Teach Bible Verses as Your Sunday School Lessons

Sunday school lessons can be taught using many different techniques. Not every Sunday school class has to be the same. For instance, do you stick to a routine each Sunday? Do you have the kids sit in the same chairs, around the same table, or in the same spot on the floor? Does snack time come at the end of each lesson?

This week, shake things up a bit and have the kids doing something totally different!

The more fun stuff you do in class that is out of routine the more kids will look forward to coming. They won't know what you're going to do next and won't be able to wait to get to Sunday school each week!

The best mind set I can give you is think like it is VBS all the time!

That being said, let's take a look at how to use bible verses as this week's Sunday school lesson.

Sunday School Lessons
can be taught playing and having fun!
Photo: Daniel Schwen, Wikimedia

Sunday School Lessons Using Bible Verses

For this Sunday school lesson, you'll need:

• yarn or twine
• large index cards
• marker
• an empty 2 liter plastic bottle (you can fill it 3/4 full with water)
• a table or area to lay out the cards

Decide on which verse you would like to teach the kids. For this example, we are going to use:

Psalm 100:2 KJV

 

Serve the Lord with gladness: come before his presence with singing.

Teaching kids the importance of serving the Lord with gladness is a lesson all in itself, but go a bit further and add on the second part. Every time we come before the Lord we should do it joyfully with singing.

Does this mean he expects us to sing all our words?

I don't think so, but when the opportunity presents itself, we shouldn't be ashamed. We should do it willingly and joyfully.

Have you ever read the book, "90 Minutes in Heaven"?

There is a part in the book that talks about how the preacher is in heaven. He describes how he hears hundreds of voices singing. They are singing different songs, but the voices are so beautiful, the songs sound amazing together. If you've never read it, you should.

I think God enjoys music. He loves to hear singing and loves it when we sing.

What You Need to Do

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Divide your class into two teams.

Write one word of the bible verse onto each index card. You need two of each so that each team has the whole verse. If you don't have enough kids, give two words to each child, but still only put one word on each card. This means that some kids will have two index cards. If needed, some kids can have three.

Tape the string or yarn onto the back of the index cards. It should be long enough to go around a child's neck.

Have the kids form a circle. Place the bottle in the center. Let the kids take turns spinning the bottle. To make things fair, the bottle will need to go around at least 3 times before it can stop. This will help eliminate cheating and allow the child spinning to get back into place.

When the bottle's top lands on a child, that child gets to put his card onto the table. If that child has another card, let him get back into the circle. If he doesn't, he will stand by the cards to help put the verse in order as the kids continue playing. The kids can move in closer as more kids move out of the circle.

Keep the game moving fast by letting the next child go immediately.

Continue playing until one team finishes putting his verse into order.

What You Learn

The kids learn not only to work as a team, but they will learn the bible verse. Talk about the importance of the verse. You can choose whatever verse you wish for this Sunday school lesson.

The main point of the verse above is that we should serve the Lord willingly and joyfully. When it is time for church, we shouldn't complain about not wanting to go or about how the big game or movie is coming on TV. We should be ready to go willingly when it is time.

When it is time to read our bible at night, we shouldn't say 'I'm too tired'.

What if God was too tired for us?

Always do things for the Lord willingly and happily. NO grumbling or complaining.

Philippians 2:14 KJV

 

Do all things without murmurings and disputings.

 

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Jonah and the Whale | Sunday School Lessons

The story of Jonah and the whale is one of the most famous bible stories of all time. That one simple story could be used to teach kids many different life lessons. Today our Sunday school lesson is going to focus on 'obeying God'.

At first, Jonah chose to run from God instead of obey him.

Where did that get him?

Inside the belly of the whale (or big fish).

Jonah and the Whale
Sunday School Lessons
Photo: James Tissot (1836-1902), French painter

Sunday School Lesson

At the beginning of the bible story, God told Jonah he was to go to a city called Nineveh. He was to tell the people there to turn from their sinful ways and turn to God instead.

For some reason, Jonah didn't want to help the people of Nineveh.

Ask, "Does anyone know what Jonah did?"

Wait for answers.

Instead of going to Nineveh, Jonah went to the boat docks and paid for a ride. The ride he paid for was on a ship. The ship was going to a place called Tarshish not Nineveh. It was going in the complete opposite direction!

Ask, "Did Jonah obey God?" (No.)

Wait for answers.

Ask, "Where was Jonah supposed to go?" (Nineveh.)

Wait for answers.

There are many times God needs us to do things for him, but we ignore him because we are scared or think we don't have time or that we can't do it.

