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2 7 6 R E A C H I N G E V E R Y S T U D E N T You may have students who were not raised in a home with a strong faith background. Some of your students may not be bap- tized. We want to assure all students and their families that God is for them. Affirm that God has a special plan for each person and loves him or her. He wants all people to believe in Jesus as their Savior. Pray for your students and their families to know and believe in Jesus' unconditional love for them. Be gentle, curious, and courageous in meeting them where they are at, seeking to know and understand their needs so you can provide prayers and resources specific to these needs. C O N F E S S I N G T H E F A I T H We talk about Jesus' "state of humiliation" and "state of exalta- tion." What do these terms mean? Christ's state of humiliation began with His birth and ended with His death. It is the time that Jesus, according to His human nature, chose not to always use all His power as God during His life on earth. Instead, He humbled Himself to accomplish God's purpose. The Apostles' Creed describes this state with these words: "conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried." Make sure students do not confuse the state of humiliation with being a man be- cause Jesus is still true man, even in His state of exaltation. The state of exaltation is described in the Creed with the words "He descended into hell. The third day He rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God, the Father Almighty. From thence He will come to judge the living and the dead." With the descent into hell to proclaim His victory, Jesus began to use His power as God to rule over cre- ation and take care of His Church on earth. B I B L I C A L L I T E R A C Y A Bible Question Box gives students a chance to ask questions anonymously. This may be especially helpful for nonchurch members or new students who are hesitant to ask questions in class but long to know more about God and His Word! Create an attractive Bible Question Box. Design it so that no one can open it besides you so students feel assured of their privacy when submitting a question. Every week or two, pro- vide answers to the questions submitted. If you do not have an answer, your pastor likely will! Make answering the questions a fun event for the class so that the students are encouraged to participate. You might even allow the children to see you submit a question sometime! R E L A T E Games P Find a recording of common, everyday sounds. Play them for the students and see if they can guess what is making each sound. Why are some of the sounds easy to guess? Be- cause we have heard them so many times! The ones that are more difficult to determine are probably sounds we do not hear that often. After the game, tell your students the following: God tells us to listen to Jesus. Jesus always speaks truth. We hear it every time we hear His Word. There are a lot of other things we listen to as well, like other people, the news, false teachers, and so forth. Sometimes it can be hard to determine what is truth and what is not. However, the more we listen to God's Word, the more familiar the sound of God's truth becomes. Listen to it often! F A I T H F A M I LY I D E A S Holy Week was a week of transformation. By bringing salvation to us through His death and resurrection, Jesus changed every- thing—forever! Having salvation in Jesus continues to be transformational in our lives. ● Find science experiments that demonstrate transformational change in the elements of the experiment. Baking-soda volcanoes are always an exciting place to start. ● Have students make a large floor map to show where the events of Unit 7 took place. Have students trace their feet or shoes onto a piece of construction paper and cut them out; then glue the feet onto the map to show the route that Jesus walked from His transfiguration through Holy Week and to the place He gave the Great Commission. ● Jesus' death and resurrection is the culmination of God's great promise in Genesis. Everything in Scripture has been pointing to this moment in history. Have students cut out big construction-paper or cardstock arrows and write or draw Bible accounts from the Old Testament that point to Jesus. Arrange everyone's arrows around a big poster of Jesus to be displayed in a central place in your school. UNIT 7 Unit Extenders 2 7 6 2 3 5 LESSON 51 Jesus Is Transfigured | Jesus Shows His Glory Matthew 17; Mark 9; Luke 9 | Matthew 17:1–13; Mark 9:2–13; Luke 9:28–36 B A C K G R O U N D Jesus had been teaching His disciples about His upcoming suffering, death, and resurrection. He had rebuked Peter for not accepting God's plan. Now, Peter gets to see Jesus transfigured on the moun- tain. Jesus stands before the disciples in His divine glory! Then, when God speaks, He tells the disciples that Jesus is His beloved Son. God tells them to listen to Jesus. Once again, Jesus explains that He has come to suffer, die, and rise. Listening to Jesus sets our minds on the things of God. His Word reminds us of our sin and our need for a Savior. There C L A S S R O O M D E V O T I O N Have you ever played peekaboo with a baby? Up until a certain age, babies lack something called "object permanence." This means that if they cannot see an object or a person, they think it no longer exists. That's why peekaboo is so fascinat- ing to them! We, of course, know better! Right now, we can't see our relatives in a different city, our coats in our lockers, or our pets at home, but we know they still exist! We will not see Jesus in His glory until the Last Day. But we know He is risen and seated at the right hand of God right now. He is also with each of us. We cannot see any of this with our eyes, but we hear it and believe it by faith in God's Word. The disciples in our reading today got a glimpse of Jesus in His divine majesty. They saw it only briefly, and then it was gone from their sight. God told them to listen to Jesus, His one and only Son. Jesus told them of His suffering and death that was to come. are many things we do not understand. We would often rather