Unit 3 / Lesson 6
Why Christians Have Trouble
Click for slides
Teacher's Prep
Games
Balloon Swan (Intro Activity)
Get long balloons that are used to make balloon animals, enough for each child to have two or three, in case some break.
Black permanent markers to draw eyes on the balloon swans.
Before the lesson, practice making this balloon swan (only the first 2:30 of the video)
Fill up the balloons before the lesson, leaving about 1.5 inches (3.8 cm) at the end unfilled. Have enough filled for each child to have one balloon, and have some extras filled in case some pop. If you have a lot of balloons to fill, an air pump is very helpful to make the process go faster.
Traffic Yam
Get a bag of large marshmallows -- enough for each child to have two (one to put on the floor, and one to eat as a prize).
This game is based off of a Minute To Win It game called Traffic Yam. It is a relay race between two teams, where teams need to move a yam across the floor of the room using only their noses. In this version, we’ll replace the yam with a marshmallow.
Alternatively, you can have them move a gummy bear across a table.
For reference, watch this video:
Bottle Flip Relay
Prepare two disposable plastic water bottles, filling them about 1/4 full with water
Main Activity (Painting)
Materials (for each child):
Cardstock (doesn’t warp as much as normal paper)
Kid-friendly paint (watercolors work well)
Paintbrushes
Cups to hold water and brushes
Tables and chairs.
Ideas
Have them sit at tables and paint random objects they find around the room, or from their imagination.
Intro
SLIDE 1
Gathering
How was your week?
SLIDE 2
Intro Activity: Balloon Swan
Instructions
We will start our lesson with a balloon animal! Let's watch this video on how to make a balloon swan.
Instructions for teacher:
Play the first 2:30 of this video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1P7rX5c4u3o&ab_channel=AboutMagic
Give each child a balloon. Then, play the video again, one step at a time. Pause at each step to make sure that everyone has finished each step. You can encourage them to help each other.
When they are done, have them write their name on their swan, and then put the swans away, perhaps in another room so they do not become a distraction.
SLIDE 3
Debrief and Relevance
We made these balloon swans because they help us to start thinking about our lesson.
Balloons are easy to break, and even though we can expect our balloon swans to break or run out of air, it's still worth it to make them.
In life, sooner or later, we will run into trouble. Even if we are God's children and we follow Jesus, we will get into trouble; but it's still worth it to follow Jesus.
You might be wondering though, if God loves us so much, why does He let us go through trouble?
SLIDE 4
Big Question
Why do Christians go through trouble?
SLIDE 5
Big Idea
Our Bible story today will teach us that God gets us INTO trouble, but God gets us OUT of trouble, and it's better this way.
SLIDE 6
Bible Reference
Now let's watch our Bible story. It's the story of Lazarus.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dca8SSxXCmM&ab_channel=SaddlebackKids
Point 1
SLIDE 7
Our first point is, God gets us INTO trouble.
SLIDE 8
Game: Traffic Yam
Instructions
We'll start our time with a game! It’s called Traffic Yam, because sometimes it’s played with yams. It's a relay race, so we will have two teams. Everyone on your team will take a turn moving a marshmallow across the floor of the room with just their nose! When it's your turn, you'll start touching the wall, and then you'll roll the marshmallow to the other side of the room, touch the far wall while your nose is still on the marshmallow, then roll the marshmallow back with your nose and touch the wall where you came from. Then the next person on your team will go. If you finish, you get a new marshmallow to eat for all of your effort.
Teacher: demonstrate how to play, at least at key parts of the relay, e.g. how to begin, how to roll, how to touch the far wall while your nose is on the marshmallow, and how to end one's turn at the near wall.
SLIDE 9
Debrief
We played this game because it's a bit like going through trouble. When our nose is down, it's not very comfortable, and we can't see a whole lot. All we can see is that we're not done yet. It helps to remember that we're just doing this for a very short time, and there are good things about the game too.
SLIDE 10
In life, when we're going through trouble, it's not comfortable, and we can't see a lot. We need to remember that our troubles won't last forever, and good things are still happening too.
SLIDE 11
Bible Reference
Our story gives us an example of good trouble.
Let's read from the Bible.
John 11:3-7 (CEV)
3 So the sisters sent word to Jesus, “Lord, the one you love is sick.”
4 When he heard this, Jesus said, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.”
SLIDE 12
5 Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. 6 So when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days, 7 and then he said to his disciples, “Let us go back to Judea.”
