YEA Lesson Library
A Very Special Day
About This Lesson
This lesson teaches that the Sabbath was part of creation week and that Jesus did good (healed) on the Sabbath. It encourages the student to worship God and do what is right and good on the Sabbath.
Scriptures
Genesis 2:1-3
Ex 16:23-25
Ex 20:8-11
Ex 35:2-3
Mark 2:27
Mark 2:27-28
Luke 6:1-5
Luke 13:10-17
Acts 18:1-4
Words to Know
CREATED - made out of nothing
SABBATH - the seventh day of the week, set aside to rest
GRAZING - to eat growing grass
HEALED - made well
The Lesson
God was busy at work. He made the sky with clouds, sun, moon, and stars. He made the world with the flowers, grass, and trees. He made the rivers, lakes, and oceans. He looked at the trees and saw all the branches. God decided to make birds to build their nests on the branches. He looked at the water in the rivers, lakes, and oceans. They needed something. So, God made fish and placed them in the water. God made all sorts of animals. He put some in the jungle, some in the mountains, and some out in the country. But God wasn’t finished yet. He looked around at everything He made. There was nothing that could talk to Him. So, God made a man and a woman. He called them Adam and Eve. Whew! That was a lot of work to do in just six days. So on the seventh day, God stopped working and rested. The seventh day of the week is the Sabbath.
Everything God made was very good. God took the Sabbath day to rest and enjoy the things He made. That must have been a very special day for God. He could listen to the birds sing. He could watch one squirrel chase another up a tree. It was such a beautiful, perfect world.
Adam and Eve rested on the Sabbath, too. They watched the fuzzy lambs playing with each other. They watched the bright colored fish swimming in the pond. They also spent time talking to God. The Sabbath was a very special day for Adam and Eve. It is the best day of the week.
What did Jesus do on the Sabbath? He didn’t work. He rested like His Father did. But, He also helped people. It is right to do good things on the Sabbath.
One Sabbath Jesus was teaching in a synagogue. A synagogue is like a church. Jesus saw a woman who was bent over. She couldn’t straighten up. Satan caused the woman to be stooped over for 18 years. That was a long time. Jesus touched the woman and said, “Woman, you are healed of your sickness!” What do you think happened? The woman stood up straight! She praised God and thanked Him. Wasn’t that a wonderful thing?
But the leader of the synagogue got very angry about what Jesus did. He didn’t like it because Jesus healed this woman on the Sabbath. “There are six days of the week to work,” he shouted. “Those are days to come for healing.”
Jesus called the man a hypocrite! A hypocrite is someone who pretends to be good when he is not. “You work on the Sabbath! Don’t you untie your animals from their stalls on the Sabbath? Don’t you lead them out to drink water? Why is it wrong for me to free this woman from her sickness?”Jesus asked. The synagogue leader was shamed by Jesus. But all the people were really happy about the wonderful thing Jesus did.
There are right things and wrong things to do on the Sabbath. God says it is wrong to work on the Sabbath. He gave us six days to do our work. We should make things ready for the Sabbath on Friday. You could help mom cook your favorite foods to eat on the Sabbath. Get your clothes ready on Friday before the Sabbath. Then you can rest on the Sabbath.
The Sabbath is a good time to visit sick people and do good deeds. The Sabbath is a good day to enjoy all of the beautiful things God created. Talk to your Friend, Jesus. Spend time with Him in Sabbath School. Spending time with Jesus by reading your daily Devotionals. The Sabbath is a very special day. It is the best day of the week. Don’t we have a wonderful God who made the Sabbath for us?
Student Prayer
Thank you Father for creating the heavens and the earth. You made the sea, the trees too. You also made man and gave him the Sabbath day to rest. It is the best day of the week. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Daily Devotions
Sunday - Genesis 2:2-3
Monday - Exodus 16:23-25
Tuesday - Exodus 20:8-11
Wednesday - Exodus 35:2-3
Thursday - Mark 2:27-28
Friday - Luke 6:1-5
Saturday - Acts 18:1-4
YEAH — At-Home Activity
1. Busy Weeks. Divide a flip chart-sized paper into seven section. Write the days of the week at the top of each section. Have the students list all the activities they are involved in all week long. Then write what happens on sabbath. Ask them why the only thing listed on sabbath is “go to church” (or whatever extra things they’ve listed - visit Grandma, go to nursing home, etc.) Why do we set the sabbath apart? Then read the lesson with the students. This introduction will impact your more visual learners.
