YEA Lesson Library
A Dove For Obedience
About This Lesson
This lesson teaches about Jesus' baptism by John in the Jordan River, about the importance of baptism, and about the need for everyone to be baptized.
Scriptures
Matthew 3:13-17
Matthew 3:16
Matthew 28:19-20
Mark 16:16
Luke 3:21-22
Acts 2:38
Romans 6:4
Colossians 2:12
Words to Know
ARRAY - a large and impressive grouping
RELENT - to soften in feeling or determination
FORGIVE - to pardon
The Lesson
Isn’t it fun to watch birds build their nests? They need a place to lay their eggs. The mother bird sits on the nest to keep the eggs warm until the babies hatch. She searches for a juicy worm and puts it in the baby’s open beak. Then the day comes when it’s time for these little birds to spread their wings and fly. Isn’t it amazing how young they are when they fly?
There are many kinds of birds in a beautiful array of colors. Doves are just one of the many varieties. Even within the dove family there are so many different kinds: pigeon dove, Inca dove, ground dove, rock dove, ringed turtle dove, white winged dove, etc. God must have especially liked the dove. It is mentioned several times in the Bible. But this time, God used a dove to represent His Holy Spirit.
One day Jesus went from Galilee to the Jordan River. He saw His cousin, John the Baptist, baptizing people in the river. Jesus asked John to baptize Him. John didn’t think that he was good enough to baptize Jesus, who was the Son of God.
Jesus insisted by saying, “Please do it, for I must do all that is right.” John relented and went with Jesus into the Jordan River. He put Jesus completely under the water. As He came up out of the water “the heavens were opened and Jesus saw the Spirit of God coming down in the form of a dove. And a voice from heaven said, ‘This is my beloved Son, and I am wonderfully pleased with him.’” What a stamp of approval on what Jesus had just done! God was so pleased with His Son that His Spirit came from heaven as a dove and landed upon Jesus.
But why was this such a special event? Why did Jesus need to be baptized? Acts 2:38 says: “Each one of you must turn from sin; return to God, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, then you also shall receive this gift, the Holy Spirit.” But Jesus never sinned. He never did anything wrong. Then why did He need to be baptized? Jesus wanted to do everything to please His Father. It is right for everyone to be baptized. Even though Jesus never sinned, He still wanted to obey His Father and do every right thing.
You may ask, what is sin? You sin any time you break one of God’s commandments. Any time you make anyone or anything more important than God, that is breaking the first commandment. God says we shouldn’t work on the Sabbath day. It is to be kept holy. If we do what we want instead of keeping the Sabbath like God wants us to, then we sin. If we don’t honor and respect our parents, we are sinning. If we steal or kill, we are sinning.
Why do you have to be put completely under water when you are baptized? Because God washes all your sins away when you repent. Baptism also pictures the burial of your old sinful self and becoming a new Christian who will follow God.
Anytime you sin, God wants you to repent of the wrong you have done. He wants you to be very sorry for doing it. Then He is quick to forgive you. Sinning is a very serious thing that you can’t take lightly. You must really mean the prayer you pray when you repent.
There comes a time in everyone’s life when he should be baptized. But before you can be baptized, you need to be old enough to understand what sin is and how bad it is. You must be really sorry for all of your sins and try hard to never do them again. Then Jesus will forgive you. He will give His stamp of approval on what you have done. He will also give you His Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit can help you resist sin and to do what is right. It can help you understand God’s way better. God wants us to learn to obey Him and not sin. Pray that God will help you repent. Tell Him that you want to be baptized. Every time you see or think of a dove, remember that God used it to picture His Holy Spirit.
Student Prayer
Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank you that Jesus set me such a perfect example. Help me to really understand what sin is and how bad it is. Help me to understand when I am ready to be baptized.
In Jesus’ name.
Amen.
Daily Devotions
Sunday - Matthew 3:16
Monday - Luke 3:21
Tuesday - Mark 16:16
Wednesday - Matthew 28:19-20
Thursday - Acts 2:38
Friday - Romans 6:4
Saturday - Colossians 2:12
YEAH — At-Home Activity
Junior YEAH (Youth Educational Adventures Helps)
(alternative approaches to teaching the lesson)
1. Role Play: If the students haven’t read the lesson, read it first. If they have read the lesson, review it with them. Using the review questions in the teacher’s quarterly is a good way to ascertain that they’ve read and understood the lesson. Then assign parts to role play: John the Baptist, soldiers, tax collectors, people, Jesus. Talk about where John was, what he said to the people listening to him, what he said to Jesus and Jesus’ response.
