WELCOME TO WEEK 1

Have you ever had a plan for how you thought your day should go and then nothing turned out right? That happens to everyone. We all make plans and sometimes they work out but sometimes they do not. God has a plan too. But unlike our plans, God’s plans are perfect and always happen according to His plan.

John 2:13-22;  Psalm 19:7-11

BIBLE STORY

Draw a picture of a house and background scenery. You can draw your picture in advance or draw along with your child but be sure they can not see your picture. Give detailed instructions of what they should draw, step by step, on their paper as you are drawing your picture. Do not show your child your picture until the end of the exercise. If you color your picture be sure they are coloring theirs as well.

Let’s look at our pictures together! Do they look exactly alike? It’s kind of hard for you to have a picture that looks exactly like mine without seeing my picture while you drew yours. When we can see the example in front of us, it is easier to follow the instructions that are given. We use instructions as a way to guide us in lots of areas in our lives. When we build furniture we use a picture diagram. When we bake a cake we might use a recipe as our guide. When we learn how to play an instrument we might use an instructional video. When we builders build homes, they use blueprints to build a home the way it was designed. God also has a plan for this world and for each one of us. This week we will read about the plan God had for Jesus. Although God’s plan was not clear to everyone around Jesus, His plan was perfect and would not fail. 

Materials: drawing paper, pencil

Read or listen to the Bible verse for this week John 2:13-22

What holiday was about to occur in Jerusalem? (Passover)

What did Jesus find when he went into the temple courts? ( people selling cattle, sheep and doves and people sitting at tables exchanging money)

What did Jesus do with the cord he made?( he drove everyone from the temple courts and scattered the money tables and coins)

What did he say to those who sold the doves? (Get these out of here! Stop turning my fathers house into a market)

What did the Jews insist that Jesus prove? (A sign to show His authority to do these things)

Jesus said if they destroyed this temple, he would rise it in how many days? (3 days)

Did the Jews believe him? (No, they knew the original temple was built in 46 years)

What temple was Jesus talking about? (His body as the temple that would die and rise again)

BIBLE STORY ACTIVITY

When Jesus described the temple being destroyed and rebuilt in 3 days, he was not talking about the physical temple but of His own body. He had a plan that the Jews did not understand at that time. Even the disciples remembered His words after his resurrection and then believed the scripture and words Jesus had spoken. God has a plan that we may not always understand, but it is always perfect.

Activity

Jesus cleaned the temple from the unclean things the people were doing in God’s house. The things they were doing were not a part of God’s plan. Jesus needed to clean God’s house of the cheating, stealing and unholy things that were happening there. Think about other things in our lives that are unclean that we need to have God help us clean. Listen to the following scenarios and decide what is dirty and how God can help you clean it up!

Materials: Scenarios printed or viewed on device

Alternate

Complete the following activity sheet.

Materials: Printed activity sheet

Independent activity:

Create your own plans to build something such as a house, car, or airplane, using grid or regular construction paper. Decide what your framed object will look like and draw it on the grid paper as your plan. Then create a 3-D version of your object using toothpicks and mini marshmallows or building bricks.

Materials: Grid paper or construction paper, pencil

ARTS & CAFTS

CRAFT 1

Coloring page

Materials: Printed coloring sheet, crayons

Craft 2

Coloring page

Materials: printed coloring sheet, crayons

FOLLOW-UP

Read or listen to Psalm 19:7-11

This verse describes the Bible and how it can help us. The bible is God’s plan laid out for us. It is perfect. We don’t have to wonder what God wants for our lives or how we should behave, we can look in God’s word, the Bible, and know what God’s plans are for our lives. 

Fill in the blank from the memory verse. (NIV version used)

The law of the Lord is _____; _______ the soul.

The statues of the Lord are ________; making ______ the simple.

The precepts of the Lord are _________: giving ________ to the heart.

The commands of the Lord are ________; giving ________ to the eyes.

The fear of the Lord is ________; enduring ________.

The decrees of the Lord are _________; and all of them are ___________.

Practical Application at Home

We can choose to follow God’s plan for our lives or we can choose to go our own way. God’s plan for our lives is perfect and will always be better than our own plans. We may not always see how His plan is perfect because things don’t always go the way we want them to go, but God knows what is best for us not just today but in the future. Sometimes we have to be patient to see how God’s plan will work out. When we follow God’s plan, we don’t have to worry about the future instead, we can just do the things God has set in front of us to do today. We can find God’s plan in His Holy word, the Bible. His word is perfect and there for us as a guide. Psalm 19:9-11, the Psalmist uses his own words to describe God’s Word. Think about descriptive words you would use to compare the precious and sweetness of God’s words.

Complete the following verse and add your own descriptive words to describe how good God is. 

Additional Resources

Outings to Reinforce Lesson

Donate to a local food shelter or toy drive this Christmas season. As a family, volunteer together or pick out toys you think another child your age might enjoy.