Ministry-to-Children.com

Church Nursery Can Be Real Ministry!

Tony Kummer — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 14:19:14 +0000

“No I can’t volunteer in the church nursery.
I come to church to get fed and that’s just babysitting.”

Does this sound familiar? Too many people think “babysitting” when we say church nursery. In truth, this can be a strategic place of ministry. Watch this video for some practical tips for making the church nursery a real ministry. Amy Dolan is the Conspire Team Leader at the Willow Creek Association, founder of Lemon Lime Kids, and a children’s ministry volunteer at First Presbyterian Church in Arlington Heights, Illinois.

Need More Help? Print off our article titled “God is in the Church Nursery” or discover the Seven Reasons Why You Should Serve in the Church Nursery.”

The Birth of Christ – #3 – The Wise Men (Children’s Church Lesson)

Felicia Mollohan — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 19:19:30 +0000

Use this free lesson in your children’s church to teach children the biblical story of Christmas. This is the final lesson in a 3 part series about the birth of Christ. It could be modified to use in Sunday School or any children’s ministry setting. Be sure to modify it to best fit your ministry situation. Your feedback is welcome in the comment section at the end of this page.

Bible Story: The Birth of Christ – The Stable – Matthew 2:1-12

Learning Objectives: After this lesson, the children will demonstrate an understanding of the visit of the wise men by acting out the story.

Target Age: Kindergarten – 5th

Items Needed:

Note: There is a print link embedded within this post, please visit this post to print it. this lesson plan
Bible: Matthew 2:1-12. There is a detailed explanation below to help bring out some of the important parts of the story.
1 paper lunch bag per child, decorating supplies – stamps, stickers, markers, etc.
Tissue paper, wrapping supplies
Construction paper, markers

Worship

Use Christmas Songs (extra print out) to lead the children to sing before the Bible lesson.

Teaching Plan: The Wise Men

Welcome Activity
Welcome activities are things to have out for the children to do as they are arriving for class. These activities will get them engaged as soon as they arrive and will help the transition from their parents.

Have stamps, stickers, markers and other decorating supplies available for the children to decorate a lunch bag for their parents. Make sure that each child puts their name on their bag. We will use these bags later in the lesson.

Worship
Christmas Songs

Bible Lesson Introduction
“We are going to do a craft a little early today because it needs to be able to dry. We are going to make a star today. This has a lot to do with our story today. There is a very special star that we are going to learn about during the Bible story.”

Give each child 2 craft sticks and demonstrate to them how to glue them to each other so that it makes one long stick
Have the children glue their yarn “circle” onto the top of their sticks (this will be so that they can hang it on their tree at home)
Give each child 2 more craft sticks and have them glue them in an “x” onto the previously glued sticks
Give each child 1 craft stick and have them glue this one across the center of the “x”
Have each child write their name on the back of their star
Let the children use the glitter and glue to decorate their star
Lay off to the side to dry (you will be wrapping them later)

Bible Lesson
Have the children open their Bibles to Matthew 2:1-12. To help them find it, use the following questions. Answers are in italics.

Which part of the Bible is Matthew in? New Testament
What book of the New Testament is Matthew? #1

Read Matthew 2:1-12 (NIV) aloud to the children.

Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea. This happened while Herod was king of Judea.

After Jesus’ birth, Wise Men from the east came to Jerusalem. They asked, “Where is the child who has been born to be king of the Jews? When we were in the east, we saw his star. Now we have come to worship him.”

When King Herod heard about it, he was very upset. Everyone in Jerusalem was troubled too. So Herod called together all the chief priests of the people. He also called the teachers of the law. He asked them where the Christ was going to be born.

“In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied. “This is what the prophet has written. He said,

“But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are certainly not the least important among the towns of Judah.
A ruler will come out of you.
He will be the shepherd of my people Israel.’ ” —(Micah 5:2)

Then Herod called for the Wise Men secretly. He found out from them exactly when the star had appeared. He sent them to Bethlehem. He said, “Go! Make a careful search for the child. As soon as you find him, bring me a report. Then I can go and worship him too.”

After the Wise Men had listened to the king, they went on their way. The star they had seen when they were in the east went ahead of them. It finally stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were filled with joy.

The Wise Men went to the house. There they saw the child with his mother Mary. They bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures. They gave him gold, incense and myrrh.

But God warned them in a dream not to go back to Herod. So they returned to their country on a different road.

Discuss Bible Lesson
Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea. This happened while Herod was king of Judea.

So Jesus was born in a little town in the region of Judea.
Herod was the ruler of that region. He is not a very nice guy!

After Jesus’ birth, Wise Men from the east came to Jerusalem. They asked, “Where is the child who has been born to be king of the Jews? When we were in the east, we saw his star. Now we have come to worship him.”

So these Wise Men, who lived in the east somewhere, saw a star in the sky?
What made that star different from all of the others? It doesn’t say in the Bible, but it must have been a pretty special star in order for them to be able to follow it.

When King Herod heard about it, he was very upset. Everyone in Jerusalem was troubled too. So Herod called together all the chief priests of the people. He also called the teachers of the law. He asked them where the Christ was going to be born.

Why would a king, a grown man, be upset by a baby being born? Because, it was the prophecy that He would be the king of the Jews. The Jews lived in the region of Judea and Herod was the king. He didn’t anyone coming in and taking over his kingdom.
What Herod didn’t understand was that Jesus’ kingdom is in heaven, not on earth.

“In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied. “This is what the prophet has written. He said,

“But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are certainly not the least important among the towns of Judah.
A ruler will come out of you.
He will be the shepherd of my people Israel.’ ” —(Micah 5:2)

This was one of many prophecies that Jesus fulfilled in His short life of 33 years.

Then Herod called for the Wise Men secretly. He found out from them exactly when the star had appeared. He sent them to Bethlehem. He said, “Go! Make a careful search for the child. As soon as you find him, bring me a report. Then I can go and worship him too.”

Herod doesn’t want to worship Jesus. We find out later that Herod wants to kill Jesus.

After the Wise Men had listened to the king, they went on their way. The star they had seen when they were in the east went ahead of them. It finally stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were filled with joy.

The star was moving with the Wise Men to show them the way.
It finally stopped over there Jesus was.
They must have thought this was a really funny place for a king to be born – in a stable.
Just imagine if you were one of the Wise Men…they actually got to see Jesus as a baby!

The Wise Men went to the house. There they saw the child with his mother Mary. They bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures. They gave him gold, incense and myrrh.

Those are funny gifts to give to a baby!
The gold was because He was a king.
The incense was because
The myrrh was because

But God warned them in a dream not to go back to Herod. So they returned to their country on a different road.

God made sure that Herod wouldn’t find out exactly where Jesus was born, because Herod wanted to kill Him.

Bible Lesson Activities
Use the following activities to reinforce the learning goals. If time is short, move on to the evaluation portion of the lesson plan.

Activity: Wrap Gift for Parents

“The wise men brought Jesus gifts to show that they love Him. You all made a star earlier in class today. That is going to be a gift from you to your parents.”

Let the children wrap their stars, put them in their decorated bag and attach a card.

Activity: Bible Verse Memorization
“The Wise Men went to the house. They bowed down and worshiped him. They gave him gold, incense and myrrh.” Matthew 2:11 (New International Reader’s Version)

Have the children do the following hand motions along with repeating the words after you, to help them learn the Bible Verse:

The Wise Men: point to your forehead
went to the house: make the shape of a house with your hands
They bowed down: bow
And worshipped him: raise your hands in the sky
They gave him: hold out your hands as though you are giving something
Gold: move your fingers around as though something is twinkling
Incense and myrrh: make a sniffing sound
Matthew 2: hold up 2 fingers
11: hold up all 10 fingers and then 1

Do this a few times with the children. Make it fun for them to do the motions and say the words. Involving them in active learning is essential for memorization.

Activity: My Gift to Jesus
“What did the wisemen bring to Jesus in our Bible Verse today? (allow for responses) The wisemen brought gifts to Jesus. If you were there at Jesus’ birth, what would you bring him? (allow the children to talk with their neighbors about their ideas) What were some of your ideas? (allow for responses—more than likely meaningful or thoughtful gifts) It seems like you guys really would give Jesus your best. Well, we won’t be able to give Jesus a gift. But, we can give our parents a gift. Let’s make cards for our parents. I would like you to write what you could give to your parents. Now, I’m talking a meaningful gift from your heart. Not anything that you can buy them, but something that you can give of yourself.”

* Allow them time to make their cards

Evaluation:
Have the children act out the story to show that they understand the wise men’s visit.

Need More Help? Browse all our Christmas Ideas and Christmas Sunday School lessons for children or find the right Craft Idea for Christmas

The Birth of Christ – #3 – The Wise Men (Preschool Bible Lesson)

Felicia Mollohan — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 19:04:41 +0000

This is the final preschool lesson in a 3-part series on The Birth of Christ. It is designed to teach preschooler about the Christmas Story based on the details of the Wise Mens’ visit to see the Jesus.

It could be used in any setting with children age 2-5 at church, including a preschool Sunday School class or a preschool children’s church class. As always, consider your own ministry context and modify it as needed. Please leave any feedback or suggestions for improvement in the comment box at the bottom of this page.

Bible Story: The Birth of Jesus Christ – The Stable – Matthew 2:1-12

Learning Objectives: After this lesson, the children will demonstrate an understanding of the wise men’s visit by acting out the story.

