Fear Not! Halloween Sunday School Lesson

Halloween is a day in our country when both the young and old find fun in death and what is scary.  Many children set out to find the scariest costume to wear for their school parade and trick-or-treating.  With so many visual symbols of death set before our children at this time of year it is fitting to teach them about how children of God have no need to fear death.

This lesson walks children through a passage from the book of Matthew to help them see how death is not a scary thing for the believer. It could be used in Sunday School, but would be ideal for a Halloween Children’s Church lesson.

Bonus Halloween Ideas

Need something else? Check out two other free lessons on the theme of JESUS overcoming fear

New for this season: a free Halloween lesson your kids will actually remember. Trick or Truth, Week 1: The First Lie (Genesis 3) is a complete Sunday school lesson for ages 6 to 12, with the Bible story, a game, a craft, a coloring page, and the memory verse (John 14:6). It borrows the trick-or-treat world of candy and costumes to teach one thing: God always tells the truth, and His truth helps kids spot a trick. It is the first of five lessons in our Trick or Truth curriculum, which also comes in a preschool edition.

• Faith Overcomes Fear! (another free Halloween lesson)
• “Do Not Fear!” (preschool targeted lesson)
•  Free Halloween Coloring page
• Armor of God coloring pages
• For younger children, the My God is So Big Song would be a good addition.

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“Halloween” Sunday School Lesson (Fear Not)

Text: Matthew 10:28-33

Learning Objective: The children will learn how a child of God does not need to fear death.

Target Age: 3^rd-5^th grade

Time Needed: 20 minutes, plus time to meet with children following the lesson to discuss their salvation.

Materials Needed: None

Hook:

1. “What are some things that come to your mind when you think about Halloween?”  Take input from the children.
2. “Many of the things you have shared are scary things and things to do with death.  Would you say a big part of how people celebrate Halloween is to be scared and find fun in death?”
3. “But, God tells us in the Bible that if we are His child who has accepted Jesus as our Lord and Savior, then we do not need to fear death.”

Book:

1. Open your Bibles to Matthew 10:28-32
2. Read aloud this passage while the children follow along in their own Bibles.

Look:

1. “Let’s read verse 28 again.”  Have a child read it out loud.
2. “Who is ‘him who can destroy both soul and body’?”  God.
3. “Can people destroy your soul?” No.  “Can Satan destroy your soul?” No.  “Does our soul live forever even when our body dies?” Yes.
4. “So if you are a child of God, God has already given your soul everlasting life!  You do not need to fear losing your body or dying because your soul will go to live forever with God in heaven!  And in heaven we will even get a new body!”
5. “Now look at verse 29-31.”  Have a child read these verses out loud.
6. “Does God care for little baby sparrows?” Yes.  “If God cares for little sparrows, then how much more do you think He cares for His own children?”  A lot!
7. “Isn’t it amazing that God knows the number of hairs on our head?  He must care for us a lot to know that fact about us.”
8. “If God knows the number of hairs on our head and sees us as more valuable than sparrows, then we have nothing to fear because the God of the universe knows us and cares for us.  He will be with us in life and in death.”

Took:

1. Have a child read aloud verse 32.
2. “This verse tells us that if we are a follower of Christ and we believe in what Christ did for us on the cross, then we have nothing to fear because we will be going to live in heaven with God forever.  That is good news!”
3. “But is it true that everyone on earth has nothing to fear, not even death?”
4. Have a child read aloud verse 33.
5. “This verse says if you are not a follower of Christ and you have not trusted in what he did for you on the cross, then you do have something to fear.  You who have not given your life to follow Jesus will not live for eternity in heaven with God.  That is not good news.  That is something to fear.”
6. “My question for you today is: do you have a reason to fear death or have you given your life to Jesus and therefore have no reason to fear death?”
7. This would now be a time to present the gospel and/or allow the opportunity for children to meet with an adult leader to discuss the state of their salvation.