Use this free Bible lesson in your children’s Sunday School or church program. It’s based on Jesus’ sermon on the mount, where he teaches to seek God’s Kingdom first. Feel free to customize this lesson plan to best fit the needs of your ministry setting.
Gospel Connection: In this passage Jesus teaches us not to worry about our material needs by reminding us that He takes care of the birds who do not store up food and the beautifully clothed flowers who do not work for their clothing. We are to seek the kingdom of God without reservation. When we do this, God will be sure to provide for all of our needs. On the cross, Jesus provided for our greatest need – to be reconciled with God and have our sins wiped out. We can now trust God based on the righteousness of Christ and his promise to provide.
Lesson Title: Do Not Worry
Bible Reference: Matthew 6:25-33
Target Age Group: Elementary
Learning Context: Sunday School
Target Time Frame: One Hour
Print Friendly: [print_link] this lesson plan
Memory Verse: Matthew 6:33 “But seek first His kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”
Learning Aim: Children will learn that they should not worry about anything, but fully trust and rely on God, who will supply all of their needs.
Basic Supply List:
- Bible
- Construction Paper
- Crayons
- Ink Pad
- Baby wipes (for after the craft)
- Make a list for the scavenger hunt. Possible items are a flower, a leaf, a rock, a stick, a clover, a feather, a cicada shell, etc.
- Bags to hold scavenger hunt items
Note: In the teaching plan below the words in italics are meant to be read aloud. The regular text is simply directions for the teacher.
> > > > Basic Teaching Plan < < < <
Introduction: Begin by asking the children if they know what it means to worry. Worrying can be defined as when we keep thinking about our problems instead of trusting God to provide for all of our needs. Ask the children if there is anything that they worry about. If there is, encourage them to pray for God to help them not to worry and assure them that God will provide for all of their needs.
Biblical Evidence: Begin by reading (or having a child read) Matthew 6:25-27. Say, God does not want us to worry about what we eat, drink or anything else. God will take care of our needs. Let’s think about birds. They do not worry about what they are going to eat at all, but every day when they wake up they are about to find the insects that they need to eat. God does not let them go hungry. Since we are God’s most precious treasure then He will not let us go hungry either. Worrying will not add any time to our lives, but will only take away from the time that we could spend serving God.
Next read Matthew 6:28-30. Say, God takes care of the flowers of the Earth just like He takes care of the birds. Each spring the flowers grow and bloom. They do not have to do anything to make themselves bloom, they just do. God makes sure that they get enough sunlight and rain to grow. He cares about them and takes care of them. God also cares about us and takes care of us. We do not need to worry about the clothes that we wear because God will provide for our needs.
Next read Matthew 6:31-32. Say, Right here the Bible is telling us that the Lord knows what we need. How amazing is that? God knows exactly what we need before we even ask for it.
Lastly, read Matthew 6:33-34. Say, God wants us to seek His kingdom and when we do we will learn more about Him and will follow His will for our lives. When we are seeking God, He will make sure that we have everything that we need. He loves us and will provide for our needs.
Flowery Fingerprints: To help the children remember that God takes care of the flowers and will also take care of us, have the children create fingerprint flowers. To do this, have the children dip one finger in an inkpad and make a small circle with their fingerprints on paper. These are the petals of the flower. Next have the children use yellow ink to have make the center of the flower. Use crayons to add details to the picture such as a flower stem or grass. As the children are working, remind them that God loves them and will take care of their needs just like He takes care of the flowers that He created.
Animal Actions: Say, God cares for the flowers and the birds and us. What else do you think that He cares for? Give them time to make suggestions. Have each child say one thing that they think that God takes care of. After each child says what God takes care of everyone will act like that animal or thing. For example, if someone says that God takes care of cats, all the kids will act like cats for about 30 seconds, then the teacher will move on to the next child. When the game is over say, God loves and cares for everything that he created. God loves everything that we just acted out and God loves you.
Seeking God Scavenger Hunt: Begin the scavenger hunt by reminding the children that Matthew 6:33 teaches us that we should seek the Kingdom of God and everything else that we need will be given to us. Explain that seeking the Lord means that we are constantly trying to learn more about Him and always trying to do what He wants us to do. For fun, have the children take part in a scavenger hunt. Take the children outside and give them a list of nature items to search for. Possible items are a flower, a leaf, a rock, a stick, a clover, a feather, a cicada shell, etc. Change the list based on what you have around you. Give each child a bag and a list and let them search for the items. Younger children might need help collecting their items. Older children may enjoy a scavenger hunt race by seeing who can find all of the items the fastest. Once children have had time to search for all of the items, remind them that God created all of the nature items that they found. He made the leaves and the flowers grow and he cared for the bird that the feather came from. Say, If God cares for all of these things in nature then He will take care of you as well.
Review Questions: Use the following questions to review the main ideas of the stories.
- What does worry mean? Worrying is when we are always thinking about what we need and not trusting God to take care of us.
- What can we learn from looking at the birds of the sky? We can learn that God takes care of them and feeds them. They do not worry about what they are going to eat.
- How does God take care of the flowers of the field? He makes sure that they have enough rain and sun each spring so that they can grow.
- Can we add time to our lives by worrying? No
- What can we do instead of worrying? We can trust that God will provide for all of our needs.
- What should we always be seeking? We should seek the kingdom of God.
- When we seek God’s kingdom what are we really doing? We are learning more about God and trying to do what He wants us to do.
- Can we trust God to take care of all of our needs? Yes.
Closing: Close by asking the children if there is anything that they are worried about that they can pray about. Explain that when we are worried we can pray and tell God all of our problems. We can trust that He will hear us when we tell him what we need. Pray for the children and dismiss them.
thank you for making yourselves available for the glory of God.