20
"Does God Care If I'm Popular?”
Big Idea
Popular lasts a little while, but following God's always in style.
Materials Needed:
3-4 Old pictures of people wearing fashionable clothes / glasses / hairstyles that clearly look silly today (
Example: large, striped, bell bottom jeans), Custom CD* (see note below) with the following tracks: #1: Come Josephine in My Flying Machine by Ada Jones and Billy Murray, #2: The Yama Yama Man by Ada Jones, CD Player, Stick of Chewing Gum, Piece of jawbreaker candy
Setup:
1. Set up the CD player in the teaching area, and have the custom CD inserted and ready to play.
Lesson
1. Review the big idea from last meeting's lesson: "God gives what you need, not what you want." Ask the question, "Does God care about the stuff I have?" and have the children repeat the big idea a few times, doing the motions below as you say each word.
God: point up
Gives: cup hands in front of your stomach and move them away from you
Need: point to your knees
Not: shake head and wag your finger to indicate "No!"
Want: hold hands together before you as if begging mom or dad for something
2. Explain the following:
A little while back, we talked about how God really cares how we do in school. He wants us to try our best in everything, as if we're doing it as a present for him. But what about the parts of school that aren't about homework, tests, book reports, and learning new stuff. What about having lots of friends and doing lots of fun stuff? Does God care about that? Does God want me to be popular? Or worse, does God want me to be unpopular? (Write "Popular" in large print in the middle of the chalk/wipe board.)
We'll try our best to answer that question today. First, we'll talk a bit about what it means to be popular, and then we'll look into God's message to us, the Bible, to see what he has to say about it. But first, what makes a kid popular? Think about the kids at your school or in your neighborhood that everyone wants to be friends with. What is it about them that makes people like them so much?
Allow the children to respond. Write their answers on the board around the word "popular."
3. Ask, "
Of these that we said make someone popular, how many of them are things we can't really control? How many of these qualities were just things we were born with? (As the children indicate items on the board that are things out of our control, such as beauty or athleticism, circle them.)
4. Explain the following:
Let's take a look at some popular people from a while ago. These people were cool way back before you were even were born. In fact, these things might've been cool before your mom or dad was born.
Pass around the old pictures to the group, so that each child gets to see each one. Discuss a few of the features of the styles in the photos and why we think they look a little funny. Explain the following:
We may find these pictures a little silly looking today, but believe it or not, this is what the cool kids were wearing back then. This is how the popular kids looked and dressed. And you know what, in 30 years, when your kids look at pictures you as a teenager, they'll probably find you just as silly looking as we find these people!5. Explain the following:
Now let's take a listen to some popular music from a while ago. These songs were what people would have listened to on their radios (if they even had them back then!) and danced to at their houses. And the people who sang these songs would have been the cool people back then. These songs were sung before you were born, before your parents were born, and maybe even before you grandparents, or even great grandparents were born!
Play about a minute of each of the two tracks on the custom CD. Before playing each track, inform the children of the title of the song. Afterwards, allow the children to describe what they thought of the music. Explain the following:
Most of us think that the music from long ago sounds a lot different from what we hear on the radio today. And we probably find it hard to imagine that anyone would want to sing and dance to songs like those, but I promise you, that was the kind of music the cool people were listening to back then. And you know what, in 30 years, when your kids listen to the music you like now, they'll probably think it sounds funny, too!
6. Explain the following:
As you can see, things that are popular don't last forever. Cool clothes soon start to look silly. Cool music soon starts to sound funny. And some of these things we wrote on the board earlier, they go away, too. Our bodies don't look as cool as we get older. And we won't be as good at sports as our bodies age.
God talks about stuff that doesn't last forever and fades away. (Have a child read from his/her Bible the following verse:
Proverbs 31:30 - "Charm can fool you. Beauty fades. But a woman who has respect for the Lord should be praised." NIrV) Explain the following:
Charm can fool you. Beauty fades. Those two things, charm and beauty, are some things that can make us popular. If we're charming and can get people to laugh at all of our jokes, we can make a lot of friends. If we're beautiful and wear the coolest clothes, a lot of people will like us. But the Bible says that charm will fool you and beauty fades away.
Being popular is a bit like a stick of chewing gum. (Hold up the stick of chewing gum.) You chew it and it's good for a little while, but soon it's lost all of it's flavor, and it's really only good for sticking to the bottom of your shoe. Likewise, being popular is fun for a while, but it goes away before too long and is good for nothing once it's gone.
But doing what God says, or as our verse says, "respect for the Lord" is more live a jawbreaker. (Hold up the jawbreaker.) You put it in your mouth and suck on it, but it doesn't seem to get any smaller or lose any of its flavor. It just seems to last and last a very long time. Likewise, following God is something that's always good for you and will always stay with you. You may no longer be beautiful, or good at sports, or the best singer in the world, but you can always be a follower of God.
So, does God care if you're popular? Really, it doesn't matter if you are popular or not. Whether you have hundreds of friends or only one, God wants you to do what he asks you to in the Bible. He knows that popular lasts a little while, but following God's always in style.7. Explain that the big idea from today's lesson is: "Popular lasts a little while, but following God's always in style." Ask the question, "Does God if I'm popular?" and have the children repeat the big idea a few times, doing the motions below as you say each word.
Popular: Point to yourself with two thumbs
Lasts: Tap wrist as if pointing to watch
Little While: Hold thumb and index finger about an inch apart with other fingers closed.
Following: March in place
God: Point up
Always in Style: Pretend to pinch your shit's collar with both hands.
*Note on Custom CD: These 1910 - 1920's ear popular songs were found free on the internet. Similar songs of a bygone era that seem a little strange to the modern ear would work well as a substitute.