3-5s
Theme: Life can be sad
but soon it will be wonderful
Aim: That they keep
loving Jesus and don’t give up
Intro:
Give them a variety of pictures to colour which you will
need for the story: happy face, sad face, a soldier, an athlete, a farmer, a
cross, and empty tomb and Paul in chains
Teaching:
[Hold up the two faces] Ask: When do you feel happy? When do
you feel sad?
Sometimes we can be sad because we have to work hard and not
give up.
Here is a soldier – he has to work hard and not give up
fighting the enemy [put under the sad face]. But if he keeps fighting and
doesn’t give up then he’ll win the battle and it will be wonderful for him.
[put under happy face]
Here is a runner – he has to work hard running. He gets out
of breath and pants and sweats, but he needs to keep moving his legs otherwise
he will lose the race [put under sad face]. But if he keeps running hard he’ll
finish the race and it will be wonderful for him. [put under happy face]
Here is a farmer – he has to work hard digging the ground
and planting his seeds [put under sad face]. He has to do this when its sunny
and when its rainy. If he stops, he’ll have no food to eat. But if he keeps
going and works hard then soon all the plants will grow big and he’ll have lots
of food and it will be wonderful for him [put under happy face].
Here is Jesus [put the cross under the sad face] – even
though he was God and very good and very strong, he let people put him on a
cross to die. It was very sad. But then, 3 days later, Jesus was alive again
[put empty tomb under happy face]. It was wonderful for him and us.
Here is Paul [put Paul under sad face]. He is in prison and
in chains. That means he can’t go out and play but is stuck inside. It was very
sad. But he knows that one day He will live with Jesus and it will be
wonderful.
Here are you and me [have a picture of a group of people
under the sad face]. Sometimes loving Jesus won’t be easy and we’ll be sad.
Other kids may say things to us because we love Jesus. It may mean we won’t get
to do what we want to do. But one day it will be wonderful for us too [put
under happy face]. We will live with Jesus too.
So, it is really good to keep loving Jesus now, even when
we’re sad. So we shouldn’t give up. The soldier, the runner and the famer don’t
give up. We shouldn’t give up being Jesus’ friend because one day it will be
wonderful for us too.
Pray
Activities
·
Make Paul’s chains out of loops of silver card
(or stick on silver foil)
·
Happy and sad face masks
Songs:
·
Follow, follow (EMU)
·
Remember Jesus Christ (Colin Buchanan – v8 set
to music)
5-11s
Theme: We may suffer
now, but keep going as soon it will be glorious
Aim: That they follow
Jesus in good times and bad
Intro:
·
Endurance game – can they sit still and quiet
for 1 minute? Or can they keep copying the actions for the whole game?
Teaching:
Recap with baton and read 2v1-2.
[Hold up an emoji with gritted teeth] Ask: What do you find hard going? [take
suggestions – eg football training, homework, music practice]
What happens if you
keep going at these things? [eg win the match because you’ve trained, get
good test results or learn to read, play a piece of music].
Paul writes to Timothy to tell him to keep going and not
give up because he has a wonderful future in store (and because the good news
about Jesus depends on it!)
Read v4 – He starts by telling him about a soldier [dress a
child up as a soldier]. Being a soldier is hard going. You have to train and be
very fit and then, when you’re fighting in a battle, it can be horrible and
deadly. But if you don’t run away and you keep fighting then you have a
glorious victory in battle. A wonderful future.
Read v5 – [Dress a child up as an athlete and give him the
baton] If you’re an athlete then you need to do loads of training which is
really hard work. And then in the race you’re puffing and sweating and you
can’t give up until you get to the finish line, it’s hard going. But if you
keep going and finish the race, then you get the crown! A wonderful future.
Read v6 – [dress a child up as a famer] If you’re a farmer
you have to dig all year and sow your seeds. It’s hard work. And if you give up
and don’t bother then you end up with nothing but weeds. But if you work hard
and keep going then you’ll have an amazing crop by the Spring. A wonderful
future.
Read v8 – Jesus, too, had to suffer on the cross but then he
rose from the dead. A wonderful future.
Read v9-10 – Paul is in chains suffering because he loves
Jesus. But he keeps going and doesn’t give up because he knows he has a
wonderful future.
The same is to be true of Timothy – he is to keep going and
not give up, don’t drop the baton! Read v11-13.
Following Jesus may become hard for you. Other kids may
tease you or call you names because you love Jesus. But the good news of Jesus
isn’t stopped by this. So don’t give up following him. We have a wonderful
future ahead of us if we keep trusting Jesus. We will live with him and reign
with him. Keep loving and trusting Jesus!
Table time: [little ones can stick on pictures of soldiers,
athletes and famers onto v8]
Knowledge
·
What is Timothy not to do?
·
What is Timothy to do?
Understanding
·
How do the examples of the soldier, the athlete
and the farmer help him?
·
How does Paul’s example help him?
·
What promises does Paul give Timothy?
Application
·
When is it hard for you to be a Christian?
·
From this passage, what helps you to keep going?
Pray for the persecuted church
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