April 2020

Sunday, April 26: God is in Control

Let’s Start!

Have you ever had a strange dream? Not the scary kind, the kind that’s just plain weird?

We have! Sometimes our dreams are just dreams, but sometimes they have a meaning from God. Did you know that? It’s true, God can speak to us in our dreams. This week, we’re going to be learning about someone who had some strange dreams AND the gift from God to know what they meant!

Let’s take a minute to ask God to help us have open hearts and minds to hear Him and learn what He wants us to know.

God, thanks so much for speaking to us through so many different ways. Help us to have open hearts to learn and take in what you want as we study your Word.

Let’s Watch!

TO OUR PARENTS: There are two videos today. The first covers the early portion of Joseph’s life, and the second covers a little more of his story. (We’ll be watching one final video next week!)

Joseph Part I: At Home

Joseph Part II: In Egypt (before the famine)

Let’s Talk!

What were Joseph’s dreams about when he was at home?
How did Joseph get to Egypt?
Why was he in jail?
How did he get out of jail?
How do you think Joseph felt about all those bad things happening to him?
Was God with Joseph? (Hint: Look up Genesis 39:2, Genesis 39:21, and Genesis 39:23)

EGC KIDS TIP: The story of Joseph is found in Genesis 37 & 39-48 and is one of the most detailed stories of one person’s life in the book of Genesis! It contains some intense situations, so you may want to read ahead before you read it out loud with your kids. It’s a wonderful story, though, so don’t let that deter you. We are going to be spending two weeks on Joseph’s story, so don’t read too far ahead! 🙂 Today’s lesson covers his early life through his first years in Egypt (before the famine).

Even in the really hard times that Joseph had, God was with Him and strengthened Him. God spoke some really neat things to Joseph in his dreams, but it didn’t seem like they were happening! God gave him what he needed to be okay in his heart in those situations. God wants to give us everything we need in the hard times that we go through in life too!

What is a hard thing that you are going through in your life?
How is God helping you?
Has God spoken to you about something in your future? What is it?
Remember, He is going to help and take care of you. It might not happen the way you imagine, but remember last week’s verse? We learned in Philippians 4:6-7 that we don’t have to be anxious because He is in control!

Let’s Do!

Draw a picture or cut out pictures from a magazine to tell about a funny or interesting dream you had.
Make up an interesting meaning for your dream. For example, if you drew a car with a lamb driving up a hill of lettuce, you might think “Eat more veggies, kid!” or “Whoa, not so much salad tomorrow night!”
Draw a second picture or poster of something that God has said to you (or draw a picture of you doing what you think He wants you to be when you grow up). Hang it up on your fridge or wall to look at this week!

Let’s Memorize!

So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
Isaiah 41:10 (NIV)

Memory Verse Printable Download

This week we have another song to help us memorize our verse! Check out the video below and practice it throughout the week!

EGC KIDS TIP: To learn the verse, make up your own actions for the words “fear/dismayed,” “strengthen,” “uphold” (hint, think “hold you up”). Say or sing the verse (using the actions) to your pet, houseplant, stuffed animal, or younger sibling 10 times this week.

Let’s Bless!

During a meal this week, take turns speaking the Remember Verse over each member of the family, like a message from God to them!

Uncategorized

Sunday, April 19: Prayer

Let’s Start!

This week we are talking about prayer! Start by asking the following question: What are some things that you think about when you think of prayer?

First, let’s take a minute and open our hearts and ears to God.

God, we thank you that you are here with us. We give you our hearts and our minds. We ask you to come and speak to us and help us to listen and to obey what you say to us. Thank you that we are your children and we belong to you!

Let’s Watch!

Let’s Talk!

Prayer is talking and listening to God. There are so many different ways to do it, just like there are lots of ways to talk to and hang out with friends.

Now let’s write down the 4 letters we learned that spell PRAY. As you recall each letter and what it means, write it down on a large piece of paper, a letter board, chalk board or white board. Talk about what each word means.

Then take some time to talk about prayer with your family! Below are some questions you can use to guide your discussion:

How does it make you feel to know that you can talk to God anytime?
What parts of the P.R.A.Y. are the easiest for you?
Which parts do you sometimes forget when you’re praying?
When is your favorite time in the day to pray?
What things can we do as a family or by ourselves to help us to remember to pray?

Let’s Do!

EGC KIDS TIP: Today you’re going to make prayer notebooks to write down your prayers and how God speaks! There are some simple instructions below to make small, pocket-sized books out of any paper you have at home. You can make one per child or keep a prayer notebook for your whole family. You could also use a small journal or notebook that you already have at home.

Cut 2 8 ½” x 11″ paper pages in half the short way.
Fold the pages in half
Staple the books along the fold as a binding (or tape the pages together at the binding).
Decorate the covers!
How will your notebook help or remind you to talk to God this week? (Write down what you prayed about, write down answers God gave you, write a prayer poem, write out the Lord’s prayer, draw pictures of what God shows you)

Let’s Memorize!

