Expect the Expected
Actividades del grupo

Sermon Title: "Expect the Expected"

Scripture Reading:Matthew 25:1-13

JAR RELAY:

Divide the children into teams. Have 10 small jars (jam or olive jars, etc) available for each team. See how long it will take each team to run back and forth while taking turns, to fill the 10 jars with water. The teams can use a small paper dixie cup to do the filling of the jars.

BE PREPARED MARCHING:

Let the class march around the church and to other classrooms and knocking on the doors of each room. When entering as a class group, the class will say in unison, "BE PREPARED. THEREFORE KEEP WATCH, BECAUSE YOU DO NOT KNOW THE DAY OR THE HOUR. MATTHEW 25:13. Then the class will leave that room and go to another classroom as time allows.

HOPSCOTCH:

Make a hopscotch game and write ways to be prepared on each square. Let children play hopscotch, reading what is in each square that they hop on. The children will take turns until each one trips or steps on or out of a line.

PREPARE RELAY:

The children will be divided into two teams. The teacher will have ways to prepare for Jesus' coming, written on slips of paper for each team. Each team member will run to the table or basket to get ONE slip of paper and tape it to their clothing. Then the next team player will do the same until all the slips of paper have been taped on each child. Children can sit in a circle and listen to today's Bible story!

TELLING OTHERS:

Give the children supplies to make a "telephone" to tell others to be ready for Jesus' coming -- to invite JESUS into their hearts. The children will each be given a styrofoam cup and put a small hole in the bottom of the cup. Put a string through the hole and tie a knot and then string it to another styrofoam cup and use around a circle as a telephone to TELL OTHERS.

BE PREPARED DOOR BANNER:

Give the class a large neon colored poster board and markers and stickers to make the door banner. Write today's Bible verse as well as BE PREPARED, etc on the board. Hole punch the top of the poster board and hang on the classroom door to remind children to BE PREPARED for Jesus' coming!

PREPARATION KITS:

Give each child two pieces of construction paper to tape together - leaving the top of one sheet higher than the other, so it can be folded down over the other sheet to form an envelope. Give the children various sizes of paper cut outs to write ways to be PREPARED for Christ's coming and then after coloring each one and discussing the idea, that piece of paper can be slipped into the PREPARATION KIT envelope to take home. Write today's Bible verse on the outside of the PREPARATION KIT or other words from today's lesson.

FLAG PARADE:

Let the children cut out and decorate a BE PREPARED FLAG and tape a small dowel rod to the edge of the rectangle flag. Children will enjoy a MARCH around a designated area to display their flags. Adding music for the marching will be fun. When the teacher says, HALT! the children will stop and recite the Bible verse together. Then continue to march. The teacher may want to add some variation and have the girls recite the verse one time and the boys recite the Bible verse another time, or all the children wearing red, or blue, or brown hair, etc.

PREPARATION BOOKLETS:

Give the children small pieces of paper to staple together to form a booklet. Tie the papers together with yarn or staple them together. Each page can be colored and decorated and the children can write words from today's lesson on each page! The children can share the words that they have written in their booklet with the other children in the class after everyone has completed their pages.

OIL LAMPS:

Give each child a cut out of the different parts of an oil lamp - such as the base, the wick, the globe, the flame, etc. Children can tape or glue the parts of the oil lamp onto a piece of construction paper. Children can write words from today's lesson such as SOME DAY WE WILL GO TO MEET JESUS -- BE PREPARED, or today's Bible verse, etc.

SNACK TIME:

Give the children a snack that requires some preparation. For example, getting a dish, a napkin, silverware, wet wipes, etc. The treat could be something like fruit which the children would need to cut up, or ice cream sundaes, or cookies or cupcakes which need frosting.

Song: "Give Me Oil in My Lamp" Traditional

Words and Music (pdf)

MP3 Accompaniment Track