Fifty-six men signed the Declaration of Independence. Twenty-four of them held seminary or Bible school degrees.
In 1777. Continental Congress voted to spend $300,000 to purchase bibles which were to be distributed throughout the 13 colonies! And in 1782, the United States Congress declared, “The Congress of the United States recommends and approves the Holy Bible for use in all schools.”
On March 6, 1789, President John Adams called for a national day of fasting and prayer for the country could “call to mind our numerous offenses against the most high God, confess them before Him with the sincerest penitence, implore his pardoning mercy, through the Great Mediator and Redeemer, for our past transgression, and that through the grace of His Holy Spirit, we may be disposed and enabled to yield a more suitable obedience. . .”
Patrick Henry read the Bible for hours every day. During his “Give me liberty or give me death” speech, he quoted Matthew and Jeremiah.
In his first general order to his own troops, General George Washington said he called on: ‘Every officer and man…to live, and act, as becomes a Christian Soldier defending the dearest rights and liberties of his country.’
Verses about a Nation’s Responsibility Toward God:
Psalm 33:12 ICB Happy is the nation whose God is the Lord. Happy are the people He chose for His very own.
Proverbs 11:14 ICB Without leadership a nation will be defeated. But when many people give advice, it will be safe.
Proverbs 14:34 ICB Doing what is right makes a nation great. But sin will bring disgrace to any people.
Christian’s Responsibilities to our Nation:
Obey God first. Acts 5:29 NRSV But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than any human authority.”
Obey Our Leaders and the Law. Romans 13:1 ICB All of you must obey the government rulers. No one rules unless God has given him the power to rule. And no one rules now without that power from God.
Pray For Our Leaders. 1 Timothy 2:1 ICB You should pray for kings and for all who have authority. Pray for the leaders so that we can have quiet and peaceful lives—lives full of worship and respect for God.
Here’s a list of 5 Bible stories that would go with a children’s ministry Father’s Day message:
1. God is our Heavenly Father (2 Corinthians 6:18)
We can trust God to take care of us because He is our Heavenly Father and loves us.
2. Noah and his Three Sons (Genesis 9:18-27)
Two sons respected Noah and helped him. One son didn’t respect his father.
3. 12 Year Old Jesus at the Temple (Luke 2:41-52)
Even though Jesus wanted to stay at the temple, he obeyed Joseph, his earthly father, and returned home.
4. The Parable of the Son who Obeyed His Father (Matthew 21:28-32)
One son agreed to do what his father asked but didn’t do it. The other son said he wouldn’t do what his father asked, but thought better of it and did it. Who is the better son?
5. The Parable of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32)
No matter how much we’ve messed up, our dads still love us. Even if that’s not true of your earthly dad, it’s true of your Heavenly Dad.
Pentecost Sunday is June 4th this year. This is an important time for Pentecostal churches, yet many children’s ministries don’t take advantage of it to lead children into the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Here are some posts to help you while you plan for Pentecost Sunday.
Palm Sunday is this Sunday. Here’s a lesson that you can use to make the day powerful.
Theme: God Wants Children To Praise Him
Verse: Matthew 21:16 (NIV) …From the lips of children and infantsyou, Lord, have called forth your praise
Game: Pin the Tail on the Donkey
You can buy this at most party supply stores.
After playing the game a few times, talk to the children about how Jesus rode to Jerusalem on a donkey.
Activity: Palm Branch Limbo
To play “Palm Branch Limbo,” you will need a few palm branches. These branches are easily found in department stores and floral shops weeks leading up to Palm Sunday. The children will have to limbo under the palm branches while the other children around them cheer them on.
Remind the children of how palm branches were placed in front of Jesus as the crowd around Him cheered Him on and shouted praises to Him.
Bible Story: Jesus Enters Jerusalem (Matthew 21:1-17)
You can assign children parts and have them act out this story.
When Jesus entered Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, he rode in on a colt like a king. A colt is a young donkey. That means a child donkey held the full glory of God on his back. Child can have the full glory of God in them. You don’t have to wait until you’re grown up.
