Epiphany Workshop Rotation
Elementary Sunday School
March 22 – SCIENCE - LOVE
John 3:14-21 “God So Loved the World He Gave His Only Begotten Son”
Purpose: that children will always know how much God loves them.
Objectives: * Children will discuss the concept "born again."
* Children will understand the difference between real change and change that is only on
the surface.
*Children will understand that Jesus gave his life for us that we would know God’s love.
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Open: Gather the children together and do introductions.
Open with prayer, “Dear God, the Father, God, the Son and God the Holy Spirit, be with us here today.
Help us to open not just our minds, but also our hearts so that we can love like you love us; through
Jesus Christ your Son. Amen.”
Introduce the Story – BACKGROUND
Jesus had been teaching and working miracles for quite some time. He had developed a bit of a
reputation among the people and also among the Jewish religious leaders. One of these religious
leaders or Pharisees was a man named Nicodemus. God wants us to know right from the start some
things about Nicodemus. As a Pharisee, he did his best to live his life according to everything the
ancient Law of Moses said, especially the Ten Commandments. He studied all the time and knew a lot;
especially about how to be a faithful devout follower of God and how to practice the faith. Pharisees are
proud and self righteous. They felt they were better than others because they were seen as the
authority on religious Law.
Also, Nicodemus was a member of a special group of Pharisees, just 70 of them, called the Sanhedrin.
Sanhedren had a lot of power and prestige and wealth. They held court and sat in judgment about
religious matters of the day.
Jesus has come into Jerusalem and enters the temple where he sees people using the temple for the
wrong reasons. They’re selling animals for the Passover sacrifice and exchanging money to pay the
temple taxes. Jesus is angr y that God’s house is being used this way and he clears the temple.
That night, the Pharisee Nicodemus comes to see Jesus. W e always wonder why Nicodemus comes at
night. Did he not want the other Sanhedrin to see him? Did he not want the faithful to think perhaps he
was questioning his faith going to Jesus? W as he tr ying to learn if Jesus was the Messiah, the one who
comes to save? Nicodemus knows Jesus is not a popular figure. Maybe Nick was just tr ying to cover
his back in case Jesus was not who he proclaimed to be: th e Son of God.
It seems that Nick didn’t want to be part of a crowd talking to Jesus. He wanted to know if he was the
Son of God. He knew Jesus revealed God’s glor y through “signs”. Jesus had changed water into wine
at a wedding. Jesus told Nick he needed to be born from above. Nick was confused and asked Jesus
how he could be born again. Jesus explained to Nick that he must be born of the Holy Spirit and believe
in Jesus who comes from God in heaven. Jesus message demands change. Nicodemus comes to
believe. He never lives in the darkness again. After Jesus speaks, we don’t hear from Nicodemus until
guards come to the Pharisees having tried to arrest Jesus. Nicodemus suggests that he has a trial
(John 7:48-51) And finally, it’s Nicodemus who comes with Joseph of Arimathaea to help bury Jesus.
Nicodemus, changed by Jesus is born again through the Spirit and comes to the truth: Jesus is the Son
of God.
Our stor y today begins with Nic at Night coming to see Jesus.
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Ask the children where they would find stories about Jesus and his followers in th e Bible. (New
Testament – gospels) Tell the children that today’s story is found in the gospel of John 3:1-21. Help the
children locate the story in their Bibles.
Take turns reading the story from the Bible. It’s not an easy stor y to follow. So, invite the children
to join in hearing and being in the stor y below. You’ll want to study it well before telling it…this way
ever yone is invited into the stor y.
Nicodemus -- Science/Demonstrations
At a Glance:
Each of these demonstrations are designed to lead into a stor y truth:
Food coloring added to soda leads to the discussion of whether the soda is the same (taste, smell,
touch, sound) or different (look) leading to a discussion of someone who is born again.
Pepper floats on water and can't be separated. W ith a little dish soap, the pepper is pushed to the side,
leading to a discussion about sin and Jesus taking away sin.
Ingredient List
For all:
• Bibles
Project 1
Clear soda, such as 7 up
Food coloring (red, green, blue - yellow is too subtle)
Plastic coffee stirrers, or wooden craft sticks
Clear serving cups
Project 2
Tub of water
Pitcher or ladle (for getting water)
Mixing bowls (one for every 2-3 children)
(try and have a clear bowl for yourself)
Ground Pepper (lots and lots)
Dish soap (keep this hidden)
Strainers, washcloth, paper towels, etc. for children to tr y to separate pepper.
---------------------------------------Opening
Explain who Nicodemus was...a member of the ruling elders, the Council. W hy did he have to meet
Jesus at night?
"Decode" the concepts/images in this passage prior to reading.
Each of these means something other than what it means on the surface.
Night, Born from Above, W ater, Spirit, W ind, Flesh, Born, Son of Man. See if the children come up with
their own definitions, then fill in the blanks.
Read John 3:3-5 and discuss the concepts "kingdom of God" and "born again."
