow Him, we must be willing to put to death our own plans and desires and submit our lives to Him each day. Jesus then becomes Lord of our lives!

Hold up a plate. In the game, you played with one arm behind your back; this was so you had to let go of the plate—your life—before you could pick up your cross.

Hold up the plate in one hand and the cross in the other. Too often, people try to do both. They want to follow Jesus and hang on to their own selfish ways and desires. This is not what Jesus teaches. You must make a choice.

Lay a plate on the floor. You must be willing to lay your life down every single day of the week. Let’s start with Sunday. Lay down six more plates, naming the other days of the week.

The reward is worth the sacrifice. Pick up a plate and hold it in the air.

When we let go of our lives, we have them for all of eternity! The SuperVerse calls it our hope and inheritance in Christ.

Peter scolded Jesus for telling people that He would suffer and die. Jesus then strongly rebuked Peter. By suffering and dying on the cross, Jesus showed the world what it means to deny yourself to follow God’s plan and will. Jesus willingly laid down His life for God and for us!

Read Philippians 2:5–11:    

Conclusion: Following Jesus and laying your life down does not mean giving up your personality or identity. God made you special and unique. Laying down your life means giving Jesus authority over everything and letting go of anything that is negative, selfish or displeasing to Christ. It’s time now to talk more about what it means to lay our lives down as we follow Christ in the Discipleship Challenge.  

Give a Follow Jesus Challenge page to any children who missed Lesson 1 so they may assemble it at home.

Hold up the challenge craft. Last time, you were to learn the verse on Cross #1, Galatians 2:20. Was anyone able to memorize all or part of it? Children answer.

Would anyone like to share your family discussion about the meaning of the verse?

Was it difficult to trust Jesus and rely on His strength instead of your own?

I would like a volunteer to remove Cross # 2 and read it aloud. Seek Things Above. Colossians 3:1.

This challenge is about seeking the things of God instead of the things of the earth. The things of the earth could be possessions, popularity or money. Can you take any of them to heaven with you when you die? No.

We should desire heavenly things that will last forever—such as love, grace, mercy, compassion, and spiritual gifts. Your challenge is to read Colossians 3:1 aloud every day and try to memorize it. If possible, discuss the meaning of the verse with your family. Also, seek God by praying and reading the Bible. Rotate the second figure on your craft to hide it behind the base, and remove Cross #2 so you can carry it with you. Keep it as a reminder to put God first, above your own desires and plans.      

Next time, I’ll ask who remembered to do this challenge and give you a chance to share your discussions and experience with the class.

If time allows, have the class look up and read Colossians 3:1:

SuperVerse

Have the children sit on the floor facing the board. The people who lived in Ephesus were called Ephesians. Paul wrote a letter to them that is a book of the Bible—can you guess its name? Ephesians.

In Paul’s letter, he prayed for the believers. He asked God to help them understand the hope and eternal riches they have in Jesus. He wanted them to be confident and assured of their salvation and blessings in Christ.

We might say, “I hope I get to do something”—meaning that we wish for it. Yet in this verse, hope means to wait in faith for what you will surely receive. The more we know God, the more we believe His promises.

Let’s read the SuperVerse together on the board. Ephesians 1:18:

I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which He has called you, the riches of His glorious inheritance in His holy people.

Have the children turn their heads, then lower and/or cover their eyes so they cannot see the board. Erase one word of the verse, then have children look at the board and raise their hands to tell you what word is missing. Write in that word and then repeat the process. You may vary the order of the words listed. As they become familiar with the verse, erase more than one word at a time.

Suggested words to erase: pray, eyes, heart, enlightened, order, know, hope, called, riches, glorious, inheritance, holy, people.

Jesus has called us to follow Him. We can look forward with confidence to His blessings here on earth and an inheritance in heaven that will last forever.

Children may not be able to memorize the entire SuperVerse. Be sure all children understand its meaning.

Prayer

Have children form a circle around you.

The SuperVerse talks about being enlightened. I am going to read another prayer Paul wrote. He prayed that believers would be enlightened, or have a deeper understanding of the Lord and His love for them.

Read Ephesians 3:14–19:

¹⁴ When I think of all this, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, ¹⁵ the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth. ¹⁶ I pray that from His glorious, unlimited resources He will empower you with inner strength through His Spirit. ¹⁷ Then Christ will make His home in your hearts as you trust in Him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. ¹⁸ And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep His love is. ¹⁹ May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.

