God is my father

Introduction
Knowing they have a heavenly father can make children feel protected and cared for. Many children have known the loving care of earthly fathers and can easily comprehend God as a caring father. For other children, "father" isn't a pleasant term. Some children may never see their fathers. Some fathers have mistreated their children. Use this lesson to introduce children to their loving, caring heavenly father-God. And redefine the term "father" for those children who haven't had a good experience with their earthly fathers.

Game Description
Children will explore Fatherly qualities in God. The goal is to help children learn that God is a father who will never leave and who will always treat them with kindness and love.

Game Materials
You'll need men's dress-up clothes such as old shoes, jackets, shirts and ties.

Game Play

1. Invite kids to put on one or two items of the dress-up clothing that fathers wear. Give them several minutes of playtime to act like dads. Encourage responses by asking questions such as "How do fathers talk?" "What do fathers do?" "How do fathers walk?" and "What do fathers like?"
2. Have children sit in a circle.
3. Ask: Are dads always perfect?
4. Say: Our fathers are human, and sometimes they make mistakes just like we make mistakes sometimes. Today we're going to talk about a special father who is perfect. We call God our heavenly father because he lives in heaven. God is perfect-he'll always love us and take care of us.
5. Ask: What do you call your earthly father?
6. Say: Children in every country have special names for their fathers. You may call your father "Daddy." A Japanese child might call his or her father "Chichi." A German child might say "Papa." In the Bible, Jesus called God "Abba." Let's sing a song to our heavenly father in all these languages. Lead children in singing "Father, I Adore You." Each time you sing a new verse, insert the other-language words for "father": daddy, chichi, papa and abba.

Closing Application
Close with this prayer: Father God, thank you for taking care of us. We know you are a perfect father. You love us and you'll always take care of us. Amen.