The Potter and the Clay Preschool Lesson
Preschool lesson (ages 3–6, 20 minutes)
1. Welcome (3 min)
Sit in a circle, greet every child by name and show one thing from the story to touch.
2. The little story (5 min)
Teach the refrain first: “The potter made it again.”
Jeremiah was a prophet – a man who told people God’s words. One day God told him, “Arise, and go down to the potter’s house. There I will cause you to hear my words.”
A potter makes bowls and jars and cups out of clay. In Bible times, almost every house had clay pots and jars. Clay is soft, wet earth. It is squishy, like play dough. When it dries, it gets hard.
So Jeremiah went down to the potter’s house. And there was the potter, working at his wheel. A potter’s wheel is a round, flat stone that spins. The potter turned it with his feet. Round and round went the wheel. Whirr, whirr!
The potter took the soft clay. He put it on the spinning wheel. With his wet hands he shaped it into a pot. Up, up, up it grew. Can you shape a pretend pot with your hands?
But oh no! The pot was spoiled in the potter’s hand. It was not right. Maybe it was bent, or it had a crack. What do you think the potter did?
Did the potter throw the clay away? No! He squished it together. He made it again into another pot, just the way he wanted. The potter made it again.
Jeremiah watched the potter. Then the LORD’s word came to Jeremiah. “House of Israel, can’t I do with you as this potter?” says the LORD. House of Israel means all of God’s people.
“Behold, as the clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in my hand.” Can you hold out your open hand? God holds his people, like clay in his hand. Clay cannot shape itself. Only the potter can. The potter made it again.
God’s people were like the clay. They had turned away from God. They had done many wrong things. They were like a pot that went wrong. But God said something important. If a people turned away from their wrong ways, God would change his plan. He would not bring the trouble.
God told Jeremiah what to say. “Everyone return from his evil way now, and amend your ways.” Return means come back. Amend means make better. God wanted his people to come back to him. The potter made it again.
A potter does not give up on his clay. He can make a new pot, again and again. He keeps working until it is just right.
Long before, the prophet Isaiah had said it like this. “But now, LORD, you are our Father. We are the clay and you our potter. We all are the work of your hand.”
The work of God’s hand! That means you and me. Can you look at your own hands? God made them. He made your eyes and your nose and your toes too.
God is our Father and our potter. We are the work of his hand. The potter made it again.
3. Talk together (3 min)
- What do you think the potter felt when his pot was spoiled?
- What would you like to make out of clay?
4. Move (3 min)
Refrain Freeze: move around the room; when you say the refrain, everyone freezes and says it together.
5. Make (4 min)
Draw the potter at his wheel, making a new pot.
6. Verse and prayer (2 min)
“As the clay in the potter’s hand, so are you” — Jeremiah 18:6 (the clay → squish pretend clay; in the potter’s hand → hold out one open hand; so are you → point to a friend)
Dear God, you are the potter and I am the clay. Thank you that you make me new. Amen.
Lesson for older kids (ages 6–10)
Big idea: God gives second chances
Memory verse: “But now, LORD, you are our Father. We are the clay and you our potter. We all are the work of your hand.” — Isaiah 64:8 · WEB
The Bible story
God takes Jeremiah to a busy little workshop where soft clay spins and wobbles, and shows him a gentle secret about second chances and love.
Talk about it
- Who did God tell to go down to the potter's house? — Jeremiah
- Why did God send Jeremiah to the potter's house? — To hear God's words
- What was the potter using to shape the clay? — A spinning wheel
- What were the potter's hands covered in? — Soft clay
- What happened to the little jar the potter was making? — It was spoiled
- What did the kind potter do with the spoiled clay? — Shaped it into a new pot
Where is Jesus in this story?
When the jar was spoiled, the potter did not throw the clay away. He shaped it into something new. Through Jesus, God does that with us. The Bible says, “If anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come” (2 Corinthians 5:17). Jesus forgives what went wrong and keeps shaping you, like clay in loving hands, until you look more and more like him.
What God wants to tell us
God is like the loving potter, and we are like the clay. When we wobble, make mistakes, or feel all crumpled up inside, God does not throw us away or give up on us. Instead, He holds us gently and keeps shaping us into someone kind and good. No mistake is too big for His patient, loving hands, and He is always ready to help us start again.
Prayer
Dear God, thank You for being like a loving potter who never gives up on me. When I wobble and get things wrong, please hold me close and shape me into someone kind and good. Thank You for always giving me another chance. Amen.
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