Parent Pages Week 26
The Hour Of Darkness Timeless Truth: God gives eternal life to those who know Jesus Christ.
Get the Point:
Preschool: Jesus died for our sins so we can be with him forever. I can accept his love. Elementary: Jesus died for our sins so we can be with him forever. I can accept his love. Middle/High School: Jesus died for our sins to allow us to live fully now and have eternal life.
Table Talk
Preschool/Elementary
• If you didn’t know how it was going to turn out, this would be the saddest chapter of The
Story. A lot of terrible things happened to Jesus. He was arrested, his friends let him down, and he was beaten and killed. When Jesus asked his disciples to pray for him, they fell asleep instead. Talk about a time that your friends let you down?
• Why is it so hard to stay awake sometimes when you’re praying at night?
• How do you think the disciples could’ve encouraged each other to stay awake—would’ve
pinching each other worked?
• After all the miracles they’d seen, why did the disciples abandon Jesus? Don’t you think they
would’ve had more faith?
• Will Jesus ever let you down? Why?
Note: Young readers will gain understanding of Jesus’ last days by reading the three stories on pages 286-309 in the Jesus Storybook Bible.
Middle/High School
• Jesus talks a lot about being God in this chapter (John 14:9, etc.). Why is it so important that
Jesus is God?
• During his arrest, Jesus is asked if he’s Jesus of Nazareth. He responds, “I am he” and
everybody falls down. Why did those words have so much power? Why didn’t Jesus run away
when everybody fell?
• Peter got a little bold when Jesus was arrested and cut of the high priest’s servant’s ear. Jesus
told Peter to back off, picked up the ear, and healed the servant. If you were one of the
soldiers, what would you have thought about this Jesus who knocks over people with his
words and has the power to heal?
• Because Jesus hadn’t done anything wrong, the Jewish leaders had to make up false
testimony against him. Why was Jesus ultimately sentenced to death? (Blasphemy—saying he
was God.)
• What sets Jesus apart from other people who have claimed to be God?
Living Faith
In a poignant act of servanthood, Jesus washes the disciples feet at the Last Supper. He was the ultimate leader and the ultimate servant. As parents, display that same kind of servant leadership by washing your children’s feet. You’ll need a basin of warm water and a towel. The idea isn’t to scrub and clean the person’s feet. You just need to gently bathe the feet with water and dry them with a towel. As you wash their feet, tell your kids the way you want to serve them (i.e. by providing food and place to live, by showing them how to serve Jesus, by encouraging them to be their best.)
After you’ve washed your children’s feet, give them the opportunity to wash yours. If they want to, your kids can let you know how they want to serve you.
When you’ve cleaned up from the foot washing, put on a video or some music and have family members give each other foot rubs. A good-smelling lotion can make this even more enjoyable. Be wary of family members with ticklish feet—they tend to kick when they’re rubbed.
You can add to this experience by reading John 13:1-16 and by asking these questions:
• What most surprises you about Jesus washing his disciples feet?
• Do you think it was hard for Jesus to wash Judas’ feet, knowing that Judas would soon betray
him?
• Do you think it’s important for leaders to show they love and care for the people they’re
leading?
• What are some other ways that Jesus showed the disciples that he loved them?
Extra Mile
Chris Tomlin’s song “Jesus Messiah” has a beautiful message that goes along with this chapter of The Story. Watch him perform it in a 6:05 video on YouTube called “Chris Tomlin - Jesus Messiah - LIVE @ SPIRIT 105.3 FM.”
After you’ve watched the video, talk about the parts that you liked the best. What lyrics from the song impacted you?
Get the Point:
Preschool: Jesus died for our sins so we can be with him forever. I can accept his love. Elementary: Jesus died for our sins so we can be with him forever. I can accept his love. Middle/High School: Jesus died for our sins to allow us to live fully now and have eternal life.
Table Talk
Preschool/Elementary
• If you didn’t know how it was going to turn out, this would be the saddest chapter of The
Story. A lot of terrible things happened to Jesus. He was arrested, his friends let him down, and he was beaten and killed. When Jesus asked his disciples to pray for him, they fell asleep instead. Talk about a time that your friends let you down?
• Why is it so hard to stay awake sometimes when you’re praying at night?
• How do you think the disciples could’ve encouraged each other to stay awake—would’ve
pinching each other worked?
• After all the miracles they’d seen, why did the disciples abandon Jesus? Don’t you think they
would’ve had more faith?
• Will Jesus ever let you down? Why?
Note: Young readers will gain understanding of Jesus’ last days by reading the three stories on pages 286-309 in the Jesus Storybook Bible.
Middle/High School
• Jesus talks a lot about being God in this chapter (John 14:9, etc.). Why is it so important that
Jesus is God?
• During his arrest, Jesus is asked if he’s Jesus of Nazareth. He responds, “I am he” and
everybody falls down. Why did those words have so much power? Why didn’t Jesus run away
when everybody fell?
• Peter got a little bold when Jesus was arrested and cut of the high priest’s servant’s ear. Jesus
told Peter to back off, picked up the ear, and healed the servant. If you were one of the
soldiers, what would you have thought about this Jesus who knocks over people with his
words and has the power to heal?
• Because Jesus hadn’t done anything wrong, the Jewish leaders had to make up false
testimony against him. Why was Jesus ultimately sentenced to death? (Blasphemy—saying he
was God.)
• What sets Jesus apart from other people who have claimed to be God?
Living Faith
In a poignant act of servanthood, Jesus washes the disciples feet at the Last Supper. He was the ultimate leader and the ultimate servant. As parents, display that same kind of servant leadership by washing your children’s feet. You’ll need a basin of warm water and a towel. The idea isn’t to scrub and clean the person’s feet. You just need to gently bathe the feet with water and dry them with a towel. As you wash their feet, tell your kids the way you want to serve them (i.e. by providing food and place to live, by showing them how to serve Jesus, by encouraging them to be their best.)
After you’ve washed your children’s feet, give them the opportunity to wash yours. If they want to, your kids can let you know how they want to serve you.
When you’ve cleaned up from the foot washing, put on a video or some music and have family members give each other foot rubs. A good-smelling lotion can make this even more enjoyable. Be wary of family members with ticklish feet—they tend to kick when they’re rubbed.
You can add to this experience by reading John 13:1-16 and by asking these questions:
• What most surprises you about Jesus washing his disciples feet?
• Do you think it was hard for Jesus to wash Judas’ feet, knowing that Judas would soon betray
him?
• Do you think it’s important for leaders to show they love and care for the people they’re
leading?
• What are some other ways that Jesus showed the disciples that he loved them?
Extra Mile
Chris Tomlin’s song “Jesus Messiah” has a beautiful message that goes along with this chapter of The Story. Watch him perform it in a 6:05 video on YouTube called “Chris Tomlin - Jesus Messiah - LIVE @ SPIRIT 105.3 FM.”
After you’ve watched the video, talk about the parts that you liked the best. What lyrics from the song impacted you?