Introduction
This recent cover of the Stevie Wonder classic brings the song to a new audience, through the 2016 movie Sing. This session helps to explore how we can better deal with the things that cause us concern, rather than worry about them.
Explain that we will be thinking about the things that worry us, and what wecan do to help us deal with those worries. Each of us worries about different things at times. Some of these things are big worries, and others are small worries. As Christians, we are told in the Bible that God doesn’t want us to worry about anything, because he has a better way to deal with our concerns and we will be finding out more about this through this session.
Arrange the children in a circle facing inwards. Make a generous amount of paper available to the group. Invite them to think about some of the things that may worry them, whether big or small. As they identify something that may worry them, invite them to take a sheet of paper, screw it up into a ball, and throw it into the centre of the group. As they continue to identify things that worry them, the heap of ‘worries’ should grow as a visual illustration of the things that bother the children.
Distribute Bibles and invite someone to read Philippians 4:6-7. Point out to the group that there are other times when the Bible reminds us that God doesn’t want us to worry, as he has a better plan for us. Help the group to identify what God’s plan for us is - that we turn to him in prayer.
Invite one of your leaders to share a short testimony about a time when God answered their prayer and dealt with an issue they were worried about. Try to give an example that is relevant to this age group, and discuss any issues raised.
Track: Don’t you worry ‘bout a thing
Introduce the song and remind the children that just as the song tells us not to worry about anything, God too tells us not to worry but to give all our worries to him.
As you play the track, invite the children to take a piece of the screwed-up paper in their hands, think about something that is worrying them and then silently give that worry over to God. As they do so, ask them to smooth out the paper in their hands and so create a pile of flattened pieces of paper, to represent the group’s prayers. Encourage the group to continue to take one crumpled sheet at a time, and hand that worry over to God for him to deal with.
As you draw the session to a close, pray together with the children, that God would fill them with a real sense of peace and take away all their worries and concerns.
