This winter-themed lesson illustrates how children need to clothe themselves (‘put on’ in the KJV) the qualities that will develop fruitful relationships and demonstrate the love of God. 

Begin with a Beanie Brigade:

Ask leaders and volunteers to wear a beanie for the morning.  The more outlandish the better!  Why not have a ‘Best Beanie Competition’ with children voting for the beanie they like the most?  Volunteers can lobby for votes throughout the morning.  Announce the winner at the end of the program. 

Chill Activity:  Paper Snowflakes:

You Will Need:

• White thin or lightweight paper squares
• Scissors
• Pencil and ruler (optional)

What to Do:

• Fold the square of paper diagonally in half to make a triangle
• Fold the triangle in half to make a smaller triangle
• Now fold the triangle into thirds (you might like to use a pencil and ruler to help)
• Once you marked out the equal thirds, fold the left section towards the front
• Then fold the right section towards the front
• Turn the shape over so that the side with the horizontal edge is facing front
• Cut along the horizontal edge so that the ‘tail’ is removed and you have a wedge shape left
• While keeping the wedge folded cut random shapes out of the edges
• Carefully unfold the paper to reveal your paper snowflake
• Decorate the room, the platform, or the lectern used at teaching time!

YouTube Song Suggestions:

Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts.  Colossians 3:16

• Give a Little Kindness (ChattHillsKids)
• Fruit of the Spirit (Go Fish Kids Music)
• Wake Me Up:  I Freeze (Jana Alayra) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9YH7nLcD1jk

Bible Lesson:  Living the New Life!

Bible Reference:  Colossians 3:12-15 (NLT)

Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tender-hearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony. And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful.

Lesson set up:

You’ll need a helper to demonstrate the qualities God wants us to clothe ourselves in or ‘put on’.  To begin, the volunteer wears a large black coat, or oversized black shirt, covered in filthy rags.  Underneath they are wearing a white t-shirt (maybe with a butterfly motif on the front), a pair of shorts, jeans or a skirt, and socks on their feet.  You’ll need the props in a box nearby. 

Props:

1. Volunteer enters wearing filthy rags over a white t-shirt
2. Bible:  read aloud Colossians 3:12a
3. Jumper (with a love heart on the front)
4. Gloves
5. Beanie
6. One boot
7. The other boot
8. The word ‘SORRY’
9. Coat
10. Scarf

Words:

One:

Wow, the weather is freezing!

I hope you’re not too cold.

How about we do a few exercises to warm us up?

(5 x star jumps; jog on the spot for 20 seconds; arm circles for 20 seconds; 5 x frog jumps; high knees for 20 seconds)

That’s better!  I’m feeling warmer.

Hey, take a seat.

(Volunteer in filthy rags enters and joins Leader)

When you give your life to Jesus you become brand new.

You have ‘put off’ your old life. (Ephesians 4:22)

(Volunteer removes the coat of filthy rags)

You are a new creation!  (2 Corinthians 5:17)

It’s like laying aside a filthy, tattered and stinky old coat.

Then the Bible tells us there are some things we must ‘put on’.

Two:

The Apostle Paul wrote this:

‘Since God chose you to be the holy people He loves, you must clothe yourselves…’

In some Bible translations the words ‘put on’ are used.

Hey, let’s discover what God wants us to put on!

Three:

A Christian must put on tender-hearted mercy.

(Pull out jumper and volunteer puts it on)

If something is tender it is sensitive.

Have you ever been sunburnt?

Or bruised yourself?

You’re sensitive and careful about the parts of you that are burnt or bruised.

If you are tender-hearted you are sensitive and careful about people, especially those who are hurt and sad, even if it’s their fault.

Even if they’ve done something wrong to you.

Mercy is having compassion and forgiveness for someone who deserves punishment.

So put on tender-hearted mercy.

(Discuss ways children can show tender-hearted mercy.  Your volunteer can mime them.)

Four:

A Christian must put on kindness.

(Pull out gloves and volunteer puts them on)

It’s more than being friendly, generous and considerate.

It’s wanting other people to have benefits (profit) and advantages (favour) as much as you want them for yourself. 

So, put on kindness.

(Discuss ways children can show kindness and the volunteer can mime them.)

