BIBLICAL REFERENCE
Luke 18.1-8
PURPOSE OF THE LESSON
Teach children that we should be perseverant in prayer and trust God will fulfill His promises in our lives.
MEMORIZE THE VERSE
“Therefore do not cast away your confidence… so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise.” (Hebrews 10.35-36)
INTRODUCTION
Start by asking the following: Who here has ever seen a very moody person who is always with a sullen face? Would you have the courage to keep asking something for this person? (Wait their answer) We should be careful when speaking or asking something for people like this, right? Today we will hear the story about a woman who was not afraid of bothering a very moody man. Pay attention, I am going to start telling what happened.
PRAYING ALWAYS
ONCE UPON a time there was a widow who had a problem with an adversary.
She knew she needed to solve that situation as soon as possible. Without a husband to help her, the woman had only one option: ask for help to the judge of that city.
Yet, she knew that she would have another great challenge to face, for that judge was very evil. The inhabitants of that city knew him as a dishonest man, who despised people and did not respect anyone, not even God. However, only that judge could judge the cases and solve the fights between people, and the widow knew that. Even knowing the negative reputation of the judge, she went to him, trusting that he would help her.
Then, she asked him to judge her cause against the adversary, but he did not help her.
Little friends, do you know what the attitude of the widow was? (Wait their
participation). She did not give up and decided to come back the following day. That woman was on her right and, because of that, she went to the judge to ask for help, for he was the judge and should help her, right?The widow realized she would not be helped that day, so she went back home even without an answer. Did she give up? No, not at all! She thought: “Tomorrow I will come back and he will have to help me”.
Then, next day, there she was again asking the judge to help her. And once again she came back home with no answer. But she did not give up and continued trusting that one day she would be answered.
The more she was despised, the more she persevered and trusted. Such
insistence let the judge very upset, and he thought that if he did not answer the widow, then she would continue to bother him; for her to stop harassing him, the best thing was to attend her.
Oh! What a great joy that widow felt when the judge judged her cause and gave her victory. Little friends, Jesus told the parable of the evil judge, this same story you just heard. He told this parable so that everyone could follow the example of trust and perseverance of that widow.
CONCLUSION
Little friends, today we learned that we should remain praying and trusting in God, even if apparently He is taking long to answer us. God knows what we need and will bless us, so we should be confidant, just as the widow, who was helped by the judge because of her insistence. Who here will always trust in God say “me”.
FUN CHAT
Educator, you will need a white cardboard, several pictures (a family gathered,
money, a big and beautiful house, toys, children’s clothing). Take also nine pet bottles (2 liters), washed, without labels and filled with water; and nine strips of office paper written “prayer”. Glue the stripes on the bottles. Write on the top of the cardboard the sentence:
“Blessings I want to receive”, below write the words prosperity, health, peace and success in studies, and glue the pictures. Stick the cardboard on the board and put the bottles at the end of the classroom, then invite a kid to participate of this activity.
Start by saying: Let us pretend that this kid (point to the chosen kid) wishes to
receive from God all these blessings (show the pictures of the poster and read the words), and I am God and I have the blessings on my hands, to give to him/her. But, for me to give you this poster, you will have to bring me all those bottles (point to the bottles) which are representing the prayers, understood?
Educator, ask the chosen kid to get the bottles (obviously he/she will have to come and go more than once for will not be able to bring it all). When the kid gives you all the bottles, give him/her the poster and say: To complete this task, (say the name of the kid) will have to go one more time to the end of the classroom to bring the bottles and to receive the poster. So it is when we wish to receive something from God. We should be perseverant in our prayer. If the answer did not come on the 1st prayer, then we should pray the 2nd, the 3rd, the 4th and so on, many times as necessary, for Jesus is pleased when we are perseverant. Just as that widow, who was insistent and reached what she
wanted, amen? Educator, distribute pieces of paper for the kids and ask them to write a prayer request. Say that, during the whole week, you and they will be praying for this request to be fulfilled. Write the request of the illiterate. Make a prayer and then show the poster of the week; memorize the verse.
ACTIVITIES
Maternity
Decorating the picture. The woman did not give up and had the answer.
Paint it with thick crayons and glue some wool on her hair.
Primary
Painting and making comments. The widow trusted that one day she would be answered and her cause would be judged. Paint the scene.
Educator, after the activity, you ask the kids what they think about the attitude of the widow.
Juniors
Activities. Complete the sentences using the words below.