Use yourself as an example.

Say, "What if I didn't obey God when he wanted me to teach Sunday school? I love to teach Sunday school. But, if I chose not to obey God because I was scared, God would have chosen someone else and I wouldn't be here teaching you today. I wouldn't want to miss out on God's blessing because I was too scared."

Go on to explain that God blesses those who are willing to obey him and do his will.

Bible Verse for this Sunday School Lesson

Teaching bible verses with your Sunday school lesson helps reinforce your lesson with God's word. Go over your weekly bible verses more than once as repetition helps kids remember.

Story Of Jonah Felt Flannel Board Set

John 12:26 KJV

²⁶ If any man serve me, let him follow me;

 

Another bible verse you can use with this lesson is as follows:

John 14:15 KJV

¹⁵ If ye love me, keep my commandments.

 

So, What Happened to Jonah?

As the ship sailed away with Jonah, God sent a strong wind onto the sea. The ship rocked back and

forth so badly the men on the ship was scared. They thought they were going to die.

They began throwing things off the ship thinking that if they made the ship lighter, it wouldn't sink.

The men found Jonah asleep down in the ship and woke him up.

When they discovered the storm was because Jonah ran from God instead of obeying, they wondered what they should do.

Jonah said, "Pick me up and throw me overboard into the water."

At first, the men didn't throw Jonah overboard, but finally they realized it was the only way to stop the storm.

As soon as Jonah hit the water, the storm stopped.

But, this wasn't the end of Jonah. You see, God still needed Jonah to go to Nineveh to tell the people there to stop sinning and turn to him.

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FREE Sunday School Game

 

Jonah and the Whale

The bible doesn't say that Jonah was swallowed by a whale, but since the fish had to be big enough to swallow a man whole, people believe it was a whale.

So, God prepared a big fish to come along at just the right time. The big fish opened his mouth up wide and swallowed Jonah whole.

God wanted Jonah to know that he couldn't run away. He needed to obey.

After three days in the belly of the great big fish (maybe a whale?), Jonah knew he must obey God and agreed to go to Nineveh.

You see, God heard Jonah praying in the belly of the fish.

God allowed the fish to swim near the shore and spit Jonah out on dry land.

Jonah then knew he must obey God and went to Nineveh just as God needed him to do.

What We Learned in this Sunday School Lesson

No matter where we are or what we are doing, God can see us and hear us just as he heard Jonah in the belly of the great big fish. When God needs you, you can be sure he'll find you.

Obeying God the first time will lead to a life of blessings from God instead of a life of running from him.

Obey him when he calls.

Some ways God may need children:

• telling friends about him
• inviting friends to Sunday school or VBS
• helping mom or dad
• leading others to ask Jesus to come into their hearts
• keeping parents in God's word
• reading the bible to those who can't read
• praying for other
• becoming a Sunday school teacher
• becoming a preacher
• the list goes on and on

Jonah and the whale teaches kids that obeying God the first time is much better than trying to hide or run away. Don't be scared if God needs you. He won't leave you. He'll be by your side the whole time.



 

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Jonah and the Whale Obeying God | Sunday School Games

This fun Sunday school game will have the kids laughing and learning all at the same time! We came up with this game to go along with the FREE Sunday school lesson about Jonah and the Whale.

The great thing about this game is you don't need any extra props or equipment!

The only thing you'll need for this game is room to run and kids who want to have fun! This is a great game to use in VBS and church youth groups too!

Jonah and the Whale Game
Sunday School Games
Photo: EJ Fox, Wikimedia Commons

Jonah and the Whale Sunday School Game

Depending on how many children you have will determine the amount of room needed for this game.

The kids will start the game on one side of the room or area. Pick one person to go first. This person will be the 'whale'.

The 'whale' will stand in the middle of the room.

When you yell, "STORM!"

The kids will try to run from one side of the room to the other without getting caught, or tagged, by the whale.

Tip: The area should not be too big as the 'whale' will have a hard time catching anyone and may become discouraged. It is more fun to allow the whale to catch someone each time across.

If a child is tagged by the whale, that person will stay in the center too. The more children who are tagged the harder it will be for those remaining to make it across.

This game moves pretty fast making it easier to play over and over which kids love.

The game ends when only one player is left who hasn't been tagged and the center is full of whales.

Sometimes, everyone gets tagged and that's okay too!

Just pick another 'whale' and start again!

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Avoiding Sins | Sunday School Activity

Teaching Sunday school kids about avoiding sins can be fun! You only need a few items. Sin comes at us from every side each and every day. So, what better way to teach kids about sin than with a fun activity? It can also be adapted into a game, as well.