Five:

A Christian must put on humility.

(Pull out the beanie and the volunteer puts it on)

Humility is being modest by not behaving proudly or arrogantly.

Remembering you are not more important than others, no matter how good you are at something, how rich you are, or the family you were born into.

So, put on humility.

(Discuss ways children can demonstrate humility and the volunteer can mime them.)

Six:

A Christian must put on gentleness.

(Pull out one boot and the volunteer puts it on)

Putting on gentleness does not mean you are weak or timid.

It’s controlling your strength so you’re not demanding to get your way and not forcing yourself on others.

So, put on gentleness.

(Discuss ways children can demonstrate gentleness and the volunteer can mime them.)

Seven:

A Christian must put on patience.

(Pull out the other boot and the volunteer puts it on)

Putting on patience means waiting without complaining!

So, put on patience.

(Discuss ways children can demonstrate patience and the volunteer can mime them.)

Eight:

The Apostle Paul wrote that Christians had to make allowances for each other’s faults AND that they had to forgive others.

We don’t wait for an apology.

We don’t tell everyone what happened and how badly we were treated.

We forgive. 

Paul used Jesus as our example because Jesus forgave us when we were sinners!

Remember that filthy, tattered and stinky old coat at the beginning of the lesson?

(Volunteer hugs or handshakes others around to mime forgiveness)

Nine:

A Christian must put on love!

(Pull out the coat for the volunteer to put on)

It is love that brings everything perfectly together!

Jesus told His disciples, ‘A new commandment I give you:  Love one another.

As I have loved you, so you must love one another.

By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.’

(John 13:34)

So, put on love.

(Discuss ways children can demonstrate love.  The volunteer can mime them.)

Ten:

Christians must let peace rule in their hearts.

(Pull out the scarf for the volunteer to put on)

Always choose to say or do the thing that brings peace.

The peace that comes from Jesus is the judge.  Peace rules!

So, wrap peace around you! 

(Discuss ways children can demonstrate peace.  The volunteer can mime them.)

Wow, you are looking toasty warm in all the items you have put on.

You have dressed appropriately for the weather!

You have put on what is suitable and right.

Just the same way a Christian must put on what is appropriate.

What is suitable and right for a follower of Jesus!

Paul ends by writing, ‘And always be thankful’.

We are pleased and grateful to God.

(To the volunteer)

And thank you for helping with today’s lesson!

(Volunteer mimes their thanks)

No, thank you.

(Volunteer keeps thanking)

No, thank you! Truly, thank you.

(Volunteer keeps thanking and exits)

Ministry to the Children:   

Have you put off your old self?  Or are you still wearing filthy, tattered and stinky clothes?  Wouldn’t you love to be brand new?  You can become a new creation today!  You must believe Jesus came into the world and lived a perfect life.  He gave His perfect life in exchange for the sin of the whole world and paid for that sin by dying on the Cross.  You must believe that God raised Jesus from the dead and that He is alive and ready to come and live in your heart.  You must be sorry for your sin, turn your back on it, and ask Him to forgive you.  Confess Jesus as your Lord, now!

If you are a Christian, your challenge is to be clothed in all the qualities we talked about today.  When people see you, they will see Jesus and want to know Him, too.

Revision Game: Dress the Leaders Race!

Use a large area with two leaders and a box holding their jumpers, gloves, beanies, boots, coats and scarves next to them.  The children line up in front of one of the leaders.  On ‘go’ they take an item of winter clothing and put it on the leader, calling out the name of the quality associated with it learned during the lesson.  The first team to correctly clothe and name the clothing on the leader wins.  Replay with different leaders and teams of children if you have a large group.

Memory Verse:  Colossians 3:12 (NLT)

Since God chose you to be the holy people He loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.

Glove or Mitten Hunt:

Use real gloves or mittens if you have them.  Print out the words of the Memory Verse and ‘contact’ one to each mitten.  The Bible reference will bring the number of words to an even 24.  (For warmer climates, where no one will own that many pairs of gloves or mittens, make cardboard ones!)

Hide the mittens or gloves around the room and send the kids on a hunt to find them.  They must find the person who has the matching glove, too.  Then they report to a leader and receive a small prize.  Kids then help the leaders to assemble the pairs of gloves in order.  Recite the Memory Verse together.  When the kids can recite it confidently, remove one set at a time until they can recite it without help from the mittens or gloves!

