Keep Running (Skit)

The runner is in position to begin a race.

Announcer: On your mark, get set, go!    

Runner: (Begins running).  Here I go.  I’ve got to run this race and finish it so that I can win the prize.

Teacher: Freeze! (Runner freezes).  Boys and girls, the Bible says that we are in a race also.  Our race is not on the track and it doesn’t even have to do with running.  We are living our lives and trying to get to Heaven.  It’s like a race because we go through every day of our lives with that goal, just like a runner goes through every step of the race with the goal of trying to get to the   finish line. 

Runner: So far, so good.  (Sounds of thunder and rain).  Oh, no.  This is not a good time for rain.  I’m trying to run a race, here.  Well, that’s just too bad.  I’ve got to keep going, rain or no rain.

Teacher: Freeze! (Runner freezes).  When you’re trying to live for God, problems are going to come up.  But does that mean that you stop living for Him?  What about when someone gets sick?  Or people you know and love start fighting with you?  Do you stop living for God then?  No!  Like the runner who keeps going in the storm, you keep living for God even in the middle of problems.

(cell phone rings)

Runner:  Hello?  What’s that, a party?  Right now?  Can’t you tell I’m in the middle of a race?  I don’t have time to go to a party.  Maybe later.

Teacher: Freeze! (Runner freezes).  When you’re trying to live for God, there will be times when other people will want you to do other things.  They may not even be bad things, but you shouldn’t do anything that keeps you from God.  People will want you to go places when it’s time to go to church, or they’ll call you or come over when you’re trying to pray.  Just be sure to let them know that God comes first.

Runner: Oh, look.  It’s a bench.  I would love to sit down right now and take a rest.  But if I’m going to win the prize, I’ve got to keep going.

Teacher: Freeze! (Runner freezes).  The Bible says that we shouldn’t get tired of doing what is right.  There will be times when you might get tired of always doing the right thing.  But don’t stop!  Keep it up, knowing that if you keep doing what is right you’ll find God and you’ll go to Heaven to be with Him forever. 

Runner: I sure am thirsty and hungry.  Maybe if I stop and get something to eat and drink, I’ll feel better.  No!  I can’t stop!  I have to keep going so I can win the prize.

Teacher: Freeze!  (Runner freezes)  The devil wants to stop you by getting you to do certain things.  He’ll tell you, “Oh, this beer will make you feel better.  This cigarette will make you look more grown-up and all your friends will think you’re cool.  This movie will make you laugh (just ignore the bad words).”  Those things will only keep you from God. 

            Don’t listen to the devil.  Stay on track with God.  Keep running after Him.

Keep Going

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing. 2 Timothy 4:7, 8

Props: Energizer® battery

            Today we’re going to test your knowledge of TV commercials.  When I name something, I want you to say the first thing that comes to your mind.  Here we go:  “It keeps going and going and going and going….” (Allow the kids to respond.  Have the workers help prompt them if they don’t get it right away).   The Energizer Bunny!  If you know anything about the Energizer bunny, you know that “It keeps going and going and going and going….”  They say on the commercials that nothing outlasts the energizer. 

            You can’t believe everything on commercials.  It may or may not be true that the Energizer is the best battery.  But whenever you think about the Energizer bunny, think about yourself.  Be the type of Christian that others can look at and say, “She keeps going and going and going…”  Keep going strong with your love for the Lord.  Keep going strong with your Bible reading and prayer.  Keep going strong by continuing to do what is right.  Keep going and going and going.  That’s what running the race and finishing is all about.  Don’t quit in the tough times, or when you just feel like giving up.  Keep going strong in God until the end.  Keep going strong; be an Energizer for God!

Jesus Feeds Your Spirit

Jesus replied: “I am the bread that gives life!  No one who comes to me will ever be hungry.” John 6:35 (CEV)

Props: a glass bowl or jar and another glass cup or jar to fit inside of it

Label the outer jar “body” and the inner jar “spirit.”

            Today we’re going to continue talking about seeking God.  If all of you plan to follow after God, you need to know what to eat.  This lesson is all about filling up on Jesus.  What we’re talking about has nothing to do with food.  It has everything to do with God.

