May 9- Blast Off

BigIdea3Square_BlastOff_Grow.jpg

Welcome!

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.

What we’re studying this month

BLAST OFF: A SERIES ON SPIRITUAL HABITS

If you’re a grown-up and you’ve been following Jesus for a while, you’ve probably figured out a few ways to grow spiritually. The kids you’re parenting or leading, on the other hand, aren’t grown-ups, so they might need a little help from you to figure out how, exactly, to grow spiritually. So what should spiritual growth look like for a kid? We like to think about it in terms of four spiritual habits. To help a kid grow spiritually, teach them to spend time with God, spend time with others, use their gifts, and share their story.

DOWNLOAD THE PRESCHOOL PARENT GUIDE
DOWNLOAD THE ELEMENTARY PARENT GUIDE


How to 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. Lessons each week brought to you by our Children’s Director Melissa. “in-person” lessons complete 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


Weekly Lesson Plan -

INSTRUCTIONS: Look up the story in your Bible. See if your kids can guess the Big Idea.

THE BIBLE: Jesus Washes His Disciples' Feet: John 13:1-17, 34-35

BIG IDEA: We can serve others.

INSTRUCTIONS: Look up the story in your Bible and read it to your preschoolers.

  • Back in the Bible times, people didn’t have good shoes like we have now, and they didn’t have cars to take them places. So wherever they went, they had to walk through lots of sand and mud and grass, so their feet got really dirty and stinky.

  • In this story, we learned that Jesus sat down to have a meal with His friends, the disciples. And then He did something amazing.

  • He got down on the ground, took a washcloth, and washed His disciples' feet, kind of like how I'm wiping all of this dirt off my hands right now.

  • Yeah! Gross! Jesus started to wash His disciples' dirty, stinky feet. Jesus was the King — the most important person in the room!

  • Why do you think Jesus was doing that dirty job of washing their feet?

  • Jesus did it to show His disciples that it's important to serve and help others. And He told them to do the same.

  • When we serve others like Jesus did, we are showing everyone how much God loves them, and how much we love God.

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 that Jesus loves us and forgives us. Help us to share our story about You with others.

  • Is there anything I can pray for you about or thank God for?

May 2 - Blast Off

Welcome!

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.

What we’re studying this month

BLAST OFF: A SERIES ON SPIRITUAL HABITS

If you’re a grown-up and you’ve been following Jesus for a while, you’ve probably figured out a few ways to grow spiritually. The kids you’re parenting or leading, on the other hand, aren’t grown-ups, so they might need a little help from you to figure out how, exactly, to grow spiritually. So what should spiritual growth look like for a kid? We like to think about it in terms of four spiritual habits. To help a kid grow spiritually, teach them to spend time with God, spend time with others, use their gifts, and share their story.


DOWNLOAD THE PRESCHOOL PARENT GUIDE

DOWNLOAD THE ELEMENTARY PARENT GUIDE


How to 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. Lessons each week brought to you by our Children’s Director Melissa. “in-person” lessons complete 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

Weekly Lesson Plan -

INSTRUCTIONS: Look up the story in your Bible. See if your kids can guess the Big Idea.

THE BIBLE: Peter and John Share the Gospel: Acts 4:1-20; I John 3:18

BIG IDEA: We can share God’s story.

INSTRUCTIONS: Look up the story in your Bible and read it to your preschoolers.

  • Peter and John were just two regular, ordinary people, but when they met Jesus, their lives changed forever. They couldn't stop telling others about who Jesus was and what Jesus had done for them.

    • Have you ever heard news that was so great that you couldn't wait to tell someone about it?

    • Have you ever seen something so amazing that you just had to tell someone about what you'd seen?

  • That's how Peter and John felt! They had seen the amazing things Jesus had done, and wanted everyone to know about it. So Peter and John traveled from city to city, telling people about Jesus and performing miracles with God's power.

  • Even when powerful people tried to make Peter and John stop talking about Jesus, they wouldn't. Instead, they said, "We can't help it! We have to talk about what we've seen God do!"

Additional SCRIPTURE| I John 3:18

INSTRUCTIONS: Read I John 3:18

We've talked a lot about our words today, but our words aren't the only way we can share God's story with others. Our words are important, but so are our actions.

  • INSTRUCTIONS: Read the passage together.

  • People wanted to hear what Peter and John had to say because their actions backed up their words. They were brave! They performed miracles! They cared for people! They showed the love of Jesus not just with their words, but with their actions too.

OBJECT LESSON | The Power of God's Spirit

But why were Peter and John so brave? Why did they continue telling people God's story, even after they got in trouble and were told to be quiet? They were brave because God had given them a special gift.