How are W E like Nicodemus embarrassed to come to Jesus? W hat's so dangerous or potentially
embarrassing about being known as one of his followers? How do we hide our faith from our friends and
family? W hy do we do that?
Main Activity
IMPORTANT: Always practice science-tvpe experiments Before presenting them to
class. A botched lesson loses its impact!!!
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Project 1
Divide children into pairs and give each pair two cups and one stirrer. Pour soda in each child's cup.
Allow them to take a small sip of it, but explain that they need it for their science experiment, so leave it
full.
Explain that you will be dropping food coloring in each of the two cups. One cup the children are
supposed to simply observe. The other cup the children may stir the mixture.
Respond to the questions below with the children…
There are at least two possible object lessons to experiment # 1.
1) The soda didn't really change. It looks different, but it tastes and smells and
sounds the same. W hat kind of change is Jesus looking for Nicodemus to do?
Superficial change or real change? W hat's the difference?
2) The food color got mixed quicker when we stirred it. Jesus is like that stirring
stick. It's possible to make changes in your life apart from God, but when we as k
God to come into our lives, the change is much more thorough.
The second point will be emphasized in project #2, but if you think you won't have time for the second
experiment, bring up that point here as well.
Project #2
Have various objects that children can use to try and separate the water and pepper, but conceal the
real solution, which is dish soap.
Have them gather around as you sprinkle pepper on the water. Explain that tr ying to get wrong choices,
hurt, meanness, (sin) out of your life without Jesus is like tr ying to strain the pepper out of the water - it
is difficult and doesn't work ver y well. (Sneak a little dish soap onto the tip of your finger) Talk with the
children a bit about how much Jesus wants us to know God’s love. W hen we don’t act loving or feel
loving, that’s called sin. Explain that trusting in Jesus takes away sin. W ith Jesus all sin is wiped away.
As you say this, touch your finger lightly to the water. All the pepper should move to the sides, leaving
clean water.
Reveal the secret of the dish soap. Let the children experiment "Knowing Jesus loves us all sin is wiped
away" using dish soap. (They may need to start with fresh water and fresh pepper to make it work).
Ask, what do water, pepper and dish soap have in common? W ater is a s ym bol for LIFE. Pepper is a
symbol for SIN. Soap is a s ymbol for JESUS
Science explanation: W ater has a ver y fine skin that covers the surface. W hen you put something like
pepper on top, it floats on the surface of that skin. Dish soap breaks that skin and pushes the pepper
away.
Faith explanation: Christ's love and forgiveness washes away our sin and leads us in the right direction
to know God.
If time runs short...
Perform the second project as a "magic trick" saying "W ith Jesus all sin is wiped away" without going
through the worksheets. Going through the lesson as written will have greater impact, but the main point
will get across this way, as well.
Reflect
Say: Nicodemus was in the midst of the darkness, but Jesus wanted to bring him light. W hy did
Nicodemus come at night? (He was a Pharisee and it probably wouldn’t have looked good for him to be
spending time with Jesus when others could see.)
W hat made it so hard for Nicodemus to understand what Jesus was saying? (He was depending on his
mind and reason only, he wasn’t willing to be open to a new way of looking at things; his heart was not
filled with the Holy Spirit.)
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W hen are times it is hard for you to understand? W hat helps you understand hard things? Sometimes
it’s hard for us to admit that we can’t do things on our own. W hen we believe in Jesus, the Holy Spirit
fills our heart and helps us understand things that might not make sense otherwise.
Reflect: “God so loved the world He gave his only begotten Son that whoever believes in him will never
die and have eternal life.”
This verse is really the gospel in a nutshell. W hat does the word “gospel” mean? (Good news) This
verse tells us the good news that God sent Jesus to die for us so that we can be with God forever. This
doesn’t mean that our physical bodies won’t die -- because all living things eventually die. Jesus is
talking about our spirits here -- when we believe in Jesus we get new spiritual lives and our spirits will
live forever with God! Because God’s Spirit com es and lives inside us we feel like new people!
Ask: Do you think Nicodemus ever understood what Jesus meant? (Later on, we read about Nicodemus
at Jesus’ trial. He spoke up asking the Sanhedrin to be fair to Jesus. Then after Jesus was crucified and
buried, we read that Nicodemus helped Joseph of Arimathea bur y Jesus. So it seems that Nicodemus
did indeed come to understand what Jesus had been telling him.)
Ask: I wonder how Nicodemus’ life changed after he understood what Jesus was tr ying to teach him? I
wonder if he tried to share the light of Jesus with others who were in the darkness? I wonder how we
can share that light today?
Reflect - Closure
Closing Prayer
Gather the children together. Ask the children what is one word or idea that they have learned during
today’s session and that they can share with others. (Believe, Spirit, new life are a few suggestions) Ask
for prayer requests and pray together: Dearest Loving and Wonderful God, We thank you for loving
us and for sending us Jesus to be our light. Help us to shine that light onto others. Fill us with
your Spirit and help us to be born again to be more grow more like Jesus every day. Amen.
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