January 31 - WEEK 4

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Welcome!

To view our Weekly Email Updates click HERE

Printable sermon notes for big kids who also watch the sermon: HERE

We’re so excited that you stopped over to see what’s happening in kids ministry! Each week we’ll have all information and links you need to stay up-to-date right here in one convenient place.

We have options for you to work through the lesson with your family or set your kids up to watch one of our virtual lessons.

Study at Home

  1. Get your Child a snack

  2. Read the Bible Story to your child and/or

  3. Click on the link to the YouTube Playlist for that week and watch the videos

    1. 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

  4. Review Memory work and Pray with your kids when they are done

  5. 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!

DOWNLOAD THE PRESCHOOL PARENT GUIDE
DOWNLOAD THE ELEMENTARY PARENT GUIDE

Memory Work Video

January 24 - WEEK 3

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Welcome!

To view our Weekly Email Updates click HERE

Printable sermon notes for big kids who also watch the sermon: HERE

We’re so excited that you stopped over to see what’s happening in kids ministry! Each week we’ll have all information and links you need to stay up-to-date right here in one convenient place.

We have options for you to work through the lesson with your family or set your kids up to watch one of our virtual lessons.

Study at Home

  1. Get your Child a snack

  2. Read the Bible Story to your child and/or

  3. Click on the link to the YouTube Playlist for that week and watch the videos

    1. 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

  4. Review Memory work and Pray with your kids when they are done

  5. 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:: THREE

BIG IDEA - Blessings are gifts God gives us.

THE BIBLE: The Beatitudes: Matthew 5:3-12

INSTRUCTIONS: Look up the story in your Bible.

Welcome back, friends! Today, we'll talk about a different kind of gift. . . and that gift is called a blessing!

Do you know what's special about blessings? You get them from God and then you can give them to other people!

  • What word did you hear a lot in our story today?

  • Does anyone know what that word means?

  • In the Bible, we learned a blessing is something God gives us because God is so kind to us. God doesn't have to give us blessings, but God chooses to.

  • God loves to bless us, especially when we do things that make God happy. Some things that make God happy are telling the truth, saying I'm sorry, being kind to others, and standing up for what is right.

  • Sometimes, a blessing is something you need for today, like clothes or food, but other times, a blessing is something that lasts forever, like God's love!

  • Who are the kinds of people that God promises blessings to?

    • To be "poor in spirit" means to be humble and to always give God the credit.

    • To "mourn" is not just about being sad, but being truly sorry each time we do something that God doesn't want us to do.

    • When you are "meek," you count on God's strength, and not your own.

    • People who "hunger and thirst for righteousness" are people who stand up for what is right.

    • Being "merciful" is about forgiving others and having compassion for them.

    • The "pure in heart" are those who are selfless and don't have underlying motives for doing good things.

    • "Peacemakers" get along with others and also help others do the same.

    • When you are "persecuted for righteousness' sake," you might face some difficulties because you choose to follow God.

    Now when you think of blessings, these might not have been the first things you thought about. Usually we think about being blessed by having everything we need. But Jesus is teaching us in this Bible passage that when we show these kinds of characteristics, we will be blessed with something far greater than daily needs – God promises to bless us with great rewards in heaven. Even though we might feel sad or lonely sometimes, God will see our hearts and bless us in the long run!

ACTIVITY |COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS

What are the different blessings God has given you?

INSTRUCTIONS: Set out scrapbook paper. Help the kids write as many blessings they can think of on the paper. Save the finished papers for the next activity. Offer suggestions to get the kids started, such as family, friends, their house, their pets, yummy food, school, clothes, etc.

  • TODDLER TIP: Help kids think of someone and/or something they're thankful for and write it on heart-shaped cutouts. They can use these for the next part of the activity.

LEVEL UP YOUR CRAFT

INSTRUCTIONS: Give each kid a small, cardboard box and markers, crayons, paint, and other things to decorate the outside of the box. Place the kids' written lists of blessings on the inside of the box after decorating.