Target Age: 2 year olds – 5 year olds

Items Needed:

Note: There is a print link embedded within this post, please visit this post to print it. this lesson plan
Bible, Matthew 2:1-12
“The Birth of Christ – The Wise Men” Booklet
1 paper lunch bag per child, decorating supplies – stamps, stickers, markers, etc.
5 craft sticks per child, glue, 1 yarn circle per child, glitter, marker to write their names on their project
Tissue paper, wrapping supplies
1 Large piece of paper labeled “Our Gifts to Jesus”, crayons

Worship:

Use the “Christmas Songs” (extra print out) to lead the children to sing before the Bible lesson.
Sing the Wise Men & Baby Jesus Song

Teaching Plan: The Birth of Christ – The Wise Men

Worship: Christmas Songs above

Give each child 2 craft sticks and demonstrate to them how to glue them to each other so that it makes one long stick
Have the children glue their yarn “circle” onto the top of their sticks (this will be so that they can hang it on their tree at home)
Give each child 2 more craft sticks and have them glue them in an “x” onto the previously glued sticks
Give each child 1 craft stick and have them glue this one across the center of the “x”
Have each child write their name on the back of their star
Have the children glue the yarn circle onto the back of their “star” to make it an ornament
Let the children use the glitter and glue to decorate their star
Lay off to the side to dry (you will be wrapping them later)

Bible Lesson
Read Matthew 2:1-12 (NIRV) aloud to the children. There is also a book that you can print out that has the story along with simple pictures to help the children understand what is being read.

Read the verses (story) to the children. If you are using the print out story, point to the pictures as you read the story so that the children can better understand what you are saying.

1 Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea. This happened while Herod was king of Judea.
After Jesus’ birth, Wise Men from the east came to Jerusalem. 2 They asked, “Where is the child who has been born to be king of the Jews? When we were in the east, we saw his star. Now we have come to worship him.”
3 When King Herod heard about it, he was very upset. Everyone in Jerusalem was troubled too. 4 So Herod called together all the chief priests of the people. He also called the teachers of the law. He asked them where the Christ was going to be born.
5 “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied. “This is what the prophet has written. He said,
6 ” ‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are certainly not the least important among the towns of Judah.
A ruler will come out of you.
He will be the shepherd of my people Israel.’ ” —(Micah 5:2)
7 Then Herod called for the Wise Men secretly. He found out from them exactly when the star had appeared. 8 He sent them to Bethlehem. He said, “Go! Make a careful search for the child. As soon as you find him, bring me a report. Then I can go and worship him too.”
9 After the Wise Men had listened to the king, they went on their way. The star they had seen when they were in the east went ahead of them. It finally stopped over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they were filled with joy.
11 The Wise Men went to the house. There they saw the child with his mother Mary. They bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures. They gave him gold, incense and myrrh.
12 But God warned them in a dream not to go back to Herod. So they returned to their country on a different road.

Read the verses (story) again, but this time have the children have the children act like they are the wise men by doing the following motions:

Jesus’ birth or born – rock a pretend baby in your arms
Star – make blinking motions with fingers in the sky
Joy – smile big
House – make the shape of a house with your fingers
Bowed down – bow down
Gave him – show a giving motion with your arms

Discuss the Bible Reading
When you are finished reading the story the second time, ask the children the following questions so that you can know they understood it.

“Who was in the story?” baby Jesus, Mary, wise men
“What did the wise men follow?” a star
“Who were the wise men trying to find?” Jesus
“What did the wise men give to baby Jesus?” gifts: gold, incense and myrrh

Bible Lesson Craft / Activity
Use the following activities to reinforce the learning goals. If time is short, move on to the evaluation portion of the lesson plan.

Activity: Wrap Gift for Parents

“The wise men brought Jesus gifts to show that they love Him. You all made a star earlier in class today. That is going to be a gift from you to your parents.”

Let the children wrap their stars, put them in their decorated bag.

Activity: Bible Verse Memorization
“The Wise Men went to the house. They bowed down and worshiped him. They gave him gold, incense and myrrh.” Matthew 2:11 (NIRV)

Have the children do the following hand motions along with repeating the words after you, to help them learn the Bible Verse:

The Wise Men: point to your forehead
Went to the house: make the shape of a house with your hands
They bowed down: bow
And worshipped him: raise your hands in the sky
They gave him: hold out your hands as though you are giving something
Gold: move your fingers around as though something is twinkling
Incense and myrrh: make a sniffing sound
Matthew 2: hold up 2 fingers
11: hold up all 10 fingers and then 1

Do this a few times with the children. Make it fun for them to do the motions and say the words. Involving them in active learning is essential for memorization at this age.

Bible Verse Activity: Gift for Jesus
“In our Bible Verse today, we learned that the wise men brought Jesus gifts after He was born. I want you to think what you would give to Jesus. We are going to make Him a big class gift.”

Have the children take turns drawing pictures of their gifts for Jesus.
Ask the children what their gift would be and write that, with their name, next to their drawing.

Evaluation: Have the children (as a class) retell the story of the shepherds’ visit in their own words. Prompt them if they get stuck on a part.

Need More Help? Browse all our Christmas Ideas and Christmas Sunday School lessons for children or find the right Craft Idea for Christmas

Free Vacation Bible School Curriculum: The Armor of God

Tony Kummer — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 18:49:22 +0000

Download and print off this free Vacation Bible School curriculum to use in your ministry. Bible Boot Camp “The Armor of God” is a VBS theme based on Ephesians 6:11-18. The links below contain all the lesson plans, craft ideas, and directions you need. Just download the following three PDF files to get started.

Download this Free VBS Material

One of our readers, Tara Merrill, wanted to share this vacation bible school material. I was really impressed when she sent me the files. I could tell right away that put her heart into writing this curriculum. Here is how she described it in a comment on our site. Be sure to leave a message at the bottom of this page to let her know you appreciate her efforts.

I am 22 years old trying to follow God’s call in my life. I believe He is leading me to write low-cost, Scripture-driven VBS programs. By His grace and will, I wrote one this summer centering on the armor of God passage found in Ephesians 6:11-18. It is a full program and can be adapted for any church size, as long as people are willing to volunteer. I provide craft and snack ideas, but do not include the actual materials as I believe it is cheaper to purchase the necessary items in one’s own hometown. I also provide drama scripts and dialog to help guide the leaders.

Please leave your comment below with any ideas for improvements or clarifications that need to be made. Your feedback will help Tara make improvements in future programs.

Christmas Bible Story “The Angels Telling the Good News”

Tony Kummer — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 05:01:18 +0000

In this video, Cullen & Gator tell kids the first part of the Christmas story when the angels announce the birth of Jesus to Mary and Joseph. You could show this as part of an Advent Bible lesson for kids or include it for review with your Christmas Sunday School lesson. I enjoyed watching it just for new storytelling ideas that I will use in my Children’s Church lessons. Cullen does a great job interacting with the puppet “Gator” and using simple visuals.

If you enjoyed this video, remember you can browse all Cullen’s Christmas Story Series over at YouTube, as well as other christmas songs for children.

Don’t miss our free resources for Christmas including a list of Christmas craft ideas and our printable Christmas story booklet.

This Week in Children’s Ministry for 11/18/2009

Tony Kummer — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 04:10:00 +0000

Here is our weekly roundup of interesting or newsworthy links related to children’s ministry. This is just a small sample of the 180+ weekly posts that run through the BIG List of Children’s Ministry Blogs. If you have a news tip for next weeks links, please email me directly Tony@Ministry-to-Children.com

Newsworthy Links

Nearly half of all U.S. children will use food stamps
New Research Explores the Long-Term Effect of Spiritual Activity among Children and Teens
Jelly Telly has gone back to charging for access. Phil Visher explains why on his blog. The good news is that more content is coming.
Google improves parental controls for search
Was My Sponsored Child Affected by That Crisis? – great information from the Compassion International blog
Quest for Compassion is the interactive kids site from Compassion International

Kids Ministry & Parents

Glen Woods shares 3 necessary attitudes for parent coaching
Ryan Franks says a growing percentage of parents are more committed to non church programs.
CM Buzz takes a different angle on Little League Vs. Children’s Ministry

4 Helpful Lists

Three Things I Shared When Meeting My CM Staff For The First Time by James Kennison
5 Questions to evaluate your Sunday morning programs from North Point Kids
Five Things Children’s Ministry Leaders Need by Glen Woods
Four small things that really matter in leading children’s ministry.

Even More Helpful Links

Free Thanksgiving Comic page from Dick Gruber
Don’t settle for low quality Children’s Ministry
Sojourn Kids is posting pictures of their preschool play centers and some tips for making the most of them.

John Piper’s on Giving Kids the Gospel

HT: Doug & Jared & Charlie

Thanksgiving Sunday School Lesson for Children (Jesus and the Ten Lepers)

Tony Kummer — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 10:30:53 +0000

Here is another Thanksgiving lesson plan for your children’s ministry. It was written by Doug Wolter, the Pastor of Children & Education at LaGrange Baptist Church. You can read more from Doug at his blog Life Together.

This lesson presents the story of Jesus and the Ten Lepers from Luke 17:11-19. It could be used in an elementary or preteen Sunday School class or in your children’s church. The lesson is best suited for older elementary kids (preteens), but could be adapted for your any children’s ministry setting. Be sure to modify this lesson for your ministry context. Leave your comments at the bottom of this page.

Need more help? You can browse all our Thanksgiving ideas for Children’s Ministry or find the right Sunday School craft for Thanksgiving.

