Bonus Lesson Plan Elements and Resources for the Here Comes the Groom Marriage Curriculum
There are times when working with a curriculum topic in a church or school setting that you need a bit more material to fill a scheduling surprise. Being called in as a substitute for another church worker is much less daunting with some supplemental resources tucked away on a computer file somewhere. I hope you enjoy this collection of ideas and resources. (The story and monologue have been included in this post. Each element can be downloaded separately below.)
Elements in this lesson include:
Story: Not Enough Pies
(I wrote this story based on an actual event that occurred involving a set of siblings in our children’s church program.)
“What are you doing, Mama?” asked Penny.
“Oh, just looking at some pictures from one of the fall festivals we’ve had here at church. Look at all that chili,” answered Mama.
“I liked the pies more than the chili,” noted four-year-old Jacob.
Their mama looked through a few more pictures. “That’s just the thing, son. I saw this email today from the church office and it said there aren’t going to be enough pies this year.”
Daniel leaned in to have a look at the photos. “Looks like there’s plenty of pie in this picture. It’s all over their faces.” Being an always hungry eight-year-old boy, this seemed like a happy circumstance to him.
Penny giggled as she looked over her twin brother’s shoulder. “I remember that. Those guys were in a pie-eating contest. What a mess!”
Mama’s face lit up. “I have an idea. Why don’t you three choose a recipe? You can each make a pie and enter it into the pie-eating contest.”
“I like that idea. It would be sad not to have enough for everybody to eat and we can help.” Penny began flipping through one of her mother’s cookbooks looking at the pictures of the different pies.
“I have another idea,” Mama said. “Our situation of not having enough pies reminds me of a Bible story about a very festive event where there weren’t enough refreshments for the people.”
“You sound like Miss Cindy at children’s church. I think everything reminds her of a Bible story.” Daniel grinned.
Jacob asked, “Did your story happen at a wedding? She talks a lot about marriage and weddings and stuff.”
“Really? And what exactly have you been learning about marriage and weddings and stuff in children’s church?”
“Well,” began Penny, we learned that God created marriage between a man and a woman, and it’s like a symbol of something very special.”
“Yeah, it’s a symbol of how much Jesus loved the church and gave His life for it.” Daniel could tell his mother was surprised that he knew this.
Penny began to sing, “Jesus is the bridegroom, the church His bride. That’s a song Miss Cindy taught us.”
“I’m impressed,” said Mama. “Well, this Bible story is about a wedding that Jesus, His mother, and Jesus’ disciples had been invited to attend. It was in a town called Cana. Weddings back then were very joyous events. Most wedding celebrations lasted at least seven days.”
Penny remembered what her mother had said earlier. “You said that they ran out of refreshments. Would that have been so bad?”
Mama began pulling sugar and flour from the cabinets as she explained, “In those days, the hosts of the wedding were responsible for the wedding guests to have plenty of food to eat and plenty to drink as well. For weddings, the hosts were to supply wine for everyone. Showing good hospitality was very important. To fail to do so, would have been a huge embarrassment.”
Jacob was busy putting sugar into a measuring cup. He declared, “If I ever have a wedding, I’m going to give everybody chocolate milk.”
Mama laughed. “Good idea. That suits you, I think. At this wedding, Jesus’ mother learned that the host had run out of wine. She must have been concerned that not having enough might make the host of the wedding look bad.”
Penny sighed, “It would be sad if something spoiled the happy day. Having something go wrong at your wedding wouldn’t be good.”
Mama began to laugh, “Oh, I think something almost always goes wrong at a wedding, but it’s still a happy day.”
Penny looked at the wedding pictures of her parents hanging in the next room. “That can’t be true. You and Daddy look happy and the church looks so pretty.”
“A picture doesn’t tell the whole story. My beautiful dress is covering up a very clunky and ugly cast on my leg and those beautiful candles…well, when the air-conditioner fan kicked on, we thought we may have a church fire. Fortunately, that didn’t happen and it was a wonderful day.”
Penny smiled. “That’s good. I’m glad the church didn’t burn down, but what happened at the wedding where Jesus was?”
“Jesus’ mother, Mary, was very concerned about the whole thing. She knew Jesus was God’s son and she could trust Him to help with the situation, so she told Him about the problem.”
“Did everyone else know Jesus was God’s son?” asked Daniel.
Mama thought about that for a minute. “Well, His disciples knew it, but I’m not sure they understood exactly what that meant. For example, Jesus hadn’t performed any miracles yet. They hadn’t seen God’s power working through Him at this point.”
“What happened?” asked Daniel.
“Mary told the servants at the wedding to do whatever Jesus asked them to do. And now,” Mama added, “I need you to do exactly what I tell you to do while we work on these pies.”
The next several minutes, the kids were busy getting instructions for preparing their pies. Finally, the pies were ready for the oven.
The kids were all coated in flour and a variety of other sticky ingredients. After they cleaned up, Mama wanted to continue with the Bible story as they waited for the pies to bake.
“Well,” she said as she dusted her hands, “I think we’ve helped solve the problem of not enough pies at the festival, so let’s finish our story about what Jesus did at the wedding to help with their refreshment problem.”
“Yeah, what happened?” asked Jacob.
“Jesus said to the servants, ‘fill the jars with water,’ so they filled them to the brim. Then he told them to draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet.”
“What happened then?” asked Penny.
Mama answered, “The master of the banquet tasted the water and the water had turned into wine. He didn’t have any idea that Jesus had been responsible for this miracle.”
