Zephaniah

Teaching Zephaniah for 3-5s

Theme: God is angry with those who say ‘No’ to Him, but will make a good world for those who trust Him.

Intro: Emotions – guess how I’m feeling either using facial expressions or emoticons

Make Zephaniah puppets from lollypop sticks, with faces and clothes

Story:

[use lollypop character to be Zephaniah, a family of figures and some statues, an angry and sad emoticon and a happy emoticon]

Can we remember last week’s messenger? Micah, Hosea

This week we’re meeting another messenger. His name is Zephaniah. Let’s say hello to Zephaniah.

Zephaniah was speaking in the days of a great king called Josiah. Josiah realised that God’s people weren’t living God’s way.

Zephaniah brought a very important message to God’s people. The first thing he said was a very sad message. Can we do a sad face?

Why was it sad? Because God’s people were worshipping made-up gods! [Put out some statues or pictures of statues and get the figures to bow down before them.]

How do you think God felt about them worshipping made up gods instead of Him? Sad? More than that He was really angry! ‘I made you and yet you’re saying this statue made you!’ [show angry face]

God is going to punish those who have said no to Him. And it will be horrible when He does. And all those people will wish they had listened to Zephaniah and His warnings.

But Zephaniah gives us a brilliant promise that God makes for those who trust Him. God is going to make the world right and take away all sadness and pain. God will take away all the things they have done wrong and will love them with such a huge and amazing love. [show loving happy face]

Recap: The message Zephaniah brings is a warning not to worship made up gods, that’s disastrous. But to trust God as He will make everything good again.

Songs: No more tears

            There’s a way back to God

Activities:

·        Sad people in a sad world, happy people in a happy world – stick idols and sad people onto background, then on the reverse stick happy people worshipping God.

·        Colouring – Zephaniah saying the theme sentence

Zephaniah for 5-11s

Theme: God will bring judgement on the whole earth but will delight and restore those who trust Him

Intros:

·        Policemen: Have a policeman’s helmet. Remind them of the prophets we’ve looked at and what they did. Prophets were people who spoke God’s words. And their particular job was to call people back to obeying God’s law, like Policemen. Get them to name some of God’s laws. Then ask them what the most important law was. If they don’t get it right remind them that it was to worship God alone, to love Him only with all their hearts. What do they think might happen if the people don’t do this? As a result could play a variation of Captain’s on board.

Talk:

·        God’s people should have been keeping God’s law.

·        In Zephaniah’s day Josiah was king and they’d just rediscovered God’s law, so Zephaniah was calling God’s people back to it.

·        Get someone dressed up as Zephaniah to read out v4-9 and get the kids to tell you what God’s people were doing wrong.

·        Have some pictures up of false gods. Ask them what God was going to do because they were worshipping these made up gods.

·        Listen to how terrible this will be: read 1:14-18. That sounds really scary.

·        Apply: This is still to come and will be horrible for those who don’t trust and worship the Lord God.

·        But God makes a brilliant promise: read 3:9-13. He’s going to gather a people for Himself from all the countries in the world. Ask: How has He done this already?

·        Then Zephaniah tells us about how God feels about His people: Read 3:14-17. How does He feel about you?

·        But the promise is even greater: He’s going to create a whole new world which will be wonderful: Read 3:18-20.

Table time:

·        Police missions looking at the passages

·        Make a model of the perfect world God promises

Micah

[This is the second in our series on teaching the minor prophets, after Hosea]

Teaching Micah to 3-5s

Theme: Following other gods is rubbish, following the LORD God is brilliant!

Intro: Make a rubbish ‘god’ – create a statue out of rubbish and stick on a printed picture of a ‘god’.

Story:

[Have a lot of pictures of statues of gods] Are any of these our God?

The funny thing is that lots of people have said that this is god. And they’ve worshipped and bowed down and prayed to these gods. Do you think that’s a good idea?

A long time ago God’s people bowed down and worshipped these gods. [re-enact with doll family]. They forgot about the LORD God who had done so many wonderful things for them and they pretended that this was their god.

