Welcome to GrowKids Online! God has great plans and this month we are going to learn how we get to be a part of His great plans!
DISCUSSION: Jesus Clears the Temple. Read: John 2:13-22
Why did the Jews celebrate the Passover?
Where did Jesus go to celebrate the Passover?
What did Jesus say would happen to the temple after it was destroyed?
Read Psalm 19:10. According to this verse, what is the Bible better than?
Where can you find God’s plan for your life?
How can the Bible help you with something from school last week?
What is one way you know God’s plans are perfect?
ACTIVITIES
MEMORIZE IT | Memory Verse Introduce this month’s new memory verse! Use the motions and repeat it a few times! “For I” hands to chest “Know” both hands to head “The plans I have” With both hands on top of each other towards the left, open right arm wide “For you” point outward “Declares the Lord” cup hands around mouth like megaphone, motion upwards “Plans to prosper you” swing both arms up overhead “And not to harm you” motion large X with both arms “Plans to give you” motion hands outward as if passing something “A hope” right arm out to the side “And a future” left arm out to the side “Jeremiah 29:11” Open hands like book
DO IT |Blueprints for Life INSTRUCTIONS: Write the blueprints for what you will do this week. On three separate papers, draw a house, a school, and a church. Write or draw things that will need to happen in each place: spending time with God, sharing their story, using their gifts, spending time with others, learning, giving, serving, getting help from each other.
What will you do this week to follow these blueprints in your life? It is exciting to know that we do these things so that we are following God’s plans because God’s plans are perfect.
READ IT | Psalm 19:7-11 INSTRUCTIONS:Read Psalm 19:7-11. These verses tell us what the Bible is, and how it can help us. What were some words used to describe the Bible?
Perfect -It turns us back to what is right.
Sure/Trusthworthy -It gives us wisdom.
Right -It brings us joy.
Radiant/Bright -It shows us what God wants us to see.
Pure -It lasts forever.
Firm/Righteous -We can depend on it.
Desirable/Precious -It’s valuable to us.
A warning to us -We need to listen to it.
A promise to us -We need to believe it.
No matter what, we can trust God’s words and God’s plans because they are both perfect. God will never lead us to a plan that isn’t good for us because God’s plans are perfect.
PRAYER
Dear God, Thank you for showing us your plans through the words you gave us. We trust that your plans are perfect and that they will give us hope even when things aren’t going great. Help us follow your plans! In Jesus’ Name, Amen!
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Hi GrowKids! God’s plan for our life doesn’t always show up in the most obvious ways, but what we do know is that God has an incredible plan for us, and His plans will not hurt us. We have to trust His plan.
Bible Story
BIBLE STORY | John 2:13-22
INSTRUCTIONS: Open a Bible and explain to the kids that there are two words to listen for in today’s story: “God” and “plan.” Whenever you say, “God,” everyone should point up to the sky. Whenever you say, “plan,” everyone should hold their hands out together in front of themselves with their palms up so their hands look like an open book.
In the Bible in the book of John, we read about a time when many people traveled a long way to celebrate a holiday called the Passover. The Passover is a time God’s people remembered their time in Egypt, where they had lived and not been treated very well and weren’t allowed to leave. They celebrated how God had a plan and led them out of Egypt.
So, Jesus came to Jerusalem for Passover and went to remember God’s plan and celebrate in the temple. Jesus saw things going on in the temple that weren’t a part of God’s plan. This made Jesus so upset that Jesus flipped over the tables in the temple and told the people to leave.
The people wondered what was going on and why Jesus did that. So, Jesus told them about the plans God had, plans that were bigger than the ones they had been making. Jesus told them God had something in store that was even better than the temple! This was very confusing to everyone because the temple was very big and very special to the people.
What they didn’t know was God had an even better plan. The people thought the temple was the best, but God wanted them to know that Jesus was even better than the temple. One day, Jesus was going to die but, after three days, come back to life!
What Jesus said came true! After Jesus came back to life, the disciples would remember what Jesus had said that day at the temple and come to believe in God’s plan! God had a plan all along!
