Jesus' Triumphal Entry - Sunday October 4, 2020

Sunday October 4, 2020 (Vol 9, Unit 26, Session 1)

Hi-there parents! Welcome back! Or if you're new here, welcome! The following blog is here to be a tool for you to help your kids grow in their faith while Children's Church is not meeting. Please feel free to use as much of it as you choose. You know your kids and are the best possible teacher for them. God has given you the power of the Holy Spirit to enable you to do more than you think possible (Eph 3:20).  

Parent Devotional: This week’s lesson is found in all four gospel accounts in Matthew 21; Mark 11;

Luke 19; John 12. 

Jesus told them, “You will find a young donkey tied there. No one has ever sat on it. Untie it and bring it here. If anyone says to you ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord needs it.’” Jesus would fulfill Zechariah’s prophecy: “Look, your King is coming to you … humble and riding on a donkey” (Zech. 9:9).

Jesus made a spectacular entrance into the city. He rode a donkey, and people laid branches and their robes on the ground in front of Him. The people welcoming Jesus into Jerusalem believed He was the promised Messiah, but they expected Him to overthrow Roman oppression and set up an earthly throne. Jesus sent a different message.

The next day, Jesus entered the temple and turned over the tables of the money changers and those selling doves. Jesus referred to Isaiah 56:7, declaring that His kingship would not just be over the Jews but over all people. While Jesus was in the temple, He healed the blind and the lame. Jesus’ actions declared, “I am not just your King; I am also your God.” (See Isa. 35:4-6.)

Finally, the priests and the scribes heard the children in the temple worshiping Jesus as their King. “Do You hear what these children are saying?” they asked. Jesus replied, quoting Psalm 8:2. Jesus gladly received their praise because He was worthy of their praise. Jesus is the Son of God who came to overthrow sin and set up an eternal throne. Help kids connect the dots between God’s promises of a Messiah and Jesus’ coming. Help them understand why Jesus came: to save the world from sin!

As we begin to explore this week’s lesson, take a moment to remember the verse from Deuteronomy about teaching your children the scriptures. Deuteronomy 6:9 says: "You shall teach them diligently to your children and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise." Maybe you don't have time to sit and have an hour of Bible time all at once, or maybe your children are to young to sit for that long. Take the key points and ask God to give you opportunities to speak them into the hearts of your children throughout the week. Let the Bible become a part of your day to day. Be blessed this week my friends!  

Each week we include songs, activity pages, the bible lesson video, memory verses and possibly a craft or 2. We pray this will help you find ways to engage your kids spiritually. It is written in script form from the K-2nd grade lesson so you can read directly from it or change it up to suit your children. Take a few moments to print the activity pages as well as the additional activities and information (found in the links at the bottom of the page) and review the lesson so you can make adjustments as needed. I have included the Bible and Discussion questions along with a breakdown of the Gospel in the Older Kids Activities pages and loads of activities and crafts on the Preschool Extra Activity Pages. Once you are ready, go ahead and start with these songs if you'd like or pick some of your favorite worship songs and then jump right in! Have fun! And remember, this does not need to be done in one sitting! Feel free to break it up over the course of the week. Please contact me if you have any questions or suggestions. I'd love to hear from you! 

So, let's get started. I like to begin each week with Blessings and Bummers. Tell me, what have you seen the Lord doing in your lives this week? What have your greatest blessings been? How about your biggest bummers? 

Parents share your blessings and bummers and encourage the kids to do the same. 

Let's go to the Lord in prayer. Father God, Thank you. Thank you for providing for our needs. You are so good to us even though we don't deserve it! Thank you for continuing to bless us Lord. Thank you for being patient with us. Thank you for our friends as well as our families. Help us to appreciate all you do for us and to look to you in all that we do. In Jesus name, Amen. (please add to or customize prayer time to fit your family)

Praise the Lord for hearing our prayers! 

Prompt kids to tell about a time they won a competition or learned a difficult skill. How did they feel in those moments?

Say • Triumph is a word that means to succeed, win, or overcome. Today’s story is about a time Jesus traveled into Jerusalem. His arrival caused people to celebrate and sing praises. It’s known as the triumphal entry because the people of Israel thought it was proof Jesus had come to triumph over His enemies.

Optional Session Starter Activity Pick one of two options, or do both, this is your party. These are found in the activity pages attached below 

As we get into the story, I want you to think about our new big picture question. 

To help us think about the story, it’s important to ask the right question. For the next few weeks, we will be studying the answer to this big picture question: What did Jesus do to save us? You may already know the answer. Let’s pay close attention each week to learn more about the answer.