Games:

Snowball Relay

You will need:

• Snowballs (white paper scrunched up, ping pong balls, white plastic balls)
• Two buckets
• Kids in teams

How to play:

Divide the children into two or three teams and form lines with gaps between them.

Put one bucket with ‘snowballs’ at one end of the line and an empty bucket on the other.

On ‘Go’, the kid standing at the end of the line picks up a snowball passing it to the next one, and so on.  The team that gets their snowballs to the other end first wins!

Freeze:

You will need:

• Music
• Space to dance

How to play:

Play the music and ask the children to dance any way they want.  But when the music stops, they have to freeze like statues, in whatever pose they were.  Whoever moves is out!  Restart the music to unfreeze and play until there is one child left.

Dodge the Snowball:

You will need:

• 2 teams and a large area with a line down the middle
• 2-3 Snowballs (soft playground balls)

How to play:

Children throw the snowballs trying to hit members of the opposing team. They must aim the snowball below the waist.  The children must ‘dodge’ out of the way.  If they are hit by the snowball they are out.  If they catch the snowball they are out. If a snowball hits a child above the waist the person who threw it is out. Keep playing until one team is all out.

Snow in the Chimney

You will need:

• 2 teams
• 2 boxes with holes in the top (chimneys)
• Snowballs (white scrunched-up paper)
• Timer

How to play:

Children throw the snowballs into the chimneys until the time is up.  Empty the chimneys and the team with the most snowballs in their chimney wins.

Musical Snowflakes (a variation of musical chairs)

You will need:

• Music (wintery) 
• Chairs for every child minus one
• Paper snowflakes taped on each chair

How to play:

When the music plays the children circle all the chairs.  When the music stops the children must find a seat or they are out.  When the music starts, remove a chair, and when the music stops again children must race to find a seat.  Continue to remove chairs as the children are eliminated. 

Penguin Shuffle

You will need:

• Beanbags (penguin eggs)
• Start and finish lines

How to play:

Children stand side by side with their ‘eggs’ on top of their feet. Players try to shuffle across the room like a penguin without dropping their ‘eggs’. The first one across the finish line wins.

Jack Frost (Four Corners):

You will need:

• A big space with four
• ‘Jack Frost’ to count and call out

How to play:

Divide the children into equal groups in each corner.  Jack Frost will sit in the middle of the room with closed eyes and count slowly and loudly from 10 to 0.  While counting, all the other children stay where they are or quietly move to a different corner. When the counter gets to 0, everyone must be at a corner (if not they must sit down because they’re out).

After counting, Jack Frost points to the corner of his/her choice and then opens their eyes.  Anyone standing in that corner must sit down.  They’re out.  If no one is standing at the chosen corner, any children sitting may stand up and get back into the game.  The child left standing becomes the next Jack Frost.

Snowball Over the Mountain:

You will need:

• White sheet
• White balloons
• 2 teams
• 2 volunteers to hold the sheet

How to play:

Children are divided into two teams. Hold a sheet (the mountain) above eye level between the two groups. Each side throws snowballs (white balloons) over to the other side. Which team can get the most snowballs over the mountain in a certain time?

Pass the Ice

You will need:

• Ice cubes
• Music

How to play: 

Children sit in a circle.  While the music plays they pass the ice cube around.  If they drop the ice cube, they’re out.  When the music stops, the person holding the ice cube is out.  The last person holding the ice cube is the winner if the ice cube has not melted!

Morning Tea Ideas:

Marshmallows, silver foil-covered chocolates, popcorn, snow-covered cupcakes (white icing) Rice Bubble slice or coconut slice, snow cones.

Craft: Decorate the Beanie!

You will need:

• Photocopy a beanie template onto a thin card for each child
• Collage materials including wool or cotton balls for a pompom
• Scissors
• Glue
• Felt pens
• Glitter

What to do:

Children use the collage materials to create an original beanie. 

I hope this exciting and fun packed lesson will warm up your Kid’s Church program this winter!

You’ll find the PDF of this lesson to freely download here: https://cooeekidsministry.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Winter-Wonderland.pdf