In this lesson, we are going to learn about a time when Jesus taught a great crowd of people. In fact, Jesus spent a great deal of his time teaching people about the Kingdom of God (remember those parables we learned about?). But there was one famous sermon that is a great example of Jesus' teaching: the Sermon on the Mount. This will be a somewhat unconventional lesson in that we will both teach the story (the setting, characters, etc) as well as some of what Jesus was teaching.
The Setting
This is the longest single teaching recorded in the Gospels. It is actually early on in Jesus' ministry. You may have noticed that we aren't going exactly chronologically through the Gospels as it is difficult to place all the stories in perfect chronological order. There are stories around the beginning of Jesus' ministry, a cluster of them based on themes (Parables, Miracles, Jesus Ministers), and then the beginning of the Passion Week and into the Crucifixion and Resurrection.
The Sermon on the Mount is named as such because Jesus gave this sermon on a mountain. Which mountain? Well, we don't exactly know which one. Matthew 5:1 just says, "Jesus saw the crowds. So he went up on a mountainside and sat down." We are pretty sure it was in Galilee because the verses preceding it in Matthew 4:23-25 indicate that Jesus was teaching all throughout Galilee. BibleWalks.com has a nice page with an overview of the Sea of Galilee and the surrounding towns and mountains that you can use to teach your students about Galilee.
Jesus was teaching both his disciples and great crowds of people. From the Matthew account, Jesus went up onto a hillside by himself and his disciples and the crowds followed him.
The Teaching
Some of the most famous teachings of Jesus are contained in the Sermon on the Mount. Here are some highlights:
get your kids talking and engaged
Who is your favorite teacher? Today, we are going to learn about how Jesus was a teacher.
Or, have you ever built a sand castle at the beach? What happened when the waves came? Today, we are going to learn about a time when Jesus used that as an example when he was teaching.
teach a holistic story
Read story from a Children's storybook Bible for younger children.
For older children, read the story from an age-appropriate Children's storybook Bible or read directly from the Bible.
give them basic Bible skills
Scripture for Kids to Read Aloud: Matthew 5:1; 5:14-16; 5:43-48; 6:9-14; 7:24-29
make sure they understand the story
First, ask the children if they have any questions about the story. What to do if you don't know the answer?
help them apply the story to their lives and open up a conversation about faith and the gospel; close with prayer
hide God's Word in their heartLove the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul. Love him with all your mind and with all your strength. Mark 12:30