Kid's Church Lessons Zone

A spin-off of the paper bag commercials for Fandango.com this Dosango Unit is a fun unit that updates the WWJD concept with a fun beach theme!

This is some introductory information for using the "Kids in the Word" Kid's Church curriculum from Kidology.org

These are basic bible lessons that were used for a 5-day VBS, based on Philippians.

"Deeper" is the last of four lessons about the verse, Luke 2:52. In this lesson, the children will see where they are spiritually and their need to be baptized.

The Bible is more than just an old religious book. It is direct communication from God on how we are to live, a history of our world, and a guide to how we can live the life our Creator intended for us to live. Every story in the Bible, no matter how short, seemingly insignificant, or even boring – is there for a reason and we can learn something valuable from it. The purpose of this lesson is to stir up a fresh curiosity in children as to how the Bible can help them in their daily lives. They should go home more eager to read the Bible for themselves.

This lesson is a review of creation, but more importantly, the purpose of this lesson is to excite kids about the fact that the God who made everything – also loves and wants to know them. By grade school, children may be tired of ‘creation lessons.’ It is important to approach it as a ‘review’ of creation and then focus on God’s love for them. Kids often feel very small, the scope of creation can make them feel even smaller. Help them see that the point of creation was us – that God wanted to create a wonderful place for people, so that we could know and love Him.

God created us to be like Him. We daily must choose: God's way, or our own? Part of the "Kids in the Word" Kids Church Series by Karl Bastian, the Kidologist.

This lesson introduces children to the origin of sin into our world, but also touches on the appeal of sin that remains even today. The creation lesson laid the foundation for our creation and our being made ‘free’ and the last lesson on being made in the image of God that is stained, this lesson will bring them together with Adam and Eve’s fall with a two-fold application. First, that Jesus has provided salvation, and secondly, that we need to fight temptation daily so that we don’t also make mistakes (sin) that can have long lasting consequences.

Explore hope by studying the life of Daniel, who continually put his hope in God no matter what trial faced him!

These lessons are part of a four week class that Pastor Karl does annually at his church. The lessons cover Salvation, Baptism, Communion and Discipleship.

This draft of Scott Phillips adaptations of my lessons is available for you to use/edit/change as needed.

Jesus in My Neighborhood - Part 2 This is a FREE lesson and video download (for Premium members) on WHO IS MY NEIGHBOR. The video has puppets answering the question, "Who is Your Neighbor?"

This is a guide on how to prepare a written salvation testimony with the Kidologist's as a sample. Written for kids, but good for all ages. See the PDF for printing and the sample.

The story of Cain and Abel is usually used as a lesson on the proper gifts to give to God, however, there is not much in the text to explain why God was more pleased with Abel’s gift than Cain’s – we just see that Abel did what was right. Whether it was because Abel’s was ‘first fruits’ and Cain’s was ‘left overs’ – or whether Cain was supposed to also offer an animal is not clear. What is clear is that Cain failed, he messed up, or perhaps even made a mistake. (though not likely) Kids fail a lot. They mess up. They make mistakes. Sometimes it is on purpose, often it is by mistake. The important thing for kids to learn is that while failure is a part of life, how we RESPOND when we fail is very important. We have a choice, we can learn from our mistake, or make a bigger mistake. We can attack or learn. Cain chose to attack. We need to learn to say, “I’m sorry” and learn from the failure.

Noah and the Ark is a very familiar Bible story to most kids. Don’t treat this story as something new, instead, have fun with it, and make the point that we should obey God, even when he asks for a lot. This story is also a powerful illustration of just how much God hates sin. While he has promised never to flood the earth again, he has not changed his opinion of sin!

The Tower of Babel illustrates so clearly man’s core desire to ‘make a name for himself.’ At the center of “sIn” is the letter “I” – pride is the root of all sin. The issue of this story is not the mere building of a tower, but the motive for which to do so. Pride caused them to focus their resources and energy on building something that would bring them glory. We may not build physical towers, but we can often find ourselves building our own ‘towers of glory’ – we can have a tendency to devote time, energy and resources on things that will make us look good, instead of furthering the Kingdom of God. Kids can relate to the pressure to be ‘popular’ – but they can learn that it is more important to focus on the difference you can make in the world, rather than how many people you.

Abram had no idea where or why – but he obeyed. This lesson is not just about a man from long ago, but about God’s call to us everyday to GO when he says “GO” and to trust Him even when we can't see the reasons, the outcome or the situation before we get there. Try to get the children to sense the adventure there is when we follow God into the unknown.

