The Fruit

of the Spirit For Children's Ministry

The Fruit

of the Spirit

For Chi ldren ‘s M in is t r y

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Welcome to Idea Explosion for children’s ministry! In Matthew 19:14, Jesus beautifully expressed his appreciation for the smallest ones: “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” What a great privilege it is to be part of the great work of bringing children to Jesus and helping them grow in their relationship with Him! Men and women far and wide in Latin America have spread this vision diligently and unselfishly, dedicating their time and efforts in the well being of children. The Explosion series has been designed as a tool in ministry. This dynamic resource can be of great help in Sunday school, children’s church, children’s crusades, in organizing children’s services programs, or in any other creative method in reaching children.

Lessons written by: Karen Prevost

Translated by: Rebecca Mann

Edited by: Jean Snyder

Illustrations: Jorge Tobar

Technical Editing: Malena Tobar

Spanish Title: Explosión de ideas para el ministerio de niños: El fruto del Espíritu

Biblical text taken from:

The Holy Bible, New International Version

ISBN: 1-931984-96-4

RDM: 2402-44E1

©2003 by RDM

All rights reserved

First edition

Printed in the U.S.A., 2003

3728 W. Chestnut Expressway

Springfield, MO 65802 U.S.A.

Telephone: (417) 881-4698 Fax (417) 881-1037

E-mail: rdmlit@rdmlit.org

Web page: www.RDMlit.org

Thanks BGMC

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“The fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness, and truth” (Ephesians 5:9).

What a joy to have the security that as believers, we have been promised the Holy Spirit to help us develop a character more like God’s each day. In Galatians 5, in the description of the fruit of the Spirit, we are given a list of some of the characteristics that should be found in those who serve Christ. These lessons have been designed to help children recognize those characteristics, so they would grow in justness and cultivate the fruits of the Spirit in their lives.

Because the lessons have been written for children’s ministry inside or outside the church, each one incorporates one of the fruits of the Spirit and presents it in some of the following different dynamic methods: drawing, drama, song, object lesson, clown, puppet, story, illusion, mime

(Refer to these symbols at the foot of each page to quickly identify the method used for each lesson.)

Drawing

Drama

Song

Object lesson

Clown

Puppet

Story

Illusion

Mime

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Suggestions:

◆ Through the use of 9 giant pictures of different fruits, help the children to visually remem-ber the fruit of the Spirit. Make the pictures out of thick cardboard or plastic foam and label each with the corresponding fruit. The introductory page for each fruit of the Spirit provides a picture of a fruit with a characteristic that will help the children to memorize the concept and associate it with a spiritual significance. During the various class activi-ties, you can use and show the fruit that corresponds to the lesson, and display the rest as a visual reminder of the fruit of the Spirit.

◆ Charlie is a dynamic character that you will find in the ten lessons. He is a clown that communicates what he thinks or feels with exaggerated movements and facial expres-sions. Try to get the help of an adult or adolescent who has the ability to “speak” to the heart of children using gestures and movements in place of words; you will see how the children take a fancy to Charlie.

◆ Some illusions are included as a form of amusement to illustrate various points and to help the children to remember lessons. However, it will always be important that the children understand that there is no “magic” or “mystery” in the lessons. They are only tricks, that with the proper materials and instruction, any person could perform. For some of the tricks to work properly, it will be necessary to obtain special materials. These materials can be found in any store that carries magic trick items. If you are not able to get them, you can improvise with other materials that you are able to obtain or modify the activity and use whatever is on-hand.

◆ At the end of the book, you will find a page containing Galatians 5:24 and illustrations of the types of fruit that represent the fruit of the Spirit. Make copies of that page so each child can review and remember what was learned. Consider motivating them by awarding a prize to those who memorize the entire verse.

◆ Remember that these lessons have been designed to give you creative ideas for your program. At the same time, you should not forget that you are the person that God has put in place to minister to children. Feel free to adapt these lessons to satisfy your needs: add characters, use disguises, include additional activities, etc. This material will come to life when you add your touch and tailor it to your personality, and when you adjust it to the needs of the members of your team and the children that you take care of. It is our desire that God inspires you to help children to discover that they too can delight in the law of God.

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Contents

Love ...............................................................................................................................................................1

God’s Love is Big ..................................................................................................................................................2

God’s Love Keeps Giving .................................................................................................................................3

The Box of Love .....................................................................................................................................................4

The Prodigal Son ..................................................................................................................................................5

The Clean Heart .................................................................................................................................................. 6

Jesus Loves Me ......................................................................................................................................................7

Joy .................................................................................................................................................................. 9

Joy in His Presence ............................................................................................................................................10

Paul and Silas ........................................................................................................................................................11

Oil of Joy ...............................................................................................................................................................12

The Joy of the Lord ............................................................................................................................................13

The Balloon and the Needle ........................................................................................................................14

Peace ......................................................................................................................................................... 15

Lost Peace ..............................................................................................................................................................16

The Storm ...............................................................................................................................................................17

With Jesus in the Boat ......................................................................................................................................18

The Race .................................................................................................................................................................19

Shalom Adonai ...................................................................................................................................................20

The Bridge of Peace .........................................................................................................................................21

Patience ......................................................................................................................................................23

Be Patient ...............................................................................................................................................................24

Noah’s Patience .................................................................................................................................................. 25

Have Patience, Have Patience .................................................................................................................... 26

The Puzzle .............................................................................................................................................................27

The Value of Patience ...................................................................................................................................... 28

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Kindness ....................................................................................................................................................29

Jokes ........................................................................................................................................................................ 30

Joseph is Kind .......................................................................................................................................................31

Clothes of Kindness .......................................................................................................................................... 32

The “Friendly” Trap .............................................................................................................................................33

Flames of Friendliness ...................................................................................................................................... 34

Goodness ................................................................................................................................................35

God is a Good God ...................................................................................................................................... 36

The Pharisee and the Tax Collector ......................................................................................................... 37

God’s Ruler ........................................................................................................................................................... 38

God’s Goodness ............................................................................................................................................... 39

The Life Preserver ..............................................................................................................................................40

Do Good ...............................................................................................................................................................41

Faithfulness ...............................................................................................................................................43

Daniel in the Lion’s Den ................................................................................................................................. 44

Christ Lives in the Heart .................................................................................................................................46

The Tight Rope ....................................................................................................................................................47

Songs of Faith ..................................................................................................................................................... 48

That’s Why I Trust in You .................................................................................................................................49

Gentleness .............................................................................................................................................. 51

The Cow and the Bull ..................................................................................................................................... 52

Gentleness ............................................................................................................................................................ 53

The Gentleness of Jesus ................................................................................................................................. 54

God Loves Everyone the Same .................................................................................................................. 55

Gentleness Cookies .........................................................................................................................................56

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Self-Control ............................................................................................................................................57

Fat Big Mike ........................................................................................................................................................58

Walk by the Spirit ..............................................................................................................................................59

Be Careful Little Eyes .......................................................................................................................................61

The Self-Control Scale .................................................................................................................................... 62

Daniel and his Friends ..................................................................................................................................... 63

Trapped in Sin ..................................................................................................................................................... 64

Review Sheet .........................................................................................................................................65

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Song With Puppets

(While the song plays from the tape, synchronize the puppets’ mouths with the music.)

Patient

Kind

It doesn’t envy

It does not boast

This love rejoices in the truth

It is not rude

It is not arrogant

It doesn’t anger very easily

This love never holds a grudge

It protects

It trusts

It hopes

It perseveres

I want you to know

That’s the way the love of God is

That’s the way the love of God is

It’s the love of God

//That’s the way it is

That’s the way it is (2x second time through)

It’s the love of God//

(By Shanon J. Smeya from the cassette

That’s the way the love of God is! available through RDM)

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Materials: A bag with a hidden pocket, 3 strips of 20cm red tape, one 10m strip of the same red tape, rolled up and hidden inside the bag

The love that we have is very small compared to the love of God.

For example, you love your friend (Slowly begin pulling out the short strip of tape), but one day, your friend calls you “stupid” and doesn’t want to play with you. Since you are angry with him, you call him a “dummy,” and suddenly you don’t love him anymore. (Take out the entire strip of tape and throw it on the ground.)

We all love our own brothers and sisters, right? (Begin pulling out the other short strip of tape.) Well, “almost always.” But sometimes they misbehave, break your toys, or hit you and you end up hitting them back. (Take out the entire strip.) That’s not treating them with love.

I’m sure you love your parents, don’t you? Of course you do. (Begin pulling out the last strip of short tape.) But when they punish you, do you respond with love? Or do you yell at them, “Leave me alone, I don’t love you anymore!” (Take out the entire strip.) Our love runs out. (Show the empty bag and ask a volunteer to stick their hand in the bag.)

But God’s love isn’t that way. (Begin to slowly pull the rolled tape from the hid-den pocket, ask a volunteer to continue pulling it out.) When your friend calls you “stupid,” God’s kind of love wouldn’t call him a worse name, but would say nice things about him. If your brother hits you, God’s love wouldn’t hit back, but would forgive him. When your parents punish you, God’s love wouldn’t answer them with a nasty comment, but would patiently bear the punishment.

God’s love is patient, it is kind, it doesn’t envy, it doesn’t boast, and it isn’t proud. It isn’t rude or egotistical, doesn’t become angry, and isn’t bitter. It doesn’t rejoice in sin, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things with trust, hope, and patience. God’s love never ends. (The end of the tape is attached to the bag and cannot be taken out completely. Ask the volunteer to return the tape to the bag while you finish.)

Can you see how God’s love is so much bigger than our love? It has no limits. Do you want to have God’s love in your heart? Then you need to receive Jesus Christ in your heart.

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Charlie: (Signals that he has a medium-sized box of love. He is very happy to have it.)

Karen: (Enters) Charlie, what do you have there?

Charlie: (Indicates that it is his box of love.)

Karen: It’s a box of love? Great! Can you give me some love from your box? I need a little bit of love today.

Charlie: (Resists the idea and says “no” because the box is his. Karen turns away, and suddenly the box shrinks. Charlie, astonished, examines the new small size of the box.)

Karen: (Is very sad, off to the side.)

Charlie: (Looks at Karen, and finally decides to give her some love from his box.)

Karen: (Karen gratefully puts her hand inside the box, and pulls out a “handful” of love that she puts in her heart. She exits, smiling.)

