sunday school, week 7 & 8.

so i kinda forgot to post last week's recap of sunday school, so i'm combining this week and the previous week.


WEEK 7:

this week's lesson was on wisdom.

memory verse:

"if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him."

-james 1:5.

we read 1 kings 3:7-14.
solomon asked for wisdom above riches, fame, and everything else. God not only granted him wisdom, but he greatly blessed him.

when i think of wisdom, i think of the book of proverbs. i wanted to kids to see that it isn't just an outdated book of the bible like so many people think of the old testement. it's words and truth can be put into action and applied to our lives today just as much as they could when solomon wrote them back in the day.

proverbs 1:1-7 tells us the purpose of the proverbs:

• to teach people wisdom and discipline.
• to help them understand insights of the wise.
• to teach people how to live.
• to help them do what is right.

according to verse 7, gaining wisdom begins with fear of the Lord.
i explained to the boys that fearing the Lord isn't being afraid of Him, it's respecting and honoring the Lord.

the benefits of wisdom are: understanding what is right in God's eyes, protection, and gaining understanding.
the message of proverbs is that real wisdom is based on a relationship with God.
God is the true source of all wisdom, so if we continue to grow in our relationship with Him, we will gain wisdom.

i had little strips of paper with different sayings on them.
the boys had to decide if they were "wisdom from the bible" or "wisdom from men".

biblical wisdom: pride goes before destruction [proverbs 16:18]

wisdom of men: innocent until proven guilty

----------------------------------------------

 

WEEK 8:

this week's lesson was on courage and a guy named benaiah.
God totally intervened with this lesson because i was randomly browsing amazon for a new book and stumbled across this book. i didn't buy the book, but the story intrigued me. i read about benaiah and instantly knew this was who God wanted the kids to learn about. i wasn't even looking for a sunday school lesson, but God had a plan and it amazes me how He puts His plan into action. sometimes the "how" is more breathtaking than the plan itself.

memory verse:

"be strong and courageous. do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go."

-joshua 1:9.

to learn their memory verse, i had them use different accents and recite the verse to the class. the spoke everything from british accents to a football coach's accent to a mouse squeak accent to a high school girl's accent. (like was used after every other word) they had way too much fun with that activity, and it was awesome!

benaiah's story is mentioned in 2 samuel 23:20-23 & 1 chronicles 11:22-25.

benaiah was made captain of king david's bodyguard. he was chosen for that position of honor close to the king because of three great events that happened in his life:

• he killed 2 of moab's best men
• he killed a lion in a pit on a snowy day.
• he met an egyptian man of great size and defeated him.

basically, homeboy was a stud.

and even more than that, he loved God. and he wasn't afraid to let people know.
king david appointed his son, solomon, to the throne and beniah proclaimed in 1 kings 1:36-37: "amen! may the Lord, the God of my lord the king, so declare it. as the Lord was with my lord the king, so may he be with solomon to make his throne even greater than the throne of my lord King David!" benaiah stood up for what was right and boldly proclaimed his faith for everyone to hear. standing up for what's right isn't always popular and takes courage to do so.

to help the boys see a bigger picture of the story, i expanded on the part of benaiah's story where he kills a lion in a pit on a snowy day. i told the boys that the lion could represent an obstacle or challenge in our daily life that can threaten or scare us, like a big test. i told them to approach those scary situations with courage from the Lord like benaiah did. well, that was maybe not the best example because one of the boys told me he had a test the next week, and he was going to rip it up into shreds, like benaiah killed the lion. oh, boy. he was totally joking. i hope.