Emoji Sunday School Lesson
Emoji Sunday School Lesson For Kids:
BOTTOM LINE:
We can be happy in all circumstances because of Heaven.
OBJECTIVE:
Kids will state why knowing they can go to Heaven can make them happy no matter what.
KEY PASSAGE:
Luke 10:1-2 and Luke 10:17-20 Jesus Sends Out the 72
MEMORY VERSE:
“I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.” Psalm 139:14 (NIV)
SUMMARY:
Everyone loves a happy face, and everyone loves a reason to send one. Jesus taught his followers that the #1 reason to be happy is knowing that we get to spend forever in Heaven if we believe in Jesus.
SIMPLE PRAYER:
Dear God,
Thank you for Jesus and the gift of Heaven.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen
MEMORY VERSE
“I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.” Psalm 139:14 (NIV)
“How you made me is amazing and wonderful. I praise you for that. What you have done is wonderful. I know that very well.” Psalm 139:14 (NIrV)
LARGE GROUP:
Put the verse on the big screen and read it aloud with the kids.
SMALL GROUP:
Ask the kids what they think the writer was trying to say when he wrote these words. Then ask them how this verse is connected to today’s story.
SKIT
SMILEY!
ITEMS NEEDED:
Smartphones
CHARACTER BREAKDOWN:
2F
CHARACTERS:
Jamie and Mary - Two best friends
Jamie enters on stage left with her phone. She talks as she texts.
JAMIE: Hey, Mary, what’s up? Not much here. Send.
Mary enters stage right and text/talks back.
MARY: Having a really bad day. Smiley Face. Send.
JAMIE: A bad day? What’s so bad about it? Send.
MARY: Leo is dead. Carlotta is dead. And Ralph ran away. Smiley Face. Send.
JAMIE: What - lots of questions marks? Your dog is dead, your cat is dead, and your goldfish ran away? Send.
MARY: No, Leo the goldfish is dead, Carlotta the cat is dead, and Ralph the dog ran away. Smiley Face. Send.
JAMIE: What happened to Leo? Send.
MARY: Carlotta ate him. Smiley Face. Send.
JAMIE: What happened to Carlotta? Send.
MARY: She choked on Leo. Smiley Face. Send.
JAMIE: What happened to Ralph? Send.
MARY: We came home and found Carlotta dead. We screamed. The dog ran out the door. Smiley Face. Sushi roll. Send.
JAMIE: Sushi roll? Why the sushi roll? Send.
MARY: Ooops, wrong emoji. I mean to send Smiley Face. Send.
JAMIE: Mary how can you keep sending Smiley Faces on such a sad day? Send.
MARY: Because I am happy. Smiley Face. Send.
JAMIE: You’re happy? All your pets are gone! Sad Face, Sad Face, Sad Face, Send!
MARY: I’m not happy about that. But I am happy because no matter what happens, I know I have Jesus. Smiley Face. Send.
JAMIE: Jesus? Send.
MARY: Jesus is my Savior, and no matter what happens to me, one day, I will be in Heaven with him. How can I ever be sad for long knowing that? Smiley Face. Send.
JAMIE: Wow, Mary, that’s great. I wish I could be happy like that. Send.
MARY: You can, Jamie. Let me introduce you to Jesus. It will give us both a Smiley Face. Send.
They both exit.
OBJECT LESSON
ITEMS NEEDED:
A smartphone
For this lesson, begin by scrolling through several emojis. Ask the kids if they can name some of the emojis on their parents’ phone. What’s the silliest one they’ve seen?
Long before we had emojis on our phones, people were sending smiley faces to one another. Clever typers figured out that if you used a colon, a dash, and a closed parentheses mark together, you could actually type a sideways smiley face into an email. It’s not a very formal thing, nothing you’d want to put in a business letter, but it became a way of showing people we love that we are happy.
Everyone wants to be happy, but some days, happiness is hard to come by. Bad news, bad luck, and bad timing can get us down, can’t it? But if we know Jesus, we always have a reason to be happy. That’s because knowing Jesus means that one day, we will leave this world for a new one. We will go to Heaven and be with Jesus.
The Bible tells us God is preparing a wonderful place for all who believe in Jesus. If you have Jesus in your heart, then remember what God is doing the next time you have a bad day. Thank God for Jesus, and thank him for making a place for you in Heaven.
LARGE GROUP GAME
CHEESY ROLL
ITEMS NEEDED:
Babybel round cheeses
INSTRUCTIONS:
Choose four kids for this game. Each kid will get one chance to roll a Babybel cheese roll down the length of the floor in the room. The kid whose cheese rolls the farthest wins.
VARIATION:
Instead of rolling Babybel cheese, have the kids fling wrapped slices of American Cheese as far as they can like ninja stars.
WHAT’S THE POINT?
We can always cheese it up and smile knowing that we are headed to Heaven!
LARGE GROUP LESSON
BOTTOM LINE:
We can be happy in all circumstances because of Heaven.
OBJECTIVE:
Kids will state why knowing they can go to Heaven, can make them happy no matter what.
KEY PASSAGE:
Luke 10:1-2 and Luke 10:17-20 Jesus Sends Out the 72
INTRO:
How old were you the first time you got a hold of your mom or dad’s phone and sent someone a message? Who did you message? Was it a parent? A grandparent? One of your cousins, aunts, or uncles? Has anyone accidentally messaged one of Mom or Dad’s work friends?