BIBLICAL REFERENCE
2 Kings 4.1-7
PURPOSE OF THE LESSON
Teach children that those who trust in God are blessed.
VERSE TO MEMORIZE
“O Lord of hosts, blessed is the man who trusts in You!” (Psalms 84.12)
INTRODUCTION
Educator, you start by saying the following: Who here feels happy and safe with
the caring from mommy and daddy? (Wait participation) Today we are going to learn a story of a widow that passed through a difficult moment, but she used her faith and was helped by God. Let us know what happened? Be quiet, I am going to tell you.
HELPING A WIDOW
A CERTAIN man, a disciple of the prophets, died and left wife and two sons. This
man respected God and served Him with love and obedience, and people recognized that he was from God.
It happened that, after he died, his widow got unable to sustain herself and her two sons; because of that her bills increased so much and the widow got so many debts, until one day, a creditor who she had a debt, searched for her and said: “I want to receive what you own me. I will come back later and, if you do not pay me, I will take your two sons as slaves to work for me.”
Oh, what a sad situation! Right, kids? Besides losing her husband, she would also lose her sons if she could not pay that debt. Without conditions to solve such situation, the widow went to cry for the help of Prophet Elisha, and she said: “My husband died and, as you know, he was a great man of God. And now, the creditor will take my two sons as slaves if I do not pay him.” Elisha asked what she had at home, and she answered: “I have nothing but a stone bottle of olive oil.”
So, Elisha said the widow to borrow from the neighbors lots of pots, then she go
back to her house with her sons. At home, with the doors closed, she should pour down that oil in the borrowed pots she had got.
The woman obeyed to what Prophet Elisha had said, and immediately she went
asking for pots among her neighbors. When getting home with her sons, she started filling the pots. Her sons were giving the pots and she was filling it, until she said: “Bringme another pot”. But there were no more pots and, from that moment, the oil stopped multiplying.
After that, the widow went to Prophet Elisha and told him everything that had
happened. Little friends, what would her do with so much oil? (Wait participation). Elisha said to the widow to sell the oil and pay the debt. Before time, oil did worth a lot of money because people used it in several ways.
CONCLUSION
Little friends, God did not let that woman to be ashamed; on the contrary, He
manifested when she trusted and obeyed to the prophet. The widow got so much oil that she could pay her debt and had money to live with her sons for the rest of her life.
FUN CHAT
Educator, you will need pictures of umbrellas, coats, beds, water bottles, food
plates, soaps and bath towel. Start by saying the following: kids, parents always wish the best for their children. They do everything to supply their needs, that is, they fight with all their strength so nothing will miss for their children, right? (Wait participation) Now, kids, I am going to make a game and I want you to pay close attention. Educator, glue (with masking tape) the pictures on the board. Start the dynamics: let us say that (say the name of a kid) is hungry. What should I give to him/her? Point the pictures and wait the participation. They will certainly say you should give the food. Give the related picture and ask the kid to stay beside you.
Continue by calling other kids. For each picture, invite a different kid. Create
sentences according to the pictures and, at the end, conclude: Just as the parents worry with the welfare of their children, so God gets worried with those who obey to His Word.
Just as He answered to the widow from today’s story, so He will answer us; however we should remain trusting Him. God knows our needs and will help us, He looks after us. Our God is wonderful, right? Educator, you make a prayer, then show the poster of the week and memorize the verse with the children.
ACTIVITIES
Maternity
Coloring. Paint the stones bottles with thick crayons.
Primary
Painting time. The widow trusted, obeyed to the guidance of the servant of God
and was blessed. Paint the scene and glue yellow glitter on the olive oil.
Juniors
Enigma. Change the symbols by letters and find out the secret message.
BIBLICAL REFERENCES
1 Samuel 1.1-28 and 2.18-21
PURPOSE OF THE LESSON
Teach children that when we trust God we are not ashamed.
VERSE TO MEMORIZE
“Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.” (1 John 5.14)
INTRODUCTION
Educator, you take to your classroom a bag of lollipops. Choose two kids and ask one to stand in front of the other and say: Children, let us make a game? One kid should give the bag of lollipop to another. Let us count up to ten and whoever is holding the bag when we say ten win it, understood? (Educator, do as explained and then ask to the kid who lost it). How did you feel when you saw your friend winning the bag filled with lollipops and you got nothing? (Wait the answer and conclude) Do you want to receive the same he/she did, right? On today’s story we are going to talk about two women; one wished to be blessed and have what the other had. Let us know what it was? So, pay
attention! (Educator, after the story, you distribute the lollipops to your class).
