HERE is our FREE Jesus Prays in the Garden Sunday School Lesson! Jesus was very upset the night he was betrayed. When he was upset, he went into the garden and he prayed. God wants us to pray when we are sad, afraid, or upset. Kids will learn that when they are upset, they should remember to pray like Jesus did. Through this lesson, kids will also learn that Jesus was the Son of God who came to die for our sins, but Jesus was also human. He needed comfort for his fears and his sadness just like we do. When you feel sad, remember the color green - and remember to go to the garden. Get on your knees wherever you are and pray. God will hear you. God will comfort you, and God will use those hard times to help you grow stronger in your faith. This lesson is great for every Children's Ministry, Kids Church, and Sunday School!  Also, check out Building Easter 4-Week Children's Ministry Curriculum. And, if you like this lesson we have over 100 more free Sunday School Lessons for Kids!

Jesus Prays in the Garden Sunday School Lesson For Kids:

BOTTOM LINE:

God wants us to pray when we are troubled.

OBJECTIVE:

Kids will learn that when they are upset, they should remember to pray like Jesus did.

KEY PASSAGE:

Matthew 26:36-46, Jesus Prays in the Garden

MEMORY VERSE:

“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8 (NIV)

SUMMARY:

Jesus was very upset the night he was betrayed. When he was upset, he went into the garden and he prayed. God wants us to pray when we are sad, afraid, or upset.

SIMPLE PRAYER:

Dear God,

Be near to us when we are sad or afraid.

In Jesus’name,

Amen

 

MEMORY VERSE

“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8 (NIV)

“But here is how God has shown his love for us. While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8 (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 GREEN GARDEN

ITEMS NEEDED:

Construction hats

A megaphone

CHARACTER BREAKDOWN:

2M

CHARACTERS:

The Boss - A Master Lego Builder

Benny - A pretty good Lego builder himself

The Boss enters with a megaphone.

BOSS:(into a megaphone) Good morning, Master Builders! It’s a big day, and we’re gonna need all hands on deck! We’ve got a story to tell, and I want to see your best creative work come to bear on this one! (put down the megaphone) Where’s my foreman? Benny? Where are you?

Benny runs on.

BENNY: Right here, your Master Builderness, sir!

BOSS: Benny, this is an important build today. We’re going to be making a—

BENNY: Spaceship??

BOSS: Wrong!

BENNY: Doggone it!

BOSS: We’re building a garden, Benny. A beautiful garden full of trees and grass and shrubbery.

BENNY: Shrubbery?

BOSS: Lots and lots of shrubbery.

BENNY: Hee hee, that’s a fun word. Shrubbery. It sounds like rubbery. Is Shrubbery rubbery?

BOSS: No. It’s kind of leafy and planty.

BENNY: Leafy and planty.

BOSS: And green.

BENNY: Green, got it. Say, who are we building this garden for?

BOSS: It’s for Jesus.

BENNY: Ooooh, the Master Master Builder.

BOSS: That’s the one!

BENNY: Boy, that guy created everything. The sun, the moon, the stars, the Earth. Myrtle Beach.

BOSS: All of it!

BENNY: He didn’t even need Legos!

BOSS: Not him!

BENNY: So why are we building this garden?

BOSS: The Master Master Builder is troubled. He needs a comfortable place to pray tonight.

BENNY: Oh yeah? What’s he praying for?

BOSS: He’s praying because he’s troubled. To tell the truth, he’s afraid to die.

BENNY: He’s afraid of dying? Why would he be afraid of that? He’s the Master Master Builder!

BOSS: And he’s also fully human. He knows what it is to feel pain and suffering, and he knows that he’s about to suffer the most horrible death mankind ever devised.

BENNY: You mean…someone actually wants to kill Jesus?

BOSS: Don’t you know what’s going on, Benny? One of Jesus’s own disciples has betrayed him. He’s gone to Jesus’enemies, who are turning the people against him.

BENNY: We gotta do something, Boss! We can’t let Jesus die!

BOSS: It’s not up to us, Benny. Believe it or not, this is why the Master Master Builder was born into our world.

