Hook:

(THIS IS REALLY RANDOM) BUT COS I COULDN’T THINK OF ANOTHER HOOK….

Get your kids to stand up, hold their bags with arms outstretched in front of them, and make them hold it there for like a minute or something, (till they are tired) and tell them to put/drop it after.

Ask them how it feels, whether they felt tired while holding their bags, whether their hands were aching and whatever else you would like to add.

Use this as an example for the heavy load that they have been carrying by themselves and by putting their bags down, it symbolizes them relying more on God.

Lesson:

1) PRAY BEFORE YOU START! (:

2) Basically the idea of this whole lesson is on the freedom that we have in Christ and how, we should just let go of our burdens and rely on Him. (:

- You could also link this back to our lessons on grace, because we can freely approach His Throne of Grace in times of need.

3) Talk about Psalms 23, just to add on to it, in summary, this Psalm tells me 5 things about our Shepherd.

· He leads (v1-3)

· He protects (v4)

· He enables (v5)

· He heals (v5)

· He will bring us home (v6)

4) Burdens – ask your kids what their burdens are. It could be their studies, their relationships and other things. And ask them if they would give it up to help someone else?

You could ask them to share about times where their friends wanted to confide in them but they were too busy worrying about their own problems or vice versa, ask them how they felt during that situation.

We should also remind them, like what the book says looking away from earthly stuff, especially when it takes our eyes away from what’s truly important: Eternal life.

5) Make sure you go through the questions in the book! (:

Application:

Encourage your kids to let go of their unwanted baggage! Also, if they have a friend who is struggling, you could encourage them to be there for that friend, why? Because they already have someone who has lifted off their loads.

OH YES. AND PRAY FOR YOUR KIDS AT THE END. (: