August 27th, 2023: Be Perfectly Joined Together

Welcome, dedicated parents and educators!

Today, we're thrilled to present a comprehensive lesson plan focused on 1st Corinthians 1-7.

In these first seven chapters of Corinthians, the apostle Paul addresses the diverse challenges and questions faced by the Corinthian church. Paul underscores that true wisdom comes from God, contrasting it with the world's understanding. He implores believers to honor their bodies as temples of the Holy Ghost. Paul also addresses marriage, advocating for the sanctity of the marital bond and addressing issues related to marriage and singleness. He discusses the significance of spiritual gifts and their diverse manifestations, highlighting the interconnectedness of believers as parts of a single body. Throughout these chapters, Paul weaves the common thread of Christlike love, encouraging believers to exemplify love in their interactions and choices.

We invite you to prayerfully prepare to lead your young learners through these transformative lessons. While we provide a structured plan, always remember to be open to the promptings that might lead you to adapt and modify the lesson according to the unique needs of your students. 

1 Corinthians 1–7: “Be Perfectly Joined Together”

Supplies Needed:

• Marshmallows and Sugar Cubes (Used in Part 3)
  Make sure the sugar cubes are fresh, so they can dissolve easily in water.
  
  
• Legos and Lego Baseplate (Used in Part 3)
  You will need approximately 50 pieces of Lego per group for three groups, but only one baseplate total. Looking for a good set of Legos? We recommend these. While they are not name brand, they have held up in our classroom and come with a good variety of basic shapes and colors, and includes baseplates.
  
  
• Cookie Sheets or Waterproof Trays (Used in Part 3)
  These will be used for catching water, so make sure they can hold water without leaking! These work well for our class, and we don't have to worry about using the same ones for cooking and little hand activities.
  
  
• Watering Can (Used in Part 3)
  
  
• Jenga Blocks (Used in Part 4)
  I use mini Jenga blocks from a dollar store local to me. I found the smaller blocks can still get the point across while limiting the noise that comes from a tower falling down.

Part 1: Introductions and Reminders

(2 minutes)

Remind the children of any upcoming special events or rewards.

First time here? See what else to include in your introductions in our post here.

Part 2: Introduction to 1 Corinthians

(2 minutes)

Explain to the children that Paul was a missionary in Corinth, where he established the church and taught the people about Jesus. He later learned that there were problems in Corinth, and people weren’t keeping the commandments like they should. He wrote a letter to them, encouraging them to make better choices. That is what the book of Corinthians is, and what we will be studying for the next few weeks.

Part 3: Jesus is My Faith's Foundation

(7 minutes)

Split the children into three groups. Give each group about 50 Legos. Give the children three to five minutes to build a house out of their Legos. 

While everyone is building the houses, prepare the foundation trays. On one tray, place a layer of sugar cubes. On the next, a layer of marshmallows. On the last tray, place the lego baseplate.

When everyone has finished building their houses, have each group place their building on a foundation tray, one building per tray. Once all of the buildings have been placed on their foundations, explain to the children that in life, bad weather and natural disasters can threaten the houses that we have. 

Using the watering can, pour "rain" on each of the houses. Point out to the children that the sugar cubes are unable to support the house once they get wet. Next, shake the trays, and show the children that the marshmallows are unable to support the house in an earthquake. Show the children that in both the rain and the earthquake, having a strong base protected the house.

Talk to the children about how we need a strong base for our testimonies to grow upon. Explain that the foundation for our faith is Jesus Christ.

Show the children several pictures of things we can have testimonies of, including a picture of Jesus Christ. Other examples include an image of a child praying, the Book of Mormon, etc. Help them arrange the pictures so that the picture of Jesus is on the bottom, like a foundation, and the other pictures “build” on a testimony of Him.

Part 4: Houses Need Care

(5 minutes)

Have your children imagine someone gifted them a nice house, or even a mansion, and have them imagine a few different rooms that might be in their home. 

Explain to the children that houses take a lot of work to maintain. Begin building a Jenga tower, naming things that must be done to maintain a house each time you place a block. Examples of this include:

• Sweeping
• Mopping
• Taking out the Trash
• Cleaning Toilets
• Putting Away Toys
• Doing the Laundry
• Washing Dishes
• Mowing the Lawn
• Changing Batteries in Smoke Detectors
• Weeding the Yard
• etc.

Explain that this can take a lot of energy, and sometimes we don't want to do the work. Take out random blocks to show what would happen if we started letting things in our house go. Continue removing the blocks until the tower falls. Teach the children that this represents the house falling into disarray. Explain to them how upset the person gifting the house would feel when they saw the poor condition of the house.

Part 4: My Body is a Temple; A House for the Holy Ghost

(10 minutes)

Show images of several temples and ask the children if they know what they are. Ask the children if they think the temple ever gets dirty. Explain to the children that the temple is also known as the House of the Lord. Just like the house we talked about in Part 3, the House of the Lord also needs to be maintained. Talk about how there are several workers to ensure that the temple is always clean. 

Teach the children that their bodies are sometimes also called temples, and that they are a home for the Holy Ghost. Explain that they need to keep their bodies clean, just like the temple and the house mentioned earlier. Keeping their body clean can be done by watching the things that they eat, such as eating fruits and vegetables, not eating too much sugar, and staying away from things that are bad for us, such as alcohol, cigarettes, and coffee. It can also be kept clean physically, by making sure we brush our teeth, take baths, and wash our hands.

Draw a figure on the chalkboard (or bring an image of a person) and ask the children what each part of their body can be used for to help them stay clean. Here are some examples:

Feet and Legs:

• Walking you to church
• Walking away from bad situations
• Walking along the path of God

Hands and Arms:

• Helping pick up messes
• Washing hands
• Holding the scriptures (While Reading)

Ears:

• Listening to good music
• Listening during church
• Listening to parents

Mouth: 

• Eating good food
• Brushing teeth
• Saying kind words 

Eyes:

• Watching good movies
• Looking at pictures of Christ
• Reading the Scriptures 

Talk about how, just like taking care of the house, it can sometimes seem like there is a lot we have to do to keep our bodies clean, but that the effort is worth it in the end, just like how the house would be kept nice for years to come if we stay caught up on cleaning. Remind the children that our bodies are gifts from God, and that he wants to see us take care of them. 

Part 5: Conclusion

End the lesson by bearing your testimony and inviting a child to offer the closing prayer.

Encourage the children to reflect on the day's lesson with this week's journal prompt. Here are some examples that work well with this week's lesson:

• My body is like a temple.
• I can care for my body.
• Jesus is the foundation for my faith.
• I can build my faith on a solid foundation.
• There are many ways I can keep my body clean.

Thanks for Reading!

As you embark on teaching these vibrant young souls, remember that this lesson plan is just an example. The Spirit will guide you to tailor it according to the specific needs of your class. Be open to promptings that lead to inspired modifications, ultimately deepening the impact of your teaching. Your role as a teacher is sacred; you are guiding hearts to connect with their Heavenly Father, and His influence is the true source of illumination.

Thank you for your dedicated service in nurturing these budding testimonies. May this lesson resonate in their hearts, inspiring them to love, learn, and grow in the light of the gospel.