ALL GIFTS FROM GOD SHOULD POINT US TO GOD AND CAUSE US TO GIVE THANKS TO GOD

Note: There is a print link embedded within this post, please visit this post to print it. this lesson plan

HOOK:

What holiday is coming next? – Thanksgiving! When should we give thanks?
I want to tell you a story about thanksgiving – The 10 Lepers (Luke 17:11-19)

BOOK

What is leprosy? –a contagious skin disease…(have you ever had chicken pox?) This is worse! lots of sores, may even lose fingers & toes!

Nobody wanted to be with the lepers since they looked really different and had all those sores on their bodies; they had to live away from all the healthy people, including their family and friends
But still they had heard of Jesus and how he had healed a lot of people and so they yelled for his help!

Jesus says, “Go show yourselves to the priests.”

One of the things that the priests would do was to make sure that someone was well enough to be around the other people in the town
Jesus said that they should go to the priests to show them that they were healed even before he had healed any of them.

As they went, they were healed – Jesus is God, heals from a distance, with a word

I wonder what that was like! They all were walking and all of sudden they were healed from head to toe! I bet they were celebrating and dancing all around!
BUT… the Bible says that only one of the men turned around and came back. And he was praising God in a loud voice! You see…just as the men were shouting for Jesus to have mercy and heal them at the beginning of the story…this man was now shouting in a loud voice to thank God for what He had done to heal him. He bowed down in front of Jesus and thanked Jesus.
Just then Jesus asked, “Didn’t I heal all ten of the men?” Where are the other nine?” “Are you the only one who has returned to give praise to God?” And he said to this man, “Rise and go, your faith has made you well.”

All gifts from God should point us back to God and cause us to give thanks to God!

LOOK: Share STORY on next page

TOOK: Are we like the nine lepers that receive so much from God and never think about thanking Him…or are we like the one man who returned immediately when he was healed to give thanks to God? Gifts are good, but they aren’t God! We have even more reason to thank God if we have placed our faith in Jesus. He has healed us of something even worse than leprosy—sin! Did you notice at the beginning—Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem, the cross! Jesus thought of you as he went to the cross. Trust him today.

Story/Illustration

Text: Luke 17:11-19 (Story of the 10 Lepers)

Illustration:

Back when I was about 10 years old, I was so excited for Christmas to come. I really wanted to get one of those big remote controlled cars. Well, just like every year, on Christmas Eve my family got into our car and we went to church. As we were singing the songs I couldn’t help but think about that remote control car. Finally the church service ended and we got back home. We looked in our stockings and then we went upstairs to open presents. We took turns opening up our gifts, and the first gift I opened was a pair of dress pants. I tried to look happy as I glanced at my mom and dad and said, “Thank you.” After watching the rest of my family open gifts, it was my turn again. I opened my second gift and guess what it was? A nice dress shirt to go with my dress pants. Now by this time, I was getting a little impatient and I faked a smile and told my older sister, “Thank you for the shirt.” After what seemed like forever as I watched the rest of my family take turns opening gifts, it was my turn again. This time, the box I was opening looked like it held a remote control car, so I was really getting excited. But when I opened up the box, do you know what it was? Two pairs of socks. Not even white socks, they were black socks! Yuck! Nobody wants socks for Christmas, let alone black socks. I was mad, and I didn’t see anymore gifts under the tree for me. I didn’t bother thanking my brother for the socks; instead I gave an expression to everyone like, “What is the deal? Have I really grown up that fast that all I get is clothes this year? Don’t I deserve more than that? About that time, I heard a strange sound coming from the other room. I noticed that my Dad had his hands behind him trying to maneuver something. Then, all of a sudden a huge shiny red remote control car came zooming down the hallway coming right at me. I couldn’t believe it! I picked it up and looked at it and hugged it. My frown changed to a big smile and I immediately said, “This is more like it!” My dad, who was holding the controls, handed it to me with a grin on his face. But without any word of thanks at all to my dad or to my mom, I took the remote control car downstairs and played with it for most of the night.

I didn’t really care about who gave me the remote control car as long as I got it. You see, in my sinful heart, I wanted the gift much more than I wanted the Giver of the gift. I smiled at the remote control car. I hugged it, and I spent time with it without even thinking about my parents who gave it to me.

This is how we are with God. We forget about Him so easily. We love His gifts and love His blessings, but do we really love Him? We get more excited about the things He gives us and end up forgetting about Him. This is sin. Because all gifts from God should point us back to God and cause us to give thanks to God!

Need More Help? Then try our preschool lesson for Thanksgiving or compare our Psalm 100 Bible lesson about Thankfulness.

Julie Cantrell “God is with Me” Books (Review & Giveaway)

Tony Kummer — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 04:15:15 +0000

Here are two wonderful new children’s books that will reassure young children of God’s love and protection. They are written by new author Julie Cantrell and titled “God is with Me through the Day” and “God is with Me through the Night.”

Each page has one line of text and adorable pictures of baby animals. What’s not to love. Plus they emphasize the protection and comfort that God provides for his children. “I am safe” and “I am loved” are recurring themes in each book. Children age 4 – 7 will learn to trust God even when they feel afraid, or lonely, or scared. The books also refer to well-known Bible characters like David and Daniel. This reminds the reader how God has always watched over those he loves.

As part of this review, I sat down with my own children to give them a test. My 1st grade daughter was really excited about the puppies and other baby animals. She read the books aloud to me and again to her 3-year-old brother. He loved to roar along with the baby bear. The smiling ostrich and monkeys were a bonus. My wife also approved and some un-churched relatives will receive a copy for Christmas. Needless to say, these books are quickly becoming favorites in my family.

These books have great ministry potential. At church, I’m adding copies to our preschool resource shelf. They are also on my short list for Christmas morning giveaways for the church kids. From a family ministry perspective, these books are a great asset for bedtime devotions.

You can read more from Julie Cantrell on her blog or the Facebook group for these books.

Giveaway: How You Can Win These Books

To enter this contest, leave a comment below saying how you would use these books if you win. Would you give them to kids at your church or read them at home with your children? Whatever you would do, just let us know in your comment.

On Monday 23 November, I will draw one random winner from the comments left on this post. They will get one copy of both books. Special thanks to Julie and ZonderKidz for donating the books and my review copies.

If this is your first time to leave a comment, it will take up to three hours for it to appear. I moderate new commentators to prevent spam. Just make sure you use a real email or I won’t be able to contact you. I can only mail the prizes to US addresses.

Terry Delaney is hosting a giveaway at his website, Christian Book Notes. His drawing will be on Tuesday, November 24.

Video of Julie Talking About the Books

Preschool Thanksgiving Lesson: Jesus and the Ten Lepers

Kristin Charles — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 16:13:05 +0000

This is a lesson plan intended to be used for Thanksgiving, but you could utilize it at any time of year. It is the account in Luke 17:11-19 of the ten lepers who were healed by Jesus, yet only one returned to give thanks. The lesson is designed for children’s church or Sunday School and is intended for preschool children, ages 3-5.

Objectives: To develop students who form a pattern of thankfulness at an early age. To understand that Jesus heals both physical ailments and spiritual conditions of the heart.

Materials: Doctor’s props (mask, band-aids, lab coat, pretend instruments), pre-drawn heart on red, orange, yellow, or brown construction paper with the words, “My Thankful Heart” on the bottom of the page, band-aids, black marker

Memory Verse: “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.” Psalm 107:1 (NIV)

Preschool Lesson About Thanksgiving

Anticipatory Set: If you have doctor’s props available, use them to generate interest in the lesson. You could put a mask on, take out a band-aid, put on a white lab coat, or hang a pretend stethoscope around your neck. Ask the children the following questions:

Have any of you ever been sick before? Have you been to the Doctor’s office? What sorts of things did the Doctor do there?

Today, we’re going to learn about ten men who were very sick. They had a bad disease called leprosy. It was something that hurt their skin on their hands, feet, nose, throat, and eyes. They had to go to the doctor to be healed! But this Doctor wasn’t a doctor like you or I have ever seen. This was a special Doctor. Let’s learn about Him today!

Bible Lesson: Luke 17:11-19 (NIV)

Teach this lesson through a dramatic interpretation of Scripture. Have the children actively engaged as you read along.

Verse 11: Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. (Have the children march their feet as Jesus is travelling.)

Verse 12: As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him. (Count to ten on fingers.) They stood at a distance. (Hold your hand above your eyes like you are looking far away at something.) Tell the students that they had to stand far away from people so that others wouldn’t get sick too!

Verse 13: And called out in a loud voice, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!” (No inside voices here! Repeat after me: Jesus, master, have pity on us!) These lepers knew that Jesus could make people well!

Verse 14: When he saw them, he said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went (feet marching again), they were cleansed. (Look at skin and say: Wow! All better!) The lepers had great faith that Jesus would heal them. And He did, as they travelled on their way!

Verse 15: One of them (hold up one finger), when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. (Repeat after me: Thank you, Jesus!)

Verse 16: He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him (have the children get on their knees and say: Thank you Jesus. You’ve healed me.) – and he was a Samaritan.

Verse 17: Jesus asked, (arms outstretched, questioning) “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine?”

Verse 18: “Was no one (shake heads no) found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?” Do you think that the other nine forgot to say thank you?

Verse 19: Then he said to him, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well.” (Have the students stand up, march their feet, and smile.) Jesus healed the man’s skin problem, but He also healed his heart. Because the man believed in Jesus, his sins were forgiven too. Every part of him was made well!

