What’s Your Job?
Describe several jobs to your children and allow them to guess the occupation. Here are a few suggestions: teacher, doctor, dentist, astronaut, trashman, chef, etc. After the guessing game, tell your children about John the Baptist and how his job was to tell others about Jesus. His job meant he helped people prepare their hearts and choose to love, follow, and obey Jesus—the coming Savior of the World.
Who Is It?
Items Needed: printed pictures or device to access images
Provide pictures of locusts, honey, clothes made from animal skins, baptisms, etc. Ask your children to look at the pictures and name what they see. Ask them if they know what the pictures have in common (all related to John the Baptist).
Talk to your children about John the Baptist, describing him as a relative of Jesus who had the important job of telling others about the Light of the World. Explain to your children that John lived in the wilderness, ate locusts and honey, and wore clothes made from animals. Emphasize that John the Baptist had a very important job—helping others prepare their hearts and choose to love, follow, and obey Jesus.
Baptism Example
Hold up a wedding ring and ask:
What does it mean when people wear wedding rings? (They are married.)
When people see the ring, they know the person wearing it has a husband or wife.
Would a person still be married even if they weren’t wearing the ring? (Yes) The ring is only a symbol that shows other people they are married. People are married when they make a promise and say, “I do.”
This is like what happens with baptism. Baptism is a symbol that shows others you follow Jesus. It tells others you believe Jesus died for your sins, was buried, and came back to life on the third day. Baptism tells others you said, I do want Jesus to come into my heart and take my sins away. You are saved when you believe and ask Jesus into your heart. Baptism does not save you, but it shows on the outside what has happened on the inside. It shows others you have chosen to follow Jesus and you are not ashamed of Him.
Do you know why we call Jesus’ relative “John the Baptist”? (He baptized people who chose to follow Jesus.)
Do you know who baptized Jesus? (John the Baptist)
Even though Jesus did not ever sin, He showed us, by His example, how important baptism is. Let’s follow Jesus and try to be more like Him!