Lesson 9: Jesus Performs His First Miracle

Welcome

          Thank kids for coming.

          Just for fun, have kids give a fist bump to four friends.

          Make announcements.

          Introduce new kids.

          Celebrate birthdays by lining up preschoolers who have birthdays this month and having everyone else run by to high-five them.

          Collect the offering.

Introduce the Lesson

          Say: Jesus has God’s power. Today we’ll learn about when Jesus used God’s power to do something really amazing and exciting. The amazing thing he did was called a miracle.

Share

          Say: Jesus’ first miracle was making something tasty for people to drink.

          Tell about your favorite drink.

          Have preschoolers share in small groups about their favorite drink.

Summarize

          Show your Bible, and say: When Jesus made a special drink, he used God’s power. Today we’ll learn what it means that Jesus has God’s power. We’ll see what the Bible says about what Jesus did. Let’s talk to Jesus before we get started.

          Pray, praising Jesus that he has God’s power.

Tip 

Sing Songs to God

            Sing the three songs in any order.

Discuss Empty Jars

          Give each child one “Wedding Jar” handout.

          Say: Our jars are all empty.

          Tell kids one or two ideas you have for filling the jars, such as coloring on them or taping things on them.

          Ask: • What are some other ways we could fill them?

          Say: We can fill them in many different ways. But none of those ways would be like how Jesus filled the jars. What Jesus did was a miracle! Jesus used God’s power to fill the jugs.

Fill the Jars

          Say: Let’s fill our jars with colored paper. Have kids arrange the pieces of construction paper to cover their jars. Then have kids spray the construction paper with water.

          Ask: • What do you think the water will do to the paper?

          Share a couple of ways you use water in your daily life.

          • What are some ways you use water?

          Keep the discussion going for at least two or three minutes while the paper dries. Then have kids gently pull the paper off to reveal their jars—full of the ink from the construction paper. Then staple a second “Wedding Jar” handout, illustration side facing out, to the back side of the paper with the colored jar. (Staple the sides and bottom, but leave the top open to make a pocket.)

Use the Jars

          Ask: • What surprised or amazed you about the color?

          Say: We can use our crafts to tell others about Jesus’ amazing miracle. Help the children tear large pieces of construction paper and crumple them. For each child, open the jar pockets and have kids drop in their crumpled paper pieces.

          Say: Let’s tell about Jesus’ amazing miracle! Lead children to do the following:

          Say: At the wedding, the people ran out of what they were drinking! Show the empty side of the jar.

          So Jesus told the servants to take the empty jars and fill them with water. Hold the sides of the jar and march in place to pretend you’re carrying the jars to the water.

          So the servants filled them with water. But Jesus changed the water into a new, special drink! Have kids turn the jars around to reveal the “filled” jars.

          The people poured it out to taste it. Hold the jar upside down and squeeze the stapled sides in and out to pour out the crumpled pieces of paper.

          They said it tasted like the best special drink! Have kids toss the crumpled paper in the air to celebrate.

          Lead the children to repeat telling what happened in the Bible story in this way several times.

          Say: In our Bible story, Jesus had the power to make ordinary water into a totally different drink. That’s pretty amazing! It was the first time Jesus did a miracle in front of a lot of people, and it showed his friends that Jesus has God’s power. Take home your jars and share with others what Jesus did to show that he has God’s power.

Celebrate the Wedding

          Say: Have you ever been to a wedding? A wedding is a special party. Share a few details about a wedding you've been to, such as the colors of the decorations, the location, the type of clothes people wore, and activities you participated in. If some of your preschoolers recall going to a wedding, let them share details they remember.

          Show a Bible.

          Say: The Bible tells us Jesus went to a wedding with his mom and his friends. They were guests. Let’s pretend to be guests at a wedding, too. At a wedding, guests might spend some of their time eating special food and drinking special drinks. Help the preschoolers sit in circles of five or six to pretend they’re sitting at round tables.