2. Retelling - Spreading the News: If the students haven’t read the lesson, read it first. If they have read the lesson, review it with them. Discuss with the students how this event would have spread like wildfire! God the Father declaring that He was well-pleased with His Son! John baptizing Jesus in the Jordan! The Holy Spirit coming down like a dove in bodily form! You know that the people who viewed all of this would have shared it. Assignment for students: Pretend you were an observer. Practice retelling the story from that point of view to each other.
3. A Picture’s Worth a Thousand Words: If the students haven’t read the lesson, read it first. If they have read the lesson, review it with them. Ask them to make a pictorial presentation of the assignment. They may choose to draw a cartoon strip. They may choose to make a trifold pamphlet. They may choose a bird’s eye view of the whole event. Encourage them to use their favorite color tools (crayons, markers, colored pencils, tempera paint) to bring it to life.
4. Baptism Essay: If the students haven’t read the lesson, read it first. If they have read the lesson, review it with them. Some students would be very uncomfortable role-playing, drawing, or retelling the story. But they would feel right at home writing down the events in a descriptive essay. This can be in letter format - as if they were telling a friend what happened. It can also be a descriptive essay with a title like “A Significant Event in Jesus’ Life.” They should remember to include the answers to who?, What?. When?. Where? and Why?
5. Making It Personal: If the students haven’t read the lesson, read it first. If they have read the lesson, review it with them. Have the students write an essay explaining what baptism is, when it is done, why someone would want to be baptized, and what the benefits of baptism are. Include in the essay the things that are not reasons to be baptized, i.e. my friend is getting baptized, my parents really want me to, it looks like fun, etc. Encourage them to include Bible scriptures in their essay.
Objectives
At the end of this lesson, students will be able to:
1. Explain that everyone should be baptized when they are old enough to repent of their sins.
2. Cite that the dove pictures God’s Spirit.
3. Define what the Holy Spirit can do in their lives.
4. State that Jesus never did anything wrong, but He was baptized in order to obey His Father.
Topics & Themes
Baptism
Dove
Forgiveness
Galilee
God’s Voice
Holy Spirit
Jesus, God the Son
Jesus Sets Example
Jesus - Without Sin
John the Baptist
Jordan River
Obedience
Prayer
Repentance
Sin
Materials Needed
Bibles, Students’ and Teacher’s books, attendance, memory verse and daily devotional charts, poster of birds or pictures made into a poster, newsprint pad, marker pens, white construction paper, string, tacks, crayons, yarn, pencils, songbook. cassette or CD, and music player.
Preparation
“The place chosen of God for the introduction of the Messiah to the nation was the lower Jordan, at, or near, the very spot where the waters divided for Joshua on Israel’s entrance into Canaan. Here John the Baptist established himself, and began his work of arousing the nation to expectancy. Soon all eyes were focused on him, wondering if he himself were the Messiah” (Halley’s Bible Handbook, page 424).
The YEA program introduces three and four year old children to baptism and creates expectations that someday they will be baptized. Additional information is given in each progressive age group as these expectations are nurtured. Because of the enormous benefits derived from having God’s Spirit, we should work and pray that each child will be baptized as early as they can fully comprehend what repentance is. This world is an evil, wicked place and our children need God’s Spirit like no other generation before them. Your job as a teacher is to nurture the expectation that each child will be baptized before he becomes an adult – as early as maturity will permit.
Before class, draw pictures of doves on white construction paper, cut them out, punch a hole in them and tie strings through nine of them. Save some without holes for the Activity. Write a review question on eight of the doves. Tack one dove without a review question on it near the place you will stand while teaching the lesson. Tack the other nine doves to the ceiling so that they look like they’ve been scattered.
The students will probably start talking about the doves as they enter the room. So, research as much information about doves as you can find.
Tack a poster of either doves or birds in general on the wall, or cut out a number of pictures and make a poster. Tack it to the wall, along with the attendance, memory verse and daily devotional charts.
How to Teach This Lesson
Open the class with prayer. Start the lesson by asking students to tell about any experiences they may have had with doves, where they saw them, if they saw them feed their young, etc. Then give them additional information that you have learned from your research.
Witnessed a baptism: Ask: How many of you have seen a baptism? How did you feel about it? As you go over the lesson with them, use additional material and research that will add to their knowledge. When you come to the part about the sky opening up and a dove descending, pull down from the ceiling the dove without a review question. Be careful not to let the tack hit or hurt the children.
What is sin? - Ask: Who can name some sins? Get them to name as many sins as they can think of and write them on the newsprint pad. Ask: Which of these sins breaks one of the Ten Commandments? Write the commandment by each sin you listed. Try to get them to give sins that break all Ten Commandments.
Benefits of God’s Spirit - Children are especially self-centered and want to know what’s in it for them. Ask: What benefits come from having God’s Spirit? These should be listed on the newsprint pad as well for emphasis.
