Patience • Waiting Until Later for What You Want Now
March 2021 • Week 4
Today's Bible story: I Will Wait (Palm Sunday) • Matthew 21:1-11
Monthly memory verse: Wait for the Lord. Be strong and don't lose hope. Wait for the Lord. Psalm 27:14 (NIrV)
Life Application: Patience-Waiting until later for what you want now
Suggested songs: "King of My Heart", "Yes and Amen" and "Oceans"
Praise & Pray: Sing along with the provided worship videos and pray. Access Songs Here.
What you might pray: "Dear God, being patient can be hard, but it doesn't always have to be boring! If we look hard enough, there is joy and celebration to be found, even in the challenging times. Help us to learn today that even when we are tempted to be irritated or impatient this week, that [Bottom Line] we can celebrate even when we are waiting."
Read God's Word together: Matthew 21:1-11 (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: "I love that in our story the people celebrated Jesus. The people treated Jesus as a king. The rest of the week leading up to what we call Easter there would be a lot of pain. Jesus, the man they thought was their king would be arrested and put to death. Jesus, God's son died on a cross, not because he had no choice, but He chose to sacrifice himself to save us of our sins. He put us first and on the third day Jesus came back to life proving that God is more powerful than death itself. That is why we will celebrate Easter next week. What are you waiting for?"
Bible Story Review
What you need: Bible, Palm branch from 'The Palm Story' activity (optional)
What you do:
If kids think the answer to the question is "A," they wave one of their palm branches in the air. If they think it is "B," they wave it side to side.
Review questions: (correct answer bolded)
1. How long had God's people been waiting for a Savior?
A. Hundreds of years
B. Five years
2. What kind of animal did Jesus ask His disciples to bring Him?
A. A llama
B. A donkey and its colt
3. When the owner of the donkeys asked why they were untying his donkeys, what did the disciples say?
A. Wait for the Lord
B. The Lord needs them
4. What did the disciples place over the backs of the donkeys?
A. Blankets
B. Their coats
5. What did people lay down on the road for Jesus' donkey to walk on?
A. Coats
B. A red carpet
6. What did the people take off the trees and wave in the air when Jesus walked by?
A. Palm branches
B. Twigs
7. What word did the people shout when they saw Jesus?
A. Hosanna!
B. Hooray!
8. Was everyone excited to see Jesus?
A. Yes! Absolutely everyone.
B. No, there were some religious leaders who were not so happy.
9. What did Jesus tell the religious leaders would happen if the other people remained quiet?
A. If they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.
B. If they keep quiet, the trees will blow in the breeze.
Pray and bless your family
What you need: No supplies needed
What you do: Ask for prayer requests
- Direct the kids to spend a moment praying silently, asking God to show them what they can celebrate while they wait.
Additional Activities
What you need: "The Palm Story" Activity Page (DOWNLOAD TEMPLATE) , Bibles, scissors, Ziploc bags
What you do: Cut out the palm leaves.
- Mix up the palm leaves and hand them out, at least one to each kid.
- One at a time, ask each kid / family member to read their palm leaf out loud.
- Work together to put the leaves in correct story order on the floor.
- Use the Bible for help when needed.
- When the kids are done, read the palm leaves to tell the entire story.
- Ask:
- What were the people waiting for in the story?
- Why were the people celebrating?
- Were the people in the story able to celebrate even though they were still waiting?
- What is this month's Bible verse? Review the monthly Bible verse together as a family.
- Wait for the Lord. Be strong and don't lose hope. Wait for the Lord. Psalm 27:14 (NIrV)
What you say: "That's right! For hundreds of years, God's people had been waiting for a Savior. Every year at Passover, they celebrated how God had freed them from slavery in Egypt. And they looked forward to how God would one day rescue them again. They welcomed Jesus into the city with a big celebration. Palm Sunday reminds us that [Bottom Line] you can celebrate even when you're waiting."
What you need: Bible, spoons and plastic egg
What you do: Quickly review Psalm 27:14 and ask if anyone wants to say it from memory.
- Instruct kids / family members to sit in a circle.
- Give each family member a spoon.
- Tell them that you will give one family member a plastic egg, and they will say the first word of the memory verse. Then, they pass the egg to the next family member on their right, using only their spoon.
- That family member will say the second word of the verse as they pass the egg to their right.
- "Wait" (pass egg), "on" (pass egg), "the" (pass egg) and so on, until the entire verse has been recited.
- Whoever ends up with the last word of the memory verse is out of the game and can sit on the sidelines and celebrate their other teammates!
- Continue passing the egg and repeating the verse until there is only one kid left.
What you say: "Waiting isn't so bad when you're having a good time! Have you ever found yourself waiting for something, but the time flew by because you were having so much fun? (Allow time for kids to think and share responses. If they have a hard time, prompt them with examples: Maybe you were on a long road trip, but your family played a ton of fun games on the way!) No matter where you find yourself waiting this week, remind yourself that [Bottom Line] you can celebrate even when you're waiting."