Use this children’s Sunday School lesson to teach kids about how to receive God’s blessings.
Needed: Bibles, a gift box with a rock and a toy or stuffed snake inside, a healthy snack for all (I used individually packaged fruit cups), utensils for the snack, napkins (hide the napkins somewhere in your classroom beforehand)
Intro Game: Mother, May I?
Choose one student to be Mother or Father. The rest of the students stand facing the Mother or Father in a row. The Mother or Father randomly chooses a student and tells them that they can take a certain number of baby steps, giant steps, or regular steps forward. The student, however, must ask, “Mother [or Father], may I?” and receive a “Yes” before they move. If they move without asking, they’re out of the game.
The first student to reach the line where the Mother or Father is standing wins and becomes the new Mother or Father.
Lesson
Ask students, How many of you have ever had a Birthday?
Wow, all of you have had Birthdays! Well, what do you do when it’s getting close to your Birthday? Do you ever ask your mom or your dad, or maybe your grandparents for something special that they could give you for a present?
What do you think you would like for your next Birthday? (Listen to students’ wish-list as you pull out your gift box.)
What if, instead of getting you those things that you wanted, your parents gave you a rock instead? (Pull a rock out of the gift box.) Would you like that?
Or what if, instead of giving you what you wanted, they gave you a snake? (Pull a toy or stuffed snake out of the box.) How would that be?
Well, rocks and snakes are pretty cool, but they’re not as nice as the things you were asking for. It’s a good thing that your parents and grandparents give you nice things for presents, isn’t it?
And you know, God always gives us good things too. Jesus said that God will always give us good things. God gives us even better things than our parents do! Because God made us – He gave us life – and He gives us everything that we need to live and everything that we need to be happy. He gives us the chance to go to Heaven with Him and live forever when our life here on Earth is over.
(Read Matthew 7:7-11.)
“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.
“Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask Him!”
These verses are talking about how God always gives us good things. The first thing Jesus is saying is that if we ask, we will what?
We will receive. That means that if we ask God for something, He’ll give it to us! Just remember that God doesn’t give us bad things. If we ask for something bad, or if we ask Him to do something bad to someone, He won’t do it. God only gives us good things, and He only does good things. If God doesn’t give us something, that means that it wouldn’t be the best thing for us. He wants to give us something better. So, if you ask, you will receive.
The next part says that if we seek, we will what?
We will find. Have you ever seen a cartoon or a TV show or a movie where people are looking for treasure, and they’re on a treasure hunt? It’s kind of like that with God. Sometimes, He wants to give you something, but He hides it so that you can have the adventure of finding it. You can learn new things and have lots of fun looking for the things that God wants to give you. And God is always there to make sure you’re looking in the right direction. So, if you seek, you will find.
The last part of what Jesus says here is that if we knock, what will happen?
The door will be opened. Have you ever walked up to somebody’s house and knocked on the door, but they didn’t answer? Maybe you wanted to visit your friend or something, and they weren’t home? That can be sad if we want to visit someone, but they’re not home, right? The great thing is that God is always home! He’s always right there, ready to open His door and talk to us whenever we want to talk to Him. All we have to do is pray, and God’s right there, ready to listen! So, if you knock on God’s door, He’ll always open it!
Game and Snack: Ask, Seek, Knock
Tell students you have something you want to give them, but they have to ask you for it first. When they ask you, give them all a spoon or other appropriate utensil for the snack you have planned.
Seek – Tell students to keep their spoons, but that now, they have to find the next thing they’ll need for what you want to give them. Tell them to find something that might go along with a spoon. Give them hints to guide them toward the napkins.
Knock – Lead them to a closed room, cabinet, or refrigerator where you’ve kept the snack. Tell them to knock on the door. If possible, have another volunteer open the door from the inside to welcome them in. If not possible, open the door yourself. Students should now have everything they need and can eat their snack.
As they eat, tell students, The thing to remember today is to ask, seek, knock. If we pray to God, He might not always give us everything that we ask for, but He will give us everything that we need. He will give us everything that is the best for us, and the things that He gives us will be good.
Activity: Knock, Knock Jokes
Tell students a few knock, knock jokes and then, see if any of them have a knock, knock joke to share.
Remind students that when we pray, it’s like we’re knocking on God’s door, and He’ll always answer us.
Closing Prayer
Father God, thank You for giving us all the good things that we need. Help us to ask You, to seek the things You have for us, and to knock on Your door through prayer. In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.
You can also find this lesson for Kindle or in print in my book, Jesus Teaches on the Mountain.