This lesson teaches children that God looks for people who live honestly and kindly, and that He is patient with us even when we turn away. It works well for ages 5 to 11 and takes about 20 to 30 minutes, including the story, the memory verse, and one activity.
Big Idea
God sees what is true in our hearts, and He wants us to live honestly, fairly, and close to Him. When we forget Him, He still invites us back.
Memory Verse
Jeremiah 5:3
O the LORD, don’t your eyes look on truth? You have stricken them, but they were not grieved. You have consumed them, but they have refused to receive correction. They have made their faces harder than a rock. They have refused to return.
(WEB)
Ask the children to put one hand on their heart when they say “truth” and then turn both palms up when they say “return.” Say the verse together three times, getting a little quieter each time, so the words stay with them.
The Story: Jeremiah 5 for Kids
A long time ago, the city of Jerusalem was full of people who had forgotten God. The prophet Jeremiah lived there, and God gave him a job to do. God said, “Go look through the streets. Look in the wide places. See if you can find even one person who does what is right and tells the truth.” Jeremiah looked and looked. It was not easy to find people like that.
Jeremiah felt sad. He thought, “Maybe the poor people don’t know God’s ways. They are foolish.” So he went to the important leaders and said, “Surely you know God’s ways. You will understand.” But the leaders had broken away from God too. They had snapped the ropes that kept them close to Him, and they did not want to go back.
Then God spoke about the people’s hearts. He said that they had hard faces, like rock, and would not listen when He tried to correct them. Their hearts had become stubborn. They believed that nothing bad would ever happen to them, and they stopped listening to the prophets who warned them. The people had many wrong things in their lives, and they kept turning away from God.
God was not happy about this, and He did not want His people to be hurt. Still, God said something kind in the middle of the warning. Even in those hard days, He would not completely destroy them. He was still their faithful God, and He wanted them to come back to Him. He wanted them to remember that the One who keeps the sea in its place can also keep His promises to His people.
So the message from God was clear: come back, be honest, and trust Him. The story shows us that God is both serious about right and wrong and full of mercy for those who return to Him.
Read It Together
Jeremiah 5:1
“Run back and forth through the streets of Jerusalem, and see now, and know, and seek in its wide places, if you can find a man, if there is anyone who does justly, who seeks truth, then I will pardon her.
(WEB)
Point out that God was looking for even one person who did what was right. Ask the children why God would look so carefully, and remind them that He notices what we do, even when no one else is watching.
Jeremiah 5:22-24
22 Don’t you fear me?’ says the LORD ‘Won’t you tremble at my presence, who have placed the sand for the bound of the sea, by a perpetual decree, that it can’t pass it? Though its waves toss themselves, yet they can’t prevail. Though they roar, they still can’t pass over it.’ 23 “But this people has a revolting and a rebellious heart. They have revolted and gone. 24 They don’t say in their heart, ‘Let us now fear the LORD our God, who gives rain, both the former and the latter, in its season; who preserves to us the appointed weeks of the harvest.’
(WEB)
Show the children how God used the sea as an example of something that stays where He put it. Explain that He wanted His people to fear and trust Him the way the waves trust the edge of the shore, and that they had turned away from that trust.
Jeremiah 5:25
“Your iniquities have turned away these things, and your sins have withheld good from you.
(WEB)
Help the children see that sin pushes away good things that God wants to give us. Talk about how choosing to be honest and kind helps us stay close to God and to the people we love.
Talk About It
- What does it look like to live honestly when no one is checking on you?
- Why do you think God wanted to find just one person who did what was right?
- How can we tell when our hearts are becoming hard, and what can we do about it?
- What is one thing you could do this week to show God you want to follow Him?
- How does it make you feel to know that God still wants us to come back even after we make mistakes?
Activity Ideas
Heart Drawing
Give each child a sheet of paper and crayons or markers. Ask them to draw a large heart and write or draw one way they can be honest or kind this week inside it. Let them share their hearts with each other, and then hang them on the wall as a reminder that God sees what is inside us.
Stop and Return Game
Have the children walk around the room like they are searching the streets of Jerusalem. When you call out “truth,” they freeze and stand tall. When you call out “return,” they turn around and walk back to the starting line. Play a few rounds and talk briefly about how God welcomes us back each time.
Take-Home Promise Card
Cut index cards in half and give each child one. Have them write or draw one honest or kind action they plan to do during the week. Ask them to place the card by their bed or in their backpack, and encourage them to tell a family member what their promise is on the way home from church.
Teacher Notes
For adults, this chapter shows that God takes truth and justice seriously, and that He sees what is happening beneath the surface of our lives. It also shows that His warnings come from love, and that He keeps the door open for His people to return to Him even after they have wandered far away.
With children, avoid overstating the idea that God will punish every mistake right away or that He is angry all the time. The lesson’s heart is His patience, His invitation to return, and the importance of honest living. Keep the focus on His faithfulness and the hope that He offers to everyone who turns back.
A Prayer to Close
Dear Father, thank You for seeing what is true in our hearts and for loving us even when we get things wrong. Help us to be honest and kind, and help us to come back to You quickly when we wander. Thank You that You always welcome us home. Amen.
