Children's Church Lesson: The Good Samaritan

Story

Say:

How do you think Jesus wants us to treat the other people? (Let the children respond)  Today we are going to read a story Jesus told his followers to teach them how they should treat people.  Are you ready?

Read “The Good Samaritan” in any children's story bible

Lesson

Say: What happened to the man who was traveling? (he was robbed and beat up) What did the first two men, the priest and levite do when they saw the traveler? (Walked right by) What did the Samaritan do (stopped and helped the traveler) 

Before Jesus told the story of the Good Samaritan a man asked him what the most important thing someone was supposed to do if they were a follower of God.  Jesus said there were two things that were very important for God’s followers to do.  Do you know what they are? (love God and love people)  After Jesus said that we need to love people (our neighbors) the man asked what kind of people we are supposed to love.  That is when Jesus told this story.  Why was it so interesting that the man who helped the traveler was a Samaritan?  What did the people talking to Jesus think about Samaritans?  (They didn’t like them)  What are some types of people today that others don’t really like? (Let them give answers: criminals, homeless people, smell bad, mean and etc.) Those are all good answers.  What are we supposed to do with people that are heard to like? (Still love them)  What are some ways that we can show love to those people? (treat them the way we want to be treated even if they  are not nice to us)  Treating others the way we want to be treated is not the same as treating them the way they treat us.   

Memory Verse

Do to others what you want them to do to you. – Matthew 22:39

Big Idea

God wants us to love Him and love other people, even if they are hard to love.  We love others by treating them the way we want to be treated. 

Prayer (Take praises and requests)

Say a prayer thanking God for loving us so much and asking Him to help us love Him and love the people around us, even if they are hard to love. 

Craft

Have children make and decorate their own stethoscopes using toilet paper roles cut in half and yarn.  

Children's Church Lesson: Blind Bartimaeus

Story

Say: Everyone close your eyes.  No peeking.  We are going to pretend that we are blind, that means that this is what we see even when our eyes are open.  What are some things that we can do now that we couldn’t do if we were blind? (let the children answer)   Today we are going to read a story about a blind man and what Jesus did to help him.

Read “Blind Bartimaeus ” in any children's story bible

Lesson

Say:  What was wrong with Bartimaeus? (he was blind)   How did he learn about Jesus if he couldn’t see him? (by listening) Did he believe that Jesus could help him to see? (yes)  How did Jesus know that Bartimaeus needed help? (Bartimaeus asked for help)

Jesus told Bartimaeus that Jesus helped him because he had faith that Jesus could help him.  Do you think that if we pray to Jesus and believe he can help us that he will? (Yes)  It is important that we ask Jesus for help and trust that he can and will.

But that’s not all, Jesus gave us an example.  It is also important to Jesus that we help people like he did.  Jesus helped Bartimaeus by healing him. We can’t heal people but we can help them just like we did today. If someone is cold, we can give them a blanket. We can take care of each other.  God takes care of people and he uses us to help him. When we help people, it shows them that God loves them. 

Big Idea

We need to trust Jesus to help us and we need to helper others.

Memory Verse

Your faith has healed you – Mark 10:52

Prayer (Take prayer joys and requests)

Say a prayer thanking God for being there for us and asking Him to help us trust him and to help to be able to be helpers for other people.  

Children's Church Lesson: The Great Dinner

Story

Say: How many of you have ever been to a wedding?  What was that like? (Let the children talk)  Have you ever thought about learning something about God from a wedding? You can!  Jesus told a story about a wedding dinner to teach us about God and about heaven.  Are you ready to hear it?  OK, let’s read it.

Read “The Great Dinner Party” in any children's story bible.  

Lesson

Say: What were the Jews talking about at the beginning of the story? (God’s Kingdom/Heaven) What happened when the Man first invited guests? (They didn’t come) What happened when the man invited more guests? (They came to the dinner until the table was full)    

Jesus told this story to help us see that God loves everyone and wants all people to love Him. One day, there will be a big banquet in heaven and God wants us all to be there to celebrate! Remember the king did not give up on the banquet. In the same way, God did not give up on us! He loves us and wants us to go to Heaven one day. How do we get to Heaven? We have to believe that Jesus died and came back to life. We must know that Jesus died for the wrongs we have done. We must tell Jesus we are sorry for our sins and ask Him to forgive us. Then, we must ask Jesus to come into our heart and help us live for God in all we do. Jesus promises to stay with us forever and take us to Heaven one day. If you want to know more about Jesus, talk to us anytime about it.

Memory Verse

God loved the world so much that He sent His son so that all who believe in him will be saved. – John 3:16

Big Idea

God loves everyone and wants everyone to love Him.  He loves us and wants us to go to Heaven.

Prayer (Take prayer joys and requests)

Say a prayer thanking God for being there for us and asking Him to help us remember that we need Him.

Craft

With craft materials such as paper, scissors and crayons, make a giant wall picture of a feast. Each child can draw and cut out his favorite food. Then talk about what good things God gives people, such as love, peace, joy and forgiveness.  If there is time children will draw their own picture of heaven. 

Children's Church Lesson: Tower of Babel

Story

Say: Raise your hand if you have ever seen a really tall building.  Have your ever been to the top of a really tall building?  What was that like? (let the children talk).  The tall buildings that we have seen were built for good reasons.  We are going to read the story of the very first tall building.  It was built because people thought they didn't need God.  Was that a good reason?  (No) Lets read about it.

