Choose Wisely! Children’s Message on The Lord’s Prayer: Thy Kingdom Come, Thy Will Be Done. This children’s sermon is part three in our series on the Lord’s Prayer — it pairs with our complete Your Will Be Done Sunday School lesson and our God’s Kingdom Crown and Choice Jar craft ideas. If you want to teach the whole prayer, download the free sample from Prayer Power Lab, our 5-week curriculum on the Lord’s Prayer.
Main Objective: “Your Kingdom come, your will be done…” This is a familiar part of the Lord’s prayer, but what does it actually mean? God’s kingdom refers to His reign as Lord, on Earth and in Heaven. God’s will, ultimately, is that His kingdom would be recognized and all would know Him. But we seek God’s will daily when we strive to do what honors Him and when we consider Him in our decisions. This message focuses on how we can make wise and God-serving decisions and how His will works in our lives.
Law/Gospel Theme: We sometimes think that God’s will in our lives is a secret we need to discern and unlock somehow. Really, though, God’s will is for everyone to know and love Him. He wants us to serve Him and bring His kingdom on Earth. There are multiple ways this can come to pass. Even when we make mistakes or take the wrong paths, God can work His will in our lives and allow His will to continue, no matter what.
Watch the Children’s Sermon Example Video
Optional Materials: Dice, coins, items to represent choices
Bible Passage: Acts 1:12-26; Proverbs 16:9
Message: Note: As with most messages, the details of how you choose to communicate this one are adaptable and should cater to timing as well as to your audience and student needs.
Greet children, and talk about decisions…
Hello, children of God! How do you make decisions? There are a lot of choices we encounter daily, and there are different ways that we can make those choices. Use props to emphasize things as you describe them. You could write down pros and cons of each situation, and try to consider which is best for you. Maybe you decide things just by flipping a coin. If it lands on heads, you pick one thing, and if it’s tails, do the opposite. Or you could roll some dice to figure out what you want. Maybe you close your eyes and pick things out of a hat. Or you can select by playing “eenie-meenie-miney-moe.” Any of these could potentially help you make decisions, although they might not be the best way to choose.
Now, there are some choices that are more important than others. For example, picking something like the color of your shirt or the cereal you have for breakfast is probably not a life-changing thing. Deciding on what you do for a job or who you marry is a bit more significant! You probably don’t have to worry much about those bigger things just yet, of course. But in our choices, it’s important to consider God’s will, and what He wants us to do. We need to think about how we can best love and serve the Lord and show others His love. One of the most essential parts of our decision-making process should be prayer! We can seek the Lord’s will by asking Him to help us understand what He wants.
We see this throughout the Bible. Prayer is used as a powerful and essential tool in making decisions. Jesus prayed when He chose His disciples. And the disciples prayed before making big important decisions. In the book of Acts, we read about a time when the disciples were trying to choose a new disciple to replace Judas, who had betrayed Jesus. They discussed the decision together, and then narrowed it down between a couple of people. They prayed, and they cast lots, sort of like dice. Of course, that doesn’t mean throwing dice is the best way to do things, but in this case, it seems God directed even that action. It was His candidate that was chosen as disciple. Of course, even having Judas in the first place was also under God’s control, and within His will. God’s will happens, and sometimes it’s hard to live with or understand. God’s ways and God’s will are not our own.
In the Lord’s Prayer, we say “thy (or your) kingdom come, thy will be done.” God’s kingdom refers to His reign. He is certainly the king of all things, but we don’t always recognize that on earth as much as “it is in Heaven.” God’s will is that His kingdom would be recognized and realized. So our job, when we make decisions or seek to follow the Lord, is to identify how we can be part of making His kingdom come. Are our decisions allowing others to know and understand that God is king? Can we help people draw nearer to the Lord and His love? Ultimately, the goal of our decisions should be to serve and love God and His people, honoring His lordship in all of our lives. If that’s the case, we can make the right decision no matter what! And even if we make mistakes, God can use those for His will and purpose, because He is king! May His will be done in our lives, now and always.
Let’s pray now and ask God to work His will in our lives.
Prayer: (Have kids repeat each line)
Dear God,
Thank you for being the king of all things
Help us recognize that and honor you.
Please help us when we make decisions
To choose what brings glory to You.
Thank you for working your will in our lives.
Thank you for your love.
We love you, God!
In Jesus name, Amen!
Bible Verses to Reference (Acts 1:12-26)
Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day’s journey away. And when they had entered, they went up to the upper room, where they were staying, Peter and John and James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot and Judas the son of James. All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers.
In those days Peter stood up among the brothers (the company of persons was in all about 120) and said, “Brothers, the Scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit spoke beforehand by the mouth of David concerning Judas, who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus. For he was numbered among us and was allotted his share in this ministry.”
So one of the men who have accompanied us during all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, beginning from the baptism of John until the day when he was taken up from us—one of these men must become with us a witness to his resurrection.” And they put forward two, Joseph called Barsabbas, who was also called Justus, and Matthias. And they prayed and said, “You, Lord, who know the hearts of all, show which one of these two you have chosen to take the place in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas turned aside to go to his own place.” And they cast lots for them, and the lot fell on Matthias, and he was numbered with the eleven apostles. -Acts 1:12-26
Yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” -James 4:14-15
The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps. -Proverbs 16:9
More Lord’s Prayer Resources
- FREE Lord’s Prayer Sunday School Lesson (PDF download) — sample from Prayer Power Lab
- Prayer Power Lab: 5-Week Curriculum on the Lord’s Prayer (Kids 6-12 and PreK 3-5)
- The Lord’s Prayer (Luke 11:1-13) Children’s Sermon
- The Lord’s Prayer for Kids: free lessons, activities, and coloring pages