Our Focus Today Helping children understand that they do not have to have themselves completely figured out to know who they are. God made them, knows them, loves them, and calls them His. When they are unsure, they know where to look.
Key Truth I don’t have to have all the answers. I can trust the One who never changes.
Bible Passage Colossians 2:10
Memory Verse “And in Christ you have been brought to fullness. He is the head over every power and authority.“ Colossians 2:10 (NIV)
At A Glance
Approximate Lesson Time: 45–60 minutes Welcome, Snack & Lesson Activity • 10–15 minutes Gather Around God’s Word • 10–15 minutes Read the Story • 10–15 minutes Truth in Action • 5–10 minutes Open Your Bible • 10–15 minutes Closing Prayer & Clean-Up • 2–3 minutes
Leader Encouragement
Children are surrounded by messages about what should define them—what they’re good at, how they feel, what others think, and where they fit. As leaders, we know that pull doesn’t disappear as we grow up, as much as we sometimes wish it did.
This final lesson is a reminder for us, too. We don’t have to have ourselves figured out. We just need to know where to look. Help the girls leave knowing they can return again and again to the God who made them, knows them, loves them, and calls them His.
The story God is writing in a child’s heart is always bigger than the lesson on the page.
Leader Preparation
Lesson Supplies Study books Bibles Pens Highlighters Zipper pouches KNOWN self-adhesive patch or lettering for each pouch Assorted decorative self-adhesive patches Acrylic paint pens in assorted colors Letter beads and zipper-pull supplies, if desired
Teaching Supplies Bible Name tags Marker
Prep Ahead Highlight today’s Bible passage in your Bible. Gather the supplies for today’s Truth in Action. A blank name tag. Prepared name tags with labels such as FUNNY, LEFT OUT, GOOD AT SOCCER, POPULAR, NOT THE BEST, PRETTY, SHY, SMART, and NOTICED. Prepare one name tag that says GOD KNOWS MY NAME. Set out the zipper pouch supplies for each group. Order the KNOWN lettering or patch. A completed sample of today’s lesson activity.
Volunteer Roles
Lead Teacher Welcome the group and guide each part of the lesson. Read the Bible passage and story aloud. Lead the Truth in Action, discussion, and closing prayer.
Small Group Leaders Welcome children and encourage conversation. Support children throughout the lesson. Answer questions, encourage participation, and offer extra help as needed.
Floater Welcome families and direct children to their groups. Help with transitions and assist wherever needed throughout the lesson.
Leading the Lesson
Welcome, Snack & Lesson Activity
Time: 10–15 minutes Welcome children, help them get settled, and enjoy the time together as they complete today’s lesson activity.
Instructions Welcome children as they arrive. Invite them to begin today’s lesson activity. Encourage conversation while everyone enjoys a snack. As children finish, encourage them to continue chatting with their group until it’s time to begin.
Conversation Starters What is something new you have learned about yourself this year? What are some things about you that might change as you grow? What does it mean to be known by God?
Gather Around God’s Word
Time: 10–15 minutes
Transition Give children a two-minute warning before beginning. Invite everyone to simply set aside today’s lesson activity and grab only their study book, Bible, and pen. There is no need to clean everything up. Children can return to the activity later if time allows or take home any remaining supplies to finish.
Opening Prayer Begin with a simple prayer, inviting God to prepare hearts and minds to learn from His Word.
Bible Reading
Read Colossians 2:10 directly from your Bible.
Connect today’s Bible passage to the story by explaining that we will spend our whole lives learning new things about ourselves. What we like may change. What we are good at may change. How we feel may change. But we don’t have to keep adding things to ourselves to finally become enough.
Point out the words: “And in Christ you have been brought to fullness.”
Explain that today they are going to see that when they aren’t sure who they are, they don’t have to keep looking around for an answer. They know where to go: To Christ, where they are already made full.
Read the Story
Today’s Stair-Step Reading
Lesson 2 Re-read Lesson 1-4, then continue directly into Lesson 5.
Read the story aloud while children follow along.
Engage Children By… -Announcing page turns for younger readers. -Reading speech bubbles together. -Asking observation questions. -Pointing out humorous moments. -Inviting predictions as the story unfolds.
Truth In Action
Time: 5–10 minutes
Supplies Blank name tag Marker Bible A blank name tag. Prepared name tags with labels such as FUNNY, LEFT OUT, GOOD AT SOCCER, POPULAR, NOT THE BEST, PRETTY, SHY, SMART, and NOTICED. Prepare one name tag that says GOD KNOWS MY NAME.
Let’s Begin
Hold up a blank name tag. “What usually goes right here?”
Let children answer: Your name.
“Right. A name tag tells people who you are. But imagine I wasn’t sure what to write on mine. What if I decided to let everything happening around me decide?”
Take out the prepared name tags one at a time and place them over the blank name tag. As you add them, talk briefly about each one.
“Maybe everyone laughed at my joke today, so I write FUNNY.” Add FUNNY. “But tomorrow nobody laughs. Do I need a new name tag?”
Replace it with LEFT OUT. “Maybe I don’t get invited to something and suddenly I feel left out. Does that get to tell me who I am?”
Continue through several cards, replacing one with another.
“Look how many times we could change this! If I let what happens, how I feel, what I’m good at, or what other people think tell me who I am, I’m going to need a LOT of name tags.”
Hold up the Bible.
“But Marigold learned she doesn’t have to keep looking around to figure out who she is. She knows where to look.”
Open to Isaiah 43:1 and read it together, emphasizing: “I have summoned you by name; you are mine.”
Then hold up the prepared GOD KNOWS MY NAME tag. “Before Marigold knew exactly what she would be good at, God knew her. Before she knew what other people would think of her, God knew her. Before she had herself figured out, God knew her.”
Now connect it to Psalm 139:13–14 and Colossians 2:10, which they’ll encounter on their activity pages.
“God made you. God knows you. You belong to Him. And the Bible tells us that in Christ, we have been brought to fullness. That means you don’t have to collect enough good things about yourself to finally become enough.”
Point back to the pile of changing labels. “Some of these things might be true about you for a while. You might be funny. You might be great at soccer. You might feel shy sometimes. You might have a day when you feel left out. But none of them gets the last word about who you are.”
Hold up the Bible. “God does.”
Ask Why would our “name tag” keep changing if we let our feelings or other people tell us who we are? What are some things about you that might change as you grow? What does not change? When you aren’t sure who you are, where can you look?
Wrap Up “Marigold didn’t finish this story with every answer about herself. She finished it knowing something better:where to go when she didn’t know.She could look to the God who made her, knows her, loves her, and calls her His. You are going to keep learning new things about yourself as you grow. That’s a good thing. But you don’t have to wait until you have yourself figured out to know who you are. When your thoughts get loud, when your feelings change, or when you start looking around at everyone else, you know where to go.God gets the last word.“
Open Your Bible
Time: 10–15 minutes
Activity 1 Complete Activity 1: What Gets the Last Word?
Invite children to look up Colossians 2:10 in their Bibles. Have them highlight what is true about them in Christ.
Invite children to look up Isaiah 43:1 and highlight the words that tell them who they belong to.
Complete Finish the Thought. Invite children to draw lines connecting the thoughts on the left with truths they can remember on the right. Remind them that when a thought makes them question who they are, they can answer it with something God says is true.
Complete Cross It Out. Have children cross out the things that do not get the last word about who they are: MY MOOD A COMPLIMENT SOMEONE ELSE’S OPINION A BAD DAY A MISTAKE WHAT I’M GOOD AT Leave GOD’S TRUTH.
Finish Give God the Last Word by inviting children to write one thought they sometimes have and then answer it with something God says.
Read the Truth Tidbit together: I don’t have to have all the answers. I can trust the One who never changes.
Bible Verses Colossians 2:10 Isaiah 43:1
Ask Which things on this page can change? What does Isaiah 43:1 tell you about who you belong to? What does it mean to let God’s truth get the last word?
Activity 2 Complete Activity 2: I Know Where to Go.
Read the four verses on the page together: Philippians 4:8 Psalm 139:14 Psalm 62:5–8 Colossians 2:10
Invite children to circle one word from each verse that they want to remember and take with them.
Complete Build Your Truth Line. Have children look at the four words they circled and use at least two of them to finish: When my thoughts get loud, I want to remember: ____________.
Then complete I Know What to Do. Encourage children to remember what they have practiced throughout the study without looking back for hints: Notice it. Check it. Change it. Look to God.
Finish When I Don’t Know… I know where to ____________.
Read the Truth Tidbit together: Believe what God says about you. He made you, knows you, loves you, and calls you His.
Ask Which word did you choose from the verses and why do you want to remember it? What can you do when your thoughts get loud or you aren’t sure what is true? Where can you go when you don’t have all the answers?
Closing Prayer
Pray the prayer at the end of Lesson 5.
Clean-Up
Invite children to: -Organize their supplies. -Throw away trash. -Help tidy their small group area. -Continue working on today’s lesson activity if time remains or take home any remaining supplies to finish later.
What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us. -A.W Tozer
