Make me clean!
Children's Activity
Object:
Teachers or Parents: Like the unclean leper that Jesus cured, all
of us are also unclean because of sin. Like this leper, we also
need to go to Jesus and ask him to make us clean. Teaching the
children the value of repentance, which leads to forgiveness, is
essential to a proper understanding of the Christian life. Let's
continue to encourage them to go to Jesus for cleansing from sin.
*Show the children a very dirty white garment and ask them
if anyone would like to wear this filthy piece of clothing. When
they agree that they would not want to, explain that this is what
we are like because of sin. Then wash the garment in a cleanser
of some kind and show them how it becomes clean. This is what
happens when we go to Jesus and ask him to forgive our sins. We
are cleansed just like the garment.
*Ask the children to draw a picture of Jesus cleansing the
leper. Let them show their completed pictures and talk about
them. Relate the cleansing of the leper to the cleansing of our
sins when we repent and ask Jesus to forgive us.
*Play a game of tag starting with one person you call
"leper." Every person this one touches becomes unclean and every
person touched by one who was touched by the leper also becomes
unclean. It won't take long before everyone is unclean and the
game is over. At this point, explain that we will play it again,
but this time if you are touched by the leper or someone else
touched by the leper, all you have to do is go to another person
designated as "cleaner" and you will be cleansed and back in the
game. When they have played this awhile with people constantly
being cleaned and back in the game, stop the game and relate all
this to the cleansing we get when we go to Jesus for forgiveness.
of us are also unclean because of sin. Like this leper, we also
need to go to Jesus and ask him to make us clean. Teaching the
children the value of repentance, which leads to forgiveness, is
essential to a proper understanding of the Christian life. Let's
continue to encourage them to go to Jesus for cleansing from sin.
*Show the children a very dirty white garment and ask them
if anyone would like to wear this filthy piece of clothing. When
they agree that they would not want to, explain that this is what
we are like because of sin. Then wash the garment in a cleanser
of some kind and show them how it becomes clean. This is what
happens when we go to Jesus and ask him to forgive our sins. We
are cleansed just like the garment.
*Ask the children to draw a picture of Jesus cleansing the
leper. Let them show their completed pictures and talk about
them. Relate the cleansing of the leper to the cleansing of our
sins when we repent and ask Jesus to forgive us.
*Play a game of tag starting with one person you call
"leper." Every person this one touches becomes unclean and every
person touched by one who was touched by the leper also becomes
unclean. It won't take long before everyone is unclean and the
game is over. At this point, explain that we will play it again,
but this time if you are touched by the leper or someone else
touched by the leper, all you have to do is go to another person
designated as "cleaner" and you will be cleansed and back in the
game. When they have played this awhile with people constantly
being cleaned and back in the game, stop the game and relate all
this to the cleansing we get when we go to Jesus for forgiveness.
