Grades 1-3
Introductory Activity – Line Up
Materials: none
Gather the kids to stand in an open area of the room. Then call out an order in which kids can re-line up. For example, you may say, “Everyone please line up in the order of your age—oldest in the front and youngest in the back.” Let kids chat among each other until they figure out the correct order. Continue playing with different categories each time (shortest to tallest, number of siblings, color of clothes by rainbow, and so forth). Tell kids that they may not have known all the facts they just learned about one another, but God does! He knows everything about us, and is always with us.
Live It Out
Game – Pass the Verse
Materials: none
Seat kids on the floor in a straight line. Play telephone by whispering parts of the Weekly Verse, Acts 16:31, into the first child’s ear and instruct that child to pass the message down the line. You can split the verse into sections or pass the whole thing down at once. Remind kids that God was with Paul and Silas as they told others about Jesus.
Craft – “Jesus Loves Me” Poster
Materials: paper, markers
Help the kids write the words Jesus Love Me on a sheet of paper for each child. Talk about the Bible story, telling the kids that God was with Paul and Silas as they did His work, telling people about Jesus.
Grades 4-6
Introductory Activity – Praise Dance
Materials: Music (choose several worship songs)
Turn on a worship song as kids enter the room. Instruct kids to dance to the music in worship. It might feel a little funny at first, but they will eventually get more used to praising God with their dance! Keep this going for a few songs, then gather kids around and tell them that today, they’ll learn how Paul and Silas praised God in the midst of an uncomfortable situation. Say that they didn’t stop because God was with them as they told others about Jesus.
Live It Out
Game – Human Knot
Materials: none
Lead the kids stand in a small circle. If you have a large group of kids, make two or more circles. Instruct all to close their eyes and reach their hands into the middle of the circle and then find another hand to hold. Once everyone has a hand, kids can open their eyes. Without letting go, the group needs to untangle themselves from this human knot to form a circle again. Kids will have to work together, and it may take some trial and error. Remind kids that though they got tangled up, the truth that they could come undone remained true. Help them remember that though Paul and Silas’s life might have seemed tangled up, God was with them the whole time!
Craft – Paint a Praise Shaker
Materials: cardboard tube, dry rice, colored tape, acrylic paint, paintbrushes, water cup for cleaning brushes, permanent markers, scissors
Distribute a cardboard tube to each kid. Encourage them to paint the tubes or draw on them with the markers. Suggest to kids that they write the Weekly Verse, Acts 16:31, on their tubes. Use tape to securely cover one end of the tube, and put some rice inside. Securely cover the other end of the tube with tape. Encourage kids to use the shakers to praise God when they listen to worship through the week. Let the shakers become a reminder that praising God should be an active part of our lives, because God is always with us when we do His work, like telling others about Jesus.
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