Hannah asks a son to God
THERE WAS a woman named Hannah who had a great desire of being a mother,
but she was sterile and could not have children. In the past, the sterile woman was rejected by everyone. Hannah was married with Elkanah, and he loved her very much, even without her giving him children. Elkanah had another wife called Peninnah and, back then, men could have more than one wife. Peninnah had children and affronted and humiliated Hannah. However, she remained quiet, only crying, and she was not eating at all.
Once a year Elkanah, Hannah, Peninnah and her children travelled to go to church. Before time, there were not so many churches as now and, because of thatpeople needed to travel to go to the House of God. Elkanah was used to give offerings in favor of his family, but he used to give the double for Hannah.
Hannah decide to change that situation and made a determined prayer saying if
God remembered her and allowed her to have a son, then she would take him to the temple and the child would grow up in the house of God. After the prayer, Hannah trusted that God would answer her and left the temple very happy and with the certainty of it.
You know, class, God heard her prayer indeed, He saw the trust she had in Him
and, because of that, He answered her. Hannah got pregnant and after a few months, she had a beautiful baby boy which she named Samuel. But she did not forget the vow she had done with God. As soon as Samuel was a little more than 2 years old, Hannah took him to the temple and handed him to the priest (pastor) Eli who started to look after the boy; every year Hannah used to go to the temple to see her son and take him a tunic, that were the clothes priests used to wear.
Samuel learned everything about God and he grew up becoming a great priest. It was him that, years later, has anointed David to be king. Hannah was faithful to her vow with God, and He blessed her allowing her to have three more sons and two daughters, becoming a very happy mother.
CONCLUSION
Little friends, know that when we trust in God with all our hearts and go in faith He blesses us and do not allow us to be ashamed, just as he did in the life of Hannah, by taking away her shame of not having a child. Hannah started being very happy for Samuel was as a gift from God to her. Imagine what a great joy she must have felt when seeing her son becoming a servant greatly used by God. And this is the major gift all mothers wished to win: the obedience of her children. So, take this week of the Mother’s Day and give them a great motive of joy, that is, determine with God that from now on you will be obedient children, who will let them happy with your attitudes, by practicing His Word, obeying and respecting them, understood? Amen!
FUN CHAT
Educator, for this moment you will need the picture of an unpeeled pineapple and a peeled and sliced pineapple (easy to find in the internet). The picture cannot be small, so the class can see it well. Start by showing the picture of the unpeeled pineapple and ask (for each question you wait their participation): What is the name of this fruit? Who here likes pineapple? Do you know what we have to do so we can eat the pineapple? We should peel it first, right? If a person buy this fruit but do not peel it, then one cannot eat it (show the picture of the peeled pineapple). But not everyone like to peel it, they like just to eat it, right?
You know, kids, so are the problems. Nobody likes to pass through it, to face it.
But if the person puts faith into action and trust that, after that problem comes the blessing, then it will be answered in the same way as when your mother does with the pineapple, by peeling it, so you can eat. Hannah has spent many years being humiliated and embarrassed, but one day she made a vow to God, trusting that He would answer.
So do not ever be discouraged and continue trusting in God. Educators, memorize the verse of the week as follows: Split the verse in six parts, including the biblical reference, writing it in pieces of cardboard (20cmx20cm). Give the
card for the kids and tell them not to read it. Memorize the verse using the poster of theweek. Then, call the kids with the cards to go in front of the class (the verse possibly will be out of order); read what is written in the cards with the class and with their help arrange the kids in the right order of the verse. Conclude explaining that we should trust that God listens when we pray and when we ask for what is His will then He answers.
ACTIVITIES
Maternal
Painting. Hannah prayed because she wanted to be a mother. Paint it nicely.
Primary
Photo Frame for mummy. Paint the faces of the Team of Faith and glue it on the
frame. Educator, you are going to need some E.V.A. (red and white); hot glue gun; glue stick, cellophane bag (size A4); ribbon.
Cut the E.V.A. as the indicated sizes of the model. Make the photo frame in two
colors. Glue the front part of the photo frame of the bigger E.V.A. except one of the sides to put the photo. Glue two smaller E.V.A. pieces on the back; it will be the holder of the photo frame. Educator, prepare the photo frame in advance for it must be done before you start your class. The children will only cut and paint the faces of the Team of Faith, and glue on the photo frame. After that, let it dry and put inside the cellophane bag, closing it with the ribbon.
Juniors
Playing with numbers. Do the math and discover the sentence. See the example
in the first line.
