This is a FREE Saint Patrick's Day Sunday School Lesson that you can use in your Children's Ministry or Sunday School this St. Patrick's Day.  If you would like to download coloring pages or additional activities for Saint Patrick's Day then be sure to check out all of our FREE Saint Patrick's Day Children's Ministry resources. Get all dressed up in green and teach kids about sharing the good news of Jesus with others this Saint Patrick's Day! This lesson is perfect to use in any Sunday School, Children's Ministry, or Kids Church.

 

Saint Patrick's Day Sunday School Lesson For Kids:

BOTTOM LINE: 

The gospel is for everyone, and it’s up to us to share it with everyone.

OBJECTIVE: 

Through the story of St Patrick, kids will learn the importance of evangelizing.

KEY PASSAGE: 

Acts 10, God tells Peter to witness to Cornelius.

MEMORY VERSE: 

“He said to them, ‘Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.’” - Mark 16:15 (NIV)

“He said to them, ‘Go into all the world. Preach the good news to everyone.’” - Mark 16:15 (NIrV)

SUMMARY: 

St. Patrick was a slave who not only forgave his slave masters but took the gospel to them. His life is a reminder that the gospel of Jesus Christ is for everyone. As Christ’s followers, we need to be willing to share the gospel with everyone we meet.

OBJECT LESSON:

Toy Snake 

When most people think of St. Patrick, they think of snakes. Does anyone know why?

The legend of St. Patrick is that he removed all the snakes from the nation of Ireland. It’s only a myth, of course, but it’s a myth rooted in the real story of St. Patrick. In his time, Ireland was a nation of barbarians. When he was just a boy, St. Patrick was kid- napped and taken to Ireland, where he lived as a slave for 6 years.

After St Patrick escaped to his home in England, God called him to become a mission- ary to the Irish people. St. Patrick endured many years of persecution and hardship, but in the end, his efforts were successful. St. Patrick led the Irish people to accept Christianity.

It was a snake in the Garden of Eden who first tempted Adam and Eve to sin, and when St. Patrick freed the people from their pagan religion, he symbolically drove the snake from the island.

St. Patrick’s story is a reminder that the gospel is for everyone. We need to share the good news of Jesus with all people, no matter how sinful they appear to be. Not every- one will accept the gospel, but if we let God lead the way, we will find hearts ready and willing to embrace the good news that transformed Ireland.

One day, God will chase the snakes from this world and create a new kingdom without sin. Until then, it’s up to us to follow St. Patrick’s footsteps and share the gospel with whoever will listen!

LARGE GROUP LESSON

INTRO

Imagine that you were kidnapped as a small child. Imagine that you were taken from a clean, secure home and drug away to a third world country. Imagine being forced to work as a slave for the same cruel barbarians who kidnapped you. For six years you

ate garbage and worked long hours for a savage people. Then one night, God tells you to run for it. You run and run and find a boat that takes you back home to the safety of the place you grew up.

After all that, how many of you, if asked, would willingly return to the same land where you were once a prisoner and a slave? Believe it or not, that’s the story of St Patrick!

St. Patrick was an English boy who was kidnapped by Irish pirates. After six years of slavery, he escaped back to England. But when he got there, a recurring dream kept calling him back to Ireland. St. Patrick knew that God wanted him to take the gospel to his former captors. After becoming a priest, St. Patrick had to fight for the chance to return to Ireland. The church did not want him taking the gospel outside the Roman Empire, but eventually, they gave in.

Patrick faced a great deal of persecution, but he eventually won the entire nation to Christianity. If he had not done so, Christianity might not have survived the Middle Ages. When the Roman Empire fell and many of the early Christian writings van- ished, an order of Irish Monks established by St. Patrick was ready to take the Bible to the world, just as St. Patrick had done for them.

St. Patrick’s life is a reminder that the good news of Jesus is for everyone. Like the English bishops who forbade St. Patrick from going to Ireland, many in the early church believed the gospel was for the Jews only. God sent a vision to one of Jesus’ disciples that changed all that.

READ Acts 10:9-28 MAIN POINT

If you know your Bible, you know this isn’t the first time God asked someone to preach

to a people who didn’t know God. God asked Jonah to take the gospel to Nineveh, a city that hated and persecuted the Jews. Jonah didn’t want to go because of his hatred for Nineveh. But when he did, the people received the message as eagerly as the bar- barians of Ireland.

All three of these stories - St. Patrick, Peter, and Jonah - have the same message for us: go and preach the gospel to all nations. The good news of Jesus is for people of every language, every nationality, and every culture. It’s for young and old, rich and poor, good and evil. We are all sinners in the eyes of God, and when Jesus died on the cross, he died for all of us. It takes great courage to speak up for Jesus, but when we do, God can transform entire nations - just as he did in Ireland.