The story of God’s promise to Abram is one of the most significant stories in the Bible in that it began the process of making the way for the Redeemer to come. For us today, Abram serves as a good example of how to respond to God’s promises and offers to us. Many times in the New Testament, Abram is used as an example of faith, because Abram believed and acted on his belief before he had any ‘proof.’ Faith is acting on what we believe, and trusting God with the outcome.

In this amazing story, God demanded the unthinkable - the sacrifice of the promised child. Sure, God had already fulfilled the promise of a son and could perhaps give another one, but this child was to be the one through whom the millions of descendants would come! To obey this demand would make it impossible for God to keep his bigger promise. Did Abraham question God? No, he simply assumed what made sense to assume at that time, that would raise his slain son from death! His absolute trust in God's promises enabled steadfast obedience - even when it looked like God had made a mistake! Do we trust God that much?

The first in a five lesson series on Willy Wonka. The choices that we make in what we eat can get us into big problems, just like Augustus in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.

The second in a five lesson series on Willy Wonka. Rude habits can cause a lot of problems, just like Violet in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.

The third in a five lesson series on Willy Wonka. Though being spoiled will seem nice for a while, it will get us in a lot of trouble, just like Veruca in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.

The fourth in a five lesson series on Willy Wonka. Watching too much TV is always bad for you and will land you in a heap of trouble, just like Mike in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.

The last in a five lesson series on Willy Wonka. Satan will try to tempt us with good looking offers, just like Mr. Slugworth did with Charlie in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.

While the story of 'getting a wife' for Isaac may not immediately interest children, there are many practical applications for trusting God to meet our needs and how to determine God's Will. And while choosing a spouse is a loooong way off for kids, it is never to soon to establish in their thinking the understanding that God knows what is best for them and if they are to marry someday, He has a partner for them and that His timing is always best. (It is not necessary at this age to deal with 'the gift of singleness')

Easter Sunday is a special day for God’s children. In this children’s church program, the children look BACK at what Christ has done. They look AHEAD at what is prepared for them in Heaven. They look IN at their heart and make sure that Jesus is there. They look OUT at others who need to hear the message of God’s great love!

This is a story that many children are familiar with, and yet, it is one they may have a hard time relating to since ‘birthrights’ are not something we are familiar with in our culture, nor do we really understand the power and significance that came with them in the time of the patriarchs. However, kids can understand the concept of trading something valuable in the future for something of much less value now. Every day people choose the immediate over waiting for the best. Kids can and need to be challenged to choose the best over what might be merely ‘good’ right now.

The story of Jacob deceiving his father and cheating his brother of his birthright is an interesting story because it is not a straight forward ‘cheating is bad’ lesson. Why? Because Jacob was to be the rightful recipient of the birthright, it had been promised to him before he was born! So while the birthright belonged to him, the issue became how it was to come about since the birthright normally would go to the first born, and from all appearances, Isaac intended to give it to Esau. By getting it ‘his own way’ Jacob missed out on seeing how God would have kept his word. It became a matter of trust and obedience. The end was right, but that did not justify the means!

Biblical names often had significant meaning. Jacob was one of them. His name meant ‘grabber’ and he spent the early part of his life trying to ‘grab’ what was his instead of trusting God’s ways and timing. Eventually he learned, and instead of grabbing his way, he let God get a hold of him and finally he was able to be the man God needed to be the founder of Israel. Kids need to be challenged to not judge those they see make mistakes, but to learn from them, and to determine to live a life that is spared the costs of making bad decisions.

The story of Jacob’s vision of the stairway to heaven represents a turning point in Jacob’s life where he finally experiences God for himself. No longer is the God of Heaven the God of his fathers, but he has his own personal experience that forever changes him. However, even in this experience we still see the ‘grabber’ at work as he bargains with God. Kids can understand bargaining, “God give me what I want and I will live for you.” We need to notice that God’s promise here was non-conditional – neither should our promises be! Challenge kids to have their own personal experiences with God and not just live ‘their parent’s” faith and to promise to live for God no matter what!

“LOVE” is a topic that usually makes kids uncomfortable as they associate it with physical love, a topic our world bombards them with, and being unable to properly understand that, it makes them uncomfortable. The lesson of Jacob working seven years, and then seven more years for Rachel is a great illustration of a man who demonstrated that love was a decision to value her enough to work many years to be her husband. Indeed the text says that it seemed like only a few days to him. That kind of love even kids are capable of! We can challenge them to choose love.

