Here is our FREE Garden of Gethsemane Sunday School Lesson! Kids will learn how Jesus accepted God's will and they will be challenged to do the same. This lesson is great for every Children's Ministry, Kids Church, and Sunday School! We know Jesus was born to die for our sins, and we know he went willingly. But the Garden of Gethsemane reveals that this was no easy task. Jesus would have gladly skipped the cross if it was possible, but he put God’s plan ahead of his own comfort and fulfilled his mission. God has a plan for every one of you. For some, it will mean serving God right where you are, in school or at home or someplace else close. For others, it may mean going out on a mission trip. It may one day even mean going someplace dangerous to share the good news. Whatever God calls you to do to, do it. Do it with all your heart. Do it knowing that God will go with you. Jesus didn’t want to suffer. If there was another way, he’d have gladly taken it, but he was never, ever going to run. Jesus was obedient. That incredible obedience means we can have eternal life. It means we are amazingly loved. And it means we need to prepare our hearts to be just as obedient. Let’s thank God for the obedience of Jesus, and ask him to help us to be just as obedient when the time comes. And, if you like this lesson we have over 100 more free Sunday School Lessons for Kids! Check out our Awesome Easter 4-Week Children's Ministry Curriculum.

Garden of Gethsemane Sunday School Lesson For Kids:

BOTTOM LINE:

Jesus accepts the will of the Father.

OBJECTIVE:

Kids will learn how Jesus accepted God’s will and they will be challenged to do the same.

KEY PASSAGE:

Matthew 26:36-46, The Garden of Gethsemane.

MEMORY VERSE:

“Why do you look for the living among the dead. He is not here; he has risen!” - Luke 24:5b-6a (NIV/NIrV)

SUMMARY:

We know Jesus was born to die for our sins, and we know he went willingly. But the Garden of Gethsemane reveals that this was no easy task. Jesus would have gladly skipped the cross if it was possible, but he put God’s plan ahead of his own comfort and fulfilled his mission.

SIMPLE PRAYER:

Dear God,

Thank you for loving us and for sending Jesus. Teach us to be obedient, just as he was, so we can do your will.

In Jesus’ name,

Amen

 

MEMORY VERSE

“Why do you look for the living among the dead. He is not here; he has risen!” - Luke 24:5b-6a (NIV/NIrV)

LARGE GROUP:

Put the verse on the big screen and read it aloud with the kids.

SMALL GROUP:

Give all the kids a Bible.  Then after you read the verse, give them the reference and see who can find it first in their Bible.

 

SKIT

THE KID WHO LOVED BROCCOLI

ITEMS NEEDED:

A table and chairs, a plate of food including broccoli, a microphone

CHARACTER BREAKDOWN:

2M/2F

CHARACTERS:

Mandy- A news reporter

Jimmy- A kid who eats broccoli

Curt and Lisa- Jimmy’s classmates

Jimmy sits at the table eating his lunch, including the broccoli. Mandy enters with the microphone.

MANDY: Hi. Mandy Miller here for Action News with a breaking news report. I’m at Central Elementary School where it has been reported that one of the kids is actually eating broccoli.

Curt enters.

MANDY: Excuse me, young man?

CURT: Hey, you’re that news lady!

MANDY: Yes, I am. Mandy Miller with Action News. What do you know about the boy who eats broccoli?

CURT: Who? Jimmy?

MANDY: Is that his name?

CURT: Yeah, that’s his name. Good guy, great shortstop.

MANDY: Do you know why he eats broccoli?

CURT: I don’t know. I wouldn’t eat it. Especially from the cafeteria. I had the ‘surprise meat party’ just once. Once! Never again.

MANDY: Thank you for your time, sir.

CURT: Yeah, no problem.

Curt exits. Lisa enters.

MANDY: Here comes another student. Ma’am, may I have your name?

LISA: Uh, Lisa.

MANDY: Lisa, what do you know about the boy who eats broccoli?

LISA: Broccoli? Who eats that?

MANDY: Take a look for yourself.

Lisa and Mandy look over at Jimmy.

LISA: Eww, disgusting!

Lisa walks off.

MANDY: Let’s see if we can get a word in with the boy. Excuse me.