Our Remember Verse is Philippians 4:6-7 NIV. This week, we’re going to learn a song to help us memorize our verse!

EGC KIDS TIP: There are some fun motions to go along with our Remember Verse song over on our Worship Page if you want an extra challenge! If you learn the motions, be sure to show us! Tag @egckidschurch on Instagram or Facebook in your posts!

If you would like a printable version of this week’s Remember Verse, click on the link below.

Philippians 4:6-7 printable Download

Let’s Pray!

STEP 1: Get out your prayer notebooks.

STEP 2: Let’s pray through our P.R.A.Y. example.

P PRAISE: Pray and thank God for who He is and how He’s been faithful to you.Thank Him for answering some prayers you prayed. This might be a good time to draw a picture of God that reminds you of some way He shows Himself to you (strong, faithful, loving etc.).

R REPENT: Ask God to forgive you for bad choices, bad attitudes and disobedience. Think of some things that you need to ask Him specifically about. Thank Him for giving you a million do-overs. Ask Him to fill you with His Spirit to help you make good choices, have good attitudes and obey Him.

A ASK: Pray for people that you know who need God’s help. Talk to Him about the things on your heart. You might want to write these things down in your journal.

Y YIELD: Listen for what God says. Sit quietly and ask God to speak to you. Draw a picture or write what He says to you. Ask God to be the boss of your life.

Let’s Bless!

Take turns blessing each other with this blessing:

“I bless you to grow in prayer in all it’s different forms. May you hear from God clearly and have a heart of obedience towards Him all the days of your life.”

FOR PARENTS: There are so many different ways to pray and things that can help us cultivate a lifestyle of prayer! The above P.R.A.Y format is a simple way you can introduce your children to different forms of prayer. If you’re looking for additional resources, EGC has compiled a prayer book that includes several prayer models to help you cultivate a deeper, fuller, and more engaging prayer life. You can download the book for free here!

EGC Prayer Book PDF Download

Weekly Lessons

Easter Sunday: Jesus is Alive!

Let’s Start!

This week’s topic is so exciting. Jesus is alive! Take a few moments to ask Jesus to fill you fresh with wonder and understanding about what He’s done to rescue us by dying on the cross and rising from the dead. Ask Him to help you to be aware of how He’s with you all the time.

Let’s Watch!

EGC KIDS TIP: Want to go deeper? Yesterday’s video was a great summary of the whole story and tells about how Jesus’ death and resurrection fits into God’s BIG story: His plan to redeem mankind from the very beginning. You can find that video here!

Let’s Talk!

When Jesus died what happened to the sun? It went dark for 3 hours.
Where did they put Jesus’ body after he died? In a tomb with a stone rolled in front of it.
When the women went to the tomb after a few days, what did they see? An angel, and the stone rolled away.
What did the angel say? “Jesus isn’t here. He has risen!”
What does “risen” mean? Jesus isn’t dead anymore. He is alive again!

Jesus’ death took the punishment for our sin. His resurrection won the battle over sin and death for us. We can trust Jesus to forgive us and rescue us from our sin, shame and fear. His life set us free and gives us new life.

Jesus went further than just giving us new life, though, He promised us that we could have a full life in Him. That means that every day, all day long – morning, noon, and night, God is at work giving us life because He is alive.

Describe what you think a full life in Jesus means.

FOR PARENTS: The resurrection of Jesus is center of the Christian faith. If there was no resurrection, there would be no proof that Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross for our sins was accepted (1 Corinthians 15:17). In the resurrection, Jesus showed his authority over all things, even the power of death. The resurrection of Jesus broke the power of death for all of us who trust in Him as Savior. His resurrection gives us hope in life for the resurrection we will receive when He returns (1 Corinthians 15:23, 42-44). In the meantime, we have hope when we endure hardship, struggles, and suffering because Jesus, who overcame death and gives us new life – is with us now and forever.

Let’s Memorize!

Printable version of this week’s Remember Verse Download

For our online challenge, say the Remember Verse while doing a wall sit and take a video! Check out Miss Erin’s video below, and be sure to tag #egckidsathome

Wall-Sit Remember Verse Challenge #egckidsathome

Let’s Do!

This week, we’re going on an Easter Egg Puzzle Hunt! First, print out the Remember Verse printable (above) or write the verse out on a piece of paper. Then choose the option below that works best for you!

Option 1: If you have plastic eggs at your house.

Cut the Remember Verse pdf into puzzle pieces.
Place the puzzle pieces inside plastic eggs.
Hide them around your house.
Let your family find the pieces and assemble the puzzle!

Option 2: If you do not have plastic eggs at your house.

Print out the Easter Egg document below and color the eggs in! (Alternately, you could draw a large easter egg and color that!)
Glue the pages together so that the verse is on one side and the eggs are on the other.
Cut the paper into puzzle pieces
Hide the pieces around your house.
Let your family find the pieces and assemble the puzzle!

Easter Egg Printable (for Option 2)Download

Let’s Pray!