Things seemed fine for a while, but then they saw that they began to be like their gods. So if their god was nasty, they’d start saying nasty things. If their god didn’t care for people, nor would they. If their god did horrible things to people, so would they. God decided it was time to stop this. So he sent Micah [have picture or puppet of Micah] to warn them,

‘Stop worshipping these other gods, they’re rubbish! God is going to send an army to take away your land.’

But Micah told them something else, ‘Our God is so much better. He loves to forgive and care for you and he will make a perfect new world with no wars or sadness or pain. Isn’t that much better than these rubbish gods?’

But do you know what? God’s people never listened to him, except for a few. And they stopped being God’s people after a while.

[Get the children to destroy the ‘god’ they made]

Songs:

            No more tears

            My God is a very, very, very big God

Activities:

·        Make and destroy a ‘rubbish god’       

·        Stick a sad face and happy face on either side of a piece of paper. Then stick pictures of ‘gods’ on the sad side and the words ‘Father’, ‘Jesus’ and ‘Holy Spirit’ on the happy side.

·        Colouring sheet of Micah saying the theme sentence

Teaching Micah to 5-11s

Theme: Following other gods is rubbish, following the LORD God is brilliant!

Intro:

Make a ‘god’ out of rubbish, then destroy it later in the story

Talk points:

·        History – 1:1

·        What God’s people were doing – 1:2-5

·        This makes them no different to their gods or the nations around them (they become like their gods – eg become nasty, unjust, etc) – 2:1-2

·        So God will chuck them out of the land – 2:3-5 (or to v11)

·        They’d forgotten how good the LORD God is (promise of perfect world) – 4:1-8 (or less)

·        So God will send a King – 5:2-4. Who is this?

·        There is no God like our God – 7:18-20

·        Application – we become like what we worship, what is that? Have you seen how great our God is and how brilliant it is to follow Him?

Could illustrate by dressing one up, having other Israelites worship false gods, show them how they become like their god.

Table time:

·        Funsheet

Memory verse – learn Micah 7:19: Draw a huge group advert for how great God is using the words of Micah 7:19 while memory verse plays in the background.

Hosea

Hosea for 3-5s

Theme: God loves you even though you sin

Story:

Today we’re going to look at what a man called Hosea said. [get them to say Hosea]

Hosea lived a long time ago and spoke to God’s people. [could have Hosea puppet to say the next bit]

God loves you. God loves [name] and [name] etc.

And because God is the most important person in the world God is to be your best friend. You are to love Him more than anyone else in all the world.

But Hosea also says there is a problem.

Often other things are more important to us than God, and that makes God sad.

Often we forget about God, even though He is our best friend, and that makes God sad.

It also makes God angry and we need to say sorry for this.

But Hosea also says that even when we don’t treat God as our best friend He still loves us and He’s longing for us to make Him the most important person in our life. And that’s why God sent Jesus to save us.

We must love Him with all our hearts, souls, mind and strength.

What a great thing Hosea has told us this morning. Let’s say thank you to God for His great love, sorry for all the things we’ve done wrong, and ask Him to help us make God our best friend always.

Songs:

Jesus’ love is very wonderful

Jesus loves me, this I know

Activities:

Heart collage with ‘God’ in the middle and theme sentence at bottom

Colouring picture of Hosea saying theme sentence

 

Hosea for 5-11s

Theme: God loves you even though you sin

Intro:

• Friendship game
• Get the idols out of the area

Story:

• Historical background – Before Jesus, God’s kingdom split in two, Israel about to be wiped out by Assyria
• Introduce Hosea – God’s prophet or messenger sent to speak to God’s people [could dress one up]
• Hosea told to take a best friend, Gomer, whom he was to love and care for
• Gomer runs away and ignores him and makes lots of other best friends
• Hosea very sad
• This is like God; He had loved and chosen His people but they had run off and worshipped other Gods. God was very sad.
• Yet despite their sin God kept loving them very much
• We should see that when we make other things more important than God it is just as bad as this. (think of examples)
• Yet God still loves us and keeps calling us back to being committed to Him. And he’s shown us this particularly in Jesus dying and rising to save us.

