Garden of Gethsemane Sunday School Lesson for Kids

This free Garden of Gethsemane Sunday school lesson teaches kids to watch and pray. On the night before the cross, Jesus went to "a place called Gethsemane" (Matthew 26:36), and He prayed, "not as I will, but as thou wilt" (26:39). His disciples fell asleep, and He told them, "Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation" (26:41). It comes in four age levels, each a separate printable teacher lesson, plus one take-home sheet for families. Everything is in the order you teach it.

Choose your age level

• Preschool (ages 3–5), 20–30 minutes, 2 pages: a Wake Up and Watch! game, a short story with hand motions and repeat-after-me lines, three simple questions, a shortened memory verse ("Watch and pray") with a motion, and a drawing of the garden at night.
• Kindergarten to 2nd grade, 45 minutes, 3 pages: a Watch Closely! game, the story in simple words, five recall questions with answers, the Five Strips memory verse game, and a Watch and Pray Circle.
• 3rd to 5th grade, 45–60 minutes, 4 pages: a One-Minute Watch game, kids look up verses in their own Bibles during a fuller story (Peter's promise, "not as I will, but as thou wilt," "could ye not watch with me one hour?" and "Rise, let us be going"), five thinking questions and three recall questions, and a Bible look-up race.
• Preteens (ages 11–12), 45–60 minutes, 4 pages: students read Matthew 26:30–46 out loud themselves, then discuss good intentions and temptation, being honest with God, and putting God's will first. Six discussion questions, a journal page, and two memory verses (Matthew 26:41 and Matthew 26:39).

Lesson at a glance

• Bible passage: Matthew 26:36–46 (preteens start at 26:30)
• Main point: Watch and pray. Jesus prayed when it was hard, and we can pray too.
• Memory verse: Matthew 26:41 (KJV), with Matthew 26:39 added for preteens
• Ages: preschool to preteen, in four versions

Lesson outline (the same in every version)

1. Opening game: a short game about watching and staying awake.
2. Bible story: Jesus comes to Gethsemane (Matthew 26:36), takes Peter and the two sons of Zebedee farther (26:37), "watch with me" (26:38), prays "not as I will, but as thou wilt" (26:39), finds them asleep (26:40), "Watch and pray" (26:41), prays three times (26:42–44), and "Rise, let us be going" (26:46). Every fact has its verse reference so you can check it.
3. Questions to ask: with answers, at the right level for each age.
4. Memory verse: a game or motion to help kids learn Matthew 26:41.
5. What this means for us: pray first, put God's will first, the gospel (Acts 2:38), and a challenge for the week.
6. Activity: the word search, crossword, maze, worksheet, the Garden of Gethsemane craft, a Watch and Pray Circle, a Bible look-up race or a journal page, depending on the age.
7. Prayer.

Tips for teaching the Garden of Gethsemane

• Read Matthew 26:41 straight from the Bible: "Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation." It is the heart of the lesson.
• Matthew says "a place called Gethsemane" (26:36), and John 18:1 says it was a garden. The sons of Zebedee are James and John (Matthew 4:21).
• The lesson follows Matthew. Luke tells a few more details (Luke 22:43–44); they are left out here so the story stays in one passage.
• The lesson stops at verse 46. Each level has a short teacher note about what came next, when Judas came and they took Jesus (26:47–50).
• Short on time? Do the story, three questions and the memory verse. That is a solid 25-minute lesson.