If your class is meeting online, invite students to bring supplies to class.
Before class, decide whether you will provide optional supplies for students to “age” their activity page by distressing the edges with ink. A simple tutorial can be found here [1:44]:
Basics: How to ink the edge of your project with a sponge
As students are finishing their activities from the last step, direct their attention back to the lesson focus. Jesus declared Himself to be the King of all people when He rode into Jerusalem, but not everyone understood.
- What was the prophecy about a king on a donkey, and what did it mean? (It meant that the Messiah would be a different kind of king than everyone expected.)
- Can you name other prophecies Jesus fulfilled? (Answers may vary; encourage discussion. A few mentioned might be born of a virgin, born in Bethlehem, came out of Egypt, from the tribe of Judah, etc.)
One of the greatest things about having Jesus as our King is that we know He is in control of everything and that we are on the right side. Of course, not every king is on the right side. When the United States first became a country, it was ruled by a king named King George III. However, when the founding fathers decided they’d had enough, they wrote a Declaration of Independence to tell the whole world that they weren’t part of King George’s rule anymore.
You can show your students what the Declaration of Independence looks like here:
Declaration of Independence
The Declaration of Independence listed off the reasons not to follow a particular king. However, we are different because we want to tell the world all about the reasons we do want to follow Jesus! Distribute paper and writing implements to the class.
Today, instead of a Declaration of Independence, we are going to create a Declaration of Allegiance: something that tells the world that you belong to King Jesus. At the top, write “Declaration of Following Jesus” in as bold and fancy a way as you can. Then, underneath the title, write the reasons you follow King Jesus. If students aren’t yet ready to follow Jesus, they can make a list of reasons why other people might want to follow Jesus.
Check in on the students as they work. If students have difficulty thinking of reasons they follow Jesus, ask them to describe situations in their own lives where they have faced challenges with God’s help.
If time and supplies allow, give your students an opportunity to age or distress their Declaration of Allegiance with makeup sponge wedges and a brown ink pad. Information on this simple process can be found here [1:44]:
Basics: How to ink the edge of your project with a sponge
Once the students have completed their activity, close the lesson. Take your “Declaration of Following Jesus” home with you and post it in a place where you’ll see it during the week. Challenge your students to share with at least one person why Jesus is worthy as King of our allegiance.
Close in prayer.