People in God’s World: Big Kids

“And when he was twelve years old, they went up as usual for the festival.” Luke 2:42

Call to Worship
(Sung to “The Bear Went over the Mountain”)
Let’s worship God, let’s worship God, let’s worship God,
With joyful hearts, with joyful hearts, with joyful hearts,
Let’s worship God with joyful hearts!

Joys and Concerns
Have the children share a few joys and concerns they have and follow with a prayer thanking God for our joys and asking God to be with us in our concerns.

Sharing
Ask: What do you look forward to doing when you are a bigger kid? (Playing baseball, being a ballerina, etc.)

Listening
As a cue card, make a large question mark on a sheet of paper.
Hold up the question mark. Ask: What is this?
Say: This is a question mark. Every time a reader sees a question mark at the end of a sentence it means that sentence is a question. Every time I hold up the question mark you are to ask: What happened next? Practice this a few times, and then begin.
In the Bible, we read about Jesus as a baby, and then we don’t hear about Jesus again until he is a bigger kid. When Jesus was twelve years old, he went with his parents, Mary and Joseph, to a festival in Jerusalem. (Hold up question mark.) When the festival was over, they started to return home, but Jesus stayed in Jerusalem. (Hold up question mark.) His parents thought he was with the other travelers in their group. They didn’t realize that Jesus was missing until the end of a day’s journey. (Hold up question mark.) They looked for Jesus among their relatives and friends but did not find him. (Hold up question mark.) They went back to Jerusalem to look for him. (Hold up question mark.) They looked for him for three days and finally found him in the Temple. Jesus was sitting among the teachers there, listening to them and asking questions. (Hold up question mark.) All who heard him were amazed at his understanding. (Hold up question mark.) Jesus went home with his parents. Jesus increased his wisdom as he grew. Asking questions helps all of us to increase in wisdom.

Exploring
Invite 3 bigger kids from the congregation to come to Children’s Church. Invite these bigger kids to share a skill they have such as playing a musical instrument, drawing, dancing, or speaking another language. Explain that they will be demonstrating their skills for the children, then the children will be encouraged to ask them questions. Introduce your visitors by asking them a few general questions such as their names, ages, and where they go to school. Then ask them to demonstrate their skills. When they are finished guide your children in asking questions, like why did you decide to play the flute or where do you take dance class. Tell your visitors thank you. Have the children draw a picture of what they want to do when they grow bigger.



Benediction
Say: Loving God, let us show our love for you. Help us to show our love for other people, for our families, for our teachers and for our friends. Thank you for being our guide. Amen.