Leader Guide

Video Leader Guide

Welcome (1 minute)

Welcome, everyone! Today, we begin a new Superbook adventure about a man named Nicodemus. He was a respected teacher who had studied the Scriptures for many years—yet he didn’t know something very important about God until Jesus revealed it to him. We will also head to the ski slopes to see what Chris, Joy, and Gizmo are doing. Spoiler alert: it’s all downhill for Gizmo!

Play Video 2: Chris and Joy’s Dilemma (8 minutes)

Jesus is invited to dine with some Pharisees. It is the Sabbath, so the religious leaders are upset when He heals a man.

Chris and Joy's Dilemma

SuperTruth and Discussion (2 minutes)

When Jesus saw the man with swollen legs, what did He ask the religious leaders? If it was permitted in the Law to heal on the Sabbath day.

How did they answer? They didn’t; they were silent.

What did Jesus do for the man with the swollen legs? He healed him.

Today’s SuperTruth is “Jesus came to save us.” Let’s say that together. Jesus came to save us. Let’s watch the second part of our Superbook adventure to learn about Nicodemus and also to see what Chris, Joy, and Gizmo are doing today!

Play Video 3: Bible Story and Resolution (15 minutes)

During a ski trip, a girl from school asks Chris what he believes about God. Superbook takes Chris, Joy, and Gizmo to Jerusalem, where Nicodemus, a Jewish religious leader, secretly meets with Jesus. The children learn that everyone must be born again to see the kingdom of God, and Chris prays for salvation. *Note that Video 8: Condensed Bible Story (without the modern-day resolution) is not available for this course. 

Bible Story and Resolution

Video Discussion (1 minute)

Why do you think that Nicodemus chose to meet with Jesus at night? He wanted to meet with Jesus alone; he was afraid of what the other religious leaders might think.

What was the big decision that Chris made when he was talking with Pastor Aaron at the ski lodge? He decided to follow Jesus and become a Christian.

Play Video 10A: SuperVerse Graphic

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

Video 10A: SuperVerse Graphic

SuperVerse Discussion (1 minute)

Our SuperVerse today is John 3:17. Let’s read it out loud together. “God sent His Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through Him.”

God knew that people were trapped in sin. He loves us so much that He didn’t want us to stay trapped—so He sent Jesus to save the world! Jesus is our Savior, and He is the only way we can be saved!

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

Prayer and Send-Off (1 minute)

Dear God, we thank You for sending Jesus to save us. Help us to live each day for you! In Jesus’ name, we pray, amen. In the Small Group game, you will have to choose which instructions to follow. Let’s go find out how to play it now!

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

Help Is on the Way! Play a game about being saved.

Who can say our SuperTruth today? Jesus came to save us.

Let’s play a game about being saved from danger! Pretend that two of these rectangles represent some kind of danger, difficulty, or trouble we face. You can’t get out of it alone, and you need someone to come and save you! The other two rectangles represent a place of safety. You will take turns tossing a rope to rescue your teammates in trouble and then bring them to safety!

Divide the class into two equal teams. Have each team line up behind a “Danger” rectangle. Choose one child from each team to be the first “rescuer,” who stands with a rope on the “Safety” rectangle across from the team’s “Danger” rectangle. One player on each team steps onto the “Danger” rectangle and must keep both feet in the rectangle until he or she can catch the rope and be rescued.

Each rescuer should hold one end of the rope and quickly toss the other end as many times as necessary until the player in danger can grab it, then gently pull on the rope until the rescued player walks to the “Safety” rectangle. The first player then drops the rope and sits behind the “Safety” rectangle, and the rescued player becomes the rescuer, tossing the rope to the next player on the “Danger” rectangle.

Both teams play simultaneously. If a player steps off a rectangle, play stops for that team until the player is back on again. The first team to rescue all of its players wins!

Optional: If time permits, play again, and move the rectangles farther away from each other for a greater challenge.

Conclusion: When you saw teammates in trouble, did you stand there and criticize or judge them for getting themselves in the trouble they were in? No! You were there to save them, not judge them!

In this game, we saved each other, but Jesus is the only one who can rescue us from our sins. That was His mission when He came to earth—not to judge us but to save us. Today, He still saves all who believe in Him and are born again! Let’s learn more about Jesus’ mission in today’s teaching.

Teaching

Jesus Came to Save Us: Discuss our need for a Savior.

Hold up the life jacket or life ring. What is this used for? To save someone from drowning.

Hold up the rope. How could this be used to save someone? Pull someone out of a hole or pit; pull them up a hill or ledge when climbing; pull them from the water.

Hold up the first aid kit. How could this be used to save someone? Bandage an injury after a fall or cut; protect from infection.

