This free Bible lesson is based on Luke 21:25-36 when Jesus warns His followers to be prepared for His second coming. It is designed for children’s church or Sunday School. Please modify as best fits your ministry.
If your church follows the Revised Common Lectionary, this teaching plan would correspond to Year C – 1st Sunday of Advent, Gospel Reading – Luke 21:25-36.
Luke 21:25-36 Children’s Bible Lesson – Be Prepared
Supplies – backpack, flashlight, compass, map, sunscreen, water bottle, thick socks, granola bar
Have you ever gone hiking before? I love to go hiking. I just think there is nothing better than being outdoors and seeing everything God created.
Each time I go on a hike it’s a little bit different. Sometimes it’s hot, sometimes it’s cold. Sometimes it’s raining, and sometimes it’s dry as a desert. Sometimes it’s flat, and sometimes it’s up and down, over and over again. And I hike them all, no matter how easy or how tough.
One thing all those hikes has taught me is how to prepare. If I want to make it through a hiking trip, there are certain things I need to bring and do.
First of all, I have to build up my strength. I can’t just automatically go hike up the highest mountain my first trip out. No, I have to start smaller and slowly build up my strength. But I know, that with each hike I go on, I am making myself better for the next one.
Another thing I’ve gotten good at is packing. There are a lot of things you need to bring with you on a trip like that. I even brought my backpack to show you. These are things I always bring with me, no matter what trip I’m going on.
I have a flashlight, for when it gets dark. A map and compass, so I don’t get lost. I have food and water, to keep me strong. And sunscreen and warm socks to protect me.
If I forgot even one of those things, I would be in big trouble. That’s why I try to always be prepared.
You know, if you think about it, we should always be prepared for other things too. It’s not just about hiking. You could be prepared for a test, or for a football game, or even a party.
But there is one thing that is more important that anything else. Meeting Jesus.
Just like when I go hiking, there are things we need no matter what. We might not need an actual flashlight, but we do need a light to follow. Thankfully, the Bible says that Jesus is the light of the world. So if we get stuck in a bad place, lost in the dark of sin, all we have to do is look for the light of Jesus.
Prayer is just like our our compass and map. When we pray, we are staying pointed in the right direction, directed right to Jesus.
And when we read the Bible, that is nourishment to our souls, just like water and food is nourishment to our bodies. It helps to keep us strong as followers of Jesus, so when times get tough, we are ready.
And the Holy Spirit is our sunscreen and socks, keeping us protected. When we have the Holy Spirit living in us, we don’t have to worry, because we are protected.
Jesus talks about being prepared a few times in the Bible. We never know when we will meet Jesus, but no matter when that is, if it’s in two seconds from now, or 100 years from now, we need to be ready.
Just like you wouldn’t want to go on a hike without all the proper equipment, we don’t want to meet Jesus with our hearts all wrong. We want to be living the life He asked us to live. We want to obeying our parents, helping others, reading our Bibles, and asking for forgiveness when we mess up.
Activity A – Be Prepared – Bible Verse Challenge
Supplies – Bibles
Verse – Luke 21:34-36
Pass out Bibles to students. Bibles should be closed and sitting on the table face up in front of each child. When you say go, have the kids look up this week’s Bible verse. As each child finds the verse, have them stick one finger on the verse and quietly raise their other hand. The first one to find the verse gets to read it to the rest of the class.
Help younger kids and new kids find the verse by following these steps.
Look in the Table of Contents for the book you are looking for. Make an effort to show them if it is found in the Old Testament or New Testament to help them in the future. Then open the Bible to the page number listed in the Table of Contents.
Show them the large numbers in the text, known as the chapters. Flip through pages until you find the large chapter number you are looking for.
Then scan through the text with them pointing out the smaller verse numbers until the correct number is found.
Activity B – Be Prepared – Nourishment for My Soul
Supplies – construction paper, markers, scissors, Bibles
Using one piece of construction paper and two pieces of white paper, fold them in half like a book, with the white paper folded to the inside. One the construction paper, have each child write “Holy Bible” on the front cover. Then, on each white piece of paper, have the children write Bible verses to help nourish their souls.
Give them each a Bible and the list below so they can pick out Bible verses to include.
- Joshua 1:9
- Psalm 107:1
- Psalm 118:24
- Psalm 136:1
- Psalm 150:6
- Proverbs 3:5-6
- Jeremiah 29:11
- Luke 6:31
- Luke 10:27
- John 3:16
- John 8:12
- Acts 16:31
- Romans 3:23
- Galatians 5:22-23
- Ephesians 4:32
- Ephesians 6:1
- Philippians 4:13
- 1 John 4:19
- 1 John 5:3
Closing Prayer – Be Prepared
Ask for a volunteer to pray for the class before leaving, and encourage them to ask God to help them prepare for the day they will meet Jesus.