New Years Sunday School Lesson (Luke 18:18-27)

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Use this New Year’s Bible Lesson for Sunday School or Children’s Church. It helps kids focus on their relationship with Jesus as the most important one thing as they start the new year. The printable PDF download includes bonus activities and coloring pages to help you prepare for Sunday.

Don’t miss our All Things NEW:4-Week Sunday School Curriculum to teach in January. Click here to download lesson #1 as a free sample.

“One Thing” Sunday School Lesson for Children

Luke 18:18-27 New Year’s Bible Lesson for Kids on Putting Jesus First


At the beginning of each year many people reflect upon their life and what they can do to improve it.  We see slogans everywhere motivating people to “be the new you” through weight loss programs, financial planning, exercise regiments and home organization.  Yet most of us find by the end of the year we have slipped back into some of our old habits once again.  This occurs because people are striving for change in their own strength without seeking the help of the Lord.

In this lesson, children will be encouraged to examine their life and identify one thing they need to give up at the start of this new year.  What is the one thing in their life that is holding them back from having a closer walk with the Lord or having a relationship with him at all?  They will learn that this change they seek cannot be found on their own, but can only be made possible with God’s help. God loves us and wants us to pray and talk to him!

About this “New Year” Sunday School Lesson

Text: Luke 18:18-27

Learning Objective: The children will examine their life to identify one thing they are holding on to which is keeping them from having a closer walk with God.

Target Age: K-5th grade children (can be adapted easily for youth and adults)

Time Needed: 30-45 minutes

Materials Needed:

Bonus Lesson Ideas: More ideas for celebrating the New Year in Children’s Church


“One Thing” Sunday School Lesson for New Year


Lesson Introduction (HOOK)

  1. “What is special about the month we are now in?”  It is the first month of a new year!
  2. “What year is it?”
  3. “Have you heard about making a new year resolution?  What is a resolution?”
  4. “A resolution is a goal.  Something you want to do or be by the end of the year.”
  5. “Do you have some ideas for a resolution you could make?”  Take input from the kids.
  6. “Did you know a resolution can be something you choose to give up, too?  For example, you can resolve or make a goal to give up eating candy because it is not good for your teeth.  Or you could give up playing video games after dinner because sometimes you end up staying up too late.”

Biblical Content (BOOK)

  1. “Jesus spoke to a man in the Bible and asked him to give something up so the man could follow Jesus with his whole heart.  Jesus wanted the man to resolve to give up this thing so he could fully follow Jesus.  Can you guess what that one thing was?” Take input from the kids.
  2. “Let’s look at the passage where Jesus talks with this man and find out what the one thing is Jesus asked him to give up.”
  3. “Open your Bibles to Luke 18:18-27 and let’s read the passage together.”
  4. Read the passage out loud.

Scripture Application (LOOK)

  1. “What is the question the man asked Jesus?”  How can I have eternal life?
  2. “How did Jesus answer his question?”  Reread verses 19-20.
  3. “First, Jesus reminded the man that no one is good and that all people have sinned.”
  4. “What was the man’s reply?”  He said he had kept all the laws Jesus listed and was a good man.
  5. “Yet what did Jesus tell the man he still needed to do?”  Reread verse 22.
  6. “Jesus told the rich man to give up everything he owned to follow Jesus.  This is the ‘one thing’ the man had left to do before he could have eternal life.”
  7. Reread verse 23.  “How did the man feel about giving up everything he owned?”  He was sad because he was very rich and he did not want to give all of his possessions up to follow Jesus. How did this man put God first in his life?
  8. “Now something I want to make clear to you is that Jesus does not give us a list of things to do in order to get into heaven.  There is no to-do list to check off.  But you might wonder then why did Jesus ask this man to do something to receive eternal life?  Jesus knew that this wealthy man was being held back by his many possessions.  His great wealth was the ‘one thing’ that was keeping his heart hard.  Jesus knew this man’s heart would not want to follow Jesus until his possessions had been given away.”
  9. “Jesus says in verse 24-25,” Reread these verses.
  10. “To be a true follower of Christ and receive eternal life we must give our whole heart to Him.  This rich young ruler was willing to give most of his heart and life to Jesus, but not all of it.  His wealth was the ‘one thing’ keeping him from following Jesus with his whole heart.”
  11. How can we make time every day to put God first. He wants us to talk to HIM each and every day.