          Lead the preschoolers in pretending to gobble up some of their favorite foods and take big gulps of their favorite drinks.

          Say: I brought something for you to drink. Hopefully I have enough. How many preschoolers are here today? Help the children count off, and then repeat the number of preschoolers present in your group.

          Say: I think I have a cup for everyone. Have the preschoolers help you count your cups, and then repeat the number of cups they counted.

          Say: Oh no! I don’t have enough cups for everyone. We have [number of preschoolers], but we only have [number of cups kids counted]. What can we do? Let the children make suggestions about what to do since you don’t have enough cups.

          Say: This reminds me of the wedding Jesus went to. They ran out of their special drink at the wedding. There was none left for anyone to drink! Jesus’ mother was one of the first to find out that they had run out, and she had an idea about what to do. I think I have an idea about what to do about our problem. Maybe there are some more cups stored in our room. Invite the children to look for more cups around the room until someone finds the hidden stack of cups.

Make a Special Drink

          Say: Jesus’ mother didn’t find more of the special drink the way we found more cups for our group. Her idea was to tell Jesus. She knew Jesus has God’s power. She knew that Jesus could do something powerful to help.

          Tell about someone you go to for help—someone you know who can get things done. Help the children think of people in their lives they go to when they need someone who can get things done, such as their parents or teachers.

          Say: Jesus’ mother knew something needed to be done. Running out of the drink at the wedding was a big deal. It was kind of like if you ran out of cake at your birthday party and all you had for your guests was water.

          Pour a sip of water from the pitcher into each cup for kids to drink. Make sure you leave enough in the pitcher to fill the blender later. If you need to use more than one pitcher throughout the activity, pour some of the water from each pitcher so kids know they all have water.

          Say: Jesus helped the people at the wedding. Let’s hear about what he did.

          Read John 2:7-8. Have a few kids come up and be servants, helping them as they take turns pouring the remaining water from the pitcher into the blender. Place the lid on the blender.

          Say: Okay, let’s see what we can do with this water. Push buttons on the blender, trying to make it work while it’s unplugged. Ask kids what they think the problem is.

          Say: Aha! We need to plug in the blender to make it work. When we plug it in, that gives it power. Plug in the blender and run it.

          Say: Hmm. It still looks like water. Did the power even help us? Let’s see. Refill kids’ cups with the water, which should now be flavored. Have kids taste it.

          Ask: • What’s different about this water?

          Say: The power in the blender helped us change the water into a different drink. In the Bible, Jesus had God’s power and turned the water in the jars into a special drink for the guests! Jesus did something really amazing.

Learn What’s So Special About a Miracle

          Say: When I changed the flavor of your water with the blender, it might’ve surprised you. But what I did wasn’t amazing. I didn’t use God’s power. I just put some flavoring in the bottom of the blender. I did something tricky.

          Tell about another fun trick you can do, such as pretending to disappear when  you’re only hiding behind a wall. Help the children think of other fun tricks they can do, such as making a quarter disappear behind someone’s ear or making the end of their thumb disappear. Let older preschoolers demonstrate the fun tricks if they know them. Otherwise, you can show them how the tricks work. You can check online for more ideas.

          Say: There are a lot of fun tricks that people can do. But what Jesus did wasn’t a fun trick. He didn’t use a special flavoring to change the water like I did. Jesus did something amazing. Jesus has God’s power. What Jesus did is called a miracle. A miracle is something that only God can make happen.

          Share some examples of miracles that God can do, such as making a storm stop or making someone who’s sick get better just by speaking. Invite the children to tell amazing things that God can do.

          Say: What Jesus did wasn’t a fun trick. What Jesus did was with God’s power. Jesus did a miracle! It was the first time Jesus did a miracle in front of people. And what he did showed those people that Jesus has God’s power.

Reflect on God’s Power

          Say: Let’s think more about what it means that Jesus has God’s power. Point to the blender. We couldn’t get the blender to work without plugging it in to power. Briefly turn on the blender.