Review Questions
Let each student pull down a dove with a review question on it. He or she gets to ask the class that question. If the class is small, each student can pull down more than one dove.
1. Where was Jesus baptized?
2. Who baptized Jesus?
3. Why was Jesus baptized?
4. Why should you be baptized?
5. What does baptism picture?
6. What is sin?
7. What kind of bird lit on Jesus’ shoulder?
8. What did the dove picture?
9. What can the Holy Spirit do in your life?
Teacher-Directed Activity
From the Activity in the Students’ book, have students tell what things the picture of the river flowing says to them. Pick a different one from each student’s list and let them write it on the newsprint pad.
Enlarge the dove below and make a copy for each child. Have students write the memory verse on the backs of their doves. Punch holes in them and have each student tie a piece of yarn through the holes to make door hangers.
REACH Activity
Word Study: Eudokeo (yoo-dok-eh’o)
Matthew 3:17 says, “And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (KJV). The phrase “well pleased” is the Greek word “eudokeo,” meaning to think well of or approve an act. It is also the word found in 1 Corinthians 1:21 “. . . it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe” (KJV). It is also the word for “good pleasure” in Luke 12:32. “Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom” (KJV).
Did You Know?
Water was very important to purify yourself before coming to God to worship, both in the Old Testament and in the time of Christ. It was the primary way to become clean before God. Many Jewish ritual baths have been excavated in Jerusalem, Jericho, and elsewhere. By rabbinical law, these baths had to hold at least 60 gallons of water and be deep enough to completely immerse the body (Source: NIV Archaeological Study Bible, p. 1562).
Music Notes: Spirit of God, Descend Upon My Heart
This hymn is found on page 121 of the CEM Hymnal. It was written by an Anglican pastor, George Croly, and first published in Croly’s own hymnal, Psalms and Hymns for Public Worship, in 1854. George Croly was known by his friends as a “fundamentalist in theology, a fierce conservative in politics, and intensely opposed to all forms of liberalism.”
This hymn helps to answer the question of why anyone should be baptized. The first verse talks about changing the person’s focus from things on the earth to the things of God. Note that Croly (or the singer) asks God to “stoop to my weakness.” That is exactly what Jesus did when He came to this earth as a baby. The second verse continues the idea of seeking God with all that you are. The third verse addresses how the Holy Spirit, which is promised at baptism, aids the Christian in following God. The fourth verse draws a mental picture of Jesus’ baptism with the descending dove and reminds Christians that we are to love God by submitting everything we are to Him (Source: Amazing Grace, Osbeck, K., p. 153).
Back to the Bible
Your parents probably have rules for you. Some rules are for your physical safety, some teach you good work habits, and others may have to do with living God’s way. When you follow your parents’ rules you are being obedient. You may not always understand the rules. Sometimes you may not even agree with them. But your parents love you. They want to protect you. They want to teach you how to be a responsible person. They also want you to grow up loving and obeying God. When you obey your parents you are also obeying God. The Fifth Commandment, in Exodus 20:12 says: “Honor your father and your mother so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you.” Show honor to your parents by obeying them (Ephesians 6:1). Read and study your Bible every day (Acts 17:11), and you will find out more about Jesus’ life and ministry. He is our example of how to live a life that pleases God. Spend time in prayer (Mark 6:46; 1 Thessalonians 5:17). Ask God to give you a heart of obedience. Do you want to talk to your parents about the rules? Ask them to sit down with you to talk about them. Be respectful. Let your parents know you love and honor them. Keep the lines of communication open with God and your parents. They both will be pleased when you show obedience, love, and honor!
Just Toolin’ Around
Who was John the Baptist? Find out more about him in a Bible encyclopedia. Write a biography about his importance in Jesus’ life and times.
Stretch It Out
Interview someone who has been baptized. Ask them questions about how they decided they were ready for baptism. When and where were they baptized? Who baptized them? How long have they been baptized? These are interview questions to get you started. You can also ask some questions of your own. Share your interview with family and friends.
Journal Jot
Jesus heard His Father say, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” (ESV, Matthew 3:17) How do you feel when you please your dad? When is your dad pleased? Then think about God, our Heavenly Father, being pleased with you. When is the Father pleased with you? Look up these verses: John 14:15-23; John 15:10; Exodus 20:6. Write about this in your journal.
Questions?
Remember to write any questions that you have in your journal. That way you will remember to ask your parents, teacher, or minister.
Song
“Down in My Heart” is on page 69 of the Kids Classics Collection.
Closing Prayer
Ask one of the students to lead in prayer thanking God for His Holy Spirit.
Printable Pages
