Free Children's Ministry Curriculum Written by Sheryl Coats
Bugs Bugs and More Bugs
Hillbilly Days
Wonderfair
The Wacky Worship Workshop
The Celebration Medical Centre
The Celebration City Courthouse
Growing in God's Garden
The Armour of God
The Wild Wild West
Welcome to the Celebration City Municipal Court System.
The set: set up the room like a court room.
This week: We will discover that disobedience is a sin.
To teach the kids that:
Write up the rules on parchment paper to look like a legal document. Have the bailiff read the rules at the beginning of the session.
Prayer is the key to effective ministry!!!!
Characters needed: a judge, a defendant, witnesses (could use puppets for this), lawyers, bailiff (the kids will serve as the jury)
Take time to explain worship to the children. Use child friendly language to explain why we worship and how we worship. Encourage the kids to worship from their hearts
The bailiff will welcome the members of the jury and explain to them what they will be doing and then ask all to rise as the judge enters. The judge will then announce the case and ask the defendant to stand. Then the attorneys will begin trying their case with opening statements, calling of witnesses, etc.. The members of the jury will then be asked to go into deliberations and come back with a verdict.
Members needed for this case are the Judge, Bailiff, two attorneys or one attorney who changes his hat to play the role of both attorneys, Jeanne who is on trial for disobedience, Jenny as a witness, and witnesses played by puppets.
In this case, Jeanne was told to clean her room and put everything where it belonged. Instead, she shoved everything under her bed and in the closet...rotten apple cores and all. She is now charged with disobedience to her parents.
Jeanne should do a lot of whining and complaining about having to clean her room; making statements like "it's my room. Why should they tell me how to clean it?" And "well, I sort of cleaned it, after all you couldn't see the mess" etc. She should make a big emotional scene.
Her mother should be called to testify about the fact that she told her to clean it AND put everything where it belonged. She should be bold in giving examples of how Jeanne has been disobedient in the past.
Her sister should testify that Jeanne told her she was going to deliberately do it her own way instead of cleaning like her mother told her to.
Her brother can testify that he was present when Jeanne cleaned her room and saw her shoving things under the bed.
The lawyers should make a point to ask the witnesses what obedience is and whether or not half obedience is obedience at all.
Once the witnesses have been called and the attorney makes closing statements allow the children to gather and decide on a verdict. Is Jeanne guilty of disobedience? Is half obedience really obedience?
You will need a cup that is not clear. Make sure the inside of the cup is really grossly disgusting, but do not allow the kids to see the inside at first. Talk about obedience with the kids. Then begin relating a story of how someone was told to wash this cup so you could use it in an object lesson this morning. Show them the outside which is spotless. Comment on how clean it looks and what a good job they did. Praise the work of the cleaner until you notice the inside. Make sure to gasp as you look inside. Show the kids the inside of the cup. (A little sardines, mustard, and chocolate pudding go a long way for making it look gross inside.) Now you can comment on how dirty the cup is and how disobedient the person was. Make sure to stress the point that cleaning the cup on the outside only was a half obedience...making it a disobedience. Obedience requires full compliance.
Tell the story of Moses striking the rock. (Bring a large rock and a staff to use as you tell the story.)
Game One
Play a relay race where kids must follow exact instructions. For example, the first child in line must hop on one foot to the tape, then crab walk to the second mark, then hop backwards to the last mark. At the last mark they must strike a rock five times with a stick and then get in a pillow case and hop back to the start where they give the pillow case to the next child in line who takes it with him as he completes the course. Once the relay is over bring to the kids attention how difficult it was to follow the directions exactly. It was easy to try to disobey the rules just a little and stop hopping before they got to the line, etc. When God gives us instructions he expects us to obey completely.
Game Two
You will need to cut cardboard squares into five pieces each (each square should be cut the same.). You will need one square for each group of five kids. Randomly give each child a piece of a square. You don't want one team to have all the pieces they need within their group. Give these instructions: You have each been given a part of a square. The object of this activity is to form whole squares. These are the rules; there is no talking aloud. You may trade and give away, but you may not talk or take a piece away from someone. They can only willingly give it to you. The first team to collect a whole square wins. Tell them anyone caught being disobedient to the rules will be removed from the game and will forfeit their right to a prize. At the end give each child who followed the rules a prize. With this activity the kids will discover that obedience requires commitment, self control, and effort and that disobedience results in punishment.
