Scripture: Jonah
Learning Objectives:
- Students will learn God expects us to obey Him.
- Students will learn God expects us to warn people of the consequences of disobeying Him.
- Students will learn God wants us to be happy when people turn away from their sin, even if we don’t like them.
- Students will participate in a service project that cleans up the environment.
Guiding Question: How does God clean up our messes in life?
Materials: Garbage bags, gloves, work boots, long pants and long sleeves
Procedure: Review the story of Jonah from the scripture above. Remind the students that God expects us to obey Him because we should trust that He has our best interest as part of His plan. He also has plans for us to do great things for Him and wants us to obey Him so those things can be accomplished. Tell the students that it is important to follow what God asks us to do or else they might mess something up along the way. Life can seem messy at times and that can be caused by our sins or by other’s sins. God can clean up our mess if we allow Him to and ask for repentance and guidance.
Introduce the service project. Remind students that when God sent the storm as Jonah was trying to run away rather than go to Nineveh, Jonah told the sailors to throw him overboard so the storm would stop. Often during bad storms at sea, sailors will throw as much of the ship’s cargo into the ocean as possible to make the ship lighter and less susceptible to taking on water and sinking. People and companies can also throw trash into any body of water. Talk about how God wants us to be good stewards of His creation. Go with students (and parents/other volunteers if needed) along waterways and pick up trash using all safety measures. Follow link for safety measures and assistance with planning trip: https://createthegood.org/toolkit/clean-river
Additional Questions: How can students clean up garbage around their community?
Supplemental Activity: Have students go to a local park with you and clean up items that have been littered.