Application: God has given us so many gifts to be thankful for. We can be thankful for Jesus, who died on the cross for our sins. Our hearts can be very sick without Him! We need Jesus to heal our hearts and forgive us! I am thankful that He has the power to do that! We can also be thankful for good health, food to eat, our church, etc! Let’s remember to thank God today, like the one man did in our Bible lesson.

What are you thankful for today?

Bible Lesson Game: “Doctor May I?” (a spin-off of “Mother May I?”)

Have the children form a horizontal line, facing you.
The teacher assumes the role of Doctor for this game and backs up to create a good distance.
Choose a child at the left side of the line to go first. He/she needs to ask, “Dr, may I take ____ (number) giant, regular, or baby steps?” The Dr. responds either, “Yes” or “No.” If yes, the child takes the pre-determined number of steps and says thank you.
If the child forgets to say thank you, they need to return to the starting line. Play continues with the next child.
The first one to high-five the Doctor wins.

Art Project: “Thankful Hearts” (Materials: pre-drawn heart on red, orange, yellow, or brown construction paper with the words, “My Thankful Heart” on the bottom of the page, band-aids, black marker)

Have the students place band-aids on heart outline.
Inside the heart, invite them to tell you what they are thankful for. Write down their responses.

Preschool Songs About Thankfulness

“10 Healed” (to the tune of “Ten Little Indians”)

As you sing this song, have the children count on their fingers, as the lyrics suggest. Also teach them how to say “thank you” in sign language for the end of the song. (Place fingers near your lips with a flat hand. Move your hand forward and down.)

There were

One healed, two healed, three healed lepers

Four healed, five healed, six healed lepers

Seven healed, eight healed, nine healed lepers

Ten healed lepers but only one said thanks.

“I can be thankful” (to the tune of “I’m a Little Teapot”)

I can be thankful; yes I can

For my family; for my friends.

God has given so much with His Son

Thank you God for all You’ve done.

Need More Help? Check out all our Children’s Ministry ideas for Thanksgiving.

Thankfulness No Matter What: A Bible Lesson about Jehoshaphat

Kristin Charles — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 15:33:51 +0000

Try this lesson plan based on the story of Jehoshaphat in 2 Chronicles 20 to teach children about thankfulness. It would work in any children’s ministry setting but is designed for Children’s Church or Sunday School.

Objectives: To identify Biblical strategies for dealing with problems in our lives, based on Jehoshaphat’s response to an attacking army. To develop students who display hearts of gratitude. This lesson is geared towards a classroom of 1^st-5^th graders.

Materials:

Note: There is a print link embedded within this post, please visit this post to print it. this lesson plan
Bibles for each student (or every other one),
a whiteboard, whiteboard marker, color coded seats (optional – see Bible lesson),
chairs,
CD player and praise CD,
paper plates (2 for each student),
beans or dried cereal (whatever you have on hand!),
masking tape or a stapler,
crayons or markers,
an Avery label that reads, “Give thanks to the Lord, for his love endures forever.” – 2 Chronicles 20:21 (or print out the verse yourself – one for each student.)

Bible Basis: “Give thanks to the Lord, for his love endures forever.” – 2 Chronicles 20:21

Anticipatory Set: Ask the students the following questions: Have you ever had a problem that seemed bigger than you? Have you felt helpless, like you couldn’t fix it, no matter how hard you tried? Sometimes life isn’t always easy. Sometimes family members get sick, people we love go to war, bullies at school make fun of you, parents don’t get along, and moms and dads lose their jobs.

Today we’re going to learn about a guy named Jehoshaphat who faced these kinds of big problems. In fact, an entire army was coming to destroy him and his people. It seemed like Jehoshaphat had nowhere to turn, but he chose to run to God. At one point, he cries to God, “We do not know what to do, but our eyes are upon you.” (2 Chronicles 20:12) When we do not know what to do, let’s learn how we can turn to God with our problems, like Jehoshaphat in our study today.

Bible Lesson: 2 Chronicles 20

Have the students seated in such a manner that an older student is next to a younger one. This will help with the reading later in the lesson. You could color code the seats with construction paper circles or stickers so that the “red seats” are for grades 3-5 and the “blue seats” are for grades 1-2.
Ask the students to figure out who Jehoshaphat was. Tell them that you are going to read a passage of scripture, and you want them to listen for clues. Have a whiteboard and marker ready to jot down clues that they generate. Read 2 Chronicles 17:1-6. (Some answers may include: He was a King. Asa was his Dad. He followed God. He didn’t follow other gods. He had great wealth and honor. He removed the high places or idols -though scripture is clear that he did not remove all of the idolatry in the land.)
Say: Sounds like a pretty good guy, right? Well, even good guys have big problems. One day, Jehoshaphat was probably eating a Big Mac, or high-fiving his friend, or playing his Wii when these guys came running to tell him that a HUGE army was coming against him. And not only that, but the army was kind of close. How would you feel if you were in his shoes? (Scared!) That’s right! In the Bible, it says that Jehoshaphat was alarmed! Yet instead of freaking out and running away, let’s figure out what he did.
Read 2 Chronicles 20:3-4. Does anyone know what a fast is? A fast is going without food for a period of time, in order to go to God about something. Instead of taking the time to make food and eat, the people of Judah spent time praying: asking for forgiveness, praising God, and thanking Him. Every time they felt hunger cramps, they would remember that God had provided for them in the past. They trusted that He would provide in the future.
Read 2 Chronicles 20:12 as a choral reading. Repeat the last part of the verse three times, “We do not know what to do (arms lifted up as if asking a question) but our eyes are on You (point upward).” Use motions as you say it together.
Take a moment to pray with the children. Ask for forgiveness of sin, praise God for being bigger than our problems, and thank Him for listening to the prayers of His children.
So how does God answer Jehoshaphat? Separate the students into pairs. Ask them to listen for what God told His people. Have the older child read 2 Chronicles 20:15-17 to the younger child. Once everyone is done reading and reflecting on God’s words, invite some of the students to respond on behalf of their pair. (Answers should include: Don’t be afraid or discouraged. You will not fight this battle, but God will. March against the people and then watch what God will do! God will be with you.)
Build up anticipation for the conclusion. Raise your hand if you think Jehoshaphat with God on his side will win? Raise your hand if you think the enemy will win? Take some guesses. How in the world is Jehoshaphat going to win without fighting? How is God going to fight for His people?
Tell the students that Jehoshaphat’s people woke up early for the battle. In a loud voice (act this out grandly), Jehoshaphat said, “Listen to me, Judah and people of Jerusalem! Have faith in the Lord your God and you will be upheld; have faith in his prophets and you will be successful.” Then Jehoshaphat chose men to sing to God and praise Him ahead of the army. Choose 3-5 boys to stand up and sing, “Give thanks to the Lord, for His love endures forever.” Have them repeat it a couple of times. Mention that this is quite a unique strategy for war – singing praises!
Continue to build up anticipation. (Show excitement in your voice and body language!) You will never believe what happened! Remember how God said that Jehoshaphat and his people wouldn’t have to fight? They didn’t! God tricked the enemy into turning on each other! At the end of the day, no one was left alive! Not one enemy escaped! Not one person from Jehoshaphat’s side had to fight! And not one person got killed or even injured for that matter! And if all that wasn’t great enough, Jehoshaphat’s people spent three days finding equipment, clothing, and expensive stuff. They found so much stuff that they couldn’t take it all with them!
Have the students give a loud round of applause for Jehoshaphat for trusting in God. And another round of applause for the singers who must have thought it weird to praise God when they were supposed to be getting ready for war! And of course, the loudest round of applause for the God who saved His people when they called to Him for help.

Application: Preface these questions by telling the students to not answer these questions out loud, but to just think about them quietly. What kind of problems do you have in your life right now? Are they problems with people at school or your last report card? Are they problems at home with your parents or brothers or sisters? Maybe you’re not sure how God will take care of your family and you’re worried about it. Maybe someone you love has passed away and it keeps making you really sad.

You know, life can be full of hard times. But God doesn’t want us to go through those times alone. Do you know Jesus as your Savior? If you do, He can help you through those hard times like God did with Jehoshaphat. He can help you fight problems that seem bigger than you. Why? Because God is even bigger than that problem you see! If you do not know Jesus as your Savior, please consider talking to me today so that you can invite Him to live in your heart.

What did Jehoshaphat do when a HUGE army was coming to destroy him? He prayed and he praised! Even though he saw the problem, he trusted that God was going to take care of him. He had joy, no matter what! He and his people sang thanks to God. Now that is something that we can get excited about! Whenever you have a problem of any sort, please pray about it. Maybe talk to a grown up that you trust. But also, remember to have a heart of thanks. Thank God for as many things as you can think of!

Musical Chairs Game:

Materials: chairs lined up back to back in two rows (one chair for each child), CD player (or someone singing who is not facing the children), a Praise CD

Have each student start out sitting in a chair. Start with a trial run. Play the music and have the students move around the chairs. Shut the music off and have the students grab a seat. Everyone gets one the first time. Now remove one seat to play.
Play the music again. When the music stops, everyone grabs a chair. The player without a chair is out. Take out one chair each round.
Repeat until you have 2 players and 1 chair. The one to sit down first on the last chair is the winner.

Praise Shakers Art Project

Materials: paper plates (2 for each student), beans or dried cereal (whatever you have on hand!), tape or a stapler, crayons or markers, an Avery label that reads, “Give thanks to the Lord, for his love endures forever.” – 2 Chronicles 20:21 (or print out the verse yourself on the bottom side of one plate.)