These items can be used to save people in an emergency or a life-threatening situation.

Let’s say our SuperTruth together: Jesus came to save us.

So, we know Jesus came to save us, but from what? What was so important and life-threatening that God had to send His only Son, Jesus, from heaven into the world? I would like to hear your ideas. Children respond.

The answer is sin. Romans 3:23 says:

Who has sinned? Everyone!

Who can tell me what sin is? Sin is disobeying God’s Word in the Bible.

Sin is doing, saying, or even thinking anything that doesn’t please God. And on the flip side, sin is NOT doing what we know we SHOULD do. (See James 4:17.)

The Bible tells us that the punishment for sin is death and being separated from God forever. So how many sins are too many? One thousand? One hundred? Ten? One.

God’s standard is no sin at all—even one sin is too many! That is why Jesus came to save us.

In the Bible story, the religious leaders didn’t believe they needed to be saved. They had it all covered—so they thought! They believed that by making the necessary sacrifices, keeping the law, and doing good deeds, they were safe. After all, everyone saw how righteous they were; God must see it, too!

Have you ever heard of the Apostle Paul? He was a Jewish Pharisee who thought he was a pretty good person—until he met Jesus and realized he needed a Savior. In Romans 3:9 (NLT) he said:

Hold up the paper chain. Paul said that everyone is under the control of sin. The Bible also says that we are prisoners of sin. (See Galatians 3:22.) That means we are trapped and helpless to do anything about it by our own power. Jesus came into the world to set us free from sin! Dramatically break or tear the chain.

The Jewish religious leaders needed to be saved, whether they believed it or not!

The SuperVerse says that Jesus came not to judge the world but to save it. Yet when Jesus returns to the earth the second time, He will have a different purpose. He will come to judge the world! (See John 12:47–48.)

Hold up the safety items. We discussed the purpose of these and how they could be used to save someone who is in danger. God knew we were in danger because of our sins.

Hold up the cross or an image of it. Jesus came to save the world by paying the price for our sins. He did it by taking our punishment for sin and dying on the cross. All we need to do is believe in Jesus! Believing in Him is the only way for us to be saved!

The Apostle Paul said in 1 Corinthians 1:18:

Conclusion: God demonstrated His love for the world by sending Jesus to save us. Let’s move to our Discipleship Challenge to learn about salvation truths that Jesus revealed to Nicodemus.

Discipleship Challenge/Practical Application

Give each child a Jesus Reveals Truth Page, scissors, and a pencil. Have children separate the house from the strips. Have children cut out the three strips. Demonstrate how to carefully poke a hole in each window’s corner with the pencil and then cut the dotted lines at the top and bottom of the three windows. Children then insert the strips into the top and bottom of the matching numbered windows. If inserted correctly, the image of Nicodemus, Jesus, and Gizmo will show through the windows. The children can then write their names on the back. Display the model you made before class and assist the children as necessary to complete their crafts.

For these three lessons, you will learn three of the truths that Jesus revealed to Nicodemus when they met at night. Use the model craft to illustrate what you say.

The first window has a picture of Nicodemus. Let’s pull up the Nicodemus strip to reveal the first truth. What Bible verse do you see in the window? John 3:5.

The challenge for the lesson is to look up John 3:5 in your Bibles and to learn the truth that Jesus revealed to Nicodemus. God’s Word will never change or lose its power. What was true in Bible times is true today! In Matthew 24:35, Jesus says:

Read and learn the verse and ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you what Jesus is saying and how you can apply it to your lives. We will discuss your thoughts the next time we meet.

If time allows, look up the verse together. John 3:5:

SuperVerse

Superbook Pop-up: Memorize the SuperVerse with a group activity.

Our SuperVerse is John 3:17. Many of you know the verse just before it—John 3:16. Can anyone say it from memory?

God could have sent Jesus into the world to condemn and punish it. But we just learned that He loved us so much that He sent Him as our Savior. He does not give us a rope or life jacket to save us—He gives us Himself. Jesus said in John 14:6 that He is the way, and no one can come to God except through Him. Our SuperVerse today is John 3:17.

Let’s read it from the board in three parts out loud together. Divide the class into three groups of mixed ages and gender. Assign a number (1–3) to each group and, if possible, appoint a leader who is in Grades 4–6 to lead the group. Have each group meet in a separate location in the room where they can still see the board. Give the teams about a minute to learn their specific line of the SuperVerse.

After the time is up, have the teams line up in a horizontal row from 1–3, facing the board. Have the teams say their lines aloud in the correct order to complete the SuperTruth two or three times. Erase the board and have the teams try to say the SuperVerse aloud from memory. 

