Scripture Index

Bible Crafts on the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:1-21; John 16:4-16)

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Pentecost is a powerful and memorable event in the history of the church, but the idea of who the Holy Spirit is can be somewhat challenging. These crafts celebrate Pentecost and the Holy Spirit by focusing on “wind-powered” elements. A wind sock can be hung up for decoration or breeze catching. “Air-blown paint” allows creativity (and a little mess). And an old-fashioned toy turns into an opportunity to witness wind power and create a mini “animation”! More

What is the Holy Spirit? Children’s Sermon (Acts 2:1-21; John 16:4-16)

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The Holy Spirit can be a challenging element of the Trinity to explain or discuss with children (or anyone, for that matter!). At Pentecost, we celebrate the coming of the Spirit and the “birthday” of the church. This message seeks to communicate to students who the Spirit is and what He does for us. We may not see the Holy Spirit physically, but through his power all things take place! Law/Gospel Theme: Jesus promised to send a

Bible Craft Ideas (John 17:6-19) Jesus Gives Us Tools for Prayer

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Prayer is a powerful and important thing to teach to young children, but can be a little tricky to impart or explain. These crafts are meant to provide children with simple but fun visual reminders of why and how we pray. A prayer chain allows kids to consider things to pray for. The “prayer telephone” is a creative craft that reminds students we talk to God and listen for His voice, too. Jesus prays for us and

Children’s Sermon (John 17:6-19) Jesus Gives Us Tools for Prayer

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Children need to understand the power and importance of prayer, but it can be a challenging topic to teach. This message describes the way that Jesus has prayed for us and encourages children to recognize that God helps us pray. The illustration involved uses an object that requires tools and assistance to fix, in order to share with kids how God gives us tools and assistance to communicate with Him. Law/Gospel Theme: Jesus has given us all

Bible Crafts from John 15:9-17 “Love in Action”

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How do we show love? In what ways can we demonstrate and share the love of Jesus with those around us? It’s part of the Great Commandment, and yet sometimes we forget it quickly. These crafts offer simple ways to remember and consider that God loves us, and He wants us to love others. A “friendship bouquet” uses paper elements to craft flowers to give as a caring display. A “helping heart wreath” allows kids to brainstorm

Jesus is the Real Thing! (John 15:9-17) Children’s Sermon

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This children’s message imparts the hope of our relationship with Jesus. Earthly friendships may fail and disappoint us, but the love of Christ will always be there. It might be hard to grasp since we do not see the Lord physically, but His presence guards and guides us. Jesus calls us friends and laid down His life for us. The message uses a “disappointing” object to remind children that God does not disappoint. Law/Gospel Theme: Jesus has

Bear Fruit: Bible Craft Ideas from John 15:1-8

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We know that Jesus is divine…and we are “de branches”! These fruit-themed crafts remind students of the importance of staying rooted in and connected to Christ. When we stay close to Him, we bear spiritual fruit. Apart from that “vine”, we wither and wane. These crafts include grape themes galore. A grapes versus raisins collage imparts the truth that, while raisins cannot turn back into grapes, we can turn back to God when we stray. A collective

Vine and the Branches: Children’s Sermon Lesson from John 15:1-8

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This message explains that we need to remain constantly connected to Christ. As a branch needs to be connected to the main part of the plant in order to live, we need to be “attached” to the Lord. What does this mean? Being rooted in prayer and Bible reading should be components of our daily life, providing the fuel we need to grow and stay healthy in our faith. This message uses a “fruity” object lesson to

Bible Craft Ideas on Jesus The Good Shepherd (John 10:11-18)

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There are several Biblical references that involve sheep. The lifestyle of the first century made this an applicable metaphor, as there were many who were involved in the business of livestock care. Even with that familiarity, people did not always readily understand sheep stories (“This figure of speech Jesus used with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them.” -John 10:6). Sheep are entirely dependent on the shepherd, as we are dependent on God. Jesus

Who’s Your Good Shepherd? Children’s Sermon from John 10:11-18

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This message reminds students that God loves and cares for us, and that He protects us at all times. Just as a shepherd watches out for the needs of the lambs and sees that they have what they need, God provides for us. Jesus gave His life for His sheep, willing to sacrifice for those He loves. The Bible uses many beautiful reminders of this shepherd analogy, and explaining those passages helps children understand and appreciate the

Road to Emmaus Bible Craft Ideas (Luke 24:36-49)

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It’s important to communicate to children the authenticity of Jesus, and His authority in our lives. This was something that even His own disciples sometimes had difficulty understanding. After the resurrection, Jesus appeared to His followers, but He still had to explain God’s plan to them. In a way, He also had to prove who He was, that it was really the Messiah and not merely a ghost or vision. Jesus proved His identity and his power

Children’s Sermon (Luke 24:36-49) Jesus Proves His Identity

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This message communicates to children the importance of trusting that Jesus truly is God, and that He has authority to forgive our sins and encourage us in our faith. Jesus proved His identity by coming back to life from the dead! Because we believe in His death and resurrection, we should want to share that good news with others. Law/Gospel Theme: Jesus most certainly died and came back to life! Because of this, we have assurance that