On the bottom side of one plate, have the students affix the memory verse and start writing things that they can be thankful for.
On the bottom side of the other plate, have the students brainstorm additional items of thanksgiving.
Once they are done decorating their plates, either staple or tape the plates together so that they are almost closed. Have the child place a handful of beans or cereal in the remaining opening. Then close that as well so that the plates are sealed together.
As you are working on sealing plates together, students can either brainstorm additional items of praise or work on memorizing 2 Chronicles 20:21.
Once all plates have been completed, teach the students a song of thanksgiving and sing it together with their “Praise Shakers.” You can choose “Give Thanks with a Grateful Heart” or “I Will Enter His Gates with Thanksgiving in my Heart” or your personal favorite.

Need More Help? Browse of list of Thanksgiving Crafts or try Thanksgiving Lesson for children’s church.

Thanksgiving Lesson for Children’s Church

Tony Kummer — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 15:27:09 +0000

This Bible lesson about Thanksgiving was first used in our Sunday morning children’s church with Kindergarten – 6^th grade students. It could also work as a Thanksgiving Sunday School lesson or any other children’s ministry teaching time. Be sure to modify it for your ministry context. Leave any suggestions or fresh ideas in the comment box at the bottom of this post.

Objective: After this lesson, children will demonstrate a thankful attitude by sharing specific reasons they can say thank you to God.

Supplies:

Note: There is a print link embedded within this post, please visit this post to print it. this lesson plan
Four sheets of paper with the following names written large alongside a sad face: Johhny, Sarah, Bob, Chloe. These will be used in the first activity called “Sad Stories.”
Marker board or piece of paper to display the word “Thanksgiving.”
Bible turned to Psalm 100:4-5
Photocopied tracing of a hand, or have the children trace their own hands as a craft, with the words “I am thankful for . . .” written in the middle and each finger has one of the following words: Parents, School, Church, Jesus, Health. Crayons or colored pencils if you use the optional craft
Maker board or poster to write responses from the final activity “responding.”

Thanksgiving Lesson Teaching Plan

Activity “Sad Stories”
Use this activity to get the children’s attention and begin to focus them on the concept of thankfulness. Line up four volunteers in the front of the group, assign them the name papers, and ask them to act out the following situations. Change the stories if they seem too personal for the children in your ministry.

Say the following, one situation for each child to act out. Allow a few moments after each story for the children to respond to the “who could help” question.

This is Johnny (use pretend name). He has a sad story because he does not have a anyone to teach him how to read. In his country, there are no schools. Who can help Johnny’s sad story?
This is Susan (use pretend name). She has a sad story because there are no people in her life to teach her about Jesus. In her country, churches are against the law. Who can help Susan’s sad story?
This is Bob. He has a sad story because his parents cannot take care of him. They use drugs and he has to go to foster care. He wants them to get better, but he is afraid they can’t. Who can help Bob’s sad story?
This is Chloe. She has a sad story because she is sick with cancer. She has gone to see many doctors, but she can not do all the things her friends do. She is just too tired from her treatments. Who can help Chole’s sad story?

Say: Each of these stories should remind us to have thankful hearts for all the good things God has given us. We can also use our good things to help make other people’s stories better. Today we are going to learn about being thankful and how God wants us to have attitudes that appreciate the good things he has given us.

Note: This lesson brings up the problem of evil in our world. This is a great bridge to teach the children that every good thing is a gift from God purchased by Jesus on the cross. God’s love is determined to overcome all the bad in this world and one day make all things right again. When Jesus came alive again it was an exclamation point on that promise.

Activity “Word Clue”
In this activity, children will discover the meaning of the word “Thanksgiving.” Display the word “thanksgiving” on the marker board or piece of paper. Ask volunteers to answer the following questions as you lead the discussion. Say the following:

This word is actually a compound of two words. Can anyone see the two words? (Underline the two words as they answer “Thanks” and “Giving”)
Whom would we be saying “Thank you” to on Thanksgiving? (Affirm all reasonable answers like parents, but keep asking until they say God.)
What should we say “thank you” to God about?
How would we show God that we have feel thankful in our hearts? (Examples: Prayer, serving others, not always wanting more, taking good care of what we already have)

Activity: Bible Reading + Active Listening
You could have an older student read, but it may be simpler to read yourself so you can emphasize the following key points.

Say: Listen carefully while I read a Bible verse about giving thanks to God. See if you can hear the three reasons why we should say “Thank you” to God. Read it two times, emphasizing the second verse.

Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise;
give thanks to him and praise his name.

For the LORD is good and his love endures forever;
his faithfulness continues through all generations.

Psalm 100:4-5 NIV

Answers:

“The LORD is good” = He is good.
“His love endures forever” = His love never runs out.
“His faithfulness continues through all generations” = He keeps his promises, even to children.

Craft: Thankful Hand
In this learning activity, children will share specific reasons they can say thank you to God. You can use the hand as an object lesson or a craft or simply show the children a completed version to make the point.

Show the children a hand tracing on a piece of paper (or marker board) with the words “I am thankful for . . .” written in the middle. Add the following words to one finger at a time and pause for specific discussion. Lead the children to give specific reasons they are thankful for each of the following.

Parents – Why are you thankful for your parents?
Example: I am thankful that my parents read me bedtime stories.
School – Why are you thankful for your school?
Example: I am thankful that my school has great food!
Church – Why are you thankful for your church?
Example: I am thankful that my church teaches me about God.
Jesus – Why are you thankful for Jesus?
Example: I am thankful that Jesus wants to forgive me.
Health – Why are you thankful for your health?
Example: I am thankful that I can run fast and play tag.

Activity: Responding
Tell the children that thankful hands always respond. When our hearts appreciate what God has done, we should do something to show that attitude. Lead the children to brainstorm some ways to show they have thankful hearts. You can write the answers on a marker board or poster board during the discussion.

Some possible answers: prayer, serving others, writing thank you cards to parents, sharing what God has given, taking good care of your health, etc.

Closing Prayer: Lead the children in a prayer of thanksgiving.

Need More Help? Browse of list of Thanksgiving Crafts or try another Thanksgiving Lesson for Kids.

The Birth of Christ #2 – The Shepherds (Preschool Bible Lesson)

Felicia Mollohan — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 04:13:01 +0000

This is the second of a 3-part series on The Birth of Christ. This lesson plan is designed to teach preschool aged children about the Christmas Story based on the details of the Shepherds’ visit to see the baby Jesus. It could be used in any setting with children age 2-5 at church, including a preschool Sunday School class or a preschool children’s church class. As always, consider your own ministry context and modify it as needed. Please leave any feedback or suggestions for improvement in the comment box at the bottom of this page.

Bible Story: The Birth of Jesus Christ – The Shepherds – Luke 2:8-20

Learning Objectives: After this lesson, the children will demonstrate an understanding of the shepherds’ visit by retelling the story with teacher’s prompts.

Target Age: 2 year olds – 5 year olds

Items Needed:

Note: There is a print link embedded within this post, please visit this post to print it. this lesson plan
Bible, Luke 2:8-20
“The Birth of Christ – The Shepherds” Booklet
1 sheep cutout per child, cotton balls, glue
½ paper plate per child, construction paper, cotton balls, yellow yarn cut into 2” strips, glue, stapler, crayons, scissors
1 Candy Cane Poem per child, 1 miniature candy cane per child, 1 large candy cane per child, tape

Worship: Use the “Christmas Songs” (extra print out) to lead the children to sing before the Bible lesson.

Teaching Plan: The Birth of Christ – The Shepherds

Have some cotton balls available for the children to play with. Let them use their imaginations! If they are having trouble…have a “cotton ball fight”. They’ll think it’s cool to throw things.

Worship: Christmas Songs

Bible Lesson Introduction

Have a cutout of a sheep and some cotton balls available for the children. Let them glue cotton balls onto the printout so that the sheep will be fluffy.

Bible Lesson
Read Luke 2:8-20 (NIRV) aloud to the children. There is also a book that you can print out that has the story along with simple pictures to help the children understand what is being read.

Read the verses (story) to the children. If you are using the print out story, point to the pictures as you read the story so that the children can better understand what you are saying.

8 There were shepherds living out in the fields nearby. It was night, and they were looking after their sheep. 9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them. And the glory of the Lord shone around them. They were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy. It is for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you. He is Christ the Lord. 12 Here is how you will know I am telling you the truth. You will find a baby wrapped in strips of cloth and lying in a manger.” 13 Suddenly a large group of angels from heaven also appeared. They were praising God. They said, 14 “May glory be given to God in the highest heaven! And may peace be given to those he is pleased with on earth!”
15 The angels left and went into heaven. Then the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem. Let’s see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.” 16 So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph and the baby. The baby was lying in the manger. 17 After the shepherds had seen him, they told everyone. They reported what the angel had said about this child. 18 All who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 19 But Mary kept all these things like a secret treasure in her heart. She thought about them over and over. 20 The shepherds returned. They gave glory and praise to God. Everything they had seen and heard was just as they had been told.

Read the verses (story) again, but this time have the children make the following sounds when these words are read:

Angel – Awww
Shepherds – Baa

Discuss the Bible Reading
When you are finished reading the story the second time, ask the children the following questions so that you can know they understood it.

“Who was in the story?” Shepherds, Angels, Jesus, Mary, Joseph
“Were the shepherds afraid when the angel appeared?” Yes
“What did the angel tell the shepherds?” That Jesus had been born
“Did the shepherds go see Jesus?” Yes

Bible Lesson Craft / Activity
Use the following activities to reinforce the learning goals. If time is short, move on to the evaluation portion of the lesson plan.