          Say: Let’s look at some other things that need to be plugged in to have power. Let the children take turns trying to turn on the lamp when it’s not plugged in, and then have them turn it on and off when it is plugged in. (Make sure you’re always the one plugging and unplugging the items.) Do the same with the fan.

          Ask: • What are some other things that need power to work? Help the children with ideas, if needed; for example, televisions, microwaves, and alarm clocks.

          Say: Like these things need to be plugged in to work, Jesus is plugged in to God. Jesus has God’s power. God gave Jesus power to do the things he did at the wedding. Jesus used God’s power to do a lot of other things—like [mention some of the miracles kids talked about earlier]. Jesus used his power from God to help the people at the wedding. Jesus can use his power to help us, too.

Tip 

Discuss and Watch “Riley’s Story”

          Say: The Bible tells us about a time Jesus did a miracle—something amazing that’s not possible for people to do—something that only God can do. This let everyone know that Jesus has God’s power.

          Jesus did something amazing because he had God’s power. If you could do something amazing with God’s power, what would you want to do? I’ll share first!

          Tell kids something you would do if you had God’s power. Then have kids get into groups of three and share their answers to that question in their groups. 

          Say: Let’s watch a story about a girl named Riley who wanted to do something amazing.

          Watch “Riley’s Story.”

          Ask: • Riley did several amazing things. What was the thing she did that was most interesting to you, and why?

          After a few children have shared with the larger group, say: Riley believed that God would give her the power to do things that seemed like they weren’t possible for a teenager to do. Her story mentioned the Bible verse 2 Corinthians 4:7 which says, “Our great power is from God, not from ourselves.”

          Ask: • What do you think might happen if God gave you the power to do the amazing thing you shared earlier? Talk about that in your groups! Have kids share in their groups, and invite a few kids to share with the larger group what they discussed.

          Say: Instead of just talking to each other about what God might do through us, let’s talk to God! Silently talk to God about the idea you’ve been sharing with your friends, and then listen to see what God tells you.

          Allow two minutes for silent prayer, and then ask if anyone would like to share what happened while they were talking and listening to God. It’s okay if no one shares—but be sure to thank anyone who does open up and share.

          Say: Jesus has God’s power, and we know he can do miracles and other amazing things with that power. We can listen to God and see what he might do through us with his power, too!

Tip

• Before printing, turn on page numbering in Word to keep the pages in order (or simply hand-number each page after printing). You may also find it helpful to highlight your part and set the script on a music stand nearby during the skit.

Leader: It’s time for our puppy friend, Theo, to come for a visit. Let’s call him to our class with a “woof, woof.” Ready? (Leads kids to bark until Theo is brought into view.)

Theo: It’s good to see you! (Pants.) I really, really want a good scratch. Friends, will you scratch my head? (Circulates among kids so each child can pet him.)

Leader: Thanks for welcoming Theo, friends!

Theo: You’re such good friends!

Leader: We think you’re a good friend, too, Theo! (Points to the remote-control toy.) Did you bring something to show your friends here today?

Theo: I did! Will you help me get it set up?

Leader: Of course! (Detaches the toy from Theo and sets it on the ground.) Neat!

Theo: This toy is powerful—want to try it?

Leader: Sure! (Takes the remote and uses it.)

Theo: You all can try it, too! (Explains to kids how to use it and then gives everyone a turn for about 30 seconds. If you have more than 10 kids, Theo will share that he brought some more toys and kids can play in groups of 10 so it only takes about 5 minutes for all the kids to have a turn.)

Leader: Thanks for sharing your toy with us, Theo. (Invites kids to thank Theo, too, and share what they liked about the remote-control toy they played with.)

Theo: You’re welcome!

Leader: Your remote-control toy reminds me of what we we’re learning today.

Theo: What’s that?

Leader: We’re learning Jesus has God’s power.

