click here to read the first post in this series.
read part two in this blog series here.
click here to learn more about and purchase “the Gospel God’s plan for me”
God provided
experience it:
supplies: big bag of candy for the winner
impossible task – get a child volunteer and tell them you have a reward (candy) for them if they complete the task you have for them. make sure to pick a task you know the child cannot do, but an adult can do. (i.e. move a big stack of chairs.) give the child the opportunity to complete the task. after they cannot complete it, select an adult to complete the task. when the adult completes the task, still reward the child with the candy.
discuss it:
kids discuss these questions with their parent/guardian:
– does the child deserve this reward?
– how is this like what God did for us?
teach it:
explain what grace is – getting something we do not deserve.
FIND IT • MARK IT
John 3:16
Ephesians 2:8-9
how did God’s word help you understand that God provided?
Jesus gives
experience it:
supplies: backpack with a sign on it that says “sin”. collect many heavy items (books) to add to the backpack several at a time. other signs that read “death”, “Jesus”, “life”.
select a child to be a volunteer. put the backpack on their back and have them hold the “death” sign in front of them. put several books in the backpack and have them walk in a circle around the room. ask them how that feels. then add more books to the backpack. have them walk around the circle again. continue this until the child can no longer hold up the backpack and asks for help.
select an adult in the class to be Jesus. they will wear the “Jesus” sign. after the child admits that they need help, have Jesus come over and take the heavy backpack of sin from them. he will give them the “life” sign in exchange for the sin backpack and the “death” sign.
discuss it:
kids discuss these questions with their parent/guardian:
how did the backpack activity show us how great a gift Jesus gave us?
read and discuss Romans 5:8 as a family.
teach it:
explain what mercy is to the children – no getting something we do deserve.
our punishment for sin was death, but Jesus gave His life and through His sacrifice we can exchange sin/death for life.
discuss it:
kids discuss these questions with their parent/guardian:
did we do anything to deserve such a gift?
review Ephesians 2:8-9 as a family.
what does the gift of Jesus mean to you?
FIND IT • MARK IT
Romans 5:8
2 Corinthians 5:21
1 Peter 3:18
Ephesians 2:8-9
how did God’s Word help you understand that Jesus gives?
We respond
teach it:
Jesus alone is our way to salvation.
experience it:
supplies: a wrapped gift
tell the children to pretend that in this gift is the greatest present they could ever receive. (for boys i usually
say a new video gaming system with a gift card for every game made for that system. for girls i usually say the brand new american doll with a gift certificate for all the clothes they could want for that doll.) walk around the room holding out the gift and say, here, i have this gift for you, what do you have to do to make it your’s? (wait for a child to simply say, “take it”, “receive it”)
share that God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to save and rescue us from our sins. this is truly the greatest gift we will ever receive, but we must respond to the gift of salvation.
discuss it:
kids discuss these questions with their parent/guardian:
why do you think some people don’t respond to this gift?
FIND IT • MARK IT
John 14:6
Romans 10:9-10, 13
how did God’s word help you understand that we have to respond?
discuss it:
in your own words, explain the Gospel to the adult that came with you.
*** i would love to hear any other idea you have for sharing the Gospel with children. i love the creativity of kid ministry leaders. 🙂