 In the very beginning of time, God created the earth, everything on earth, and the whole universe. God created people in His image and loved them more than the rest of His creation. Sadly, Adam and Eve, the first humans, chose to disobey God. Their sin brought sadness, pain, and death into the world. However, God had a plan all along. He sent His Son. Jesus was born as a human baby and grew into a man. He never sinned and traveled around Israel teaching about God and God’s kingdom. Jesus performed miracles and even raised people from the dead! As Jesus grew more popular with the regular people living in Israel, He grew more hated by the religious leaders. They wanted to kill Him! That’s where our story picks up.

Most of the people living in Israel during Jesus’ life would have been pretty familiar with the prophecies contained in the Scriptures. When Jesus came in on a young donkey, the people welcomed Jesus to Jerusalem as their King—the one God had promised years before. The problem was they only understood part of the truth. They expected Jesus to be an earthly king, setting up an earthly kingdom. 

The Roman Empire had conquered the area that included the land of Israel. The people were living under Roman rulers who did not love God or honor Him. The people who worshiped Jesus and said “Hosanna” thought Jesus would defeat the Romans, kick them back to Rome, and give the promised land back to God’s people. But Jesus came to be an even better kind of King.

Jesus’ kingdom is a heavenly kingdom, and He is our heavenly King. What did Jesus do to save us? Jesus lived a sinless life, died on the cross, and rose from the dead. Sin and death were defeated. Everyone who has faith in Jesus is forgiven and made new. When Jesus returns, He will set up His eternal kingdom where we will live forever with God.

 During Jesus’ triumphal entry, the people welcomed Him as King. Jesus was the Messiah spoken about by the prophet Zechariah: “Look, your King is coming to you; He is righteous and victorious, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey” (Zechariah 9:9). One day, Jesus will return to earth on a white horse as King over everything. 

Bible Time! 

Distribute a Bible to each kid. Help kids find Matthew 21. Ask which Bible division Matthew is in. (the Gospels) Remind kids that Bible divisions are ways people have organized the Bible to help us study God’s Word more easily. Consider showing Jerusalem on a New Testament Israel Map. Ask the following questions. Lead the group to discuss:

Why did Jesus send His disciples to get a donkey for Him to ride? (to fulfill prophecy, Matt. 21:4-5)

What word did the people and the children say in praise of Jesus? (Hosanna, Matt. 21:9,15)

Where did Jesus go to spend the night? (Bethany, Matt. 21:17)

Why do you think they people welcomed Jesus with such excitement? Remind the kids that the people in Jesus’ day were looking for an earthly king to conquer their enemies and give them back control of their land. They believed Jesus was the promised King but misunderstood what kind of king He’d be.

When do you feel most excited to worship Jesus? Guide kids to think through the various ways we worship God, like singing praise, obeying our leaders, and doing our best work in school or sports. Remind them that anything done for God’s glory is worship.

Why do you think some people reject Jesus? Help kids connect this idea to the religious leaders in Jesus’ day. They hated Jesus because they did not want to believe they needed help, and they feared losing control over the religious practices of the people. Today, it is much the same. People want to believe they are good on their own. They don’t want to believe that their sin is so bad it required Jesus’ death, and they don’t want to surrender control of their lives to Him.

Say • People welcomed Jesus to Jerusalem as their King. When we have faith in Jesus, He is the King of our lives. Someday He will come back and set up His perfect kingdom on earth forever.

Let's take a look at our new memory verse.

Write the key passage on a chalkboard or dry erase board. Lead kids to read the key passage together. Erase a couple of words and challenge kids to read the key passage again, saying the missing words from memory. See how many words you can erase with the kids still saying the verse correctly. 

If time allows, repeat the whole challenge and continue until the kids say the whole verse without any words on the board.

Say • Great job! In our Bible story today, people welcomed Jesus to Jerusalem as their King. Just days later, Jesus would be arrested, tried, and crucified. All this was because of the Father’s great love for us and Jesus’ obedience “to the point of death—even to death on a cross.”

 That's it for this week!

Let's pray:   God, thank You that out of Your love for us, You provided Your Son as the Messiah, the One who saves us from our sins. Thank You for being the eternal King who will reign over all. May we welcome You as King in every part of our lives. We love You, Lord. Amen.

 Thanks for joining us! I hope to meet you here again next week!

 This bog is published using Lifeway's Gospel Project materials with their permission. 

Additional Activities and Information