Jesus Christ Our Savior

Author: Annalisa Hall
http://ifthouknewest.blogspot.com

Family Activity: (Prepare the word stripes and hid them in the room for the family to find and search the life of Jesus Christ, or paste them around the home in order to follow, optional put a picture from the Gospel Art Kit for each one to teach the children about the Life of Jesus Christ.) Adapted from "Walking Where Jesus Walked," Friend, Feb. 2003, 24

Explain: While Jesus Christ was on the earth, He did many important things. He taught His gospel and showed us how we can return to live with Him and Heavenly Father again. The most important things Jesus did for us were the Atonement and the Resurrection. As you play the game, you will see many of the things that happened in His life.
(1) The shepherds believed the sign of Jesus' birth and went to see Him in Bethlehem.

(See Luke 2:820.)

(2) King Herod sent soldiers to kill all boys two years old or younger. Joseph, Mary, and Baby Jesus fled to Egypt.

(See Matt. 2:1318.)

(3) Mary and Joseph found young Jesus teaching at the temple in Jerusalem.

(See Luke 2:4152.)

(4) He was baptized by John the Baptist in the River Jordan.

(See Matt. 3:1317.)

(5) Jesus overcame Satan's temptations.

(See Matt. 4:111.)

(6) Jesus was cast out of Nazareth, the city where He grew up.

(See Luke 4:1430.)

(7) Jesus Christ called the Twelve Apostles. They all answered the call and were given the priesthood.

(See Mark 3:1319.)

(8) The Pharisees tried to trick Jesus.

(See Matt. 22:1522.)

(9) He raised Jairus's daughter from the dead.

(See Mark 5:3543.)

(10) He fed 5,000 people with five loaves of bread and two fishes.

(See Mark 6:3046.)

(11) He calmed the stormy Sea of Galilee.

(See Mark 4:3541.)

(12) He taught the Sermon on the Mount.

(See Matt. 57.)

(13) He walked on the Sea of Galilee.

(See Matt. 14:2233.)

(14) Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead.

(See John 11:145.)

(15) Jesus cleansed the temple.

(See John 2:1317.)

(16) He performed many miracles.

(See Matt. 9:2735.)

(17) He rode triumphantly into Jerusalem.

(See Luke 19:2838.)

(18) He and the Apostles had the Last Supper.

(See Matt. 26:1730.)

(19) He prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane and began to suffer for our sins.

(See Matt. 26:3646.)

(20) Jesus was crucified.

(See John 19.)

(21) He is resurrected!

(See Mark 16.)

Avoiding Evil

Author: Marika @ www.completeleeblog.blogspot.com

Object Lesson Games

You will need a spice container (I used a jar of poppy seeds.) and a smooth table for this game. Give each person as many turns as you desire. The object is to slide the jar across the table and get it as close to the edge as possible without it falling off. Next, you need a magnet (I used some from our magnetix toy.) and a small metal object, such as a metal ball, or another magnetix piece. Place the magnet on the table. Give the person the metal object. The goal is to roll or slide the metal object as close as possible to the magnet without getting caught in the magnetic pull and sucked in to the magnet.

The Lesson Learned
In the first game, teach that it is easiest to keep from falling off the table by staying towards the center of the table, just like it is easiest to keep from sin if we keep the Savior as the center of our lives.

The second game demonstrates the way in which Satan works. He will entice you to come a little closer, come a little closer, until you are caught in his magnetic pull and he ensares you. Again the best choice is to draw near to Jesus and stay there. The closer you get to the sin that Satan wants you to do, the easier it is for him to entice you further away from the Lord.

Story
Here's an outline of a little story that demonstrates this principle well. You can add a few embellishments using your own words to make the story a little more realistic and fun. This summary was taken from here. "A stagecoach company owner who was looking for a new driver. He asked how they would approach a dangerous curve. The first two applicants said they would get as close to the edge as possible without toppling over. The final driver said, "I'm going to stay as far from the edge as I can." This man was hired, because the owner trusted him to carry the precious cargo of his wife and children around the curve safely."

Draw near unto Christ
How do we do this? One way is through making the scriptures a strong part of our lives. Here's a scripture trivia game to play. Use masking tape to mark off 3 sections on the floor or table. The first section is worth 2 points, the second 4 points, and the third 6 points. Divide the family into two teams. Team members can choose easy questions or hard questions. Young family members earn 3 points for easy questions. Other family members earn 1 point for easy, 5 points for hard. Once the team member has answered the question, they can earn additional points for their team by tossing a pom pom into one of the marked off sections. (You get to do this even if you miss the question answer.) Play to a certain point amount, certain number of questions, or until you are tired of the game. Here is a site to get some harder questions. Type Book of Mormon trivia questions in to a google or yahoo search and you will get a lot of sites to find more questions. Here are a few easier questions.

