"You are Not Alone!" Sunday School Lesson from John 15:26-27, 16:4b-15

This free Bible lesson is based on John 15:26-27, 16:4b-15 when Jesus tells the disciples about the coming of the Holy Spirit. It is designed for children’s church or Sunday School. Please modify as best fits your ministry.
If your church follows the Revised Common Lectionary, this teaching plan would correspond to Year B – Day of Pentecost, Gospel Reading – John 15:26-27, 16:4b-15.
Opening Activity – You are Not Alone! – Working Together

Supplies – blindfolds, deck of cards
Blindfold each child and give them five playing cards.  Then give them one minute to build a house with four sides and a roof.
For the next round, pair them together, with one child as the blindfolded builder, and the other as the non-blindfolded coach.  The only rules are that the coach cannot touch the cards, and the builder cannot touch their blindfold.
Then challenge them to use all ten of their combined cards to build a two-story house.
Lesson – You are Not Alone!

Was that hard to do?  Was it easier when you had a partner to help?
Some people don’t want to have to listen to someone else.  They want to do it themselves!
The only problem is that sometimes we really do need help.  Even if we don’t want to admit it.
I like to see how our coaches were able to help out.  There are soooo many ways to help in this game.  They could tell you what to do next, like “Move slowly to your right.” or “Don’t let go, it’s not ready yet!”
Or, they could actually guide your hands.  The coaches couldn’t touch the cards, but that doesn’t mean they couldn’t use their hands.  They just had to work with you to help your hands do what they needed to.
Then there is my favorite.  The coaches could just take your blindfold off.  Seriously, it was that simple.  Our builders couldn’t do it, but our coaches could.  And that makes a HUGE difference in what you can do.  That way you can tell where things are, or when they are about to fall.
God gave us an amazing coach to help us out.  He is with us for the good stuff, and the not-so-good stuff.  Do you know who it is?  Let’s find out!
For our lesson today I am going to need a lot of help.
Whenever is say “I wish I had Jesus with me”  I need you to say “You are not alone!”
Are you ready?
I wish I had Jesus with me.  {You are not alone!}
I wish He were right by my side.
I wish I He could hug and hold me.
I wish His arms were open wide.
I wish I had Jesus with me.  {You are not alone!}
I wish I could hear Him teach.
I wish He would speak loudly to me.
I wish I could see Him preach.
I wish I had Jesus with me.  {You are not alone!}
I wish He was always in sight.
I wish I could see Him clearly.
I wish He were here day and night.
I wish I had Jesus with me.  {You are not alone!}
I wish He could help when it’s rough.
I wish He would never leave me.
I wish He were here in times tough.
Each time I wish Jesus was with me,
I hear the words “You’re not alone!”
He sent a coach to guide me.
The Holy Spirit calls my heart home.
I may not be able to see Him,
But He’s with me each moment each day.
I asked Him to come live within me,
Now the Holy Spirit is here to stay.
It’s the Holy Spirit!  He’s our coach!
And as we celebrate Pentecost, we are celebrating that God sent us our own personal coach to guide us through life.  The Holy Spirit came to the disciples soon after Jesus went back up to heaven, and whenever you ask God to forgive you and accept Jesus’s gift of sacrifice, the Holy Spirit comes and lives in you too.  Then He will always be there, whenever you need Him.
Activity A – You are Not Alone! – Bible Verse Challenge
Supplies – Bibles
Verse – John 16:13
Pass out Bibles to students. Bibles should be closed and sitting on the table face up in front of each child. When you say go, have the kids look up this week’s Bible verse. As each child finds the verse, have them stick one finger on the verse and quietly raise their other hand. The first one to find the verse gets to read it to the rest of the class.
Help younger kids and new kids find the verse by following these steps.
Look in the Table of Contents for the book you are looking for. Make an effort to show them if it is found in the Old Testament or New Testament to help them in the future. Then open the Bible to the page number listed in the Table of Contents.
Show them the large numbers in the text, known as the chapters. Flip through pages until you find the large chapter number you are looking for.
Then scan through the text with them pointing out the smaller verse numbers until the correct number is found.
Activity B – You are Not Alone! – Lost Without You Maze

Supplies – blindfolds, chairs, tables, and/or other large objects
Pre-Class Prep – Before class set up an obstacle course or maze.  Make it easy to make small alterations.
Before going to the maze, blindfold each child.  Then allow them to attempt the maze without any assistance.  Next, pair kids up, blindfolding one of each pair.  Then have their coach stand at the end of the maze coaching them along.  After each pair has gone, blindfold the opposite team mate and play again.  (Alter the maze slightly as you play to keep it new for later players.)
Remind them that Jesus sent us the Holy Spirit to be our coach, and when we are struggling all we need to do is ask Him to guide us.
Closing Prayer – You are Not Alone!

Before leaving, ask for a volunteer to pray for the class, and encourage them to thank God for sending the Holy Spirit to guide us through life.