Table time:

• 7-11s – Funsheet on Hosea 1:1-2
• All – big sheet: ‘God’ in the middle with lines of love towards each of them. Then get them to write/draw/stick things which may take God’s place around them.

 

Romans 8:1-17

[This is the 4th part in a series on Romans 4-8 for our Junior Church]

Romans 8:1-7 for 3-5s

Theme: Only the person who has the Spirit can do what God wants

Activities:

·        God says – variation on Simon says. Purpose: doing what God wants.

·        Heart biscuits – decorate and help them to write ‘Spirit’ on in icing.

·        Sticking activity – picture of Robby and Ronny and help them to stick on thought bubbles and thumbs up etc from story.

Story:

I wonder if you can remember the name of our friend here? Ronny the Roman. And look here’s another person I want you to meet [have another wooden spoon person, both have hearts stuck on]. This is Robby the Roman. Do you remember that Ronny here became a friend of Jesus’? Because of this Ronny has God’s Spirit in His heart [write ‘Spirit’ on heart.]

I wonder what difference being a friend of Jesus makes?

Well, they think about different things: Robby thinks about himself and what he wants to do all the time. Whereas Ronny thinks about what God wants him to do. [Stick on thought bubbles]. You see God doesn’t want us to think about ‘me, me, me’ all the time, He wants us to think about Him. And God’s Spirit helps us to do that.

And that makes a difference to what Robby and Ronny do. Because Ronny is always thinking about himself, thinking ‘me, me, me’, he is not able to do what God wants. He keeps disobeying God and doing naughty things which he knows he shouldn’t. [Stick thumbs down on Robby.]

But for Ronny, because he’s always thinking of what God wants Him to do, the Spirit helps him to please God, to do what God wants. [stick thumbs up on Ronny]

And the same is true of you and me, God’s Spirit will help us to do what God wants us to do. So although it will be hard and we need to work hard to do what God wants, the Spirit will help us if we’re Jesus’ friends.

And because Ronny is Jesus’ friend and has God’s Spirit he can call God his Daddy! Isn’t that amazing? Ronny is God’s child. [Stick on a call out with ‘Daddy’ written on]

And the same is true of us if we’re Jesus’ friends and have the Spirit. We can call God ‘Daddy’. We are his children. That means we want to do what makes God happy. ‘If we are God’s children, then we will receive the good things God has for us (v17).

Let’s say together ‘Only the person who has the Spirit can do what God wants’.

Romans 8:1-17 for 5-11s

Theme: Only the person who has the Spirit can please God.

Recap – looking at letter Paul wrote to people in Rome. Last time we met Ronny. This week we’ll meet his friend Robby.

[Get two of them dressed up in Roman costumes, Ronny and Robby. Stick on a heart]

Here is Ronny – [stick up v1] because he’s a follower of Jesus that means God says he’s not guilty,  he is free from God’s anger at all the things he’s done wrong. Jesus has died for him, taking all of God’s anger at his sin.

Whereas Robby isn’t a friend of Jesus. Therefore he is still captured by sin and can’t fight it. [tie up Robby]

And what that means is that their hearts are different. [perhaps get stethoscope?] Ronny has the Spirit of God to help him please God. Robby doesn’t.

[put up v5-8] What does Robby spend his time thinking about? Himself. Me, me, me! And so there’s no way he can do what God wants and that’ll only lead to death. But Ronny spends his time thinking about what God wants him to do. And so the Spirit helps him to obey God. And that gives him life and peace.

Because Ronny is free from being tied up by sin he can fight against the things that sin wants him to do. [give him a sword or spear] So, when sin wants him to steal a chocolate muffin he can battle against it with the Spirit’s help. But Robby can’t, he’s stuck. [Put up v12-13]

Here’s the big difference between Ronny and Robby; Ronny can call God His Father, he knows that he is God’s child and that one day he’ll be with God forever.

Robby doesn’t belong to God, he’s still God’s enemy, he doesn’t have the Spirit living in him and helping him.

So for us, if we’re followers of Jesus then we’re just like Ronny; we have been freed to battle sin in our lives, with the Spirit to help us please God. We don’t live for ourselves anymore only thinking ‘me, me, me!’ Instead we can now live for God.