JIMMY: Hmm?

MANDY: I am Mandy Miller, Action News. Is it true you eat broccoli every day at lunch?

JIMMY: No, but only because they don’t serve it every day. Some days it’s salad. Some days cauliflower. Some days carrots.

MANDY: But you always eat your veggies?

JIMMY: Always!

MANDY: That’s amazing. I can’t believe there’s actually a kid who loves broccoli!

JIMMY: Whoa, lady, who said I loved broccoli?

MANDY: You mean you don’t?

JIMMY: No! I hate broccoli! It’s the most disgusting food ever!

MANDY: But if you hate it so much, why do you eat it?

JIMMY: Because it’s good for me. It keeps me healthy. And my mom and dad want me to eat my vegetables every chance I get.

MANDY: So even though your mom and dad aren’t here, you still eat your veggies?

JIMMY: Yes, I do. Believe me, if it were possible for me to eat something else like candy and still be healthy, I would. But this is what God gave us to keep us healthy.

MANDY: What a great story, and a great lesson on being obedient.

JIMMY: And healthy!

MANDY: For Action News, this is Mandy Miller.

 

OBJECT LESSON

ITEMS NEEDED:

A trendy exercise gadget

To begin the lesson, ask the kids if they know what the object is. Ask if anyone knows how to use it. Have an adult demonstrate, and then if possible, have a few kids try it. Ask if they think it’s really an effective exercise tool or just a waste of space.

If you’ve ever done any real exercise, you know it’s not easy. It’s hard work. It leaves your muscles and body sore and aching. That’s why so many people don’t exercise, even though it’s good for them. They don’t want the pain that comes with it.

You can’t get fit without a little soreness and pain. If you want to get fit, you have to pay the price.

Jesus had a price to pay so he could forgive our sins. If Jesus could have done it another way, he would have. The cross was the only way, and Jesus knew that. That’s why Jesus didn’t waiver. That’s why he went to the cross.

Jesus was obedient to God, even though it cost him a painful death. Let us never forget what he did for us. Let it inspire us to be obedient as well.

 

LARGE GROUP GAME

EAT YOUR VEGGIES

ITEMS NEEDED:

Two blindfolds

Baby food

INSTRUCTIONS:

Choose two teams of two for this game. Blindfold one member of each team. This is a baby food eating contest. The team member without the blindfold will feed his blinded partner the baby food until it is all gone. The blindfold is so the kid who eats has no idea what he is eating. First one done wins.

VARIATION:

Just for fun, or for younger kids, you can swap out something sweet and yummy in place of the usual carrots or strained peas.

WHAT’S THE POINT?

Parents want us to be obedient and eat our veggies. Jesus was obedient to his Heavenly Father, and he set an example for us to follow.

 

LARGE GROUP LESSON

BOTTOM LINE:

Jesus accepts the will of the Father.

OBJECTIVE:

Kids will learn how Jesus accepted God’s will and they will be challenged to do the same.

KEY PASSAGE:

Matthew 26:36-46, The Garden of Gethsemane.

INTRO

We are only a few weeks away from Easter, the most important day of the year for Christians. On Easter we celebrate Jesus’ resurrection from the grave. We remember that we serve a living God who overcame death and can give us eternal life. Today we’re beginning a series of lessons about this awesome and amazing story. But before we get to that story, I want to go back, a little further in time, to a story from the Old Testament.

We’re going back to the book of Jonah which tells the story of - who else? - Jonah. Jonah was a prophet, a man God used to deliver messages. God asked Jonah to deliver a message to the wicked city of Nineveh. If Nineveh did not change its wicked ways and ask forgiveness, God was going to destroy that city!

It was an important message that God entrusted to Jonah, but Jonah didn’t want to do it. Instead, he got on a boat headed out to sea - the opposite direction of Nineveh. Jonah didn’t want to go to Nineveh, and he didn’t want to see the people of Nineveh saved. Got had to send a storm and a giant fish to put Jonah back on track!

What does this have to do with the Easter story? Think about that question as we read today’s scripture.

