Files for downloading
Unit 2 / Lesson 3
Peer Pressure
Teacher's Prep
Games
Speed Sketching Activity
Everyone needs a marker or a crayon --something thick and bold.
Everyone needs three sheets of paper
If available, one table per group of four
Balloon Crafts (Main Activity):
Long balloons that can be folded into balloon animals – about 4 balloons per child.
A pump to make inflating balloons go faster. Also, having helpers would be beneficial both for inflating the balloons and for helping make the balloon animals.
Watch this video for balloon swords (just from 0:00 to 4:00):
Watch this video for a balloon dog:
If an adult could inflate a whole bunch of balloons sometime before the end of the lesson, that would streamline the experience. Just make sure that the adult leaves about an inch uninflated at the end of each balloon.
Intro
SLIDE 1
Gathering
How was your week?
SLIDE 2
Intro Activity: A Counting Game
Instructions
We'll start our time with a game! It’s a counting game. We'll all stand in a circle and take turns calling out numbers starting with one. The first person will say, "one" and squat down. The second person will say, "two" and squat down. If you're the only one who calls your number, you're safe, and you can sit down till the next round.
If two of you call the same number, you are both out, and we start again!
Teacher: you may want to play several rounds in which everyone participates (no permanent elimination)
SLIDE 3
Debrief
We played this game because it reminds us that it's fun to play with other people. This game would be no fun by yourself! It also reminds us that other people can get us into trouble.
SLIDE 4
Big Question
Our big question today is: how can people get us into trouble?
SLIDE 5
Big Idea:
Our big idea today is:
People can encourage us to do evil, or they can punish us for doing good.
SLIDE 6
Bible Reference
We'll see this in our Bible story today. Our story is about two guys named Paul and Barnabas. They were doing God’s work. God helped them to heal a man who couldn’t walk.
Teacher: Please watch from 1:29:35 to 1:35:21 of the following YouTube video:
The Acts of The Apostles: Holy Bible [Full Film]
SLIDE 7
Now let's read the same story from the Bible. Acts 14: 8-20 (CEV)
8 In Lystra there sat a man who was lame. He had been that way from birth and had never walked. 9 He listened to Paul as he was speaking. Paul looked directly at him, saw that he had faith to be healed 10 and called out, “Stand up on your feet!” At that, the man jumped up and began to walk.
SLIDE 811 When the crowd saw what Paul had done, they shouted in the Lycaonian language, “The gods have come down to us in human form!” 12 Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul they called Hermes because he was the chief speaker. 13 The priest of Zeus, whose temple was just outside the city, brought bulls and wreaths to the city gates because he and the crowd wanted to offer sacrifices to them.
SLIDE 9
14 But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of this, they tore their clothes and rushed out into the crowd, shouting: 15 “Friends, why are you doing this? We too are only human, like you. We are bringing you good news, telling you to turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made the heavens and the earth and the sea and everything in them. 16 In the past, he let all nations go their own way. SLIDE 10 17 Yet he has not left himself without testimony: He has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons; he provides you with plenty of food and fills your hearts with joy.” 18 Even with these words, they had difficulty keeping the crowd from sacrificing to them.
SLIDE 11 19 Then some Jews came from Antioch and Iconium and won the crowd over. They stoned Paul and dragged him outside the city, thinking he was dead. 20 But after the disciples had gathered around him, he got up and went back into the city. The next day he and Barnabas left for Derbe.
Point 1
SLIDE 12
Our first point is, people can encourage us to do evil.
SLIDE 13
Activity: Speed sketching
Instructions
We'll start this point with some sketching!
Everyone will get a marker or crayon and three sheets of paper
I'll tell you to draw something, and you will have two minutes to draw it! Do your best, and afterwards we can show each other what we drew.
Teacher: during each round, set a timer for two minutes. Between rounds, have them show their drawings to everyone, and praise them for their efforts.
Possible things to sketch
A crowd of people
A forest
A busy street
A dog chasing a cat
A hand holding a spoon
SLIDE 14
Debrief
Let's all have a seat and face the front again.
This game was really hard, right? No matter how hard we try, we can’t make our drawings look exactly like the real thing. The best we can do is to draw something that reminds us of the real thing.
That's how it's like sometimes when people talk about life, and they talk about God. Sometimes a person can be very wrong.
SLIDE 15
Bible Reference
In our Bible story, there were a bunch of people saying the wrong thing. Paul and Barnabas had just helped a man who had never walked before to get up and walk! Let's read what happened next.
Acts 14:11 (CEV)
11 When the crowd saw what Paul had done, they shouted in the Lycaonian language, “The gods have come down to us in human form!”
SLIDE 16
Explanation
The crowd thought Paul and Barnabas were gods! The crowd was ready to give them anything they wanted. Paul and Barnabas could have lived like kings for the rest of their lives. People would have served them delicious food, and done anything they said.
Paul and Barnabas knew the crowd was wrong. They knew it was really God who had healed the man, so they rushed into the crowd, and they said,
SLIDE 17 15 “Friends, why are you doing this? We too are only human, like you. We are bringing you good news, telling you to turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made the heavens and the earth and the sea and everything in them.
