19
"Does God Care About the Stuff I Have?”
Big Idea
God gives what you need, not what you want.
Materials Needed:
Sunglasses, Old white t-shirt (add some rips/tears to it and smear a little dirt on it)
Life preserver or life vest
Setup:
1. Set up the small table or desk to the side of the teaching area. Place the piece of paper, markers, and flowers on the table.
Lesson
1. Review the big idea from last meeting's lesson: "On your homework or test, give God your best!" Ask the
question, "Does God care how I do in school?" and have the children
repeat the big idea a few
times, doing the motions below as you say each word.
Homework: pretend to use a pencil to write on one hand using the other hand
Test: in the same position as the previous motion, pretend to write a large check mark using your "pencil"
Give: cup hands in front of your stomach and move them away from you
God: point up
Best: thumbs up
2. Explain/ask the following:
Today we're going to talk about stuff: the stuff we have, the stuff we want, and the stuff we need. We know that God cares about things like who we're friends with and whether or not we listen to our parents. But, does God care about the stuff I have? (Write "Does God care about the stuff I have?" along the top of a chalk/wipe board.)
We'll talk a bit about the stuff we'd like to have and the stuff we need. Then we'll check God's Word, the Bible, to see what God says about this.
3. Select a volunteer to come up front. Explain the following:
Our friend here decided he needed a vacation. But, instead of just going to Disneyland or the Grand Canyon, he decided to go on a cruise. (Have your volunteer wear the sunglasses.)
So, he hopped on a giant boat and went on a cruise in the Pacific Ocean. Little did he know his cruise was doomed!
A few days into the trip, the cruise ship ran into a storm. The shipped rocked back and forth. (Gently rock your volunteer back and forth as you speak.)
The rains beat down and the wind blew. Our friend held on tight, but a big gust of wind came and blew him right overboard! (Put the life vest on your volunteer and remove the sunglasses. Have him pretend to swim in place.)
Luckily, he was near a small island. So our friend swam all the way to shore. He made it there safe and sound, but he was all alone and had nothing but the clothes on his back. (Remove the life vest and have your volunteer wear the old, ripped, dirty t-shirt.)
4. Explain the following:
If you were stranded on an island all by yourself like our friend here with nothing to entertain himself, what kinds of fun things would you miss the most having?
Allow the children to respond. Record their answers on the left hand side of the board. When finished, write "Stuff We'd Want" above all their answers.
5. Explain the following:
Alright, let's forget about the fun stuff now. If you're stranded on a deserted island, there's no grocery store to buy food from and no hamburger joint around the corner. You need to find some way to stay alive! What are some things you would need to help you survive? What are some things you could try to make to help you survive?
Allow the children to respond. Encourage them to evaluate whether their answer is something they'd really need or not. Record their answers on the right hand side of the board. When finished, write "Stuff We'd Need" above all their answers.
6. Explain the following:
In some ways, we're just like our friend here who was stranded on an island. We both have stuff we want and stuff we need. But we're also different than him because we probably have at least a few of the things we want and most of what we need. He doesn't really have anything he wants and probably would have to make or find most of the things he needs.
But now that we know that there's two kinds of stuff, stuff we want and stuff we need, let's see what God has to say about our stuff.
7. Select a child to read out loud fr
om her Bible the following passage: Phil. 4:19 "My God will meet all
your needs. He will meet them in keeping with his wonderful riches that
come to you because you belong to Christ Jesus." (NIrV). Have her read it again, this time telling her to read the word "needs" extra loud. Explain the following:
Did you notice what that Bible verse says? It says that God will meet our needs, not the all the stuff. We shouldn't think that God is like a big version of Santa Claus. We don't sit on his lap, tell him all the stuff we want, and then a bunch of presents show up under a tree. Instead, God gives us what we need, what's good for us.
You can see from the two lists we made that the stuff we want and the stuff we need are most often two different things. One list, the stuff we need, God's promised that he'll help us take care of. The other list, the stuff we want, is okay to think about sometimes, but we need to remember that we won't die if we don't ever get them.
So, does God care about the stuff have? Well, he cares that you have the stuff you need. In fact, in the verse we read, Philippians 4:19, tells us that our God "will meet all your needs." God gives what you need, not what you want.
7. Explain that the big idea from today's lesson is:
"God gives what you need, not what you want." Ask the question, "Does God care about the stuff I have?" and have the children repeat the big idea a few
times, doing the motions below as you say each word.
God: point up
Gives: cup hands in front of your stomach and move them away from you
Need: point to your knees
Not: shake head and wag your finger to indicate "No!"
Want: hold hands together before you as if begging mom or dad for something