  • INSTRUCTIONS: For this object lesson, you'll need an un-inflated balloon. Hold it up and ask, "What do you think will happen to this balloon if I let it go?" Of course the balloon will fall to the ground — demonstrate that, but then pick it up again. This time, inflate the balloon but don't tie it. Just hold it tight. Ask, "What do you think will happen if I let it go now?" Let the balloon go and watch it fly across the room.

    • What was the difference between the first and second times I let the balloon go?

    • The only difference was the air inside the balloon! The first balloon dropped because it had no air inside it, but the second balloon flew because it was filled with something powerful.

  • When Peter and John traveled from city to city, sharing the good news of Jesus, and performing miraculous healings, they weren't doing those things by their own strength or power alone. They were like the second balloon, filled up with air — but the air was God's Spirit, giving them power, strength, joy, and hope.

  • How did they get God's Spirit inside of them? Easy! They had a relationship with God through Jesus, so God's Spirit filled them up, just like it can fill up you and me. God's Spirit gives us the courage to share God's story!

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 that Jesus loves us and forgives us. Help us to share our story about You with others.

  • Is there anything I can pray for you about or thank God for?

April 25 - Blast Off

BigIdea1Square_BlastOff_Grow.jpg

Welcome!

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.

What we’re studying this month

BLAST OFF: A SERIES ON SPIRITUAL HABITS

If you’re a grown-up and you’ve been following Jesus for a while, you’ve probably figured out a few ways to grow spiritually. The kids you’re parenting or leading, on the other hand, aren’t grown-ups, so they might need a little help from you to figure out how, exactly, to grow spiritually. So what should spiritual growth look like for a kid? We like to think about it in terms of four spiritual habits. To help a kid grow spiritually, teach them to spend time with God, spend time with others, use their gifts, and share their story.


DOWNLOAD THE PRESCHOOL PARENT GUIDE

DOWNLOAD THE ELEMENTARY PARENT GUIDE


How to 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. Lessons each week brought to you by our Children’s Director Melissa. “in-person” lessons complete 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

Weekly Lesson Plan -

INSTRUCTIONS: Look up the story in your Bible. See if your kids can guess the Big Idea.

THE BIBLE: Jesus Visits Mary and Martha: Luke 10:38-42

BIG IDEA: We can spend time with God.

INSTRUCTIONS: Look up the story in your Bible and read it to your preschoolers.

  • Mary and her sister Martha were excited that Jesus was coming to their house for dinner!

    • What would you do if someone really important and famous was coming to your house?

    • What would you want to do with your special guest? Play with your toys? Eat your favorite meal? Watch a movie?

  • Mary and Martha wanted to make Jesus and His friends feel welcome. There was so much they needed to do to prepare!

    • Martha got busy with the cooking and cleaning, but she got annoyed when she realized Mary wasn’t helping at all.

    • Have you ever been annoyed at someone, maybe a brother, sister, or friend, because they didn't help you when they were supposed to?

  • If you have, then you might understand how Martha felt when she complained that Mary wasn’t helping her!

    • But did Jesus get angry with Mary? Why not?

    • What did Jesus say was the most important thing to do?

  • Jesus said Mary was doing the best thing: spending time with Him and learning about God from Him!

    • Does that mean we should forget about helping our parents at home, like cleaning up our toys? No!

    • But Jesus tells us we need to make time for God. We can spend time with God by going to church, praying, singing worship songs, and having Bible time with our families.

Additional SCRIPTURE| Colossians 4:2

INSTRUCTIONS: Read Hosea 13:14; 1 Corinthians 15:55-57

  • A man named Paul (who we call the Apostle Paul) once wrote a letter to help some followers of Jesus figure out how to spend time with God. Here's one thing he wrote . . .

  • When you're "devoted" to something, that means you want to do it a lot! Prayer is one of the ways we spend time with God.

  • But just like Martha, we sometimes get distracted by things that aren't as important as spending time with Jesus. So instead of talking to Him, praising Him, or learning more about Him, we do other things with our time.

ACTIVITY | Asteroid Launch

Does anyone know what an asteroid is? Let's launch some together!

  • INSTRUCTIONS: Make a bunch of aluminum foil wads and gather some toy blocks. Use blocks to build different-sized towers. Then let kids take turns standing a few feet away from the towers and launching the asteroids to knock the towers down.

  • Just like we launched these asteroids, we are going to launch our faith in God! We do that by spending time with God!

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, we love to spend time with you. Help us to spend time with you wherever we are.