The Power of Prayer - Sunday School Lesson

This Sunday school lesson will help you teach kids about the power of prayer. From an early age, kids are taught to say their prayers before bed or maybe even thank God for their food.

Of course, when there is dire need, we all bow our head and turn to God for help and healing, but there is so much more to prayer time than just these times of your life.

The bible verse for this lesson is found in 1 Thessalonians 5:17 KJV. Use this verse for your lesson and as a memory verse to learn for the following week. It is simple and easy to learn. It's also great for teachers, so show your kids you are learning it right along with them.

1 Thessalonians 5:17

 Pray without ceasing.

Prayer Time
This picture was taken in 1936 during the Great Depression.
Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

 

The Power of Prayer - Sunday School Lesson

Begin your lesson by asking, "How many of you want to do what God wants?"

Wait for hands to be raised. Hopefully, all of your class will want to do what God wants them to do. If you have young children (pre-school or younger), you may have to ask questions to get them to understand what you're asking.

Train up a child...
Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

Some questions you may ask could be:

"Do you want to make God happy?"
"Do you want to make God smile?"
"Do you want Jesus to be proud of you?"

Once the kids are ready, have them stand up and turn around facing their seat (or on the floor). Have them bow down on their knees and put their head on their hands or even in their hands. Some kids like to pull their shirts up around their head so that no one can see them.

Ask them to quietly bow their head and think only of God and Jesus. For very small children, have them bow for about 30 seconds, for elementary kids - about 60 seconds, for middle school kids - about 90 seconds, and for teens - about 2 to 3 minutes. If your teens are mature, you may want to have them bow for 5 minutes or longer.

Tell them that if anything else comes into their mind besides God and Jesus, they are to push it out. Then, concentrate again.

Believe it or not, just a few quite minutes thinking of God will make a world of difference in the mood of your class.

Some kids will have a hard time the first couple of times you do this, so before beginning the quiet time with God, be sure to tell them; if playing video games comes into your mind - push it out, if food or soccer comes into your mind - push it out, if your knees begin to hurt - push it out.

Think only of God or Jesus.

The Power of Prayer

Let the kids sit back onto their chair. Before class, have a pencil and small piece of paper ready for each child or teen. While you are handing out the paper and pencils, have the kids think about one thing (or two or three things for teens) they would like God to help them with.

Be sure to have paper and pencils.

For instance, some kids may have trouble telling the truth. Others may have trouble with not minding their parents or back talking. Some kids may have a temper.

Whatever it is the kids think they need God's help with, tell them to write it down on the paper you gave them. For small kids, help them write it and let them hold it.

After all the kids are finished, have them fold the paper once and hold it in their hand.

Now, have them get back into the bowing position at their seats.

This time, instead of having quiet time with God, have them prayer only for the thing they wrote down on their paper.

Allow as much time as needed for the kids to finish. Teens tend to take much longer, be sure to let them finish without interruption.

Following Up on The Power of Prayer

Powerful prayers can lead to miracles! Don't let this prayer time stop at Sunday school. Before the kids leave, ask them to write down their texting numbers or e-mail addresses. Find some way to contact them.

Text your Sunday School Class
during the week.
Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

For children who don't have cell phones or e-mails, get their parents' numbers.

Let the kids know that you will be contacting them during the week. Tell them to look for a text or e-mail that will say:

Pray without ceasing!

This will serve to remind them to pray for the thing they wrote down on the paper and spend a minute or two quiet time with God.

The bible tells us:

⁶ Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.

Proverbs 22:6 KJV

This is your time to make a difference. Don't miss out.

The power of prayer and quiet with God is amazing. You and your Sunday school class will begin to see this as you practice this each week.

May God bless you.

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Moses in the River - Sunday School Lessons

In this free bible story of Moses in the River, you'll find all you need to teach a full Sunday school lesson. This lesson is perfect for all ages up to about 10 years of age. Of course, you can add more details and facts to make it great for pre-teens and teens, as well.

