There are plenty of reasons why having a few last-minute lesson plans on hand is beneficial. You may still need to order the next curriculum, or perhaps the volunteer who planned to lead got sick, and their plans for teaching are MIA. Whatever the reasons that come up from time to time, having some extra lessons on hand can prove to be very useful. You can write a few lesson plans, download some free ones here, or use some Bible lesson ideas!
1. God Wears Many Hats!
Main Point: God is the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit
Summary: Sometimes we get caught up in looking at God in just one way. Maybe you see God as powerful and holy, someone you respect but feel distant from. Maybe you see God as loving and forgiving, someone you can call a friend. Perhaps you see God as always with you, who gives you wisdom and shows you where to go. God is the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit. He is 3 in one and can wear all the hats that we need Him to!
Verse: John 14:26: "But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you."
Object Lesson: Bring in all sorts of different kinds of hats. The expression "wearing different hats" means different responsibilities that you have. Talk about the different types of hats people wear…Chefs, baseball players, presidents, and even people who don't wear a "hat." Tell the kids how God wears many hats. He is our Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit all in one. He is perfect and holy, yet forgiving and patient. He is strong and mighty, yet is the Prince of Peace.
Game: Play a game with the hats. Give everyone a hat to hold and have kids sit in a circle. Then, ask them to put the hat in front of them facing upside-down. After this, pass a small object around the room and have the kids pass it from hat to hat, using the hat to drop the object into the next person's hat. Be sure to turn on some music and continue this like the game of hot potato. Whoever has the object when the music is turned off is out. Ask them to move out of the circle each time a kid gets out. Continue and have kids move closer and closer until there is just one winner with the object in their hat.
Lesson: Ask a volunteer to come up and see how many hats they can stack on their head before they all fall. Talk about how, as humans, we have difficulty wearing too many hats, but God does not have a hard time with this. For example, someone could be a mom, a wife, and a teacher, but if they add too many other responsibilities to this, they will end up crashing! God is the Father who created us, the Son who forgives us for our sins, and the Spirit who gives us wisdom and helps us daily. A mistake we often make is thinking that God wears just one or two hats. We might think God is holy and perfect, and because of that, he does not want to be near us…sinners. God is perfect and can't be with sin…but that doesn't stop Him from wearing another hat. He sent His Son Jesus to come down and defeat sin so that we no longer need to be separated from Him. So, although God IS PERFECT and was separated from us because of our sins, He is also LOVING and FORGIVING and made a way for us to have a relationship with Him again.
Lastly, read John 14:26. God works together with Jesus and the Holy Spirit so that we can be united with Him!
Craft: Instruct kids to make a hat out of construction paper. Have them turn their paper horizontally and draw a line across the center from left to right. Then, ask them to cut strips from the top of their page until they get to the line and stop. They can do straight cuts, zig-zags, wavy, thin, thick, and all sorts of cuts. Finally, put the hat around their head to size it, remove it from their head, and staple it for them. Allow them to add decorations to their hat, like stickers, gluing on pompoms, and sequence.
2. Designed and Created
Main Point: In the beginning, God created the universe, and He created us.
Summary: We were designed and created. It takes a creator for everything to be connected and designed well! The animals, the plants, and each atom and cell are all made with a purpose. Everything is connected with a designed purpose, and nothing would exist without a creator like God.
Verse: Revelation 4:11: "God made everything based on his perfect design and, by the power of his own will, that design will be realized: For you created all things, and they exist because you created what you pleased."
Object Lesson: Using a house plant, explain how God created everything with a purpose. The plant needs the sun and the rain to grow. God created the sun and the clouds to rain. Humans need the air to breathe. Plants make oxygen for us to breathe. Everything God created is part of his perfect design.
Game: Play a large game of Marco Polo. Have a few be blindfolded and call out "Marco," while the other kids must answer "Polo" even if they are nearby. Once the kids have tagged someone, they get to take off their blindfold, and the person tagged is now it. Ask the kids at the end of the game how it felt to be in the dark. One remarkable thing God created is light!
Lesson: Hold up your hand with nothing in it and show it to the kids. Then, ask them what's in your hand, and tell them that God was able to create everything from nothing. We can create things, but we need something to make something. We need clay to make a pot. We need crayons to draw a picture. God created the universe! Some people try to say that the earth and everything in it was just an accident. Just a big bang that happened, and it all appeared. But this can't be true because everything is designed to work so well. People's hearts pump blood into their veins, their brains help them walk and talk, and their lungs help them breathe. Without just one of these things, a person could not live.
Lastly, read Revelation 4:11. In the beginning, God created the universe and the world, and He created us!
Craft: Tell the kids, "Once God created the world, there was dust and dirt. God took the dust and created man out of it." Ask the kids to use clay to create something out of it. Some examples could be a pot, an animal, or a person.
3. I can replace Fear with Prayer!
Main Point: We don't have to be anxious whenever we feel afraid. God promises that he will give us peace if we go to Him with our fear.
Verse: Philippians 4:6-7 says: "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."
Object Lesson: Using the light switch, turn off the light. Ask the kids if anyone is afraid of the dark. Ask the kids what they do when they are scared. Tell them how worrying accomplishes nothing. Tell them that there is one thing that works…praying!
Game: Play a game of hide and seek with several seekers. When they find someone, they have to come out and stand in the middle of the room. Once everyone is found, play another round with other seekers. Ask the kids, "When you are alone, does that make you afraid?" Remind kids that God is always with them and they can talk to God when they feel afraid by praying to Him.
Lesson: Give an example of something that makes you feel afraid. Talk about how God loves us, and He never leaves us. We can pray anytime, and He is listening. God doesn't tell us, "Just stop worrying." Instead, He gives us something to do instead to replace worry. He tells us to pray to Him, and He will provide us with peace! Lastly, read Philippians 4:6-7.
The closer our relationship is with God, the more we will have peace because we will learn to trust Him! Talk to God; that is how you will get to know Him!