Sunday School Activity

This is a simple, yet fun activity that can be adapted for all age children.

Avoiding Sins
Sunday School Activity
Photo: |Chris| Flickr

What you'll need:

• construction paper (different colors so the kids will know which one is theirs)
• pens or pencils for older children

For this activity, you'll need to explain to the kids about sin. You can use the 'Avoiding Sins' Sunday school lesson or just jump right into it using the guide below.

What to do:

Ask the kids if they know what sins are.

Wait for answers.

Then, ask if the kids can name some sins they may encounter from day to day.

Wait for answers.

Older kids can write down some of those sins on the pieces of construction paper. Younger kids can just talk about the different sins out loud.

The point of this Sunday school activity:

Have the kids wad their paper up into balls. Pretend these balls are sin balls that we may encounter each and every day.

Have the kids sit on a line holding their paper balls.

Choose one kid to begin the activity.

The first child will try to run from one side of the room to the other in front of the other kids. As he runs, the children will throw their paper balls at the child.

Explain to the kids that one side of the room represents the morning. The other side of the room represents the evening. The child running is trying to make it from morning until night without encounter sins during the day.

Sometimes, we don't mean to sin, but we do. Just like the child running doesn't mean to get hit with the balls.

Sin is all around us. We can't get through each day on our own. We make mistakes.

Because Jesus died on the cross, our sins are forgiven.

Let each child have a turn to run. The kids love this activity and it is a great time to talk about every day sins and how we must lean on God to get us through.

Remember to stress the fact that we all mess up. When we do mess up, we need to ask God to forgive us, then try really hard not to do that sin again.

Activity Turned Into Game

Make this activity into a fun Sunday school game by counting how many times each child gets hit with the paper ball.

The child with the least about of hits - wins!

Extra Idea!

 

If you need some activities to send home with your kids or even need an extra page for them to do during class, here are some activity sheets. You get a dozen books and near as I can tell, it doesn't say you can't copy them once you buy them. For example, if your lesson is on Jonah and the Whale, copy enough of that page for all your kiddos!

There are many different activities and bible stories in these activity books. Of course, you could put your kid's names on a book of their own and let them use them week after week until they are finished.

>>>>>>Get more Sunday school activities!<<<<<<<

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Avoiding Sins | Sunday School Lessons

Teach Kids About Avoiding Sins
Sunday School Lessons
Photo: Ece Turkoglu

Sins can be a tricky Sunday school lesson to teach. The problem I've faced when teaching kids about sins is that they don't see how it applies to them.

For instance, we go over the 10 Commandments regularly and talk about sins. That seems pretty simple, right?

Wrong.

Think about some of the 10 Commandments - 'Thou shalt not kill', 'Thou shalt not commit adultery', and 'Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife or house'.

While these are very important to teach the kids in Sunday school, it is also important to teach them about every day sins they will face, as well.

Sunday School Lesson

In this Sunday school lesson, we'll talk about the sins kids will face every day and how they can avoid them. Be sure to click on the 'Avoiding Sins Activity' to help reinforce the lesson.

Ask the kids, "What are some sins you can think of?"

Wait for answers.

Some answers may be stealing, killing, disobeying mom and dad, lying, taking the Lord's name in vain, and so on.

Today, we are going to focus on several of the above sins.

First - stealing.

Stealing, no matter how big or small, is stealing.


Get the Avoiding Sins
Sunday School Activity!

Some men and women may steal a car, someone's purse, or even someone's child.

But, did you know that 'borrowing' someone's jacket, pencil, eraser, toy, calculator, game, movie, or anything else and not returning it is stealing?

Kids tend to borrow things from other kids all the time, but do they return them?

You may have good intentions to return what you borrowed, but if you don't return it, it's stealing.

Second - lying.

Why kids think they have to lie to impress others is beyond me, but they do.

When someone asks you, "Have you seen the latest movie?" or "Do you have the new Xbox game?", what do you say?

Believe it or not, many kids will say 'yes' even if they don't.

Some people call lies 'little white lies', but a lie is a lie no matter how big or small.

If you lie, no matter what the reason, ask God to forgive you. He will, but that doesn't mean you can do it again and again just because he forgives you. It means you have to try harder not to lie again.



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Third - taking the Lord's name in vain.

The bible tells us that any time you use the Lord's name in vain it is a sin.

There are people in churches across the world that know this commandment by heart, but still don't obey it.

Let's put this plain and simple - when you say, "Oh my, G - -", it is a sin!