Everyone heard that Jesus was coming and ran out to meet Him. Some laid palm branches on the ground for Him to ride on. Others waved palm branches and shouted Hosanna, Son of David. They called Him Son of David because that was what they called the Messiah. They knew that the Messiah would have King David as an ancestor in His family tree. Hosanna means “save us” or “rescue us”. They were recognizing that Jesus is the Son of God who had come to save them. Imagine being in the crowd that day and waving palm branches to Jesus and shouting “Hosanna”.
After Jesus rode into Jerusalem, He went to the temple. There were men outside selling and cheating people. This made Jesus angry that these men would cheat people in the Temple of God. He knocked over their tables and said, “It is written, my house will be called a house of prayer. You have made it into a den of thieves.”
This made the religious leaders angry. They made money off these men who cheated the people.
At that point, children ran up to Jesus and waved palm shouting “Hosanna, Son of David.” Children, let’s use our hands to praise Jesus the way these children did. (Encourage the children to shout praises.)
Some of the religious leaders were angry that the children were praising Jesus. They said, “Do you hear what those children are saying? Tell them to be quiet.”
Jesus defended the children. He said, ““Have you never read,“‘From the lips of children and infants you, Lord, have called forth your praise?”
Jesus wants children to praise Him. (Encourage children to shout praises to God.)
Object Lesson: Wave Your Palms
When Jesus entered Jerusalem, children and adult grabbed palm branches to praise him with. We don’t always have palm branches around, but we can still praise Jesus with our palms. (Hold up your hands.) God created us with two palms we can always use to praise Him with. Let’s hold up our palms now and shout “Praise the Lord”.
Object Lesson: The Rocks Will Cry Out
Supplies Needed: rocks
If you have enough rocks, give a rock or pebble to each child to take home. Tell them to put it out some place to remind them to Praise the Lord.
Have any of you ever heard a rock talk? After the Pharisees tried to get Jesus to stop the children from praising Him, Jesus said something very interesting. He said if we don’t praise Him, the rocks will cry out praise.
(Show the rocks) Have any of you ever heard a rock speak? That was amazing what Jesus said. But if children hadn’t praised Him as the Messiah the day he entered Jerusalem, that’s just what would have happened. Rocks not only would have spoke, they would have cried out praises to God.
God still wants His children to praise Him. I don’t want the rocks to cry out my praise. I want to praise God with my own mouth.
Let’s do that right now. On the count of three, let’s all shout “Praise the Lord”.
Lesson: God Wants Children to Praise
Quote the memory verse for today’s lesson. Matthew 21:16 … From the lips of children and infantsyou, Lord, have called forth your praise
When Jesus said this, He said it in Hebrew. It was written down in Greek. And we quote the verse in English. What the verse really meant in the original language is that God taught children and babies to lead praise. That means that Jesus not only wants children to praise Him, He wants children to lead praise.
Have you ever seen a church that had children lead praise and worship in Big Church. Most churches normally have adults leading praise, but God wants children to lead praise. That doesn’t mean you have to join the adult praise team. But it does mean if you praise God with your whole heart, adults will see it and want to praise God too.
Ask the children to make a decision to praise God with their whole hearts. If you have time, lead them in another praise song and encourage them to praise God with their whole hearts while they sing it.
Craft Activity: Hand Palms
Supplies Needed: construction paper, craft (Popsicle) sticks, scissors
Have children trace their hand prints onto construction paper. Have them cut out the hand prints and glue them onto the craft sticks.
Remind the children that we made these palm branches to remind us that we all have palms to wave when we praise the Lord.s
The United States of America is once again in an election year. Children are not immune to this even though they don’t vote. They hear the political commercials, the news, and people’s opinions. This gives children’s pastors an opportunity to teach children the responsibility we have as Christians to our nation’s government.
Here is a list of 5 things you can teach your students about elections:
God created government. Children need to understand that God created government for a purpose, and whoever wins the election, God places leaders in power. The Bible story of Saul being made king is a good example. Saul was a wicked king, but he still did a lot of good, and he was still placed in power by God.
Romans 13:1 (ICB) All of you must obey the government rulers. No one rules unless God has given him the power to rule. And no one rules now without that power from God.
