PRETEEN MINISTRY NEW YEAR’S LESSON

No matter our age, life is challenging and we need God’s wisdom on a daily basis.

The new year is a great time to remind preteens that no matter where they are in their walk with God, they can always ask Him for help to live a life that honors God.

Use this preteen ministry lesson to remind students to seek God’s wisdom every day of the year.

– Nick Diliberto, Ministry to Preteens

PRETEEN MINISTRY NEW YEAR’S LESSON

Bible: Psalm 90:12

Bottom Line: Seek God’s wisdom every day of the year.

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SUPPLIES

• Paper party horns (one for each person)
• TEAM A and TEAM B Song Lists
• 2 Clipboards
• 2 pens/pencils

OPENING GAME: PARTY HORN CHOIR COMPETITION

GAME PREP

Divide students into two teams of equal size and have them form huddles.

Choose one to be TEAM A and another TEAM B.

Assign a leader to each team who will serve as a “judge” and keep score for their team.

Give each leader their team’s “SONG LIST,” a clipboard, and a pen/pencil.

Give each student a party horn and instruct them not to blow in it until they are instructed to.

TEAM A SONG LIST

Mary Had a Little Lamb

Happy Birthday

Amazing Grace

Yankee Doodle

Deck the Halls

Joy to the World

Star Spangled Banner

TEAM B SONG LIST

Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star

Jingle Bells

Ring Around the Rosie

When the Saints Go Marching In

Twelve Days of Christmas

God Bless America

Jesus Loves Me

HOW TO PLAY THE GAME

Say: Have you ever been given one of these party horns at a birthday party?

When a little kid gets a hold of one of them… they can be kind of annoying!

But, today, we all have them and we’re about to make a lot of noise!

Each of you has been placed on a team and given a party horn.

For our game, the teams will take turns – TEAM A will go first.

TEAM A will choose one person from their team to stand up in front of everyone.

The leader for TEAM A will tell the rest of the huddled team the name of the first song on their list.

When the leader says “GO,” TEAM A will begin to sing or play the song through their party horns – all together, like a Party Horn Choir.

The person up front will have 30 seconds to guess the title of the song.

If they succeed, they get ONE point for their team.

If they are unsuccessful in guessing, then TEAM B will get one guess.

If TEAM B guesses correctly, they get TWO points for their team.

Then, the next round will begin with a person from TEAM B standing up front.

The same process will continue back and forth until all of the songs have been played by the Party Horn Choirs.

The team with the most points at the end of the game – wins!

You might want to collect all of the party horns at the end of the game so the students are not tempted to play them during the lesson.

TEACH

Say: It’s exciting to begin a new year!

Usually, as we reflect on everything that has happened in the previous year, we also look forward to a fresh start in the new year.

And let’s face it, most of us could really benefit from a new beginning.

But, just because the calendar changes from one year to the next doesn’t mean that anything else has really changed in our lives.

Tough situations, strained friendships, the grades you have earned that you aren’t happy about… they don’t disappear on January 1^st.

So, while the New Year brings us hope that things can be different unless we seek God’s help and make changes, nothing will really change.

When we ask, God can give us the wisdom we need to make good decisions every day of the year.

Read Psalm 90:12.

So teach us to number our days, That we may gain a heart of wisdom.

Ask: Does anyone know the age of the oldest person who has ever lived? (In modern time… because people in the Bible lived for extraordinary amounts of time.)

Allow a few guesses from students.

The oldest living person recorded in recent history was Jeanne Louise Calment.

She lived to be over 122 years – that’s 44,694 days!

Jeanne had a strict routine that she had followed for the last half of her life.

That routine included a morning ritual – every day, she requested to be woken at 6:45 am and started the day with a long prayer at her window thanking God for being alive and for the beautiful day which was starting.

She was in the habit of spending time with God before she did anything else for the day.

Ask: Can you think of any routines that someone could have in their life that involve their relationship with God?

Allow a few responses from students.

Those were some great answers – talking to God, keeping a journal of things God has done in your life, spending time with other people who encourage you in your faith – those are all things that prioritize your relationship with God.

If you live to be 122 years old, wouldn’t it be incredible to look back on your life and realize you lived with wisdom and knowledge God gave to you?

Well, that begins with asking God to give you wisdom today.

The scripture we read in Psalms talked about gaining a “heart of wisdom.”

The author Charles Dickens said, “There is a wisdom of the head, and a wisdom of the heart.”

That’s a great way to illustrate the difference between our own wisdom and God’s wisdom.

“Wisdom of the head” refers to the times when we think and come up with our own ideas and plans.

“Wisdom of the heart” is the kind of wisdom God wants to give to us.

In the Bible, our hearts represent our inner self, our soul, the part of us that can choose to love God.

God wants to give us the wisdom to make good decisions, to know the right things to say and do, and the paths to take for our lives.

On our own, we often make decisions based on emotions and feelings.

God’s wisdom helps us decide things based on His Word and His truths that never change.

Every day, we can choose to ask God to help us be wise and understand things that otherwise we wouldn’t know.

In the Old Testament, we read about King Solomon.

When he was 20 years old he became the King in Jerusalem.

I’m pretty sure he had a ton of questions – otherwise, how would he know how to rule a kingdom at such a young age?

The Bible says that God appeared to Solomon in a dream and asked him what he wanted.

Ask: If God offered to give you anything, what would you ask for?

Allow a few responses from students.

Solomon could have asked for anything – wealth, success, anything you can think of, but Solomon asked God for wisdom and God gave it to him.

And he continued to seek after God’s wisdom throughout his life.

Imagine sitting here again at this time next year – how differently would your life be if you asked God for wisdom every day?

Maybe you won’t argue with others as much or use your time unwisely.

Maybe you will be more intentional about taking time for other people and spending time with God.

This year, right now, ask God to give you the wisdom that you need, and then ask him every day.

And when He does, thank God for providing the knowledge you need to live for him.

Close in prayer.

SMALL GROUP DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1. Do you have any daily routines that help you get closer to God?
2. Why do we feel like a new year is like starting over even if nothing has changed?
3. Why do you think King Solomon asked God for wisdom when he could have asked for anything?
4. Have you ever made an unwise decision and suffered the consequences? Give us an example.
5. How would your life be different if you asked God for wisdom every day?
6. Can you think of a situation where God gave you the wisdom to know what to do? How did you know it was God and just not common sense?
7. Have you ever been scared to make decisions because you might not be doing the right thing? How would asking God for wisdom give you confidence?
8. Can God give you wisdom to share with other people? How?
9. Think of an area of your life that you need God’s help. If you’re comfortable, share it with your group and pray that God will give you wisdom.
10. Who is the wisest person you know? What makes them seem to be wise.

[End Lesson]
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