Class Objectives: make the children aware that John the Baptist was a great Christian prophet, who is considered to be Jesus’ precursor. Through his preaching he prepared the hearts and minds of individuals to receive Jesus’ teachings.
Opening Prayer
First: Get the children interested in John the Baptist through questions.
Who has eaten honey in the past? What about grasshoppers?
Have you ever been to a celebration for Saint John?
What do you know about Saint John?
What about John the Baptist? What do you know about him?
Have you ever heard that John the Baptist was Jesus' precursor?
Why is he known as “The Precursor”? What does the word Precursor mean? It means forerunner, predecessor, pioneer; someone comes first, announcing someone’s arrival”.
What was his mission? It was to prepare the hearts and minds of individuals to receive Jesus’ teachings.
Would John the Baptist and St. John be the same person? Yes. We, spiritists, know this person as John the Baptist. Catholics know him as St. John.
Second: split the story of John the Baptist into different numbered parts. Please hand one part to each child (or split the room in different groups). They have ten minutes to read it. They will later on have to explain their part of the story, following the numbered sequence.
The spiritist teacher can add any comments after their presentation, if necessary.
Click here to find the story to be distributed (there are numbers on the back of each sheet).
Click here to find resources for the spiritist teacher 1.
Click here to find resources for the spiritist teacher 2.
Third - conclude the study: John the Baptist was Christ’ precursor. He was one of the “prophets sent by God to teach man to live according to the divine commandments”. It was his task to prepare the hearts for the Gospel that was about to come. He also had to awake people’s attention for the spiritual life, facilitating the work Jesus was about to begin. John the Baptist’s responsibility was to open a new era for humanity.
He had “the special mission of expanding the circle of ideas and human knowledge, strengthening the universal law; that is, charity and fraternity”.
Fourth: give the following activities for the children to answer it individually.
Activity 1.
Answer sheet activity 1.
Activity 2.
Answer sheet activity 2.
Closing Prayer
Class suggested being suitable for: 3rd cycle (11 to 12 years old).
Class suggested sent to us by the spiritist teacher Sandra Ramos Medeiros, Centro Espírita Fé, Amor e Caridade - Campo Grande/MS.
Translation: Carolina von Scharten, London, Sir William Crookes Spiritist Society linked to BUSS - The British Union of Spiritist Societies.
