FREE Daylight Savings Sunday School Lesson
This is a complete Daylight Savings Sunday School Lesson that you can use at your church this year during the 2 Daylight Savings transition days. Twice a year the time changes and that always happens on a Saturday night. So you are guaranteed two Sundays every year where you can use the changing of the time to teach kids about using their time wisely. Daylight savings is on March 11 and November 4 for the 2018 year. Be sure to use this awesome and completely FREE lesson in your Kids Church, Sunday School, or Children's Ministry.
Daylight Savings Sunday School Lesson For Kids:
BOTTOM LINE:
There is always time to serve God.
OBJECTIVE:
Kids will learn that God gives us the time we need to do his will.
KEY PASSAGE:
Joshua 10:1-15, The Sun Stands Still
MEMORY VERSE:
“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens.” - Ecclesiastes 3:1 (NIV)
“There is a time for everything. There’s a time for everything that is done on earth.” - Ecclesiastes 3:1 (NIrV)
SUMMARY:
Each of us get the same 24 hours in the day, but for some that doesn't seem to be enough time to do all that has to be done. Kids will learn that when we are doing what God has asked us to do, he gives us the time we need to accomplish it.
OBJECT LESSON:
Analog Clock and Cellphone
For most of the United States, twice a year we do a little time travel. In the fall, the clocks move back one hour. That means when it's 2 o'clock, it suddenly becomes 1. In the spring, the clocks move forward one hour. So if it's 2 o'clock, the time suddenly changes to 3. We call this daylight saving time. It was a system that was created to help farmers have more sunlight during the day to get their work done.
Show the kids the clock.
When daylight saving started, everybody had clocks like this. To record the time change, you had to physically go up to the clock and change the time.
Demonstrate.
If you forgot to, it would throw your whole day off. You would get to school an hour late, or maybe an hour early. All of your appointments would be thrown off until you remembered to go in and change your clocks.
Show the kids your cell phone.
Some of you may still have clocks like that in your house, but most of us also have cell phones. Cell phones and certain digital clocks know when daylight saving begins and ends, and they change their time automatically. There's no need for you to do anything. It takes care of itself – no worries.
Many of us worry about time. We have so much to do in a day – school, homework, sports, more homework, family responsibilities, even more homework. Sometimes it can seem like there isn't enough time in the day.
But God wants our attitude to be like cell phones and daylight saving time. It's nothing to worry about. God has got everything under control. He has given us enough time to do all that we need to do. We just need to love him and trust him.
Jesus said to seek first the kingdom of God and everything else would be given to us as well. No need to worry. No need to fret. God's got it all taken care of – automatically, like a cell phone giving us one more hour in the day.
LARGE GROUP LESSON
INTRO
What would you do if you had a time machine? Would you go to see the future – find out what gizmos and gadgets will be created in the next hundred years? See if life in the future looks the way it does on Star Trek?
Or would you travel into the past? Go back and fix mistakes you've made? Or stop bad things from happening to the people you care about? Or would you simply use it to give yourself more time to do all of the things on your “to do” list?
We don't have time machines – and we probably never will – but twice a year, we do a little time traveling, of sorts. It's called daylight saving. Every fall – usually in November – the clocks move back one hour. It happens overnight, so you may not ever realize it's happening. But for that one day in November, you've gained an extra hour in your day.
Then in the spring – in March, usually – the clocks spring ahead one hour. That sounds cool, like we're moving into the future. But in reality, you're losing that hour you gained back in November. And you're losing an hour of sleep. It's on that day in spring when you may really feel like there's never enough time to do all of the things on your “to do” list.
But the truth is, there is a season for every activity under heaven. God gives us enough time to do all that he has given us to accomplish. Today's Bible story is about the time Joshua needed a little more time to get the task done. And God gave it to him in an unexpected way.
READ Joshua 10:1-15
MAIN POINT
The people of Gibeon were friends with the Israelites. They had made a peace agreement. So when a group of kings banded together to battle Gibeon, the Israelites went out to the battlefield to defend Gibeon against their enemies.
God told Joshua beforehand not to be afraid; that they would win the battle. Joshua and his men marched all night to meet the enemy army. Then they launched a surprise attack. They battled into the day.
God was fighting on the side of Joshua and the Israelites. He rained down large hailstones, that fell on many of the soldiers from the other armies. God did something else too: he stopped the sun from moving.
Joshua prayed to God and basically asked him for more time to win the battle. He asked God to make the sun stand still, so they would not have to fight in the dark or give up the fight. God heard Joshua's prayer and he gave him what he asked for. The sun stopped right there in the sky for almost a full 24 hours.