Remember, even small children as young as one or two years old love hearing bible stories along with playing games. For this lesson, we've added a link to a fun game (bottom of the page).

As an added bonus: You can print off the bible story picture below to use as a visual.

 

Bible Verse for This Lesson

Proverbs 3:5 KJV

⁵ Trust in the Lord with all thine heart;

Moses in the River Sunday School Lesson

Our bible story today comes from the book of Exodus chapter 2.

In Egypt, there was a not-so-nice Pharaoh who was afraid of the people of Israel. He thought that the more Israelites there were, the easier it would be for them to take over his kingdom.

To make himself more safe, he made the Israelite people into slaves. But, that wasn't all.

He also decided that there were too many Israelites. So, he made a very bad cruel law. This law said that when a baby boy was born to an Israelite family, the baby was to be thrown into the river and drown.

How horrible!

During this time, there was a mommy who had a baby boy. She didn't want the Pharaoh to take him, so she decided to hide him secretly. She hid him in their house for three months.

When she could no longer hide him, she made him a basket out of reeds and sealed it with a special tar to help the basket float.

River Reeds
Photo courtesy of Philip Halling, Wikimedia

Then, she put the little baby boy inside the basket and took it to the river (Nile River).

There in the tall reeds on the riverbank she set the basket to float. The little baby's sister stayed nearby to watch over him and the basket. Her name was Miriam.

 We don't know how long the baby was safe in the basket in the river. But, we do know that his sister stayed watch over him.

One day, the Pharaoh's daughter came down to the river to take a bath. Can you imagine how Miriam must have felt. Here she was watching over her small baby brother when the mean Pharaoh's daughter came near?

Or maybe, she was hoping his daughter would find her brother? Perhaps she was a nice kind princess and the baby's mother, Jochebed, hoped she would love her baby enough to save it?

What Happened to the Baby?

So, what do you think happened to the little baby in the basket floating in the river?

When the princess saw the basket, she sent one of her servant's to get it. When she opened it and found the little baby, she knew right away it must be an Israelite baby. The bible tells us that the little baby was crying when she found it.

Instead of staying hid, Miriam stepped out to talk to the princess.

She asked, "Do you want me to find someone to take care of the baby for you?"

Secretly, Miriam was going to get her very own mother.

You can see Miriam hiding
in the reeds if you look closely.
Photo courtesy of Wikimedia.

When the princess agreed, Miriam ran to find her mother, Jochebed. When Jochebed came to the princess, the princess said, "Take the baby with you and take care of him."

Think about how relieved his mother and sister must have been. Even though, when the baby grows older, he will go and live with the princess, they got to spend the next few years with him and made sure he was safe.

Once the little boy grew old enough, Jochebed took him to live with the princess where he grew up.

Does anyone know what the princess named this little baby?

 

Wait for answers.

She named him Moses because the name Moses means 'to draw out' and that's what she did - drew him out of the water.

 

Watch the Story of Moses

This is the Disney movie of the life of Moses which won an Academy Award!

 

If you have time, you can show this whole movie to your Sunday school class or even break it down into two weeks, if needed.

 

 



Play the Find Baby Moses Game

For some extra fun on Sunday morning, check out this FREE Sunday school game we call - Finding Baby Moses!

It's similar to hide-and-seek and easy or hard enough for all ages!

Find More FREE Bible Stories and Sunday School Lesson!!!!

 

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Finding Baby Moses - FREE Sunday School Game

The bible story of Moses is one that shows the courage, determination and love of one mother to save her son. While she chose to break the law and not turn him over to the Pharaoh's cruel law, she ultimately not only saved her own son, but the entire Israelite nation!

God was with Jochebed as she made the decision to hide him in a basket in the Nile River. Although she didn't know that her little baby boy would grow up to part the Red Sea and lead the Israelites to the Promised Land, she did know she loved him and took a chance to save his life.

If only we would take a chance and step out for God!

How would our life change if we only took that first step to trusting God whole heartedly!

Before explaining the game, take time to listen to the remarkable song by Brit Nicole to get you into the chance-taking mood.

You can also get the FREE bible story of Moses to teach your kids.
 

Finding Baby Moses Sunday School Game

The only thing you'll need to play this game is a paper picture of a basket and some tape.

You can either print out the picture of Moses' basket (above) or draw one yourself. It doesn't have to look pretty. Kids don't mind.

I drew a picture of a basket about 4 inches long and 3 inches tall. I colored a blue blanket on top and cut it out.

I simply told the kids what it was and they accepted the poor looking basket as what it was :)

To play the game:

Have the kids turn to one wall or put their head down on a table and close or hide their eyes. Use a piece of tape on the paper basket to hide the paper basket under chairs or tables, along walls, behind curtains, or anywhere else you can find.

Once hidden, let kids find baby Moses.

Whoever finds the basket gets to hide it next.

If hidden too hard, you can give clues or play 'hot' or 'cold' until they find it. You'll be surprised at how much they love this game - I was.

Have fun and enjoy teaching about Moses!


Picture of basket above is courtesy of Open Clip Art.
 

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10 Commandments - Third Commandment Sunday School Game

For a quick Sunday school lesson, try using this Sunday school game. This is especially great if you are short on time or need to add a little extra something to your lesson.

You'll have to prepare in advance for this one, but don't worry. It only takes a few minutes.

What you'll need:

• tape
• markers or crayons - 4 different colors
• paper or index cards
• scissors

10 Commandment Sunday School Game and Lesson
Photo courtesy of Jimmy_Joe, Wikimedia

10 Commandment Sunday School Game

We like to call this game Holy Name Scramble.

 

Before class, cut out 18 small squares. We used 3 x 2 inch squares for ages 4 to 7, but for older kids you could make the squares a bit smaller or for smaller kids make the squares a bit larger. The size is totally up to you.

On the squares, you'll need to write the words "God", "Jesus", "Christ", and "Lord".

Use one letter for each card. Each word will need to have it's own color (see picture below). We used purple, blue, green, and red. The picture below isn't very good. I took it with my phone, but you get the idea.

 

 

 



Next, we hid the letters along the walls and hallways using tape. We lined the kids up against one wall. On the count of three, the kids took off running to find the letters.

Tip: Since we have small children, we told the kids to only find 2 letters each. This allowed all of the kids to find letters without feeling left out. Once everyone found two letters, we let them go search again.

When the kids found the letters, they raced back to the table to unscramble the words. Since each word was one color, it was easier for them to figure out each one.

Tip: For older kids, use only one color and let them figure out what each word is. This will take longer and often they will find they have missed a letter and will have to go searching for it.

Get the FREE
10 Commandments Word Search

Object of this Game/Lesson

The object for this game is to teach kids about the holy names of our Lord and Savior and how precious these names are. Talk to your Sunday school class about how these names aren't meant to be used when we are angry or thrown around in everyday language for no reason at all.

Ask the kids, "Have you ever heard anyone say, Oh, my and then add God's name to it?"

Then ask, "Did you know that was a sin?"

Refer to the Commandment number 3 and explain how keeping God's name holy is one of the 10 Commandments we are to follow.

If we use the Lord's name in vain, how can we be witnesses to others?

As Christians, we need to set an example and not act or talk like the world.

Extra! Extra! Print this Out

To finish off this lesson, print out one of these 10 Commandment coloring page for the kids to color.

 

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First Kings of Israel - Sunday School Lessons

Bible stories are great to teach your Sunday school kids about the word of God, but teaching them facts along the way are great too!

It's amazing how often I set down to study my Sunday school lesson for my young class only to find I've learned two or three things I didn't know myself.

I'm sure you've been there too.

During this lesson, I hope you learn something as well as teaching your children in Sunday school this week.

First King of Israel

The people of Israel wanted a king, so God gave them Saul. One of the cool things about Saul was that he was secretly anointed by Samuel.

The bible tells us that Saul was tall and handsome. When I think of a king, I think of a tall, handsome man, do you?