Read “Tower of Babel” in any children's story bible

Lesson

Say:  Why did the people want to build a tall tower? (So it would reach heaven and everyone would think they are great)  Why did God not want them to build the tower? (Because they were being selfish and proud)  What did God do? (He gave the people different languages so they could not understand each other) What happened to the tower? (It never got finished)

In today’s story the people took the gifts God had given them (knowledge, resources  and their strength) to try to show off and act like God.  We may not try to build towers that reach heaven but sometimes we take credit for the gifts God has given us, don’t we? (Yes)  What are some ways that we act selfish and try to act like God? (Give them time to answer – money, talents, etc.)   Everything we have is a gift from God and it is important that we don’t use them to be selfish and don’t try to act like God Everything we have is a gift from God and it is important that we don’t use them to be selfish and don’t try to act like God. 

Big Idea

Everything we have is a gift from God and it is important that we don’t use them to be selfish and don’t try to act like God. Everything we have is a gift from God and it is important that we don’t use them to be selfish and don’t try to act like God. 

Memory Verse

My Hope is in God – Psalms 39:7

Prayer (Take prayer joys and requests)

Say a prayer thanking God for being there for us and asking Him to help us remember that we need Him. 

Craft

 The children will create their own Tower of Babel scene: http://cdn.www.ministry-to-children.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/Tower-Babel.pdf

Game 

Have the children make their own language and try to communicate with each other (something like Charades) 

Children's church lesson: The Sheep and Goats

Story

Say: Today we are going to read a story Jesus told his disciples.  The story shows us how important it is to help other people.  There are two different types of animals in today’s story.  The first is sheep.  What sound do sheep make? (B-A-A-A) That’s right.  The second type of animal is goats.  What sound do goats make? (M-A-A-A)  You got it.  Every time you hear the word Sheep you need to make a “B-A-A-A and every time you hear the word Goat you need to make a “M-A-A-A” sound.

Read “Sheep and Goats” in the any children's story bible pausing when appropriate for “B-A-A’S” and “M-A-A’s”.

Lesson

Say:  When did Jesus say his followers were like sheep? (When they cared for each other)  That’s right.  When would they be like goats? (If they didn’t care)  What did Jesus say it was like every time his followers cared for someone (It was like they were caring for Jesus)  What did Jesus say would happen if they cared for others (they would be welcomed into heaven)

In this story Jesus was saying that we show our love for him and his father, God when we love and care for others.  We love others by helping them when they need it.  In the story what were some of the ways Jesus’ disciples had helped others (visiting them in prison, feeding them and giving them clothes) how would you feel if you were hungry and someone gave you something to eat? (Let them answer)  What are some ways that we can help other people like Jesus wants us to? (Give them plenty of time to answer)  That’s right; these are all great ways to help others. 

Helping others is important, so I have a homework assignment, let’s see if we can all do something to help someone this week! 

Memory Verse

We should love one another. – 1 John 3:11

Big Idea

Helping others is important because we show Jesus our love for him when we help others.

Prayer (Take prayer joys and requests)

Say a short prayer asking God to help us to care for other people like he wants us to.     

Craft

The children will glue cotton balls onto a sheep picture. 

Game Options

Play sheep, sheep, goat (duck, duck, goose)

Children's church lesson: King Solomon

Story

Say: Today we are going to talk about wisdom.  Having wisdom means that someone is able to make good choices.  The bible tells the story of the wises person ever, King Solomon.   

Read the story of King Solomon from any children's story bible.

Lesson

Say: In today’s story we met a very wise person didn’t we?  What did Solomon as God to give him? (To be wise)  What wise choices did Solomon make in today’s story?  (Figured out how to find how who was really the mother and he built a house/temple for God)  Why did Solomon build a temple for God (So there would be a place to worship God)

The story of Solomon teaches us that wisdom, the ability to make good choices, comes from God.  What are some ways God gives us wisdom (going to church, reading the bible, adults).  Those are all great answers!  God helps us make good choices through His words in the bible, through what we learn at church and from our parents and other adults who teach us how to make good choices.  

Craft

Have the children color/decorate a paper crown.  

Children's Church Lesson: Mothers Day-Baby Moses

Story

Say: What is today? (Mother’s Day!)  That’s right.  Today is the day we honor or mothers for all the wonderful things they do for us.  What are some of the great things are mom’s do for us? (Give the children plenty of time to answer).  Those are all good answers!  Today we are going to read a story about a mother from the bible and a wonderful thing she did for her baby son, Moses.

Read “Baby Moses” in any children's story bible.

Lesson

Say: What was Pharaoh afraid of and why? (God’s People, the Hebrews; he thought they would try to become more powerful than him)  What did the Pharaoh do? (Make the Hebrews very hard and demanded that all the Hebrew baby boys be drowned)  What did Moses’ mother do (protected him by making a floating basket and hiding him in it) what happened to baby Moses? (He was protected and grew up in Pharaoh’s palace)

Moses’ mother was pretty amazing wasn’t she?  Our mothers are a lot like her.  Just like Moses mother protected him and took care of him our mothers protect us and take care of us.  We should be thankful for our mothers and we should honor and obey them.

Big Idea

God gave us mothers to take care of us.  We should be thankful for our mothers and we should honor and obey them.  

Memory Verse

Honor your mother and father. – Ephesians 6:2

Prayer

Say a short prayer thanking God are mothers and asking for help to obey are parents.