Take turns thanking Jesus for the new life that He has given. Have each family member think of one thing they can be thankful for and happy about that Jesus has done in their lives.

Pray that you would each have a new awareness of the goodness of God, full life in Jesus, and His “with-us-ness.”

Let’s Bless!

Pray this blessing over your children:

May you experience the full, abundant, real life of Jesus here on earth and in eternity. My you have joy, strength and peace through His life. I bless you to always remember and rejoice in the truth that Jesus is alive!

Weekly Lessons

Good Friday

Have you ever wondered why they call today “Good” Friday? Let’s take a look at what happened on the day that Jesus died and what it means for you and me!

Watch the video below and then use the teaching guide to discuss with your family as you take some time today to remember together a Savior who gave His life to set us free.

Weekly Lessons

Maundy Thursday

EGC KIDS TIP: Matthew 26:26-28 tells us that “As they were eating, Jesus took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, ‘Take, eat; this is my body.’ And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, ‘Drink of it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.'” This is why we take communion! If you’re interested in taking communion together as a family this weekend or would like more information, we have a helpful guide for you here!

Weekly Lessons

April 5, 2020: Jesus is King (Palm Sunday)

A Note to our Parents and Guardians: Each week, we are posting a short lesson or video to watch with your child(ren), suggested worship videos for preschool and grade school students, and crafts or activities that you can do at home! These can be done on Sunday mornings or throughout the week. (For more information and parent resources, check out the For Parents tab!)

Let’s Start!

Before you watch this week’s Bible video, take a moment and pray with your family that God would help you each to focus. Ask him to give you open ears and open hearts to receive what He wants to say to you. Take a moment of silent prayer to allow each person to give God all of the things that distract them or are heavy on their hearts.

Let’s Watch!

Let’s Talk!

{ASK} When Jesus entered Jerusalem riding on a donkey:

Did the people realize that He was a king? (Yes, but they expected that the Messiah would be a warrior king, someone who rule by force).
Jesus had a bigger plan. What was it? (Jesus came to save people by dying on the cross for their sins and rising again. He came to bring them and us into relationship with God.)

{DISCUSS} The Bible tells us many ways that Jesus is King:

Jesus is the King immortal. That means He lives forever (1 Timothy 1:17).
Jesus is the King of glory. He is strong and wins every battle (Psalm 24:8).
Jesus is a righteous King. He makes right decisions that please God (Isaiah 32:1).
Jesus is a loving King. The powerful Ruler of all chose to free us from our sins by dying for us (Revelation 1:5).

When we know Jesus as our King, we can cry out to Him, “Hosanna! Save us!” just like the people in the Bible. We can ask Him to help us bow down to His leadership and what He wants to do in our lives. We can trust Him and do what He asks, even when it’s something that we don’t understand (like the disciples did when they went to get the donkey)!

Where in your life do you see Jesus as the mighty King of Kings? (Are there parts of your life where you are living like Jesus is the King of that thing? For example, are you not afraid of the dark because you know that Jesus is the boss of the dark?)
How does it make you feel to know He rules over everything and everyone?
Are there areas of your life you need to let Jesus be king of? Take a few moments to talk to God about these things.

EGC KIDS TIP: Give time for this. As a parent, it can be tempting to “guide” the child into something that you want them to work on. God might highlight this for your child Himself or He might show him/her another area that He thinks is important right now. Trust God with your children. He knows them and loves them best. Note: if the coronavirus comes up in this discussion, we have some tips for how to talk with your family about current events here.

Let’s Do!

Today, we are going to make our own palm branches!

Gather some paper (construction paper or copy paper, 2 pages per person).
Cut out 3-4 long strips from one side of the paper and glue them together to make a sturdy branch for your palm leaves (alternately, you can use a paper towel roll, a clean stick from outside or a paint stir stick).
Trace your hands (as many as you can fit on the papers) and cut them out.
Glue the handprints to the “branch,” with fingers pointing out.
On the handprints, write about how Jesus is King in your life! You can also write some of the things that Jesus talked to you about when you asked Him about areas of your life where you need to let Him be king.

Let’s Pray!

Take a few minutes together and pray about the things written on the palm branches. Give them to Jesus and ask Him to be the king and boss of every area of your lives.

EGC KIDS TIP: Sometimes having something to hold or an action to do helps our kids connect with the words they are praying. As they pray, you can have them take their palm fronds and lay them down on the ground – just like they did in the story – to show that they are choosing to make Jesus the King in their lives!

During the week as you pray, ask Jesus to help you remember that He’s the King over everything.

Let’s Memorize!

Remember Verse Printable Download

EGC Kids Tip: Try to learn the verse by acting it out together. Use the palms you made or some coats from the closet (or be creative)! Take a video and send it to egckids@elimgospel.org or upload it to social media and tag it #egckidsathome. We’d love to see it!

Let’s Bless!

Take time to bless each family member with the following blessing:

May you trust Jesus to be the King and the boss of every area of your life. May you always know that you can call to Him and he will save you. May you know that the King of Kings loves you and cares for you and that you are His!