Variation: Have the teams say their part in a different voice such as whispering, boldly, normal voice, robot voice, etc. Teams will change their voice for each round.

Prayer

Forgiveness Prayers: Communicate with God.

What’s our SuperTruth today? Jesus came to save us!

Jesus came to save us. We needed to be saved because of our _____. Sins.

The Pharisees did not believe that they needed to be saved from anything. They thought that because they were descendants of Abraham and followed the Law of Moses, God would approve of them. This is not true. The Bible says that we all have sinned and need a Savior. Nothing we do on our own can save us.

Jesus paid the price with His own life on the cross so we could be forgiven and saved. 1 John 1:9 (NLT) says,

Today, in our prayer time, you will have the opportunity to silently ask Jesus to forgive you of any sins you are aware of, and also any that you aren’t. First, let’s close our eyes and ask God to forgive us for anything we have done or said that is displeasing to Him. Allow time for children to silently pray.

Sometimes, we may not even know that we have done or said something that isn’t pleasing to God until we take the time to ask Him to show us. So, while our eyes are still closed, let’s ask the Holy Spirit to reveal anything that we’ve done or said to disobey God. Allow time for children to pray silently.

Now, while our eyes are still closed, let’s ask God to forgive us and cleanse all of our sins. Allow time for children to pray.

Pray: Dear Jesus, thank You for coming to earth to save and forgive us. Thank You, Holy Spirit, for searching our hearts and revealing anything that doesn’t please God. Help us to always come to You because You are faithful and want to forgive, cleanse, and save us! In Your name, we pray, amen.

Object Lesson

As Good as New: Demonstrate how Jesus removes our sins.

Hold up a penny. Do you see how this penny is dark and discolored? What was originally a bright, shiny coin is now discolored and tarnished. Nicodemus and the religious leaders were tarnished with sin. They thought they knew all there was to know about receiving eternal life and going to heaven. It was all about doing good deeds and keeping the law to make them acceptable to God. Let’s call this the “Law Cup.” Place the coin in the cup with the “L.”

But then Jesus came along and started teaching that you must be born again. This was totally different from what they believed and had been teaching. It had nothing to do with the law or works that someone did.

Hold up a different penny. Jesus told Nicodemus that he must be born again. He said you must be born of the water and the Spirit. (See John 3:5.) That is what these three cups represent. We’ll call them the “Born Again” cups. Place the coin in one cup and allow it to soak for a minute as you talk about the first coin.

Let’s see what has happened with the coin we put in the Law Cup. According to the Pharisees, this should remove the tarnish from the coin. Use the spoon to lift the coin out and wipe it with a towel and begin to study it.

Hmm, do you see any difference? No.

I agree; it looks the same. You see, there is nothing we can do to wash our sins away and receive eternal life. No amount of giving, going to church, doing good things, or following rules can get us to heaven. Those things don’t work, just like we see here.

Now, let’s check out the coin in the Born Again Cup, which represents being born of the water and Spirit. Remove the coin with the spoon and wipe it off with the paper towel to reveal a shiny coin! Ahhh, that’s better! Only Jesus can wash our sins away!

Allow children to place their coins in the cups, remove them after a minute, and wipe them off. Encourage the children to take the pennies home as a reminder that Jesus came to save us and wash our sins away!

Straying Game

The Good Shepherd Comes to Save: Play a game to scatter and gather.

In the Superbook adventure, Chris listened to the young man read Isaiah 53:6 from a scroll:

This prophecy is talking about Jesus, the Messiah and our Savior. Like sheep, we stray away from God’s path and follow what we want to do instead of obeying God. Jesus died for our sins so we might be saved. He calls Himself the Good Shepherd. In John10:16, Jesus says:

Point to the different items on the table as you talk. In this game, you are going to take turns being shepherds. Your mission is to bring all the sheep safely to their own homes or sheepfold. The M&Ms represent sheep. The sheepfold, or safe area, is represented by the cups. One player from each team will race to put the M&Ms into the correct cups. Each shepherd is responsible for tracking down all the sheep of three different colors—but you can only pick up one M&M at a time! Show which colors go into which cups.

As you gather the M&M sheep, you must place each color in the correct cup. The first player to do this wins. If you have more than one color in a cup, you will forfeit the win. If you correct the error before the other player completes the race, it will still count—the player who finishes first scores one point for the team.

Divide the children into two equal teams; one child may need to play twice. One player from each team will play at a time. The other players will stand on the other side of the table and cheer their teammates on. If a player is colorblind, another child can act as a coach. 

Players can only pick up one M&M at a time! Players who just completed their turn must mix up the M&Ms again in the middle of the table for the next players. The team with the most points after everyone has played wins. 