Charlie: (Suddenly Charlie’s box grows very large. He realizes that when he gives love, the box grows. He takes “handfuls” of love from the box and tosses them to the children. Each time he does, the box grows in size. In the end, Charlie has to push the box off stage because it has grown so much.)

Karen: (Addresses the children) Let’s imagine that God has a big box of love as well. What size would it be? (Allow them to respond.) It would be bigger than we could imagine. God is full of love, and He is constantly giving His love to us. In fact, the Bible tells us that God is love. And when we know God, we can give love to others, just like He gives to us. 1 John 4:8 says: “Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.” If you love God, then you have a box full of love to share with others. And remember, the more love you give away, the more your box will grow! (Ask the children to hold an imaginary “box of love” in their hands. Have them take out handfuls of “love” to give to others and pretend that the box grows and grows every time they share love.)

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Characters: Narrator, father, son, 2 friends, garbage man

There was a young man from City A (adapt the cities to your own region) that said to his father: “I’m really bored here. Nothing happens here in City A. I want to go to City B. They know how to live and they have a lot of fun there. I want to live there. Give me the money that you were saving to send me to college. I want to spend it now and have a good time.”

So he took the money and went to City B. He made friends with other teenagers and had a good time there. He went out every night to clubs and bars; he danced, he ate, he drank. . .until one day he realized that he had spent all of the money that he had. His friends all disappeared and left him all alone.

The young man started looking for a job so he could eat, but no one had work for him. Finally, he got a job as a garbage man.

What a dirty job! And how stinky! But the young man was so hungry that he even wanted to eat the food in dumpsters that other people had thrown away.

One day, he said to himself: “In my father’s house, I always ate well: pot roast, spaghetti, hamburgers. . .but here I am dying of hunger. I’m going to return home and tell my father how sorry I am and I’ll work for him to get back the money that I spent.”

With the little that he earned as a garbage man, the young man was able to catch a bus back home to his father’s house. When he walked toward his house, but was still very far away, his father saw him. The father felt so much love for his son that he ran to his side and gave him a huge hug. The young man got down on his knees and said, “Father, forgive me. I have done wrong and I am no longer worthy to be called your son.”

But his father said to him, “Let’s call the whole family! We’re going to have a big party! My son was lost, but now he has returned!”

That’s how our heavenly Father feels about us. We have all strayed away from God and have lived separated from Him. But when we recognize that we have done wrong, and we go to God and ask for forgiveness, He does not reject us, but welcomes us instead.

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Materials: A black marker, a paper heart with the word SIN written on it, an identical heart (without the word sin) folded and attached to

the back of the first heart so it cannot be seen during the trick

God’s love is perfect love. But our love is imperfect. (Show the heart that says SIN.)

Do you see what is in our hearts? Our hearts are stained with sin. Sins are all the bad things that we have done against God. (As you mention each of the following sins, mark the heart with the black marker.) We have all lied, we have disobeyed our parents, some of us have cheated on our exams at school, others have stolen things from the store, we have called other children names like “stupid” or “dumb,” and we haven’t forgiven someone who has treated us badly. All of these things leave stains of sin on our hearts.

Do you want to have a clean heart? You should say, “Jesus, forgive me for all of my sins.” (Begin shredding the heart, without ripping the folded heart underneath, with the pieces hanging in front of the hidden heart. Rip it vertically so the shredded pieces don’t fall.) I don’t want to have a dirty heart, but I want to be clean and I want to change. Come into my life, Lord Jesus, and make me clean.

If you pray that from your heart, do you know what will happen? Jesus will do a miracle in your life. (Turn the heart around and unfold the whole heart.) He will clean you and give you a new heart. SAMPLE

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(Show the children the movements while you sing.)

Jesus loves me (cross arms over heart)

this I know (point to head)

For the Bible (open hands like a book) tells me so

Little ones (pretend to pat the head of a child)

to Him belong (point up)

They are weak (slouch over)

but He is strong (flex muscles)

Yes (shake head yes), Jesus (point up) loves me (cross arms over heart)

Yes (shake head yes), Jesus (point up) loves me (cross arms over heart)

Yes (shake head yes), Jesus (point up) loves me

(cross arms over heart)

The Bible tells me so (open hands like a book)

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“You will fill me with joy in your presence” (Psalm 16:11).

Mike: (Enters with a magnifying glass in his hand, looking all over for clues.)

Karen: Mike, what are you doing?

Mike: Shhhh! (Continues looking with much concentration.)

Karen: But Mike, why do you have a magnifying glass?

Mike: I’m looking for something. . .I think it went. . .over there! (Changes direction and looks for more clues.)

Karen: Mike, what is it that you’re looking for?

Mike: I’m looking for. . .my joy.

Karen: Your joy?

Mike: Yes, my joy.

Karen: But, what are you talking about?

Mike: (Stops looking around.) It’s just that yesterday I had so much joy, and I felt so happy. . .and this morning when I woke up (becomes very worried) I felt really sad. My joy had disappeared!

Karen: And that’s what you’re looking for with the magnifying glass, right?

Mike: Yes. (Begins looking again.) Maybe it was kidnapped. I have to find it!

Karen: Mike, I know where the joy is that you’re looking for.

Mike: (Amazed) And how do you know?

Karen: I read it in the Bible this morning.

Mike: The Bible tells us where to find joy?

Karen: Of course. Lets look. (Shows him the verse) It says here: “You will fill me with joy in Your presence” (Psalm 16:11). (Repeat it with the children and then with Mike.) See, Mike? The verse says: “You will fill me with joy in Your presence.” Whose presence will fill us with joy?

Mike: Well. . . my presence. . . No, maybe not, because I have no joy today.

Karen: The presence of JESUS.

Mike: Oh, yes! So if I want to find joy I just need to go to Jesus.

Karen: That’s right, Mike. If Jesus lives in your heart and you draw near to Him by reading the Bible and through prayer, He will fill you with His joy.

Mike: Karen, take this. (Gives her his magnifying glass.)

Karen: Why are you giving me your magnifying glass?

Mike: I don’t need it. I know where to find my joy. I am going to talk to Jesus right now. Goodbye kids!

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Acts 16:11-40

Characters: Paul, Silas, jailer

Materials: Paper chains, play sword, helmet for the jailer

(Direct the children in acting out the story as you tell it.)

Paul and Silas were two friends who really liked going to other towns and cities to tell people about Jesus.

One day, Paul and Silas arrived in a city and began speaking to the people about Jesus Christ. But some men became so angry with them that they had them beaten, put in jail, and told the jailer to keep them guarded securely. The jailer put them in the innermost cell and secured them with chains.

(Put the chains on Paul and Silas.)

But at midnight, Paul and Silas were praying and singing to the Lord as the other prisoners listened. Suddenly, there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken (they all shake and move around), and in that instant all the prison doors flew open, and everyone’s chains came loose

(Paul and Silas break their chains).

The jailer woke up, and when he saw the prison doors open, he pulled out his sword to kill himself because he thought the prisoners had escaped. But Paul shouted: “Don’t harm yourself, we are all here!”

So the jailer rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas, and said to them: “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus – and you will be saved – you and your household.”

After the jailer had accepted Jesus Christ in his heart, he was filled with joy and thankfulness, and he washed the wounds that his new friends had suffered.

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Materials: music, a jar of oil labeled “oil of joy,” a glass, a clothespin, a Bible

Charlie: (As background music plays, Charlie enters with the jar, the glass, the clothespin, and the Bible. He pours oil into the glass and gets ready to drink it, but is disgusted by it (it stinks, he grimaces, etc.). He almost drinks it several times but he stops. He sees the clothespin and it gives him an idea: he clips it on his nose and is about to drink the oil when Karen enters and interrupts him.)

Karen: Charlie, what are you doing?

Charlie: (Is surprised, spills the oil, and coughs dramatically from lack of air.)

Karen: Charlie, calm down. Are you all right? Come on, tell me what you were doing!

Charlie: (Points to the jar that reads “oil of joy” and signals that he wanted to drink it so he would be filled with joy.)

Karen: You wanted to drink this “oil of joy” to fill yourself with joy?

Charlie: (He shows Karen in the Bible—Isaiah 61:3 —where the oil of joy is mentioned.)

Karen: (Reading) “[And the Lord] will bestow on them the oil of [joy] instead of mourning.” Charlie, did you think drinking this oil would fill you with joy?

Charlie: (Shakes his head yes.)

Karen: But Charlie, you can’t fill yourself with joy and happiness from the outside.

Charlie: (He looks confused.)

Karen: Many people try to find happiness through alcohol or drugs, but those things can never fill them with joy. They might forget their problems for a while, but the sadness always comes back.

Charlie: (Agrees.)

Karen: True joy comes only from God. The Bible says that the Lord will give you joy. If the Lord Jesus is your best friend, He will give you a joy that is stronger than your problems.

Charlie: (Asks if he still has to drink the oil.)

Karen: No, Charlie, you don’t have to drink the oil, or drink alcohol, or take drugs. Ask Jesus to be your best friend, and He will fill you with joy.

Charlie: (Is happy, throws the glass down, and leaves giving thanks to God.) (Have the children sing, shout, and jump in the second verse as they sing the following song.)

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The joy of the Lord is my strength

The joy of the Lord is my strength

The joy of the Lord is my strength

The joy of the Lord is my strength

If you want joy you must sing for it

If you want joy you must shout for it

If you want joy you must jump for it

The joy of the Lord is my strength

Ah ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha. . .

Ah ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha. . .

Ah ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha. . .

The joy of the Lord is my strengthSAMPLE

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Materials: A latex balloon, a needle longer than the balloon with a bit of oil on its point.

Do you see the balloon that I have here? It represents a person that loves Jesus. The air that fills the inside of the balloon represents the joy that Jesus gives you.

This needle represents life’s problems (you can ask the children for examples), problems with friends, with parents, in school, or anything that can “puncture you.” (Begin sticking the needle slowly into the balloon through the part near the knot so it comes out the top.)

A. (If the balloon doesn’t pop, explain this part.) While the believer looks to Jesus and trusts in Him, the problems of life don’t destroy him. He lives filled with the joy of the Lord, because his happiness doesn’t depend on how things go on the outside; his joy comes from Jesus. (Show the balloon while you pierce it with the needle.) See how problems haven’t destroyed him? He stays full of joy because he trusts Jesus to help him in all of his problems.