If we’ve not decided to follow Jesus then we’re like Robby, which is a terrible thing.

Romans 7:1-6

[This is part 3 of a series on Romans 5-8 which was taught at our church in the summer]

Romans 7:1-6 for 3-5s

Theme: Jesus helps his friends to do good.

Intro and crafts:

Similair to last week, sticking on a Ronny and some good and bad things but perhaps put a sticky label saying ‘Spirit’ on Ronny.

Story:

[Continuing the story of Ronny the Roman, which we began last week, using either Roman wooden spoon character or picture on lollypop stick]

Some of you may remember meeting Ronny the Roman last week. Let’s all say hello to Ronny.

Ronny is going to help us think a bit more about what it means to be a friend of Jesus. And Ronny is going to show us that Jesus helps his friends to do good.

Ronny wasn’t always a friend of Jesus. But he always wanted to do good things. But before He was a friend of Jesus, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t do good things.

So one day, Ronny’s Mum had left out a big chocolate cake [put out a chocolate cake] and had very clearly said to Ronny ‘Whatever you do, don’t eat the chocolate cake.’ She even put a sign next to it, to remind him, ‘Ronny, Do not eat!’

Ronny doesn’t really like chocolate cake. If his mum had left it out he wouldn’t have dreamed of eating the chocolate cake. But because of what his mum had said and because of the sign, suddenly he had this really strong urge to just stick his face in the cake and go ‘bleeeuurgh!’

But no he mustn’t. Oh, but he so wanted to. No, he mustn’t. Go on just once, quickly. And as soon as he had started to think about it, he couldn’t help himself but stick his face in the chocolate cake and go ‘bleeeuurgh!’ [Rub Ronny’s face in chocolate cake!]

Do you see, before Ronny was a friend of Jesus, even though he knew how to be good, he couldn’t do it, no matter how hard he tried.

But since Ronny became a friend of Jesus’ the same thing has happened again: His mum made a chocolate cake [put out another chocolate cake] and put out a note telling Ronny not to eat it [put out note]. This time Ronny found it hard to do what was right. But because he’s a friend of Jesus he had extra help: Jesus, by His Spirit, came and helped Ronny to do what was right. [put label saying ‘Spirit’ on Ronny]. And because of Jesus, Ronny managed to do what was right! Let’s all say ‘Hooray for Jesus!’

The same is true of us, we’re like Ronny: Jesus helps his friends to do good. Let’s say that out loud together.

Paper chain dolls – stick on fruit of the Spirit

Roman Soldier colouring with theme sentence at bottom

Romans 7:1-6 for 5-11s

Theme: We’re free from the law and now belong to Jesus. He has enabled us, by His Spirit, to bear fruit for Him.

Intros: Temptation game

Talk:

Let’s meet Ronny the Roman again. Remember last week, our big question was, ‘Now that I’ve been rescued, can I do whatever I want?’ Well, Paul, the man who wrote this letter carries on answering this question. But he answers it in a slightly different way. Let’s see how:

Firstly, Paul says that Ronny used to belong to the law, it’s like he was married to it. That’s the rules and regulations that God gave His people. [put up the 10 commandments]. But all that did was make Ronny behave worse.

So one day Ronny walked past a cake shop. And there was a beautiful chocolate cake sitting outside. [Put out a cake and a sign] It looked delicious, and Ronny was going to walk past the cake. But a little sign caught his eye. The sign said, ‘Do not steal.’

Well, Ronny hadn’t even considered stealing the cake, he wouldn’t have dreamed of it. But that sign put the thought in his head, and suddenly Ronny was thinking about stealing a chocolate cake, I mean really thinking about it. He couldn’t think about anything else. And, although he tried not to, he suddenly found himself picking up the cake and scoffing it.