Ask the kids in Sunday school what they think a king might look like. Wait for answers.

If you have a crown or kingly clothes (maybe from a Christmas play), you could let the kids dress up like kings during the lesson or after. You could even play the "The King Game".

When Saul was made king, the people were not sure if this was the king they really wanted. Over time, Saul proved to be an able king and the people accepted him.

Of course, being a king is hard and sometimes kings make bad decisions.

Ask the kids, "Do you remember David who killed the giant Goliath?"

When Saul was upset, David would play a musical instrument called the lyre to sooth him. After David killed Goliath, David began to become popular with the people and Saul became jealous.

Saul became so jealous he wanted to get rid of David. Jealousy is a bad thing and never leads to anything good.

Ask the kids, "Have you ever been jealous?"

We've all been jealous at one time or another of someone else. Think about it - maybe you've been jealous of someone's grade on a test. What about the clothes they were wearing? Maybe your friend plays football, but your parents won't let you? You could also be jealous of a brother or sister not getting in trouble when you think they should have.

Jealousy comes in many forms and you have to watch out for it. Whenever you feel like you are jealous, stop and pray that God will help you.

A Final Note on the Second King of Israel

After many years, David became the second king of Israel. He was a great king and wrote many psalms in the bible. David not only killed Goliath and played the lyre, he also had seven older brothers which means he was the youngest.

In most cases, when someone becomes king, it is the oldest son - not the youngest.

In David's case, he was not only the youngest, but his father wasn't a king either. How could David have become king when his daddy wasn't a king?

Wait for kids to answer.

The answer is through God. As you've leaned before...for with God, nothing shall be impossible!

David was king for 40 years and died when he was 70 years old.



 

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The King Game - FREE Sunday School Games

Here is a quick and fun Sunday school game for your kids to play this week. The only thing you'll need is some king clothes. Many Sunday schools already have king costumes from past Christmas plays which work great.

If you don't, you can make a few crowns an use some clothes you have lying around the house.

You can use the Sunday school game below with the Sunday school lesson about Israel's first kings.

The King Game

Here is what you'll need:

• three to five crowns
• king robes
• king sashes
• king rings
• other king jewels
• other king clothes

Depending on the age children, you can add more pieces of clothing or fewer. It is best to use fewer pieces of clothing for smaller children and more pieces of clothing for older children.

How to Play:

Pile all of the clothes, jewelry, sandals, crowns, and anything else you have into a pile in the middle of the room. Make sure you have a whole outfit for each player. If needed, allow the kids to go in two or three groups so that everyone has a chance to put on the full set of king's clothes.

When you give the signal, each player will race to the pile of king's clothes, find the pieces of clothes needed for an entire outfit, and put them on.

The child who finishes first wins!

You could have several rounds of this game to find the overall winner or just play for fun.

Be sure to have your camera ready. This game gets a bit wild and crazy!
 

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Follow the Star Christmas Maze - Free Sunday School Activities

While the wise men didn't follow the star to the manger like many nativity scenes and Christmas plays suggest, they did follow the star to find a young Jesus at his home with his mother (see verses below).

 

Tips for Sunday School Teachers

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In the verses, you will find where the wise men came to the house and they found the young child with his mother. It does not say they came to the manger and found the babe.

It is important for your Sunday school class to know bible facts as well as the bible stories. No matter what age (even pre-school aged children) need to know the correct version of the First Christmas from the beginning to the end.

Otherwise, they will grow up confused and not sure what to believe about many things in the bible. Reinforce bible facts each and every class. I've had children argue with me that they know the wise men came to the manger because they have a story book at home that they read it in.

It's fine to have and read bible stories that isn't exactly right. Why? You can use it as a lesson. For instance, say, "Did the wise men really come to the manger?" or "Was Jesus really born in a barn?"

These questions allow you to teach the children even from a story book.

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Bible Verses About the Wise Men

Matthew 7:7-11 KJV

⁷ Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, enquired of them diligently what time the star appeared.

⁸ And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search diligently for the young child; and when ye have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also.

