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GOD'S LOVE IS...

Week 4 – GOD’S LOVE IS Great

This week’s material is based around the account of the man born blind meeting Jesus, as found in John’s Gospel chapter 9.

Part 1

Lead-in session

Outline for Leaders   

The purpose of this drama is to demonstrate what it means for something to be 'great'. Here a simple illusion is used. Later we will see how God's love is GREAT, as seen by the encounter of a blind man meeting Jesus. 

Characters: Bill, Tom, gallery Curator.   

Props:

• Random pictures on display on the platform to make it look a bit like an art gallery, could have a couple of bits of art on table too.

• Illusion picture on an easel centre stage. You will need some cardboard to space the image away from its backing card in order to allow flowers to be put in the vase (see props section for ideas for making this prop.).

  
  You could have a number of people involved in this drama but minimum of three. 

Drama - Illusion in the art gallery

Bill is strolling around the gallery looking at pictures at one end of the platform. It so happens that Tom is at the other end of the platform also looking at the art. They meander across the stage viewing the art, not aware of one another until they bump into one another in front of the main picture.  

Bill: Tom, fancy seeing you here I didn’t know you were interested in art.

Tom: Well, yeah actually I am. Quite like a stroll around an exhibition now and again.  How about you?

Bill: (Flamboyantly) Ah yes. I’m actually a bit of a connoisseur of fine art you know. Do a little bit of judging too.

Tom: Well what do you make of this one then Bill?

Bill: Ah, well I’d say this is from the period of the renaissance.

Tom: (looking as if he really doesn’t know what to make of Bill’s comment) Umm, well yes – anyway I’m not too bothered about the essence what do you think of the picture.

Bill: (eyeing up the painting...) Yes, it’s a lovely vase isn’t it?

Tom: (pulling another face) A vase, how do you make that out? Looks like a couple of faces to me.

Bill: I beg your pardon Tom but this is a fine picture of a vase from the seventeenth century.

Tom: Two faces, definitely.

Bill: Now look here Tom, this is definitely a vase and if you just wait here a moment I will prove it to you!

(Bill disappears for a few seconds and comes back with a bunch of flowers. He looks this way and that and plonks them into the picture.)

Tom: You can’t do that, someone may see you. And then we’ll both be in trouble.

Bill: There you go Tom it’s a vase

Tom: Listen someone’s coming

(The curator walks across stage as Bill & Tom gulp and freeze.)

Curator: (staring at the picture with the flowers and then hesitatingly) Oh, something is not quite right here. (Curator turns away for a moment and Tom moves his head signalling for Bill to remove the flowers.) Ah well, Good afternoon gentlemen, I hope you find our little gallery to your satisfaction (glancing back at the picture to see the flowers gone, the curator rubs eyes, then wiping brow). Oh dear I’m not quite seeing right this afternoon, I’d better get a drink of water. Good day gentlemen.

Tom: (Wiping his brow) Bill, that was so close – hope I don’t bump into you in an art gallery again.

Bill: Well Tom as we can’t agree on what the picture’s supposed to be, let’s take a vote. Kids what do you see? Hands up if you see a vase. OK, now, hands up if you see two faces.

Well yes, actually if you look once you see one thing, and if you look carefully again you see the other. They are both there aren’t they? That’s GREAT isn’t it? Sometimes in life we need to look a little further to get the real picture, to see all of what’s going on. Some people don’t bother to look for Jesus, but Jesus said, if we look for Him we will find Him. Jesus told us to look a little harder, look below the surface and we would see things differently. That's a GREAT picture isn't it, and it tricks our eyes a bit. But, we're going to see something much GREATER later when we look at a guy who met Jesus.  

Part 2

Bible chat   

GOD’S LOVE IS GREAT – The Man Born Blind  
(John chapter 9 v 9)

Outline for Leaders

This blind man received his sight twice. The first time his eyes were opened and he saw the world around him. The second time, when he met Jesus, his eyes were opened so that he saw who Jesus really was – The Son of God. It was as if the first time the blind man’s physical eyes were opened and the second time the eyes of his heart were opened. Many people saw Jesus when He lived on earth physically with their own eyes. However, the important thing is that people come to see Jesus with the eyes of their hearts. When we allow Jesus to open the eyes of our heart we let Him into our whole life to become our Saviour and friend. Today all over the world millions and millions of people have had the eyes of their hearts opened and they see Jesus working in their lives. 