2. Planning for Sabbath. Bring a clean, empty peanut butter jar for each student. Have labels to put on the jars: sabbath ideas, sabbath plans, etc. Let them decorate the label to put on the jar. Have several strips of paper already cut and put in an envelope attached to the outside of the jar. Help the students think of fun things to do on the sabbath - either family activities to bring in the sabbath together or activities for sabbath afternoon after church. Then read the lesson with the students.
3. Thank you Notes. There are a lot of people who work every week to make sure sabbath is God-honoring. After reading the lesson to the students, have them make thank you cards for the pastor, the song leader, the person who makes the coffee, the kitchen clean-up crew, the sound guys, the sabbath school teachers, etc. They may also choose to make a thank you note for their parents for bringing them to church each week.
4. Clothespins. Read the lesson to the students. Then do the following activity: Using markers, have each students color seven clothespins. Then with a sharpie, write the days of the week - one day on each clothespin. On the back side, apply magnetic tape. Now they will have clothespins to put on the refrigerator to hold to do notes. Help them think of what should go on each clothespin. For instance, Sunday: fold clothes/do laundry; Monday: take out trash; Tuesday: water house plants; Wednesday: clean up room; Thursday: dry dishes; Friday: sweep floor: Sabbath: give Mom and Dad an extra hug before church.
5. Bookmarks. Read the lesson to the students, then give them heavy white cardstock cut into 8.5 x 2 inch strips. Let them decorate them with crayons, markers, or colored pencils. Write the lesson title, “A Very Special Day,” on one side. On the other, write their name or the name of the person they want to give the bookmark to. “Laminate” the bookmark by covering it with clear contact paper. Then using a hole punch, put a hole in the top center and thread a ribbon through. If you have specialty buttons, the students can pick a button to put on the ribbon as well. Encourage the students to give the bookmark as a gift or to keep it in their Bible as a reminder of God’s sabbath.
Objectives
At the end of this lesson, students will be able to:
1. Explain that God created the heavens, the earth and all that was in them in six days and rested on the seventh day.
2. Explain that we are to rest on the Sabbath.
3. Describe right and wrong things a person can do on the Sabbath.
4. Recite their memory verse.
Topics & Themes
Creation
Helping Others
Holy Conduct
Jesus, His Ministry
Jesus, His Miracles -
Healing
Jesus Sets Example
Sabbath
Materials Needed
Bible, student’s and teacher’s YEA books, crayons, pictures of nature scenes, banner, colored poster board, glue, seeds and beans, pieces of yarn, scissors, pencils or markers, attendance and memory verse charts, stars, songbook, music player and music CD/tape.
Preparation
Greet each child as they arrive. Give them a hug and say, “I’m so glad to see you this Sabbath day” (calling each one by name). If a child has come for the first time, get everyone’s attention and say, “We are especially happy to have (give his or her name) in our Sabbath School class today. Please be very nice to him or her. We want him or her to come back every Sabbath.”
All children are unique individuals having several basic needs – physical, emotional, social and spiritual. It is important for the teacher to always be aware of these needs. There could be trauma, neglect or abuse in the lives of some of the children. By keeping these things in mind as you teach, responding to those needs and praying for your class, your ministry will be more effective.
If the weather is good and the surroundings are favorable, this would be a good lesson to teach outside. Grass, trees, flowers, birds, the sun, clouds, squirrels, ducks on a pond, etc. are some of the wonderful things that could be pointed out that God created in six days. An alternate way would be to have pictures of birds, animals and other nature scenes tacked to the wall. Make a large banner to go under the pictures that says, “A Very Special Day.”
Cut colored poster board into 6 x 9 inch rectangles so that each child will have two. Use various colors, and give the children two contrasting colors. Make an oval pattern out of one of the rectangles so that the children can trace around it.
This might be a good day to plan a trip to visit a nursing home. The children can take the cards they make to someone who may need cheering up.
How to Teach This Lesson
Start the class by getting the children involved. Point to the pictures on the wall and ask different children to tell you what is in each one. Then ask, “Who made those things?” After someone answers, “God did,” ask them, “How long do you think it took?” Always praise each child for giving correct answers.
This was the last time in Luke’s narrative sequence that Jesus taught in the synagogue. “There was ample evidence of rabbinic precedent for helping animals in emergencies on the Sabbath. So Jesus uses a lesser- to-greater argument to move from helping animals (v. 15) to helping human beings (v. 16; cf. 12:24)” (The Expositor’s Bible Commentary).