Activity: Cone Angel
Before class: roll up the ½ paper plates into a cone shape and staple and cut circles out of the construction paper for the angel’s face

“What was our Bible Story about today? (allow for responses) Yes, our story today was about the shepherds finding out about the birth of Jesus. Who told the shepherds about Jesus? (allow for responses) Right, an angel. Wouldn’t it be cool to see an angel? It would be so exciting and maybe a little bit scary too. At first the shepherds were scared, but then they were ok.

We are going to make an angel today to help us remember who told the shepherds about Jesus.”

Give each child a paper plate cone
Trace each child’s hands on the construction paper and cut them out
As you are tracing the children’s hands, let them color their paper plate cone
Demonstrate to the children how to glue their cut out hands onto their cone for the angel’s wings
Give each child an angel face to decorate
Have the children glue on the angel face
Give each child a piece of yellow yarn
Help the children glue the yellow yarn onto the angel’s head for the halo
Demonstrate to the children how to stretch the cotton balls and then have them glue them onto their angel

Activity: Bible Verse Memorization
“There were shepherds living out in the fields nearby. An angel of the Lord appeared to them. They were terrified.” Luke 2:8&9 (NIRV)

Have the children do the following hand motions along with repeating the words after you, to help them learn the Bible Verse:

There were shepherds: act like you are holding up a shepherd’s staff
Living out in the fields nearby: sweep arms in front of you as though you are showing the ground
An angel of the Lord: hold arms up as in surprise
Appeared to the: close eyes and then open eyes
They were terrified: have a scared look on your face
Luke 2: hold up 2 fingers
8 & 9: hold up 8 fingers and then 9 fingers

Do this a few times with the children. Make it fun for them to do the motions and say the words. Involving them in active learning is essential for memorization at this age.

Bible Verse Activity: Candy Cane Poem
Hold up the candy cane and show the parts as you talk about them
Give each child a mini candy cane to eat while you are talking about the candy cane.

“We are going to talk about what this candy cane has to do with our Bible Verse. (hold the candy cane right side up) What does this look like? (allow for responses) If I was a shepherd, I would need a crook. A crook would help me to guide my sheep where they needed to go. This looks like a crook. This candy cane also has things about Jesus. If I hold it upside down, it looks like a “J” which is the first letter of Jesus’ name. The candy cane is white with red stripes. The white is for how pure we are with Jesus in our life and the red stands for Jesus’ blood that He shed for us on the cross. Also, if you look closely, you will see 3 red stripes on this candy cane. These stand for the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit. Wow! This yummy candy has such a great meaning that we should share with our families. (hold up the poem) You all will be bringing this home so that we can share the Good News with your family. (read the poem for the children)

Have the children attach a large candy cane to their poem to take home.

Evaluation:
Have the children (as a class) retell the story of the shepherds’ visit in their own words. Prompt them if they get stuck on a part.

Evaluation: Split the children into pairs. Have them tell the Bible story in their own words.

Need More Help? Browse all our Christmas Ideas and Christmas Sunday School lessons for children or find the right Craft Idea for Christmas

The Birth of Christ #2 – The Shepherds (Children’s Church Lesson)

Felicia Mollohan — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 04:12:46 +0000

Try this lesson plan with your Sunday School or Children’s Church this Christmas seasons. It is part 2 of a 3-part series about the Christmas Story. This lesson teaches about the details of the Shepherds visiting the baby Jesus. This children’s church lesson plan was first written for children age 5 – 11. Be sure to consider your own ministry context and modify it as needed. Please leave any feedback or suggestions for improvement in the comment box at the bottom of this page.

Bible Story: The Birth of Christ – The Stable – Luke 2:8-20

Learning Objectives: After this lesson, the children will demonstrate an understanding of the visit of the shepherds by telling a neighbor the story.

Target Age: Kindergarten – 5th

Items Needed:

Note: There is a print link embedded within this post, please visit this post to print it. this lesson plan
Bible: Luke 2:8-20. There is a detailed explanation below to help bring out some of the important parts of the story.
“The Angel’s Announcement to the Shepherds – PDF” Activity Sheet per child, pencils
Whiteboard, whiteboard markers, index cards (or cut paper), markers
½ paper plate per child, construction paper, scissors, glue, markers, stapler, cotton balls
1 of the following per child: The Candy Cane Poem, a miniature candy cane, a large candy cane

Worship: Use Christmas Songs (extra print out) to lead the children to sing before the Bible lesson.

Teaching Plan: The Shepherds Christmas Lesson

“The Angel’s Announcement to the Shepherds” Activity Sheet

Worship: Christmas Songs

Bible Lesson Introduction

Ask the children what words they can think off when you say, “Christmas” (try to guide them to Biblical ideas)
Write those words on the white board
When you have at least 20 different words, write (or have the children write) the words from the white board onto the index cards
Split the children into 2 groups
Give each group 10 cards
Each group needs to make a story using their words…have them try to make it as Biblical as possible

Bible Lesson: Use the following notes as a guide, but be sure to tell the Bible story in your own words. If possible memorize your key points and just teach as you read the relevant verses directly out of the Bible.

Have the children open their Bibles to Luke 2:8-20. To help them find it, use the following questions. Answers are in italics.

Which part of the Bible is Luke in? New Testament
What book of the New Testament is Luke? #2

Read Luke 2:8-20 (NIV) aloud to the children.
There were shepherds living out in the fields nearby. It was night, and they were looking after their sheep. An angel of the Lord appeared to them. And the glory of the Lord shone around them. They were terrified.

It was like any other night for these shepherds. They were minding their own business, watching their sheep, when all of a sudden an angel appears.
The angel doesn’t just appear. The “glory of the Lord shown around them”. I don’t know exactly what the “glory of the Lord” looks like, but it has got to be bright.
Of course they were terrified! It was dark (because it was at night) and this happens!

But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy. It is for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you. He is Christ the Lord. Here is how you will know I am telling you the truth. You will find a baby wrapped in strips of cloth and lying in a manger.”

Notice the first thing that the angel said to the shepherds. “Do not be afraid.” God knows that fear would be the first emotion that the shepherds would have felt. He wanted to make sure that the angels reassured them that this was a good visit.
The lowliest of careers – shepherds – heard the news of Jesus’ birth directly from angels! God doesn’t care about your earthly position – he cares about your heart!
The angel told them many things in their short speech:

1) The Good News was for ALL PEOPLE
2) He was born in Bethlehem (the town of David)
3) The Savior (the Christ or Messiah) had already been born that night – so the Savior is a BABY?
4) Here’s proof so that you will be able to tell others (because who’s going to believe a bunch of lowly shepherds that they saw angels in the sky?)
5) The Savior of the world will be wrapped in strips of cloth and in a manger (an animal’s feeding trough)

Suddenly a large group of angels from heaven also appeared. They were praising God. They said,

“May glory be given to God in the highest heaven!
And may peace be given to those he is pleased with on earth!”

Not only was there one angel, now there was a large group of angels praising God. That must have been quite a show!

The angels left and went into heaven. Then the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem. Let’s see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

The angels go back to heaven – which also must have been a sight!
The shepherds leave for Bethlehem to find the baby Messiah

So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph and the baby. The baby was lying in the manger. After the shepherds had seen him, they told everyone. They reported what the angel had said about this child. All who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them.

The shepherds must have found the right stable, because the Bible says that they found Mary, Joseph and the baby.
The baby was lying in a manger – just like the angels said. He was probably the only baby lying in a manger around those parts. Most babies would have been in a crib or bassinette-type bed.
After they saw the baby, they went and told everyone. These were the first human evangelists. The first people to tell about Jesus.

But Mary kept all these things like a secret treasure in her heart. She thought about them over and over.

Mary is a proud mom! She loves her baby and treasured everything that was happening to her son – the Son of God.

The shepherds returned. They gave glory and praise to God. Everything they had seen and heard was just as they had been told.

The shepherds came back, after they told everyone the Good News, so they could worship Him.

Discuss Bible Lesson

Talk with the children about the story. Ask them questions like the following:

What would it have been like to be Mary?
What would it have been like to be Joseph?
What would it have been like to see an angel?

~ If you have time, reenact the story.

Bible Lesson Activities
Use the following activities to reinforce the learning goals. If time is short, move on to the evaluation portion of the lesson plan.

Activity: “Cone Angel”

We are going to make an angel today to help us remember who told the shepherds about Jesus.”

With a partner, have the children roll their ½ paper plate into a cone and then staple.

With a partner, have the children trace each other’s hands out of the construction paper.

Have the children cut out the hands and glue them onto their cone for the angel’s wings.

Have the children finish their angel:

Cut a face out of construction paper and glue it onto their cone
Glue the yellow yarn as the halo
Stretch the cotton balls and glue them onto the angel
Decorate their angel as they would like

Activity: Bible Verse Memorization
“There were shepherds living out in the fields nearby. An angel of the Lord appeared to them. They were terrified.” Luke 2:8&9 (NIRV)

Have the children do the following hand motions along with repeating the words after you, to help them learn the Bible Verse:

There were shepherds: act like you are holding up a shepherd’s staff
Living out in the fields nearby: sweep arms in front of you as though you are showing the ground
An angel of the Lord: hold arms up as in surprise
Appeared to the: close eyes and then open eyes
They were terrified: have a scared look on your face
Luke 2: hold up 2 fingers
8 & 9: hold up 8 fingers and then 9 fingers

Do this a few times with the children. Make it fun for them to do the motions and say the words. Involving them in active learning is essential for memorization.

