Main Idea: Paul shows us that knowing Jesus is the most important thing there is!
Suggested Schedule: (90 mins)
- Welcome (5 mins)
- Game 1(5mins)
- Review Big Verse (5 mins)
- Set the Scene: Bible story/skit and review questions (10-15 mins)
- Object Lesson 1 talk (5mins)
- Game 2 (5 mins)
- Object Lesson 2 talk (5 mins)
- Game 3 (5 mins)
- Object Lesson 3 talk (10 mins)
- Get out of Jail Game (5 mins)
- Sense How You Feel – activity (10 – 25 mins)
- Seek God – prayer (5 mins)
Setting the Stage: This series will take us through a letter that Paul wrote to the Philippians while he was in prison. Instead of being sad and gloomy about his situation, Paul uses his time to be joyful and thankful. To create a jailhouse rock scene setting you could make your own “jail” props such as ball and chains, stocks or bars. Each week you could challenge the children to come up with a verse from Philippians that is set to music so you could also have musical instruments available.
Supplies:
- Hula hoops or mats
- Game music
- Locks with keys
- Information on a celebrity the children will know
- Large cardboard box
- Soccer ball
- School bag
- Food
- Games console
- Books
- Plasma Ball
- Trash can
- Paper
- Pens
- Pintables: PDF’s of certificates of great achievement, Get out of Jail PDF, Weekly planner PDF.
- Coloring pens
- Playdough or clay
- Lego or construction toys
- Prayer tent materials – cushions, bibles, fairy lights, cross, candles etc
- All PowerPoint games with some way of showing them (i.e. laptop and screen)
SONG and BIBLE STORY VIDEO IDEAS available via our dedicated Pinterest Board.
GAME IDEAS:
GAME 1 – CROWDED CELLS – 5 mins
Description: Group Game.
Supplies: Hula Hoops or mats, game music.
Details: Crowded Cell. (regular/widescreen) Lay hula hoops or mats around the floor and play music. When the music stops the children have to stand in a hoop. Each round take a hoop away so you don’t have children standing in the same hoops. Children are eliminated when there isn’t room for everyone.
GAME 2 – LOCK AND KEY – 5 MINS
Description: Team Game.
Supplies: locks with keys
Details: Lock and Key. (regular/widescreen) Place the locks at one end of the room and give each child playing a key. Each player must run the end of the room and try their key in one of the locks. Once they have the correct lock they return with the lock and key and the next player has their turn.
GAME 3 – MY BEST MATE – 10 MINS
Description: Partner game
Supplies: Questions for the best mates
Details: My Best Mate. (regular/widescreen) Choose two players to play. They choose a best friend; ‘mate’ to answer questions about. The friends go out the room whilst you ask the players questions about their friends. Questions such as ‘who’s their favourite football player? What’s their favourite color?” The friends come back in and must answer the questions. The player that guessed the most correct answers about their best mate is the winner.
BIG VERSE: Everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. Philippians 3:8.
SET THE SCENE: 10-15 MINS
Description: Bible story and questions
Supplies: Bible, PDF of certificates of great achievement
Details:
Say: Ask the children what people have achieved in the last year (hand out certificates!) WOW these are really great achievements – but let’s read what Paul has to say about all the things people can achieve.
Read Philippians 3:1-11.
REVIEW QUESTIONS:
- What things was Paul proud about?
- What things has Paul given up so that he can preach the gospel? (Remind the children that he had no home and is currently in prison.)
- What did Paul think the only thing of value actually is?
SPOT THE SIMPLE MEANING:
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MAKING TIME FOR JESUS – 5 MINS
Description: Object Lesson 1
Supplies: Large cardboard box, Soccer ball, School bag, Food, Games console, Books
Details:
Say: I want you to imagine that this cardboard box is your time in a regular day. Let’s see what you fill it up with. So what do you do as soon as you wake up? Have breakfast maybe (add some food into the box). Then do you go to school? (place the school bag into the box). Well school will take up most of your day! What do you do when you come home? Go to clubs? (add a soccer ball into the box). WOW this box is really starting to fill up now! I guess you all have some dinner right? (add some more food into the box). After dinner do you play some games or read a book? (add a game console and books into the box). Look at this! There’s not much room for anything else!
There’s not a lot of time or space for Jesus in our day is there?