B. (To pop the balloon, explain this part.) But when the believer stops looking to Jesus and trusting in Him, and begins to see his problems and worry about them. . . his joy leaves him. (Pop the balloon.) To stay full of the joy of the Lord, we have to trust that He will help us to solve our problems. SAMPLE

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Mike: (Enters with a handkerchief wiping the sweat from his forehead and pacing back and forth very worried, talking to himself.) I don’t know what I’m going to do. . . we were always such good friends. . . and now. . . I’m going to be very lonely. . . ohhhhhh! (He cries.)

Karen: Mike, you seem very worried, what happened to you?

Mike: Hello, Karen. It’s my friend Arthur. I mean my ex-friend.

Karen: What do you mean, ex-friend?

Mike: Because he’s not my friend anymore! Ohhhhhh! (He cries.)

Karen: Mike, explain to me what happened.

Mike: Well, this morning, during recess, Arthur was playing with anther boy.

Karen: And?

Mike: And he always used to play with me at recess. He doesn’t want to be my friend any-more! (He cries.)

Karen: Calm down, Mike. Did Arthur say something to you?

Mike: That’s the worst part. . . he didn’t talk to me either. . . Ohhhhh! (He cries.)

Karen: Mike! I think you’re exaggerating the situation a little bit.

Mike: You think so?

Karen: Of course; you’re so worried that you can’t think clearly and I’m sure you don’t have peace in your heart either.

Mike: How do you know?

Karen: Because when your heart is full of worry, there’s no more room in it for peace.

Mike: Then what should I do?

Karen: Well, you should stop thinking so much about the situation and look to the Lord Jesus.

Mike: Where? Where is the Lord Jesus?(Looks around.)

Karen: In your heart, Mike. Talk with Him and trust in Him.

Mike: Okay, that’s what I’ll do. (He prays.) Dear Jesus, I don’t want to lose my friend Arthur; help me to be a good friend to him. In Your holy name, amen.

Karen: Do you have peace in your heart now, Mike?

Mike: Yes, I do! Now I’m not worried because I know Jesus will help me.

Karen: I’m glad, Mike.

Mike: But I still want to know what happened with Arthur. I’m going to go look for him now. (He yells while he exits.) Arthur! Arrrrrthur!

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Special Effects: Every time you say “storm,” the children make noises like a storm (blowing and whistling).

One day, Jesus was teaching the multitude and when it became night, He said to His disciples, “I am very tired. I am going to say goodbye to the people and then I am going to talk to my father. Get in the boat and cross the lake. I’ll meet you later.” So Jesus went to pray and His disciples got in the boat.

After they had rowed for a while, the wind began to blow and the waves grew bigger and pushed the tiny boat from side to side. It quickly became a great storm.

“I’m afraid!” said Andrew. “I’m a fisherman and I’m used to the sea, but this storm is terrible!”

“I wish Jesus were here,” said Peter, “then I wouldn’t be afraid!”

It was midnight and from the shore of the lake Jesus saw the storm that was tossing the fragile boat. He thought, “My disciples must be frightened.” So He immediately began walking toward them on top of the water.

Meanwhile, the wind blew stronger and stronger and the waves filled the boat. When the disciples saw Jesus walking on the water, they were even more afraid. “A ghost!” they yelled. Now they were extremely frightened. But through the fury of the storm, Jesus yelled, “Do not fear, it is I.”

So Peter said to Him, “Lord, if it’s You, tell me to come to You on the water.” In the darkness, Jesus said, “Come.” Peter got down out of the boat and walked on the water and came toward Jesus, but he began to see and hear the storm instead of keeping his eyes fixed on Jesus. In fear, he cried out, “Lord, save me!”

Immediately Jesus reached out His hand and caught him. He said, “Why did you doubt, Peter?” And as they climbed into the boat, the storm died down, and all the disciples worshipped Jesus, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God!” SAMPLE

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Note: Every time that you sing these phrases, use the following actions:

With Christ point to heaven

As my vessel make the shape of a boat with your arms

I can smile point to your smile

At the storm make rain with your fingers

As we go sailing paddle with your arms

Home form your fingers in the shape of a roof

(The first time through, sing all the lyrics with the motions, but after, removeone phrase from the song each time you sing it, continuing to go through

the motions for the phrases, until the whole song is just motions without words.)

With Christ as my vessel

I can smile at the storm,

Smile at the storm,

Smile at the storm.

With Christ as my vessel

I can smile at the storm,

As we go sailing home.

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19

Karen: Charlie, today we have prepared a test, a kind of race for you. Do you think that you can do it?

Charlie: (Shakes his head that he is ready and that he is very confident.)

Karen: Okay, Charlie, do you see the cross that is over there? It represents Jesus Christ, and Jesus Christ is your goal. Can you see it, Charlie?

Charlie: (Shakes his head yes.)

Karen: So, you start the race right here. You will have to walk to the goal, to Jesus Christ, without going off course. The one thing that you must remember is: look to Jesus, look to Jesus. Do you understand, Charlie?

Charlie: (Shakes his head yes and enthusiastically gets himself ready for the race.)

Karen: All right, Charlie. Kids, can you help me? On your mark, get set, GO!

Charlie: (He begins walking toward the cross, but he also begins greeting some of the children and he strays from his path. Then he starts spinning in circles and ends up disoriented, lost, and worried.)

Karen: Remember, Charlie: Look to Jesus, look to Jesus.

Charlie: (He turns round and round looking for the cross; finally he sees it and he begins walking toward it again. He checks his watch and he stops to listen to its ticking and to make sure it is working. Afterwards he is perplexed because he doesn’t remember what he was doing.)

Karen: Charlie, look to Jesus, look to Jesus.

Charlie: (Now he remembers, points to the cross, and returns to the race. He begins looking at his feet, trips, and falls to the ground crying.)

Karen: Charlie, don’t forget, look to Jesus, look to Jesus.

Charlie: (He looks at the cross and extends his hands toward it, receiving comfort and strength. He gets up and reaches the goal.)

Karen: Finally, Charlie! You made it! But you had some problems along the way, right? You strayed, got lost, tripped, and even forgot the most important thing: looking to Jesus. When you don’t look to Jesus, you stray from the path, get lost in the world, trip over sin, and suffer a lot of sadness and worry. But when you look to Jesus, He lifts you up, helps you, guides you along the good path, and you reach the goal, Jesus Christ.

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Shalom Adonai

Shalom Adonai, Shalom

Shalom Adonai, Shalom

Shalom Adonai, Shalom Adonai

Shalom Adonai, Shalom

The peace of God, the peace

The peace of God, the peace

The peace of God, the peace of God

The peace of God, the PeaceSAMPLE

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Characters: God, Jesus Christ, man

Materials: a large black scarf

In the beginning, when God created the first people, He had a very special friendship with them. (God and the man hold hands like good friends.)

But, when they began to disobey God and to live their own way, they were filled with sin and they damaged their relationship with God. (The man covers himself with the black scarf, which causes him to lose the grip of God’s hand.)

The entire world had made God an enemy because no one wanted to obey Him or follow Him. (Man turns his back to God.)

But God didn’t want people to live separated from Him forever. So He sent Jesus Christ to the world. (God points to the world and Jesus steps between God and man.)

When Jesus was nailed to the cross, He took all of our sins on Himself and He died in our place. (Jesus covers Himself with man’s black scarf and dies.)

But Jesus didn’t stay dead, He rose again on the third day. (He takes off the black scarf and comes back to life.)

And now God extends His hand to us through the cross. (God takes the hand of Jesus, and Jesus extends His other hand to man.)

We were God’s enemies (the man turns his back to God). But Jesus made peace with God when He died on the cross, and now He is the bridge of peace. (The man turns around and looks at Jesus.)

If you stretch out your hand to Jesus and receive His forgiveness for your sins, you can be at peace with God. (The man kneels down and stretches his hand toward Jesus. Immediately, Jesus lifts him up and the three hold hands like good friends.)

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“Be patient with everyone” (1 Thessalonians 5:14).

Arthur: Aaaaah! I can’t take it! I’m fed up! No more!

Karen: Arthur, what happened?

Arthur: This is it! I can’t handle it anymore!

Karen: What can’t you handle?

Arthur: Mike!

Karen: Mike? You can’t handle Mike? But what happened?

Arthur: (Frustrated and angry) All morning I was cleaning my room—everything was in its place, and everything was perfect; then Mike came over to play and he messed up everything and now all of my things are on the floor. . . how rude!

Karen: Calm down, Arthur, it’s not that bad.

Arthur: Not that bad?! Now I have to clean it all up again. Four whole hours lost!

Karen: Look Arthur, I want to show you something.

Arthur: What do you have? Cleaning supplies?

Karen: No Arthur. It’s today’s verse, 1 Thessalonians 5:14, “Be patient with everyone.” (Repeat it with the children and with Arthur.)

Arthur: Karen, why are you teaching me this verse?

Karen: Because you need to be patient with Mike.

Arthur: I do? Why?

Karen: Arthur, do you remember when you played a trick on Mike and put a snake in his backpack?

Arthur: Of course I remember. It was so funny when he went to look for his pencil during class! The whole school could hear him scream. Ha, ha, ha!

Karen: Well, Mike was very patient with you and didn’t get angry.

Arthur: Really? I’ve never thought about it.

Karen: The same thing happened when you were baking cookies with Mike, and instead of adding sugar, you added salt.

Arthur: Yeah! That was hilarious!

Karen: Mike was very patient with you even though he had to drink five liters of water to get the salty taste out of his mouth.

Arthur: That’s true. . . he didn’t get mad at me.

Karen: And you should be patient with him too. Besides, God has a lot of patience with us and that’s why we should be patient with everyone. Do you understand, Arthur?

Arthur: Yes, now I do. Well, I guess I should.

Karen: Start being patient with Mike?

Arthur: No, start cleaning up my room. It’s a disaster. Goodbye, kids!

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Characters: Noah, his wife, three sons

Materials: White wig and beard, scarf

Noah (wearing the white wig and beard), his wife (wearing the scarf), and his three sons were the only people on earth who loved God and were obedient to His commandments. The people were so bad and disobedient that God decided to destroy the earth with a great flood and to only save Noah and his family.

God told Noah to build a huge wooden boat big enough to hold his family and every kind of animal. So Noah and his sons began to build the boat. They worked day and night. The people made fun of them (the children laugh at them) because it had never rained before and Noah said that a flood was coming.

Patiently, Noah built the boat and waited for the rain to come. Years passed and it didn’t rain. Noah waited many years for the promise of God to be fulfilled.

