Exegetical Aim: Being a Christian takes preparation. Props: Things used to get ready in the morning: a wrapped bar of soap, toothbrush, an article of clothing, and an egg. Lesson: How many of you have to get ready every morning to go to school? (response) What do you do in the morning to get ready for school? (response) I have a bar of soap. What is soap used for? (response) What would happen in t...
Object: Two bicycle tires, one flat and one hidden to be brought out at a special time
Good morning, boys and girls. Did you know that this is the last Sunday in the year for the church calendar? That’s right. The church year always ends four weeks before Christmas and that gives us four weeks to get ready. We have to do a lot of things before Jesus is born into our world again. Isn’t that right?...
Object: a children's backpack, with items like books, permission slip, bag lunch or lunch money, etc.
Good morning, boys and girls. How many of you go to day-care or school each day? A lot of you do, don't you? What do you have to take with you to school each morning? (Wait for 3 or 4 answers) I packed this backpack with things I used to take to school when I was a kid. Here are a few books, some...
Object: A musical instrument
Good morning, boys and girls: This morning we want to talk about preparation--being prepared for whatever may happen in life.
Fritz Kreisler, a wonderful violinist, once said he did not have the slightest consciousness of what his fingers are doing when he plays. He concentrates on the ideal of the music that he hears in his head, and tries to come as near to that as...
Object: A pair of shoes and some shoe strings which have been broken and knotted several times; a coat without buttons.
Good morning, boys and girls. Was it easy to come to church this morning? Were you prepared for church? Did you have all your clothes laid out, plenty of toothpaste for your toothbrush, and milk for your cereal? Well, if you had all of that, somebody at your house was well prepa...
Object: Matches, pen, camera.
Lesson: And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast and the door was shut.
Good morning, boys and girls. Today we are going to spend some time and talk about getting ready. We want to be prepared for the time Jesus talks about in the Bible. He says that Christians should always be ready for the new...
Object: New school supplies (pens, pencils, erasers); similar supplies that are old and have seen better days.
Don't you love the first day of school! To me that was always an exciting day - not only because of entering a new grade and seeing all my friends again after summer vacation, but also because that was the time of year when we received a new set of school supplies. Just look at all this ...
Exegetical Aim: To remind the children of Christ’s second coming.
Props: A wall clock
Lesson: Does anyone know what time it is? Right now, do you know what time it is? (Responses) How can you tell what time it is? What do we look at to see what time it is? (response) Good, a clock, or a watch. Look what I’ve brought today. A clock. Maybe all of you do not know yet how to tell time. So I’ll quick...
Exegetical Aim: We must be prepared for the coming of Christ.
Props: A trumpet or a shofar (a ram’s horn used for blowing), and a volunteer who can blow it loudly. This will be done at the back of sanctuary without the children’s knowledge.
Lesson: Have all of the children facing one direction as they are seated. I want to talk about kings. A long time ago, kings were very important people. Wher...
Object: None OR with a sharpie, write “BUT” on an index card, one for each child, to use as a bookmark.
Lesson: "BUT"
How many of you have a pet? Has anyone ever had a pet that died? How did that make you feel? You were very sad, weren’t you? In fact, you probably cried.
Have you had someone you love very much die? That was a very sad time, too, wasn’t it?
Today’s Bible lesson is from Paul, ex...
Object: None OR you will need yellow and black card stock or construction paper. Using rubber cement, glue one yellow paper to a black paper. Cut them into 2 ½ inch squares. With a black sharpie, draw a sun on the yellow side. OR go to your local Christian supply store and purchase small flashlights. They sometimes have “Jesus is the Light of the World” printed on them.
Lesson: Day/Night
Which d...
Objects:
Card stock printed with scripture reference and verse
Pair of glasses
Toothbrush
Medicine bottle
Toy
Book
Article of clothing
Item of food
Today, I’m going to tell you something that I imagine you never thought you’d hear someone tell you in church. Don’t share. That’s right. I’m telling you not to share. (pause) Well, actually, I’m not talking about everything, but there are some things...
Object: A Globe
Boys and girls, How many of you can find North America on this globe? Good. It's this large body of land right here, isn't it? How about South America? That's right. On the globe it's just below North America. Notice that North and South America are joined by this thin piece of land.
Does anybody know what the thin piece of land joining North and South America is called? It's the...
Object: A stepladder.
Good morning, boys and girls. Today we are going to talk about making each other feel better. How many of you like to feel good? (Let them answer.) Does it make you feel better when someone else tells you that you have done a good job or that you play a game well? (Let them answer.) People always want to tell us when we do bad or act bad, but not very many people tell us whe...
Object: A fluffy bed pillow.
Good morning, boys and girls. We need to talk about something that people do not like to talk about. It is a very big part of living. It is a big experience, but people do not like to talk about it. Do you know what I want to share with you this morning? (Let them answer.) That's right, I want to talk to you about dying and death. People don't like to talk about it, b...