That’s how God’s law works, whether you were a Jew and had the 10 commandments or whether you were a non-Jewish Roman and you just knew what was right and wrong. When you know what is wrong it makes it even harder to do what is right. [put up v5 on the screen]

But do you know what, now that Ronny has been forgiven by Jesus and become Jesus’ friend, it’s like he’s died to the law. He’s no longer married to the law. Ronny now belongs to Jesus.  Look at v4 [have it up on the screen]

So what does this mean? Well look at v6 [put v6 up on the screen]. If we’ve trusted in Jesus, we’ve died to that law that used to control us telling us to do wrong. Now Jesus has helped us by giving us His Spirit [put Spirit on Ronny]. That means our lives can now be useful to God! Isn’t that an amazing thing to say?

So here’s how it works: Ronny walks past the cake shop and again the chocolate cake is out and there is a sign there saying do not steal. This time Ronny has been freed from these rules. But that doesn’t mean to say he’s free to steal. Instead now he longs to do what God wants, it’s a joy and a delight to him. And even though he thinks, ‘I could steal that chocolate cake,’ actually he’d rather do what pleases God. And so he prays and asks God for help, and God’s Spirit gives him strength to do what is right and good.

We, too, are like Ronny if we trust Jesus; his Spirit will help us to do what is good.

Table time: They draw themselves on paper then stick on fruit of the Spirit. Get them to talk about what they need to work on.

Romans 6:15-23

[This is part 2 of our series on Romans 5-8. The intervening sessions were written by others or were All Age services]

Romans 6:15-23 for 3-5s

Theme: Jesus’ friends do what he says

1. This is Ronny the Roman [introduce doll or picture or puppet]

Ronny the Roman has become a friend of Jesus’. He knew that Jesus had forgiven him from all the naughty things which he had done. He wasn’t one of Jesus’ friends, but he had started following Jesus and Jesus is now his friend.

But Ronny has a big question [card with question mark, or get Ronny whispering in your ear]. Ronny’s question is, ‘I really want to carry on doing naughty things. Can I carry on doing naughty things?’

So Ronny still wants to disobey his mummy when she says, ‘Don’t eat the sweets.’ Ronny still wants to hit people when they take his toys. Ronny still wants to ignore his daddy when he asks him to be quiet. These were all the things that Ronny used to do before he was Jesus’ friend.

But now that Ronny is Jesus’ friend when he disobeys his mummy that makes Jesus sad [everyone do a sad face]. When Ronny hits people for taking his toys, this makes Jesus sad. When Ronny ignores what his daddy asks him to do this makes Jesus sad. And because Jesus is Ronny’s friend he doesn’t want to make Jesus sad, he wants to make Jesus happy.

Ronny will still do things wrong but now that Jesus has forgiven him, now that Jesus is his friend, he wants to please Jesus by doing what Jesus wants.

[Get them to say together ‘Jesus’ friends do what he says’]

So now that we’re Jesus friends what do we have to stop doing to please Jesus [help them to think through this]? We want to be like Ronny. We want to do things to make Jesus happy, not sad, because he is our friend.

Craft ideas – 2 sided paper. Get them to draw themselves doing something naughty before the story and then the same picture obeying Jesus after the story.

                        2 sides – a happy and a sad face. First side: When I sin my friend Jesus is sad. Second side: When I obey my friend Jesus is happy.

Songs: Walk in the light, Little by little

Romans 6:15-23 for 5-11s

Theme: We belong to Jesus so we do what He wants, we don’t belong to sin anymore

Intro game: Slaves! Something introducing and explaining the theme of slavery. Then briefly explain slavery in Paul’s day; not as bad as some may think, essence you had a master and had to do what he said.

Talk:

Big Question for today: Now I’ve been forgiven can I do whatever I want?

Remember Paul is writing to the Romans. So let’s imagine a Roman Christian who Paul is writing to. Let’s call him Ronny [either dress one up or use a whispering puppet].

Let’s look at what Ronny used to be like. He used to be a slave. But Paul says he used to be a slave to sin [mark on him]. [Have v16-18 up on the screen] This meant that he couldn’t help but do what sin told him to. Sin was his master. So even when he wanted to do something good, he wanted to sin even more. Sin was his master and he wanted to please his master. Paul says that when sin is your master it leads to wickedness and then death. Slaves always get a wage; they get paid for working; they get what they deserve. So when Sin is your master you get what you deserve: death!

