You will need:

Blocks of wood

(We cut a 2” x 4” into 5” pieces and painted half of them white and half of them red. This gave us 18 pieces. You may not use this many, depending on the ages of the children.)

A bag or box to hold the wood blocks

A marker

A large cross

(If you don’t have one, you can make one by cutting a 1” x 4”)

Prepare in advance by using a marker to write an issue children may have concerns with on each block. (There are some suggestions below.) Put the blocks in the box.

Gather the children together by the cross and select two volunteers who want to be in a race. Tell them they are going to race from the cross to a designate spot a few yards away.

Stand next to the children and say “On your mark, get set… wait… before you run I want to show you something.”

Tell the children that everyone has cares, things they are concerned about. Tell them you have some examples of what some of their cares might be. Expound on each one as you take the blocks out of the box and hand them to the racers stacking them on top of each other. (One child gets the red ones, the other the white.)

Here are some examples you might use:

School – Maybe you don’t like school and it’s hard for you.

Friends – Maybe it’s hard for you to make friends and you’re lonely.

Family – Maybe you wish your family was happier.

Gossip – Maybe somebody said something about you that’s not true and it hurts your feelings.

Sports – Maybe you want to play sports, but somebody said your not good enough and they don’t want you on their team.

Health – Maybe you have some health issues, and you can’t do all the things other kids can do.

Lying - Maybe you lie to your parents or teachers. We know that’s wrong. That would be a sin.

Stealing – Maybe you take things that don’t belong to you. That would be sin.

Peer Pressure – Maybe you have friends who try to get you to do things you know are wrong, and you don’t want to give in, but you don’t want to tell them no.

Tell the two children they have to race balancing the blocks. They can’t lean them against their body or hold them with their chin. If they drop blocks they have to stop and pick them up.

Have the race, encouraging the children to pick up the blocks they drop and keep going.

Have both children come back to the cross with their blocks for another race. Say “On your mark, get set… wait…”

Tell the winner of the first race to carry his cares in the race. Tell the other child to leave his cares at the cross.

Have them race again. Obviously, the child that left his cares at the cross will win. Ask the winner of this race if it was easier to run with or without their cares.

Explain that just like it was easier for the child to run without carrying his cares, it’s also easier for us to through life if we’re not carrying all of our cares.

It is difficult for us to go though life worried and anxious all the time. Jesus Is concerned about us. Just as the runner in our lesson left his cares at the cross, we should take our cares to Jesus. Instead of worrying, we should pray to Jesus and ask him to help us.

1 Peter 5:7 Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.