SLIDE 18 That was the honest answer, and the most helpful thing to say. If Paul and Barnabas had pretended to be gods, they would have stopped serving the real God. They might have had a lot of fun for a few years, but they would have lost their chance to know the real God, and to help other people to know God and live forever.
SLIDE 19
Application
We can learn from that, because sooner or later we will all have the chance to do the wrong thing, and it might feel great. We need to remember though, that even if someone could give us the whole world, God has given us something even better. We need God more than anything, and other people need God more than anything.
SLIDE 20
Discussion Questions
If you could only have one thing in the world, what would it be?
Could you imagine God giving you something even better?
SLIDE 21
Point 2
Our second point is, people can punish us for doing good.
SLIDE 22
Activity: Telephone
Instructions
Let’s start with a game! It's called Telephone! Everyone, get in a circle.
Teacher: have students form a circle
Now take one step back so there's a bit of space between you, so you can't hear each other.
I'll whisper some words to one person. You can only hear it one time, and you can't ask for a repeat. The person who heard it will pass it on to the next person, until everyone in the circle has heard the message. The last person will say what they heard.
Possible Phrases
Two tiny toads ate fat flying flies
The funny bunny hid the colored candy
Many maids mop motels
Dogs dig holes for big bones
I'm wearing green underwear
The shark has shiny shoes
Cooks cook cupcakes quickly
SLIDE 23
Debrief
We played this game as a reminder that sometimes people can mess up! Even if we do our part perfectly well, other people can mess us up.
When it happens in real life, it can really hurt. That's what happened to Paul and Barnabas.
SLIDE 24
Bible Reference
Let's read from the Bible again
19 Then some Jews came from Antioch and Iconium and won the crowd over. They stoned Paul and dragged him outside the city, thinking he was dead. 20 But after the disciples had gathered around him, he got up and went back into the city. The next day he and Barnabas left for Derbe.
SLIDE 25
Explanation
We have to remember, Paul and Barnabas hadn't done anything wrong. They were just doing God's work and helping people. God had healed a man so he could walk. It was great!
SLIDE 26 The next thing they knew, the crowd was throwing rocks at Paul and Barnabas, and the crowd dragged them out of the city thinking they were dead.
But Paul and Barnabas didn’t stop trying to help people. They went back into the city, and the next day they kept traveling so they could keep helping people. As we read on, God was with them and helped them. But, Paul and Barnabas kept running into more trouble because other people kept doing bad things to them.
SLIDE 27
Application
This story reminds us that even when we are doing God's work, we can get hurt. Even if God is with us doing amazing things, sometimes people can still hurt us.
We can do everything right. We can be honest, kind, hardworking, respectful, and we can care about each other and make peace with people. But people will still do things to us that are really unfair.
Jesus encouraged His followers to remind them it's worth the trouble.
SLIDE 28 Matthew 511-12a
11 God will bless you when people insult you, mistreat you, and tell all kinds of evil lies about you because of me. 12 Be happy and excited! You will have a great reward in heaven.
SLIDE 29 No matter what people do to us, we can always do what God wants, and eventually God will reward us for it.
SLIDE 30
Discussion Question
Have you ever been punished even though you did what God wanted you to do?
What does the Bible say to people who are punished for doing what God wants us to do?
SLIDE 31
Conclusion
Let's end this lesson by going over the big ideas again.
Today's lesson was about people. People can be great. They can help each other, play nicely with each other, and can do God's work together. Sometimes they can also get us into trouble.
We learned from our Bible story that people can encourage us to do evil, or they can punish us for doing good.
Sometimes when people are encouraging you to do things that are evil, you can know they are wrong because they are going against what God says in the Bible. We don't have to listen to people who invite us to do evil, because nothing they give us will be as good as what God gives us.
SLIDE 32The second thing we learn is that people can punish us for doing good. Sometimes we can do everything right, and people still do things to us that are really unfair. In those times, when we keep going we can remember God will reward us for doing things His way, even if nobody understands us.
SLIDE 33
Main Activity: Balloon Crafts
Instructions
We'll end with some balloon crafts! Today we'll be making balloon swords. If we have some extra time, we can make some balloon dogs.
First we need everyone to have a long balloon with one inch left at the end that's not blown up.
Teacher and helpers: help inflate and tie balloons.
Now let's watch this video to see how to make a sword. We'll watch it once first, and then we'll try it in slow motion.
Teacher: play from 0:00 to 4:00 of this video
Teacher: walk through the video step by step again, helping as needed. If you have any extra helpers, have them keep preparing new balloons, so that each child has three balloons to work with.
Teacher: If you think you are able, get the children to put aside their swords, and try making a balloon dog.
Debrief
Teacher: praise the children for their efforts.
These balloon crafts remind us that sometimes it's really hard to do things right. Sometimes all kinds of things go wrong. But, it’s worth it to keep trying.
Contact and Support
Do you have questions, concerns, or insights?
Please email us at: purplecurriculum@gmail.com