Object: a light bulb
Good morning, boys and girls. How are my favorite light bulbs doing? Did you know you're a light bulb? Well, you are. Light bulbs are really neat things. They're made of glass, and they have these little wires inside that light up really bright when they get hot. How come this light bulb is not lit up right now? Why can't we turn it on? That's right, because it's not connecte...
Objects: a tambourine, a trumpet, and something representing a soldier, like arm stripes
Good morning, boys and girls. Perhaps you know what I’m holding up:
This is a tambourine; listen to the noise it makes.
This is a trumpet; it can make a loud sound.
And these are military stripes; they don’t make any noise at all.
I show you these three things because they tell us about a saint who shaped...
Object: A board with several large holes where nails have been.
Good morning, boys and girls. Today I have something to show you before I tell you one of the best-known stories in the Bible. I brought a board along with me. It looks like any board you have ever seen. The thing I want you to notice is the holes that you see in the board. Do you know what caused these holes? (Let them answer.) That...
Object: A scoreboard. It should be divided into innings or quarters.
Good morning, boys and girls, and how are you this morning? Isn't this one of the very best days of your life? Easter! How many of you know what happened to Jesus on this day? [Wait for an answer or two.] That's right, Jesus came back to life on Easter and are we glad! Do you know why we are so glad that Jesus is alive? Do you k...
Object: a driver's license or other identification.
Boys and girls, when you get older you will discover that sometimes it can get complicated when you try to buy things in stores. If you want to use a credit card or cash a check, the person at the cash register may not accept it until they are sure you are the person whose name is printed on the card or check. They will ask for identification. S...
Object: A ladder.
Good morning, boys and girls. Today we are going to talk about rescuing someone whom we love very much. Let's pretend that there is someone caught in a house that is burning and she cannot get out by the door, but she is too high to jump without really getting hurt. What will we do to rescue this person? (Let them answer.) Those are good answers. We could do a lot of those thing...
Object: Some money, dollar bills and some coins.
Text: And he is the expiation for our sins, and not for ours onlybut also for the sins of the whole world.
Good morning, boys and girls. I want to share some ideas with you this morning, and I need your attention because they are very important ideas. There is a very big word used in the Bible to describe what Jesus did for us when he died on the ...
Object: Picture of Washington, Lincoln, Nixon, Martin Luther King, etc.
Good morning, boys and girls. There’s something good about November. It makes you think about Thanksgiving and the reason why we’re glad to be Americans. Speaking of Americans, can you tell me the name of a famous American? (Someone will reply George Washington and you can either show a picture or take out a dollar bill).
Th...
Object: small bell
Good morning, boys and girls and a happy Advent to you! Do you know what Advent means? (Allow time for them to respond.) What does the word "Advent" make you think of when you hear it? For a lot of boys and girls it means getting ready for Jesus to come into our world and be the way He has promised us He would be.
Advent is a time of preparing, getting ready, and that is what ...
Object: A flashlight, rope, screwdriver, bag.
Text: But the day of the Lord will come like a thief.
Good morning, boys and girls. I want to show you what I have in this bag. (Take out each item and hold it up.) What kind of a person would need a bag like this? (Let them guess.) Well, a thief would probably need a bag full of tools like this. Why would a thief need a flashlight? (Let them guess.)...
Object: A grade card.
Good morning, boys and girls. Have you ever wanted something so much that you would do almost anything to get it? (Let them answer.) What would you like right now that you do not have? (Let them answer.) We want a lot of things, don't we? I suppose that it is good that we can't have everything that we want or otherwise we would stop trying.
Some things are more important th...
Object: A car jack.
Good morning, boys and girls. I brought with me this morning something that I call Faith. It is a nickname that I gave to something that we all have and sometimes need. Let me show you what I mean. (Bring out the tire jack.) How many of you know what Faith does? (Let them answer.) That's right, Faith is a jack. You need Faith when you have a flat tire or you need to lift your ...
Objects needed: A toy house, some furnishings, and the items mentioned below.
I brought one of Mauri's toy houses with me today so we can talk a bit about making a house into a home.
There are lots of people who think that to make a house into a nice home, you have to start with an $100,000 house ... and then put into it ... (Put toy furniture into the house) fancy furniture: nice beds, toys, et...
Object: None
Have you ever heard someone use the name of Jesus when it didn't sound right? I think that you know what I mean. People use it when they are angry at someone else or they hurt themselves and they shout the name of Jesus. We know that this is the wrong way to use the name of Jesus. There are other ways to use the name of Jesus. Some of them are right and there are some other ways that...
Object: Some bowls that you might eat cereal or salad out of
Today we have a wonderful chance to really do something different. I want to share a story that I am sure you have heard many times. It is the story of Jesus and the disciples working with a little boy to feed 5,000 people. Can you imagine how this little boy, who had five small loaves of bread and two fish, felt when Jesus asked him if...
Exegetical Aim: Discipleship involves suffering and hardship. Props: A large cross that will be difficult for the kids to lift. If you do not have a large cross then have the kids make a medium size cross out of two-by-fours. Allow the children to do as much as possible in the construction. You will need: Hammer, nails, and appropriately cut pieces of wood, and plywood on which to work. If you a...