When they finished the boat, they brought in the animals that God sent to them. There were horses, lions, dogs, monkeys, birds, and many more. (The children imitate each animal’s “voice.”) Then, Noah and his family got in the boat and God closed the door. They all waited patiently for the rain to come.

Suddenly, clouds appeared in the sky and drops of rain began to fall. Little by little the rain became a flood and all of the people died (the children yell and pretend to be drowning). Only Noah and his family were saved, because Noah believed in God and had the patience to do what God commanded him to do. SAMPLE

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Have Patience, Have Patience

Have Patience, have patience,

Don’t be in such a hurry.

When you get impatient

You always start to worry.

Remember, remember

That God is patient too,

And think of all the times

When others have to wait for you.SAMPLE

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Materials: A puzzle with a big jar of cookies that have the word “patience” written on them

Charlie: (Enters with a puzzle and enthusiastically indicates that he is going to put it together and that it will turn out nicely. He takes out the pieces but can’t figure out how they fit together. He tries to make them fit by force, and he feels more frustrated and angry.)

Karen: (Enters.) Hello, Charlie!

Charlie: (Is surprised and throws down the pieces to the ground.)

Karen: What are you doing, Charlie? You’re putting together a puzzle, huh?

Charlie: (Picks up the pieces and expresses his frustration.)

Karen: What happened? You can’t put it together? Calm down, Charlie, with a little bit of patience you can do it. All you need is a little bit of patience. (She exits.)

Charlie: (Is perplexed and begins thinking, “What does ‘a little bit of patience’ mean?” He has an idea and he goes looking for the jar full of cookies that say “patience.” He eats a few and then tries to put the puzzle together but the cookies do not help him be more patient. So he eats more, gets comfortable, and keeps snacking.)

Karen: (Enters.) Charlie, I thought you were putting together a puzzle. Now what are you doing?

Charlie: (Shows her the jar of “patience” cookies and indicates that they are going to help him be more patient.)

Karen: Charlie, do you think that you will become patient by eating cookies that say “pa-tience?”

Charlie: (Shakes his head yes.)

Karen: Charlie, you can’t get patience that way!

Charlie: (Asks, “You can’t?”)

Karen: No Charlie. Do you know who is the most patient?

Charlie: (Thinks, and begins pointing to some of the children.)

Karen: No, Charlie. The most patient of all is God.

Charlie: (Points to the sky and shakes his head yes.)

Karen: We have sinned many times against God, but He has had a lot of patience with us. He even sent Jesus Christ to save us from our sins.

Charlie: (Listens and sits down next to Karen.)

Karen: So if you want patience, ask God for it, and keep trying without complaining or be-coming angry.

Charlie: (Agrees with her and gets an idea: offers Karen some “patience” cookies and while she is stretching out her hand to take them, he says NO and signals that she needs to ask for her patience from God.)

Karen: Oh, Charlie, I need to be very, very patient with you!

Charlie: (Exits running with the cookies.)

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Materials: a quarter, a five-dollar bill, paper and a pen

Who here is very patient? (Choose a volunteer to come forward and be interviewed.)

Are you really patient? Can you wait a long time to receive something that you want? Let’s find out.

Here I have a coin (show the children) and a bill (show the children). Which one of these would you like to have? The one that’s worth more, right?

I’m going to give you the opportunity to receive the coin or the bill. If you prefer, I can give you the coin right now, without any obligation, without doing anything. Does that sound good?

The other option is to receive this bill. But there is one condition. To receive this bill you have to wait two weeks. I will give you a piece of paper that reads: I promise to give you a bill on (state the date). If you choose this other option, you have to decide if I am a person who fulfills my promises. Can you trust my words? Do you believe that I will really give you the bill in two weeks?

If you trust me, and you can wait two weeks, you will receive this bill. But if you don’t trust me, or you can’t wait; I’ll give you the coin now and it’s over. Think it over for a moment.

Do you know that the same thing happens with God? He makes us many promises in the Bible, but sometimes we need to have patience for Him to fulfill them. We have to ask ourselves the same things about God. Is He someone that will really do what He promises? Can we trust in His word? When we believe that God is worthy of our trust, then we can have the patience to wait on His promises, like Noah did when he built the ark.

Now we will see what you decided. Which do you want: the coin now or the bill in two weeks? Kids, can you give your advice? What would you do? (Allow the volunteer to decide and announce the decision. If the decision is to wait, encourage the children to return in two weeks to see the results.)

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Materials: a towel

Karen: (To the children) It’s been a while since we’ve seen Mike. Let’s call him and see what’s going on. Mike! Mike!

Mike: (Enters drying himself off with a towel.) Man, he surprised me again. His jokes are get-ting more and more annoying.

Karen: What happened to you, Mike? Why are you so wet?

Mike: It was Arthur again. He had a bucket of water above the door. He called me and when I walked through the door he dumped the whole bucket on my head! I’m drenched! (Continues drying himself off.)

Karen: Your friend Arthur’s a big joker, isn’t he?

Mike: Yes he is. Now I have to think of a good joke to play on him. (He thinks.) Maybe I’ll put a toad in his bed. . .

Karen: Mike, do you like it when Arthur jokes with you?

Mike: No, I don’t like it one bit. He’s put a snake in my backpack, salt in my cookies, and now he dumped water on my head.

Karen: So if you don’t like Arthur’s jokes, why do you want to play one on him?

Mike: Revenge.

Karen: Mike, that’s not a nice way to treat Arthur.

Mike: Do you have a better idea?

Karen: Well, yes.

Mike: What is it?

Karen: Kindness.

Mike: Kind what?

Karen: Kindness. To be kind is to be nice to someone and to treat them well.

Mike: But Arthur always surprises me with his jokes and laughs at me.

Karen: Mike, the Bible says that we should treat others how we would want them to treat us. Arthur would learn much more if you were a good example and you treated him well.

Mike: You think so?

Karen: Of course. Try it and you’ll see.

Mike: Okay, I’ll try. But Karen. . .

Karen: Yes?

Mike: Can you teach kindness to Arthur too? Then I would be much calmer and much drier. See you later!

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Characters: Joseph, his father (wearing a white wig), brothers

Materials: Colored robe, white wig, yellow cardboard necklace

Joseph was a young man whose father loved him very much. His father loved him so much, that he made him a robe of many beautiful colors. (Joseph’s father puts the robe on Joseph.) Joseph had 11 brothers, and they were very jealous of him because he said to them, “Look at this robe that our father has made for me.” His brothers were furious and hated him.

One day, Joseph’s brothers decided to get rid of him. They took his robe, mistreated him, and sold him as a slave. Do you know what a slave does? He works all day long without rest, is subject to abuse, is given very little food, doesn’t have any nice clothes, and suffers a lot. Joseph suffered a lot because of what his brothers did to him.

One day someone falsely accused Joseph of doing something bad and he was thrown in prison. It seemed like Joseph’s suffering would never end. Poor Joseph! (Everyone repeats, “Poor Joseph!”) But Joseph trusted in God and waited patiently on Him. God heard Joseph’s prayers and was kind to him. God caused him to bereleased from prison and he was made governor of the entire country.

(Put the gold necklace on Joseph.)

Many years later, Joseph’s brothers came to the country where he was governor, to buy food for their families. Joseph recognized them immediately and said, “They are really my brothers!” However, his brothers didn’t recognize him at first. What did Joseph decide to do with his brothers? Treat them bad for revenge? Put them in jail? NO! Joseph forgave them and was kind to them.

God was kind to Joseph, getting him out of prison and turning him into a governor. Then Joseph was kind to his brothers, he took care of them and treated them lovingly. We too should be kind to others, even when they harm us.

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Materials: a Bible; a bag filled with various garments (a scarf, a vest, a hat, sunglasses, etc.); write the word “kindness” on each garment

Charlie: (Enters with a bag and signals that there is something very special inside. With expecta-tion, he begins to open the bag and takes out the garments one by one, putting them on carefully. After dressing himself, he shows off his new outfit because he thinks he is already filled with kindness.)

Karen: (Enters.) Hello Charlie! You got a new outfit, huh?

Charlie: (Shows it to her proudly.)

Karen: But it looks like your clothes are stained with something. Let me see what it is. . . (she looks closely). . . but, it’s words!

Charlie: (Shakes his head yes!)

Karen: But Charlie, why do all your clothes have the word “kindness” written on them?

Charlie: (Shows her the verse of the day that says, “Clothe yourselves with kindness.”)

Karen: (Repeats the verse with the children, “Clothe yourselves with kindness.”) Oh Charlie, that doesn’t mean that you have to wear clothes that have “kindness” written on them.

Charlie: (Asks, I don’t?)

Karen: No Charlie. When the Bible says “Clothe yourselves with kindness,” it means that we should always be full of this virtue and be good and nice to others.

Charlie: (Is thoughtful.)

Karen: Say Charlie, do you know where kindness comes from?

Charlie: (Points to his clothes.)

Karen: No, not from your clothes.

Charlie: (Thinks, and points to Karen.)

Karen: No Charlie, I can’t give you kindness either.

Charlie: (Thinks again, and points to the children.)

Karen: No, you can’t get kindness from the children.

Charlie: (Thinks harder and begins to jump up and down when he has an idea, and he points up to God.)

Karen: Yes, Charlie, very good. Kindness comes from God. If Jesus lives in your heart, He will fill you with kindness and mercy because that is how He is.

Charlie: (Begins to take off the garments and put them back in the bag.)

Karen: Now where are you going, Charlie?

Charlie: (Shows her the Bible and signals that he is going to go talk to God.)

Karen: Oh, you’re going to talk to God. Very good, Charlie, that’s how you can clothe yourself with kindness. Goodbye!

Charlie: (Takes his bag and his Bible and exits jumping and greeting the children.)

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Materials: A mouse trap, a piece of cheese or some pieces of cracker, and a stick or ruler

(Show the trap to the children.) Do you recognize this object? What is it used for? (Allow them to respond.) Very good. To catch a mouse, you need a trap that looks like this one. (Show how it works.) You put a little bit of cheese or some pieces of crackers right here (show them where) and then you set the trap. When a little unsuspecting mouse comes along and smells the delicious aroma of cheese, snap! (use the ruler to set off the trap) We’ve caught a mouse!

How many of you here like to have friends? (Wait for them to respond.) A lot of friends? (Wait again.) Yes, all of us like to have friends, people we can talk to, play with, tell secrets to, and laugh with. How do we make our friends? Mm. . . I have an idea! Maybe we can build a huge trap to catch friends, just like we use to trap mice. We would have so many friends to play with! (Ask one of the children what their favorite dessert is.) Yes, we can put (the name of the dessert) in the trap and catch this friend. What do you think? Do you think it’s a good idea? (Allow the children to respond.)