The Purpose of Government is to Punish the Guilty & Protect the Innocent. God put government in place for a reason. It is there to mete out justice and protect its citizens from injustice. You could talk to the children about times they have been treated unfairly or hurt by others and what rules were in place to help them. A good Bible story about going to the government leaders for justice would be when two women brought their baby to King Solomon to have him rule who the mother was. God gave Solomon wisdom to make the right decision.
Romans 13:3-4 (ICB) Those who do right do not have to fear the rulers. But people who do wrong must fear them. Do you want to be unafraid of the rulers? Then do what is right, and the ruler will praise you. He is God’s servant to help you. But if you do wrong, then be afraid. The ruler has the power to punish; he is God’s servant to punish those who do wrong.
Christians should Obey Laws. You may want to explain that God expects Christians to obey laws even when they don’t agree with those laws. The only laws we are to disobey are the ones that we would have to disobey God to obey. The story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego would be a good example of that.
Romans 13:4-5 (ICB) He is God’s servant to help you. But if you do wrong, then be afraid. The ruler has the power to punish; he is God’s servant to punish those who do wrong. So you must obey the government. You must obey not only because you might be punished, but because you know it is the right thing to do.
God Requires Christians to Pay Taxes. Nobody wants to pay taxes, but everybody should. A great way to teach this is to show in the Bible where even Jesus paid taxes.
Romans 13:6-7 (ICB) And this is also why you pay taxes. Rulers are working for God and give their time to their work. Pay everyone, then, what you owe him. If you owe any kind of tax, pay it. Show respect and honor to them all.
Pray for Leaders in the Government. The Bible is very clear that we should pray for our leaders. Friday I’ll post more about how children can pray for their government and leaders and for the upcoming elections.
1 Timothy 2:2 (ICB) You should pray for kings and for all who have authority. Pray for the leaders so that we can have quiet and peaceful lives—lives full of worship and respect for God.
Here is a great object lesson to illustrate why we need to be filled and saturated by the Holy Spirit.
Supplies Needed: flat sponge, bowl of water
Ephesians 5:18 Do not be drunk with wine. That will ruin you spiritually. But be filled with the Spirit.
The Bible talks a lot about being filled with the Holy Spirit. The word used in this verse for filled means being continually filled. That means being filled, and filled, and filled again. It means to keep being filled with the Holy Spirit.
(show flat sponge) Can anyone tell me what this is? (If the children don’t know, let them know it’s a sponge that has never been wet. It’s called a flat sponge. Talk about how useless this sponge is without water just as the Christian is useless unless he’s filled with the Holy Spirit.
The sponge is hard. God doesn’t want us to have a hard heart toward Him. He wants to fill our hearts with the Holy Spirit.
Ezekiel 36:26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.
This sponge is dry. Without the Holy Spirit filling us, our lives and passion for God can be dry. God wants to fill us with His Holy Spirit so that rivers of living water can flow out of us.
John 7:37-39 On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink.Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’”Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.
This sponge can’t wash or clean anything. Being filled with the Holy Spirit keeps us cleansed from sin.
John 7:38 Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’
Romans 8:2 Because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death.
Object Lesson Experiment:
(Dip the sponge in the bowl of water so it is a little wet. Let the children make observations on how the sponge has changed. It is wetter, bigger, softer, more useful. Dip the sponge again until it gets saturated.)
The more this sponge gets saturated with water, the more useful it is. The more we are filled with the Holy Spirit, the more useful we are to the Kingdom of God.
If I were to leave this wet sponge on the shelf, what would happen to it? It would get dried out and hard again. That’s the way we will get if we don’t continue to be filled with the Holy Spirit.
God wants us to be hungry for the filling of the Holy Spirit.
Hunger Killers:
There are two things that will stop us from being hungry in the natural. These things will also keep us from being hungry for the Holy Spirit.
Sickness: The first thing that keeps you from being hungry is sickness. You don’t feel like eating when you’re sick. Sin is like a spiritual sickness. We can’t get rid of the sickness of sin until we are saved and ask Jesus to forgive us. After we become Christians, we still need to get rid of sin by confessing it to God and asking Him to forgive us.
