5
“Who has sinned?”
Big Idea
Everybody’s sinned, nobody’s perfect.
Materials Needed:
1. Wall calendar
Setup:
1. None.
Lesson
1. Review the big idea from last meeting: “Sin is not following God’s directions in the Bible." by saying it with the children a few times while doing the following motions.
Not: wag a finger back and forth in front of you
Following God’s directions: March in place, as if following a leader
Bible: Mime opening a book
2. Explain the following:
Now that we understand exactly what sin means, let’s try and figure out the answer to another question: who has sinned? (Write “Who has sinned?” on a chalk/wipe board near the top.)
3. Hold up the wall calendar for the children to see. Invite a child up and ask him/her “What is this and what do people use it for?” Explain the following:
We’re going to use this calendar to try and figure out how long we think somebody could go without sinning. Remember, sinning is when we do what God says we shouldn’t do or don’t do what he says we should do.
4. Ask your volunteer, “Do you think you could go one second without sinning?” After they answer, count to one second. Explain the following:
Well, it looks like he/she made it one second without sinning: he/she didn’t do what God said not to do, and she did all that God said to do. (On the board, write “One second: yes.”)
5. Ask your volunteer, “Do you think you could go one hour without sinning?” Help him/her answer this by figuring out what time it will be one hour from the present. He/she should respond in the positive. Explain the following:
We won’t make everybody sit here and watch him/her not sin for a hour, but somebody could probably go one hour without sinning. (On the board, write “One hour: yes.”)
6. Ask your volunteer, “Do you think you could go a whole day without sinning?” Help him/her answer this by having him/her find today’s and tomorrow’s date on the calendar and informing him/her that he/she would have to avoid sinning until this time tomorrow. Explain the following:
We could probably go a whole day without sinning once. We could go through everything we face in a day (waking up, eating breakfast, going to school, coming home, eating dinner, doing homework, going to bed) and probably do everything God asked us to do and not do anything he told us not to do. (On the board, write “One day: probably.”)
7. Ask your volunteer, “Do you think you could go a whole week without sinning?” Help him/her answer this by having him/her find a week from today’s date on the calendar and informing him/her that he/she would have to avoid sinning until that date. Explain the following:
It might be possible to go a whole week without sinning, without slipping up even once, but it’d be pretty hard. We’d have to make it through five days of school, and two days home with our family without one single time of doing what God asked us not to do or not doing what he did ask us to do. (On the board, write “One week: maybe.”)
8. Ask your volunteer, “Do you think you could go a whole month without sinning?” Help him/her answer this by having him/her find a month from today’s date on the calendar and informing him/her that he/she would have to avoid sinning until that date. Explain the following:
I don’t know if I could do it, but maybe somebody who’s on a roll could go an entire month without sinning a single time. They’d have to make it through 30 days, always doing what God wants them to do and not doing what God doesn’t want them to do. They’d have at least 20 days of school, including gym class, art, and recess. They’d probably have to do chores for their mom and dad. It’d be tough, but maybe it’s not impossible. (On the board, write “One month: not likely.”)
9. Ask your volunteer, “Do you think you could go a whole year without sinning?” Help him/her answer this by having him/her find a year from today’s date on the calendar and informing him/her that he/she would have to avoid sinning until that date. Explain the following:
It’d be nearly impossible to go an entire year without sinning once. You’d have to go every day, including Christmas, New Year’s, Thanksgiving, Halloween, your birthday, your grandma’s birthday, every day without once slipping up and doing something God asked you not to do or not doing something God asked you to do. (On the board, write “One year: almost impossible.”)
10. Ask your volunteer, “Do you think you could go your entire life without sinning?” Explain the following:
Now, we know nobody can do this. Nobody can live their entire lives, from a little tiny baby to a big, old man without once sinning: not doing what God asked us to do or doing what he asked us not to do. Even if we’re the nicest person on earth, everyone has a bad day. Nobody’s perfect. (On the board, write: “Lifetime: no way.”) We all lose our temper sometimes. And sometimes, we’re just tired and don’t feel like doing what we’re supposed to. God told us this fact in the Bible. Romans 3:23 says that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”
So, to answer our question, everybody’s sinned and nobody’s perfect. (On the board, write “Everybody’s sinned and nobody’s perfect.”)
11. Review the big idea: “Everybody’s sinned and nobody’s perfect." by saying it with the children a few times while doing the following motions.
Everybody: gesture arms in a big circle
Sinned: thumbs down
Nobody: Shake head and wave hands back and forth indicating “no”
Perfect: make A-ok signal (hold out one hand, touching tips of thumb and index finger)