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BACK THIS MONTH - Lessons each week brought to you by our Childrens Director Melissa. “in person” lessons completes with worship music, videos, games, memory work and more
Review Memory work and Pray with your kids when they are done
If you have time or the desire - choose one of the follow up activities to help the kids engage with the lesson
LESSON OVERVIEW
WEEK:: FOUR
BIG IDEA - We can care about what God cares about.
THE BIBLE: Treasures in Heaven: Matthew 6:19-24; (John 8:12)
INSTRUCTIONS: Look up the story in your Bible.
Welcome back! This is week four of our series, "Unboxed," where we're talking about gifts from God! Today, we're learning about gifts that are like treasures to us. The Bible talks about two kinds of treasures. One kind of treasure can break while the other lasts forever. But how do we sort them out?
Put your Bible inside of a treasure chest or a special box without the kids seeing you do so. Then read Matthew 6:19-24 for the group.
Look at the treasure chest. One very important thing we should care about is in this treasure chest. Do you want to know what it is? I need one volunteer to come up, close their eyes, and reach into the treasure chest and take it out. What is it? It's a. . . Bible!
God's Word, the Bible, is a very special treasure. It's a special book that tells us all of God's stories and all about God's love!
You see, the stuff that we care about – our toys, our games, our clothes, our food – they can all one day go missing, get chewed up by little critters, or fall apart. But the things God cares about, like loving one another, last forever. Since they're not stuff, they won't break or disappear!
That's what it means to store your treasure in heaven. It means to care about what God cares about!
SCRIPTURE | John 8:12
The Bible says Jesus is the light we need to be guided safely. When we are following Jesus, we don't need to follow anyone or anything else!
Is money forever? No, it's not. Money can run out, get stolen, or be destroyed by fire. Can our cool toys and electronics last forever? Or what about being popular? Nope! Only God's promises are forever.
We need to follow the light, which is Jesus, to see what God cares about and, ultimately, what we can care about, too!
ACTIVITY |MY FAVORITE THING
INSTRUCTIONS: Give the kids two paper plates, one with a happy face written on it and one with a sad face written on it. Tell the kids to hold up which feeling they have when you ask the following questions.
TODDLER TIPS: Play "I Spy" with the kids by putting together a sensory bin of items that kids can identify, such as an artificial flower, a plush animal, play food, people action figures, a mirror. Say, "From all of these things, what is your favorite? What do you think is God's favorite? It's YOU!" [Show them their face in the mirror.]
How many of you have a favorite toy at home? How does it make you feel when you play with that toy?
Imagine if your favorite toy was lost or broken. How would you feel?
Let's say you and your friend both want to play with the same toy. Maybe you end up fighting over the toy and become very upset. When you care about what God cares about, you can share the toy, and let your friend play with it first. God cares more about you than about your toy!
God cares about forever things and we should, too, because we can care about what God cares about.
PRAYER
Toddler Tips: A toddler needs may have trouble understanding the concept of prayer because they cannot see God. Echo Prayer is a good strategy to encourage and teach kids how to talk to God. The teacher or parent speaks aloud a short segment of the prayer, and the children echo back the same sentence or phrase.
Dear God, light my path so I can see the things You care about. Help me remember that You care about things that are forever. Thank You for loving us and caring about us so much that You gave us the Bible to light our path and show us the way to a happy life.
UNBOXED: A SERIES ON SPIRITUAL GIFTS
SERIES OVERVIEW:
With the holiday season having just passed by, most kids still have the concept of giving and receiving gifts fresh on their minds. While many, if not all, of the gifts that were unboxed at Christmas, will eventually fall into disrepair, gifts given by God will never fade! Through this “Unboxed” series, kids will discover what kinds of gifts those are, starting with the fact that everyone has special gifts! Then they will see how God can use those gifts to help others, among those gifts being special blessings from God, as well. Our gifts help us care about what God cares about, by focusing on heavenly things, and we can trust God with our gifts when we offer it up cheerfully!
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