In reality, the idea sounds a little strange, right? We can’t make friends the same way we trap mice. It’s an absurd idea! Then what can we do to make friends? (Allow a few children to contribute their ideas.) We’ve heard a couple of good ideas. If we want to have friends, we should be nice to others. When we are nice and we treat people well, others will smell the aroma of friendliness and they will want to be close to us.

Jesus knew how to make friends. What did Jesus do to make people want to be near to Him? He visited with them, dedicated time to them, and got to know each person. Jesus loved people and was interested in the needs that they had. He shared a supper with some of them. He helped them and let them help Him. Jesus teaches us that if we want to have friends, we should be a good friend.

How many of you here want to have a lot of friends? (Have them raise their hands.) Great! I think there is a lot of friendliness here. Remember, a trap won’t help us make friends, we should just practice kindness. To have a friend, we should be a friend first.

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Materials: A bowl containing a solution of 50% water and 50% alcohol (in front of the bottle put a sign that reads, “the kindness of Jesus”); a bowl filled with water (with a sign in front of it that reads, “our kindness”); 2 dry paper towels; 1 paper towel moistened with the water and alcohol solution; tongs; matches or a lighter.

In Luke 6:27-28 (NIV) Jesus said, “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. . .” That means that we should be kind to our en-emies. An enemy is someone who tries to hurt us, whether it is with words or with actions. Often it’s a person who treats us with rudeness, that makes mean jokes about us in school, that steals from us, that embarrasses us in front of others, or that hurts us physically. How can we be kind to someone who treats us this way? How can we love this person?

Do you think that you could be kind to someone who hates you and says negative things about you, or even hurts you? (Allow them to respond.) It seems like an impossible task, right?

Let’s do an experiment. Imagine that you are this paper towel. Now we are going to soak you with all the kindness that you can hold. (Take the paper towel and dip it in the bowl of water. Use the tongs to hold up the wet paper towel so all the children can see it.) Now I am going to try to set this wet paper towel on fire. The flames that we will see represent kindness that we can show to others. Do you think there will be a lot of flames? No? The paper towel is wet, it’s soaked with your kindness. At any rate, we will still do what seems impossible. Imagine that last week your neighbor pushed you and made you fall off your bike, and then called you a mean name. Today you saw her fall off her bike and get hurt. Can you be kind and help her? (Try to ignite the napkin with the match; it doesn’t catch fire.) Oh, no! Where is your kindness? It isn’t strong enough. It’s very hard to be kind to someone who has been so intentionally mean to you. Then how can we do what the Bible tells us and be kind to our enemies?

(The trick is what follows:) We need Jesus to help us. We take the other paper towel, but this time we will soak it with the love of Jesus. (Dip the other paper towel into the bowl with the water and alcohol solution. Hold it up with the tongs.) Jesus was kind to his enemies. If we ask Him to give some of that love inside of us, He will help us be that way too. Let’s see if we can show love to a girl that hasn’t been nice to us. (Ignite the paper towel with the match. This time the fire consumes the alcohol and leaves the paper towel intact.) Oh! See all the kindness that can come out of us? Now we can help our neighbor get up and pick up her bike, and we can tend to her wounds. What a beautiful way to show the love of Jesus! It might seem impossible to be nice to someone who has behaved so badly, but Jesus can help us to do the impossible.

“Do good to those who hate you.” Remember that Jesus wants us to be kind to everyone, even those who aren’t kind to us. (Ignite more napkins dipped in water and alcohol to make a final impression on the children.)

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Song with Puppets

/God is a good God yes he is

God s a good God yes he is/

/He lifts me up

He turns me around

He sets my feet

On higher ground/

From the cassette Latin American Children’s Choir, available through RDM.

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Characters: Narrator, Pharisee, and Tax Collector

Narrator: Jesus Christ told this story to teach us that we shouldn’t think that we are better than others. We all need God’s forgiveness. The story is about two men who went to the temple to pray. One was a Pharisee (a religious leader like a Sad ducee), and the other was a man who collected taxes for the government and who had an for robbing people.

(The Pharisee enters from one side with his head held high, very proudly. The tax collector enters with his head bowed, very sorry for his sins. He is ashamed to look up.)

Pharisee: (In a loud voice) Oh Lord, thank you that I am not a sinner like everybody else. You know, Lord, that I am not bad; I haven’t hurt anyone; and I’m nothing like this deceitful tax collector over here.

Tax Collector: Oh, Lord, my God!

Pharisee: Lord, you know that I’m not a liar; I’ve never ever lied like some other people I know. (Stops and looks at the tax collector.)

Tax Collector: (Groans) Oh Lord, my Lord!

Pharisee: Remember, oh God, that I live my life rightly; I take good care of my family; I’ve never killed anyone; I’m not a bad person like everybody else is. . . Oh Lord, I’ve never stolen anything like this tax collector has. (Points to the tax collector.)

Tax Collector: (Groans in misery) Oh Lord!

Pharisee: You know, Lord, that every week I spend days in prayer. I’m nothing like other people, especially not people like him. (Looks at the tax collector.)

Tax Collector: (Trembling) Oh Lord! My Lord!

Pharisee: Besides always praying, Lord, I give a lot of money to poor people. When they pass by my house, I always make a donation. That, oh Lord, is why I am not like others. . .

Tax Collector: (Pounding his own chest and crying) I’m a sinner! I’m a sinner! Oh God, have mercy on me. . . I’m a sinner!

Pharisee: I bet you are a sinner! Well God, it looks like that’s all for now, but I will be back soon to tell you how thankful I am to not be like everyone else, especially to thank you that I’m not like this tax collector who cheats others. (Points to the tax collector.) Amen, and amen. (Leaves the temple proudly.)

Tax Collector: (Pounding his chest with a dramatic cry) Oh God, have mercy on me, I’m a sinner. . .Oh God have mercy on me. . .(exits the temple with his head bowed.)

Narrator: Two men came to the temple to pray. Both of them had hearts stained with sin. But the Pharisee didn’t recognize his sins – pride and hatred. He thought that he was a very good person. But the tax collector humbly asked God to forgive him for his sins. Jesus said, “I tell you that this man, rather than the other went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

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Based on 2 Corinthians 10:12-13

Materials: A ruler; a 3-meter measuring tape that reads “Jesus Christ”; various strips of cardboard which read, “I have not killed,” “I have not stolen,” “I have not hurt anyone.”

(Show the ruler.) What is this? (a ruler) What is it used for? (to measure things) Did you know that each one of you carries with you some kind of ruler? But it’s not to measure you on the outside, but to measure if you are good. I’m going to show you some different rulers that we often use to measure ourselves.

(Show the strip that reads, “I have not stolen.”) Can someone read what this ruler says? “I have not stolen.” We measure ourselves with this ruler (measure yourself from head to toe) and we think, “I am so great! I have not stolen! Look how I measure up!”

But, you know something? If you’ve ever cheated on a test, you’ve stolen answers; if you’ve taken a cookie from the kitchen when your mother has told you that you can’t eat until dinner, you’ve stolen. So this ruler doesn’t work. (Throw it away.)

(Show the strip that reads, “I have not killed.”) What does this ruler say? “I have not killed.” We measure ourselves with this ruler (measure yourself) and say to ourselves, “Look how great I am! I haven’t killed anybody.”

I’m sure that no one here has taken another person’s life, but have you gotten angry before and called your brother an “idiot?” Jesus Christ said that this is just like killing, because you have hurt the other person with your words. This ruler doesn’t work either (Throw it away.)

(Show the strip that reads, “I have not harmed anyone.”) Almost everyone would agree with this. What does it say? ”I have not harmed anyone.” How many of us have heard this before? We measure ourselves by this ruler (measure yourself) and say, “Great! I really measure up this time too! I haven’t harmed anyone. I am a good person.”

But when you’ve deceived your friend, you’ve harmed them; when you’ve fought with your little brother, you’ve harmed him; when you didn’t obey your parents, you harmed them. This ruler isn’t a good measure either. (Throw it away.)

God measures us in a different way. I have God’s ruler right here. Do you want to see God’s ruler? (Show the measuring tape.) I need someone to help me measure myself with God’s ruler. (Have the child hold the tape at your feet while you unroll it until it reaches the top of your head.) I see that I don’t measure up to God’s ruler. But can you read what God’s ruler says? (Jesus Christ) Jesus Christ is God’s ruler. If you don’t have Jesus Christ, you can’t go to heaven. We need Jesus in our lives, and that is how God measures us. Only through Him can we get to God and only with Him can we go to heaven.

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39

“When the goodness and love of God our Savior appeared, He saved us” (Titus 3:4).

Karen: I think we are going to have a friend come and visit us today, but I’m not sure who it’ll be. Let’s see, will it be Arthur? Or Mike? Or someone new?

Arthur: (Begins crying before entering, and enters crying.)

Karen: I guess it’s Arthur. . . and he’s very sad. What happened, Arthur?

Arthur: Oh. . . I feel terrible. . .

Karen: You feel terrible? Is it bad?

Arthur: No, it’s not bad, I’m bad.

Karen: But, what did you do, Arthur?

Arthur: A lot of things. I tried to change, but I keep causing mischief.

Karen: What kind of mischief?

Arthur: Putting a snake in a backpack, adding salt instead of sugar in the cookies, dumping a bucket of water on my friend. . .

Karen: Oh, you’re talking about all the jokes you’ve played on Mike!

Arthur: Yes. He’s been so nice to me, he’s been patient, and hasn’t played any tricks on me in revenge. And I’ve behaved so badly! (Begins crying again.)

Karen: Oh Arthur, I have good news for you, something that can solve your problem.

Arthur: You do?

Karen: Yes. It’s today’s verse. Let’s learn it with the children. “When the goodness and love of God our Savior appeared, He saved us” Titus 3:4. (Repeat it with the children.)

Arthur: And how can this verse help me, Karen?

Karen: Arthur, you feel bad because you’ve done bad things. The Bible calls it sin. But God is so good that He sent Jesus Christ to die for our sins. God saves us from our sins when we trust in Him.

Arthur: And how do I trust in God?

Karen: It’s very simple. First, ask Him for forgiveness for all of your sins and ask Jesus Christ to come into your heart to help you live a good life. When you’ve done this, you have to believe that God has forgiven you and that He is going to help you to live better.