Paul says that “Nothing is as wonderful as knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. I have given up everything else and count it all as garbage. All I want is Christ”. Do you feel the same?
Do you think we need to make more time for Jesus in our day? I definitely do.
2) KNOWING JESUS – 5 MINS
Description: Object Lesson 2
Supplies: Picture of a current celebrity that they children will know a lot about.
Details:
Say: Knowing someone is a lot different from knowing about someone. Who can tell me something about (insert celebrity) Ok, those things are all true. You know a lot about them! You may even know some of the words they said. But do any of you REALLY know them? What makes them laugh or cry? (add appropriate questions). These are all things you would know if you really knew them–if you spent time with him, traveled with him, and had one-on- one conversations with them.
Paul wanted this kind of relationship with Jesus. He wanted to know what made Jesus smile and what made him cry. He wanted to know what Jesus thought about everything, so he could think like Jesus.
Do we know Jesus in this way? How can we know Jesus in this way?
You know that with any relationship, the more time you spend with a person, the deeper your relationship will be. It’s the same in our relationship with Jesus. Take time each day to read His word, talk to Jesus and listen to what he has to say.
3) EXPERIENCE POWER – 5 MINS
Description: Object Lesson 3
Supplies: Plasma Ball
Details:
Say: Has anyone seen one of these before? It looks pretty impressive now but look what happens when I touch it and move my hands! AMAZING!
Paul says that he wants to experience the power that raised Jesus from the dead! It’s a bit like this Plasma Ball – it looks pretty amazing now but when I touch it I have the same power.
That’s what God wants for us we can experience his power! The same power that we were learning about at Easter. The power that raised Jesus from the dead!
His power is there for us – we just have to ask!
SEARCH THE SCRIPTURES:
GET OUT OF JAIL GAME – 5 MINS
Description: Team or individual game
Supplies: Get out of Jail Jpeg, bibles.
Details:
Using the printout or slide (start at the ‘imprisoned’ end and move through the maze to get to the ‘free’ on the other side) to find the scripture! The correct route will take them through the passage “Everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord”. (Philippians 3:8)
If time, spend a few moments reading Philippians 3:1-11 and share with each other which is your favorite verse and why.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
- How do you get to know someone?
- What are some of the things you do with the people you really know?
- How can you live like this with Jesus? (Read His Word, Pray and listen, Do the things He loves to do)
SENSE HOW YOU FEEL – 10 MINS EACH OR IN TANDEM/ROTATION
Encourage the children to think about the questions above as they do one of the activities:
Description: Craft
Supplies: Weekly planner PDF card, pens, card
Details: Color and decorate the weekly planner – when will you spend time this week getting to know God better?
Description: Moulding activity.
Supplies: Playdough or clay.
Details: Mould something in your life that stops you from spending time with God.
Description: Building activity.
Supplies: Lego or construction toys.
Details: Build a scene of the different ways you can spend more time with God
Description: Sensory activity.
Supplies: Create a prayer tent space using cushions, lights, a cross and tent if you have one. Have some quiet music playing.
Details: Encourage the children to spend some time listening to God. Have some scriptures around to help focus them. Allow time to draw or write anything that they have heard.
Description: Activity Booklets.
Supplies: 5-7s and 8-11s booklets (included in download), markers.
Details: Fill in or color the 5-7s (PDF) and 8-11s (PDF) booklets.
SEEK GOD: 5 MINS
Description: Prayer/Encounter activity
Supplies: Soft worship music, trash can, paper, pens
Details: Ask the children to stand. Play some quiet music in the background
Today we have learnt how knowing Jesus is the most important thing there is.
As the music plays let’s spend some time thinking about whether we can really say that knowing Jesus is the most important thing in our lives.
Paul says that Nothing is as wonderful as knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. I have given up everything else and count it all as garbage. All I want is Christ.
This is time between you and God. Let’s ask Jesus if there is anything that we have in our lives that is rubbish compared to Jesus. Are you ready to give it up? Maybe you watch too much tv? Or play on your computers for too long?
If there is something that you want to give up – then why don’t you write it on a piece of paper and then throw it in the trash can as a way of telling God that you don’t want that in your life anymore.
Pray: Dear God, We are sorry for not putting you first. Thank you for wanting to know us. Please show us how to spend time with you and care about what you care about.
AMEN
