Scripture: 2 Kings 18-20, 2 Chronicles 29-32
Learning Objectives:
- Students will learn God wants us to pray to him when we have problems.
- Students will learn God can cause miraculous things to happen.
- Students will learn pride can cause problems for us and for others.
- Students will learn how to stand up for their faith.
Guiding Question: How can students learn to be bold in their faith?
Materials: None needed
Procedure: Review the story of Hezekiah. Explain to them, God does not always send us signs (like He did Hezekiah) to prove He will say “yes”, “no” or “wait” to our prayers. Rather, the sign we receive is the answer itself. Explain to students the importance of regular prayer. Tell them sometimes we forget we have prayed to God about something, because the answer to our prayers may not be immediate. When we get our answer, we may even forget to thank God for answering our prayers. (If time allows, it is good to review that when God answers “no” or “wait” we have to trust Him – even if we don’t particularly like the answer.) Hezekiah was bold in his prayers (asking to live longer when he was dying) and bold in his obedience to God (he removed the idols the people were worshipping, restored the Temple and restored Passover. The people could have become very angry, since they were used to worshipping idols and disobeying God under the rule of Hezekiah’s father).
Introduce the activity. Give scenarios where students must decide what someone who is afraid might do, someone who is a little brave might do and someone who is bold might do. Focus on the concept of growth and becoming bolder. Include possible situations where students may be asked or teased about their faith like “How do you respond to someone who asks with a sneer ‘Why do you go to church?’”
Additional Questions: How can students collaborate to learn ways to stand up for their faith?
Supplemental Activity: Have students work in pairs to share situations they have encountered that have been difficult to be bold in their faith. Have the partner work together to use scripture to plan for how to be bold if those situations occur again and encourage each other.