Month: October 2021

Matthew 5:13-16, Light of the World

A pumpkin is still a pumpkin until we put a light inside. Then they become something bright, shining a light for kids on Halloween. God wants us to let his light shine in our hearts so the world can know about Jesus.

Question

What do you do when you walk into a dark room and can’t see? You turn on the light, don’t you? The light helps you see and find your way.

With sin and sadness, the world is a pretty dark place. Jesus is the light of the world. The good news of the Bible is that Jesus came to save us and that we can follow him. Jesus had a group of friends who loved him and followed him everywhere. One day, Jesus said to his friends: “You are the light of the world.”

When we love and follow Jesus, his light shines inside of us. Everywhere we go, the love of Jesus shines out for others to see.

Jesus said, you wouldn’t hide a light under a bowl. You would put it on a stand, so that the light could be seen by everyone. Jesus wants us to shine our light. He doesn’t want us to hide our light. When we do good for other people and when we tell others about Jesus, we shine our light. Then other people can start to follow Jesus and shine their own light too.

The world is dark. But Jesus is the light of the world. His gives his light to his friends and followers. I can shine for Jesus.

Object Lesson

Craft

Torches
ITEMS NEEDED: Cardboard tubes (from a paper towel roll), glue, marker, and red,

yellow, and orange tissue paper.

ADVANCED PREPARATION: Write onto each cardboard tube “I am the light of the world.”

DIRECTIONS: Give each kid a cardboard tube. Demonstrate how the tissue paper can be ripped into smaller pieces. Glue the torn tissue paper into one end of the tube, so that the paper hangs out, like the flame from a torch.

Torches give light so that we can see in the dark and have warmth in the cold. Jesus has put his light inside every person who follows him. We are the light of the world.

I can shine for Jesus.

2 Corinthians 5:16-21, New Creation

Lesson Snapshot

BOTTOM LINE:

Jesus forgives sin and makes us new.

OBJECTIVE:

Kids will say, “I can be forgiven.”

KEY PASSAGE:

2 Corinthians 5:16-21, New Creation

MEMORY VERSE:

“When anyone lives in Christ, the new creation has come. The old is gone! The new is here!” 2 Corinthians 5:17 (NIrV)

SUMMARY:

Pumpkins are full of goop and gunk when we first open them. In order to use pumpkins as a light to the world, we have to clean them out. When we accept Jesus, he cleans out the gunk we call sin and makes us into something new!

LESSON:

Today’s story comes to us from the Bible. The Bible is God’s word to us, so we know that everything it says is true. 

Paul was a man who loved Jesus. He traveled all over the world telling everyone about Jesus. Everywhere he went, he would start a church, so people could worship Jesus. Paul would write letters to all of the churches, telling them all the good things about Jesus. We can read some of Paul’s letters in the Bible.

Paul wrote a letter to the church of the Corinthians. He told the people: every one of us has done bad things. We’ve done things our own way instead of God’s way. Those bad things are called sin. Each of us have sinned, except Jesus.

Sin separates us from God. But then Jesus came to earth. He never sinned. He died for us and rose again. When we believe that and decide to follow Jesus, Jesus forgives our sins. Paul says we become like whole new people.

When Jesus forgives our sins, we are new creations. The old life goes away and we become clean and fresh and new. Jesus can forgive me. I can be forgiven. I can be made new.

Sing/Dance/Move

Parent Participation

Pumpkin Gunk
ITEMS NEEDED: Large pumpkin, knife, scoop, bowl

ADVANCED PREPARATION: Cut open the top of the pumpkin as if starting a Jack-o- Lantern.

DIRECTIONS:

Bring out the pumpkin. Ask the kids to identify the object.
Say: “That’s right. This is a pumpkin. What is something you can do with a pumpkin?” Wait for someone to mention jack-o-lanterns.

Say: “You can make a jack-o-lantern with a pumpkin, where you carve a face or a picture into the pumpkin. Then you put a light inside that shines out for all to see. But before you carve a pumpkin, you have to empty it out. Pumpkins are full of goop and gunk when we first open them. All of that has to be cleaned out.”

Have kids come up and look inside the pumpkin. Demonstrate how you scoop out the goop inside. Allow every kid who wants to come up and empty one or two scoopfuls of pumpkin into the bowl.

Say: “Pretty gross, right? We are like this pumpkin. We may want to shine bright for Jesus, like a jack-o-lantern, but we are too filled up with goop and gunk. Our sin – the bad things we have done – stay with us on the inside. It needs to be cleaned out. Only Jesus can clean us up. When we decide to follow Jesus, he comes, forgives our sin, and cleans out all the gunk. Jesus makes us into something new.”

“With Jesus, I can be forgiven.”

Children’s Craft Idea

New Hearts

ITEMS NEEDED: Construction paper, scissors, marker, cotton balls, liquid glue, plates

ADVANCED PREPARATION: Cut each sheet of construction paper into a large heart.

DIRECTIONS: Give each kid a heart. Explain that when we sin, it makes our heart dirty and unclean. Go around to each heart and mark it up with the marker.

Bring out the cotton balls. Place a healthy amount of glue onto the plates. Have kids dip each cotton ball into the glue and then place it on the heart. Encourage kids to cover their entire heart with the cotton balls. (For a more colorful display, this could be done with small pieces of tissue paper wadded up, rather than cotton balls.)

Explain that when we decide to follow Jesus, he makes our hearts new. Not only does he take away our sin, but he fills up our hearts with Himself.

