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.
Shout for joy to the Lord, everyone on earth. Worship the Lord with gladness. Come to him with songs of joy.
Psalm 100:1–2
Our God is worthy of joyful worship! When life is full of daily challenges and obstacles, it can be hard to pause and be filled with His gladness. God asks us to worship with joy, but this can be challenging when we do not feel joyful.
Are you filled with gladness, or do you need the Holy Spirit to renew your joy? Maybe something sad happened and it is hard to feel joyful. As you prepare for this week, surrender anything that is preventing your joyful worship to God. Ask Him to fill your heart with gladness. Your joyful worship can be public at church, but it can also be private. Worship at home can include anything from singing or dancing to serving others. Whatever you choose as your act of worship this week, let it come from a joyful heart!
Encourage the family to use a musical instrument or clap their hands to the rhythm of a joyful song. They may also choose to sing a song of praise to worship and honour God.
Teacher Tip: If possible, email or text the Family Connection Card to the families of your students.
This lesson uses 2 songs. If you are not familiar with the songs, you can sing the words to the melody of an existing song or make up a melody.
Welcome the children as they enter and instruct them to sit facing the front.
We are learning about worship in this unit. Worship honours God and shows that we love Him. Let’s start the class by closing your eyes, folding your hands, and bowing your heads in respect for God. Let’s say a prayer of love today.
Heavenly Father, we love You because You first loved us. Jesus, we love You because You saved us. Holy Spirit, we thank You for helping us each day. We love and worship You as the One True God. Amen!
You can use music, singing, and instruments to honour God in praise and worship. The Bible tells you to sing to God. It pleases God when you sing praise to Him. It also helps you focus on God instead of your problems. Instead of worrying about your problems, you can sing praise to God. This helps you trust God with your problems.
Optional: If there is a song of praise your children already know, you may choose to use this song instead of the one printed below. “Here I Am to Worship” would be a good song to use.
Let’s practice singing a song to God as a way to worship Him. This is an easy song taken from the book of Psalms in the Bible. You can learn it quickly. Listen to the words as I say them:
Use the words from the psalm below. Create a melody to go with the words.
I will honour you, my God the King.
I will praise your name for ever and ever.
Every day I will praise you.
I will praise your name for ever and ever.
Psalm 145:1–2
I will say each phrase again, and you repeat the words so you can learn the song. When you sing praise to God, you honour who He is and what He has done. Singing is a way to worship God. Let’s lift our voices and sing this song together.
Repeat the song 2–3 times.
The Bible tells us about a time when singing to God caused an earthquake. Let’s learn about what happened.
Today you will learn about 2 men named Paul and Silas. These men loved and worshipped God. They travelled around talking to people about Jesus. Some people did not like what Paul and Silas were doing. People were so angry that they attacked the men. Paul and Silas were put in prison. They were put in the deepest part of the prison and their feet were chained together so they could not run away.
Optional: If possible, show the images from the Action Bible
What do you think you might do if you were Paul or Silas and you were tied up inside a prison?
Answers may include: get angry, be sad, yell for help, or try to escape.
It would be easy to be angry at those who put you in prison. You may even feel angry at God for allowing you to be put in prison. It would be easy to be sad because you are in a horrible place. You might want to figure out a way to get out of that prison. You might spend your time thinking about how to get unchained, get out of prison, and run away. Paul and Silas did something very different. Listen to what they did next.
Read the following verse directly from your Bible.
About midnight Paul and Silas were praying. They were also singing hymns to God. The other prisoners were listening to them.
Acts 16:25
That is amazing! Paul and Silas did not become angry. They did not appear sad. They did not even cry or yell for help. They prayed and sang songs to God! They were chained up in prison and they honoured God through prayer and song. They chose to focus on the greatness and goodness of God instead of their circumstances.
Optional: If possible, show the images from the Action Bible
Let’s sing a song together like Paul and Silas did. Let’s sing the worship song we learned at the beginning of the lesson.
Lead the children in singing the song once.
When Paul and Silas prayed and sang to God, something incredible happened! Listen to what the Bible says:
Suddenly there was a powerful earthquake. It shook the prison from top to bottom. All at once the prison doors flew open. Everyone’s chains came loose.
Acts 16:26
The earthquake was so powerful that it shook the prison from top to bottom! Then all the prison doors that were locked flew open! The chains on their feet came apart! God set them free!
Paul and Silas did not focus on the problem of being in prison. They did not focus on the problem of being tied up in chains. Instead, Paul and Silas focused on God. They honoured God through prayer and song.
Optional: If you have Action Bibles available, let the children review the story by looking at the pictures on pages 784-787.
What are some other ways to worship God?
Allow 3–4 children to respond.
Those were great ideas! We can worship God through prayer, by reading His Word, and by shouting or singing praises to Him. We can even use our movements just as David did when he danced for joy as the ark of the covenant was brought to his homeland. We also worship God when we come together to learn about Him or serve others in His name. Our offerings of time, treasure, and talent are also forms of worship.
Let’s practice worshipping God. Start by saying a prayer to God. Pray with me now.
Heavenly Father, we thank You for this time we have with You. Thank You for Your love and for Your mercy. We ask You to open our hearts to You today and every day. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Let’s listen to some Bible verses from Psalm 148:13–14 about worshipping God.
Read the verses aloud from your Bible.
Let them praise the name of the Lord. His name alone is honored. His glory is higher than the earth and the heavens. He has given his people a strong king. All his faithful people praise him for that gift. All the people of Israel are close to his heart. Praise the Lord.
Psalm 148:13–14
These verses tell us to praise and worship the Lord God. Let’s worship Him now by singing the words of these verses.
Sing Psalm 148:13–14 using a familiar melody or one that you create. After you sing the words once, invite the children to sing with you 3 times.
God is good, and He is worthy to be praised! It can be easier to praise and worship God when things are going well for us than it is when things are difficult. Just as Paul and Silas worshipped God when things were not going well for them, it is important for us to worship God at all times, even when we are having a difficult day or something bad is happening around us.
Take time to praise and worship God for who He is and all of the good things He has done. This can help you to focus on Him and remember how good and loving He is, even when things are difficult for you.
Now that you have learned about different ways people in the Bible worshipped God with praying, singing, and learning about Jesus, let’s worship God together!
For this activity, we will separate into 3 groups. One group will worship God in prayer, another will worship Him in song, and the third group will worship Him by practicing the memory verse.
Read the worship choices again to the children. Direct each group to a different area of the teaching space and give them enough space to do the worship activity. Select a leader for each group who can begin each activity. For the memory verse group, choose a child who you feel has memorized the words and actions to the verse.
The singing group will sing the song from the Connecting section. The praying group will quietly pray together, with each child saying a sentence about God. The memory verse group will say the John 4:24 memory verse 3 times. Walk around and offer help to any of the groups that are not sure how to begin the activity. Give the groups about 1 minute to worship God.
Optional: If you are using Student Pages, give the children crayons and read the instructions. Allow the children 3 minutes to write or draw. Read the Bible verses on the book with the children.
You all did a great job! Remember worship in any of the forms we discussed today honours God and shows your desire to do what He wants. Today’s memory verse reminds us to worship God with our whole selves.
Read the verse from your Bible.
God is spirit. His worshipers must worship him in the Spirit and in truth.
John 4:24
Read the memory verse again with the children. As you read it, do the following movements. Then repeat the verse and the movements with the children 3 times.
End class by saying this blessing, based on Acts 16:25, over the children.
Blessing: May you honour God through songs and prayers of worship. May you worship God always and everywhere.
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.
