1
Friends
Preparation
Before the lesson read Luke 10:38-42. Jesus visits Martha and Mary.
Lesson
Having first removed the picture of Jesus, show children the diagram of Katie's relationships made in last week's lesson.
- Who are these people?
- Why did the class stick them where they did?
Remind them that Katie is a Christian. So where does Jesus fit in? Why? As a Christian, Katie thinks of Jesus as her friend.
Identify some friendships within the class. Ask each individual what makes them friends with the other.
Use their responses to begin defining what is a friend. Tell the children that sometimes people are good friends and sometimes bad friends.
Role play
Sitting in a circle, ask for a volunteer. Volunteer pretends to have fallen over in the playground and cut a leg. Invite another person to enter the scene as a good friend. What would a bad friend do? Demonstrate.
Use the same technique to explore the following situations.
- someone is being bullied verbally.
- someone is being excluded from a game.
(If the children are unwilling to participate, you could follow their instructions on how to behave in each situation as a good/bad friend.)
Inform children that Jesus had a lot of friends. Name some of them - Peter, James, Martha and Mary.
Share the story of Martha and Mary with the children. Discuss story. Why was Jesus more pleased with Mary than Martha?
How should the children behave when a friend comes to tea?