Activity: The Legend of the Candy Cane
Hold up the candy cane and show the parts as you talk about them

Give each child a mini candy cane to eat while you are talking about the candy cane.

Have the children attach a large candy cane to their poem to take home.

Evaluation: Split the children into pairs. Have them tell the Bible story in their own words.

Need More Help? Browse all our Christmas Ideas and Christmas Sunday School lessons for children or find the right Craft Idea for Christmas

God Looks At the Heart (Children’s Bible Lesson)

Beckie Stewart — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 10:03:43 +0000

This Bible lesson for children comes from 1 Samuel 16:1-13 where Samuel anoints a young shepherd boy named David as the next king of Israel. It teaches the truth that the Lord looks at the heart of people and not their outward appearance. This material will work as a Sunday School lesson or in Children’s Church. Please leave comments about this lesson plan in the form at the bottom of this page.

Curriculum text: 1 Samuel 16:1-3; Psalm 139

Time: 30 minutes

Learning Objectives: After this lesson…

Children express their knowledge of the key people and events in this passage by retelling the story to the children.
Children express what they understand about the way the Lord views them.
Children express their understanding about the Lord’s plan for their lives.

Curriculum Target Age: Kindergarten – 5th grade

Materials Needed:

Note: There is a print link embedded within this post, please visit this post to print it. this lesson plan
Bible turned to 1 Samuel 16:1-13; Psalm 139. Prepare beforehand a copy with the important points highlighted to be sure to give specific explanation on them.
Visual Aids: Pictures of Samuel, Jesse, David (as shepherd boy), and his older brothers (optional). Often a good story Bible contains decent pictures.
Pictures of children with birthmarks, cleft lips, Down syndrome, and other physical handicaps. (Obtain pictures with a search on the Internet or ask those in your church that have children with these conditions.)

Teaching Plan:

Establish the lesson by briefly explaining the key people in the story and displaying the pictures of Samuel, Jesse, and David as a young boy. Explain their role in the story and be sure to have the children repeat the names of each person.

Prior to reading the story, divide the group of children into two groups and ask one group to listen for the way that Samuel chose the man to be the next king. Ask the second group of children to listen to what they learn about the way the Lord chose the next king.

Read (and Recap) 1 Samuel 16:1-13. Use various voice inflections as you read and stop to involve the children in the story. Reinforce the lesson by asking questions. Does the Lord notice that Samuel is upset? Yes. Does the Lord allow Samuel remain upset? No. Does the Lord give instructions to Samuel? Yes. How many sons did Jesse have? Seven. Where was David? Tending the sheep. Say to the children, “If we are honest, it’s hard for us to decide what we think about a person by the way they look to us.”

When you’re finished reading the story, use the pictures to review the important people and events in the story.

Ask for a response from the children about their listening assignment. What did you learn about how Samuel chose the next king? What did you learn about the way the Lord chose the next king?

Select a volunteer to help demonstrate the main lesson from this story about the Lord not looking at the appearance of people. Show the different pictures of the children with various handicaps and talk about the fact that the Lord created them and that the Lord sees their hearts too. Point out that even if we look acceptable to the world, if our hearts are filled with sin and hurtful words toward others, the Lord cares about our heart more than what we look like. Reiterate the fact that the Lord knit us all together in our mother’s womb by reading Psalm 139. Have the children talk about how it feels when someone speaks unkind words to them about the way they look, talk, or do something different.

Lesson Evaluation:

Ask for volunteers to retell the story to the class with role-play. Assign the children the role of Samuel, Jesse, David, and his seven brothers. Ask the remaining children to take turns filling in portions of the story the volunteers struggle with remembering. Remember to prompt the children by asking, “What happened next?”

Ask for a volunteer to explain the Lord’s message about the way He sees people and doesn’t look at what they look like on the outside but the heart.

Give a list of possible lessons and ask the children to stand up if it was from the story.

Samuel grieved that the Lord rejected Saul as the king. Yes.
David protected his father’s sheep from a bear and lion. True, but not what He did in this story.
Saul as the first king of Israel. Yes, but not the emphasis of this story.
Samuel thought Jesse’s oldest son should be the next king. Yes.
The Lord selected Jesse’s youngest son as the next king. Yes.
The Lord cares about our hearts more than what we look like on the outside. Yes.

Need More Ideas? Browse our links to free Sunday School lessons online or find the right Bible craft to support this lesson.

Elisha and Shunammite Woman (Sunday School Lesson)

Kelly Henderson — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 10:32:59 +0000

This lesson is based on the story where a Shunammite woman provides a room for Elisha to stay. God rewards her kindness by giving her a son. The son dies and God raises him through Elisha. The lesson is prepared for upper elementary age students and can be modified for younger students or used for Children’s Church. Be sure to check out the additional resources linked at the end of this lesson plan.

Target Age: 3^rd-5^th Grade

Scripture: 2 Kings 4:8-37

Learning Objective(s): Students will learn . . .

That showing kindness is something every believer should do. (Romans 12:13, Galatians 5:13, Galatians 6:10, 1 Peter 4:9)
That God rewards those who serve others.
God can bring good out of our difficulties.

Memory Verse: “Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with action and in truth.” 1 John 3:18

Learning Activities: At the end of the lesson there are additional resources for you to personalize activities for your class.

For the memory verse activity you could play charades. Have slips of paper with different activities that show love and place them in a lunch bag. Have students draw a slip of paper and act out what it says. (An example for students: Make bed. After the students guess the action the teacher can include that this act of kindness of keeping their rooms picked up would help their parents if unexpected guests needed a place to stay.)

Elisha and Shunammite Woman Bible Story Lesson

Have a map to show students where Shunem is located.
Have Memory Verse written on the board or a large piece of paper so students can see it. Before beginning the Bible lesson read the verse together a couple of times.

The following is an example of how I would teach the story to my class. Be sure to prepare yourself to tell the Bible story in your own words in a way that will connect with your class. If possible, memorize the key points of your lesson and only use your open Bible for reference.

Today in our story from the Bible we will see an example of people who love God and the proof of their love is seen through their actions.

Let’s turn in our Bibles to 2 Kings 4:8-37. (Make sure each student has a Bible and guide them to the passage of Scripture in 2 Kings 4. It is important for each student to have their Bibles open so they can follow along with you as you tell the story and point out verses for them to volunteer to read.)

How do you know if someone really loves you? Usually people will say that they love you. We know that people really love us by the way they act. If they are saying with their mouth that they love us but with their actions they are being unkind we don’t really feel that loved.

God loves us. He tells us that He loves us in His Word. God has not only told us in His Word that He loves us but He has shown us His great love for us by allowing His Son to die for all of our sins. God backed up His Words with action.

If we believe in Jesus we have received the greatest love the world has ever known. As Christians we have a great gift to share with others around us. We cannot just tell people that God loves them. People need to see God’s love through our actions. If our actions don’t back up our words people won’t know how much God truly loves them.

Our story today is a great example of how love is backed up with action.

In a small village called Shunem lived a woman. (Show the location of Shunem on a map.) She was well known in this small village. Maybe she was well known by some because she and her husband were very rich. Maybe she was well known because she made important decisions in the village. What makes her special and well known to us today is that she was remembered by God and recorded in God’s eternal word for many people to hear about her story. This woman’s importance to God was more than how much money she had or whether she made important decisions in her village. How she lived her life and showed her love for Him was very important. How she used what God had given her on this earth and how she treated others was of great importance to God.

Elisha the prophet of God lived during the time that this Shunammite woman lived. He would travel the dusty roads going from village to village doing the work of God.

One day as Elisha passed through the village of Shunem the Shunammite woman had prepared a meal for her and her husband to eat. When she caught a glimpse of Elisha walking through town she greeted him and invited him to her house for dinner. Elisha was a humble servant of God and did not want to be any extra trouble to this woman so he may have said, “That’s so very kind of you, but I don’t want to be of any trouble to you and your husband.” The woman urged Elisha and said, “Please come, we have plenty to eat and we would love to have you in our home to rest from the heat of the day.”

Elisha accepted the Shunammite’s invitation and joined her and her husband for a delicious meal. They must have spent time visiting and learning about the different things that God had been doing through Elisha as he travelled from town to town.

The kindness of the Shunammite woman by opening her home to Elisha was a gift from God to him. The Shunammite woman and her husband received a gift too. As they visited with this man of God in their home they heard of the work God was doing in the surrounding towns and villages.

Elisha would say good bye and thank the woman for inviting him over for dinner. He would leave their home and continue to travel to share God’s message.

Each time Elisha was in Shunem he stopped in and visited the Shunammite woman and her husband and ate dinner with them. Elisha’s time spent with this family grew into a deep friendship with them.

The Shunammite woman loved to have Elisha visit and it must have been sad to see him leave when it was time for him to go. She must have thought about what his life was like as God’s prophet. As he traveled he didn’t have places to stay unless someone offered him to stay with them. Otherwise Elisha spent the night sleeping on the ground beneath the starry sky. While pondering what Elisha’s travels might have been like the woman had an idea. Before she would make any decisions she took her idea to her husband. He was the leader of her home and she wanted to check with him to make sure what she wanted to do was something he would approve of.

Perhaps, one night as they sat eating dinner alone she looked across the table and said to her husband, “I know that Elisha is a holy man of God. God has given Elisha power to do great things in the towns and villages he visits. We have heard of those great things each time he visits. I have been thinking that we could build a room on the roof of our house so that not only can Elisha eat dinner with us when he is traveling through Shunem but he can also have a place to stay. This would his room with a bed, table, chair and lamp so that he can have a place to study God’s Word and rest comfortably.”