Sunday School Lesson on Doubting Thomas (John 20:19-31) Blessed to Believe

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Children are often trusting, but they sometimes have difficulty understanding what it means to believe things without seeing them. They don’t have a solid handle on abstract concepts and need to see and experience to fully comprehend. It’s important for faith teachers to communicate to kids that God is very real and loves us, even though we cannot see Him with our eyes or touch Him with our hands. This lesson explains to kids that we sometimes

Doubting Thomas Bible Craft Ideas

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Thomas is notorious for insisting that he see Jesus before believing he truly rose from the grave. He got his wish and was permitted to thrust his hands in the wounds of Christ…however, Jesus promised that those who have not seen and still believe are considered “blessed.” These crafts celebrate the fact that we “walk by faith, not by sight” and our hope is in the word of God. An “evidence bag” can be used for Bible

Doubting Thomas Bible Lesson Message (John 20:19-31)

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Children tend to be rather trusting in general. However, they are also literal in their understanding and interpretation of things, and often have a hard time grasping abstract or unseen concepts. This message reminds kids that our faith in Jesus is reliable and true, even though we cannot physically see or touch the Lord. When we believe despite a lack of sight, Jesus says that we are considered “blessed”! Law/Gospel Theme: Jesus most certainly died and came

Easter Children’s Sermon (John 20:1-18) Colors of Hope

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Easter is (or should be) the pivotal holiday of the Christian faith. It celebrates the greatest event in history, and is a time of great rejoicing! Aside from the fancy dresses, fun decorations, and baskets, though, what is it that we honor for Easter? Young children might not always have a solid understanding of the story behind God’s great plan for mankind. In this message, the story of Good Friday and Easter is told through a favorite

Bible Crafts: Palm Sunday (Mark 11:1-11; John 12:12-16; Matthew 21:1-11; Luke 19:28-40)

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Palm Sunday celebrates the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem, just a few days before His betrayal and execution. On Palm Sunday, people celebrated Him and cheered, calling for salvation. Jesus brought salvation, of course, but not quite as they had anticipated. These crafts recall the events of Palm Sunday and various aspects of the story. A headband with “palm branches and cloaks” reminds students of the patriotic symbols that people put before Jesus when He came

Children’s Message: Palm Sunday (Mark 11:1-11)

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Palm Sunday is a fun and triumphant church celebration, especially when it involves waving branches during service and having “mini parades” or songs. But what does it mean and celebrate? This message takes a look at the original events of Palm Sunday, with an emphasis on how Jesus had a different end goal and purpose than what the people wanted for Him. We recognize that He did not come to establish an earthly kingdom or to fulfill

Jesus Died to Give Life (John 12:20-33) Sunday School Lesson

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During His time on Earth, Jesus provided people with many intriguing analogies and explanations regarding who He was and why He came. Some of these can be challenging for young children to understand, but they can also be helpful to describe as we seek to go deeper into the life and significance of Christ. He was much more than a simple flannel-graph figure or miracle worker. He gave up His life for our sake, and because of

Craft Ideas: Jesus Died to Give Life (John 12:20-33)

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Jesus Explains His Purpose (John 12:20-33)In John 12, Jesus is approached by a group of Greeks who want to know more about Him. He uses an agrarian analogy to describe how He must die in order to give others life, just as grain must fall to the ground in order to produce wheat. A glimpse of Christ’s glory is seen as the crowd hears this explanation. These crafts echo that passage. A pop-up card uses textured materials

Children’s Sermon (John 12:20-33) Jesus Died to Give Life

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This message demonstrates how Jesus died in order to give us life. Children will consider plants and seeds as an analogy of Christ’s sacrifice. Plants die in a sense and enter the earth, in order to grow up out of the ground and provide new life and vegetation. In the same way, Christ gave up His life, but rose again and gives life to all.  Law/Gospel Theme: Jesus came to live a different sort of life, and

Craft Ideas: God Loves the World (John 3:14-21)

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John 3:16 is a familiar passage for many people. In fact, we sometimes recite it so regularly that we forget to contemplate the deeper meaning of the words. God loved the world enough to become human, live with us, and die for us. That is powerful! Because of that, we recognize that Jesus is the light of the whole world. If we want to know what is true and right and good, we look to Christ. We

God’s Big Picture (John 3:14-21) Children’s Sermon

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This children’s sermon is focused on recognizing the importance of who Jesus is in relation to God’s great plan for the salvation of all people. Children may be familiar with the John 3:16 passage, but might not fully understand what it means and why it is so important. The object lesson in this message uses images at unique angles to explain the importance of seeing Christ in light of the whole story of the Bible. Law/Gospel Theme:

“What Does Worship Look Like?” Sunday School Lesson from John 2:13-22

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Did Jesus really brandish a whip and overturn tables in church? The story of the temple cleansing can be a fun and fascinating one to share with children. Certainly, it reminds us that Jesus was not merely a meek flannel-graph image, but He was willing to take a stand when necessary to preserve the integrity of His Father’s house. There is more to this story than that, though. In this passage, it’s important to recognize what true