Remember
Breath Prayer
Breathe in: Brother Jesus
Breath out: Fully human
Breathe in: Merciful and faithful
Breath out: In every way
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: Jesus said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” We believe this is true because of the Gospel. What is the Gospel?
Kids respond:
God always Loved us and gave us His Son Jesus
He lived the life we couldn’t live
Reflect
Explore Key Concepts
“Jesus was a new kind of man. He would not believe the terrible lie that the enemy spoke. Jesus knew God loved him and He would trust God no matter what.”
Read: Jesus’ Wilderness temptation, “Let’s Go” (Jesus Storybook Bible pg 208-209)
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.
Have you had moments in your life that it was difficult to trust God? Have you ever felt tempted to do something that you knew was wrong? What was that like? Where do you think God is when you’re tempted to make poor decisions? What is His heart towards you?
Respond
Experience: The Words that Make Up Me (3yrs - adult)
Prep: You’ll need a paper for every person.
This activity can be scaled according to the materials you have available. If time, space, and materials are available, then every child will have a piece of butcher paper large enough for them to lay on. If this isn’t feasible, a standard 8.5”X11” will work.
If you are using a large piece of paper, have the child lay down on the paper. Kids can work together to trace one another. This is usually a fun, silly time for kids, but is also a grounding exercise to help them take deep breaths, calm down and be still. Depending on the age and size of the group it may make most sense to have the adult outline the child, making sure every child feels comfortable and safe.
If large paper isn’t available or a child isn’t comfortable being traced, have the children draw a picture of themselves in bubble form so that words can be written inside.
Encounter:
Prayer: “Thank you, Father, for showing us through Jesus, what it looks like to live a life connected to you.”
Intro: The words we speak are powerful. Words can be a blessing or a curse. They create life and health or can cause death and destruction. Jesus knew this. The words that Satan spoke to Him were lies. Even though they sounded close to the truth the were meant to harm him, tempt him, and cause Him to not trust Father God.
Just as Jesus was familiar with lies we must learn to recognize and stand against lies that are said about us and the people we love.
Consider: What lies have been said about you? What negative things have you said about yourself? Help the child identify things they believe about themselves or things that have been said to them that are not life-giving. Sometimes if a child is very young they may not have an example readily available. Wonderful! Follow and trust the Spirit to reveal what is helpful for the child.
Write the negative words in the picture of “self” using one color.
Consider: What are some kind and loving things your parents have said about you? What does God think about you? How did He make you? What do you like about yourself, your personality, your talents, your body, your mind and heart? Help the child to identify life-giving words. If a child is struggling, have the other children come around and encourage them with words of affirmation, things they enjoy about each other. Some children may find these words truly meaningful and you may see immediate impact. Others may not express much at the moment but later go home and consider the affirmations alone. Whatever the immediate response, be encouraged that the words of life coming from the child to himself, the other kids to the child, and the teacher to the child, are seeds of life and blessings that last a lifetime.
Write the positive words in the picture of “self” in a different color. Cover the picture with life-giving words that remind us what is true about ourselves and our identity.
When God created us he made is in His image and said that we were VERY GOOD! God likes how he made us and is proud to call us His Sons and Daughters!
You may want to turn on a worship song in the background and have the kids cross out the negative, destructive words. As they do this, encourage them to “cross off” the words in their minds and hearts as well, letting them go in order to believe what is true.
Tip* - The older the children are the more personal this encounter becomes. You may want to stretch out over an entire room, or even allow kids to go to quiet spaces where they feel they have privacy and then reconvene.
Listen
God Made People (in His Image) - God's Story: God Made People
God’s Story - Jesus God's Story | Jesus