This lesson teaches children that God’s Word, the Bible, helps us grow wise and strong in our faith. It is best for children ages 5 to 11 and takes about 20 to 30 minutes to teach.
Big Idea
The Bible is God’s special book, and it teaches us how to love God, love others, and do good things every day.
Memory Verse
2 Timothy 3:16
Every Scripture is God-breathed and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for instruction in righteousness…
(WEB)
Hold your hands open like a book, then close them and place them over your heart. Open them again slowly as you say “God’s Word helps me.” Repeat it together three times so the motion sticks.
The Story: 2 Timothy 3 for Kids
Paul was an old teacher who wrote a letter to his young friend Timothy. Paul knew that Timothy would one day have to look after God’s people, and Paul wanted him to be ready. So Paul wrote to him about the hard times that would come.
Paul warned Timothy that some people would be selfish, proud, and unkind. They would love fun and money more than they loved God. Some would even pretend to be good while they did not really trust God in their hearts. Paul said, “Turn away from these people.” Timothy needed to stay close to what was true.
Then Paul told Timothy something happy. Timothy had already learned many good things from his mother and grandmother. Paul said, “Keep going with what you have learned, because you know who taught you.” Timothy had known the Holy Scriptures since he was a little boy.
Paul explained that these Scriptures are able to make us wise, so that we trust Jesus and know how to live. He also said that everything in the Bible comes from God. It is helpful for teaching us what is right and for correcting us when we make mistakes.
Paul ended by saying that God’s Word helps God’s people become ready for every good thing God asks them to do. The Bible prepares us, step by step, to serve God well.
Read It Together
2 Timothy 3:1-5
1 But know this, that in the last days, grievous times will come. 2 For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3 without natural affection, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, fierce, not lovers of good, 4 traitors, headstrong, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God; 5 holding a form of godliness, but having denied its power. Turn away from these, also.
(WEB)
Point out that Paul warned about people who loved themselves and money more than God. Ask children to notice that some people look good on the outside but do not really love God on the inside.
2 Timothy 3:14-15
14 But you remain in the things which you have learned and have been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them. 15 From infancy, you have known the holy Scriptures which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith, which is in Christ Jesus.
(WEB)
Show children that Timothy learned the Scriptures from a young age. Explain that this means children today can learn God’s Word too, starting now.
2 Timothy 3:10-11
10 But you did follow my teaching, conduct, purpose, faith, patience, love, steadfastness, 11 persecutions, and sufferings: those things that happened to me at Antioch, Iconium, and Lystra. I endured those persecutions. The Lord delivered me out of them all.
(WEB)
Point out that Paul followed good teaching and stayed faithful even through hard times. Remind children that God helped Paul get through hardship, and God will help us too.
Talk About It
- What is one thing you have learned from the Bible that helped you be kind this week?
- Who in your life first taught you about God, the way Timothy learned from his mother and grandmother?
- What are some things that people might love more than God, and how can we keep our hearts focused on Him?
- How can the Bible help us know when we have done something wrong and need to say sorry?
- What is a good thing you could do this week to show someone that God’s Word is important to you?
Activity Ideas
Bible Bookmark Craft
Give each child a strip of cardstock, crayons, and some stickers. Ask them to write “God’s Word makes me wise” along the top and decorate it with drawings of hearts, stars, or open books. Let them take it home to use in their own Bible or in a book they read.
Open Book Game
Have children stand in a circle. Call out a simple action like “clap” or “jump,” and everyone does it. Then say “Open Book!” and the children lift their arms wide, like pages opening. Keep the game short and fun, and remind them that God’s Word guides every step we take.
Family Bible Basket
Gather a small basket, a Bible, and a few index cards. Each day this week, have children draw one picture from the Bible story they heard and place it in the basket. At the end of the week, sit together and read the cards aloud, talking about what God taught you through each one.
Teacher Notes
For adults, this chapter is a reminder that Scripture is God’s gift to equip believers for faithful living. Paul’s words to Timothy show that the Bible is useful for teaching, correcting, and training us in righteousness, and that faithful teaching from family and church shapes a lasting faith.
When teaching children, avoid overstating how the Bible works as a magic answer to every problem. Instead, emphasize that God’s Word helps us know Him better and grow in love, and that God Himself remains the one who keeps us.
A Prayer to Close
Dear Jesus, thank you for giving us your Word, the Bible. Help us to read it, to learn from it, and to love what it teaches us. Make us wise and strong, so we can follow you every day. Amen.
