Cleaning House Group
Group Activities

Sermon Title: "Cleaning House"

Scripture Reading:  John 2:13-17

ROPE TUG OF WAR: Divide the children into two teams and play tug of war with a heavy rope. Tell children to listen carefully to the Bible story later and see what a ROPE was used for by Jesus in the Temple.

CLEANING RELAY: Divide the children into two teams. Place the same amount of cleaning supplies in two buckets. Run a "cleaning relay" back and forth, with each child taking one cleaning item from the bucket and taking it back to the team and tagging the next player who will run to the team's bucket and take another cleaning item. This will continue until the bucket is empty. The team that empties their bucket first is the winner.

MOP RIDING RELAY: Divide the children into two teams. Give each team a mop to ride as they run a relay for their team to a line and back. The team that completes the ride with all of its team members is the winner. Tell children to listen carefully to the Bible story and see where cleaning supplies might be used in our story and to LISTEN to WHAT needs to be cleaned!!

TEMPLE TUBE TALK: Have the children stand in a long line. Give the first child in the line a slip of paper with an item from today's lesson that needed to be cleaned. (selling doves, sheep, cattle; exchanging money) Using a paper towel tube, the first child will whisper what is written on the slip of paper through the tube to the next child. Each child will then whisper into the tube to the next player until the last child has heard what was whispered through the temple tube. That child will say the words out loud and see if it is the same word that was written on the slip of paper. Play again with another player beginning the TEMPLE TUBE TALK. Encourage children to use words that they can think of for areas in our own lives that need to be cleaned (such as our speech, our prayer life, our obedience, what our eyes watch, or what our ears listen to, etc.)

TEMPLE BUILDING: Give children blocks or boxes, etc to build a temple. Let the children take turns in telling something that happened in today's Bible story and then telling how they can worship God in HIS HOUSE. Children may enjoy knocking the building down as the story is told and building it up again.

TEMPLE ART: Give each child a piece of heavy paper/poster board and help them to draw or trace a large temple. Let the children use colored markers to decorate the windows of their temple to look like stain glass art. The children might also glue craft sticks on the drawing to create the look of a roof on the temple. When the temple is finished, have the children draw a sign beside their temple with an arrow that says, "Worship Here".

TEMPLE KEYS: Let the children cut out several keys that the teacher has prepared before class time. (Key Template) On each key, the children will write something important that we SHOULD do in our church. (Examples: one key can say worship, another key can say praise, another key can say sing, another key can say pray, etc.) Give children an inexpensive key ring to hook their Temple Keys onto and take home to hang on their wall!

TREASURE CHEST: Give the children a small box and the supplies to decorate their box to put coins into. Let the children put real or pretend "coins" into their box as they discuss today's Bible lesson. Ask children how our offerings are used for God. (Examples: to buy supplies, to help poor people, to share money with missionaries, to pay the church staff, etc.)

SNACK TIME: Before class, the teacher can place snacks in various places around the church. During snack time, take the children on a walk around the church to the various places where snacks have been placed. (Suggestions: youth room, baptistery, prayer room, piano or organ area, auditorium, etc.) At each place the children can have a small treat (candy, cookie, new pencil, etc) to enjoy while the teacher explains why that area is important to the church and ask the children questions as they take a church tour!

SING A SONG: This Little Light of Mine, and I've Got the Joy, Joy, Joy

Song:  "This Little Light of Mine"

Words and Music (pdf)

MP3 Accompaniment Track

Song:  "I've Got the Joy"

Words and Music (pdf)

MP3 Accompaniment Track

Song:  "Cleanse Me"

Words and Music (pdf)

MP3 Accompaniment Track