"obey me and I will be your God and you will be my people." Jeremiah 7:23
Bobo: (comes up with a bag of treats) Hello everybody. Hey you! Here's that bag of treats you sent me to the store for.
Leader: Why thank you Bobo. You were a real help. I am sure the kids will appreciate the fact that now they will be able to have their treat today.
Bobo: No problem. Well, I better be going (starts to rush off)
Leader: Hey wait up Bobo, what's the hurry?
Bobo: (fidgeting) oh nothin, I just need to be going. That's all.
Leader: Well, alright, but before you go don't forget to give me back my change.
Bobo: your change?
Leader: Yeah, remember, I gave you a 20 dollar bill for the treat and asked you to bring me back the change.
Bobo: OH THAT change......
Leader: How much did you have left over? About 15 dollars?
Bobo: UMMM well, not exactly.
Leader: well, how much did you have left over?
Bobo: (mummbles and tries to rush off quickly) none...so see ya later.
Leader: Hey wait up. What did you say?
Bobo: I said NONE.
Leader: What do you mean you had none left over?!?!?!?
Bobo: In kindergarten they taught me that none meant zero. I guess you never went to kindergarten.
Leader: I know how much none is!!! I want to know how you ended up with none left over.
Bobo: that was easy....five Hershey bars, a gallon of ice cream, a pack of Oreo cookies, three packs of gum, three Milky Ways...oh yeah, and a Pepsi to wash it all down.
Leader: Oh Bobo, how could you?
Bobo: like I said it was easy. I just picked it up and put it in my cart and then I ate it.
Leader: Bobo, I specifically remember telling you to bring me back all the change. You were very disobedient.
Bobo: I wasn't disobedient. I went to the store and bought just what you told me to buy.
Leader: But you didn't obey all that I told you to do. That was part of it, but the other part of it was to bring me back the change.
Bobo: Well don't you think that is expecting too much of a dummy like me?
Leader: As a matter of fact, I don't. I expect 100% obedience.
Bobo: I suppose now you are going to punish me huh?
Leader: Yes, I am afraid you need to be punished for your disobedience. Because you didn't obey and return the change you are not allowed to eat any sweets or snacks for three weeks!!
Bobo: That's a little harsh isn't it? Three weeks is a looooooong time.
Leader: I think it is fair. Three weeks it is. Maybe next time you will think twice before you decide to be disobedient.
Bobo: (crying) this is just terrible. You will at least let me eat sweets when I go to Einstein's birthday won't you.
Leader: No Bobo. You are being punished and punishment is supposed to hurt a little.
Bobo: but this hurts a lot.
Leader: sometimes punishment does hurt a lot. That way it serves as a reminder to be obedient next time.
Bobo: I'm going to go cry in my room now......
Leader: Ok Bobo. Just remember, I love you.
You will need some item that needs to be put together with instructions. The more complicated the better. Tell the kids you need to put the item together. Take out all the pieces and remark how it's a piece of cake. Pull out all the instructions...Decide you don't need them and rip them up (better have a photocopied set) and toss them away. Try and struggle to put the item together. The point you want to make here is that God has given us instructions to follow; the Bible. He expects us to follow those instructions. He requires that we be obedient. We sometimes think we can live life on our own. We think we don't need to follow God's instructions. WE DO NEED TO FOLLOW GOD'S INSTRUCTIONS!! Just like the manufacturers give us instructions to put things together easier, God gave us the Bible to live our lives for him easier. We need to be obedient and follow God's directions.
(Following the legal court theme, make a large legal looking document which states that those who sign this document are making a commitment to be obedient to God, their parents, and those in authority over them.) Hang the document at the front of the room. Allow kids to find a place of prayer. Encourage them to repent for any disobedience and commit to God to become obedient. Then encourage those who have made this commitment to sign the covenant at the front of the room.
Copyright 1998, Sheryl Coats
