Teaching

Introduction Skit

The general idea of this skit is for you to introduce a “special guest” but keep all the attention on yourself, and never allow the guest to perform. You may improvise in fun and creative ways, such as singing a very short song or reciting a poem to monopolize the class’s attention. Suggestions are listed below, but modify as desired. As you do the monologue, have the “guest” come up front and stand next to you, acting as if he/she is starting to perform, but never allowed to do so.    

Today, we are privileged to have a special guest, _______. You may not know this, but _______ is an amazingly good singer, juggler, dancer, etc.! 

Turn the light on and briefly shine it on the guest, then immediately shine it on yourself as you continue. 

I don’t sing very much, but I can hum really well. Begin to hum a song children would be familiar with. Yes, I like to hum. It is hard to find other people who have a passion for humming like I do! Anyway, back to our special guest—

Briefly shine the light on the guest, then immediately shine it on yourself again.

You know, that reminds me, along with my love of humming, I like to recite the alphabet! Begin to recite it.

I also can do it backward! Begin to recite backwards—z, y, x, w, v, u, t, s, r, q, p, o, n, m, l.

I am sorry, I forgot about our guest who is a great singer, juggler, dancer, etc.! Put light on guest, and take it away.

Oh well, time is up! We need to move on to our next activity! 

End skit; child volunteer can sit down.

What did you think of our special performer? Did you like what he/she performed?

No, I never gave him/her the chance, did I! Have you ever gone to a concert or an event where someone stands up and introduces the special guest who will perform or speak? 

When the person was finished making the introduction, did he or she keep standing in the middle of the stage or in the spotlight?

No, when people make an introduction, they move out of the way so everyone can focus on the special guest. You just saw what it would be like if the person who did the introduction continued to stand there and speak while the guest was trying to perform. That would take all the attention away from the special guest!

How is that different from what John the Baptist did? Instead of wanting people to pay attention to him, he helped people focus on Christ.

Point to the “John the Baptist” tower on the table. Let’s say this tower represents John the Baptist.

Read Matthew 3:4–6:

John’s clothes were woven from coarse camel hair, and he wore a leather belt around his waist. For food he ate locusts and wild honey. People from Jerusalem and from all of Judea and all over the Jordan Valley went out to see and hear John. And when they confessed their sins, he baptized them in the Jordan River.

Add six more blocks as you speak. John’s popularity was growing, and many other people began following him. Yet John knew people should eventually follow Someone greater—and that person is Jesus. Now, remove blocks one at a time from the front tower and place them on the back tower to build it taller.

John said,

“He must increase, but I must decrease.”

He knew that Jesus’ ministry would grow while his own would get smaller. Even though this must have been very difficult, John was ready to put the spotlight on Jesus. He did not want to interfere with Jesus’ work!

When all blocks are removed from the front pile, place John the Baptist’s card face-down, and lean Jesus’ card against the back tower so it can be read. When we speak and do things for God, we should do it with humility and not call attention to ourselves. Our prayer should be, “Less of me, Lord, and more of You!”

Discipleship Challenge/Practical Application

Our goal as followers of Christ is to become more like Him. As Christ becomes more visible in our lives through our words and actions, people will see less of us and more of Him! God gives each of us His Holy Spirit to produce God’s characteristics or fruit in our lives. 

Last time, we made a craft listing the nine fruit of the Spirit found in Galatians 5:22–23. What are the first three fruit? Love, joy, peace.

Did anyone have an opportunity to show God’s love, joy or peace this week? Allow time for children to share their experiences.

Your Discipleship Challenge this time is to learn about the next three fruit—patience, kindness and goodness. Discuss the meaning of these three words. Use the Fruit of the Spirit craft to illustrate how the more patience, kindness and goodness we have in our lives, the less room there is for our own impatience, unkindness and wickedness.

In the coming days, pray that these fruit of the Spirit will grow in your lives. When you are tempted to be impatient, unkind or bad, ask God to give you His fruit of patience, kindness and goodness. The next time we meet, I will give you a chance to name the first six fruit and share your experiences with the class.

Hand out a Fruit of the Spirit Pattern to any child not present for Lesson 1, and explain how to make it at home.