The Shunammite’s husband agreed that they should do that. They called for some workers to come to their house and to build a comfortable room for the man of God.

As Elisha traveled he brought along a helper with him. His helper’s name was Gehazi. As Elisha travelled from town to town Gehazi went with him to help him with whatever he might need.

Imagine Elisha’s surprise the next time he travels through Shunem. He already knows that he will enjoy a sweet time of visiting while he eats a delicious meal with the Shunammite woman and her husband.

As Elisha arrives at the Shunammite’s house he notices something is different. On the top of their already beautiful home is a newly constructed room.

As Elisha entered their house they had smiles of joy as they told him to follow them back outside. They could hardly wait to show Elisha what their surprise was. Outside they took him up a set of stairs and opened the door to the new room on the roof. They stepped back and told Elisha to go in. As he walked through the door he saw a room with a bed, table with a lamp and a chair. “This is for you Elisha. We want you to have your own quiet place to rest and study when you are in Shunem.”

Elisha turned to the couple and thanked them for their kindness to him. He never asked for such a nice place to stay and this kind family provided him a warm, dry place to stay while in Shunem.

The kindness of the Shunammite woman was such a gift to Elisha. Not every one Elisha met treated him with such kindness and generosity.

As Elisha sat in his room he looked over at Gehazi and said, “I would like to do something to repay this woman for her kindness. Could you go and ask the woman if there is anything she needs or if there is anything we can ask the king to do for her?” Gehazi went to the woman and asked her what Elisha could do for her. She said she didn’t need anything. She was content to live with her family in Shunem.

Gehazi returned to Elisha and said, “The woman is content and asked for nothing.”

“She has gone through so much trouble for me. There has to be something I can do to reward her for her kindness,” Elisha replied.

Gehazi thinks out loud, “Well, her husband is quite old and she has no children…”

“That’s it Gehazi! She has no children! If anything were to happen to her husband she would be left all alone and have no one to care for her. Call her here quickly!”

Gehazi brings the Shunammite woman to stand before Elisha. Elisha looked at this kind woman. This woman loved God deeply and it was evident by her generous spirit to him. Elisha knew that what he was about to say was from God Himself because as a man Elisha has no power to do such a thing. With the same excitement the woman and her husband must have had as his room was shown to Elisha, he said, “This time next year you will give birth to a son.”

The Shunammite’s mouth fell open. She gasped and furrowed her brow as she looked at this man of God. “No, please don’t lie to me! You are a man of God!”

This woman had been married for years and each year that her and her husband did not have a child they both came to accept with sadness that they would never have children. For a woman the sadness to know that she would never hold a child in her arms was not easy to accept. This Shunammite woman must have accepted a long time ago that it was not God’s plan for her to have a child. So when Elisha said that she was going to have a child this sounded too good to be true.

Elisha’s words were not made-up man’s words, they were God’s words and when God promises something it always happens.

Many years before it actually happened, God had promised He would send a Savior to the world. Hundreds of years passed and the Messiah had not come. One night in the little town of Bethlehem a little baby boy was born. God kept His promise and sent Jesus as the Savior of the world!

God always keeps His promises and just as Elisha had told the woman she had a baby boy the next year! God is so good! He rewards those who love Him and show His love to others.

This baby brought great joy to the woman and her husband. Whether they knew it or not they had been rewarded for their kindness to God’s prophet Elisha. Their son was a miracle and only God could have allowed them to give birth to this precious gift.

The couple enjoyed watching their little boy grow. As he got older he wanted so much to go with his father to the field where he worked. One day the father took his young son to go with him to the fields. He was not quite old enough to do grown-up work but he was thrilled to be with his father and to see all the men working. As the sun rose in the sky it got warmer and warmer. The little boy began to feel a little sick. His father looked over to check on his son and he saw the young boy with his hands on his head. He began to cry and say, “My head! My head”! The father asked one of his helpers to take him quickly to his mother. The servant picked the little boy up in his arms and moved quickly to the house.

The woman opened the door to see a worker from the field holding her son in his arms. She reached out and took him and went into the house. She sat in her chair rocking her baby boy in her arms.

Imagine what the Shunammite woman must have felt as she rocked her very sick child in her arms. Perhaps tears streamed down her face as she knew he was a gift from God. As she rocked him maybe she prayed to God asking Him to heal her son. Unfortunately at noontime her precious son died in her arms.

The woman was heartbroken. Her son that God had promised to give her was dead. How could this be happening? She carried her son up the stairs and into the room that she had built for Elisha. She went into his room and placed her son’s lifeless body on Elisha’s bed. She left the room and closed the door behind her.

This woman had shown her love for God by showing kindness to Elisha. She had been rewarded for her kindness by receiving a son. Now her son was dead. She was in a difficult situation. God loved and cared for this woman and would still take care of her in her difficulty.

The woman had faith in God and knew that she needed to get to Elisha for help. The woman called to her husband in the field and asked him to send her a servant with a donkey. She told him that she wanted to go to Elisha. He asked her if everything was ok and she said, “It is well.”

Her husband allowed her to go and she left with the servant and the donkey. She told the servant to hurry and not to slow down unless she said. Elisha was up on Mt. Carmel. He could see a rider in the distance approaching quickly on a donkey. As the rider came into focus, Elisha recognized the woman as the woman from Shunem. He turned to Gehazi and said, “Look! There is the woman from Shunem. Run to her and ask her how she and her family are doing.”

When Gehazi got to the woman she told him everything was fine. When she finally reached Elisha she got off her donkey and fell at his feet and held on to his feet. Gehazi came over to hear and tried to push her away from Elisha but Elisha stopped him. He said, “Something is wrong and the Lord hasn’t allowed me to know what it is.”

He looked at the woman to find out what she was so upset about. She looked up at him with tears streaming down her face. She said, “Didn’t I tell you not trick me about God giving me a son? The son you asked for is now dead!” (Verse 28)

Elisha must have felt so sad for this woman. He loved her and he had spent a lot of time with her in her home. He had spent many hours teaching her about God. He had spoken about how much God loved her. This woman had been so kind and shared her home with him. Now she was suffering because her son had died.

Elisha knew that he had spoken about God and His love. Now Elisha had an opportunity to really show God’s love. Elisha sent Gehazi on ahead to the boy to lay his staff on his face. The woman would not leave Elisha’s side and they headed back to her house together.

At the house Gehazi found the lifeless boy on Elisha’s bed. He did as Elisha had instructed him and the boy was still dead.

Gehazi met Elisha when he arrived and said, “The child has still not awakened.”

Elisha went by himself up to his room on the room and closed the door behind him. The sight of the lifeless boy must have been difficult to see. He knew that God loved this little boy and his mother. Elisha began to pray to God. He trusted that God could bring good out of this very difficult situation.

After praying, Elisha must have received God’s instructions on what to do. Elisha stretched himself out on the child, placing his mouth on the child’s mouth, his eyes on the child’s eyes and his hands on the child’s hands. He could feel warmth returning to the boy’s lifeless body.

Elisha got up and paced around the room. Undoubtedly he was praying and asking God for wisdom in what to do. Then he returned and stretched out on the boy once again. This time the boy sneezed seven times! God had used Elisha to bring this boy back to life again!

Elisha called out to Gehazi and when Gehazi came to the door, Elisha sent him to bring the mother quickly. When the woman came to the room, imagine how thrilled she was to see her boy sitting up on the bed breathing and alive! She knelt down at Elisha, the prophet of God’s feet to show her thankfulness for what God had done. She then went over and picked up her son in her arms and carried him out of the room.

This family must have praised and worshiped God with great joy that day! God had shown His love and power by bringing their son back to life. They were glad they had a friend like Elisha, who not only told them about God and His love but he also showed them God’s love by caring for them and helping them in their difficulty.

Salvation Message:

You may not realize that everyday God is showing His love and kindness to you. Over 2,000 years ago Jesus, God’s promised Savior did not stay that small infant born in Bethlehem. He grew into a man who went from town to town teaching people about God’s Kingdom. He performed many miracles showing people that He was God’s Son. Jesus showed His great love for you and me by being nailed to a cross to be punished for my sins and your sins. Because He died we do not have to be punished for our sins by being separated from God forever. His death paid the price for your sins and mine. Jesus was placed in a grave and three days later God raised Him from the dead. Jesus is alive and is living in heaven with God the Father right now. He loves you and wants you to be able to live forever in heaven. He has shown His love and kindness by dying on the cross. Now it’s up to you what you do with this gift of kindness. Will you take God’s gift and accept by faith that Jesus died for your sins? If you have never received the Gift of eternal life today is the day you can!

Close in prayer.

Review Questions

How did the Shunammite woman and her husband show love for Elisha?
What were some things that were placed in Elisha’s room?
What was Elisha’s servant’s name?
When Gehazi asked the woman what Elisha could give her to show his appreciation, what did she ask for?
What promise did Elisha make for the woman?
When the boy went out to the field with his father what happened?
What did the woman do when her son died?
How did Elisha help the woman?
Who showed love in our story today?
How did Elisha show God’s love?
Why do you think it is important to show God’s love instead of just talking about it?
How have you been rewarded by God for showing kindness to others?
What are some things you are doing to show God’s love to others?

Additional Resources:

Need More Ideas? Check out some Bible coloring pages or find a craft for Sunday School.