            All of us live in a body.  Your body is only the outside of who you are. 

There is much more to you than skin and muscles and eyes and ears.  Inside of you is your spirit.  Your spirit is that part of you that wants to get close to God.  Your spirit is deep down inside of you and no one can see it.  But it’s there and it’s real. 

            In order to live, your body needs food.  If you don’t eat food, you’ll die.  But before you die you’ll get really hungry and your stomach will growl and you’ll get cranky and then sick.  Not a pretty sight.  So in order to stay alive (and happy), you feed your body food. (Begin stuffing the outer jar with food of any kind and leave the inner jar empty).

            Now my body is full, but what about my spirit?  (Allow for response).  You can stuff your body with food until you throw up, but your spirit will still be empty if you don’t feed it.  Your body needs food, and your spirit needs “spirit food.”  What kind of food does the spirit want?  Your spirit will only be “full,” or satisfied, when you spend time with God and His son, Jesus.  You have to get to know God by praying, reading the Bible, going to church, and obeying Him.  Doing those things will feed your spirit until you’re full.  Remember:  fill up on Jesus.

It’s the Season

The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed.  Romans 13:11

Props: “Hurricane kit” (radio, batteries, water, first aid kit, blankets, canned food, etc.)

(Hold up the props as you talk about them). 

            It’s that time of year again!  Hurricane season is here.  I hope all of you are preparing at home, just in case we have another hurricane. 

            For years, there were no bad hurricanes in our part of the state.  In fact, none of you were even alive the last time a bad hurricane hit us (before Charley).  I wasn’t even alive when the last bad storm hit our part of the state. 

            Every year I would watch the news and they would tell us we needed to be prepared.  Every year I thought about it.  But after a long time, I didn’t take it seriously.  I didn’t get any supplies together because I didn’t think a storm would ever come.  Then on August 13, 2004 I was taken by surprise.  The weather forecasters said a Hurricane was headed in this direction, but it probably wouldn’t hit us.  Our family put a few supplies together.  Then they said it might hit us.  We started to take it more seriously.  By the time the storm arrived, it was too late.  We didn’t have a battery operated radio.  We lost power, so we didn’t know what was happening.  We had some water, but it got buried in the debris as our ceiling collapsed.  We had food, but it was in the fridge and everything in the fridge got ruined.  We sure learned our lesson!  Thankfully we were kept safe and didn’t get hurt, because we didn’t even have a first aid kit! 

            Now we know better.  Every year before hurricane season, we gather all our supplies and keep them in a safe place.  We find the safest place in our house ahead of time and know to go there in an emergency.  We form our plan of action in advance.    We don’t ever want to be taken by surprise again.  And really, there’s no excuse for being caught off-guard.  We know it’s hurricane season; we should be ready.

            The Bible says that no one but the Father knows the exact time when Jesus will return.  However, we do know that it’s getting close because He told us there were things we could watch for.  He told us to be prepared.  Most people don’t take the warning seriously because it’s been years since Jesus promised He would return.  All of the disciples died and Jesus still had not returned.  Centuries passed…no return.  Now it’s been thousands of years.  We’re still waiting.  But does that mean we give up and stop taking Him seriously?  No way!  We still wait; we still prepare.  We stay ready.  Jesus WILL return. 

            Will you be ready?  After He comes, it will be too late to prepare.  There won’t be any time left.  The only way to be sure is to stay ready, stay prepared.  Don’t let yourself fall asleep in your spirit.  Wake up and be prepared for Jesus’ coming!

Inside Out

You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. Matthew 12:34 (NIV)

Props: CD of little kids music (e.g., Nursery Rhymes) but labeled with a popular song, CD player               

Begin with a skit in which a teen invites his friends over to listen to the “coolest” song he just downloaded.  When they arrive, the CD is put in to play and the nursery rhymes begin.  All the friends begin laughing and teasing their friend that he listens to baby music.  They leave and ask him to invite them again when he has some real music to play. 

             I think our friend here was a little embarrassed by what came out of his CD player when all of his friends were around.  The CD says (popular song), but that’s not what is recorded on it.  When this boy found out what was really on the CD, he was humiliated.  The label on the CD did not match up to what was inside of it. 