BENNY: To die?

BOSS: Yes.

BENNY: To be betrayed by his own friend?

BOSS: Yes.

BENNY: Wow... No wonder Jesus needs a place to pray. He needs it right now. I know any time I feel afraid or troubled, prayer helps me feel a whole lot better.

BOSS: Me too, Benny. We all need to pray every day. Especially when we feel sad or upset or even afraid.

BENNY: (grabs the megaphone and speaks into it) Okay, ladies and gents, listen up! Jesus is troubled, and he needs a quiet place to pray! Let’s give him the quietest, greenest place we can!

BOSS: It’ll be quieter without the megaphone.

BENNY: (into the megaphone)And lose the megaphone! I said it needs to be—(stops, puts down the megaphone) Oops, sorry, Boss.

BOSS: Come on, Benny. We have some shrubberies to build.

 

OBJECT LESSON

 

ITEMS NEEDED:

Green Legos

In this series, each object lesson will revolve around the Lego color of the week. Begin the lesson by asking whose favorite color is green. Then ask the kids what they use green Legos for. Ask what you can build with green Legos.

Green is the color of growth. It’s the color of grass, shrubs, and new leaves on the trees in the spring. Green is the color of things that are growing and alive.

Green is also a very soothing color. It’s a peaceful color, a color that helps us to relax. That’s why gardens are such a great place to get away and relax. Green can help us clear our minds, let go of our troubles, and pray.

When Jesus needed comfort, he went some place green. He surrounded himself with the beauty of a garden as he prayed for God’s will. Jesus was troubled, afraid, and sad, but Jesus found comfort not just in the garden, but in prayer.

Prayer can give us comfort when we are troubled. Prayer can also help us to grow in our faith. You may not have a quiet garden, but you can pray anywhere, any time. Jesus will be there, and he will give you the comfort and peace you need.

 

LARGE GROUP GAME

 

GREEN BEAR

ITEMS NEEDED:

Gummi Bears

A blindfold

INSTRUCTIONS:

Pick three kids from the audience. One at a time, put the blindfold on the kids. Hand them a green gummi bear in one hand, and a different color in the other. The player will taste both gummi bears and try to guess which one is the green one. (Note: In Haribo Gummi Bears, the green flavor is actually strawberry!)

VARIATION:

This can be done with any colored, flavored candy that has a green piece, including Lifesavers and Jelly Beans.  

WHAT’S THE POINT?

Prayer helps us grow and comforts us when life isn’t so green.

 

LARGE GROUP LESSON

BOTTOM LINE:

God wants us to pray when we are troubled.

OBJECTIVE:

Kids will learn that when they are upset, they should remember to pray like Jesus did.

KEY PASSAGE:

Matthew 26:36-46, Jesus Prays in the Garden

INTRO:

How many Lego builders do we have here this morning? Those of you who work with Legos, let me ask you something: have you ever had the perfect building project ruined because you were one piece too short? I don’t mean you used all the pieces in the Lego box. I mean it came down to the last few pieces, and you only needed three greens to finish it. What happened? You ran out of green, and that beautiful green sports car or spaceship had to have a few blue or yellow or red pieces to finish.

Believe it or not, God knows exactly how you feel. God isn’t a Lego builder, but God is certainly a master builder, having made the whole world and all of Creation with it. God had a perfect vision in mind for this world and the people living in it, but as the Bible tells us in Genesis, that perfect vision was ruined by people. Our own sin caused this world to become permanently broken, and there’s nothing we can do to fix it. Luckily, God had a plan to do just that, and that plan is what we celebrate at Easter.

This Easter season, Legos are going to help us to learn and remember the story of Easter. Each week, a different color will teach us about part of the Easter story. We begin this week with the color green.

Green is the color of spring and growth. It’s the color of grass and leaves. It’s the color of plants that are alive and thriving. Green can be a soothing, comforting color when we feel stressed out or sad. And the green colors of a garden can help us to put our minds at ease when we are upset.

We begin with the color green because at the start of the Easter story, Jesus needs some comfort. He retreats to a beautiful garden, and this is what he does.

