If I were to say, ‘It’s Bathurst this weekend,’ most Australians would know what I was talking about.  The Bathurst 1000 is a touring car race held annually on the Mount Panorama Circuit in Bathurst, New South Wales.  Competitors are required to complete 161 laps which makes the total race distance approximately 1,000 kilometres.  It takes six to seven hours to complete the race, so they’re allowed two drivers per car.  Cars can reach 300km/h (190 mph) on Conrod Straight, the fastest section of the track.   Whilst not a car racing enthusiast (shocking I know) I thought I would share a Super Sunday lesson titled ‘Don’t Run on Empty!’  

What is a Super Sunday?

I liken Super Sundays to Supercars.  A Super Sunday has a unique design, goes faster, and needs a little more handling!  But they’re a great way to build relationships with the children in your Kid’s Church.  It’s an opportunity for them to invite friends along and a Super Sunday will break the week-in and week-out monotony of programming for you and your kids.

There’s a variety of Super Sundays on the Cooee Kid’s Ministry website.  Everything from a Jungle Adventure morning to a Lego Day to a Light Night.  You’ll find them here:  https://cooeekidsministry.com.au/super-sundays/

Anyway, ‘Don’t Drive on Empty’ is a bumper lesson you can use as a stand-alone or as part of the Holidays Program curriculum series ‘On the Road with the Early Church’.     

You’ll find the Cooee Kid’s Ministry Holiday Program curriculum here: https://cooeekidsministry.com.au/special-occasions-2/plays/

Start your engines!  Rev Up Activity:

Set up Matchbox, Hot Wheels, car Lego, slot cars and Super Loop sets for children to play with as they arrive.

Game 1:  Race Track Circuit

Create your own obstacle course and use a stopwatch to time children as they race through the circuit or if you have large numbers send children off at timed intervals. 

• Traffic cones
• Pedestrian crossing
• Tyres
• Stop signs, traffic lights and other road signs
• Pit stop (made to wait for 5 seconds)
• Tunnel
• Chequered flag for the finish line

Bible Lesson:  Don’t Run on Empty!

Visual 1:          Car packed for a holiday

Words:             Wow!  How exciting.  Your family is going on holiday.  You’ve been counting down to this day.  Dad’s been studying his GPS.  Mum has packed a bag of snacks and the esky is full of cold drinks.  It’s still dark as you pile into the car.  The sun isn’t up yet.  Dad wants an early start.  You’ll reach the campgrounds in five hours.    Dad reverses out of the garage.  You say goodbye to your house as your car drives down the street.  You turn the corner…the car coughs and splutters.  Dad looks down at the fuel gauge.  Oh no!  The car is out of petrol.  It rolls to a stop in the gutter.

Visual 2:          Child’s sad face.

Words:             How disappointing.  The family is all set to start the journey.  You’re thinking about bomb dives into the swimming pool, toasting marshmallows over the fire, seeing your cousins…then it feels like it’s over before it’s begun!

Visual 3:          Sad, harassed Mum and/or Dad

Words:             Dad had been so busy.  Getting all his work finished before the holiday.  Making phone calls and organizing a house sitter and someone to look after the dog.  Mum had been packing, and texting relatives about the weather.  She’d been searching the internet for accommodation deals and making bookings.  All this is on top of her usual jobs.  They were stressed.  Out of petrol.  They were ‘on empty’.       

Visual 4:          Stranded car

Words:             A car cannot travel on empty.  And neither can you!

                        Just like a car needs petrol or fuel to run, you need the Holy Spirit.

                        We can get so busy we don’t notice our petrol tank is getting lower and lower.  And if we don’t refuel we won’t be going anywhere.

Visual 5:          Child with a puzzled face.

Words:             You may be thinking, ‘Hey!  How can I run on empty and need petrol in my tank?  I can’t even drive a car yet.’  I’m talking about your spirit.  When you accepted Jesus the Holy Spirit began to work in your life. It was the Holy Spirit who told you about needing Jesus in the first place.  (John 6:44; 14:17; Roman 8:9; 1 Corinthians 12:13).  Your spirit came alive to God so you could understand spiritual things.  But your spirit needs to be refilled, or topped up, just like the petrol tank of a car.

Visual 6:          Car at Servo getting petrol.

Words:             When was the last time you filled up?

                        Here are the ways the Holy Spirit can fill your spirit.

Visual 7:          Pictures of singing, Bible, praying, Church

Words:             (Points to discuss)

• Singing praise and worship songs to Jesus
• Reading your Bible and getting to know about Jesus
• Praying,  to have a conversation with Jesus
• Going to Kid’s Church or Supergroup to spend time with kids who believe in Jesus            

Visual 8:          Kid helping/praying/witnessing.

Words:             In the Bible (Ephesians 5:18b) God tells us to ‘keep on being filled with the Spirit.’ All your life there will be a continuous process of receiving from the Holy Spirit and giving to others around you.  Being filled and then sharing.  Of receiving power and then ministering to people.  It’s called living a Spirit-filled life.  That’s how God wants us to live so we can have a Godly effect on the world around us.

                        So buckle up and hang on.  It’s time to refuel.

Ministry to the Children:

Invite children forward for prayer if they would like to be ‘refueled’ by the Holy Spirit.  Pray for children who would like to receive the baptism in the Holy Spirit. 

Memory Verse:  Acts 13:52

And the disciples were continually filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.

Write each word of the Memory Verse onto the roof of toy racing cars.  Hide the cars around the room or outside in your play area.  Ask a volunteer to dress up as Roadside Assist (the RACQ here in Queensland) who is looking for the cars and enlist the kid’s help.  When kids find the cars, they must ‘park’ them in the correct order and then everyone recites the verse aloud together.  As the kids learn the verse, make cars ‘drive away’, so reciting the verse is harder and harder, until no cars are left and the kids are saying the verse without help.

Game 2:  Bogged (Stuck in the Mud)

If children are tagged, they must stand with their legs apart (they’re bogged) until someone crawls through and releases them back onto the race track. 

Game 3:  Traffic Lights

Have children spread out around the room or playground. The leader then calls out commands for children to follow.

Commands are based on a traffic light.  ‘Red Light means children stop.  ‘Yellow Light’ means children run on the spot.  ‘Green Light’ means children run around.  ‘Car Pool’ means two children linking arms and running.  ‘Speed Bump’ means children jump around.

Roundabout:  turn around once

Low bridge: hunch over

School zone: slow-motion

Change lanes: change direction

Reverse parking: walk backwards

Craft:  License Plate

Photocopy the license plate template onto a white card.  If you’d like to make the plates the correct size (37cm x 13cm) you’ll need to cut them individually from white cardboard.  Provide stick-on letters and felt pens so children can create their own individualised license plate.  You’ll find the template here: https://cooeekidsministry.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Dont-Run-on-Empty.pdf

Lollipop Lady:

As children are collected at the end of Kid’s Church, have a volunteer dressed up as a school crossing Lollipop Lady holding the sign and wearing a bag or pouch full of lollipops.  The Lollipop Lady makes a big deal about stopping parents and children, stopping pretend traffic, and handing out lollipops to everyone!  This is a great way to end your Super Sunday!