Series Overview
This month, we are going to start a party that celebrates the Good News about God! And when God is at the center of our celebration, I can have joy all the time! It doesn’t sound possible, at first, but then when we think about God . . . who God is . . . what God has done . . . how much God loves us . . . well, that is worth celebrating! God is worth celebrating! All day, every day! So let’s Start The Party! It’s time to celebrate the Good News about God.
Memory Verse
“A joyful heart is good medicine” – Proverbs 17:22, ESV
Week One (June 2)
Story of the Lost Sheep
Story Focus: I Can Have Joy Because God Loves Me | Luke 15:1-7
Key Question: Who can have joy all the time?
Bottom Line: I can have joy all the time.
Jesus tells the story of the lost sheep to help us understand just how much God loves us. A shepherd leaves 99 sheep to search for one lost sheep, and when he finds it, he rejoices! God’s love for us is big. We want our preschoolers to know that God will always love them, and when we remember how much God loves us, I can have joy all the time.
Week Two (June 9)
Feast of Booths
Story Focus: I Can Have Joy Because God Helps Me | Deuteronomy 16:13-17
Key Question: Who can have joy all the time?
Bottom Line: I can have joy all the time.
God wants His people, the Israelites, to take time to thank Him for all He had done. They grew lots of food, but it was God who helped them by providing the sun and rain to help the food grow. So the Israelites got everyone together and celebrated for seven days! We want our preschoolers to know that they can have joy all the time because God helps them.
Week Three (June 16)
Ezra + The Temple Rebuild
Story Focus: I Can Have Joy When I Do Hard Things | Ezra 3:10-13
Key Question: Who can have joy all the time?
Bottom Line: I can have joy all the time.
The temple was where God’s people met to learn about God and praise God, but it had been destroyed. So God’s people decide to rebuild the temple. Temples are really big, and it was going to take a lot of hard work to rebuild it. But some people start celebrating after the foundation was built! We can be like the people who chose to celebrate. We can look at the good things God is doing and have joy all the time.
Week Four (June 23)
Joy In The Psalms
Story Focus: I Can Have Joy When I See What God Has Made | Psalms 8 + 19
Key Question: Who can have joy all the time?
Bottom Line: I can have joy all the time.
King David loved God, and he liked to write songs to God. One time he wrote a song because everywhere
he looked he saw things God made that gave him joy. We can look around and see what God has made too. And we can have joy all the time too!
Week Five (June 30)
God Will Give Us Joy
Story Focus: I Can Have Joy No Matter What | Habakkuk 3:17-18
Key Question: Who can have joy all the time?
Bottom Line: I can have joy all the time.
Habakkuk reminds us that even when things don’t go our way, we can still have joy and celebrate because God loves us. Habakkuk prays to God and says that, even if he couldn’t grow any food or his farm didn’t have any animals, he could still have joy because God loved him. We want our preschoolers to know they can, too, because God loves them too.