READ MATTHEW 26:36-46

MAIN POINT:

Jesus came to save us from our sins. Just as God promised, he would conquer sin and make a way for all of us to be reunited with God. But there was a terrible price to pay to make that happen. Jesus would have to die on a cross.

There was no more painful, horrible way to die than crucifixion, before or after Jesus came. And even though Jesus knew this was his mission, he was human, and he was afraid. Jesus felt scared, alone, and troubled. He was sad because his friend Judas was the one who would betray him and hand him over to be arrested. He was sad because he knew he would endure terrible pain before it was all over.

Jesus went to pray to find comfort in his sadness. He knew he couldn’t change what was going to happen, but he also knew that prayer would give him the strength and comfort he needed. Jesus shows us that when we are sad, or afraid, or troubled in any way, we can run to him in prayer, and he will give us strength.

DRIVE IT HOME:

How many of you guys like going through a hard day? Who gets excited when sad news comes? Who enjoys being afraid, not when you’re watching a scary movie, but in real life?

No one likes feeling those emotions, do they? Fear and sadness are two things we all avoid as much as possible. Like it or not, we all have days when we are sad, afraid, lonely, upset, or any number of negative emotions. We want nothing more than for those bad feelings to go away so we can be happy again.

I think it’s fitting Jesus went to a green garden to pray when he was feeling these things. Not only is green the color of the garden, it’s the color of growth. You see in those sad times, God can grow our faith. When we go to Jesus with our sadness and fear, he may not take the feelings away immediately, but he will help us grow in our faith. Prayer is what helps us grow, and the more we pray, the more our faith grows. When we pray in sad times, we learn to rely on Jesus more and more. He will be our strength in hard times, and he will give us the courage to carry on.

Jesus was the Son of God who came to die for our sins, but Jesus was also human. He needed comfort for his fears and his sadness just like we do. When you feel sad, remember the color green - and remember to go to the garden. Get on your knees wherever you are and pray. God will hear you. God will comfort you, and God will use those hard times to help you grow stronger in your faith.

CLOSE WITH A SIMPLE PRAYER:

Dear God,

Be near to us when we are sad or afraid.

In Jesus’name,

Amen

 

SMALL GROUP DISCUSSION (K-2ND)

ICEBREAKER:

What was the prettiest garden you’ve ever seen?

MEMORY VERSE ACTIVITY:

Romans 5:8

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:

Stand in a circle, and pass a green ball around your group. Every time someone throws the ball, they need to name something green. How many green things can you come up with in a row without repeating?

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

Read Matthew 26:36-46

Where did Jesus go to pray?

What did Jesus pray about?

Why was Jesus afraid or sad?

What can we do when we are upset like Jesus?

How can prayer help us feel better?

SIMPLE PRAYER:

Dear God,

Thank you for listening to our prayers always.

In Jesus’ name,

Amen

 

SMALL GROUP DISCUSSION (3RD-5TH)

ICEBREAKER:

What was the prettiest garden you’ve ever seen?

MEMORY VERSE ACTIVITY:

Romans 5:8

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:

Stand in a circle, and pass a green ball around your group. Every time someone throws the ball, they need to name something green. How many green things can you come up with in a row without repeating?

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

Read Matthew 26:36-46

Why did Jesus need to pray?

Why was Jesus upset?

If Jesus needed to take time to pray, how important is it for us to do the same?

How can prayer help us feel better?

How does prayer help us grow in our faith?

SIMPLE PRAYER:

Dear God,

Thank you for listening to our prayers always.

In Jesus’ name,

Amen

 

 

For your convenience, you can also download the entire PDF version of this Jesus Prays in the Garden 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 Jesus Praying in the Garden.

Take a look at the links below for other ideas for teaching a Jesus Praying in the Garden Sunday School Lesson:

Sunday School Teacher's Guide-Jesus Prays - DLTK-Bible

Jesus Prays at Gethsemane - Sunday School Center

Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane (Kids Bible Lesson)

The Garden of Gethsemane: Free Sunday School Lesson