The Gadianton ________?
Nephi’s Mother?
The tree of _________?
What were Nephi & Bros supposed to do the first time they went back to Jerusalem?
The B.o.M. contains writings of prophets T/F
What’s the Liahona
Who translated B.o.M.
Jesus visited the Americas T/F
Who cut off arms of Lamanites while tending sheep?
Name one person who got his head cut off?
What is the title of liberty?
What is something that happened in America when Jesus was born?
Name a wicked king
Name a righteous king
Who really took the Lamanites daughters that were dancing?
Tell the story of the brother of Jared
Name the second book in the book of mormon
Name the last book in the book of mormon
Lehi’s youngest son?
4 sons of Mosiah?
Scriptures
Alma 28:13
2 Nephi 28:19-22
Songs
John 14:6 Scripture Song
Teach Me to Walk in the Light

Teach The Children

HFPE activity, author unknown.

Preparation:
Gather the following items or clip art for the story: star, tree ornament, Christmas tree, bell, candy cane, wreath, holly wreath, gift

Song:
"Stars Were Gleaming"

Scripture:
D&C 88:77-78

Lesson:
Read the story below and have the children participate in holding up the items when they are mentioned in the story.

Just a day before Christmas I had a wonderful visitor. I had just finished my chores for the night and was preparing to go to bed when I heard a noise in the living room. I opened the door and to my surprise, Santa Claus himself stepped out from behind the Christmas tree!!

He placed his fingers over his lips so I would not shout out in excitement. "What are you doing?" I started to ask, but the words choked up in my throat as I saw Santa had tears in his eyes. His usual jolly manner was gone...gone was the eager boisterous soul we all knew.

He then answered me with a simple statement of "Teach the Children." My perplexed expression still showed in the near darkness. "teach them the old meaning of Christmas...the meaning that now days has forgotten." I started to say, "How can I?" When Santa reached into the toy bag and pulled out a brilliant, shiny STAR. Teach the children the star was the heavenly sign of promise long ago. God promised a Savior for the world, and the star was the sign that the promise had been fulfilled. It was the great star of the east. The star now reminds of us Gods love for all mankind. The countless shining stars at night-one for each man- now show the burning hope for mankind.

Santa gently laid the star on the fireplace mantle, and drew from the bag a glittering RED CHRISTMAS TREE ORNAMENT. Teach the children red is the first color of Christmas. It was first used by faithful people to remind them of the blood that was shed for all people by the Savior. Christ gave his life and shed his blood that every man might have Gods gift to all, eternal life. Red is deep, intense, and vivid...it is the greatest color of all. It is a symbol of the gift from God.

"Teach the Children," he said as he was twisting and pulling. Suddenly Santa dislodged a small CHRISTMAS TREE from the depths of the toy bag. He placed it before the mantle and gently hung the ornament on it. The deep green of the fir tree was a perfect background for the ornament. He said, "Here is the second color of Christmas. The color of the tree remains green all year round. This depicts the everlasting hope of mankind. Green is the youthful, hopeful, and abundant color in nature. all needles point heavenward, symbolic of mans returning thoughts towards heaven. The great green tree has been mans best friend. It has sheltered him, warmed him, and made comfort of him."

Santa's eyes were beginning to twinkle no as he stood there. Suddenly I heard a soft tinkling sound. as it grew louder and louder it seemed like a sound from a long time ago. teach the children that the lost sheep are found by the sound of the BELL. The bell means guidance and return, and further signifies that all are precious in the eyes of the Lord.

As the soft sound of the bell faded into the night, Santa drew forth a CANDLE. He placed it on the mantle, and the soft light from it's tiny flame caught a beautiful glow from around the darkened room. Santa whispered, "Teach the children that the candle shows mans thanks for the star of long ago. It's light is the mirror of starlight. Safety has now removed the candles from the tree, but lights replace them for remembrance."

Santa turned the small Christmas tree lights on and picked up a GIFT from under the tree. He pointed to the large bow ribbon and said, "A bow is placed upon the present to remind us of the brotherhood of man. we should remember that the bow is tied as man should be tied, all of us together with good will toward each other. Good will forever is the message of the bow."

Now my mind began to wander as to what else Santa might have in his bag. Instead of reaching in his bag, he slung it over his shoulder and began to reach up to the top of the Christmas tree. I thought he was hungry as he reached for a CANDY CANE placed high on the tree. "teach the children that the candy cane represents the shepherds crook. The crook on the staff helps to bring back the stayed sheep to the fold. The candy cane reminds us how we should be helping hands at Christmas time. The candy cane is a symbol that we are our brother's keepers."

Santa then paused: with all the work he had to do tomorrow, he seemed to realize that he should be on his way. But with a twinkle in his eye he pulled out one more thing. He reached into his bag and brought forth a HOLLY WREATH. He placed it on the door and said, "Please teach the children that the wreath symbolizes the eternal nature of love; it never ceases, stops, or ends. It is made of many things and many colors. It should remind us of all the things of Christmas." As he disappeared up the chimney he said, "Good night, Merry Christmas, and remember, Teach the Children!"

Treat:
Candy Canes
Hot Chocolate