When you say the name of the Lord in any form, it is a sin. The exceptions to this commandment is when you are speaking of him, talking about him, teaching about him, or reading about him.

Otherwise, keep his name holy and do NOT say his name carelessly.

Some of the other names you may hear people say are: Jesus, Christ, Lord, and God.

Avoiding Sins

Bible Verse for This Sunday School Lesson

 

Psalm 119:11 KJV

Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.

There are so many other sins that kids need to learn to avoid. Ask the kids now as the Sunday school lesson is winding down to see if they can think of any more ways that people sin.

Wait for answers.

When faced with sin, talking to God is the best way to avoid it.

You can say a silent prayer or just think about him in your head. God will help you with the sins you face daily.



 

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Daily Prayer | Sunday School Activities

Crossword puzzles are a fun way to give the Sunday school kids something extra to take home or to use as an added time filler during class. Below is a puzzle we simply titled 'Prayer' crossword puzzle. It can be used with many of our Sundays school lessons, or with the Daily Prayer Sunday school lesson.

Daily prayer is an important part of every Christian's life. Stress the importance of taking time to talk to God aside from thanking him before meals and before bed. God is there waiting on us. We are the ones who are too busy to talk to him.

Sunday School Activity

Daily Prayer Crossword Puzzle

(Double-click to print)

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Daily Prayer with Prayer Partners | Sunday School Lessons

Sunday school lessons should teach kids about daily living as well as bible stories. For instance, how many of your Sunday school kids practice daily prayer? If you ask the kids this question, most will probably say they pray each day.

Prayer Partners
Sunday School Lesson
Photo: 松岡明芳
Wikimedia Commons

Now, ask them when they pray and what they pray about.

Wait for answers.

Most of the answers will be "praying over food", "thanking God for family", "praying for family", and other things similar.

Today's Sunday school lesson is going to focus on daily prayer with prayer partners. Prayer partners can mean many different things, but today we are going to pair up the kids so that they can pray for each other all week long.

Teaching kids to pray for each other will help them understand the other person better along with following the Word of God and learning to develop a great prayer life.

Bible Verses About Prayer

Colossians 4:2 KJV

Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving;

 

Matthew 18:20 KJV

For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.

 

1 Thessalonians KJV

Pray without ceasing.

 

Matthew 21:22 KJV

And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.

 

 

Sunday School Lesson - Daily Prayer



Prayer Crossword Puzzle
Click to Get It!

 

You can use any of the above bible verse about prayer for your lesson, or find another one you like. It's always a good idea to go over a bible verse with the kids each Sunday as it helps them learn God's Word and keep it close to their heart.

 

The bible teaches us about many people who prayed and God answered their prayers.

 

Daniel prayed every morning, noon, and night and God saved him from the lion's den.

 

The famous prayer of Jabez found in 1 Chronicles 4:10 KJV says, "And Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, Oh that thou wouldest bless me indeed, and enlarge my coast, and that thine hand might be with me, and that thou wouldest keep me from evil, that it may not grieve me! And God granted him that which he requested."

 

There is also the famous 'Lord's Prayer' where Jesus is teaching his disciples how to pray.

 

Jesus himself even prayed.

 

Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane before he died on the cross for our sins. He prayed again on the cross asking God to forgive those around him. Another time he prayed was when he blessed the food before breaking it when he fed the 5000.

 

Prayer Partners - What To Do

 

What You'll Need:

 

• something to write on
• something to write with
• cut pieces of yarn large enough to tie around a child's wrist or ankle

 

Once you've discussed some of the prayers above, sit the kids down in a semi-circle on the floor. Have a large paper, poster board, or dry erase board to write on for everyone to see.

 

Go through each child one-by-one and ask for prayer requests. Write them on the board or paper for all to see. Be sure to write the child's name beside the prayer request.

 

Ask the next child in the circle, "Did you hear that prayer request?"

 

Then, tie a piece of yarn around that child's wrist and say, "You are in charge of praying for that request every day until next week."

 

The yarn will serve as a reminder for that child to pray for their partner's prayer request.

 

Instruct the child to pray for that person and their prayer request every time the yarn reminds them to pray. Even if it is 10 times each day.

 

Now, go to the next child and ask for their request.

 

Continue this until every one has someone praying for their request and everyone is praying for someone.

 

What You'll Learn

 

Praying for yourself and your own family is wonderful, but when we join together and pray for someone else and their prayer request we learn the importance of caring for others. It helps us to understand one another, grow closer to God, and get in a routine of praying all throughout the day.

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