Life Application of this Lesson (TOOK)

  1. “Is there one thing holding you back from following Jesus with your whole heart?  Maybe you are not a follower of Jesus yet because you do not want to give up your sin and repent?  The ‘one thing’ you need to resolve to do this new year is to give up your sin and believe in Jesus’ death on the cross to save you.  Your ‘one thing’ to give up is your sin.  This new year may be the year you choose a new life in Christ!”
  2. “For those of you who know Christ with saving faith.  You have already turned from your sin, believed in the saving work of Jesus death on the cross, and you are seeking to live your life in the way Jesus would want you to live.  Yet, you may still have ‘one thing’ in your life that is holding you back in your relationship with Him.  Maybe there is something your heart is clinging to which you think is more important than Jesus.  Is it getting the lead role in the school play?  Is it becoming the player to score the most goals on your soccer team?  Is it sneaking extra food from the kitchen at home when no one is looking?  Is it not following what your parents say because you think you know better?  All of these things can hold you back from having the closest relationship you can have with Jesus.”
  3. “So what is your ‘one thing’ today?  For the rich young ruler it was holding on to his wealth, which meant he did not receive eternal life.  What is your ‘one thing’?” God loves us and wants us to make time for prayer and to talk with HIM.
  4. “Let’s close with one final word from Jesus.” Reread verse 27.
  5. “Jesus does not leave us to give up that ‘one thing’ all on our own and by our own strength.  He knows we cannot do it on our own, but we need his help.  Ask Jesus for help to give up your ‘one thing’ to Him.  Pray for God to help you give up your ‘one thing’ this year, so that you can have a relationship with Him or so you can have a closer relationship with him.  None of us can give up our ‘one thing’ all on our own.  We need His help every day.”

New Year’s Activity for Sunday School:

  1. Copy an outline of a block number one.  There should be one for each child.  This can be hand drawn with space in the middle for the children to write.
  2. The children will write in the middle their “one thing” they need to give up this year so they can follow Jesus with their whole heart.
  3. The children will cut their number one out and keep it between the pages of their Bible as a reminder to them throughout the year.
  4. In this activity, it is important to dialogue with each child about their “one thing.”  Help them to understand why that thing is a hindrance to growth in their relationship with God and how they will need His help to overcome it.

Printable New Year’s Coloring Page for Children

New Year Sunday School Coloring Page
Download this free New Year’s Coloring Page to use as a teaching activity in your Sunday School class this January

January New Year Calendar Coloring PAge
This January Coloring page helps children start the new year in Sunday School by putting God first.

34 thoughts on “New Years Sunday School Lesson (Luke 18:18-27)”

  1. thank you for the lesson and the activity. this site is very helpful with my lesson planning and gives me ideas when I am fresh out. Renae Faircloth

  2. Thank you Jesus for leading me to this lesson for my 6-7 yr old SS Class today – what a great way to kick off 2019!

  3. Thank you so much for this lesson & this site. I’ll be using this in our Wednesday night Children’s Ministry (4th-6th grade). We’ll just be coming back from school break.
    ~LJCC~

  4. Thank you so much! I will be using this for my junior church group this coming Sunday! I’m so excited to have found this resource . Lisa

  5. Thanks so much for the encouragement about this lesson and may God bless your Sunday School class this New Year and beyond!

  6. I am very grateful for this website, the hard work that has been put in to it, and the quality of the lessons. As a pastor of a small church, finding volunteers is sometimes challenging and I find myself needing to lead/teach children’s Sunday School. Having these lessons ready made saves me so much time. And as a fellow Boyce alum (2004), it is a blessing to see another alum making an impact for His kingdom.

  7. I am so excited to teach this lesson in our children’s Sunday school class this morning! Thank you so much for putting this lesson together and sharing it!
    ~ Bethany

  8. So thankful for this website. It seems time and time again when I’m looking for a lesson idea, you guys are always there. Thank you.

  9. Sure thing – sending the lesson plan now. Was there a problem with the download link on the page? You should be able to click it and directly download the Sunday School lesson

  10. I was scrambling to find a lesson to begin the year with on Sunday – this will be perfect. Thank you for making it easy for us when we forget it’s our Sunday to be blessed by the children in our church. ????

  11. Thank you for the lesson! I will be using this as our back to school chapel on Wednesday to students K-6!

  12. Thank you for this great lesson. It really will set the stage for this New Year.
    I will be using it on Sunday and I do believe that the students will enjoy it and learn for it.

  13. Thank you for this wonderful lesson. I was looking for a good message to share with our sunday school children. Found the perfect one here!

  14. About to head into 2024 and I’m completely burnt out of ideas. We had a busy time leading up to Christmas. I’ve come across this lesson and all I can say is, thank you for sharing!

  15. Happy 2024 and thank you for sharing this New Year lesson. I am looking forward to teach our Sunday night Jr High discipleship class, perfect since it will be New Years Eve. I am also planning on giving each student a journal to keep up with how they are working toward a closer walk with Jesus. This would be good to look at and see their growth at the end of the year.

  16. I love your lessons I’m so glad I was able to find them. they are such a blessing to me I teach Sunday school at my church these lessons make my life so much easier

  17. Thank you for this New Year lesson! My partner and I will be using it with our fifth graders this week and I can’t wait!

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