Scripture: Matthew 28:16-20, Mark 16:15-20, Luke 24:45-53, Acts 1:1-26
Learning Objectives:
- Students will learn after he rose from the dead and spent a few ekes on earth, Jesus rose into Heaven.
- Students will learn Jesus wants us to join him in Heaven one day.
- Students will learn while we are on earth, Jesus wants us to serve others and share our faith with them.
- Students will learn how to show empathy and to react in an appropriate manner to those feeling different emotions.
Guiding Question: How can showing empathy be done in a godly way?
Materials: Slips of paper, pencil
Procedure: Review the story of the Ascension from the scriptures above. Remind the students that the Ascension was part of Jesus fulfilling prophecies and completing what He came on Earth to do. Tell the students that the disciples probably felt many different emotions about Jesus going back to Earth. They were happy He rose from the dea but sad He had to go back to Earth because they loved His company. They probably felt nervous about how to spread the message of Jesus to as many as they could. In this type of situation where people feel different emotions, it is important to be empathetic toward them. Part of empathy is the ability to predict emotions that certain words and actions may create in other people.
Write various emotion words on slips of paper. (EX: sad, happy, mad, excited, afraid, calm, anxious, appalled, cranky, bored, indifferent, offended, awkward, contrite, guilty, concerned, confused, cautious, jumpy, suspicious, panicked, shocked, jealous, insecure, threatened, greedy, amused, encouraged, hopeful, cheerful, disappointed, etc.)
Have a student draw a slip of paper with an emotion word on it. The student must act out the emotion without talking. Have the students raise their hand and guess what the emotions is. The person who guesses correctly comes up and without words acts out a scenario that may cause someone to feel that emotion. Have the students raise their hand to guess the scenario. The person who guesses correctly must then come up and act out without words a way to be supportive and loving to the person in that situation. Have the students raise their hand and guess the situation. The person that guesses correctly then comes up and draws a new emotion word. Continue the game until all cards are used or time runs out.
Additional Questions: How can empathy be shown based on facial expressions and body language?
Supplemental Activity: Print pictures of children showing different emotions. Put the students in groups and give one picture to each group. Have the students guess why that child may be feeling that way, how to show empathy to them in a godly, and even relate to a time they have felt that way and what would have helped them feel better.