Theo: What does that have to do with my remote-control toy?

Leader: The toy has a special connection to the remote; that means when we push the buttons on the remote, it gives the toy power to do things. And God gives Jesus power in kind of the same way.

Theo: So God makes Jesus do stuff?

Leader: Not really like that; I mean Jesus has a special connection with God, so he has God’s power to do amazing things.

Theo: Cool! (Jumps and then puts a paw to his ear.) Oh! My mom is calling me. I’d better go see what she wants!

Leader: Okay, Theo! Friends, let’s all give Theo a “woof, woof, goodbye”! (Leads kids in a “woof, woof, goodbye,” and then places Theo out of sight.)

Try to Turn On the Flashlight

          Say: Jesus has God’s power! He can do anything God can do. When someone’s sick, Jesus can make the person healthy. When there’s a storm, Jesus can make it stop. Let’s do something to help us think more about Jesus’ power.

          Tell about a couple of things that give “power,” such as electricity or gasoline.

          Ask: • What are some things that have power?

          Hold up the flashlight, and then have a few preschoolers try to turn it on.

          Say: A flashlight won’t work without batteries. A flashlight gets power from the batteries. If we put batteries in a flashlight, we can turn on the light. The batteries give power just like God gives power. Jesus gets his power from God.

Insert the Power

          Show kids the batteries, and have them watch while you put them into the flashlight. Darken the room as much as possible, but don’t turn on the flashlight yet.

          Say: Because Jesus has God’s power, he can change water into a different drink. At the wedding, Jesus had servants fill big containers with water.

          Carefully hold the flashlight as you pour some water through the funnel into the water bottle. Put on the lid. Point out that the water didn’t change like it did for Jesus.

          Say: Jesus isn’t just an ordinary person like us. Jesus has God’s power. Let’s use the power in this flashlight to try to change the water. Turn on the flashlight so the cellophane gives the water a red tint. Let each child turn the flashlight on and off, assisting any kids who need your help.

          Say: Like the batteries give the flashlight power to make this water change colors, God gives Jesus power to do anything he wants or needs to do.

          Tell some things Jesus can do with God’s power.

          Ask: • What do you think Jesus can do with God’s power?

          Share why you believe Jesus uses his power to take care of you.

          • What ways can Jesus use his power to take care of you?     

   Say: Jesus loves you, and you can trust him to use his power to take care of you!

Tip

• If any balloons pop, gather the pieces and throw them away immediately to prevent children from choking on them.

Guess Where It Flies

          Say: Today we’re learning how Jesus showed that he has God’s power. Jesus turned water into a special drink. He helped the people at the wedding. Jesus uses God’s power to help you, too.

          Jesus can use God’s power (blow a little bit of air into a balloon, and hold the opening closed) to keep you safe when you’re scared. Let go of the balloon, and have the preschoolers try to catch it. Have them immediately bring it back to you.

          Say: Jesus can use God’s power (blow up the balloon a little bit more than you did the first time) to make you better when you’re sick. This time, have kids spread out and stand where they think the balloon will land. Then let go of the balloon, and have preschoolers try to catch it. Have them immediately bring it back to you. Congratulate children for their guesses.

          Say: Jesus can use God’s power to do a lot of things! What are some other things you think Jesus can use his power for? Help kids think of ideas such as give us the food we need and a place to live, bring us good friends, take care of our family, and help us feel better when we’re sad. For each shared idea, blow up the balloon (avoid fully inflating it until directed to later), have kids stand where they think it will land, and then let it go. Always have preschoolers immediately bring the balloon back to you. Repeat for at least five more rounds.

          Say: Jesus can use God’s power (fully inflate the balloon) to do anything! Let go of the balloon one last time. Have the children try to catch it, and then have them return it to you.