“You’ve said that word two times. What’s a miracle?” asked Jacob.
“It’s a little bit hard to put into words,” explained Mama, “because a miracle is something that only God can do. A miracle is an event that involves the powerful action of God, going beyond ordinary natural happenings.”
“I think I understand about miracles. It’s something that only happens by God’s power. Like a sign that’s He’s in control,” Penny added.
“But, Mama, you said the master of the banquet didn’t know about the miracle. How could it be a sign of God’s power if nobody saw it?” Daniel asked.
“Good question and you’re correct, the master of the banquet never knew about the water changing into wine. He actually called the bridegroom aside and remarked that most people bring out the best wine at the beginning of the feast, but in this wedding, the best wine was saved for the very end. The master was clueless, but the servants knew what had happened.”
Penny had a thoughtful look on her face. “I think it’s a shame that only the servants knew about the miracle that Jesus did at the wedding.”
“Oh, they weren’t the only ones who knew. The Bible tells us that this was the very first of Jesus’ miraculous signs where He revealed His glory. His disciples saw the miracle and put their faith in Jesus,” Mama explained.
“Then that’s really good,” declared Penny, “because they were going to be learning a lot from Jesus and they needed to be able to trust him. At least, that’s what I think.”
“I’d say that’s some good thinking, Penny.” Mama grabbed two potholders and began to take the pies out of the oven.
The kids happily displayed their pies while Mama used her phone to snap pictures of their baked offerings for the fall festival.
That evening the whole family squealed with delight when Daniel was chosen as the winner of the pie-baking contest.
His daddy gave him a big hug. “Well, Daniel, I guess this is the happiest part of your day.”
“I’m pretty happy alright,” he answered, “but making all the pies today with my family and being reminded to trust in Jesus’ love for me is sure a happy thing too.”
“Yeah,” agreed Penny, “Pie-filling is yummy, but being love-filled is way better.”
Jacob rubbed the sticky remnants of pie onto his pants and jumped into the laps of his mama and daddy who were sitting on the couch. They soon found themselves smothered by a goopy hug. His brother and sister saw the fun and piled on as well.
Lifting his head from the tangled and giggly group hug, Jacob declared, “Yep, being love-filled is way more better!”
Dramatic Monologue: Mary’s Perspective
Dressed in a costume reflecting apparel from Bible days, this monologue can be copied and printed in large enough font to set on a nearby stand or podium, giving an appearance of speaking directly to the children rather than reading from the script.
Mary: “Every mother has dreams for her son. She hopes to see him marry someday and have a family of his own. Grandchildren are a blessing every woman looks forward to. (Looks at children and speaks directly to them.) Do you have grandmothers? They think you are wonderful, do they not? My oldest son, Jesus, never gave me grandchildren, because He never married on this earth. God had special plans for Him. I knew this even before he was born; even before I was married. I was engaged to marry a man named Joseph, but before we married something amazing happened. An angel appeared before me and announced that God had chosen me to bear His son, and I was to call His name Jesus. By our Creator God’s design and miraculous power, His own son grew in my body as a tiny baby. Joseph also had a visit from an angel who told him of this miraculous happening. Joseph married me and became our son’s earthly father. I knew God had a great plan for Jesus and it was an honor to raise Him. Growing up, He worked as a carpenter with Joseph.
At the age of thirty, it was time for Jesus to begin the work His father in heaven had planned. I find it amusing that God chose a wedding as the place for Jesus to reveal to His disciples that the glory of God was working in Him. Jesus, His disciples, and I were included as invited wedding guests. Weddings in our culture lasted seven days and sometimes longer. The hosts of the wedding provided food and drink as appreciation to the guests, but at this wedding, the host ran out of wine. Such a lapse in hospitality would bring shame to the host of the event. I was concerned and let Jesus know of the issue. Can you guess what Jesus did? Using the water that had been set aside in the pots for washing, Jesus performed a miracle. By God’s power, the water was turned into the best-tasting wine of the long feast. It was the first miracle Jesus performed and was a sign to all of us that God’s hand was guiding Him.
That wasn’t the greatest wedding miracle though. To explain this statement, I must remind you that Jesus had several symbolic names: He’s been referred to as The Bread of Life, The Good Shepherd, The Living Water, and many more names. A very special name for Him is The Bridegroom. I have a question for you. If Jesus is The Bridegroom, then, who is His bride? Can you guess? I will give you a hint. The God-given role of a groom is to love, provide for, and protect his wife. In His role as The Bridegroom, who has Jesus loved, provided for, and protected? To answer that question, let us think about the reason Jesus left heaven and became a man.
The answer is love. God sent Jesus to earth so that he could save us from our sins and the penalty for sin is severe. The payment for sin is death and all of us have sinned, except Jesus. The first man and woman God created disobeyed God and every person born since then have been guilty of going against God’s will for him or her. But Jesus was born of God, not man. Remember the miracle I told you about his birth? He was God’s perfect son who committed no wrongdoing. Our sin separated us from God, but Jesus, God’s perfect Son, died on the cross to pay for our sins. The Bible says it like this, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that Whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” By his death and resurrection, Jesus, like a bridegroom loved, provided for, and protected us. Everyone that believes in his heart and confesses with his mouth that Jesus is Lord and God has raised him from the dead is a bride of Christ. My son, Jesus, never had a wife while he walked the earth, but someday he will return and call His believers, His bride, to Him in heaven. What a wedding feast that will be!”
