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Ahab: When We Have Messed Up

Unit 11 / Lesson 6

Ahab: When We Have Messed Up

Slides for the Lesson

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Teacher's Prep

  • Games

    • Captain's Coming

    • Donut on a String Challenge

      • Watch this video to see what this game is like

      • Materials:

        • One donut per child

          • Note: If you don't want to give each child a full donut, consider using mini donuts from Safeway, or even Timbits, though Timbits would require some skill in order to attach them to strings.

        • Tie each donut with a string before the lesson.

        • In the video, donuts are tied to an elevated bar. In this case, we will have someone hold on to the top end of the string. 

        • Please be prepared to play two rounds of the game so that children can take turns eating the donut and holding the string.

        • Have an alternative for children with allergies.

    • Bottle Flip Relay

      • Prepare two disposable plastic water bottles, filled about 1/4 full with water each.

  • Main Activity: Team Building Games

    • Knee Trembler: 

      • For the concept of the game, watch this video:

      • Materials needed:

        • A big bag of orange or something with some give, like a ball of paper

        • Tape to mark a starting line

        • Two hula hoops

    • Balloon Caterpillar

      • For the concept of the game, watch this video:

      • Materials:

        • One balloon per child, with a few spares besides.

        • Four chairs.

      • For a smoother experience, you will want to have the balloons inflated before the lesson.

    • Electric Fence

      • For the concept of the game, watch this video:

      • Materials:

        • Chairs to prop up the fence

        • Yarn or a broomstick for the fence material

        • Tape, if your fence is made out of a broomstick


    Intro

    SLIDE 1

  • Gathering

    • How was your week?

    SLIDE 2

  • Intro Game: Captain's Coming

    • Instructions

      • Let's start this point with a game of Captain's Coming!

      • Sample Phrases

        • BOW: shipmates race to the front of the room

        • STERN: shipmates run to the back of the room

        • STARBOARD: shipmates run to the right of the room

        • PORT: shipmates run to the left of the room

        • CAPTAIN'S COMING: shipmates stand at attention, salute, and say, "Aye aye, Captain!"

        • SCRUB THE DECK: shipmates mime scrubbing on hands and knees or with a mop

        • CLIMB THE RIGGING: shipmates pretend to climb a rope ladder

        • MAN THE LIFEBOAT: shipmates find a partner and hold both hands together

        • SHARK ATTACK: shipmates lie on their backs with their feet up

        • FREEZE: shipmates stop all actions and can't continue until the captain says, "Unfreeze"

    • Debrief

      • We played this game because it's about following directions and not making mistakes. It's part of the game to see how well we can follow directions. If we make mistakes, we can expect trouble.

  • Relevance

    • Real life is like that too. God has given us directions on what to do, and if we follow His directions, it will be the best thing for us.

    SLIDE 3

    • Everyone messes up sooner or later in life. Everyone messes up by doing things that are wrong, and we also mess up by NOT doing the things that are right.

    • Sometimes our mess-ups can be really serious.

    SLIDE 4

  • Big Question

    • Our big question today is: What can we expect when we sin and mess up?

  • Big Idea

    • Our big idea today is: God judges evil, but He is kind when we turn from evil.

  • Bible Reference

    • That's what we will see in our Bible story. Our story is about a king named Ahab. He was the king of Israel about 40 years after Rehoboam.

    • Let’s watch a video about our Bible story.

    SLIDE 5


    Point 1

  • Our first point is, God judges evil

    SLIDE 6

  • Game: Donut on a String Challenge

    • Instructions

      • We'll start this point with a fun game.

      • It's the Donut on a String challenge!

      • Let's watch a video to see what it's like:

      • Teacher: play this YouTube video:

      • Today we don't have a bar to hold up the donuts, but that's alright, because we have chairs, and we have each other.

      • We will form pairs, and we will take turns. Half of us will try to eat the donut with no hands, and the other half will stand on a chair and hold the top of the string. Then we'll switch.

      • We'll have something to cover the ground in case the donut falls down.

      • Teacher's instructions:

        • Provide each group of two children with one chair.

        • Provide materials to cover the ground in case the donut falls down.

        • Run two rounds of the game so that each child has a chance to hold the string on one round and eat the donut on the other round.

    • Debrief

      • A show of hands: How many of you had the donut fall to the ground while you were working on it?

      • We all know why the donuts fell to the ground. It's because of gravity. Donuts will always fall down unless they're being held up by something. So, if we weren't careful as we ate the donut, the donut got separated from the string, and gravity pulled it down.

      • In the Bible, God's judgment is as sure as gravity. God hates evil, and He will always judge evil.

  • Bible Reference

    • Now let's read from the Bible, about what happened after Ahab killed Naboth.

    SLIDE 7

    • 1 Kings 21:17-21a

      • 17 The Lord said to Elijah the prophet, 18 “King Ahab of Israel is in Naboth's vineyard right now, taking it over.

    SLIDE 8

    • 19 Go tell him that I say, ‘Ahab, you murdered Naboth and took his property. And so, in the very spot where dogs licked up Naboth's blood, they will lick up your blood.’ ” When Elijah found him,

    SLIDE 9

    • 20 Ahab said, “So, my enemy, you found me at last.” Elijah answered: Yes, I did! Ahab, you have managed to do everything the Lord hates. 21 Now you will be punished...

