Miracles and Healings
MIRACLES AND HEALINGS
Objectives:
- Children should be able to tell the story of at least one healing of Jesus.
- Children should know the word “miracle” and what it means.
- Children should know the importance of saying, “Thank you”.
Possible Lesson Plan:
- Open with prayer.
- Read the stories of Jesus’s healing miracles in the Beginner’s Bible, pages 340-350,371-374, 405-408, the Children’s Bible Reader, pages 188-189, 213, 221-222, or the Read with Me Bible, pages 308-311 and 350-353. Supplement especially with the Arch Book, “He Remembered to Say Thank You” or with the Golden Children’s Bible pages 369,372,373, 384, and 398. There are many, many healing miracles. Focus on two or three and have the children retell the stories, perhaps with the flannelgraph figures. What kinds of problems did Jesus heal? You may have to tell the children what leprosy is. What kinds of people did Jesus heal? Did He heal the same way each time? We’ll skip the True/False questions today in light of the large number of stories to cover.
- Talk a bit about illness. Ask the children: Have you ever been sick? What’s it like to be sick? Are there different kinds of sickness? Be prepared for them to launch into descriptions of their own pain and suffering. Is it fun being sick? What do we do when we are sick? (Go to the doctor, take medicine, stay in bed, etc.) What did Jesus do when someone came to Him who was sick? (He prayed for them and they got better.) Can we pray to Jesus, too? Can we ask Jesus to help us, too? What do we say to Jesus after asking Him to help us? (Thank you.) The Church has a special sacrament where we pray to Jesus for healing. It is called “Holy Unction.” Have the children repeat the words until they know them. We should call the priest and pray to Jesus whenever we are very sick.
Make Get Well Cards. Fold construction paper into card shapes. Write Get Well on each. Have children decorate several each – stickers, crayons, paints, whatever. Donate these to the parish council representative in charge of visiting the sick and sending cards.
- Alternate Craft: Band-Aid Holder: Cut two pieces of foam; remove the top part of the front piece. Punch holes ahead of time and attach piece of yarn; let children lace front and back together. Stick chenille arms thru top holes; glue on wiggle eyes and draw face. Attach a piece of adhesive magnetic tape on the back and fill with band-aids to have handy on the refrigerator.
- Close with prayer, praying especially for anyone known by a student to be sick.