Be Not Afraid, by Michael Malm

March 13–19

Matthew 11–12; Luke 11

“I Will Give You Rest”

The teaching ideas in this outline are meant to help inspire your own creativity. Feel free to adapt them to meet the needs of the children you teach.

Invite Sharing

Encourage the children to share what they can do to worship the Lord on the Sabbath day.

Teach the Doctrine: Younger Children

Matthew 11:28–30

Jesus will help me as I come unto Him.

Children can feel comfort knowing that Jesus will help them with their burdens when they come to Him.

Possible Activities

• Read Matthew 11:28–30, and show the picture of yoked oxen in this week’s outline in Come, Follow Me—For Individuals and Families. Ask the children to point to the oxen and the yoke. Explain that yoked oxen can pull more weight together than each could separately. Testify that when we feel sad, worried, or scared, we can seek Jesus and He will help us.

• Ask a child to lift a heavy object. When he or she struggles, offer to help. How does Jesus help us do hard things? Share an experience when you felt Jesus help you do something hard, and ask the children to share experiences of their own.

Matthew 12:1–13

I can keep the Sabbath day holy.

What are some fun ways you can teach the children about the Sabbath day and why we keep it holy?

Possible Activities

• Read Matthew 12:10–13 out loud. Invite the children to stand up and sit down every time you say “Sabbath,” and repeat with them the phrase “It is [right] to do well on the sabbath days” (Matthew 12:12). What do they think that means?

• Show a calendar to the children, and highlight the Sabbath day for them. What do we do on other days of the week? What can we do on the Sabbath to make it different from other days? (see Isaiah 58:13–14).

• Ask the children to draw good things they can do on the Sabbath day (see this week’s activity page).

• Invite the children to come up with actions to help them remember ways we get ready for the Sabbath as they sing the song “Saturday” (Children’s Songbook, 196).

• Draw eyes, ears, a mouth, and hands on the chalkboard. Ask the children to tell you what each of these parts of our bodies can do to keep the Sabbath day holy.

Luke 11:11–13

Heavenly Father gives us good gifts.

The Savior’s teaching in Luke 11:11–13 can help the children you teach understand that Heavenly Father loves them and wants to bless them.

Possible Activities

• Use an object lesson to illustrate the Savior’s teachings in Luke 11:11–13. For example, you could place a stone inside a bread bag or put a picture of a scorpion inside an egg carton. Ask the children to guess what is inside, and then show them. Invite them to replace the stone or picture with a piece of bread or an egg. Read Luke 11:11–13, and share your testimony that Heavenly Father loves us, answers our prayers, and gives us many blessings through His Spirit.

• Sing together a song about God’s love, such as “My Heavenly Father Loves Me” (Children’s Songbook, 228–29). What are some of the good gifts that He has given us? Ask the children to draw pictures of blessings from Heavenly Father that they are grateful for.

Teach the Doctrine: Older Children

Matthew 11:28–30

Jesus will help me as I come unto Him.

How can you help the children understand that the Savior will give them rest from their challenges as they come unto Him?

Possible Activities

• Invite the children to share a time when they were worried or anxious about something. Invite them to search Matthew 11:28–30 for counsel that can help them in similar circumstances. How does the Savior “give [us] rest”? (verse 28).

• Invite the children to draw pictures of things they are doing to come unto Jesus and learn of Him.

• Help the children memorize the fourth article of faith. Talk with them about how each of the first principles and ordinances of the gospel helps us accept Jesus’s invitation, “Come unto me” (Matthew 11:28).

Matthew 12:1–13

The Sabbath is a day to do good things that bring me closer to God.

The children you teach will be strengthened as you emphasize the purposes and blessings of keeping the Sabbath day holy.

Possible Activities

• Invite a child to pretend to be the man whose hand was healed by the Savior (see Matthew 12:10–13). Another child could ask him or her questions about the experience.

• Read together Matthew 12:12. What are some good things we can do on the Sabbath? Let the children draw their ideas on this week’s activity page, cut out the pieces, and take turns putting each other’s puzzles together.

• Hide several pictures of people doing things that show love for Heavenly Father on the Sabbath day. Ask the children to find the pictures and share how doing the things in the pictures shows our love for God.

The Disciples Eat Wheat on the Sabbath, by James Tissot

Luke 11:37–42

Both my actions and my heart must be pure.

The Savior taught that it is not enough to appear righteous to others. Our thoughts, feelings, and private actions must also be pure.

Possible Activities

• To illustrate what these verses teach, show the children a cup or other container that is clean on the outside but dirty on the inside. Help them think about what “the outside of the cup” might represent. What does the “inward part” represent? Why is it important to clean both the outside and the inside?

• Read together some other scriptures that emphasize righteousness both in our hearts and our actions—for example, Psalm 24:3–5; Matthew 15:7–8; Moroni 7:6–9. Discuss why the Savior wants our hearts and private actions to be spiritually clean.

Encourage Learning at Home

Invite the children to share with their families ideas to keep the Sabbath day holy.

Improving Our Teaching

Asking questions. “A question that invites learners to state a gospel principle in their own words—especially if asked at the beginning of class—can help you assess how much time you need to spend studying that principle in class” (Teaching in the Savior’s Way, 32).