John Wesley

Drama Lesson

Summary: hear Susanna Wesley tell her story, act out Fire Fire (script not provided).

Memory Verse:
Go into all the world and proclaim the good news to the whole creation.
Mark 16:15

Objectives:

• John Wesley was the founder of Methodism.
• John Wesley was called by God.
• John Wesley spread the good news of Jesus to all people.

Supplies:

• Blankets or large pieces of fabric
• Chair, stool, or box to stand on
• Red, orange, or yellow crepe paper
• CD player
• Music CD w/ lullaby, frantic hurried music (we used Flight of the Bumblebee), and Hallelujah Chorus
• Copies of script for older kids
• J.W. & Company by Daphna Flegal, published by Cokesbury, ISBN 0-687-81814-3
  • see this link for the new release.

Lesson Plan

Outline:

• Arrival Activity
• Opening
• Memory Verse
• The Story
• Warm-Ups
• Fire! Fire!
• Reflection
• Joys & Concerns
• Closing

Arrival Activity

As people enter the room, welcome them. Pass out the arrival activity (a word find or coloring page) for them to work on as you wait for others.

Opening:

Begin class by saying the Lord’s Prayer together.
Ask the kids to introduce themselves. Be sure to tell them your name!

(1st week) Tell the students that we are studying the life of John Wesley, the founder of Methodism. He was born around 300 years ago in 1703.

(other weeks) Ask the students who are we studying? What do you know about him?

Memory Verse

Review the memory verse.
Go into all the world and proclaim the good news to the whole creation.
Mark 16:15

Have the students make up motions (as a group) to the memory verse. (Think of motions for the phrases “Go”, “all the world”, “proclaim”, “good news” “whole creation”) The motions can be simple hand motions or more complex whole body movements. Practice them together.

Dig:

The Story

Have a woman dressed as Susanna Wesley (an apron or long skirt will do) tell this story:

Good morning. I’m Susanna Wesley. Today I want to tell you about one of the scariest moments in my life. The children had all gone to bed. We had 8 children at the time. I was sick and my two oldest daughters were with me. Hetty was by herself in one bedroom and the other 5 children were together with Bettie, their nurse and our maid.

We’re not really sure what happened next, but somehow the house where we lived caught fire. We were all in a panic. Hetty knew it first and ran to tell her father, Samuel. He told me and the girls and ran upstairs to the nursery. Bettie carried out Charles and 3 children followed her. He helped them outside and over a fence to safety.

I got caught by the flames. It took me 3 times to get out the front door – once I was even completely knocked down by the flames. When I did get out, I was so burned and covered with soot, that Samuel, my own husband, didn’t even recognize me when he saw me.

We heard my son, John, calling “Help me!” but neither of us could get back in the house to rescue him.

We gave up hope and prayed to God to accept John’s soul.

John, however, did not give up, even though he was all alone in a burning house and was only 5 years old. He climbed on a chest and out the window. Two neighbor men saw him. One climbed on the other’s shoulders and John leapt into their arms just as the roof collapsed.

He was safe! We had given him up for dead and he was alive!

Samuel was so happy that all the children made it out that he said, “Come, neighbors, let us kneel down; let us give thanks to God. He has given me all my eight children. Let the house go; I am rich enough.”

I told John that it was a miracle he was alive, that God must have a special purpose for him. John was like a “brand plucked from the burning”.

As the years passed, I was proven right. John grew up to share the good news of Jesus with people all over England, and the people he preached to have spread the good news across the entire world.

<<Have the students say, “Thank you” and “Good-bye” to Susanna Wesley>>

Warm Ups

We’re going to practice parts of the story to music. First, I’ll play a lullaby and you will all be asleep. The next music will be the fire music and you will frantically look for a way out of the house. The last music will be after John is rescued and everyone is happy. Let’s practice these one at a time.

Start the music for the lullaby. Wait until everyone is doing their best impression of sleep. Skip to the next track on the CD. Make sure everyone gets up and frantically looks for a way out. Skip to the next track on the CD. Have everyone show how happy they are to be rescued.

Repeat the sequence several times until the students can repeat their actions and know what each piece of music means in the story.

Fire! Fire!

Hand out the scripts and take volunteers for the different parts.

Notes:
To involve more students:
Break the narrator part up and use a separate reader each time. Break Neighbor 1 & 2 parts up into up to 4 parts. Have other non-speaking neighbors watching the fire. Have some students wave red/orange/yellow crepe paper to represent the flames.

OR

Use 2 separate casts and perform the play 2 times.

For classes with fewer students: Combine Neighbor 1 & 2 parts. Combine Mr. Wesley & Mrs. Wesley parts. Use “invisible” Wesley children.

For non-readers, narrate the whole play, letting the kids mime the play.

(Script from pages 87-89 in J.W. & Company)  see this link for the new release.

Reflection:

• How do you think John Wesley felt when he found himself alone in a burning house?
• How do you think his parents felt when they discovered him missing? After the rescue?
• Do you consider his rescue a miracle?
• John’s parents thought John’s rescue was a sign from God that God had something important planned for John. How do you think that made John feel? [special, scared, worried about living up to it, important, etc.]
• It took a long time before John discovered God’s plan for his life. The fire occurred when he was 5 and he didn’t start his outdoor preaching until he was in his 30s. After 25+ years, do you think he still felt that God had something important planned for him?
• How do you think we discover God’s plans for our lives?
• John’s rescuers were his neighbors. How can you make a difference in the life of people around you?
• Can you think of anyone in the Bible who was chosen by God at a young age? [John the Baptist, Samuel, David]

Joys and Concerns

Either you or the shpeherd needs to lead the kids in Joys and Concerns. We normally go around the room asking each child whether they have a Joy (happy thing) they want to share. Then we go back around and give everyone a chance to share Concerns (sad things).

Closing

Someone needs to offer a closing prayer. If that is you, then you can pray something like this:
Dear God, thank you for this chance to learn about you. Help us share your good news with others by our words and our actions. Teach us the way to discover your plan for our lives. Amen.

Extra while waiting for parents to arrive

Have them sit in a circle. Practice saying the memory verse several times as a group. Then, go around the circle, each person saying the memory verse in a specified way (robot, sad, happy, angry, etc.).

Cleanup

Put any costumes and props back in their proper places. Collect all scripts and stack them neatly to the side of the room.

Lesson written by JoOehrlein.

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