Where Would You Look? (Jesus Lost in Jerusalem)

As a child, I went to church when my parents went to church, and I skipped church when my parents skipped church. My youthful mind equated church with school, and missing a Sunday was almost as good a reason to rejoice as getting a snow-day off of school. Not all kids are like that ... some love school for the opportunity to socialize,  and others for the opportunity to learn interesting lessons. That last stretches my imagination as far as it can go, because I have never met that child, but I have heard that some do exist. Or maybe I have only read about them in fiction ... hmm. Nevertheless, my boundless optimism insists, a lesson worth learning is a lesson worth teaching.


The church is a place where people look for God, a fact many congregators would do well to remember. So here you are, a lesson for both your audiences and the conclusion of the second chapter of Luke.


41 Every year Jesus' parents went to Jerusalem for the Passover Feast. 
42 When Jesus was 12 years old, they went to the feast as they always did. 
43 When the feast days were over, they went home. The boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but his parents did not know it. 
44 Joseph and Mary traveled for a whole day. They thought that Jesus was with them in the group. Then they began to look for him among their family and friends, 
45 but they did not find him. So they went back to Jerusalem to look for him there.


46 After three days they found him. Jesus was sitting in the Temple with the religious teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. 
47 All who heard him were amazed at his understanding and wise answers. 
48 When Jesus' parents saw him, they were amazed. 
49 Jesus asked, "Why did you have to look for me? You should have known that I must be where my Father's work is!"

If you are looking for a person, and you know that person loves to help take care of sick people, where do you look for that person? (in a hospital) 

If you are looking for a person, and you know that person loves to play football, where do you look for that person? (in a football field, park, backyard)

If you are looking for a person, and you know that person loves to pet puppies and kittens, where do you look for that person? (in a pet store, animal shelter) 

If you are looking for a person, and you know that person loves to fly airplanes, where do you look for that person? (in an airport) 

If you are looking for a person, and you know that person loves to cook, where do you look for that person? (in the kitchen) 

If you are looking for a person, and you know that person loves to go fishing, where do you look for that person? (at a lake or stream, on a boat) 


If you are looking for a person, and you know that person loves to sing hymns, where do you look for that person? (in a church)

If you are looking for a person, and you know that person loves to preach sermons, where do you look for that person? (in a church)

If you are looking for a person, and you know that person loves to learn about God, where do you look for that person? (in a church) 


In our Bible story today, who was looking for a person? (Jesus' parents, Mary and Joseph) 


For which person were they looking? (Jesus) 


How long did they spend looking for Jesus? (three days) 


Why did it take so long? (they didn't look in the right place) 


What did Jesus love to do? (learn about God and talk about God) 


Where do people go to learn about God and talk about God? (to church) 


And that is just where Jesus' parents found Jesus. 


Our last lesson was about making Jesus number one this year. One way to make Jesus number one is to learn about Him and talk about Him and ask questions about Him. Where can we do that? (in church, at home) 


One last question: if you are looking for a piece of candy, and you know I love to give you stuff, where do you look for that candy? (believe me, they will get this answer right! Every one of them has no doubt noticed the gift box sitting untouched beside me!)


Let's close our eyes, fold our hands, and bow our heads ...


Dear God,
You made Your church full of people who love to learn about You and teach about You.  Sometimes we skip church and we're sorry when that happens. Thank you for making a place for us to learn all about You, God and about Jesus and about Your Holy Spirit. Please make us Your good students. 
In Jesus' name we pray, amen.

This lesson works well with a hand puppet to help answer all the questions. It also engages children, so they'll want to answer questions, too. If you are better than I am at planning ahead, order some little plastic magnifying lenses to pass out instead of sweets. May God bless you in your ministry to His little ones.