Series Overview
Have you ever seen a bunch of preschoolers jumping in rain puddles? So many giggles! So much excitement! And do you know that feeling you get when you step outside and feel the sunshine on your face for the first time in a week? Pure happiness! Our preschoolers experience a wide range of emotions every day. They feel sad, happy, afraid, nervous, excited—sometimes all in the same hour!
Our preschoolers will grow up and experience a lot of different situations and emotions. We want children to know that Jesus is a friend that loves them at ALL times. A friend that will never leave them. That’s why, this month, we are talking about THE best friend—the One who is ALWAYS a good friend. Rain or shine, Jesus is always a good friend of mine!
Memory Verse
“A friend loves you all the time” – Proverbs 17:17, NCV
Week One (January 5)
Peter Walks On Water
Bible Story: Matthew 14:22-33
Key Question: Who is always a good friend?
Bottom Line: Jesus is always a good friend.
Jesus’ friends, the disciples, are on a boat in the water, and they see something coming toward them. They are all afraid until Jesus says, “Don’t be afraid.” Peter, being the bold one of the bunch, hops out of the boat and begins walking on the water toward Jesus. But, when Peter hears the wind blowing and sees the waves getting bigger, he feels afraid and begins to sink! Jesus holds His hand out and pulls Peter up, helping Peter back in the boat. Jesus is a good friend to Peter when Peter is afraid, because Jesus is always a good friend.
Week Two (January 12)
Jesus Heals Ten Men
Bible Story: Luke 17:11-16
Key Question: Who is always a good friend?
Bottom Line: Jesus is always a good friend.
As Jesus and the disciples walk into a village, they hear some men shouting. There are ten men who have a skin disease that only Jesus can make go away. The men cry out and ask Jesus to help them. Jesus tells them to go and let the priests look at their skin. The men quickly do what Jesus told them to do, and on their way, one of them looks at his skin and sees that ALL of his boo-boos are already gone! He is so excited that he quickly goes back to Jesus, praising God in a loud voice. The man throws himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked Jesus. Jesus is a good friend to the man when he needed help and when he came back excited, because Jesus is always a good friend.
Week Three (January 19)
Mary, Martha + Lazarus
Bible Story: John 11:1-3, 20, 28-36
Key Question: Who is always a good friend?
Bottom Line: Jesus is always a good friend.
Mary and Martha are friends with Jesus, but they are very sad because their brother, Lazarus, died. Jesus takes His friends, the disciples, with Him to visit Mary and Martha. When Mary and Martha see Jesus, they cry, and Jesus cries with them. Jesus is sad with Mary and Martha, because that’s what good friends do, and Jesus is always a good friend.
Week Four (January 26)
Zacchaeus
Bible Story: Luke 19:1-10
Key Question: Who is always a good friend?
Bottom Line: Jesus is always a good friend.
Zacchaeus is a tax collector which means his job is to take money from people. One day, Zacchaeus hears that Jesus is coming to the town where he lives. Zacchaeus wants to see Jesus so badly that he climbs a tree to get a better view. When Jesus sees Zacchaeus, Jesus tells him to come down and that He is going to Zacchaeus’ house. Wow! Zacchaeus is so happy that Jesus is his friend that Zacchaeus wants to love people the way Jesus loves him. So, Zacchaeus gives back all the money he had taken from the people! Jesus is a good friend to Zacchaeus when he was a tax collector and when he was a happy friend of Jesus, because Jesus is always a good friend.