READ Matthew 26:36-46

MAIN POINT

In this story, we see Jesus was facing a tough choice of his own. Like Jonah, God had asked Jesus to do something he did not want to do. Jesus was fully God and man, but while the divine side of him knew his mission was to die, the human side wasn’t ready to die!

It wasn’t just death that waited for Jesus. Jesus was arrested, put on trial, beaten, forced to wear a crown of thorns, spit upon, cursed at, and finally nailed to a cross to suffer the most agonizing death ever devised by man!

Like Jonah, Jesus had a choice. He could obey, or he could run. Jesus did not run. He knew this was God’s will, and he was obedient to the very end.

DRIVE IT HOME

There are two lessons we can take from the Garden of Gethsemane. First and foremost, Jesus really loves us. I mean he really, REALLY loves us. In our world today, there aren’t too many people who would die for someone, especially someone they never met. Jesus died for his friends, his enemies, for you, and for me. He obeyed God because he knew by obeying God, he could give all of us a new life.

The second lesson is a challenge for all of us. Jesus was obedient to God, and he challenges us to be obedient too. We need to obey our parents, teachers, coaches, and other mentors, but more than anything, we need to obey God.

God has a plan for every one of you. For some, it will mean serving God right where you are, in school or at home or someplace else close. For others, it may mean going out on a mission trip. It may one day even mean going someplace dangerous to share the good news.

Whatever God calls you to do to, do it. Do it with all your heart. Do it knowing that God will go with you.

Jesus didn’t want to suffer. If there was another way, he’d have gladly taken it, but he was never, ever going to run. Jesus was obedient. That incredible obedience means we can have eternal life. It means we are amazingly loved. And it means we need to prepare our hearts to be just as obedient.

Let’s thank God for the obedience of Jesus, and ask him to help us to be just as obedient when the time comes.

CLOSE WITH A SIMPLE PRAYER

Dear God,

Thank you for loving us and for sending Jesus. Teach us to be obedient, just as he was, so we can do your will.

In Jesus’ name,

Amen

 

SMALL GROUP DISCUSSION (K-2ND)

ICEBREAKER

What’s one rule you find hard to follow at school or at home?

MEMORY VERSE ACTIVITY

Luke 24:5b-6a

Give all the kids a Bible.  Then after you read the verse, give them the reference and see who can find it first in their Bible.

SMALL GROUP GAME/ACTIVITY

Challenge the kids to get fit and feel the burn by doing ten push-ups and ten sit-ups.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

Read Matthew 26:36-46

Where did Jesus go to pray?

Who was with Jesus in the Garden?

What did Jesus pray for?

Why do you think Jesus asked if there was another way?

Why did Jesus obey God?

SIMPLE PRAYER

Dear God,

Thank you for Jesus and his incredible obedience. I pray that we will all be obedient to you when you reveal your plan for our lives.

In Jesus’ name,

Amen

 

SMALL GROUP DISCUSSION (3RD-5TH)

ICEBREAKER

What’s one rule you find hard to follow at school or at home?

MEMORY VERSE ACTIVITY

Luke 24:5b-6a

Give all the kids a Bible.  Then after you read the verse, give them the reference and see who can find it first in their Bible.

SMALL GROUP GAME/ACTIVITY

Have the kids do a push up contest. Who can do the most? Bet they are sore later!

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

Read Matthew 26:36-46

What was Jesus praying about?

What did Jesus ask God?

Why did Jesus obey God and not run away?

What are some scary things God asks his people to do?

When God asks you to do something hard, how will you decide if you are going to obey?

SIMPLE PRAYER

Dear God,

Thank you for Jesus and his incredible obedience. I pray that we will all be obedient to you when you reveal your plan for our lives.

In Jesus’ name,

Amen 

For your convenience, you can also download the entire PDF version of this Garden of Gethsemane Children's Ministry Lesson (just click the link). 

Here's a video from Saddleback kids that you might find helpful to go along with your Sunday School Lesson on the Garden of Gethsemane. 

Take a look at the links below for other ideas for teaching a Garden of Gethsemane Sunday School Lesson: 

Jesus Prays at Gethsemane - Sunday School Center

The Garden of Gethsemane: Free Sunday School Lesson

Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane (Kids Bible Lesson)