The Bible Story is presented in the form of a character sketch where the blind man tells his story. 

Props: 
Begging bowl – a tin makes a good sound when a coin is dropped into it.
A few coins.
Blind man’s stick.
A matt, car blanket or the like for the blind man to sit on.

Chat for Kids

Sketch - The Man born blind encounters Jesus

Set the scene by sitting on mat / blanket with your stick and tin. As you call out money for the blind, drop a few coins into the tin one at a time, the rattling of the coins dropping into the tin can be very effective in drawing the children’s attention.

I want to tell you a GREAT story about a blind beggar.

Years ago if you were blind, you would most likely end up sitting at the side of the road with a begging bowl calling out for people to throw something in. (With your eyes closed, shout out) “Money for the blind, money for the blind” (at the same time dropping a coin into your tin) - "Money for the blind, money for the blind, anyone got something for the blind" 

Beggars didn’t generally have many friends and they couldn’t find work, so they relied on people passing them to help them out by throwing a coin or two into their bowl.

One day, Jesus and His disciples saw a blind man in the street. (Call out again "money for the blind, money for the blind".) Seeing he needed help, Jesus stopped in front of him and then did a very strange thing. He stooped down, spat on the ground and made a little mud. Then Jesus put the mud over the man’s eyes as if it were some kind of ointment and said to him, “Go wash yourself in the Pool of Siloam.” The blind man made his way to the pool, no doubt with someone’s help, which was close by.  

Oh my! When the man washed the mud off his face, he could see! What a commotion this caused when he came back to where he’d been sitting. The people around asked, “Isn’t this the man who used to sit and beg” some said it was, others said, “no it only looks like him”. But the man who had been healed shouted out – “Yes it’s me!”

“How come?” the people asked? The man told them how a man called Jesus had rubbed some mud on his eyes and told him to go to the Pool of Siloam and as soon as he’d washed the mud off, he could see but he didn’t know where Jesus was now.

Then the authorities got involved and asked what was going on. The man told them what had happened. There was more commotion as some of them didn’t believe in Jesus.     

“What’s your problem? This man called Jesus opened my eyes – good news or what? No one has ever heard of a man who was born blind receiving his sight. Unless Jesus was from God he couldn’t possibly have done this!” The authorities ended up getting quite upset by it all and threw the man out of the temple.

Meanwhile, Jesus had heard about the commotion and all that had happened. Jesus went and found the man and talked to him. For the first time the man saw Jesus face to face. Jesus asked the man, “Do you believe in the Son of God?” The man replied, “Who is he Sir, so that I can believe in Him?” Jesus told the man that He was the Son of God.

“I believe in You LORD” the man said and he worshipped Jesus.

That day the blind man came to believe in Jesus. Now he had not only had his physical eyes opened, but even greater than that, he had opened the eyes of his heart to Jesus as well. It was meeting and hearing Jesus for Himself that made the difference.

Jesus came to bring light into the world. Jesus made the man’s life completely whole and he became a believer, his life was changed and I would call that great, wouldn’t you!

Part 3     

Response Time (in small groups) 

1.   There were two ways in today’s Bible chat that the GREATNESS of God’s love was shown. See if the children can recall them both, give them prompts along the way (the healing of the man’s physical eyes, the opening of the eyes of his heart).

2.   Ask the children if they can give examples of things that have to be opened to let something in (window, a bottle / flask, a gate / door, a lock, lunch box, our hearts) you could take something along to illustrate this or a picture. Relate this to the opening of ears, eyes and hearts to see Jesus.   

Week 4 DOWNLOADS

Drama Script, Bible Chat and Response Time Leaders’ Notes
PowerPoint Week 4 - Key Phrase Slide
Printable Illusion Picture

More images of illusion vase in ‘Ideas for props’ section page 5.