Scripture: Jeremiah 38-39
Learning Objectives:
- Students will learn that just as a building uses bricks on the outside to stay strong, Christians need to have faith in God and trust Him to remain strong in their lives.
- Students will learn how to use God to answer their questions in life.
- Students will learn how Satan will try to trick them to make bad choices.
- Students will participate in an activity to help them practice choosing between what God wants them to do and what Satan wants them to do.
Guiding Question: How can we decide how to make the right choices that God wants us to make?
Materials: Magnets, scenario cards (listed at the end of lesson)
Procedure: Explain to the students that builders use things like bricks to make the outside of a house stronger. God wants us to have faith in Him and trust Him to guide our lives. We need to have a close relationship with God in order to be strong Christians. Discuss that we have to make choices by thinking about what God wants and understanding the devil tries to trick us into making bad choices.
Introduce students to the activity. Explain that the game is meant for the students to think about making real choices and what God would want you to do. Explain the best way to know how to make good choices is read your Bible and pray everyday.
Divide the groups into two teams. Each team will have the same problems to solve, but each set send them to a different location for their answers. The “right” answer location will have the next clue and the “wrong” answer location will have a silly consequence to slow them down. The first group to the finish line will get to choose which magnets they want to decorate and take home. The other team will have to choose from the remaining magnets and may not have time to decorate at church. (Do not tell students the prize ahead of time)
Additional Questions: Why does God want us to make good choices?
Supplemental Activity: Divide students into teams and have two chairs placed on the other side of the room. One chair is the “right choice” and the other chair is the “wrong” choice. Read a scenario and the decision made. Then have a student from each team race to the right choice or bad choice chair and explain why it was a good or bad choice.
Questions:
Your friend has an emergency and needs your help.
You have been helping your parents in the yard and
are dirty. Your friend needs your help right now
and really can’t wait for you to clan up. You ask
your Dad to drive you to help your friend, but your
sister says, “You better take a shower first.” After
all, ‘Cleanliness is next to godliness.’” Does God
want you to take a shower first or go immediately
to help your friend? If you think you should shower
first, go to ______. If you think your Dad should drive
you there now, even though you are dirty, go to
______. (Note the team must vote and go to one place
as a team. If they choose shower first, they will get
a note when they get there that says “Actually
‘Cleanliness is next to godliness is not in the Bible.’
It was something said by a preacher a long time
ago. What a preacher says is not as important as
what God says. Sometimes preachers are wrong.
You must check the Bible to make sure everything
the preacher tells you is really what God would
want you to do. God may like us to be clean, but in
this case it is probably more important for you to
get to your friend quickly and help. Do to others, as
you would have them do to you. Matthew 7:12
Because your team chose incorrectly, you must hop
on one foot twenty times and then go to where you
should have gone instead of here.)
Your Bible class teacher wants you to go through
your toys and bring some to donate to the orphans
in Mexico. One of your friends says you shouldn’t
have to do that because “God helps those who help
themselves”. He thinks the kids should figure out
some other way to get their own toys. If you think
your friend is right, go to ________. If you think you
should donate your toys, go to __________. (Wrong
answer card: “Actually “God helps those who help
themselves” is not in the Bible. Benjamin Franklin
said it. God actually says “Religion that God our
Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look
after orphans and widows in their distress. James
1:27 Since you made the wrong choice, your team
must go back to the last correct clue and then go
where you should have gone for this one.”)
You have been saving your money to buy a new
computer to help you with school. You have done a
lot of research and you know computer A lasts
longer and will let you do more things. When you
get to the store, they are out of computer A, but
have plenty of computer B. You know computer B
usually breaks in a few months, but you would
have to wait a week for them to get you a computer
A. You don’t need the computer for another month,
but you were really hoping to play with it this
weekend. Your sister tries to get you to buy
computer B since it is in stock. “Beggars can’t be
choosers”, she says. If you think you should buy
computer B, go to _________. If you think you should
buy computer A, go to __________. (Wrong answer
card: “Beggars can’t be choosers is not in the Bible.
The Bible actually says, “Let the wise hear and
increase in learning, and the one who understands
obtain guidance” Proverbs 1:5. You have done your
research and sought wise advice. You need to
follow through and buy the wisest choice even
though you may have to wait for it. Since you were
wrong, your team has to memorize Proverbs 1:5
before going where you should have gone for this
clue!)
You are having a really bad week. It seems like
everything is going wrong. Your friend says since
you are so sad, nothing else bad will happen to you
this week. “After all,” your friend says, “God will
not give you more than you can bear.” If you think
your friend is right, go to _________. If you think your
friend is wrong, go to ___________. (Wrong answer
card: Unfortunately, there still may be some bad
things that happen to you that week. “God will
never give you more than you can bear” is not in
the Bible. Actually, God says He will not let you be
tempted to sin more than you can bear. He will also
provide a way out of the temptation so you can
avoid sinning. I Corinthians 10:13. Since you were
wrong, you now have to go to where you should
have gone originally.)
You are starving to death. (Or at least it feels like it.
It has been at least two hours since breakfast.)
Your mother has told you to not eat anything at
Church because she has cooked a special lunch and
wants you to be hungry so you can enjoy it. Your
church has those yummy doughnuts sitting out for
everyone to eat. Your friend tells you to eat one,
because “A bird in the hand is worth two in the
bush.” If you think you should eat the doughnut, go
to ____________. If you think you should wait, go to
____________. (Wrong answer card: Sorry, “A bird in
the hand is worth two in the bush” is not in the
Bible. The Bible does say though that we are to
honor our mothers and fathers. Honor also means
obey, so you should not have eaten that doughnut!
Since you were wrong, you must skip to where you
should have gone to answer this question.