Receive Affirmations

          Have the children line up along a wall. Say: Jesus can use God’s power to help each of you! Hold up a deflated balloon. A balloon can’t fly by itself. But when there’s air inside the balloon, it can fly. The air gives it power. Like that, Jesus has God’s power inside him. And he uses it to take care of each of you!

          Blow up the balloon. Say: When I call your name, it’s your turn to catch the balloon. Ready? Build up the anticipation for children to hear their names by showing them how to get into “racer” positions. Say: “Jesus has God’s power to help [name of child],” but wait to release the balloon until you say the child’s name. That child should run to catch the balloon when you call his or her name. Do this enough times to call every child’s name. If you have more than 10 children, call multiple children’s names at one time and let several balloons go when you do.

          Say: God gives Jesus power like the air gives the balloon power. And you can be sure that Jesus can use his power to take care of you!

Tip

• If any balloons pop, gather the pieces and throw them away immediately to prevent children from choking on them.

Blow the Balloons

          Have preschoolers spread throughout the room.

          Say: Jesus did something amazing because he has God’s power! Let’s play a fun game to help us think about that.

          Place an inflated balloon on the floor. Show preschoolers how you can blow on the balloon to make it move. Give kids each a balloon, and let them practice moving the balloons by blowing on them.

          After the children have gotten the hang of it, have them line up along one wall with their balloons. Say: Use your blowing power to move the balloon as fast as you can to the other wall. Have kids race in this way.

          Repeat as time allows.

Talk About It

          Ask: • What was it like to move your balloon in this game?

          Say: You used your blowing power to move the balloons. Like that, Jesus uses God’s power to do great things. And he can do anything with God’s power. One way he uses God’s power is to take care of you!

Transfer Water

          Say: Today we heard how Jesus did a miracle! He changed water into a special drink for the guests at a wedding. Let’s pretend to be the servants who got the water for Jesus.

          Gather preschoolers in groups of five around the bowls of water. Show kids how they can use cups to scoop water from the bowl, carefully carry it to the empty bowl, and empty it there.

          Say: When I say go, work with the friends in your group to move all the water to your group’s other bowl. Remind the children that they want to get all the water into the empty bowls, so they’ll need to be careful to “protect” the water so none of it sneaks out.

          Start the game by saying “go,” and have adult and teen helpers lead the children in taking turns moving the water. Although the children will take turns, all the children can be working at once because the children will be at different stages. When a group gets all of its water into the other bowl, have everyone cheer. Encourage the children to cheer for the groups that finish after them.

          After all the groups finish, remind the children that Jesus used God’s power to change water into a different drink at the wedding.

          If time allows, let the kids play again.

Talk About It

          Set aside the cups and bowls, and have preschoolers sit in a circle.

          Say: You did a great job moving the water the way the servants did in our Bible story. In the Bible, the water changed to a totally different drink! That’s because Jesus has God’s power. Jesus can do anything with God’s power! And like Jesus used the servants to show God’s power, Jesus can use you when he’s showing God’s power!

Turn the Light On and Off

          Turn off the light. Say: God gives Jesus power. Turn on the light.

          Turn off the light. Say: God gives Jesus power (turn on the light) so Jesus can do anything.  

          Turn off the light. Say: In the Bible story, we heard about a wedding. They ran out of the special drink they were drinking at the wedding. But Jesus did a miracle. Turn on the light. Jesus used God’s power.

          Jesus can use God’s power to help us, too. Share about one or two things you need, and turn off the light. Then tell how Jesus’ power can help you, and turn on the light.

          Ask: • What things do you need? Help kids think of ideas by explaining that Jesus can help them with anything they need. As each child shares a need, let him or her turn off the light. Then tell how Jesus’ power can help that child, and have the child turn on the light. Older preschoolers may be able to come up with their own ideas for how Jesus’ power can help them. Lead the children to thank Jesus for each idea.

          Close in prayer.

          Thank the children for coming, and invite them to come back next week.

           Distribute a copy of the “Dig In @ Home” handout to kids as they leave, or email it to parents during the week.