During the lesson, the information for you to know is written in regular type, and what we suggest speaking or reading aloud to children is in bold. All resources for this lesson, including the Teacher Guide and Student Page, can be downloaded in a ZIP file by clicking on the following link:
In some lessons you will find "resource articles." These are articles written by experts from around the world to help equip you for your work with children and adolescents. Share them with parents or guardians if you consider it appropriate.
It’s useless for you to work from early morning until late at night just to get food to eat. God provides for those he loves even while they sleep.
Psalm 127:2
Our heavenly Father provides for more than our physical needs. He also provides for our spiritual and emotional needs. God knows what we need. His provision comes out of His love. God loves us all of the time, not just when we are awake! We can trust that He will provide for us, even when we sleep.
Talk to your heavenly Father about your needs. Know that even when you are asleep, He provides for you. His provision may not be what you want, but it is always what you need. May you know that God loves you, watches over you, and provides His peace to you.
Encourage families to ask their children what they learned about the needs of living things. Ask the families to talk together about how God provides for them.
Teacher Tip: If possible, email or text the Family Connection Card to the families of your students.
Greet your children with a smile. Ask them to think about 1 thing they need to live.
I asked you an important question that will help us with today’s lesson.
If the children do not understand, share this example: We all need water to live. Allow 5–7 children to respond. There are no wrong answers. This is an opportunity for children to share what they think.
Those were great thoughts! Some were needs and some were just things we want but can live without. To live we need 5 things: food, water, air, shelter, and community. Shelter is any structure that protects you from the rain, sun, and other weather. Stand up. Let’s put actions to these 5 words. Every living thing needs:
Food—Pretend to put food in your mouth.
Water—Make the motion of waves in water with 1 arm.
Air—Breathe in and out deeply.
Shelter—Create an imaginary tent above your head using your hands and arms.
Community—Put your arms out and gently swing them in front of your body.
Repeat the words and actions with the children 3 times. Then ask 5 children to share 1 thing that we need to live.
Now that you all know what we need to live, let’s talk about who provides what we need—God! When God created the world, He included food, water, air, shelter, and community as part of His creation because He knew that we would need these.
He gives us food from plants and animals.
He gives us water that comes from rivers, lakes, streams, and wells.
He made our world so air is all around us. We do not need to look for it.
God gives trees and other things to make shelters. He gives people ideas for different ways to make homes.
From the beginning, God created people to have community. He gave Eve so that Adam would not live alone. He wants people to support and encourage and love each other in communities.
Your heavenly Father provides air, water, and food for you. These things take care of your physical needs, but you are more than just a physical body. God provides for you in other ways as well. God also provides for the needs of your spirit by giving you His love and a community of other people. We will learn more about how God provides for you in all ways.
The book of Genesis in the Bible tells us how God provided food for us. Listen to what this verse says.
Read this verse directly from your Bible.
Everything that lives and moves about will be food for you. I have already given you the green plants for food. Now I am giving you everything.
Genesis 9:3
Allow 3–5 children to respond to each of the following questions.
If the children do not mention animal products, such as eggs and milk, be sure to mention them as well.
God gave us plants and animals so that we could eat them. But, this does not mean that it is always easy to find food to eat.
The Bible tells of a time long ago when God freed His people, the Israelites, from slavery in Egypt. After they were free, they spent many years living in the desert. When they were in the desert, they did not have much to eat. They told their leader, Moses, and his brother, Aaron, that they were unhappy.
Allow 3–4 children to respond.
God told Moses that He would give the Israelites bread and meat. Let’s listen to what He said:
The Lord said to Moses, “I have heard the people of Israel talking about how unhappy they are. Tell them, ‘When the sun goes down, you will eat meat. In the morning you will be filled with bread. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God.’”
Exodus 16:11–12
This is exactly what happened. That night, the camp was covered with quail. A quail is a small bird that is good to eat. In the morning, the people saw a special bread from heaven covering the ground. The Israelites called the special bread God gave them “manna.” God did as He promised and the people had enough to eat! God provided what the Israelites needed.
Optional: If possible, share the images from The Action Bible as you teach.
God gave them directions on how to collect the food. The people learned that they had to follow God’s directions in order to have enough to eat. When they did not follow the directions, the food became rotten and they could not eat it.
Optional: If possible, share the images from The Action Bible as you teach.
Just as He cared about the Israelites, God also cares about your needs. Your life is precious to God. When you need something, you can ask your heavenly Father to provide it for you. Sometimes it may be easy for you to find what you need, and sometimes it may not be easy. Even when it does not seem like you will get what you need, know that God cares about you and what you need.
Allow 3–4 children to respond.
The people in the Bible were worried they would not have enough food. There are times you may feel like you do not have enough food. God provides for you in many different ways. God provides not only what your body needs, like food and water, but also what your mind and spirit need, like community and His love. In the Bible, Jesus says:
I tell you, do not worry. Don’t worry about your life and what you will eat or drink. And don’t worry about your body and what you will wear. Isn’t there more to life than eating? Aren’t there more important things for the body than clothes?
Matthew 6:25
At the beginning of this lesson, we talked about what things people need to live. They included food and water. So why would Jesus tell us not to worry about these things? Listen to what Jesus says:
Look at the birds of the air. They don’t plant or gather crops. They don’t put away crops in storerooms. But your Father who is in heaven feeds them. Aren’t you worth much more than they are?
Matthew 6:26
God gives you encouragement for when you do not see what you need. He tells you to look at the birds up in the sky. They do not worry about their food because God provides for them. And Jesus tells us that God the Father loves you much more than the birds. If He provides for them but loves you more, you can trust Him to provide for you too!
Allow 2–3 children to respond to the following statement.
Those were great examples! God loves you so much He provides all you need to live. He gives you food and water, shelter, and air to breathe. He also gave you a community around you to encourage you, support you, and love you.
Spread the leaves around your teaching space. Make sure they are spread out and not in piles.
Let’s play a game to help us remember what things God provides. We will pretend that these leaves are manna. You will each collect a few leaves and think about what God can provide for you.
Give the children 2 minutes to collect leaves and bring them together in the centre of your teaching space. Sit down in a circle with the children.
Look at all the leaves you collected. Take a moment to think of all the things God has provided for you. Turn to a child near you. I will give you 1 minute to tell your partner about what God has provided for you. After 1 minute, your partner will share with you.
Give the first partners 1 minute to share and then ask them to let the second partners talk. After all the children have shared, ask them to gather up their leaves and place them in a neat pile at the front of the teaching space. Have them sit back down in the circle.
Optional: If you are using Student Pages, have the children look for and circle the images of manna in the picture.
God provides for your needs. He is your heavenly Father. He is everywhere and in everything! Listen to what our Memory Verse says:
If possible, show the Memory Verse poster as you read the verse from the Bible.
There is one God and Father of all. He is over everything. He is through everything. He is in everything.
Ephesians 4:6
There is 1 God and Father of all—Indicate a number “1” using 1 finger or hand and point toward the sky.
He is over everything. He is through everything—Stretch your arms up above your head and release them out to your sides.
He is in everything—Hold your right hand with your palm down out in front of you. Hold your left hand near your chest with your palm facing the ground. Pass your left hand under your right hand.
Repeat the actions with the children 3 times. End class by saying this blessing, based on Matthew 6:25, over the children.
Blessing: May you give your worries to God. May you be comforted knowing that God will provide what you need.
Share the worship song for this quarter with your children if possible.
Life on Life ©2020 David C Cook. Reproducible for home or classroom use only. All other uses require written permission from David C Cook [email protected]. All rights reserved.
