DLTK's Bible Stories for Children
Flowers, Trust, and God's Care for Us

Objective: To help children understand the concept of trusting in God's provision and appreciating the beauty of His creation through a hands-on pressing flowers activity and a Bible story.

Materials:

1. Fresh flowers and leaves
2. Wax paper or parchment paper
3. Heavy books
4. Scissors
5. Bibles or children's Bible storybooks
6. Trusting in God's Provision Coloring Pages
7. Crayons or colored pencils
8. Optional: tweezers, paper towels

Introduction (5 minutes):

1. Welcome the children and have them sit in a circle.
2. Briefly introduce the lesson's theme, trusting in God's provision, and how it relates to the beauty of His creation.
3. Explain that the children will participate in a pressing flowers activity and a Bible story.

Activity: Pressing Flowers (20-30 minutes):

1. Show the children the fresh flowers and leaves, and explain that these are examples of God's beautiful creation.
2. Demonstrate how to carefully press the flowers and leaves between sheets of wax paper or parchment paper.
3. Guide the children to place their pressed flowers and leaves inside the heavy books. Explain that the weight of the books will help preserve the beauty of the flowers.
4. Optional: Use tweezers and paper towels to handle delicate flowers and leaves and avoid damage during the pressing process.
5. As the children work on pressing their flowers, encourage them to share their thoughts on the beauty of God's creation and how it makes them feel.

Bible Story (10-15 minutes):

1. Have the children gather around for the Bible story.
2. Read Matthew 6:28-29 from the Bible or a children's Bible storybook. If necessary, provide context about the Sermon on the Mount and Jesus' teachings on trusting in God's provision.
3. Engage the children in a discussion about the passage. Ask questions like:
   • What does Jesus want us to learn from the flowers?
   • How can we trust God to provide for our needs?
   • How can we appreciate the beauty of God's creation in our daily lives?

Application (10-15 minutes):

1. Distribute the Flower Coloring Pages and crayons or colored pencils to the children.
2. Encourage the children to color the pages while reflecting on the Bible story and the lesson's theme.
3. Engage the children in a conversation about ways they can trust God to provide for their needs and appreciate His creation in their daily lives. Share examples from your own life to help illustrate the concepts.

Closing (5 minutes):

1. Gather the children together and review the main points of the lesson, emphasizing the importance of trusting in God's provision and appreciating the beauty of His creation.
2. Close in prayer, asking God to help the children trust in His provision and be thankful for the beauty of His creation.
3. Remind the children to take home their pressed flowers, coloring pages, and any other materials from the lesson.
4. Encourage the children to share what they've learned with their family and friends.

Follow-up Activities:

• Pressed Flower Craft (1-2 weeks later): After the flowers and leaves have been pressed for 1-2 weeks, invite the children to create crafts using their pressed flowers. Provide materials such as construction paper, glue, and markers for the children to make bookmarks, suncatchers, greeting cards, or framed art to display their pressed flowers. This activity will serve as a reminder of the lesson on trusting in God's provision and appreciating His creation.
• Nature Walk: Organize a nature walk for the children and their families. During the walk, encourage the children to observe and appreciate the beauty of God's creation. They can collect more flowers, leaves, or other natural materials to press and create crafts with at home.
• Bible Verse Memorization: Help the children memorize Matthew 6:28-29 by reciting the verses together as a group during each Sunday School session for several weeks. Encourage the children to practice the verses at home with their families.
• Prayer Focus: Incorporate a prayer focus into your Sunday School sessions, where children can share their needs and learn to trust God in various aspects of their lives. Guide the children to pray for each other and to trust in God's provision and care.
• Family Devotion Ideas: Provide parents with ideas and resources for family devotions that focus on trusting in God's provision and appreciating His creation. Suggest Bible passages and activities that families can do together like planting a family garden (container gardens work!) to reinforce the lesson learned in Sunday School.
  
  

  Here are some Bible verses that emphasize trusting in God's provision and appreciating His creation:

  1. Matthew 6:25-34 (NIV) "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."
  2. Philippians 4:19 (NIV) "And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus."
  3. Psalm 104:24-25 (NIV) "How many are your works, Lord! In wisdom you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures. There is the sea, vast and spacious, teeming with creatures beyond number— living things both large and small."
  4. Psalm 145:15-16 (NIV) "The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food at the proper time. You open your hand and satisfy the desires of every living thing."
  5. Genesis 1:31 (NIV) "God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day."
  6. Psalm 24:1-2 (NIV) "The earth is the Lord's, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it; for he founded it on the seas and established it on the waters."
  7. Psalm 121:1-2 (NIV) "I lift up my eyes to the mountains— where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth."

  These verses remind us of the importance of trusting in God's provision and appreciating the beauty and wonder of His creation.

By incorporating these follow-up activities, you will help children solidify their understanding of trusting in God's provision and deepen their appreciation for His creation. This will not only reinforce the lesson from the pressing flowers activity and Bible story but also encourage spiritual growth and connection with God in their daily lives.