DRIVE IT HOME
You might feel overwhelmed sometimes by how quickly the days go. There isn't enough time to do everything you have to do. You sure could use one of those days where the sun stops completely.
You're probably out of luck there. The Bible says there had never been a day like it before or ever been one since. It was a one-time deal. But here's what isn't a one-time deal: God is on your side. He is there for you through whatever you are going through. He wants to see you through whatever stress or struggles you are dealing with.
You've been given many tasks to do in a day: school, homework, family time, after school activities, church, more homework. It may get overwhelming at times. But when it gets rough, and you're wishing you had a time machine to go back and give you more hours; do what Joshua did instead. Pray.
Give God your worry and your stress. Tell him about what has got you overwhelmed. And ask for his help. He won't stop the sun in the sky, but he will give you what you need. He'll give you peace. He'll take away your worry. He will provide help to get the task done – either by bringing you other people to assist or by giving you a clearer head to finish the work. Or he might help you to see which things have to be done today and which ones could actually wait until tomorrow.
Remember: You don't need a time machine. You have an all access pass to God, the one who made time. And he will make sure that you have enough time to do all of the things that he has given you to do.
CLOSE WITH A SIMPLE PRAYER
Dear God,
You made us and you know us better than we know ourselves. Thank you for loving us and celebrating us every day – not just on our birthdays.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen
MEMORY VERSE:
“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens.” - Ecclesiastes 3:1 (NIV)
“There is a time for everything. There’s a time for everything that is done on earth.” - Ecclesiastes 3:1 (NIrV)
LARGE GROUP MEMORY VERSE ACTIVITY:
Divide the room into girls and boys. Have the girls and boys read the verse aloud together, alternating every other word, so girls say the first word, boys say the second word, girls third, etc.
SMALL GROUP MEMORY VERSE ACTIVITY:
Have the kids create a picture puzzle that spells out the memory verse. Write the memory verse on a piece of paper. Give the kids 3-5 minutes to decorate the page with something that reminds them of the memory verse. Then cut the page into puzzle pieces, mix the pieces up and let the kids put the puzzle back together.
CRAFT IDEA:
Cut yellow construction paper into large circles. Have kids write the memory verse around the outside edge of the circle. (Have leaders write the verse for younger students.) Have kids color their sun with oranges and reds as they like.
LARGE GROUP GAME:
BEAT THE CLOCK
ITEMS NEEDED:
20 Red Solo cups
1 Green Solo cup
Timer
INSTRUCTIONS:
Choose one player for this game. Give the player a stack of Solo cups, with the green one on the bottom of the stack. The player must move the red cups – one at a time – from the top to the bottom of the stack, until the green one is on top.
Set a timer for one minute and have the kid begin. (Don't use your phone for this: The time should be something the audience can see and/or hear.) If the kid completes the task in time, they win.
If time is running out and the player has not completed the task, run to the timer and add more time to it. Do this as many times as you need to in order for the player to finish the game. When the other kids challenge you on this, emphasize that the point of today's lesson is that when God gives us a task to accomplish, there is always enough time to get it done.
VARIATION:
You can choose any number of games to play for this – anything where a kid competes against the clock. You could opt to play 3 or 4 “minute to win it” type games, using different kids.
WHAT’S THE POINT?
When we trust God, time won't run out on us. There is time enough to do all that God has called us to.
SMALL GROUP DISCUSSION (K-2ND)
ICEBREAKER:
If you had an extra hour today, what would you do with it?
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
Read Joshua 10:1-15
Why did Adoni-Zedek attack Gibeon?
Why did Joshua and the Israelites help the Gibeonites?
What did God tell Joshua before the battle?
How did God fight for Israel and Gibeon that day?
Why did God stop the sun from moving in the sky?
SIMPLE PRAYER:
Dear God,
Thank you for being with us and fighting for us. Help us to trust you, that there is enough time to do everything that you have given us to do.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen
SMALL GROUP DISCUSSION (3RD-5TH)
ICEBREAKER:
If you had an extra hour today, what would you do with it?
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
Read Joshua 10:1-15
Why did Joshua and the Israelites help the Gibeonites?
What did God tell Joshua before the battle?
How did God fight for Israel and Gibeon that day?
How can time get overwhelming for us sometimes?
How do we trust God with our time and give him our worry?
SIMPLE PRAYER:
Dear God,
Thank you for being with us and fighting for us. Help us to trust you, that there is enough time to do everything that you have given us to do.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen
For your convenience, you can also download the entire PDF version of this Daylight Savings Children's Church Lesson (just click the link).
You can also find additional Daylight Savings Sunday School Lesson Ideas from these websites: