Set Apart for God's Purposes

To learn that to be holy means to be set apart for God's purposes

The children will be able to identify how they can make their time holy.

• Bowl of holy water
• One sheet of paper per child
• Instrumental music

• Show the children a bowl of holy water and tell them what it is. Ask them whether they think it would be all right for you to take a sip from this bowl. After they have responded, explain that this water is holy and set aside for blessing, and that it would be wrong to drink it.
• Remind the children that to be holy means to be set apart for God's purposes.
• Ask the children to brainstorm what they think are God's purposes. Arrange them in pairs and have them develop a list of what they believe God's purposes to be.
• Explain that Holy Week is a time set aside for God's purposes and that God achieved his purposes through Jesus' death on the cross. Tell the children that in order for this week to be truly holy, we need to set it apart from a usual week.
• Give each child a sheet of paper and instruct him or her to make a chart with seven columns for the seven days of the week. Then ask the children to make a list of what they do with their time during a typical week.
• Play some instrumental music while they complete their task, and then ask a few volunteers to share their charts.
• Then tell the children to identify what they can do during Holy Week to set it apart. Encourage them to identify various times in which they can set aside their normal activities and devote the time instead to focusing on how God achieved his purposes through Jesus' death on the cross.
• Help the children to brainstorm ideas such as setting aside time for prayer, attending Holy Week services, reading Scripture, spending time in silence, and being of service to others.
• Remind the children that we are called to be holy and that we can do so by setting ourselves apart for God's purposes.

People Smart, Self Smart, Word Smart

For the brainstorming portion about God's purposes, possible responses may include to bring salvation, to establish justice, to spread love and forgiveness, to care for those who are poor, and so on.