Arthur: That’s all, Karen? I do believe that God is going to forgive me and help me. Well, goodbye!

Karen: Where are you going?

Arthur: First, I’m going to ask God to forgive me and then I’m going to look for Mike to ask him to forgive me too. And that’s no joke! Bye kids!

Karen: Goodbye, Arthur. I’m glad you’ve learned that only God can make you good.

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40

(When Arthur exits, ask the children if they want to pray to accept Christ. Pray with them.)

Materials: a bag full of beach-related items (a towel, sunglasses, sunscreen, fins, etc.)

Charlie: (Enters with the bag. One by one, he removes the contents and demonstrates what they are used for.)

Karen: A towel. . . sunglasses. . . sunscreen. . . fins. . . let me guess, Charlie: You’re getting ready to go. . . to the beach!

Charlie: (Shakes his head yes and jumps enthusiastically.)

Karen: But Charlie, you’ve forgotten one thing.

Charlie: (Becomes pensive and begins looking through his things but he can’t figure out what it is.)

Karen: Charlie, you don’t know how to swim!

Charlie: (Shows sadness that he doesn’t know how to swim.)

Karen: Then what are you going to do at the beach?

Charlie: (Shows her by miming that he will dive into the water, try to swim, and begin to drown.)

Karen: (Describing his actions) You’re going to dive into the water. . . try to swim. . . and when you’re about to drown. . . what will you do then?

Charlie: (Points to the verse.)

Karen: (Reading the verse) “When the goodness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us.” Oh, Charlie, you’re going to dive into the water because you want Jesus to save you?

Charlie: (Shakes his head yes.)

Karen: But Charlie, this verse doesn’t mean that Jesus is going to save us in the ocean.

Charlie: (Asks, it doesn’t?)

Karen: No, it means that Jesus will save us from our sins.

Charlie: (Becomes pensive.)

Karen: When we repent for all the bad things that we have done and we believe in Jesus, then He sets us free from our sins and saves us from hell.

Charlie: (Now he understands, but he points to his beach items and asks with signals, “Now what do I do with all of these beach items?”)

Karen: Well Charlie, you can still go swimming, but don’t go too far from shore because you don’t know how to swim. Agreed?

Charlie: (Agrees, takes his things, and exits happily.)

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Do good! Do-do good

in the name of the Lord.

Do good! Do-do good

in the name of the Lord.

Hide the Word, in your heart.

When the good is in your heart;

good you’ll do!SAMPLE

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Arthur: Hello Karen. Tell me a story.

Karen: Okay, Arthur. Today we’re going to learn about a man that did good things in his life, was faithful and obedient to God, and when he was in trouble, God rewarded his faithfulness and helped him. This man was named. . .Daniel.

Arthur: Naughty Daniel!

Karen: No, Arthur, it wasn’t “Naughty Daniel.”

Arthur: No? But Naughty Daniel was always in trouble.

Karen: That’s right, but this Daniel wasn’t naughty.

Arthur: He wasn’t? Then what was he like?

Karen: Well, Daniel was a very good and faithful man. He was so faithful, the king made him one of the most important men in the country.

Arthur: In Paris? Where the Eiffel Tower is?

Karen: No, no. It was a country much further away from here, many, many, years ago. The other governors were jealous of Daniel and were trying to find some bad things that he had done so they could accuse him.

Arthur: And they found out that he had cheated on a test!

Karen: No.

Arthur: Then they found out that he had lied to his parents.

Karen: No.

Arthur: He must have run a red light.

Karen: No, he didn’t do that either.

Arthur: And it wasn’t that he left work 5 minutes too early?

Karen: No, Arthur. Daniel was very faithful and did all things well. The other governors learned that they couldn’t catch him breaking any laws, so they invented a new law. And do you know what that new law was?

Arthur: That all the kids didn’t have to clean up their toys?

Karen: No, Arthur, the law had nothing to do with toys.

Arthur: Well I would have made a law like that.

Karen: The men knew that Daniel loved God very much and that he prayed three times every day. So they made a law saying that for 30 days the people could only pray to the king, or else they would be thrown in the lion’s den.

Arthur: The lion’s den! Be careful, Daniel, don’t pray anymore!

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Karen: And when Daniel found out about the new law. . .

Arthur: He took a 30-day vacation.

Karen: No, no, he went home.

Arthur: To go to bed?

Karen: No, to pray.

Arthur: But he did it with the blinds closed while hiding underneath the bed, right?

Karen: Not at all. Daniel opened his windows and prayed three times a day like he usually did.

Arthur: But, why? Was he crazy?

Karen: He wasn’t crazy. Daniel was faithful to God and trusted in Him.

Arthur: And the other governors caught him, right?

Karen: That’s exactly what happened, and they took him to the king. And since the king loved Daniel, he tried to change the law.

Arthur: What a great king! I bet he could change that law just because he was the king.

Karen: Well, no, he couldn’t change it. And Daniel had to be thrown into the lion’s den.

Arthur: How terrible! Oh, Karen, you disappointed me! What a horrible story!

Karen: Wait, Arthur. . .

Arthur: Oh, poor Daniel, eaten by lions!

Karen: But Arthur, that’s not how the story ends.

Arthur: It’s not?

Karen: No. The lions didn’t eat Daniel.

Arthur: They weren’t hungry?

Karen: Yes, they were hungry, but God sent an angel to close their mouths and they didn’t harm Daniel.

Arthur: What a relief!

Karen: And the next morning the king took Daniel out of the lion’s den and threw the other men in.

Arthur: And the angel stayed in there to close the lions’ mouths?

Karen: No, the angel had already gone; but because the men who accused Daniel were not faithful to God and didn’t trust in Him, the lions killed them immediately. See how God helped Daniel because he trusted in Him?

Arthur: Yeah, I knew the story was going to end this way. I wasn’t worried at all about Daniel. Well, Karen, thanks for the story! See you later!

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46

“That Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith” (Ephesians 3:17).

Materials: 3 hearts—one small, one large, and one enormous

(Karen begins teaching the verse to the children. When they have repeated it several times, Charlie enters with a small heart, interrupting Karen and the children.)

Karen: Charlie, what are you doing? We’re trying to learn a verse here.

Charlie: (Signals that he will only need a minute. He examines the verse, and then measures the heart. He decides that the heart is too small and exits.)

Karen: I have no idea what Charlie was doing, but we are going to continue with the verse.

Charlie: (After the children have repeated the verse again, he enters with a larger heart.)

Karen: Charlie, please! You are bothering us! Can’t you do this later?

Charlie: (Shakes his head no, examines the verse again, measures the heart, and decides that this heart isn’t good enough either. He exits.)

Karen: Finally he’s gone! Now we can continue with the verse. (The children repeat it again.)

Charlie: (He immediately enters with the enormous heart. Is so startled he falls down, then picks up the heart again and begins to measure it while he examines the verse.)

Karen: Charlie, tell me, what are you doing? You have a question? Well, you’ve already inter-rupted us enough, so go ahead. What do you want to ask me, Charlie?

Charlie: (Asks with signs, How big is Jesus Christ?)

Karen: You want to know how big Jesus Christ is? Well, He created the entire universe, so I suppose he would have to be bigger than the universe.

Charlie: (Is horrified, looks at his heart, and begins to cry. Finally he indicates that Jesus doesn’t fit in his heart.)

Karen: Why are you crying? Because Jesus doesn’t fit in your heart? Why do you say that?

Charlie: (Points to the verse, then to heaven and at his heart, and cries again.)

Karen: Oh, you’re reading the verse! “That Christ may dwell in your hearts.” And you think that Jesus doesn’t fit in your heart! Oh, Charlie, Jesus Christ is God and He can be bigger than the universe or He can make Himself small enough to fit in your heart.

Charlie: (Asks, he can?)

Karen: Yes, Charlie. Look, the key is in the verse. It says, “That Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.” Even if you don’t understand it, if Christ says that He can dwell in your heart, and you invite Him in, you can have the security of knowing that He will live in your heart. You can trust in Jesus Christ!

Charlie: (Becomes very content, points to heaven and holds his heart, believing that Jesus lives there. He exits jumping with joy.)

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47

Many years ago, I met a man that wanted to be an acrobat in the circus and walk the tight rope. For practice, he tied a rope between two houses and every day from morning till night, he would walk on the rope from one side to the other and he never fell off.

As he improved, he began pushing a wheelbar-row across the tight rope. I saw him walking with his wheelbarrow day-by-day, week-by-week, month-by-month. And for an entire year, he never fell off.

One day he asked me if I thought he did it well.

- Well of course, my friend! You do it very well! I have seen you walk on this rope while pushing your wheelbarrow for an entire year, and you have never fallen, you have never failed.

Do you really think that I do it well? – He asked me again – Do you trust in me?

- Yes sir, I really trust in you! - I told him.

- Well, then get in my wheelbarrow and I’ll push you across the tight rope – he told me.

That is faith, right? It’s much more than just be-lieving that God exists and is faithful. It’s trusting in Him with our lives.

Jesus Christ is the Man that walks across the “tight rope” and never falls off. He wants you to put yourself in His wheelbarrow and trust in Him. I know that He will carry you above your problems and will never allow you to fall.

Will you get in His wheelbarrow?

Will you trust in Him right now?

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//Give me faith, oh Lord

give me faith

give me faith, oh Lord

I’m asking You//

//Because there are

chains to be broken

and victories to get

every day, every hour,

give me faith//SAMPLE

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That’s Why I Trust in You

Chorus:

Oh Lord (Shu wap shu wap)

Nothing is too hard for thee (Shu wap shu wap)

With you all things are possible (Shu wap shu wap)

That’s why I trust in you

(Shu wap shu wap shu wap shu wa-ap)

For you created the heavens and

Earth by your own hands

And make the waters and winds

To obey you by your command

(Words & Music by Wendy J. Wirtz, from

the cassette Latin American Children’s Choir, available through RDM.)

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Materials: a chair, a glass of water, and a sword

Karen: Charlie, come here. I need your help.

Charlie: (Is very excited to help Karen, he sets out a chair for her, and hands her a glass of water.)

Karen: But, Charlie, what are you doing?

Charlie: (Indicates that he is helping.)

Karen: No, Charlie, I don’t need the chair, or the glass of water. But thanks anyway. What I want is for you to help me to explain what it is to demonstrate gentleness or to be gentle.

Charlie: (Is confused, becomes thoughtful, but he doesn’t know what “gentleness” means.)

