We Work Hard

You’ll Need: Bibles, Gummy Life Savers candies, Toothpicks, Disposable bowls, “Do Good” handouts

“And as for you, brothers and sisters, never tire of doing what is good.” (2 Thessalonians 3:13)

Have kids learn the Bible memory verse using this activity:

• Divide the class into groups of five.
• Have kids open their Bibles to 2 Thessalonians 3:13.
• Invite a child to read the verse aloud.

SAY: Today we’re learning that God wants us to be hard workers and to never get tired of doing good work. Earlier in our children’s sermon, we learned about how a pool toy that’s not inflated isn’t very useful. Now let’s do something to help us think about that pool toy—which looks like a Life Savers candy—as we learn our memory verse.

• Have each group of five kids sit in a line.
• Give a “Do Good” handout to the last child in line and the bowl of Life Savers candies to the child who’s first in line.
• Give kids each a toothpick and explain that they’ll pass a Life Savers candy down their line using only their toothpicks while they memorize the verse.
• Assign each child a phrase from the verse to say each time it’s their turn to pass a candy, going in the order of the verse. For example:
  • Child 1 says, “And as for you” as he or she uses a toothpick to pick a candy out of the bowl.
  • Child 2 says “brothers and sisters” as he or she transfers candy with the toothpick.
  • Child 3 says, “never tire” while receiving and passing a candy.
  • Child 4 says, “of doing what is good” while receiving and passing a candy.
  • Child 5 says, “2 Thessalonians 3:13” while placing the candy on the first lifesaver ring on the handout.
• On go, have kids work together to fill their handout in this way. When they’ve finished, have kids shuffle places in their line and start again.
• After several rounds, lead kids in saying the full verse together several times.

ASK:

• How did you do your job in this activity?
• What kinds of jobs do you have in your life that you can work hard at to help others?

SAY: You all have important jobs in your families, and you even have some important jobs here, like to help clean up and take care of the room so we can enjoy it. When we work hard at whatever we do, we please God and help others. When we don’t work hard or keep doing good, it hurts us and others.

You’ll Need: Bibles, “We Work Hard” handouts, Crayons or markers

Follow these steps to explore the Bible passage:

• Give each child a “We Work Hard” handout. and set out crayons or markers to share.

SAY: Today we’re learning that God wants us to do our part in His family.

• Have kids open their Bibles and read aloud 2 Thessalonians 3:6-9.
• Point out the life ring in the center of the kids’ handouts, and have a child read what it says aloud.
• Remind the children of the discussion in the children’s sermon about inflatable pool toys, and invite them to share what they remember. Emphasize that the inflated pool toy does its part, and God asks each of us to do our part, too.

ASK:

• How do you feel when you’ve worked hard and done a good job?
• Why do you think God calls us to work hard in all we do?

• Read aloud Nehemiah 4:15-23, having kids listen for ways people worked hard and did their part.
• Lead kids to call out the ways the people worked hard in what they did.
• Allow time for kids to draw a picture of the people in Nehemiah in the upper corner of their handouts.
• Lead kids in thinking of ways they can contribute at home, and have them draw a picture in another quadrant of them working hard.
• Repeat the same process for the other two quadrants for kids to think about ways they can contribute at school and church.

ASK:

• What do you think the opposite of being a hard worker is?
• Have kids open their Bibles to 2 Thessalonians 3:10-13 and read aloud the passage.

SAY: We’re all a part of God’s family, and we all have important jobs to do! When we work hard and do it happily, it makes us feel good, and it helps everyone else around us. Most of all, our hard work pleases God. That’s why the Bible tells us to never tire of doing what is good.

Name the Ways

You’ll Need: Plates or napkins, Cheerios cereal, M&M’s candies

Follow these steps for the snack:

• Have kids clean their hands.

SAY: Today we’re learning that God wants us to be useful, and when we are, we help those around us. Working hard to do our part can also be rewarding because it helps us feel good about ourselves. Let’s think of as many ways as we can to be useful wherever we go.

• Give each child a scoop of Cheerios cereal and a handful of M&M’s candies. Before eating each piece, kids will name one way they can work hard in their families and at home.
• Cheer them on as they think of ways.

SAY: It’s wonderful when we all do our part! Let’s try to do that this week, too.

Kickball

You’ll Need: 4 cones, Kickball

Get Ready: Set up the cones for a home base and three bases in the playing area.

SAY: Today we’re learning that we work hard, and we want to never tire of doing that kind of good. So let’s play a game of kickball, and we’ll all work hard for our team to win.

Follow these steps for the game:

• Form two teams.
• Play a regular game of kickball.
• Encourage the teams to work hard as they play for one another.

SAY: Working hard at whatever we do can be like playing a kickball game. It’s important to obey God and do our best to be there for one another. That’s what working hard is: doing our best to do our part.

Weight Lifters

You’ll Need: Craft sticks, Pipe cleaners, Paper, Scissors, Small glue dots, Pens

To make the craft, have kids follow these steps:

• Remind kids that God wants them to be happy workers. Explain that sometimes people call that “pulling your own weight.”
• Explain to kids that they’re going to make weight lifters as a reminder.
• Spread out the supplies on the table.
• Have each child write “I pull my own weight” on a craft stick.
• Have kids glue a second craft stick to the first one in an X shape using glue dots, making sure not to obscure the writing. The upper part of the X is the weight lifter’s arms, and the bottom part is the weight lifter’s legs.
• Lead kids to cut out a circle from the paper, draw a face, and use glue dots to affix it between the upper arms of the X.
• Have kids use two pipe cleaners each to form two circles to represent weights on the end of a barbell.
• Have kids each fold another pipe cleaner in half, then stick the ends to the weights with a glue dot.
• Have kids use glue dots to attach the barbell to the top of the person’s hands so it looks like the weight lifter is holding it overhead.

SAY: Take home your weight lifter as a reminder that you can be a happy, hard worker.

Weighty Prayers

You’ll Need: Weight lifter crafts

Lead kids to pray in this way:

• Have kids sit in a circle.
• Explain that they’re all going to get to tell Jesus a way they’re going to work hard at something this week.
• When it’s a child’s turn, have him or her hold the weight lifter over- head and tell Jesus a way he or she will be a hard worker this week.
• Go first to set the example.
• Close in prayer.

PRAY: Dear God, we want to work hard and never get tired of doing good things. We want to please You in all we do. Help us know what You want us to do. In Jesus’ name, amen.