Snacking: When we fill up on junk food and even healthy snacks before meals, it takes away our hungry so we don’t want to eat. There are also things that we can put before God that fill us up so there’s no room for God. These are spiritual snack foods that keep us from the meal God has prepared.
God Prepares a Meal:
God wants us to be Hungry:
Matt. 5:6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, because they will be filled.
Appetizer:God gives us an appitizer to all He has for us when we are saved and begin to walk with Him.
Psalm 34:8 Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.
Water: Water is as important to survive spiritually as it is physically. Jesus is the water of Life, and those who come to Him will be filled with the Holy Spirit and never thirst again.
Psalm 42:1-2 As the deer pants for the water brooks, So my soul pants for You, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God; When shall I come and appear before God?
John 4:14 But whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life.”. (Jesus is the water of life, Holy Spirit)
John 7:37-39 Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. “He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.'” But this He spoke of the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive; for the Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified. (believe on Jesus, Holy Spirit, Joy)
Isaiah 44:3 For I will pour out water on the thirsty land And streams on the dry ground; I will pour out My Spirit on your offspring And My blessing on your descendants. (Holy Spirit, blessings)
Main Course Meal:
Bread: Jesus is the bread of Life. When we spend time with Him, we are eating His bread.
John 6:35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst.
Milk: The Bible is the milk of God’s Word. When we drink His Word, we will learn more about Him and mature spiritually.
1 Peter 2:2 Like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation.
Solid Food or Meat: Solid food is for the mature. Babies don’t eat solid food, but when we grow older, we need solid food and meat. Spiritually, this will help us grow and help us discern good and evil. In other words, we will understand what God wants us to do.
Hebrew 5:14 Solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil.
Dessert: God wants to fill us with the Holy Spirit. He wants us to worship Him and delight in Him. This is our spiritual dessert.
Psalm 37:4 Delight yourself in the LORD; And He will give you the desires of your heart.
Here is a Children’s Sermon that’s great for the Week of Valentine’s Day. Of course you’ll want to put this sermon in your own words. You can draw simalar pictues to display on posterboard or copy the images for Powerpoint.
God cares about you more than anyone ever could. He loves you. No matter what the condition of your heart is, God wants to heal it. Let’s see some of the things He says in the Bible about broken hearts.
The Condemned Heart
Condemned means to sentence to jail or prison; to judge against, blame, find fault with. Makes us feel bad about ourselves and about our relationship with God.
Causes: Unconfessed sin, rebellion, walking against God’s ways, devil’s lies.
Verses:
1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
The Bruised Heart
Hurts when touched on that spot. Not deep unless continually bruised.
Causes: Disappointed, let down by someone, not feeling loved for a brief time, discouraged.
Verses:
Isaiah 42:3 A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out.
Matthew 12:20 A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out, till he leads justice to victory.
Luke 4:18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised.
The Wounded Heart
To be hit or wounded. Cannot heal unless cleansed & treated. Can affect whole life unless dealt with.
Causes: Angry words, hurtful words, hitting, fighting, arguing at home, someone close turning away, being cheated by someone you trust, rejection in any form.
Verses:
Proverbs 18:14 The spirit of a man will sustain his infirmity; but a wounded spirit who can bear?
Zechariah 13:6 If someone asks him, ‘What are these wounds on your body ?’ he will answer, ‘The wounds I was given at the house of my friends.’
The Broken Heart
Torn, broken in pieces, crushed, shattered. Effects felt for a lifetime.
Causes: Sense of loss (death, divorce, moving away), Deep rejection or abandonment, abuse, rudely treated, defiled, violated or hurtfully treated, illegitimate, not wanted at birth.
Verses:
Psalm 34:18 The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.
Luke 4:18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised.
God Can Heal Your Heart:
End with talking about how God can heal your heart no matter what has happened in the past. He wants to heal and restore you.
Matthew 12:20 He will not crush the weakest reed or put out a flickering candle.
Psalm 51:10 Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Encourage your students to come forward and receive healing for their hearts. Pray for them to be healed.
Some Facts about our Founding Fathers:
Game: Pin the Tail on the Donkey
Bible Story: Jesus Enters Jerusalem (Matthew 21:1-17)
Craft Activity: Hand Palms
