"Jesus Teaches, We Listen" Sunday School Lesson from Mark 1:21-28

This free Bible lesson is based on Mark 1:21-28 when Jesus, just after calling His disciples, taught in the synagogue. It is designed for children’s church or Sunday School. Please modify as best fits your ministry.
If your church follows the Revised Common Lectionary, this teaching plan would correspond to Year B – 4th Sunday after the Epiphany, Gospel Reading – Mark 1:21-22.
Opening Activity – Jesus Teaches, We Listen – Who Should You Listen To…?
Supplies – none
Ask the children the following questions.  If they agree with the first option have them raise finger, and if they agree with second option raise two fingers.  You could also different color pieces of construction paper, or various motions like patting their head.

• Who should you listen to about bedtime?  1-parents  2-neighbor
  Who should you listen to about turning in homework?  1-friend  2-teacher
  Who should you listen to about fire safety?  1-fireman  2-veterinarian
  Who should you listen to about crossing the street?  1-crossing guard  2-librarian
  Who should you listen to about staying healthy?  1-doctor  2-grocery store cashier
  Who should you listen to about obeying the law?  1-soccer coach  2-police officer
  Who should you listen to about the Bible?  1-news  2-pastor

Lesson – Jesus Teaches, We Listen
Those weren’t too hard were they?
Most of the time we can figure out who to listen to pretty easily.  What are some of the things that help us figure it out?  Why should we listen to and obey someone?
A lot of the time they are older.  People who are older, like your parents, have been around longer and experienced more than you have.  They have actually already gone to school, made friends, played sports, stayed up late, and shared toys.  And since they have already had those experiences they know things that can help you.
Why should we listen to a doctor instead of our grocery store cashier?  The doctor went to school for a really long time specifically to help keep you healthy.  And before they could become a doctor they had to take a whole bunch of tests to prove that they had learned and remembered it all.
Why should we listen to our pastor instead of the news?  Before teaching us about the Bible, our pastor has read the Bible and prayed about it.  They make sure they are teaching what God wants them to teach, instead of what the world wants.
Now, lets play one more round.  Who should you listen to about being saved and going to heaven?  1-Jesus  2-anyone else
JESUS!  Of course!
Can you think of any reasons we should be listening to Jesus instead of anyone else?  The only way to be saved and go to heaven is by asking Jesus to forgive us and to live in our heart.  So since being saved is all about Jesus, Jesus is the perfect person to ask!
In the Bible Jesus went into a synagogue one day and began to teach to everyone there.  This was one of the first times for Him to ever preach, and no one knew who He was yet.  But even though they didn’t know who Jesus was, they knew they should be listening to Him.  The moment they heard Him, they could tell there was something special about Him.  They even started to tell everyone they knew, so they can could learn from Jesus too.
Unfortunately, we weren’t around back then.  But that doesn’t mean we can’t listen to Jesus.  There are two ways we can find out the answers from Jesus, any guesses?  Praying and reading the Bible.
The Bible is filled with the words Jesus spoke when He was living here on earth.  Jesus has SOOOO much to say to you in the Bible, and all we have to do is open it up and read it.  We can learn about being saved and going to heaven.  We can learn how Jesus wants us to treat others, and how we can show God we love Him.  Jesus even taught us how to pray in the Bible, which is our other way of learning from Him.  Even if we don’t have a Bible in front of us, we can still talk to Jesus in prayer and ask Him to help us.
Jesus wants us to be able to live with Him in heaven.  And He gave us the Bible so we could find out Jesus from Jesus Himself; so we can learn from Him just like people did back when He was here on earth.  You can read it by yourself, with your family, or at church.  We just have to open it up and read it.
Activity A – Jesus Teaches, We Listen – Bible Verse Challenge
Supplies – Bibles
Verse – Mark 1:21-22
Pass out Bibles to students. Bibles should be closed and sitting on the table face up in front of each child. When you say go, have the kids look up this week’s Bible verse. As each child finds the verse, have them stick one finger on the verse and quietly raise their other hand. The first one to find the verse gets to read it to the rest of the class.
Help younger kids and new kids find the verse by following these steps.
Look in the Table of Contents for the book you are looking for. Make an effort to show them if it is found in the Old Testament or New Testament to help them in the future. Then open the Bible to the page number listed in the Table of Contents.
Show them the large numbers in the text, known as the chapters. Flip through pages until you find the large chapter number you are looking for.
Then scan through the text with them pointing out the smaller verse numbers until the correct number is found.
Activity B – Jesus Teaches, We Listen – Telephone
Supplies – none
Play a game of telephone using Bible verses.  Suggested verses listed below.
– John 3:16
– John 14:16
– Matthew 6:33
– Matthew 19:14
– Matthew 5:16
– Matthew 7:12
– Luke 10:27
After the game, explain to the kids that just like Bible, the original source is always the best one to listen to and learn from.
Closing Prayer – Jesus Teaches, We Listen
Ask for a volunteer to pray for the class before leaving, and encourage them to ask to thank God for giving us the Bible so we can learn from Jesus.