The second lesson that I'd taught on service was during our family teaching time during our Sunday meeting, which has a particular emphasis on the youngest children, so the following post is really the teaching activity outline rather than a fully laid out message.
Serve God with a joyful heart
Key Verses:
Summary of verse:
When Paul was in prison he couldn’t go anywhere. Some people went out and preached God’s Word because of bad reasons like jealousy and to show that they were better than Paul or because they wanted the respect that Paul was getting. Other people knew that Paul wasn’t able to teach many people the Word of God but knew that it was important, so they went were Paul couldn’t go to help preach the Gospel.
Paul was really happy and excited that God’s work was getting done, no matter why the people were doing it, because he was excited to see God working in the world. God used the people that were serving for good reasons to make Paul even happier and to comfort him in prison. Because their hearts were right, they were able to be a blessing to Paul and to give him courage.
Activity:
Ages 10 years old & younger
Kids act out emotions displayed on signs that they're holding (angry, sad, bored, greedy, jealous, and joyful) and decide which one is best to have when serving (joyful).
At end of activity all kids should have their signs turned around to say JOYFUL
Discussion Questions:
What does it mean to serve God? [To do what he wants us to do]
Do we serve God when we serve others? [Yes]
Who can serve God, do you have to be a certain age or have a special title? (EVERYONE from kids to adults)
What kind of things can kids do to serve God? (Obey parents, help clean, be a good friend, etc.)
Who is glorified (magnified, honored, hailed, lifted up) when we serve God? [God]
Is he glorified even when we don’t serve with a joyful heart? [Yes]
Can we enjoy God being glorified if we don’t have a joyful heart? [No]