Karen: You don’t know what it means to be gentle?

Charlie: (Signals that he has no idea.)

Karen: Well, let’s look at it this way. Do you like animals, Charlie?

Charlie: (Enthusiastically shakes his head yes, and imitates a few by miming a dog, a bird...)

Karen: I want you to show how a gentle animal would act, and then how a fierce one would act. Agreed?

Charlie: (Is excited, shakes his head yes.)

Karen: First, let’s talk about a gentle animal, the cow. The cow is very peaceful, doesn’t worry about anything, and takes things lightly.

Charlie: (Crawls on hands and knees, pretends to eat grass and says: moooooo.)

Karen: However, the bull is a very fierce and nervous animal, that runs all over the place filled with rage.

Charlie: (Makes “horns” with his fingers and runs around through the children.)

Karen: The cow is very submissive and when you guide him somewhere, he obeys.

Charlie: (Follows Karen and says: moooooo.)

Karen: In contrast, the bull is very stubborn. When someone orders him to go somewhere, he doesn’t listen and he goes wherever he wants. (Points in one direction.)

Charlie: (Looking in the direction that Karen points, he says “no” and goes the other way with his “horns.”)

Karen: Finally, the cow is valuable because he is a very productive animal. Because of his very gentle character, he gives us milk, which we use to make butter, yogurt, ice cream, cream, milkshakes, and other wonderful products.

Charlie: (Pretends to command the cow to give milk, and pretends to churn butter in a container and eat yogurt, etc.)

Karen: But the bull, because he is so fierce, is better known for bullfighting; he just wants to fight and to gore people.

Charlie: (Goes behind Karen and attempts to “gore” her, but she avoids him just in time.)

Karen: And we all know what happens to bulls in bullfights, right? (She takes out a sword and runs toward Charlie, who escapes screaming.)

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53

“A gentle answer turns away wrath. . .” (Proverbs 15:1).

Materials: a chef’s hat and a bell

Karen: It’s been a while since we’ve seen Mike. Let’s call him to come out. Big Miiiiiike!

Mike: (Enters wearing the chef’s hat.)

Karen: Hello, Mike. What are you doing?

Mike: Hello, Karen. I’m preparing the ingredients to make cookies. And my friend Arthur is coming to help me.

Karen: Be careful, Mike, the last time Arthur helped you make cookies, he added salt instead of sugar, so you better keep an eye on him.

Mike: Oh, no, Karen, don’t worry about Arthur; ever since I threw the bucket of water on his head he’s behaved very nicely to me. Arthur has really changed!

Karen: I’m so happy for you, Mike! Hey, can you help us with the verse before you go make cookies?

Mike: Of course, I have a few minutes until Arthur gets here anyway.

Karen: Good. The verse says, “A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.” (Repeat it with the children.) Now it’s your turn, Mike.

Mike: It’s been a long time since I’ve done this; I hope it comes out right. “A good stick of butter makes good cookies.”

Karen: No, no, Mike. Forget about the cookies for a minute. Listen: “A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.”

Mike: A cup of tea will calm a bad stomachache. . .after eating way too many cookies! Ha, ha, ha.

Karen: Come on, Mike. Say it right.

Mike: Okay, here I go, “A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.” But Karen, what does that mean?

Karen: You have experienced it, Mike.

Mike: I have? When?

Karen: Before, when Arthur played tricks on you and laughed at you, do you remember?

Mike: Don’t remind me, Karen. . .

Karen: But when you were gentle with him and didn’t try to get revenge, you turned away his anger. Then Arthur felt sorry and wanted to change. You treated him with gentleness and didn’t stir up his anger, so he didn’t want to keep playing jokes on you.

Mike: Do you mean that I did something good?

Karen: Yes, Mike, you did something very good.

Mike: (Hears the bell ring.) Oh, there’s the doorbell; it must be my friend Arthur. I have to go, Karen. See you later!

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54

Characters: Jesus, a blind man, a boy, and a woman

Materials: a robe, sunglasses, a cane, a blanket, cookies

When Jesus (wearing the robe) lived on earth, He did many miracles and He helped many people. One day a blind man (with the sunglasses and the cane) said to Him, “Jesus, I want to see!” Jesus extended His hands and said to him, “Receive sight.” The blind man leapt with happiness and yelled, “I can see! I can see!”

On another occasion, Jesus met a woman that was crying bitterly because her son had died (cover up the son with a blanket). But Jesus had compassion for the woman and placing his hand on the boy, he said, “Get up.” And the boy got up immediately and hugged his mother.

Sometimes, when people were hungry, Jesus gave them food to eat. On two occasions he multiplied the few loaves of bread and fish to feed a multitude of hungry people who were listening to Him teach. (Jesus hands out cookies to some of the children in the audience.)

But, do you know what all these people did to Jesus? They hit him, (the children dramatize the ac-tions), they kicked him, they took off his clothes, and finally, they nailed him to a cross.

How ungrateful of them! Jesus had every right to get angry and hit them back, didn’t he? I’m sure Jesus began to yell mean things at them, right? Wrong. Jesus behaved with a lot of gentleness. He was meek through it all. When they hit him, he didn’t hit back; when they insulted him, he spoke kind words. Jesus had every right to become angry, but he didn’t. He stayed gentle and meek until His death.

Sometimes it is very difficult for us to stay gentle, especially when someone insults us or hurts us. But we can ask the Lord Jesus to help us to be meek like Him, and He will help us.

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Materials: A fake thumb, 4 different colored scarves (yellow, red, green, blue), 1 large scarf with the same colors or 4 scarves tied together.

(To begin the activity, fold and hide the large 4-color scarf and the fake thumb in your closed left fist. Make sure the opening of the fake thumb is facing downward. Place the 4 colored scarves on the table.) We are all different. We all have different qualities and talents. How should I treat people that are different from me?

We’ll see the answer with several scarves. Let’s start with this yellow scarf. (With your right hand, pick up the yellow scarf and hold it up so everyone can see it.) Do you have a special talent or ability? Maybe you play soccer really well, or you know how to sing or write well. But, does that mean that people who don’t have your same talent are worse than you are? (Stuff the scarf inside the fake thumb that you have in your left hand.)

(Show the red scarf.) Maybe you’re a good helper, you have pretty eyes, soft skin, and everyone says, “Look how beautiful she is!” Maybe you think that because you are attractive, that makes you better than others who aren’t. Are you really better? (Stuff the scarf in the fake thumb.)

(Show the blue scarf.) Maybe your family has a lot of money and you can buy a lot of things that others don’t have. You wear expensive clothes and you have nice toys, bikes, roller blades, etc. But sometimes it’s easy to think that you are better than other people who have less. Is that the truth? (When you stuff this scarf into the fake thumb, use the opportunity to stick your right thumb in it also. You will need to have practiced this movement several times so that you don’t allow the large scarf in your fist to fall out.)

Sometimes we think that we are better than others because we have special talents or because we are more attractive, intelligent, or because we have more money. (Stick your right hand in the pocket of your jacket, where you have the “special invisible dust.” To add suspense, have one of the children blow on it.) But a gentle person doesn’t think about how they’re better than other people, because they know that God loves everyone the same and that Jesus died for everybody. (Remove the large scarf from the left fist.)

We are all sinners, but Jesus Christ came to die for each one of us. He loves us all the same.

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Materials: a ball, paper cookies, real cookies

The paper cookies should have the following written on them:

✔ Obey your parents

✔ Become angry with your friends

✔ Say nice words

✔ Kick the dog

✔ Be gentle to your pets

✔ Yell at your brothers and sisters

In this bag I have some very special cookies. Some are gentleness cookies, and others are not. I’m going to choose some children to come forward and pick a paper cookie. Each child will have to tell me if their chosen “cookie” is a gentleness cookie or not.

(Choose the first child and have him or her take a paper cookie from the bag. If it is a gentleness cookie, the child will receive a real cookie. Continue this process until all the paper cookies have been removed from the bag.)

Which kind of cookie would you like to eat: one that says, “Say nice words,” or one that reads, “Yell at your brothers and sisters?” We should concentrate on activities in our lives that show gentleness and avoid activities that do not.

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Karen: Let’s call Mike to come out and visit us. Big Miiiiike!

Mike: (Replies from behind the curtain) Hello, Karen.

Karen: Mike, where are you?

Mike: I’m back here.

Karen: But why don’t you come out?

Mike: Because I’m ashamed.

Karen: Mike, you already know the children; we’ve been here a bunch of times.

Mike: Yes, I know, the children are very nice. . . It’s something else. . .

Karen: Tell me, Mike, what’s wrong?

Mike: Well. . . I am very fat.

Karen: You’re very fat?

Mike: Yes; I’ve really gained weight since the last time I saw you and that’s why I’m ashamed.

Karen: Oh, Mike, It’s no big deal. Come on, kids, lets help him come out. 1, 2, 3, Big Miiiike!

Mike: (Timidly comes out.) Hello, children!

Karen: Thank you for coming out, Mike. And don’t worry. The children love you just as you are. Right, children? But Mike, why have you gained so much weight?

Mike: I don’t have the slightest idea. I have been eating the same things – vanilla cookies, strawberry cookies, cream-filled cookies, and chocolate cookies. . .

Karen: And how many cookies do you eat every day?

Mike: Let’s see. . . 10. . . 20. . . 30. . . 40. . . 50. . . 53. Yes, 53 cookies.

Karen: You eat 53 cookies every day?

Mike: Yes, every day.

Karen: Oh Mike. I know why you’ve gained so much weight.

Mike: You do?

Karen: Of course. When someone eats 53 cookies every day, he will gain a lot of weight.

Mike: Oh man. . .I learn something new every day. . .

Karen: Mike, you should control your cookie cravings before this craving controls you.

Mike: You’re right, Karen, I will go on a diet and eat much less sugar.

Karen: You will?

Mike: Yes. From now on I will only eat 52 cookies per day. Well, goodbye children!

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“ Live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature” (Galatians 5:16).

Materials: A table with a basket of plastic fruits and a poster that reads, “DO NOT TOUCH”

Charlie: (Enters running and exhausted from having exercised and indicates that he is hungry. He sees the basket of fruit and approaches it enthusiastically. When he reaches the table, he sees the poster and shows his disappointment. But he rubs his stomach because he is getting hungrier. He looks around, and inconspicuously throws the poster on the floor. Then he begins to look at the fruit, wanting very much to eat it. He sniffs it, touches it, and picks up the grapes. He looks at his stomach and looks around, and since he doesn’t see Karen anywhere, he takes a grape and begins to chew it. He realizes that it doesn’t have much flavor but he keeps chewing it. He looks at his watch and then chews some more.)

