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
Petition
Welcome to the wacky worship workshop...where we learn about building our relationship with Jesus.
The set: set up the room like a workshop with all kind of wacky inventions. The weirder it looks the better. Try obtaining some old science equipment or old computer components that can be taken apart to make the room look like a crazy inventor inhabits the room.
This week: We will learn that it is important to listen to God when we pray.
To teach the children that:
Characters needed: The crazy inventor, his faithful assistant, smudge (who always tries to wreck stuff) one or two workshop workers and Einstein the puppet and Bobo the puppet.
Rules are a necessary part of life. Be sure to enforce the rules on a consistent basis. Kids need consistency and they need rules.
Prayer is the key to effective ministry. When we pray God does great things. Take time this week to pray for our service and for the kids you will minister to.
Worship and offering time
You will need a tug of war rope. Suggest that you will play boys against the girls. Call 6-8 boys up to compete for the boys and only two girls to compete for the girls team. Ask who will win. When the girls complain that it isn't fair suggest that perhaps they would like some help. When they ask for help give them two large men to help their team out. Now the boys will complain. The point that you want to make here is that when God is on our side no one can defeat us. There is no problem too big for God if we ask for him.
"Ask, and it will be given to you." Matthew 7:7
Bobo has a major problem and doesn't know what to do.
Bobo: Oh I am doomed. Life is over! I might as well crawl in a hole and hide.
Leader: Hello Bobo. You seem to have a problem.
Bobo: Oh do I ever have a problem. Why it is just terrible.
Leader: Well, maybe you would like to share it with us.
Bobo: Oh it is just too terrible. I don't know what to do. Oh I might as well just give up.
Leader: My that sounds like a very big problem. Did someone hurt you?
Bobo: OH even worse. Why it is so big it is bigger than a mountain.
Leader: Well, why don't you tell us about it and maybe we can help you.
Bobo: Oh I just can't, I just can't talk about it.
Leader: How can we help you if you won't tell us what you need.
Bobo: I am just too embarrassed. I could never tell you.
Leader: We won't laugh. We promise.
Bobo: Oh, all right. Do you promise?
Leader: We promise.
Bobo: Well, I was sliding down the banister and I got a splinter stuck in my ...in my dereeair.
Leader: In your what?
Bobo: (sounding agitated) I said I got a splinter stuck in my dereeair...you know the back side of my front?!!
Leader: Oh. I see,
Bobo: How could you? My dereeair is back here.
Leader: I meant that I understand the problem now.
Bobo: See I told you it wouldn't help to tell you.
Leader: Well, I could send the inventor back there to help you out.
Bobo: You think he would do that for me?
Leader: Of course I think he would help you out.
Bobo: That would be great because this splinter is really a thorn in my flesh right now.
Leader: You know Bobo. It is ok to ask for help. Sometimes Christians think that they can't ask God for help either because they think it is too small of a problem or because it is too big of a problem. We need to remember that if we have a need we need to ask God for help.
Bobo: I see your point. Now how about sending the inventor back here to take this point out of my dereeair?
Leader: sure thing Bobo.
The inventor will build a machine this week that is called a wishomatic. It is designed so that when you ask for something the machine will give it to you. The problem is that every time the inventor asks for the machine to give him something it gives him the wrong thing. For example when he asks for peace the machine gives him peas and when he asks for joy in his heart the machine gives him a bottle of liquid detergent called joy and when he asks for goodness it gives him a Mr.. Goodbar, etc.
Weighed down with a bucket of rocks...You will need a bucket of potato sized rocks and a very large rock. Hold up the very large rock and ask which child would like to carry this rock around all day. If you get volunteers bring one forward and have them stand holding the rock while you continue with the object lesson. This rock should be heavy enough that the child will tire easily and ask to put it down. Now hold up the little rock. Who can lift this rock? It is just little? What about if I added one more rock to this bucket? Now who can lift it? Continue adding rocks until the bucket is very heavy. Now select a small child to try to carry the bucket. (This should be very difficult for the child to do.) The point you want to make here is that we often only want to give God BIG problems. We hang onto all of the rest of our problems. Problems weigh us down and make it hard for us to live for Christ successfully. When we pray we should give God all of our needs and concerns.
Ask me game. Make out a form with a list of items such as "someone with blue eyes" "Someone who forgot to brush their teeth" "someone who gets allowance" etc. (If your group consists of small kids who still do not read you might want to use pictures such as of an eye, or a toothbrush, and a dollar bill and go over the list before they begin) Allow the kids two to three minutes to obtain as many signatures as possible. When time is up have all the kids return to their seats. Explain to the kids that in order to get signatures they had to be willing to ask people to sign. If you didn't ask then you probably didn't get very many signatures. Likewise, when we have needs we need to ask God to take care of them. The bible tells us if we ask it shall be given unto us.
You will need a grocery list, a to do list, a Christmas wish list, and a prayer list. Smudge comes in murmuring. He was sent to the store by the inventor and now can't remember what he is supposed to buy. The leader asks him if he wrote it down on a list. He says he didn't but he does have a list. He fishes it out of his pocket. It is a Christmas list of things he wants. Did he give it to his mom so she knows what he wants? No he didn't. But now he discovers he has another list. It is a to do list of things his mommy wanted him to do today. The leader goes over the things on the list and discovers he hasn't done any of them. (The point you want to make here is that lists help us to remember things. It is helpful to have a prayer list so we remember to take our needs to the lord. A list won't help us if we don't look at it or share it with someone)
Tell the story of Hannah praying for a child.
This a good time to allow the children to pray for other children with needs. Encourage those that have a need they want to take to the Lord to come forward and then have the other children gather around to pray for them.
Copyright 1998, Sheryl Coats