⁹ When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was.

¹⁰ When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy.

¹¹ And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense and myrrh.

FREE Christmas Maze - Sunday School Activities

We have lots of FREE Sunday school activities. You can even use mazes and word searches to teach lessons. Think outside the box and keep the kids wanting to learn more about Jesus!

Star in middle of maze image credit: Star from Vector.me (by yves guillou)

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The First Christmas Word Search Puzzle - Free Printables

I often find myself needing something extra for the kids in Sunday school to do. Sometimes kids come early and need an activity to do to keep them busy or sometimes the story is a bit shorter than I anticipated.

There have been times I have made games up on the spot while other times I have the kids read over bible verses we have printed on the wall. At Christmas time, it can be fun to have an extra activity especially designed for the holiday season.

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The word search below was made with the "First Christmas" in mind along with making sure Sunday school teachers have what they need to keep the kids learning about our Lord Jesus Christ.

The First Christmas Word Search Puzzle

If you print this out and run out of time, send it home with the kids to do. You could even tell the kids to work on it with their parents or siblings. As they do the puzzle together, tell the kids to talk about what each word they are searching for has to do with the First Christmas.

You can also do this in class together. Reinforcing your Sunday school lesson and the Word of God helps children all parts of the story better.

 

 

The First Christmas Word Search Puzzle

 

(click to print)

 

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Christmas Craft Ideas - Sunday School Crafts

Every Christmas my kids come home from school with crafts that are designed for the Christmas holiday. Of course, none of these Christmas crafts show the true meaning of the holiday season. For instance, we have Rudolf the red-nosed reindeer, Santa, elves, sleighs, bags of toys, and Christmas trees.

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While these are fun to think about and even enjoy in small quantities, the true meaning of Christmas is the birth of Jesus.

Photo Courtesy of 4028mdk09
Wikimedia Commons
I personally like the curled arms in the video below!

Christmas Craft Ideas

Kids love to make crafts especially if they can give them to a parent, grandparent, sister or brother as a gift. This year, let your Sunday school class make a few crafts - one for the tree and another to wrap as a gift for under the tree.

Here are a few Christmas craft ideas to help get you started. I've added a few links and some videos to help with your Sunday school crafts this holiday season.

Easy Foam Pop-Up Stars

These are great to use as Christmas ornaments when they are small or make them bigger as a wall decoration!

Nativity Foam Craft

If you have large foam squares or even construction paper, kids can use the foam nativity stickers below to create their own Bethlehem scene. Each child can interpret what they think Jesus' birth may have looked like. The set below comes with 500 pieces which is great for larger Sunday school classes. We have a small class and just put the unused stickers away and use them again year-after-year.

Make Your Own Nativity Scene

This Christmas craft idea can be made by each individual child using the smaller version in the video below or you can make a larger one for the Sunday school classroom. If you choose to make a larger one, let all the children participate in the making of it.

I've added links to some of the items you may need if you will be making this Sunday school craft idea for Christmas. It's best to prepare the popsicle sticks for smaller children before the day you will be making them.

 

More Christmas Craft Ideas

 

Just in case you'd rather have a ready-to-go craft for all different aged children, we've added the crafts below. They are simple to put together and can be made in a short amount of time.

 

Cheap and Adorable Christmas Craft Idea with Pasta

Remember the days of working with pasta? I used to go to church camp and every year we made something out of pasta. So, not to break the tradition - here is an angel pasta craft idea. Have fun with this one and use your imagination. I love the solid gold one!






 

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Jesus Birth: The Christmas Story - Sunday School Lessons

So many Christmas traditions surround the holidays that often the true meaning of Christmas gets lost in the shuffle. What is the first thing that comes to mind when you think of Christmas? Is it the lights, the presents, the hustle and bustle of Black Friday deals, getting together with family, Santa Claus, Christmas music, or old Christmas movies?

The list could go on and on, but the first thing that should pop into our heads (and stay there) is the birth of Jesus.