(Karen enters and Charlie pretends to not have the grape in his mouth.)

Karen: Hello, Charlie. Did you see the plastic fruit that I’m preparing for the theater?

Charlie: (Realizes that the fruit is plastic and his face shows disgust. He tries to take the grape out of his mouth without Karen seeing, but he doesn’t get the chance to do it so he keeps pretending that there’s nothing in his mouth.)

Karen: I had a poster that said “DO NOT TOUCH,” what happened to it?

Charlie: (Indicates that he has no idea.)

Karen: (She finds it on the ground.) Who threw my poster on the ground? (She puts it back on the table and realizes that a grape is missing.) Mmmm. . . it seems that I am missing a grape here. Charlie, do you know where that grape might be?

Charlie: (Pretends to know nothing, covers his mouth with his hand.)

Karen: What do you have in your mouth, Charlie?

Charlie: (Indicates that he has nothing, but then takes the grape out of his mouth with disgust on his face.)

Karen: Oh, Charlie, why did you want to eat that plastic grape?

Charlie: (Signals to her that he was very hungry.)

Karen: But, didn’t you see the poster that said “DO NOT TOUCH?”

Charlie: (Ashamed, shakes his head yes.)

Karen: So you knew it was wrong to eat it, didn’t you?

Charlie: (Indicates that yes, he knew.)

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Karen: But you ate it anyway because you were listening more to your stomach than you were to Jesus Christ, right?

Charlie: (Shakes his head yes.)

Karen: Charlie, who is Lord of your life? Jesus or your stomach?

Charlie: (Looks at his stomach and begins to cry.)

Karen: Listen, Charlie, I have something that can help you.

Charlie: (Pays attention.)

Karen: It’s today’s verse. It says, “Walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature.”

Charlie: (Is confused and with exaggerated steps, he tries to “walk by the Spirit.”)

Karen: No, Charlie, not like that. To “walk by the Spirit” is to live the way that Jesus lived and allow Him to rule in your life instead of the desires of your body, like your appetite.

Charlie: (Points to his stomach.)

Karen: You should listen to what Jesus Christ says instead of listening to your own desires.

Charlie: (Points to heaven and shows that he understands.)

Karen: Do you want to help me teach the verse to the children?

Charlie: (Jumps with joy and shakes his head yes.)

Karen: Let’s mime it; come on, Charlie. “Walk” (move your feet) “by the Spirit” (point to heaven) “and you will not gratify” (say NO with your finger) “the desires” (point to your heart) “of the sinful nature” (point to your entire body.) (Repeat it several times with the children.) Very good Charlie! Remember, we should walk by the Spirit.

Charlie: (Exits walking with exaggerated steps.)

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(While music plays, the puppets enter the scene.)

Moe: Hey Joe! Let’s watch some cartoons! They’re so funny! They fight, they kill each oth-er…

Joe: No, no, Moe. Mother said that she doesn’t want us watching those cartoons. They are very violent.

(They disappear from the scene while the children sing and afterwards they reappear). The children sing:

Be careful little eyes, what you see.

Be careful little eyes, what you see.

There’s a Father up above, looking down in tender love,

So be careful little eyes, what you see.)

Moe: Hey, Joe, tell mother that we’ve only had one cookie, so she will give us more.

Joe: But, Moe, we’ve eaten three cookies each; that would be telling a lie.

(The children sing, “Be careful little mouth what you say. . .)

Moe: Joe, do you know that new kid in my class?

Joe: Yes.

Moe: (Angrily) Well I think that he is. . .

Joe: (Interrupting) No, Moe. I don’t’ want to hear mean things about him, only nice things.

(The children sing, “Be careful little ears what you hear. . .)

Moe: Look, Joe, it’s those caramels that I like to eat so much.

Joe: But, Moe, you don’t have any money to buy them.

Moe: Can’t you take some for me?

Joe: No, Moe; that would be stealing.

(The children sing, “Be careful little hands what you touch. . .)

Moe: Come on, Joe! Let’s go play behind that old house.

Joe: Moe, Moe, father has told us that we should not play there, because it’s very danger-ous.

(The children sing, “Be careful little feet where you go. . .)

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Materials: “weights” made of bags, one empty and one containing books; signs that read, “eat, sleep, take drugs, watch T.V; a hanging sign that reads, “Self-control scale”

If I want to know how much something weighs, what do I need to find that out? Yes, a scale.

But since I don’t have a scale here with me, we are going to build one. I need a child who can balance well.

(Choose a child and have him raise his arms in the shape of a cross and tell him to keep his arms very straight.) We are going to call him the “self-control scale.” (Hang the sign that reads “self-control scale” around the child’s neck.) With this, we are going to weigh several items to show us when we are balanced, and when we are out of balance.

Let’s begin with food. How many of you need to eat from time to time? All of us, right? Of course, because we have to eat to survive. (Place the light bag and the sign that reads “eat” in one hand of the “scale.”) But if you eat too much, (add the heavy bag to the same hand so that it drops down), then you become a glutton and you lose your balance on the self-control scale. (Remove the bags and straighten the scale to its balanced position.)

Now let’s test sleep. Is there anyone here that never sleeps? No, because we all need to sleep every night. (Place the light bag with the “sleep” sign on one end of the scale.) But if someone keeps sleeping for a very long time and never wants to get up, and he doesn’t want to do anything but sleep, (add the heavy bag), he becomes very lazy, is a sloth, and has put the self-control scale out of balance. (Remove the bags and balance the scale.)

Let’s talk about drugs. Is it a good thing to take drugs? The answer is yes – if they are drugs that a doctor has prescribed for you to cure a sickness. (Place the light bag with the “drugs” sign on one end of the scale.) But if you take drugs that have not been prescribed to you, or illegal drugs (add the heavy bag), then you can become a drug addict and lose balance on the self-control scale. (Remove the bags.)

Finally, we are going to weigh something we all know – the T.V. Is television good or bad? It can be good, and it can be bad. Let’s see. If you watch good programs from time to time, nothing happens (Place the light bag with the “T.V.” sign on one end of the scale.). But if you spend hours and hours in front of the television, and you never miss your favorite programs, you are probably watching too much. (Add the heavy bag.)

See how it works? These things aren’t bad by themselves. It is necessary to eat, sleep, and some-times take medicine. But when we do something too much, it becomes bad and we lose balance in our lives.

I am going to leave you with two things that will help you weigh yourself on the self-control scale. When you want to do something, ask yourself, is it necessary? Is it necessary to eat so much or take prohibited drugs? Also ask yourself, would this be pleasing to Jesus Christ? Would it please Jesus Christ that I sleep so much or watch this T.V. program? Answering these questions will help you maintain balance on the self-control scale.

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Characters: Narrator, Daniel, his three friends, Joe, and a friend

Materials: 4 tunics, dark glasses, and a hat

Narrator: Would you like to live in a king’s palace where you could eat the most delicious meals? Today I’m going to tell you the story of Daniel and his three friends. (Enter wearing tunics). These four, along with the people of their town, had been made slaves in a far-off country. But, since Daniel and his friends were very intelligent, the king wanted them to live in his palace, where they could eat the best food.

Do you see anything wrong with this? It seems like there was nothing wrong or sinful in eating the king’s food. Besides, the food looked delicious. The only problem was that it was food that had been offered to idols or foreign gods.

Daniel and his friends only wanted to obey God and didn’t want to contaminate themselves by eating the king’s food. So they asked permission to not eat the king’s food and remain pure.

Daniel: (In a loud voice) We will not eat the king’s food because we want to obey God.

3 Friends: We won’t eat the food either.

Narrator: Although it was sometimes difficult to refuse the juicy meats and tasty sausages, Daniel and his friends preferred to obey God and remain pure. (Say goodbye to Daniel and his friends.)

Now let me introduce you to my friend Joe (Joe appears). This afternoon he has to make a very important decision and you are going to help him to do it. Joe has a friend who is coming to offer him something.

Friend: (Joe’s friend arrives wearing dark glasses, a hat, and is holding something in his hand.) Hey, Joe, I have something here that will make you feel very happy for a moment.

Joe: What is it?

Friend: Happiness pills. If you take them, they will make you feel really good.

Narrator: What do you think Joe should do? Should he accept his friend’s offer? NO! Even if the pills would make him feel good for a moment, we can only find true happiness in Jesus, not by taking drugs.

Joe: No, I don’t want those pills because I have the Lord Jesus Christ living in my heart.

Friend: (Exits angry.)

Narrator: Let’s give Joe a big applause because he made the right decision. With the help of the Lord Jesus Christ we can say NO! to the bad suggestions of our friends.

SAMPLE

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Materials: a black bottle, a thick rope, a cork

We have seen that self-control is the ability to dominate or control all of our desires. But, is that possible? We will see the answer with this bottle and rope. (Show them to the children.)

Many times when we want to do something, for example drinking alcohol, watching a violent television program, or maybe smoking a cigarette, we think that if we do what we want, nothing will happen. (Stick the rope in the bottle and remove it.) But in reality, every time that we satisfy our desires and drinking alcohol, watch that program, or smoke that cigarette, (stick the rope in the bottle and remove it with every example), the desires become stronger. Soon, it seems like we don’t desire those things, but we need them. You have to drinking alcohol, you have to watch that television program, and you have to smoke a cigarette (stick the rope in the bottle and remove it with every example). Before you know it, you are trapped (after you stick the cord in the bottle the last time, cap the bottle with the cork).

Now you can’t control or dominate your desires, but they control you. The Bible says, “Everyone that sins is a slave to sin.” We are all slaves to our desires, we are slaves to sins, but we can’t set ourselves free. (Try to remove the cork, but it is stuck.)

Who can set us free from our slavery? There is only one person that can set us free: Jesus Christ! He died to destroy the power of sin in our lives. Do you want to be free from your sins? You just have to call out to Jesus Christ, ask him to forgive you, and invite him to live inside of you. The Lord is the only one that can destroy the power of sin. (Remove the cork and rope from the bottle.) If the Lord Jesus sets you free, you will be free indeed.SAMPLE

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Love

Joy

Peace

Patience

Self-control

Faithfulness

Kindness

Gentleness

Goodness

Against such things there is no law (Galatians 5:22-23).

(We all need this fruit in our lives and we find it in Jesus Christ.)

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