            Most of you would say that you are a Christian, correct?  You come to church and hopefully you want to live for God and do what is right.  You probably read your Bible and pray.  So by all appearances, you are a Christian.  One of the ways to test whether you are living like Jesus is to listen to the words that come out of your mouth.  Jesus said, “For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks” (Matthew 12:34).  That means that whatever is in your heart will come out in the words you speak.  So if there is evil in your heart, evil words will come out of your mouth.  You’ll be humiliated just like our friend was.  If there is goodness in your heart, goodness will come out of your mouth.  Sooner or later, your true heart will show up in your words. 

            Don’t be like this CD.  Let God fill your heart with his love, joy, peace, kindness and goodness.  Then when you speak, you will speak joyful words, you will speak peace into the lives of others, kind words and goodness will come out of your mouth.  Your words will match the “Christian” label that you wear. 

            Be a Christian and let your words reflect who you are.

He Will Keep You from Falling

To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy— Jude 24 (NIV)

Props: Construction worker’s uniform, safety cord/straps

 

Buster the Builder enters (in worker’s uniform) and presents the lesson as a monologue

Hi!  I’m Buster the Builder.  I’m a builder.  I build things.  Sometimes I build little things and sometimes I build great big things.  This week I’m working on a big, big building.  So I guess you could say I’m building a building.  Anyway, while I’m building this building I sometimes have to climb waaaaayyyy up high to the top.  That puts me 200 feet in the air.  One slip and I’d be busted Buster.  Every part of me would be busted. 

Well, to keep me from getting busted, I wear these safety straps.  One end is attached to the strong steel beams of the building.   The other end is attached to me.  So if I fall, I won’t hit the ground.  I can build big buildings and climb waaaaay up high because I can trust these cords.  They have been tested and tried.  They are safe and secure.  I know I can trust my life to the cords because they will keep me from being busted Buster.

These cords remind me of a verse in the Bible.  It says God “…is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy.”  (Jude 1:24).  God will keep you from falling into sin and temptation if you will give your life over to Him and walk in His ways.  He will keep you from falling into the traps of the devil.  God will keep you from a busted up life.  He will keep you all the way.     

            Trust God with your life!

Guard Your Relationship with Jesus

Jesus…said, “If anyone wants to follow me, he must say no to himself.  He must

pick up his cross and follow me.”  Matthew 16:24 (NIRV)

Props: several large bills of play money

            Putting Jesus first means protecting your relationship with Him.  You have to treat your relationship with Him as the most important, precious and valuable thing in your life. 

            Imagine that all this money belongs to you.  This is several thousand dollars.  What would you do with it?  (Allow a few kids to answer).  That’s funny; I didn’t hear anyone answer that they would put it in a drawer and forget about it.  No one said they would throw it away.  No one would set it down in the school cafeteria and walk away (at least not on purpose!).  Why wouldn’t you treat the money like that?  (Allow for response).  You wouldn’t treat it like that because it’s valuable! 

            Your relationship with Jesus is more valuable than all the money in the world.  When you start to see it that way, you treat it differently.  You won’t ignore Jesus all week long, until you get to church.  You won’t forget about Him.  You won’t just walk away from Him when something else comes along. 

            Learn to see your friendship with Jesus as the most valuable part of your life and put Jesus first!

God’s Promise is With You

Be strong and courageous.  Do not be afraid…for the Lord your God goes with you…  Deuteronomy 31:6 

Props: table that will support the weight of a child

For this lesson, you will be choosing a volunteer to do a “trust fall.”  He will stand on a table at the front of the room and will face the side wall.  A team of 6 workers will stand behind him, in 2 lines of 3 each, facing each other with their arms interlocking to form a “basket.” (Practice this with the workers ahead of time).  You will assure the volunteer that the workers will not let him hit the ground, then ask him to fall back.  Once he completes the fall, continue with the lesson.  If he will not fall back, choose another volunteer. 

 

It was probably a little bit hard for our volunteer to fall back.  Even though he knows us and trusts us, that’s a long drop!  We gave him our word that we wouldn’t drop him, but he knows that if for some reason we fail, he could end up in the hospital.     

