In this lesson, children learn that because of Jesus, everyone who trusts him becomes a child of God, free and loved, not a slave to rules. This lesson suits children ages 5 to 11 and takes about 20 to 30 minutes.
Big Idea
God sent Jesus so that we could become his children, and he gives us his Spirit to help us call him Father.
Memory Verse
Galatians 4:6
And because you are children, God sent out the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, “Abba, Father!”
(WEB)
Have children cup their hands together like a little bowl, then raise them up toward the ceiling while everyone says the words slowly together. Repeat it three times, getting a little softer each time, until children can say it with their eyes closed.
The Story: Galatians 4 for Kids
Paul was writing a letter to friends in a place called Galatia. Some of them had begun to believe that they had to follow lots of special rules to be close to God. Paul wanted them to know something wonderful. Before Jesus came, God’s people were a bit like children who still had teachers and guardians watching over them. The rules were like those helpers, keeping them safe while they waited for something better.
Then God did something new. At just the right time, he sent his Son, Jesus, who was born as a baby to a mother named Mary. Jesus lived under God’s law, and he came so that everyone could become God’s own children. He set us free from being slaves to rules we could never keep perfectly. Now, no one has to earn God’s love.
Paul told the friends that God sent the Spirit of his Son into their hearts. That Spirit helps us say, “Abba, Father!” That word means something like “Daddy” or “Papa,” the kind of name a child uses when they feel safe and close to their dad. The Spirit makes God feel near.
Paul was worried, though. Some people were trying to make the Galatians turn back to the old way of following rules to get close to God. Paul said, “I am afraid for you.” He reminded them how kind they had been to him and how much they had once loved him. He wanted them to remember that they were free.
Paul then told a story from long ago about Abraham, who had two sons. One son was born to a servant named Hagar, and the other was born to Sarah, the free woman. The son of the free woman was the child God had promised. Paul said that we are like that promised child, children of promise, and not children of a servant.
Read It Together
Galatians 4:4-5
4 But when the fullness of the time came, God sent out his Son, born to a woman, born under the law, 5 that he might redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of children.
(WEB)
Point out that God sent his Son at exactly the right time, and that Jesus came to set us free. Ask children to say the words “redeem” and “adoption” in their own simple way, perhaps as “buying back” and “being taken into a family.”
Galatians 4:7
So you are no longer a bondservant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.
(WEB)
Show children that because of Jesus, we are no longer like servants who only follow orders, but sons and daughters who belong in the family. Emphasize that an heir is someone who gets to share what the father has.
Galatians 4:31
So then, brothers, we are not children of a servant, but of the free woman.
(WEB)
Remind children that we are children of the free woman, which means we are free in Jesus. Help them see that this is the final and most important point of the chapter, the reason we can live with joy.
Talk About It
- What does it feel like to know that you belong to a family that loves you?
- Why do you think God wanted to send Jesus to become one of us?
- What is the difference between a servant and a child in a family?
- How can you tell someone that God is your Father, the way a child says “Abba”?
- What is one rule or habit that might make you feel like you have to earn love, and how does knowing God loves you change that?
Activity Ideas
Drawing Our Family Crest
You will need paper, crayons or markers, and scissors. Ask each child to draw a shield or a circle and fill it with pictures of things that show they belong to God’s family, such as a heart, a cross, a cross-shaped sign, or a little crown. Let them share their crest with the group and say what it means to them.
Run to Your Father
Mark a starting line and a finish line about ten steps apart, with a grown-up standing at the finish. Children start at the line like servants who have to wait for orders, then run to the grown-up when they hear “Abba, Father!” Practice a few rounds so children feel the joy of running to someone who loves them.
Family Promise Card
You will need an index card, a pencil, and a small piece of ribbon or string. Help each child write “I am God’s child” on one side and draw a heart on the other. Punch a hole in the corner and tie the ribbon through it so they can hang it on a bedpost or backpack. Encourage them to read it aloud each morning.
Teacher Notes
For adults, this chapter teaches that Jesus came to free us from trying to earn God’s favor through rules and works. Those who trust Christ receive the Spirit and the status of God’s children, heirs with full family standing. Paul writes with passion because he wants believers to rest in grace rather than fall back into fear-based religion.
Avoid overstating to children that the Galatians were doing something terribly wrong or that rules themselves are bad. Keep the focus on the joy of belonging to God and on the Spirit helping us call him Father, rather than on the people Paul was arguing against.
A Prayer to Close
Father, thank you for sending Jesus so that we could be your children. Thank you for your Spirit who helps us call you Father. Help us remember that we belong to your family and that you love us every day. Help us live free and happy in you. Amen.