Paul prayed for us to have the power to understand. This power only comes from the Holy Spirit. Through Him, we can know Jesus and understand how much He loves us and the wonderful plans He has for us.

We are going to pray for the Holy Spirit’s power to understand God in a deeper way. On the board is this sentence: Help us know Your _______. We will each pray this sentence, adding words like love, mercy, forgiveness, grace, patience, care, or anything that is on your heart to pray. Or you may simply say, “Help us know You.” I’ll start, then we’ll go around the circle.

Begin the prayer, adding a word to the sentence. When everyone has had an opportunity to pray, close in prayer. Heavenly Father, we have chosen to follow You. As we live our lives for You, please open the eyes of our hearts so we have a deeper understanding of who You are and how much You love us. Help us to understand the blessings we have through Christ. We rejoice in the sure hope of eternal life with You! In Jesus’ powerful name we pray, Amen.   

Game

Jesus talks about what it means to follow Him in Luke 6:46:

“So why do you keep calling me ‘Lord, Lord!’ when you don’t do what I say?”

Following Jesus means not just listening to what He says, but also obeying. Jesus is the light of the world and when we follow and trust Him, the Bible says that we become children of the light! (See John 12:36.) That is what this game is about!

Hold up a “candle.” This is the light. You will play in pairs, and you will need to listen carefully and quickly obey my instructions. When I shout “Light,” try to grab the light before your opponent does.

Divide the children into pairs. Try to pair children of same gender and age.

Two pairs play at the same time, one pair at each table.

For each pair, the two players stand on opposite sides of a table.

Read one instruction from the list and wait a moment for all of the players to do it.

Continue this way and then randomly and without warning shout “Light.”

Each player tries to grab the light on the table before the other player can.

Play the best out of five (or best out of three if time is short or class is large).

If a light is knocked off a table before it can be grabbed, neither player gets a point.  

Optional play: if the time is limited or the class is large, add tables and candles so more pairs can play at the same time.

Instruction list: (Vary the order and repeat as desired; feel free to add your own!)

• Stand on one foot.
• Place a hand on your forehead.
• Run in place.
• Close your eyes.
• Place a hand over one eye.
• Raise both arms in the air.
• Turn around once in a circle.
• Switch sides with the other player at your table.
• Look up at the ceiling; continue looking up until the next instruction.
• Place both hands behind your head.
• Drum lightly on the table with both hands.
• Clap three times.
• Put both arms out at your side.
• Do three jumping jacks.
• Conduct an orchestra.
• Throw a pretend ball with your left arm and then your right arm.
• Put your hands over both ears.
• Turn sideways.

Conclusion: What was the biggest challenge of the game?

Why is it sometimes difficult to obey? It isn’t always convenient, and it’s hard when I have my own ideas or plans. Others are doing the opposite, peer pressure, don’t fully understand.

When we follow Jesus, we must be willing to obey and put His will ahead of our own. When we do that, we will be blessed here on the earth today, and forever in heaven! 

Coloring Page

Give a coloring page to each child along with crayons, colored pencils, or washable markers to share. Lead a discussion using the questions below as children color their pages.

• What did Bartimaeus cry out for as Jesus passed nearby? For mercy.
• What did Jesus do when He heard Bartimaeus? He told His followers to tell Bartimaeus to come to Him.
• What did Bartimaeus tell Jesus that he wanted? He wanted to see.
• Fill in the blank for this question: Jesus said to Bartimaeus, Go, for your ______ has healed you. Faith.
• The first man Jesus healed in Bethsaida returned home. Bartimaeus did something different; what did he do after he was healed? He followed Jesus.
• Who can close their eyes and say today’s SuperTruth? “I will follow Jesus.”

Give children an opportunity to share their coloring pages with the class.

What an amazing testimony Bartimaeus could share with the crowds that came to hear Jesus. As we follow Jesus, we can share with others the blessings and hope we have in Him. 

Object Lesson

In Bethsaida, Jesus spits on the eyes of the man who was blind. Then, Jesus placed His hands over the man’s eyes. Jesus asked him if he could see anything. The man replied that he could see, but not clearly. Jesus laid His hands on him again and the man’s sight was completely restored. (See Mark 8:22–26.)

Have you ever had an eye exam?

During an eye exam, the doctor may have you look into an instrument as the lenses are changed back and forth. What happens to the images, letters or numbers you are viewing? They go in and out of focus, they become clearer or fuzzier.

The doctor is doing this to find the best lens power or magnification for your eyes so you can see clearly. Have you ever looked through a microscope or telescope and the image was out of focus?

How do you make the image clearer? Adjust the focus.  

Demonstrate how to focus the item or items you brought. If time permits and the class is small enough, allow each child to look through the binoculars, telescope or microscope to bring things in and out of focus. Hold up a blurry picture, then hold up the same picture in focus next to it. Put that pair down and do the same for other pairs of pictures.

There is no question that Jesus could have healed the man’s eyes immediately with one touch or even one word. However, we can apply what Jesus did to our spiritual sight and knowledge. We are dependent on the Holy Spirit for our spiritual sight. Just as Jesus touched the man again to make his vision clearer, we can keep going back to God and ask for the Holy Spirit to touch us and give us a deeper understanding of His Word. Here are the two verses just before today’s SuperVerse.

Read Ephesians 1:16–17:

¹⁶ I have not stopped thanking God for you. I pray for you constantly, ¹⁷ asking God, the glorious Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to give you spiritual wisdom and insight so that you might grow in your knowledge of God.

God delights in us coming to Him so He can give us clear insight and wisdom to know Him in a deeper way. The more we know Jesus and understand what He has done for us, the closer we will want to follow Him.

Bible Activity

The SuperVerse talks about how the Holy Spirit enlightens our hearts so we can understand more about Jesus and the life that we can live in His glorious light. In this activity, we will look up verses about the light.

Have the children sit in pairs. Try to pair an experienced Bible user with a child who isn’t as familiar with the Bible. Give each pair a Bible. The experienced Bible users can quickly look up the verses while the other players write the answers on sticky notes and stick them on their foreheads. If both players are experienced Bible users, the players can alternate looking up a verse and writing down the answer. Have children close their Bibles before you announce the next verse.

Note that the suggested answers are from the New Living Translation. If children are using different translations, their answers will vary.

I will say a verse reference and write it on the board. You may start to look it up when I say the reference, and I will then read a fill-in-the-blank question for that verse. One player in each group will write the answer on the sticky note and stick it on his/her forehead. You have 30 seconds to do that. The first team scores 10 points for the correct answer; all other teams score 5 points for the correct answer stuck to their foreheads in time. The pair with the most points wins.   

Allow spelling errors because of the fast pace of the game. Do as many verses as time allows. Be prepared to help any children with special needs.

1.  Psalm 119:105 in the Old Testament. God’s Word is a lamp to light our _____. (Path)

Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path.

2.  2 Corinthians 4:6 in the New Testament. God makes His light shine in our _____. (Hearts)

For God, who said, “Let there be light in the darkness,” has made this light shine in our hearts so we could know the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ.

3.  John 3:19 in the New Testament. People loved the _____ more than God’s light. (Darkness)

4.  Matthew 5:15 in the New Testament. A lamp is placed on a stand to give light to _____. (Everyone)

5.  John 1:6–7 in the New Testament. Who did God send to tell about the light? (John the Baptist)

⁶ God sent a man, John the Baptist, ⁷ to tell about the light so that everyone might believe because of his testimony. 

6.  Ephesians 5:8 in the New Testament. We have the light of the Lord so we can live as ______ of light. (People)

For once you were full of darkness, but now you have light from the Lord. So live as people of light! 

7.  Acts 26:18 in the New Testament. God wants us to turn from darkness to light and from the power of _______. (Satan)

“To open their eyes, so they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God. Then they will receive forgiveness for their sins and be given a place among God’s people, who are set apart by faith in Me.”

8.  1 Peter 2:9 in the New Testament. God called us out of darkness into His ______ light. (Wonderful)

But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for He called you out of the darkness into His wonderful light.

9.  John 1:8 in the New Testament. John wasn’t the light; He was a _____ to tell about the light. (Witness)

John himself was not the light; he was simply a witness to tell about the light. 

10. Psalm 18:28 in the Old Testament. The Lord, my God, _____ up my darkness. (Lights)

You light a lamp for me. The Lord, my God, lights up my darkness.