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Rehoboam: Two Choices for Every Leader

Unit 11 / Lesson 5

Rehoboam: Two Choices for Every Leader

Slides for the Lesson

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Teacher's Prep

  • Games

  • Main Activity (Sand Art):

    • Watch this video for the general concept of the craft:

    • Materials:

      • 1 large plate or tray per child

      • Tables: one table for each group of 4-6 for crafting

      • Vials or containers of high quality colored sand. Provide multiple colors of sand.

      • Black Paper: three sheets per child. The ideal paper is construction paper or cardstock.

      • One bottle of school glue per child


    Intro

    SLIDE 1

  • Gathering

    • How was your week?

    SLIDE 2

  • Intro Game: Deal or No Deal

    • Instructions

      • We'll start our time together with a game of Deal or No Deal!

      • We will have a bunch of suitcases, and each case will have a different amount of money in it. We play the game by getting rid of suitcases, and every time we get rid of some suitcases, the bank will call and offer us money instead of a suitcase. We need to decide if we'll take the deal or not.

      • Teacher: you may want to play a few rounds of the game depending on time and interest.

    • Debrief

      • We played this game because it's about making choices. We can either choose one thing or another. That's what we see in our Bible story today. Our Bible story is about a guy named Rehoboam. He was the king of Israel right after Solomon.

      • Rehoboam had a choice. He could be one kind of king, or a different kind of king. He could be the kind of king that served his people, or he could be the kind of king that made everyone serve him.

  • Relevance

    • This story is in the Bible because we’re all meant to learn from it. 

    SLIDE 3

    • Actually, all of us are a little bit like Rehoboam. Sooner or later, we are going to be leaders: we will need to tell people what to do, and we will need to show people how to do things. You might do that already! But there are different kinds of leaders. Some leaders are good, and some leaders are bad.

  • Big Question

    SLIDE 4

    • Our big question today is:

      • What kind of leader should we become?

  • Big Idea

    • Our big idea today is: a good leader serves their people; but a bad leader makes the people serve him or her.

    • We'll see this in our Bible story. Let's watch it first.

  • Bible Reference

    SLIDE 5


    Point 1

  • Our first point is, a good leader serves their people.

    SLIDE 6

  • Game: Nose Dive

    • Instructions

      • We'll start this point with a game, called Nose Dive. 

      • Let’s see how the game works.

      • Teacher: play the first 30 seconds of this video

      • Teacher: We will be doing a relay race, so instead of having just one person running back and forth, each team member will make a single run at a time. To prevent the spread of germs, have someone apply Vaseline to the noses of all the children rather than having them dip their noses.

      • We'll have two teams, and this will be a relay race. When it's your turn, we'll put some Vaseline on your nose, and then you can stick your nose into a bowl and bring the cotton ball across the room.

      • If you make it across the room, shake the cotton ball into a bowl. If the cotton ball drops to the ground, go to the back of the line, and someone else on your team will try.

      • We will keep lining up until we have TEN cotton balls in your team's bowl on the other side of the room.

      • Teacher: demonstrate how the game works, then run the game. If time and interest allow, you may want to play another round.

    • Debrief

      • We played this game because it makes us get down and get into the mess, and we probably look a bit silly while we're playing it. But we can't think about it too much because our team is depending on us, so we've got to do our best for our team.

      • This game helps us understand what a good leader is like, (continue)

    SLIDE 7

    • because sometimes a good leader needs to forget about being comfortable and looking good, so that they can be the best leader they can be. 

    • Bible Reference

      • That’s what Rehoboam needed to know in our Bible story. When Rehoboam first became king, the leaders of his people went to him and asked him to make their work easier. They said:

    SLIDE 8

    • 1 Kings 12:5-7 (CEV)

      • “Your father Solomon forced us to work very hard. But if you make our work easier, we will serve you and do whatever you ask.”

    SLIDE 9

    • 5 “Give me three days to think about it,” Rehoboam replied, “then come back for my answer.” So the people left.

    SLIDE 10

    • 6 Rehoboam went to some leaders who had been his father's senior officials, and he asked them, “What should I tell these people?”

    SLIDE 11

    • 7 They answered, “If you want them to serve and obey you, then you should do what they ask today. Tell them you will make their work easier.”

  • Explanation

    SLIDE 12

    • Rehoboam started the right way. He was going to make a big decision, so he told his people he needed a bit of time to think. That's a good idea.

    SLIDE 13

    • Then he talked to some really wise people who had been leaders for a long time.

    • His father, King Solomon, had chosen these leaders, which is a clue that these leaders were really good at what they did.

    • These wise leaders told him the right answer. Rehoboam needed to serve his people. Even though Rehoboam was the king, he needed to serve. That was the way to peace. Everyone would win if he served his people.

  • Application

    • When we read the rest of the Bible, we find out that’s exactly how we need to lead too.

    SLIDE 14

    • Let's read what Jesus told His disciples:

    • Mark 10:42b-45 (CEV)

      • You know that those foreigners who call themselves kings like to order their people around. And their great leaders have full power over the people they rule. 43  But don't act like them. If you want to be great, you must be the servant of all the others. 44 And if you want to be first, you must be everyone's slave. 45  The Son of Man did not come to be a slave master, but a slave who will give his life to rescue many people.

    SLIDE 15

    • Jesus told us there are two kinds of leaders. There's the kind of leader that bosses everyone around and makes themselves great, and there's the kind of leader that serves everyone. The leader who serves everyone is the most like Jesus.

