OBJECTIVES
Look back on everything we have learned this year, and realise that everything that happens in our lives is God appointed, according to His purpose for us, and steeped in His love.
God’s Word
Genesis 1:14-18
Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end.
Ecclesiastes 3:11 NLT
As long as the earth lasts, there will always be a time to plan and a time to gather the crops. As long as the earth lasts, there will always be cold and heat. There will always be summer and winter, day and night.
Philippians 4:4 NIRV
KEY POINTS
1 Your love never fails
2 Your love never gives up
3 Your love never runs out on me
PRAISE
New Start – Elevation Youth
WORSHIP + HEART PREP
One Thing Remains – Jesus Culture
Ever Be – Bethel Music
ACTIVITIES
TEACHING
Today we are having the last JAM Kids service of the year 2018. Isn’t that amazing? Tomorrow, there is one last day of the year left, then we go on to another year. That’s always awesome for me, this changing of the seasons. I’ve been alive for very many years, and new years never get old.And I guess it’s not just me. All around the world, people celebrate New Years. Sometimes, the parties are even bigger than Christmas. During New Year, we have countdowns, and ball drops, and fireworks, a lot of fireworks.(As a side note, do you know why people use fireworks for New Years? Some cultures believe that they have to chase away bad luck, or bad spirits, during the new year. They believe that they can scare them away with loud banging noises. The bright lights are just a pretty sound effect. As Christians, we don’t believe this of course. Jesus is more powerful than anything on earth. And fireworks can get dangerous if you’re not careful. So, we don’t celebrate with fireworks in general.)But first, let’s look back at 2018 in JAM service, and see what we have been up to last year.(Show the monthly lessons in groups of 4. The diagrams should join up at the end, to show Jesus at the center.)Who here has been with us all the way from January this year? We’ve had so many great programs and games, met so many new friends and teachers, and learned so many new songs and dances.But if you will notice, we always made sure that it always pointed back to Jesus. We have different programs, and we flowed with the seasons and the events and the public holidays. But we always made sure that at the very heart of every Sunday, was the Word of God, and the love of Jesus.I want you to always always look for the Word of God in everything that we do here in church. And that’s not hard to do for some parts, like when we sing praise and worship, or do our memory verse, or have our offering, or watch a video based on a Bible story. All those have the Word of God baked right in.But the challenge is to look for the Word of God even in the parts that don’t give the Bible verse explicitly. Like when we play games, or watch a skit, do even simple activities like answer worksheets and such. Where is the Word of God in that?
We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him. He appointed them to be saved in keeping with his purpose.
Romans 8:28 NIRV
The way to see where Jesus is in anything, whether here in church, or at home with your families, or at school with your friends and classmates is this: is it done out of love? Was it planned with love, and is it being executed with love?Because Jesus is love, and wherever love is, there Jesus is also.So that was our 2018 in our church. We filled it with Jesus’ love through and through.Another good thing to do during New Years is look ahead towards the coming year. But that’s a tricky statement. Because I’m sure you know that no one has the ability to see into the future. No one knows what’s going to happen, except for God.
No one knows what lies ahead. So who can tell someone else what’s going to happen?
Ecclesiastes 8:7 NIRV
But it’s ok. That’s exactly how He intended for our lives to be. He made it so that we have the heart to have faith in Him, that He will always make sure that our lives will work out right, no matter what. Because His love never fails, it never gives up, and it never runs out on us.Which brings us to our keypoints. Which are very easy. Can you give me a beat? (Half the class will clap, half will stamp their feet, then sing the chorus in unison, as many times as it takes.)(Worship team comes up.)No matter what has already happened in the past, no matter what will happen in the future, and no matter what is happening right now, we know for sure that God’s love remains. He is higher than the mountains that we face. He is stronger than the power of the grave. He is constant through the trials and the change. He is the One Thinbg that remains, through it all. (Do one round of the song, and in the middle, do 2019 declarations for the children.)
DISCUSSION
Read the entire passage as a group, one verse per kid. Make sure to read with feeling, and give voice to how God must want us to hear His Word.
- What are your favorite things that we did in Kids Church this year? Why do you like them?
- What else do you think we can do again next year in Kids Church? Think of fun stuff we can do that you and your friends might enjoy.
- What new thing did you do in 2018 that you’ve never done before? (Lead them in this, to think about their school, their ministry, new role in the family, etc.) How do you think God helped you in this?
- Can you think of one situation where you were surprised that God showed up? (Lead them to think of things like when they prayed someone to attend church with them, or when someone who was sick got healed, or when they accomplished something in school. Review the point that God shows up in any situation, even when we least expect Him.)
- Say your own prayer of thanksgiving for the past year, telling God how grateful you are for everything that He has done for you.
Teaching Slides here