Day: January 24, 2021

Hi GrowKids! Today, we’re learning about gifts that are like treasures to us. The Bible talks about two kinds of treasures — one kind of treasure can break and one kind of treasure can last forever.

Bible Story

INSTRUCTIONS: Put your Bible inside of a treasure chest without the kids seeing you do so. Then read Matthew 6:19-24.
Look at the treasure chest. One very important thing we should care about is in this treasure chest. Do you want to know what it is? I need you to come up, close your eyes, and reach into the treasure chest and take it out. What is it? It’s a. . . Bible!

God’s Word, the Bible, is a very special treasure. It’s a special book that tells us all of God’s stories and all about God’s love!
You see, the stuff that we care about – our toys, our games, our clothes, our food – they can all one day go missing, get chewed up by little critters, or fall apart. But the things God cares about, like loving one another, last forever. Since they’re not stuff, they won’t break or disappear! That’s what it means to store your treasure in heaven. It means to care about what God cares about!

Prayer

Pray this Prayer: Dear God, thank You for caring more about us than our things. Help us to care about the things You care about by focusing on things that last forever.

Memory Verse

MEMORY VERSE | I Peter 4:10 (NIV)

INSTRUCTIONS: Print the memory verse so that it takes up a full page.

Then cut or tear the memory verse image into 6-8 rectangular pieces. Then have them work together to put the puzzle together. Once it is complete, have them recite the verse together a few times.

Big Idea

THE BIG IDEA | We can care about what God cares about!

INSTRUCTIONS: Today’s Big Idea is: We can care about what God cares about.
Have you ever lost or broken something? Yes, I think we all have before, right? [Share a story about a time when you lost or broke something that was dear to you.] Even though it’s important to take good care of our things, things don’t last forever. But the things God cares about? They DO last forever. Let’s see what might be!

Activities

Activity: MY FAVORITE THING

INSTRUCTIONS: Give the kids two paper plates, one with a happy face written on it and one with a sad face written on it. Tell the kids to hold up which feeling they have when you ask the following questions.

# TODDLER HACK: Play “I Spy” with the kids by putting together a sensory bin of items that kids can identify, such as an artificial flower, a plush animal, play food, people action figures, a mirror. Say, “From all of these things, what is your favorite? What do you think is God’s favorite? It’s YOU!” [Show them their face in the mirror.]

How many of you have a favorite toy at home? How does it make you feel when you play with that toy?
Imagine if your favorite toy was lost or broken. How would you feel?
Let’s say you and your friend both want to play with the same toy. Maybe you end up fighting over the toy and become very upset. When you care about what God cares about, you can share the toy, and let your friend play with it first. God cares more about you than about your toy!

God cares about forever things and we should, too, because we can care about what God cares about.

Activity: GOD’S TREASURES

INSTRUCTIONS: Have kids sit in a circle around a basket or treasure chest. Give each kid a handful of gold coins. Tell them to place a coin inside the basket for each answer they give. Feel free to prompt them with suggestions.

# TODDLER HACK: Pass out a coin to each kid and say, “God cares about you,” as you do. Have kids put their coins in the treasure chest as they say, “God cares about me.”

Today, we heard a story about the things God cares about. Those are things God wants us to care about, too.
What are things you think God cares about?
What people does God care about?

We’ve added a lot of gold coins to our treasure chest! That means God cares about a lot of things. We can care about what God cares about, too.

Activity: CARE COPIES

INSTRUCTIONS: Have two kids face each other, about a foot apart. Have one kid do an action, and have the other kid try to copy it exactly, like they are looking in a mirror. Repeat so every kid has a chance to lead and copy.
Was it fun trying to copy each other? Sometimes it’s not that easy, but when it comes to copying God, we need to try our best to do what God does! That way, we can care about all the things God cares about!

SNACK-tivity

Snack Time: SHARING IS CARING

INSTRUCTIONS: Have bowls of a variety of snacks, as many as there are kids, if possible. Give each kid one type of snack, and put them in charge of passing them out to the others.
Great job sharing with everyone! What do you think God cares about more, your snack or you sharing your snack?