The story of Jacob and Esau is filled with deceit and betrayal. It is nice that unlike most such stories, this one has a happy ending, and Genesis chapter 31-33 tells the story of the renewed fellowship between two brothers who had every reason to hate each other for life. One tricked and betrayed, the other’s life threatened. There is some tense drama in this story as neither is sure of the other's intention, but the tension is broken by one offering an undeserved gift. Children need to be challenged not to let the arguments and differences that are a part of life be left unresolved. They need to learn to forgive and to ask for forgiveness. They can learn how good it feels to forgive and be forgiven.

Joseph's dreams and his brother's response.

The story of Joseph and Potiphar’s wife is a great example of a man who did what was right even though it cost him. He suffered for doing right, but in the end God worked it all out for good. Kids need to learn to not only “don’t sin” but to avoid, even run, from situations where they might be tempted to do the wrong thing. Running away sometimes seems like the wimpy thing to do, but when you are fleeing sin, it is the BRAVE thing to do!

Sometimes God seems to let us down. We see an obvious chance for God to do what is ‘right’ or ‘best’ and He doesn’t do it. We feel confused, forgotten, unloved, or betrayed. Kids (as well as adults) need to be challenged and reminded that God’s love for us in incomprehensible, and not only does He know what is best – He DOES what is best for us.

This preschool Kids Church lesson is about Josiah, a young boy made king. One day some people were cleaning the temple and found a copy of God's Word. They took it to Josiah who learned that God's Word tells us the difference between right and wrong.

Joseph has every ‘right’ to be bitter and angry at God – he had been wrongfully attacked by his brothers, unlawfully sold as a slave, then wrongly accused of a crime he did not commit, and forgotten by those who knew of his good character, and yet he did not blame or get upset with God, he patiently accepted his ‘lot in life’ unaware that God was working to use him in a very significant way that would impact and help the entire world!

Kids often are ready to ‘do unto others as they did to them’ and we all can be guilty of hoping people ‘get what they deserve,’ despite the fact that we DID NOT ‘get what we deserve’ from God – we got forgiveness! We, too, need to forgive others, even when they don’t deserve it, like Joseph did for his own brothers who certainly deserved punishment for what they did to their own brother! But Joseph realized the higher truth – that while they meant it for harm, God had used it for good.

This lesson serves as both an introduction to the life of Moses as well as a lesson about God has a plan for each and every person he created, but that the fulfillment of that plan hinges on every person’s willingness to follow and obey their Creator.

In this lesson the children will hear the incredible story of the ‘burning bush’ – and a lesson the truth and identity of who God is and our need to obey Him when He gives us orders.

This lesson tells the Good news that the angel gave Mary and the promise God gave His people.

The colors in the Olympic flag have a Spiritual meaning too!

The story of Moses and the Exodus is one more to perseverance and patience and trust than it is merely a neat story filled with exciting plagues and adventure. To get kids to merely memorize the plagues in order is to miss the broader point – God keeps His word, but is more interested in teaching and growing us through trials than in merely ‘rescuing’ us.

This game show skit will get your kids involved, and put them on the floor laughing. You can perform it as a puppet skit or as a live skit using your drama team. Or you could take it to the streets and get a community involved. You will need the following: Jesus and costume, three contestants and the voice of the Holy Spirit. Enjoy.

The exciting story of Treasure Island is brought to life on a spiritual level by teaching kids the importance of searching, using the correct map and the difference between finding false treasure and the real treasure in their lives.

Teach children that God loves them year round, but when they get those little candy hearts with messages on them, some of them just might be telling us how much God loves us, and how He wants us to show Him we love Him, by obeying his commands.

The story of the Red Sea is a famous and favorite story. Most kids will have heard the story many times – but many may not know what relevance it has for TODAY. In teaching this fantastic story it is important to not only teach the story, but answer the question “SO WHAT?” Kids need to know and believe that the same God who parted the sea can and does still do amazing things today, and the same God the Israelites turned to for help – they can turn to as well!

This lesson combines several stories from the 16th and 17th chapters of Exodus because each is an example of God’s ability to provide and how we need to trust God no matter what. With the quail and manna we see God provision, but our need to not grumble or be greedy. With the water from the rock and the battle won with upraised hands, we see that God will come through when we are willing to TRUST and obey, even when it makes no sense.

Kids live with ‘laws’ and ‘commands’ all day every day. They can come to dislike (if not hate) all the ‘rules’ in their life. The point of this lesson is not so much to teach each of the Ten Commandments, but to help kids find an appreciation for the rules in our lives.