Worship:
- God is over the moon (Youtube Link)
- You know me (YouTube Link)
- Ain’t no rock ( YouTube Link)
Bible Story: (Lamentations 1-5)
Text Truth: No matter how we feel, we can talk to God because He loves us.
Memory Verse: Lamentations 3:22b-23
Jeremiah was a prophet. As a prophet, Jeremiah delivered messages to people from God. For a long time now, Jeremiah had been delivering the same message to Israel. That message was to stop sinning and ask God to forgive them. The people of Israel just ignored Jeremiah! Eventually, since the people kept doing bad things, God sent consequences.
Consequences are the result of an action. The result of the people of Israel sinning was punishment. Israel’s punishment was having their city of Jerusalem conquered in war by the Babylonians. When Jereusalem was conquered, many people were taken captive far away from home. Buildings, homes, and even the temple were destroyed. It was a very, very sad time for Israel. Jeremiah was deeply sad for this group of people he loved so very much.
Jeremiah wrote the book of Lamentations about his sadness and Jerusalem’s capture. Jeremiah tells us that Jerusalem was once full of people, but now she is empty. Jerusalem once had many friends, but now there is no one to comfort her (Lamentations 1:1-2). Jeremiah continues to say that Jerusalem is punished because she had sinned (Lamentations 1: 8).
Questions: What is sin? (Sin is anything you think, say, or do that goes against God’s Word.)
Sin destroys and breaks relationships. Jeremiah understood that sin was a serious thing and that the people must ask for forgiveness. BUT, we see that Jeremiah did not give up hope, because He also knew that God loves. Because God loves them and wants them to do the right thing, God punished the people of Israel. And, because God loves them, He did not let the sad times last forever. Jeremiah tells us that God’s compassion and mercy never ends (Lamentations 3:22-23).
Just like the Israelites’ sin separated them from God, it is because of our sin that we cannot get to Heaven. The only way to get to Heaven is to accept Jesus as our Savior and ask Him to forgive us of our sins.
Question: How can we get to Heaven (be saved)? (Through doing the ABCs)
- What does “A” stand for? (“A” stands for admit that you’re a sinner. Romans 3:23)
- What does “B” stand for? (“B” stands for believe Jesus is God’s Son and died on the cross for you. Romans 10:9-10)
- What does “C” stand for? (“C” stands for confess that Jesus is Lord of your life. Romans 10:9-10)
We learn from the book of Lamentations that God loves us very much. Even though the people of Israel sinned, God still loved them. Even though Jeremiah was sad, God was always there. No matter what is going on in your life, whether you are happy, sad, or have done bad things, the right answer is to always turn to God. God’s love for you never ends, and He has the best plan for your life.
Family Activity:
1) Object Lesson (courtesy of sermonsforchildren.com)
The objective of this object lesson is to illustrate that God’s love is infinite no matter what (Lamentations 3:22-23)
Supplies: A bag or bowl with rice in it.
What to Say:
Hello! I have something mysterious up here on my lap. Can you see it? Come closer. It’s a bowl of rice!
What?!? You don’t think rice is mysterious? Well, just wait. I want to show you something.
I am going to give each of you one grain of rice. Here we go.
One for you…and one for you…There! Now ,look at my bowl. Does it look like I have less rice than I did when I started? Not really! My bowl is still full! Let’s do another round. I’m going to give each of you another grain of rice.
Okay! Now you all have two grains of rice. Now, look at my bowl again. Is it empty? Am I all out of rice? No! It still looks full!
Now isn’t that mysterious?
You know what’s even more amazing? God’s love is kind of like this bowl of rice. He can love you, me, and everyone else in the entire world and His bowl of love will still be full.
No matter how much love God gives, He will still have more. His love never runs out! He loves us no matter what we have done or how we are feeling. The Bible tells us that the love of God never ceases! It never ever comes to an end! And He also tells us that whenever we need love to give to others, all we need to do is ask. He will fill us up with His love, so we can give it away.
Isn’t that just amazing?
2) Color Run Game (courtesy of Lifeway KidMin Toolbox)
Supplies :
- 4 different colored objects (construction paper, stuffed animals, Clothing, etc.)
- 4 Strips of different color paper with names written on them
- An object to draw the strips of paper out of (bowl, hat, cup)
- Music (the worship songs above would work great!)
Play: Place the 4 different colored objects at different spots throughout the room. When the music is playing, move all around the room (run, jump, dance, etc.) When the music stops, quickly run to one of the 4 color objects. The person who is controlling the music will pull out a strip of paper. If you are standing at the same color object as the paper drawn, you are out.
Connection: In this game, you had four different choices to choose from. In life, we have choices as well. We are responsible for the choices we make. Just like in our story today, the Iseralites chose to sin against God. Because of their sin, they were punished. When you have choices to make, it’s very important that you choose to do what is right. The right thing to do will always be to honor and obey God. When we don’t know how to make the right choice, we can go to God in prayer and ask Him to help us. This week, ask God to help you make the right choice.
ACTIVITY SHEET LINKS (Click the link to download a printable pdf)