But look at what Paul says (v18): ‘You were made free from sin, and now you are slaves to goodness.’ Elsewhere in this section he says ‘You are slaves of God.’ So you no longer belong to sin, you belong to God. So you now live to please him. You have a new master.

Paul says that as slaves of God we no longer get what we deserve. Instead God gives us a gift, of eternal life. You see, Paul says our relationship to God is so much better than that of a slave and master, but he is still our master.

So what does this mean for Ronny? Well it means that he won’t just do what he wants, that’s living to please his old master, sin. Instead he lives to please his new master, God.

We’re just like Ronny

[Use examples from last week?]

Learn Memory verse together (6:23).

Table Time:

Draw round person on wallpaper and do the same on reverse. Mark with words from passage.

Questions:

·        When do you live as if sin was your master?

·        When do you find it hardest to live with God as your master?

·        Why do you find it hard then?

·        What can you do to live to please God more?

Romans 5:1-11

[This is the first session in a series on Romans 5-8 which we have just concluded on Sunday mornings in the Summer term]

Romans 5v1-11 Talk for 5-11s

Theme: We can be sure and be happy that God’s made us His friends always

Aim: Be sure and be happy that God loves you

Intro: Being sure – asking questions: they need to check their answers

         

How do we really know we’re God’s friends? Sometimes it doesn’t feel like we’re God’s friends, perhaps when bad times or sad times come.  So how do we know that we’re going to be God’s friends forever?

1.    We can be sure that we were God’s enemies but now we’re His friends!

Peace, friendship, etc. – pirates no more

Illustration – would you die for someone in your family, would you do anything for them? What about someone you’d never met? What about someone you didn’t like?

Read v7, then v6 and 8-10.

We can know that we’re God’s friends because Jesus died for us.

2.    We can be always be sure

What about those sad times? Difficult times. Life getting choppy on the Captain Jesus’ rescue ship. Sometimes life is like that.

How do we know that we’re going to make it? Paul says: trouble – help us wait to be with Him forever – that changes us for good – that good change gives us hope, greater longing to be with Him. So we can be happy in hard times because Jesus is getting us ready to be with Him forever. In the rescue boat its helping us to be better sailors.

Paul also says that if he’s bothered to rescue us now, then there’s no way he’s suddenly going to throw us overboard!

So what? – be sure that if you’ve trusted Jesus then you will be with Him forever.

-         be happy, celebrate, because you’re on the rescue ship now!

Romans 5v1-11 session 3-5s

Theme: God is the best possible friend in good times and sad.

Talk about – who are my friends? – draw friends

Get them to say – ‘God is the best friend’ – stick at the bottom of picture

Prayer – ‘Dear God, You are wonderful. You love me very much. Help me to know that you are the best friend I could have. Amen.’

Story:

Hold up a happy face – when do you feel happy?

Hold up a sad face – do you feel sad sometimes? When?

Did you know God is your best friend when you’re happy and when you’re sad?

When someone isn’t very nice to us, it can make us sad. Perhaps it means we don’t want to be their friend if they are not nice to us.

God isn’t like that. God wants to be our friend even when we’re naughty and not being very nice to Him. God loves us very much.

How do we know God loves us very much? Because Jesus, God’s Son, died on the cross for us. What an amazing thing to do! He must love us very much to send Jesus to die for us.

So God loves us and wants us to be His friend when we’re happy. [talk about some of the happy times they mentioned earlier].

And God loves us and wants us to be His friend when we’re sad. [talk about some of the sad times they mentioned earlier]

So that should make us really happy! We’ve got the best friend there could ever be!

Sticking – sheet of paper with heart to colour and stick. Picture of Jesus on the cross to cut out and stick in the middle. Cut out and stick underneath – ‘God is the best possible friend in good times and sad. Romans 5:1-11’

Songs: Jesus love is very wonderful

          Jesus loves me this I know

          I see the love of my Father

          Super Saviour

Thank you prayers – We give thanks to you, Psalm 75:1 and get them to shout out things they want to say thank you for.