  • Explanation

    • Elijah was a prophet. This means he carried messages from God. Ahab knew this, and God wanted Ahab to know that he deserved judgment, and he would never get away with his evil.

  • Application

    • That's how it works for us too. Let's read the Bible's warning for us when we act like Ahab.

    SLIDE 10

    • 2 Corinthians 5:10 (CEV). 

      • After all, Christ will judge each of us for the good or the bad that we do while living in these bodies.

    SLIDE 11

    • God will judge us for all the evil that we do, but He will also reward us for all the good that we do.

    SLIDE 12

  • Discussion Question

    • Let's pause for a discussion question:

      • What are some ways that we might do evil? ("Evil" is just another word for "badness")


    Point 2

  • Our second point is, God is kind when we turn from evil.

    SLIDE 13

  • Game: Bottle Flip Relay

    • Instructions

      • We'll start this point with a game! It's the bottle flip relay! It's really simple. We're going to do a bottle flip so that our water bottle lands right side up. Once it lands right side up, run to the far wall and touch it, then come back and tag the next person on your team. Then they can do a bottle flip. When everyone on your team is done, you win!

      • Teacher: form two teams and provide each team with a bottle that is one-quarter full. Countdown to start the game.

    • Debrief

      • We played this game because it's about trying again. If the bottle doesn't flip the way you want, you get another chance to pick it up and try it again.

      • In life, sometimes God gives us a chance to try again. That's what happened with King Ahab.

  • Bible Reference

    SLIDE 14

    • Let's read what happened after Ahab learned that God was going to judge him.

    • 1 Kings 21:25-29:

      • When Ahab heard this, he tore his clothes in sorrow and wore sackcloth day and night. He was depressed and refused to eat. Some time later, the Lord said, “Elijah, do you see how sorry Ahab is for what he did? I won't punish his family while he is still alive. I'll wait until his son is king....”

  • Explanation

    SLIDE 15

    • The Bible tells us that Ahab was really sad that God was going to judge him. It didn’t matter that he had his new vineyard to play with. The news from Elijah was so bad that Ahab was very sorry and it changed him.

    • The important thing was that Ahab actually believed Elijah! To believe God's words and to take God seriously was a step in the right direction.

    SLIDE 16

    • Because Ahab took a step in the right direction, God didn't send judgment on him but instead waited for his son to be king. God only judged Ahab's family after Ahab's son turned out to be a terrible person as well.

  • Application

    • This story should be encouraging for us, because all of us have messed up. We might not have killed someone,

    SLIDE 17

    • but we should not think that our own sins are small. Every sin matters to God, and every sin affects more people than just us.

    • The Bible promises us that God will be kind to us when we turn to Him and leave our sin behind.

    SLIDE 18

    • Let's read what the Bible says:

      • 1 John 1:9 (CEV). 9 But if we confess our sins to God, he can always be trusted to forgive us and take our sins away.

  • Discussion Question

    SLIDE 19

    • Let's pause for a discussion question: 

      • What is something you'd like God to forgive you for?


SLIDE 20

Conclusion

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

  • Our big question today was: What can we expect when we sin and mess up?

  • Our big idea was: God judges evil, but He is kind when we turn from evil.


    Main Activity: Team Building Games

  • Now it’s time for our main activity. Today we are playing team building games! Our games today will be fun but also a bit challenging, and all of us will mess up a few times. These games will remind us that in life we mess up too, but God is kind to us when we take a step in the right direction.

  • Game: Knee Trembler

    • Our first game is called the Knee Trembler. Let's watch how it works!

    • Teacher: play this YouTube video:

    SLIDE 21

  • SLIDE 22

    • We'll have two teams, and everyone on your team will have a turn putting an orange between their knees, and they’ll try to drop it on the other side of the room into a hula hoop. After three minutes, we'll see which team has more oranges in their hula hoop.

    • Teacher: organize two teams, set up a starting line, and set up hula hoops. Give teams three minutes to cycle through everyone on their team. You may want to repeat the game as time and interest allows.

  • Balloon Caterpillar

    • Our second game is called the Balloon caterpillar! Let's watch how it works.

    SLIDE 23

    SLIDE 24

    • We will set up four chairs at the corners of the room, and your goal as a team will be to have one person touch all four chairs before your caterpillar falls apart. If your caterpillar falls apart, you need to start again at zero, and try to reach all four chairs.

    • Teacher: form teams of about 4-5 each.

  • Amoeba Electric Fence

    • Our last game is called the Electric Fence. Let's see how it works.

    SLIDE 25

    SLIDE 26

    • Your goal for this game is to get your entire team from one side of the electric fence to the other side. You all need to go OVER the electric fence without touching it.

    • Teacher: you may want to split the class into two or more teams, each with their own electric fence to cross, and see which team can do it the fastest. You can start off with a low electric fence, e.g. the height of a chair seat, and then you can increase the height of the fence.  For the fence itself, you can use yarn or a broomstick. You can raise the fence higher by stacking chairs or by using tape.

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