I can be forgiven.

1 John

Lesson Snapshot

BOTTOM LINE:

The Bible leads us closer to Jesus.

OBJECTIVE:

Kids will learn that Jesus is the living Word of God.

KEY PASSAGE:

John 1:1-18, The Word

MEMORY VERSE:

“I spend time thinking about your rules. I consider how you want me to live. I take delight in your orders. I won’t fail to obey your word.” Psalm 119:15-16 (NIrV)

SUMMARY:

The more we learn God’s word, the more we see that there is so much to learn. As we study, we find that there are always new things to see and deeper places that we can go. We are detectives, working to uncover the deeper meanings. As we study God’s word, we learn that it all leads us to Jesus, the Living Word of God.

Object Lesson

ITEMS NEEDED:

A driver’s license

If you look at a driver’s license, you can learn a lot about a person. You can learn where they live, what color their eyes are, how tall they are, how much they weigh, and even whether or not they are an organ donor. But does reading someone’s driver’s license tell you who they are? Of course not! There is so much more to us than our address and physical description, and the more we get to know someone, the more we often realize we have to learn about them.

The more we study the Bible, the more we will discover about God. This is not a book to be read just once but over and over. Each time through, we will discover new things we did not know about God and even ourselves. The Bible is the living Word of God, and the more we dig under the cover, the more we discover Him.

Keep digging, guys. Go deeper and deeper with each read. Jesus is waiting for you to discover Him!

Lets Dance!

Craft Idea

The kids can do a coloring page about Jesus, or draw what they think Jesus would look like. Ask them if this picture of Jesus is any different than what they would have drawn before this series started.

Lesson Snapshot

BOTTOM LINE:

The Bible is meant to be read!

OBJECTIVE:

Kids will learn that the Bible is to be read, and studied and used.

KEY PASSAGE:

2 Timothy 3:14-17, Using Scripture

MEMORY VERSE:

“I spend time thinking about your rules. I consider how you want me to live. I take de- light in your orders. I won’t fail to obey your word.” Psalm 119:15-16 (NIrV)

SUMMARY:

The Bible is special. It is God’s word. But that doesn’t mean we should keep it on the shelf, looking new. The Bible is meant to be opened and studied. We can use a highlighter to mark up passages that mean something special to us. We can write in the margins things that God is saying to us. When it comes to using your Bible, it’s okay to make a mess.

Sing Along

Object Lesson

ITEMS NEEDED:

A brand new Bible

Take a look at this Bible. Look at how nice it looks. Look at how perfectly the pages lie together. Look at how perfect the binding and cover look. Do you know what I see in this Bible? I see an unused Bible. I see the potential for greatness and learning, but it’s very clear that no one has ever read this Bible.

I’m not going to ask anyone to show us their Bibles, but I will say this. If your Bible is more than a few months old and looks this nice, it’s going to waste. Bibles are meant to be opened, used, and studied. A well-worn Bible is a sign of a person who truly wants to learn what it has to say. It may be full of notes in the margins and highlighter marks. It may be jammed with bulletins and paper scraps. It got that way over time because someone wanted to study that Bible for all it’s worth.

Let’s not let our Bibles collect dust from Sunday to Sunday. Read it. Study it. Let it get messy. God wants you to discover everything this Bible has to say!

Craft Activity

Have the kids make bookmarks they can use in their Bibles. Or give everyone highlighters they can use in their Bible study.

The Law of the Lord is Sweeter than Honey

The law of the Lord is perfect,
    refreshing the soul.
The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy,
    making wise the simple.
⁸ The precepts of the Lord are right,
    giving joy to the heart.
The commands of the Lord are radiant,
    giving light to the eyes.
⁹ The fear of the Lord is pure,
    enduring forever.
The decrees of the Lord are firm,
    and all of them are righteous.

¹⁰ They are more precious than gold,
    than much pure gold;
they are sweeter than honey,
    than honey from the honeycomb.
¹¹ By them your servant is warned;
    in keeping them there is great reward.
¹² But who can discern their own errors?
    Forgive my hidden faults.
¹³ Keep your servant also from willful sins;
    may they not rule over me.
Then I will be blameless,
    innocent of great transgression.

¹⁴ May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart
    be pleasing in your sight,
    Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.

Object Lesson

ITEMS NEEDED:

A microscope

How many of you have learned about the scientific method? The scientific method is a process by which doctors and scientists use to study the natural world. There are several steps to the scientific method, but they boil down to the three things we are discussing today. First they observe. What do they see? What is happening? Second, they interpret. Why did this happen? How did this happen? What does it all mean? Finally, they apply. They ask how their observation and interpretation can be used.

The scientific method has been used to teach us how our world works, how to cure diseases, and how to do many other incredible things. Imagine what you could do by applying these three simple steps to your Bible study. God wants us to take what we learn from the Bible and apply it to our lives. He wants us to live out our faith, living the way the Bible teaches us, loving others the way Jesus loved others, and sharing what we know about God in love.

The more we apply God’s word to our life, the better we will become at truly living a godly life!

Memory Verse

Make an effort to present yourself to God as a tried-and-true worker, who doesn’t need to be ashamed but is one who interprets the message of truth correctly. 2 Timothy 2:15

Craft Activity

Give each of the kids an inexpensive notebook they can decorate and take home to use in their alone time with God. Remind them to observe, interpret, and apply!