 

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Photo courtesy of Malene Thyssen
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Malene

 

Before beginning the Christmas story with your kids, set the scene a bit. Maybe you could say something like this:

Imagine, it's a dark night and you are alone in your bed. You are awoke by a bright light. As you look around, you see someone in your room whom you've never seen before - an angel. You are scared. What should you do? Should you run or scream?

The angel begins to speak to you and you calm down and know that this angel is bringing you a message from heaven - a message from God.

This is what happened to Mary, Jesus' mother. She was scared, but thankfully she didn't run away.

The Christmas Story

Just like the scene above, Mary received a surprise visit from the angel Gabriel. The angel had come with a message from God.

Gabriel first told Mary, 'Don't be afraid. I have good news for you'.

You see, Mary was very special to God and needed her to be the mother of Jesus. Gabriel had come to tell her the news. Imagine - out of all the women (or girls) in Israel, Mary was the chosen one.

Mary didn't understand how she could have a baby right now.

Gabriel said, 'For with God, nothing shall be impossible!' (Luke 1:37 KJV)

Mary didn't argue or say she didn't want to right now. Instead, she said, 'Whatever you say, I'll do.' (Luke 1:38 KJV)

If only we would say, "Yes Lord, whatever you say, I'll do it." It can be hard especially if it means being nice to another child at school, minding mom or dad, or even not arguing with your brother or sister. We should all try to be more like Mary and do what God needs us to do.

Gabriel also told Mary that her cousin, Elisabeth, was also going to have a son. This was also a miracle because Elisabeth was old and had never had any children. The bible tells us that Elisabeth's son was to be called John (later known as John the Baptist). His job from birth was to tell others about the coming Messiah (Jesus).

Mary wanted to visit her cousin Elisabeth and set out on the journey to see her. Mary stayed three months before journeying back home to tell Joseph about the coming baby.

Get Christmas coloring pages...

What Will Joseph Do?

When Mary told Joseph about the angel's message from God and about the coming baby, Joseph was unsure of what to do.

Should he still marry her?

Joseph worried. One night while Joseph slept, Gabriel came to him in a dream. The angel told him not to be afraid to make Mary his wife. This dream was all it took for Joseph to marry Mary. You see, Joseph was to help Mary raise Jesus.

The Road to Bethlehem

During this time, Caesar Augustus decided that everyone that was under his rule should come to Bethlehem to be counted so that they could be taxed. (Be prepared to explain this if children ask what taxing or counted means.)

Inside Bethlehem
Photo Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

So, Joseph and Mary set off on their long journey to Bethlehem.

When they arrived at the city, it was crowded because of all the other people who had traveled there to be counted. Every place was full. The bible tells us that there was no room for them in the inn.

Where would they sleep? It was time for Mary to have baby Jesus. There were no hospitals. There wasn't even a room inside a house where she could lay. What would they do?

Because there was no room in the inn, Mary delivered baby Jesus, wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger. We don't know if she was in a stable or a cave of some sort which was where stables normally were in those days. We believe this may have been the case, but the bible does not say. She may have given birth out under the stars.

What We Can Learn

The story of the birth of Jesus is surrounded with many wonders which goes along with the wonders of the Christmas holidays. There is so much we can learn, but for younger kids stick to the basics (below). For older kids, you can dig a little deeper into the story.

We learn that no matter how scared we are if God needs us, we should be willing to obey - just like Mary. We also find that Jesus wasn't born in a fancy house or expensive hospital. He was born and laid in a manger. A manger is a place where the animals eat their food. It probably was dirty and smelt bad.

Mary didn't have a warm soft blanket to wrap Jesus in either. Instead, she wrapped him in swaddling clothes. Swaddling clothes are strips of cloth that often were used to wipe down the animals with. Jesus didn't have expensive clothes. We often think we have to have the best clothes or the newest styles. If Jesus didn't have to have expensive clothes, we sure don't either.

This holiday season, don't focus on how many toys or clothes you get. Instead, focus on the birth of Jesus and how many people you can tell the story to.
 

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