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!
Preschool | Music and Dance Moves | January
Preschool Memory Verse Motions | January
Proverbs 17:17
K - 5th Grade | Music and Dance Moves
K - 5th Grade Preview | January Preview
Psalm 31:24
With every season comes new and different challenges but also the chance to experience incredible joy. Through sunshine or rain, storms, and blue skies, seasons and weather are important to growth, but not just for flowers and trees. How we respond to each season of life helps us grow in maturity and can spur us to a deeper faith in God. This is especially true when it comes to our emotions. Just as seasons come and go, so do our emotions. And how we choose to handle those emotions can shape us and teach us a lot about how God cares for us. No matter what emotion we may be feeling or what we may face, because of Jesus, we can learn to trust that God knows how we feel. Jesus showed us how to face life with resilience, and because of it, we can trust God no matter what.
Preschool | January 5
January 5, 2025 • Matthew 14:22–33
Story Focus: Jesus is a good friend when I am afraid. 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.
Kindergarten - 1st Grade | January 5
January 5, 2025 • John 11:1–45
We start the month in John 11:1-45 with a peek into Jesus’ personal life. After the death of one of His friends, Jesus wept — even though He knew what would happen next. Jesus trusted that God would be with Him in His sadness and wept anyway, showing us He is there with us in our sadness too. Bottom Line: When you’re sad, remember you’re not alone. There will be times in our lives when we will experience grief and hardships because that’s just the nature of life. However, when troubles come, we can remember that because Jesus experienced the things we experience, He knows how we feel and is with us as we work through our emotions.
2nd - 3rd Grade | January 5
January 5, 2025 • John 11:1–45
We start the month in John 11:1-45 with a peek into Jesus’ personal life. After the death of one of His friends, Jesus wept — even though He knew what would happen next. Jesus trusted that God would be with Him in His sadness and wept anyway, showing us He is there with us in our sadness too. Bottom Line: When you’re sad, remember you’re not alone. There will be times in our lives when we will experience grief and hardships because that’s just the nature of life. However, when troubles come, we can remember that because Jesus experienced the things we experience, He knows how we feel and is with us as we work through our emotions.
4th - 5th Grade | January 5
January 5, 2025 • John 11:1–45
We start the month in John 11:1-45 with a peek into Jesus’ personal life. After the death of one of His friends, Jesus wept — even though He knew what would happen next. Jesus trusted that God would be with Him in His sadness and wept anyway, showing us He is there with us in our sadness too. Bottom Line: When you’re sad, remember you’re not alone. There will be times in our lives when we will experience grief and hardships because that’s just the nature of life. However, when troubles come, we can remember that because Jesus experienced the things we experience, He knows how we feel and is with us as we work through our emotions.
Preschool | January 12
Luke 17:11–16
Story Focus: Jesus is a good friend when I am excited. 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.
Kindergarten - 1st Grade | January 12
January 12, 2025 • Matthew 6:25–34
In week 2, we head to Matthew 6:25-34 for Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. In it, Jesus reminded everyone not to worry about tomorrow because “Tomorrow will worry about itself.” Every day will have its own set of troubles, but God will provide for us, just like the birds and the flowers. Bottom Line: When you’re worried, trust God. Have you ever seen a flower bloom or a bird find food? Just like God cares for nature, and the birds and flowers have what they need in life, God cares for us so much more! When we let worry consume our thoughts, it can cause us to forget to notice the ways God is already working in our situations. We can trust God with anything, whether we know the outcome or not.
2nd - 3rd Grade | January 12
January 12, 2025 • Matthew 6:25–34
In week 2, we head to Matthew 6:25-34 for Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. In it, Jesus reminded everyone not to worry about tomorrow because “Tomorrow will worry about itself.” Every day will have its own set of troubles, but God will provide for us, just like the birds and the flowers. Bottom Line: When you’re worried, trust God. Have you ever seen a flower bloom or a bird find food? Just like God cares for nature, and the birds and flowers have what they need in life, God cares for us so much more! When we let worry consume our thoughts, it can cause us to forget to notice the ways God is already working in our situations. We can trust God with anything, whether we know the outcome or not.
4th - 5th Grade | January 12
January 12, 2025 • Matthew 6:25–34
In week 2, we head to Matthew 6:25-34 for Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. In it, Jesus reminded everyone not to worry about tomorrow because “Tomorrow will worry about itself.” Every day will have its own set of troubles, but God will provide for us, just like the birds and the flowers. Bottom Line: When you’re worried, trust God. Have you ever seen a flower bloom or a bird find food? Just like God cares for nature, and the birds and flowers have what they need in life, God cares for us so much more! When we let worry consume our thoughts, it can cause us to forget to notice the ways God is already working in our situations. We can trust God with anything, whether we know the outcome or not.
Preschool | January 19
January 19, 2025 • John 11:20, John 11:28–36, John 11:1–3
Story Focus: Jesus is a good friend when I am sad. 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.
Kindergarten - 1st Grade | January 19
January 19, 2025 • James 1:19
In week 3, we turn to James 1:19 where James writes about how we should respond when situations begin to get a little out of hand. When we’re quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry, we allow ourselves to respond well so we don’t sin in our anger. Bottom Line: When you’re angry, talk to God. Have you ever gotten so angry that you said the first thing that came to your mind and instantly regretted it? Anger doesn’t have to get the best of us. When we’re angry we need to be cautious of how we respond and go to God with our feelings.
