Remember
Breath Prayer: From 2 Corinthians 5:17
Breathe in: The old has passed away
Breath out: The new has come!
Song:
Remember what we learned and put into practice last week?
Is anyone celebrating something that happened this week? Let’s share so we can all thank God together.
Is anyone struggling, feeling sad, lonely or scared? How can we pray for one another?
Practice the Following Jesus Liturgy (With our youngest kids only focus on the portion that we’re currently learning)
Leader: Because of the Gospel we receive the Gift. What is the Gift?
Kids respond:
We are forgiven!
Reflect
Explore Key Concepts
“No matter how clever you are or how good you are or how rich you are or how nice you are or how important you are, none of it makes any difference. Because God's love is a gift. It's free!"
"Children loved Jesus and they knew they didn't need to do anything special for Jesus to love them. All they needed to do was run into His arms."
"No matter how big you grow, never grow up so much that you lose your child's heart, full of trust in God."
Read: "The Friend of Little Children" in the Jesus Storybook Bible
Discover through curious questions:
Ask the children what stood out to them. What did they like about the story? Was anything new or different than how they’d heard the story in the past? Allow the conversation to be led by their questions, insights, and wonderments.
Discuss: Freedom
Freedom is something that happens after being released. When we believe in Jesus we aren't released from prison or have actual handcuffs taken off. But we ARE released from the bondage of sin. Before we trusted in Jesus we were guilty of all the wrong things we had done. Even if our bodies weren't in prison our hearts were.
Now that Jesus has rescued us from our punishment we are free! We celebrate, worship, and choose to live for Him because of what He has done for us. He has rescued us! People that have been set free are filled with gratitude for the wonderful gift they've received. They don't worry about what others think of them or whether not not they're good enough. They just run to Jesus and celebrate like little kids.
Respond
Experience: Throw a Freedom Party
Supplies: Party things you may have around your house (streamers, balloons, place settings for snacks, a banner or bright colored poster board). Scale according to your capacity and materials.
Act is Out
Have some of the children be jailers, prisoners.
Have the jailers take a child/children to a separate space. They are being put in prison because they are guilty of sin (bickering, fighting, being selfish etc).
Have someone portray Jesus and proclaim freedom to the captives! Swing open the doors and let everyone run out. They are forgiven and set free!
Have a party. Play music, bring out the streamers!
Encounter: Writing Thank-you Cards
Being freed is a BIG deal. It was a choice Jesus made and we are so grateful He did!
Have card supplies, paper, writing utensils available. Encourage the kids to write prayers of thanksgiving from setting us free to live as little children, totally confident of His love for us.
Listen
The Choice is yours: Following God is a daily choice
“It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.” (Gal 5:1)
“You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.” (Rom. 6:18)