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How To Change A Person's Mind

Unit 15 / Lesson 4

How To Change A Person's Mind

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Teacher's Prep

  • Games

    • Sticky Note Challenge

      • Materials needed: two pads of sticky notes for every four kids. You can buy the cheap no-name type from the Dollar store, as quality is not important. You may also be interested in buying mini sticky notes if they are cheaper.

    • Mad Libs (online)

  • Main Activity (Banana Sushi):

    • See this video:

    • Materials (for each group of 2-3)

      • Ingredients

        • 2 tortillas

        • 4 tbsp of Nutella

        • 2 bananas

      • Equipment

        • 2-3 plates

        • 2-3 butter knives

        • Hand sanitizer

    • Try making the snack yourself and testing it before the lesson.

    • For a more fancy banana sushi, you may want to provide additional toppings such as Rice Krispies cereal, dried coconut, sprinkles, mini chocolate chips, or toffee chips. A bit of additional Nutella on the outside of the banana sushi roll helps the toppings stick.


    Intro

    SLIDE 1

  • Gathering

    • How was your week?

  • Intro Short Film (this lesson features a short film instead of the usual game at the beginning)

    • Let's start our lesson with a short film!

    SLIDE 2

  • Relevance

    • There's a reason why we watched the film. Sometimes in life we can feel like the little guy in the story.

    • SLIDE 3

    • The little guy was trying to change two people’s minds, to help them. But he was having the hardest time changing their minds.

    • And sooner or later you'll feel that way too. Sometimes in real life we really need to change a person's mind.

    • Maybe you have a friend who's really mean towards other people, and you really want them to stop. Or, maybe you want someone to go to church and hear about Jesus.

    SLIDE 4

  • Big Question

    • So, our big question for today is: how can we change people's minds?

  • Big Idea

    • Our Bible story today will show us two keys that give us the best chance to change someone's mind.

    • The two keys are:

      • 1. Quality time, and

      • 2. Words that they care about.

  • Bible Reference

    • That's what we see in the book of Esther.

    • You might remember that the book of Esther is about two heroes named Esther and Mordecai. Halfway through the book, they're trying to stop Haman's evil plan that would kill all of God's people.

    SLIDE 5


    Point 1

  • Based on our Bible story, the first key to changing someone's mind is quality time.

    SLIDE 6

  • Game: Sticky Note challenge

    • Instructions

      • Let’s start this point with a game -- it's called the sticky note challenge!

      • It's really simple: we'll have teams of about four people each. Each team will have two pads of sticky notes. Someone will need to volunteer to have sticky notes all over them, and your goal as a team is to stick all the sticky notes to one person. When all your sticky notes are on the person, you win.

      • Now there’s a very important rule for this game: stay away from private parts!!! You can stick the sticky notes on a person’s arms and legs and their back. But none of the swimsuit areas.

      • Teacher: divide the group into teams. Each team will have two pads of sticky notes to share, and to stick on a single person. Afterwards you can play a follow up game in which teams collect all the sticky notes that have been used, and stick them in a single stack, allowing for easy cleanup.

    • Debrief

      • In this game we spent time looking at a person, and thinking about them, and doing something fun with them. That's quality time! And, that's what we see in our Bible story.

  • Bible Reference

    SLIDE 7

    • Let’s read from Esther 5:3-4.

      • Then the king asked, “What is it, Queen Esther? What is your request? Even up to half the kingdom, it will be given you.” 

      • “If it pleases the king,” replied Esther, “let the king, together with Haman, come today to a banquet I have prepared for him.”

  • Explanation

    SLIDE 8

    • In our Bible story, Esther went to the king for help. And, the king was really friendly. But, Esther knew it wasn't time to talk yet.

    SLIDE 9

    • She needed to spend some time eating with him first, and then she could listen to him and understand what he was thinking about. She needed to wait until she understood him better before she talked about the super important thing on her mind which was saving God's people from being killed.

  • Application

    SLIDE 10

    • It works like that for us too. Sometimes we have something really important to say. Maybe there's someone in your life who's really mean, and you want them to stop. Or, maybe you want to talk to someone about Jesus. It always helps if you can spend a bit more time with someone to listen and understand them better.

  • Discussion Question

    SLIDE 11

    • Let’s pause for a discussion question:

      • What's something fun that you can do with a friend?


    Point 2

  • Our second key to changing someone's mind is to speak words that they care about.

    SLIDE 12

  • Game: Mad Libs (online)

    SLIDE 13

    • We played with Mad Libs because they remind us that a few words can make a big difference. And, it's like that in real life too. Just a few words can change a lot of things -- if they are the right words. That's what we see in our story.

  • Video

    • Let's watch some more of our video!

    SLIDE 14

  • Bible Reference

    • Now let's read the story from the Bible.

    SLIDE 15

    • Esther 7:1-4

      • The king and Haman were dining with Esther and drinking wine during the second dinner, when the king again said, “Esther, what can I do for you? Just ask, and I will give you as much as half of my kingdom!”

    SLIDE 16

    • Esther answered, “Your Majesty, if you really care for me and are willing to help, you can save me and my people. That’s what I really want, because a reward has been promised to anyone who kills my people. Your Majesty, if we were merely going to be sold as slaves, I would not have bothered you.”

  • Explanation

    SLIDE 17

    • In our Bible story, Esther ate dinner with the king twice to build their friendship.

    SLIDE 18

    • Then she asked the king for something really important. She asked the king to save her from a powerful enemy. And, she said her words just right.

    SLIDE 19

    • Esther was able to change the king's mind because she connected her problem to something the king really cared about.

  • Application

    SLIDE 20

    • We can do the same kind of thing. If you need to change someone's mind, take some time to listen for the things they care about. Then, talk about a problem using the ideas they care about. Show them why it's good for them to listen to you. That way, you can change someone's life for the better.

  • Discussion Question

    SLIDE 21

    • Let's pause for a discussion question:

      • What's something you care a lot about?

      • Teacher: you may want to point out that everyone has something they care a lot about, and that we need to listen for those things and talk about those things.


    Conclusion

    SLIDE 22

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

  • Our Bible story gives us two keys to changing someone's mind. We can change minds for evil or for good, so we need to be careful how we use this power. If you want to change someone's mind for the better, spend some time with them, and listen to them so that you can understand what they care about. Then use the ideas they care about to talk about the things you want.


    Main Activity: Banana Sushi

  • SLIDE 23

  • Today for our main activity, we are making banana sushi! Let's watch a really quick video on how to make it:

  • Teacher: play this video (35 second long):

  • This snack reminds us a little bit about our lesson because it’s about spending time together and eating together. When we spend time with people and eat with them, we start to understand what they care about, and we can talk about the things they care about. And, we can use the ideas they care about to talk about things that are important to you.

  • Teacher: make the banana sushi with the children.

 

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