For the Israelites, it was the same way.  God promised them that He would be with them when they went into the land and fought the people, but they still had to trust Him.  They probably had times when they doubted and wondered if God would really keep His promise.  But that’s what trust is all about: taking God at His Word even when you can’t see how things are going to turn out. 

            God’s promise is true for you as well.  He has promised that He would be with you even when you face your toughest challenges.  If you will stick with Him, He will always go with you.  You can count on His promise and that will give you the courage to face challenges. 

            God is with you: go in His strength.

Give Jesus First Place in Your Life

Jesus…said, “If anyone wants to follow me, he must say no to himself.  He must

pick up his cross and follow me.”  Matthew 16:24 (NIRV)

Props: clear jar, several cups of sugar, one bag of large marshmallows, package of small candies

**Practice ahead of time to see how many of each ingredient can fit into the jar when you add them in the right order.  It may help to coat the marshmallows with sugar first, as they tend to get sticky!  This lesson can also be done with rocks, sand and water. 

            You may wonder how you will fit everything into your life if you put Jesus first.  I’ll show you how it works.  Look at this jar I have.  (Display jar and ingredients).   Do you think all this sugar, all these marshmallows and this candy will fit into the jar?  (Allow for response).  It doesn’t look like it’s going to fit.  That’s how it is with life.  It may not look like everything’s going to fit into your life either.  You may think, “If I go to church every week, I won’t have time to play sports.”  Or, “If I read my Bible, I won’t have any time to do my homework.”  Maybe you think you won’t have enough time for school and friends and activities if you give first place to Jesus.  So lots of people do it backwards.  (Begin pouring sugar into jar as you speak).   They try to do everything and then “work Jesus” into their schedule.  (Place candies on top of sugar).   They try to go to school, do their homework, play sports, play games, talk on the phone with friends and then try to give Jesus what is left over.  (Place marshmallows on top of candies.  They will very obviously not fit.) 

The key is to put Jesus FIRST.  (Remove marshmallows, candies and sugar).  Now let’s try it again.  (Place marshmallows in jar).  Now let’s say that instead of trying to do everything else first, you put Jesus first.  You set aside special time for Him every day and nothing else can take His place.  You make up your mind that even if you don’t get to watch TV, you’re going to spend time with Jesus.  Even if you don’t get to play sports, you’re going to come to church.  But what you’ll find is that when you put Jesus first, you’ll have time for what really matters.  (Pour in small candies on top of marshmallows, then add sugar).  It all fits in when you put Jesus first.  Give Him the number one place in your life and He’ll make sure that everything else will fit in.

            Remember, put Jesus first!

Fire Drill!

So watch! You do not know what day or what hour the Son of Man is coming. Matthew 25:13 (NLV)

At some unannounced time during the lesson, hold a fire drill (a real drill complete with alarm, if possible).  Have the kids line up and exit through the fire escape.  Make sure this is not at a “convenient” time.  Upon returning to the room, continue with the following lesson:

Whenever you’re in a building (school, home, church, or any building), there is always the possibility of a fire.  You know that, but the important thing is to be prepared.  You should always know how to get out and how to act during such an emergency.  Today you did a great job.  We were all ready.  But could you imagine if it were a real fire and no one knew where to go or what to do?

            Jesus told us to watch and be ready, because we don’t know the day or the hour of His return.  He told us that he’d be coming back one day.  He will take with Him those who love and serve God, those who are ready.  But He’s not going to stand around and wait for people who aren’t living for God and doing what is right.  Now is the time to prepare.

            All of us teachers knew there’d be a fire drill today.  And we all know what to do if there is a real fire.  But can you imagine if we heard the alarm and ran out the fire escape, leaving all of you kids behind?  What if we pushed our way to the front of the line and didn’t care if any of you got out?  That would be terrible!

            As Christians, we all know Jesus is coming back and we know what we need to do to be ready.  But there are millions of people who have no idea.  We need to tell them!  We need to let them know that they should get their life ready by giving it to God, loving and serving Him.  When we run to Jesus, let’s not leave everyone else behind!  

            Remember: Jesus is coming back, so stay on track!

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