Have a sixth-grade helper keep track of the score. Do not allow the children to eat the M&Ms during the game.

Conclusion: Jesus said that He came to seek and save those who are lost. (See Luke 19:10.) Aren’t you glad that He came to find us and bring us safely to Him?

Maze Activity

Black Diamond Run: Trace the route for Ellie to safely reach the bottom.

Give each child a copy of the maze and a pencil.

Ellie is at the top of the Black Diamond Slope. Trace two safe paths which take her to the bottom of the hill to meet up with Chris and Joy. Tell the children they may begin. Have children fill in the blanks to the questions below as they work on their maze. Optional—if you chose to print in black and white, they may color their pictures after tracing the routes.

Fill in the blanks:

1. Ellie told Chris that being a Christian was a big _____. (Commitment)

2. Ellie said that she had read some of the _____. (Bible)

3. Ellie said that she had taken some lessons. Her brother and ski instructor told her that when you are _____, you will know it! (Ready)

4. In the ski lodge, Pastor Aaron told Chris that when he is ready, God is always waiting for you with open _____. (Arms)

Have the children share the two safe routes that they found. Your maze can be a reminder that we should always be willing to talk about following Jesus, no matter where we are. Chris was surprised to see Ellie at the ski slopes; and even though he didn’t have all of the answers, he was able to share his faith. Who knows where that will lead—we will have to see!

Bible Activity

Made for Man: Children look up and discuss verses about Jesus on the Sabbath day.

Give children a Bible if they do not have one. Have children look up the verses about Jesus and the Sabbath day. Be ready to assist children who are not familiar with using the Bible. Have volunteers take turns reading a few verses of a passage and then lead a discussion. Note: The answers are taken from the New Living Translation Bible.

Have you ever heard the word, Sabbath? It means a day of rest. The Bible tells us that God created the world in six days, and then He rested. God created people in His own image. We can work and be busy for six days, but then we should take a day of rest. We can use this time to worship, study the Bible, pray, and think. The Jews observed the Sabbath Day from Friday evening through Saturday evening. Jesus rose again on a Sunday, so many Christians observe Sunday as their Sabbath day.

Let’s read some scriptures about things Jesus did on the Sabbath.

1. Mark 2:23–28:

Where were Jesus and His disciples? In a grain field.

What were the disciples doing that upset the Pharisees? They were breaking the law by harvesting grain to eat on the Sabbath.

Why would they believe this was wrong? It was considered working.

What did Jesus refer to when defending their actions? A story about David in the Old Testament. David and his companions ate the priests’ sacred bread loaves on the Sabbath.

David and his men were fleeing for their lives from Saul who was chasing them. They became hungry and needed to eat.

What did Jesus say the Sabbath was made for? It was made to meet the needs of the people and not for people to meet the requirements of the Sabbath.

Jesus was saying that the Sabbath was made to provide rest and strength and be a blessing to man, not a burden. Who did Jesus say He is? The Lord over the Sabbath.

What do you think verse 28 means? Children respond.

Jesus was saying that He had authority over the Sabbath not the reverse. He understood that people need to do what is necessary to live and survive. Emergencies and other things come up that are necessary to do. How do you think followers of Jesus can apply the Sabbath today? Children answer.

2. Luke 6:6–11

What did the man suffer with? A deformed right hand.

Where were Jesus and the man? In the synagogue. A synagogue is a place where Jewish people gather for instruction and worship.

In verse 7, why were the religious leaders closely watching Jesus? Was it to learn how to enter God’s kingdom? No, they wanted to see if He was going to heal the man’s hand so they could accuse Him of working on the Sabbath.

Did Jesus know their plan because He heard them talking? No, He knew their thoughts.

Did Jesus try to hide what He was going to do for the man? No, He called the man to stand in front of everyone; then, Jesus spoke to everyone there.

In verse 9, what did Jesus ask the religious leaders about the Sabbath day? Is it a time to do good or evil? Is it a day to destroy life or save it?

Does it appear the leaders answered Jesus? No, He looked at each one, but it doesn’t say they answered Him.

What did Jesus tell the man to do to restore his hand? He told him to hold his hand out.

Were the religious leaders thankful that the man’s hand was restored? No, they were enraged and planned to do away with Jesus.

How do you feel about the religious leader’s reaction to such a wonderful event? Children respond.

What do you think their hearts were filled with? Anger, outrage, jealousy, embarrassment, resentment, revenge or retaliation, rebellion, fear.

Conclusion: Jesus had authority over the Sabbath. He knew what the day was created for—to benefit people, not to weigh them down with rules and fear of breaking them. The Sabbath day is a day to break from normal routine, to rest, and be thankful for God and His goodness.