SLIDE 13
Let's skip a few verses...
John 11:14-16
14 So then he told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead, 15 and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.” 16 Then Thomas (also known as Didymus) said to the rest of the disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.”
SLIDE 14
Explanation
Our story starts in a very sad way for everyone. Lazarus was very sick. His sickness must have been very painful. He was so sick that he died.
His sisters were terribly worried, and then they were very sad when Lazarus died.
Jesus went with His disciples to see Lazarus and his family. The disciples were very worried because they were going to where their enemies lived. The disciples thought they were going to die.
Everyone in our story loved God and followed Jesus. They were all doing the right thing, but they all went through trouble.
SLIDE 15
It didn't have to be this way. Jesus could have gone to Lazarus four days earlier, and Lazarus wouldn't have had to die. Or, Jesus could have just healed Lazarus with a single word-He had the power to heal people even when He was far away. Instead, Jesus let Lazarus die, and He let everyone be sad and worried -- because He had a better plan.
Jesus' plan was to help people to know Him and live forever. All this trouble was helping people to know Jesus.
SLIDE 16
Application
That's how it works with us too. If we love God, He will not give us an easy life. God will actually get us into trouble. If He wanted, He could save us from every problem, and He could make us happy and comfortable all the time. Usually He doesn't because there are more important things than being happy and comfortable.
Sometimes He uses trouble to teach us very important lessons that will help us later, and sometimes He uses trouble to help other people find Jesus and live forever.
SLIDE 17
Discussion Question
Now let's pause for a discussion question:
What could be more important than being comfortable and happy?
Point 2
SLIDE 18
Our second point is, God gets us OUT of trouble.
SLIDE 19
Activity: Bottle Flip Relay
Instructions
We'll start this point with a game! It's the bottle flip relay! We're going to do a bottle flip so that our water bottle lands the right way. Once it lands right side up, you run to the far wall, touch the wall, and then come back and tag the next person on your team, and then they can do a bottle flip. When everyone on your team is done, you win!
SLIDE 20
Debrief
We played this game because it's a bit like going through trouble. When we're doing a bottle flip, we don't know how many times we have to try before we’ll get it. We do know that as long as we don't give up, we'll eventually finish.
SLIDE 21
When a Christian goes through trouble, we can know that eventually the trouble will end, and someday everything will be right in the world.
SLIDE 22
Bible Reference and Explanation
In our Bible story, Jesus got people out of trouble by helping them, and there were three ways that He helped them. He helped their mind, their heart, and their body.
First, He helped their mind. He helped Martha to understand Him.
SLIDE 23
Let's read verses 25 and 26.
Luke 11:23-26 (CEV)
23 Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.”
24 Martha answered, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”
25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; 26 and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?”
SLIDE 24
Jesus helped Martha to know that Lazarus would live again, and the reason was because Jesus gives life to everyone who believes in Him.
Jesus also helped people’s hearts by sharing in their sadness. Our Bible passage tells us that Jesus cried with Mary and her friends. Jesus showed them that He cared a lot.
Finally He helped fix the problem. He brought Lazarus back to life again.
SLIDE 25
Application
This story reminds us that Jesus helps us in the same ways. He helps our minds to understand. He helps our hearts to know that He cares. He helps our bodies, sometimes healing us from sickness. Sometimes He doesn’t heal us, but He has promised that someday we will have a new body in heaven, and our new body will be perfect and will never die.
SLIDE 26
Discussion Questions
Let’s stop for some discussion questions:
What is something that makes you sad nowadays?
What gives you hope when you are sad?
Conclusion
SLIDE 27
To wrap up our lesson, our Bible story shows us why Christians go through trouble.
God gets us INTO trouble, because some things are more important than being comfortable and happy all the time. Jesus is using trouble to teach us and to help people to know Him and live forever.
God also gets us OUT of trouble, and He helps us in every way. He helps our minds to understand. He helps our hearts to know that He cares, and He helps our bodies so that in the end, we will never have to deal with sickness or death ever again.
Main Activity: Painting
SLIDE 28
Now it’s time for our main activity. Today we are painting!
Instructions for Teacher:
Lead a painting activity. See ideas in the teacher's preparation section at the beginning of the lesson plan.
As the students are dismissed, give them their balloon swans.