fast-forward to the joys of heaven. But Jesus is with us now! He is with us in His Word and the Sacra- ment of the Altar. He is the Son of God and our Savior! Your students have many things on their minds—making friends, pressure to do well in school or sports, family issues, and other concerns. Help them see the impor- tance of setting their minds on the things of God. He is with them now, and He is here to help them. He gives them what they need most: new life in Him. We face hardships and suffering while on earth. That will not end until we are with Jesus in the new creation, after He comes again. But Jesus, the Son of God, is with us! He never goes away. He is eternal. He is the Son of God and Son of Man. He suffered, died, and was raised for you and me. His love and His work on our behalf are permanent. No one and nothing can ever take them away. He is your God, and you are His, forever. PRAY Dear heavenly Father, You sent Your perfect Son to be punished for our sins. Help us listen to Your Word daily. Strengthen our faith to trust that even though we cannot see Jesus, we know He is with us. In Jesus' name. Amen. SING "O Word of God Incarnate" (LSB 523) or "Praise Be to Christ" (LSB 538). C E N T R A L T R U T H Jesus revealed His divine nature to His followers when He was transfigured. G R A D E - L E V E L T R U T H Jesus is true God and the promised Savior. He strengthens us to live as His disciples. S T A N D A R D S • BL6: Demonstrate proficiency in referencing Bible passages and using Bible study tools. • LD5: Identify and describe the person of Jesus Christ as true God and true man. • LD6: Recognize and describe the work of Jesus Christ as the Redeemer of the world. O B J E C T I V E S • Describe the events of Jesus' transfiguration. • Demonstrate understanding that Jesus is the Son of God, true God and true man. • Express a desire to listen to Jesus by hearing His Word. M A T E R I A L S Session 1 • The Basics Session 2 • The Basics Lesson Customization Determine class pace with the Lesson Support, Lesson Extenders, and Unit Extenders in every Teacher Guide. Additional Features for Every Lesson Digital Resources Streamline planning and communications with digital resources for students and families. Faith Standards Integration Nurture students' growth with the new Lutheran Religion Standards referenced in every lesson. 2 3 8 Lesson Extenders B I B L I C A L L I T E R A C Y Moses and Elijah appeared during the transfiguration. Do your students know the accounts of Moses and Elijah going to heaven? If not, encourage them to find out! Read about Moses in Deuteronomy 34:1–8 and Elijah in 2 Kings 2:11–12. S E A R C H I N G F U R T H E R Where did the transfiguration happen? It may have occurred on Mount Hermon or Mount Tabor. Use Color Map 4 in the front of The Lutheran Study Bible or another map to show the students these locations. On a larger map, you could also locate Mount Sinai, where God appeared to Moses and Elijah. If time allows, have each student make a map. You could continue to add to the maps in upcoming lessons as well! W O R S H I P L I F E Right before the Sanctus in the Divine Service are the words of the Preface: "Therefore with angels and archangels and with all the company of heaven we laud and magnify Your glorious name, evermore praising You and saying: . . ." When we say this, we are joining with the angels and all the company of heaven in singing to God! During this time in the service, we imagine the division between heaven and earth is gone. Heaven comes down to earth, and we are all together around God's throne. What a perfect preparation for Jesus coming to us in the Lord's Supper. Pass out a copy of Lutheran Service Book and open to the Sanc- tus of a familiar service. Point out that the word Sanctus is Latin for "holy," Sabaoth is Hebrew for "heavenly hosts," and hosanna is Hebrew for "Save us now." As you explain these terms and the realities of what is happening in the Divine Service, see if your students can make connections with what happened at the transfiguration. If possible, sing some of these portions togeth- er! C H E C K F O R U N D E R S T A N D I N G Check out the digital materials available to help you check for understanding, enhance student learning, and connect with families at home. R E A C H I N G E V E R Y S T U D E N T Since some parts of this lesson correspond to the Divine Ser- vice, students who attend a church that does not use the Divine Service may feel uncertain about these sections. Help them feel more comfortable by doing certain parts of the lesson in groups or pairs, placing children who are familiar with the Divine Service alongside those hearing some of these things for the first time. Encourage questions! This would be a good lesson to encourage the use of the Bible Question Box (see "Biblical Liter- acy" on page 276). C O V E N A N T C O N N E C T I O N Have students look in their desks, lockers, and so forth and collect things they have written their names on. Have them sit in a circle so everyone can see one another's possessions. Why did you put your name on these things? What happens if they get misplaced? Why didn't you put your name on _____________ (list some obviously unimportant items)? At the transfiguration, God announced that Jesus is His Son. At your Baptism, Jesus announced that you belong to Him. He put His name on you. No one can remove it or erase it. And you will never be lost from His sight. You are so very important to Him. You are His forever! (See Isaiah 43:1.) If you have students who are not baptized, assure them that God loves them and wants them to have that gift as well. E X P L O R E Science P The text says that Jesus led the disciples up a "high mountain." Just how high was it? We don't know for sure! We don't know which mountain it was, either, but two likely loca- tions are Mount Hermon and Mount Tabor. Look up the ele- vation and terrain of these two mountains. Compare them to a mountain near where you live or to a mountain the class is familiar with. UNIT 7 | LESSON 51 2 3 8 1 . 8 0 0 . 3 2 5 . 3 0 4 0 3

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