    • This means that whenever you get a chance to lead someone or tell someone what to do, always remember you are there to help them first. You are there to serve them. Even if you don’t think of yourself as a leader, you can practice the attitude of service.

    SLIDE 16

    • Every day, you can practice putting other people first. If you set this example, people will want to listen to you, and you will be the right kind of leader for them.

  • Discussion Question

    SLIDE 17

    • Let's pause for a discussion question:

      • What is one way we can practice putting others first?


    Point 2

  • Our second point is, a bad leader makes the people serve them.

    SLIDE 18

  • Game: Face the Cookie

    • Instructions

      • We’ll start this point with a game called Face the Cookie!

      • You will all get an Oreo cookie. You play the game by tilting your head up and putting the Oreo cookie on your eye. Then you need to move the cookie into your mouth using just the muscles on your head and your face. If your cookie drops off your face, put the cookie on your eye and try again.

      • Teacher: demonstrate how the game works. Alternatively, there is a video tutorial on YouTube which you can show to the children. Also, you may want them to play around a table so the cookies will drop onto the table instead of the ground.

    • Debrief

      • We played this game because when you're playing it, it's all about you. It's about what you can do to get the cookie in your mouth so you both win and enjoy a yummy treat.

      • That's great if all you want is to have some fun and have a snack.

    SLIDE 19

    • But, if you want to be a leader, you'll get into big trouble if you just think about yourself. That's what Rehoboam had to learn the hard way.

  • Bible Reference

    • In our Bible story, Rehoboam didn't just talk to the wise leaders who were really good at what they did. Rehoboam also talked to his buddies who grew up with him, and Rehoboam asked them what he should do.

    • Let's watch a video that helps us imagine what Rehoboam's buddies said to him.

    SLIDE 20

    • Teacher: play this YouTube short:

    • Now let's read what they said from the Bible. This is after Rehoboam talked to the wise leaders, and he didn't like their advice.

    SLIDE 21

    • 1 Kings 12:8-11

      • 8 But Rehoboam refused their advice and went to the younger men who had grown up with him and were now his officials.

    SLIDE 21

    • 9 He asked, “What do you think I should say to these people who asked me to make their work easier?” 10 His younger advisors said: Here's what we think you should say to them: “Compared to me, my father was weak.

    SLIDE 23

    • 11 He made you work hard, but I'll make you work even harder. He punished you with whips, but I'll use whips with pieces of sharp metal!”

  • Explanation

    SLIDE 24

    • You have to understand why Rehoboam didn't like the advice of the wise leaders. Rehoboam had been waiting for his whole life to be king. He had seen his father Solomon do his job,

    SLIDE 25

    • and it looked so fun telling people to do things for him. It looked fun to tell people to build great buildings and to cook him tasty food. Rehoboam wanted to have fun and enjoy being king. That meant his people had to keep working hard for him.

    • So Rehoboam asked his buddies whom he had grown up with, and they all thought the same as him. It was time to make everyone work even harder! 

    SLIDE 26

    • He told that to the people. But, the people hated what he said, so most of them stopped following Rehoboam, and they started following a different king. Rehoboam’s country split in two, and it was terrible for everyone. And it all happened because Rehoboam wanted everything to be about himself.

  • Application

    • That's exactly how it works for us too. If we want to be selfish and make everyone serve us, we will get into trouble. But, there is a way to be wise.

    SLIDE 27

    • Proverbs 13:20 (CEV) tells us, 

      • Wise friends make you wise,

        but you hurt yourself

        by going around with fools.

    • Rehoboam had buddies who were not wise. He hung out with them a lot and he listened to their ideas, and he became just as foolish as them.

    • The Bible tells us to be friends with people who are wise. We need to talk to wise people and learn from them as they share their wisdom with us. The wisest people will keep pointing us to the Bible, because the Bible is the greatest place to find wisdom.

    SLIDE 28

  • Discussion Questions

    • Let's pause for a couple of discussion questions:

      • Where's a place where you can find lots of bad ideas?

      • Where's a place where you can find lots of good ideas?

    SLIDE 29

    • The point is, we need to surround ourselves with wisdom and good ideas. This will help us be wise, be the best leaders we can be, and help us stay out of trouble.


    Conclusion

    SLIDE 30

  • Let’s wrap up our lesson by going over the big ideas again.

  • Our big question today was: What kind of leader should we become?

  • Our big idea today is: a good leader serves their people, and a bad leader makes the people serve him or her.

  • Let's practice serving, and let's make a point to spend time with wise people.


    SLIDE 31

    Main Activity: Sand Art

  • Now it's time for our main activity. Today we will be making sand art! Let's watch a quick video to see what it's like.

  • Teacher: play this YouTube video:

  • This craft reminds us a bit about our lesson today. For this kind of artwork, we need glue, and we need sand. A great leader is like glue. In this craft, the glue is invisible, but it helps everything else to stick together and be beautiful. A great leader does all kinds of things that other people don't notice, so that everyone else can shine. 

  • A great leader also learns from wise people. When we are making this craft, we can look around and see what the others are doing, and we can get ideas. This craft helps us remember how to become a good leader.

  • Now let's go to some stations and get crafting!

  • Teacher: set up tables with supplies for each child. For every table of 4-6, provide:

    • One large plate or tray per child

    • Vials or containers of high quality colored sand.

    • Black Paper: three sheets per child. The ideal paper is construction paper or cardstock.

    • One bottle of school glue per child


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