Kindness • Treating Others the Way I would want to be Treated
February 2021 • Week 1
Today's Bible story: Humble and Kind (God Was Kind to Us) • Ephesians 4:32
Monthly memory verse: You are God's chosen people. You are holy and dearly loved. So put on tender mercy and kindness as if they were your clothes. Don't be proud. Be gentle and patient. Colossians 3:12 (NIrV)
Life Application: Kindness-Showing others they are valuable by how you treat them
Suggested songs: Who I Am, Indescribable, Good Good Father
Praise & Pray: Sing along with the provided worship videos and pray. Access songs here
What you might pray: "Dear God, you show us kindness every single day. You forgive us, protect us, provide for us, and show us love every day. Today as we learn about kindness, help us to think of ways that we can be kind to other. In Jesus' name I pray, amen."
Read God's Word together: Ephesians 4:32 (Need a kid-friendly Bible? Check out our suggestions.)
Family Devotional & Discussion
What you do: Watch the complementary video together as a family and discuss today's question.
What you discuss: "Be kind to one another. Sometimes that is all someone needs, a little bit of kindness. Sometimes people aren't kind to you. How do you respond? Are you kind and forgiving as Paul wrote or are you rude back? We should be kind and forgive not because it is easy but we do it because of what God did for us. He sent his son Jesus to die for our sins. That definitely wasn't easy and we definitely didn't deserve it but that is how much God loves us and that is how kind He is. That is why we should be kind to each other. What does kindness look like?"
Bible Story Review
What you need: Bible
What you do: Hand out Bibles and ask kids / family members to open to Ephesians 4:32 and read together.
- What does this verse say about kindness? What does kindness look like?
- Is it easy or hard to be kind if you are holding on to a grudge or holding onto hard feelings? Why?
- Why is forgiving someone a way to show kindness? How could forgiving someone show them they are valuable to you and to God?
- What are some ways Jesus showed kindness? What did He do to show people they were valuable? (He forgave people, didn't fight, was humble, fed people, helped people when they were sick, listened to people, encouraged people, etc.)
- Would you rather be described as being nice or kind? Why?
- What's something kind someone did for you lately?
- What's something kind you did for someone else lately?
- Often our first response isn't always to show kindness. What can you do to remind yourself to respond with kindness first?
- Why is kindness important? How do you feel when someone is kind to you versus when someone is unkind to you?
Additional Activities
What you need: "Kindness Catcher" Activity Page (DOWNLOAD TEMPLATE), markers, crayons or colored pencils, and scissors
What you do: Give each kid a "Kindness Catcher" Activity Page.
- Guide kids to cut on the dotted lines to cut off the excess paper around the edges. You may need to help some of the younger kids with this.
- Prompt kids to write kind actions on the eight blank triangles in the middle of their kindness catchers.
- Some examples are:
- Give a fist bump
- Help the teacher pick up trash off the floor
- Sing a song
- Play with your younger sibling
- Shovel the neighbor's driveway
- Unload the dishwasher without being asked
- Give a compliment
- Tell a joke
- Once kids have written their kind actions, have them fold their kindness catchers.
- If you need a visual on how to fold the paper, you can find a video tutorial here: YouTube
- Start with folding on the red lines.
- They will fold the letters back, not toward their kind actions.
- Once all four corners are folded back, have them fold the corners back (the green lines).
- At this point, their kindness catcher should be in the shape of a square.
- One side will say "SHOW" and the other side will say "KINDNESS." (Note: the letters will be a little jumbled.)
- The kid's pointer finger and thumb of each hand will slide under the letters for "SHOW."
- Let kids use their kindness catcher with a friend.
- Have a kid choose a letter from the word "SHOW."
- Whatever color that letter is, the kids will spell out the color (ex: R-E-D), moving their fingers up and down or side to side for each letter.
- For example, if the color is "red," the kid would open and close the catcher three times.
- Then they'll end up on the letters for either "KIND" or "NESS" and choose a letter that has a number on it.
- Then the kid will move their fingers that many times up and down and side to side.
- Now, the kid chooses a letter and lifts that flap. Whatever the kind action is they chose, they have to perform.
- Play the game as a family.
What you say: "Wow! These kindness catchers were SO fun to make and play with. The amazing thing is you get to take them home and use them with your family and friends. Whenever you use them, remember to [Bottom Line] be kind to others because God is kind to you. [Make it Personal] (Tell kids about a time when someone showed kindness to you and it reminded you of how kind God has been to you. Maybe it was a time when you really needed a friend and someone showed up for you. This may have reminded you of how God is so kind to ALWAYS be with us.) "Being kind to others, even just by using a kindness catcher, can remind others that God is kind to us."
What you need: Bibles, label or masking tape, and pens
What you do: Give a Bible to each child / family member.
- Help them look up Colossians 3:12 using the navigation tips below.
- Once everyone finds the Bible verse, read it out loud together.
- Give each child / family member a pen and a label or piece of masking tape that is long enough to write a few words on.
- Assign a group of words to each person / group to write on their piece of masking tape. Below are some sample verse breakdowns.
- 4 kids / family members: "You are God's chosen people. You are holy / and dearly loved. So put on tender mercy and kindness as if / they were your clothes. Don't / be proud. Be gentle and patient." Colossians 3:12 (NIrV)
- 12 kids: "You are / God's chosen people. / You are holy / and dearly loved. / So put on / tender mercy / and kindness / as if they were / your clothes. / Don't be proud / Be gentle / and patient." Colossians 3:12
- Classroom: For a larger class, you can make multiple groups. There are 12 total sets of preprinted labels available for use. Each set has a color dot or color star in the corner to help groups to stay within the correct "set".
- As the kids / family members finish writing their phrase on their labels or masking tape, instruct them to stick the label or tape on their left shoulder.
What you say: "I love this verse because it gives such a clear picture of what kindness should look like. Every morning, you grab a shirt or other pieces of clothing to wear, right? Well, our verse this month reminds us every day to put on kindness as if it were your clothes. EVERY day, we have the opportunity to choose kindness. Every day, we have the opportunity to show others how God has been kind to us! We can be kind because God shows us how! You can [Bottom Line] be kind to others because God is kind to you."