DRIVE IT HOME

The gospel of Jesus is life changing. Because of Christ, an English boy who was forced into slavery was able to not only forgive his captors, but share the same good news that changed his life with them. Because of Christ, a man named Chuck Colson, who went from an office in the White House to a prison, not only became a Christian, but creat- ed a ministry that still reaches out to prisoners and their families. Because of Christ,

a missionary named Jim Eliot and four other men lost their lives trying to share that gospel with an uncivilized people. Because of Christ, Jim Eliot’s wife and the widows of his compatriots followed in their husband’s footsteps and converted that same tribe - in- cluding the men who killed their husbands.

The gospel is for everyone, and there is no one in this world Jesus cannot forgive. Thats why we have to do more than just sit in our churches and never take that message to the world. It's too good to keep a secret!

One day God may call you to the ministry. He may call some of you to missions. Most of you will probably go to school, choose a vocation, and go to work outside the church. Whatever path your life takes, God will put people around you who need Jesus. If you’re in school, God’s already done that! The question is, will you answer the call to share Jesus?

St. Patrick couldn’t ignore the call. He forgave his captors, he shared the gospel with them, and he changed the world. When God calls you, be ready to say yes. That’s the first step to change our world!

CLOSE WITH A SIMPLE PRAYER

Dear God,

Thank you for the story of St. Patrick. Help us to have courage to share the gospel with everyone we meet, just as he did.

In Jesus’ name, Amen

MEMORY VERSE: 

“He said to them, ‘Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.’” - Mark 16:15 (NIV)

“He said to them, ‘Go into all the world. Preach the good news to everyone.’” - Mark 16:15 (NIrV)

LARGE GROUP MEMORY VERSE ACTIVITY: 

Divide the room in half. Pick one side to start and have them all shout the first word, then the other side shouts the second word, and so on until they finish the verse.

SMALL GROUP MEMORY VERSE ACTIVITY: 

Play the telephone game with the memory verse.

For younger children, you may need to break the verse up into shorter sections and play several rounds.

CRAFT IDEA:

Have the kids complete and color this shamrock connect the dots page.

LARGE GROUP GAME:

POT O’ GOLD

ITEMS NEEDED:

Toy gold coins A toy cauldron

INSTRUCTIONS:

Set the cauldron on stage. Choose one contestant and have them stand several feet away from the cauldron. The contestant has one minute to bounce four coins off the floor and into the bucket - one for every leaf of a lucky clover. If they get four coins into the cauldron before a minute expires, they win a prize.

VARIATION:

For younger kids, you can have them stand on a chair or small stool and try to drop a certain number of coins into a small cup or bucket.

SMALL GROUP DISCUSSION (K-2ND)

ICEBREAKER:

What does your family do for St. Patrick’s Day?

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

Who was St. Patrick?

What did St. Patrick do for the people of Ireland?

Read Acts 10:9-28

What did God ask Peter to do?

How was the story of St. Patrick similar to Peter’s story in this scripture? To whom does God want us to teach the good news of Jesus?

SIMPLE PRAYER:

Dear God,

Thank you for sending Jesus to die for us. Help us remember that the gospel is for everyone and help us to share it with anyone you put in our path.

In Jesus’ name, Amen

SMALL GROUP DISCUSSION (3RD-5TH) 

ICEBREAKER:

What does your family do for St. Patrick’s Day?

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

Who was St. Patrick?

Why did St. Patrick go to Ireland as a missionary?

Read Acts 10:9-28

What was similar about Peter’s story and St. Patrick’s story? What is God telling us through both of these stories?

How can we follow in the footsteps of Peter and St. Patrick?

SIMPLE PRAYER:

Dear God,

Thank you for sending Jesus to die for us. Help us remember that the gospel is for everyone and help us to share it with anyone you put in our path.

In Jesus’ name, Amen

For your convenience, you can also download the entire PDF version of this Saint Patrick's Day Children's Church Lesson (just click the link). We've included a video below from Youtube with a history of Saint Patrick's Day.

You can also find additional Saint Patrick's Day Sunday School Lesson Ideas from these websites:

Sunday School Object Lesson & Craft to celebrate St. Patrick's Day

St. Patrick's Day Lesson - Good News – Children's Ministry Deals

St. Patrick's Day Ideas for Children's Ministry - Ministry-To-Children

6 Activities for St. Patrick's Day - Children's Ministry Magazine

St. Patrick's Day Youth Group Lesson | Ministry to Youth