  • These gift boxes will help you remember God loves you and blesses you. Open up your box to see the blessings God has given you! Blessings are gifts God gives us!

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, thank You for blessing us. We are so grateful for Jesus who loves us so much. Thank You for all the things You give to us each and every day. Help us to use the gifts You give us to help others.

MAIN EVENT: 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!

DOWNLOAD THE PRESCHOOL PARENT GUIDE
DOWNLOAD THE ELEMENTARY PARENT GUIDE

Memory Work Video

January 10 - Unboxed Week 1

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Welcome!

To view our Weekly Email Updates click HERE

Printable sermon notes for big kids who also watch the sermon: HERE

We’re so excited that you stopped over to see what’s happening in kids ministry! Each week we’ll have all information and links you need to stay up-to-date right here in one convenient place.

We have options for you to work through the lesson with your family or set your kids up to watch one of our virtual lessons.

Study at Home

  1. Get your Child a snack

  2. Read the Bible Story to your child and/or

  3. Click on the link to the YouTube Playlist for that week and watch the videos

    1. 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

  4. Review Memory work and Pray with your kids when they are done

  5. 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:: ONE

This week, kids hear about how an angel appeared to Mary and Joseph separately to tell them about the baby Jesus.

BIG IDEA - Everyone has special gifts.

THE BIBLE: Spiritual Gifts: I Corinthians 12:1-11; (Luke 11: 9-13)

INSTRUCTIONS: Look up the story in your Bible.

Ask your kids whether or not they would rather give a gift or get one.

It's good to both get gifts and give them away. Over the next few weeks, we're going to see that with God, sometimes we get gifts and sometimes we give gifts to others.

Did you know God gives us special gifts? These gifts help us do things that God wants us to do. So, what are these gifts, anyway? Let’s find out!

TODDLER TIPS: Simplify the list even further for our youngest crowd: helping our friends, praying for others, trusting God, telling people about Jesus, understanding a lot of things.

  • Being able to give good advice to your friends when they need it.

  • Being able to understand hard things.

  • Being able to trust God completely.

  • Being able to pray for sick people to get well.

  • Being able to pray for miracles.

  • Being able to tell people about Jesus.

  • Being able to know what's right and what's wrong

  • Being able to speak different languages.

  • Being able to understand different languages.

Those are a lot of gifts! They are all special, and they are all from God!

Read:: SCRIPTURE |Luke 11:9-13

Jesus wants us to ask for all things, including spiritual gifts.

  • Jesus said that if you asked a parent for a fish or an egg, they probably wouldn't give you a snake or a scorpion instead – because that can hurt you!

  • Jesus is saying that if you ask God for something that is good for you, God will give it to you. But God won't give you something that could hurt you.

  • Jesus also says that the good gift God will give us is the Holy Spirit! The Holy Spirit is always with us to guide us.

Toddler ACTIVITY |Gift Exchange

How many of you like getting gifts? I like getting gifts, too! We get gifts for certain holidays, birthdays, and other special days.

  • Why do people give us gifts? Many times, people give us gifts because they love us. God loves us so much, God gives us special gifts to share with the world! Let's play a game and I'll show you what I mean.

  • INSTRUCTIONS: sit on the floor, crisscross applesauce, in front of each other. Use a small, rubber ball. Share how God gives us special gifts and tell one child to roll the ball to their sibling/parent. Then, share how God's special gifts can be shared with others. Tell the child with the ball to roll it to someone else. Explain how God's gifts are given to us so we can share them.

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, thank You for the gifts You have given to us. Help us to use those gifs well, and please give us the gifts we do not have yet so that we can help and serve our friends better. Thank You for being the best gift giver.

MAIN EVENT: 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!

DOWNLOAD THE PRESCHOOL PARENT GUIDE
DOWNLOAD THE ELEMENTARY PARENT GUIDE

Memory Work Video