Before class, print one (or more) Promise-a-Day Calendar bases on cardstock for each student; the template (found here) contains two bases per sheet. Also, write the following on the whiteboard prior to this step:

Monday – God will never leave you (Deuteronomy 31:6)
Tuesday – God will meet your needs (Philippians 4:19)
Wednesday – God will forgive your sins (1 John 1:9)
Thursday – God will carry your burdens (Matthew 11:28-29)
Friday – God will answer your prayers (Matthew 21:22) 

If your class is meeting online, email the Promise-a-Day Calendar to students and families so they can print a copy before class. Invite them to also bring 10 sticky notes and a pen or fine-tipped marker to class:

God made a promise to Abraham. Even though God’s request of Abraham made it look like God was not going to fulfill His promise, Abraham knew better. He knew that God always keeps His promises. That gave him the strength to obey God’s instructions even when they were challenging.

We can count on God’s promises every day of our lives. People may accidentally or intentionally fail in keeping promises, but we can know God will always come through. To help us depend on God’s promises, we are going to make “Promise-a-Day” calendars for the school week ahead.  

Distribute supplies (or invite students to have them ready at home) and direct your students’ attention to the whiteboard (or screenshared document):

Monday – God will never leave you (Deuteronomy 31:6)
Tuesday – God will meet your needs (Philippians 4:19)
Wednesday – God will forgive your sins (1 John 1:9)
Thursday – God will carry your burdens (Matthew 11:28-29)
Friday – God will answer your prayers (Matthew 21:22)

• Which of those promises means the most to you today? Why? (Answers will vary.)
• Which of those promises have you experienced God fulfilling? How? (Answers will vary.)

Give each student 10 sticky notes, still stuck together, from the pad.

Guide your preteens through the following steps to make the Promise-a-Day calendar. Keeping their 10-note sticky note pad intact, have them copy each line on the whiteboard (or screenshared document) to a different sticky note and leave the last five blank. Ask your students to fold their cardstock calendar template in half on the dotted line to make a tent-style base and affix their sticky note pad of promises to the shaded area. Optional: students may decorate their calendar base before affixing the sticky notes; they may want to make an extra calendar to give to someone as an encouragement.

Use this Promise-a-Day calendar this week at home. Each school day this week, before you leave home, read the memory verse and then peel off the top note that contains one of God’s promises. Read the day’s promise and then carefully remove it from the rest of the pad. Take the day’s promise with you and stick it on your notebook or in your locker. Look at it and think about it throughout the day. When you get home from school, look up the promise’s Scripture passage in your Bible. Thank God for keeping His promises. Remind your students that since the coming week contains the Thanksgiving holiday, they can start, stop, and start again when they return to school.

Encourage your students to be on the lookout for additional promises to include on the blank sticky notes. To inspire them to keep up this practice, you might want to offer to supply them with additional sticky notes when they run out if they will bring you a list of other promises they’ve found.

Play this video as the students work [4:58]: Elevation Worship – Your Promises (with lyrics)

Close in prayer, thanking God for being the ultimate Promise Keeper.