Prayer
Dear God, thank you for showing us your plans through the words you gave us. We trust your plans are perfect and that they will give us hope even when things aren’t going well. Help us to follow your plans! Amen.
Memory Verse
MEMORY VERSE | Jeremiah 29:11
INSTRUCTIONS: Follow along in the video below.
Big Idea
THE BIG IDEA | God’s Plans Are Perfect
INSTRUCTIONS: Print or write the Big Idea on a piece of blueprint paper. Roll the paper up and put it in a blueprint tube like this. Ask a volunteer to be this week’s construction worker, giving them a hard hat, a safety vest, and safety glasses. Ask one of the kids to come up to the front to open the tube and take the paper out to reveal the Big Idea. Point to each word on the paper as you say it aloud, adding in the motions below.
This week’s Big Idea is: God’s plans are perfect! Try it out with me!
God’s (Point up to the sky.) plans (Hold your hands out together in front of you with your palms up so your hands look like
an open book.) are perfect! (Give two thumbs up.)
Activities
Activity: BLUEPRINTS FOR LIFE
INSTRUCTIONS: On three separate large pieces of paper, draw a house, a school, and a church with markers. Working together as a group, have kids write or draw “blueprints” for things that God might want them to do this week in each place (e.g., On the picture of the house, you might write, “Help my mom with the dishes.” On the picture of church, you might write, “Sing worship songs.”)
# TODDLERHACK: If you can find stickers that will work for this activity, consider having the kids add the stickers to the appropriate drawing (e.g. A broom sticker on the house to represent helping to clean, a music note sticker on the church to represent singing to Jesus, a book to represent story time at school or daycare).
What are some things the Bible tells us we should do? Is it easy or hard to follow God’s instructions? What will you do this week to follow these blueprints in your life? When we do these things based on what God wants us to do, it will help us to follow God’s plans for us. God’s plans are perfect.
Activity: BUILD A SCENE
INSTRUCTIONS: Think of a scene that your group can build together (e.g. a barnyard scene, Noah’s ark, or a playground). Tell the kids you’re going to create the scene with Play-Doh and make a plan. Think about things like what you’d like to include and who will build each part. Before we built this scene together, we had to make a plan. God has plans for us, too. God’s plans are perfect.
Where can you find God’s plans? How can we know God’s plans are perfect? Who is someone you can talk to if you’re not sure what God’s plans are?
Activity: PUZZLE MIX-UP
INSTRUCTIONS: Mix up some puzzle pieces and ask the kids to help you put it back together. Keep the picture on the front of the box visible to the group while they put it together.
# TODDLER HACK: Consider using a puzzle with large pieces to make this activity more accessible for the younger kids. If you already have a puzzle in your ministry area that the toddlers have played with before, consider using it as increased familiarity can help the activity run even more smoothly. Instead of referring to the picture on the front of the box as the script below directs, you can talk about the shapes or pictures on the board that help you see where the puzzle pieces should go.
Sometimes, when we look at a bunch of puzzle pieces all jumbled in a pile, it’s hard to tell what it will look like when it’s finally all together. But when we look at the box, we can see the bigger picture and learn where the pieces should go. Do you think it would be easy or hard to put together the puzzle without being able to see the picture on the front of the box?
We’ll learn today that God shows us the bigger picture of God’s plans for us, too.
SNACK-tivity
Snack Time:MIXED-UP MUNCHIES
INSTRUCTIONS: Provide child with a plate of multi-colored snacks with a hole in the middle (e.g. Froot Loops). Give them a length of string (enough to make a necklace), with one end taped to the plate. Have kids add one item on at a time according to the color you call out. After you string a good amount, help kids tie it around their neck and they can munch on their new necklace! Sometimes, things can feel all mixed up in our lives, just like these snacks. But remember, God’s plans are perfect! And God wrote them down in the Bible for us. Even when life feels all mixed up, you can trust God’s plans written in the Bible to help you.