Smartphones allow us to connect with one another in ways people never dreamed of even fifteen years ago. No one would have ever dreamed we would be able to send short messages to one another from just about anywhere, without having to be connected to a wire in the wall. And no one would ever have dreamed that we could not only send words and pictures, but little images we all know as emojis.
Emoji is a Japanese word that means face picture, and emojis are more than just a cute little thing we can type into our private messages. Emojis are very useful because they help us to show emotion.
Sometimes it’s hard to understand what someone is saying in a text message. Are they being happy? Sad? Funny? Sarcastic? The same words could mean four or five different things based on how a person says them with their lips, so how do you know what the person is thinking?
Emojis help us make it clear what we are thinking. They show people when we are mad, sad, and as we’re going to talk about today - happy.
It would be a wonderful world if the happy face was the only emoji ever used. We all love to be happy, and we all love a reason to put on a smile. In a world like ours, smiling isn’t always easy. Sometimes bad things happen that can take away our smiles. But the Bible teaches us that when we know Jesus, we always have a reason to smile.
READ LUKE 10:1-2 AND LUKE 10:17-20
MAIN POINT:
This was the first time Jesus sent his followers out to tell other people about him. It was a practice run for what would become their life’s work. They were all so excited when they came back, having seen the power of God transform so many lives.
Jesus was happy to see they were so happy, but he told them that their happiness should come from one place: from knowing that they would one day go to Heaven. Jesus is preparing a place for us far from this world. He’s going to have a room for every person who believes in Jesus. One day, all who believe in Christ will join together in Heaven and spent eternity with Him.
That’s a great thing to remember on a bad day. No matter how bad life gets, there will be an end. All the bad stuff is going to stop. All our pain will be taken away. One day, we’ll be with Jesus, and the happy times will never end.
DRIVE IT HOME:
The Bible tells us that we live in a fallen world. God made a beautiful place for us to live, but when the first man and woman rebelled against God, they ruined that perfect creation.
All the sickness, all the sadness, all the death and horror in this world is because of our sin. The Bible tells us that the price for sin is death - eternal separation from God.
That’s why God sent Jesus. He sent him to pay the price for our sins so we would not have to. Anyone who believes in Jesus will not die forever, but will be raised up. We will go to Heaven, and we will be with Jesus forever.
The next time you’re having a bad day, remember that the bad day you’re having will end. Even if the next day is no better, one day you will be with Jesus.
The next time someone hurts you, remember that in Heaven, no one will ever hurt you again. You will be with Jesus, and you will live forever.
The next time you feel lost, remember that Jesus died to give you Heaven. Remember that Jesus is always there, and he always loves you, no matter what.
Knowing that we have Jesus can put a smile on our face, even on the worst of days. Knowing that we will go to Heaven should always make us smile. The next time you’re having a terrible time, look up to Heaven. Remember that God loves you, and he sent his son Jesus to die for you. God will give you a smile, because God has promised you Heaven.
CLOSE WITH A SIMPLE PRAYER:
Dear God,
Thank you for Jesus and the gift of Heaven.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen
SMALL GROUP DISCUSSION (K-2ND)
ICEBREAKER:
Have you ever sent a text message to someone?
MEMORY VERSE ACTIVITY:
Psalm 139:14
Ask the kids what they think the writer was trying to say when he wrote these words. Then ask them how this verse is connected to today’s story.
SMALL GROUP GAME/ACTIVITY:
Pull up a series of emojis on your phone. Pull up a happy face, a sad face, an angry face, and a silly face. As you do, let the kids try to copy those faces with their faces. Who can make the best emoji faces?
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
Read Luke 10:1-2 and Luke 10:17-20
How many people did Jesus send out?
What instructions did Jesus give the 72?
What did the 72 tell Jesus when they came back?
What did Jesus say should be the reason for their happiness?
How can knowing we will go to Heaven make us happy?
SIMPLE PRAYER:
Dear God,
Help us to look to Heaven when we feel sad.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen
SMALL GROUP DISCUSSION (3RD-5TH)
ICEBREAKER:
Have you ever sent a text message to someone?
MEMORY VERSE ACTIVITY:
Psalm 139:14
Ask the kids what they think the writer was trying to say when he wrote these words. Then ask them how this verse is connected to today’s story.
SMALL GROUP GAME/ACTIVITY:
Pull up a series of emojis on your phone. Pull up a happy face, a sad face, an angry face, and a silly face. As you do, let the kids try to copy those faces with their faces. Who can make the best emoji faces?
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
Read Luke 10:1-2 and Luke 10:17-20
Why did Jesus send the 72 out?
What did the 72 tell Jesus when they came back?
Why did Jesus say the people should feel happy?
How can knowing we will go to Heaven make us happy?
How can we know we are headed to Heaven?
SIMPLE PRAYER:
Dear God,
Help us to look to Heaven when we feel sad.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen
For your convenience, you can also download the entire PDF version of this Emoji Children's Ministry Lesson (just click the link).
Take a look at the links below for other ideas for teaching an Emoji Sunday School Lesson:
34 Best Emojis Children's Ministry Curriculum Ideas
Emojis Bible Verse Coloring Page - FREE
Smiley Face Bible Object Lesson: How Does God Feel?