Even though six to eight year old children may not be old enough to be converted, they do need to understand the Sabbath is for them as well as adults. You will be laying a foundation for their appreciation of the day. Present the lesson with the benefits they will derive from keeping the Sabbath. It is not a day that lasts forever with don’ts and drudgery. Rather it is the best day of the week when the right kind of fun and exciting things are provided. Make the class so interesting and such a fun time that they will wish the Sabbath came more often.
Review Questions
Use an animal hand puppet to ask the following questions:
1. What is a synagogue?
2. Why was the religious leader angry with Jesus?
3. How many days do we have in which to do our work?
4. What are some good things for us to do on the Sabbath?
Teacher-Directed Activity
Give each child two contrasting poster board rectangles. Using the oval pattern, have the children trace around the oval on one of their rectangles (They will have to share the pattern). Next, cut out the oval and glue it in the center of their contrasting rectangle, making it appear like a framed picture. Have the children glue seeds and yarn to the oval to make a picture.
Have the children write the following scripture at the bottom of the card: “The Lord is good.” Psalm 34:8. These cards may be given to patients in a nursing home or hospital.
REACH Activity
Special Materials : Old pan, candle wax, candle wick, empty cottage cheese or sour cream container
1. Read the opening paragraph of the YEA lesson about creation. While the story is being read ask students to draw what they hear. Read it slowly enough so they get the feel that it took more than just a few minutes. This will help when “Whew!” is read at the bottom of page 25 of the YEA lesson book. Ask if they need a rest after all that work. Share drawings, then proceed with the rest of the YEA lesson.
2. Make an ice cube candle that you will light only on the Sabbath. At a craft store, find a candle wick and candle wax. In an old pan, melt the wax over low heat. Hold a candle wick in the empty cottage cheese or sour cream container. Put several large ice cubes around the wick. Slowly pour the melted wax into the container. The wax will harden almost immediately. The ice will melt fairly rapidly. When the wax is hard, remove your ice cube candle from the container. Plan to light your special candle every Sabbath as the sun goes down.
3. Make a homemade card to send to someone you don’t get to see very often. Let them know you are thinking of them this Sabbath.
4. Do a sword drill with the Daily Devotional Scriptures. (See Notes section for directions.)
5. Make coupons of special things you will do for your parents on the Sabbath. Tell your parents the coupons are only redeemable on the Sabbath.
6. Have a family meeting. Talk about what makes the Sabbath special for each of you. Help make the Sabbath very special for each member of your family.
7. Write a thank you note to God for giving us the Sabbath. Put it in your Bible. Every time you see your thank you note, remember to say a prayer of thanksgiving to God.
8. Sing: “Safely Through Another Week”on page 96 of the CEM Hymnal. After you sing this song, talk about the words.
9. Write an acrostic poem for S-A-B-B-A-T-H. Tell what makes the Sabbath special to you in the poem.
10. For the next calendar month write “rest” on the seventh day. For the sixth day write “prepare” or “get ready” and “work” or “school.” Write “work” or “school” for the other days as well. The calendar will help children focus on how special the seventh day is after all their work on the other days. (Note: Each family has their own special situation. Adjust it to fit your family.)
11. Read Exodus 20. Find the commandment to observe the Sabbath. Memorize this commandment.
12. Use your Bible and a concordance to find at least five more Scriptures with “Sabbath.” Talk with your family about these Scriptures and their meaning.
13. The woman that Jesus healed had been stooped over for 18 years. Draw a before and after picture of the woman. Retell her story to family or friends.
14. The sixth day of the week is to prepare or get ready for the Sabbath. Ask your family to share what needs to be done on that day. Ask them to give you a special job to help get ready for the Sabbath.
15. Check the newspaper or an almanac for sunset times where you live. Write these times on your calendar. Rejoice, sing a song, and say a prayer when the Sabbath begins.
16. For one month, keep a diary of the wonderful things you do on the Sabbath. Share it with family or friends, if you would like.
17. Make a door hanger with the memory verse written on the front. Hang it from your doorknob each Sabbath. Practice the verse until it is memorized.
18. Sing: “Hallelu, Hallelu” on page 77 of the Kids Classics Collection.
Song
“My God is So Big” is on page 14 of the Kids Classics Collection.
Closing Prayer
Call on one of the children to lead the prayer. Suggest that they thank God for making the Sabbath day for us to enjoy.
Printable Pages
