17
"Should I Listen to My Parents?”
Big Idea
When you obey your parents, you obey God.
Materials Needed:
Plain box with the "Ø" symbol drawn on it, Knife, Two DVD cases, Two half-sheets of paper, Alarm clock, Cellphone, table or chair.
Setup:
1. On separate half-sheets of paper, write "Zombie Slayer 2: Attack of the Super Zombies!" and "Super Ninja Robot Fighter". Slip these inside and over the covers of the DVD cases.
2. In the box, place all the other items listed. Keep this box away from the children before the lesson, as the knife could be dangerous to them if unsupervised.
3. Set a small chair or table in the middle of the teaching area.
Lesson
1. Review the big idea from last meeting's lesson: "Fill your brain with God, not junk!" Ask the question, "What does God care what I watch or listen to?" and have the children repeat the big idea a few times, doing the motions below as you say each word.
Fill: hold hands out at waist level with palms up and raise them above your head
Brain: point to your head
God: point up
Junk: plug nose with one hand and wave away a bad smell with the other
2. Ask, "All of us have someone who takes care of us. For some, it's our mom and dad. For others, it's our grandparents, an aunt and uncle, or somebody else. But we all have big people in charge of us, who's job is to take care of us and keep us safe. I'll just call them our parents. And they usually have rules we have to live by. What are some rules that your mom or dad, grandma or grandpa, or whoever's in charge of you has at your house?" Allow the children to respond, and record their answers on a chalk/wipe board.
3. Ask, "Now, some rules we like better than others. What are some rules in your house that you wish were maybe a little different?" Allow the children to respond. If one of their responses refers to something already written on the board, circle it. If it isn't already up there, write it on the board and circle it. Explain the following:
Today, we're going to try to answer the question, "Should I listen to my parents?" First, we'll talk about what it means to listen to our parents and why they give us rules. Then, we'll see what the Bible has to say about it.
4. Place the box on the table/chair. Explain the following:
This is the "No Box." I call it that because it's full of stuff your parents would probably say, "No!" to, stuff that they probably have rules against. Let's talk about a few of the things in here.
5. Pull the knife out of the box. Ask, "What rule(s) do you think parents might have against this?"Allow the children to respond, until one responds to the effect of "Don't play with knives."
Ask, "Why would this rule be hard to obey sometimes?" Allow the children to respond with various reasons why they'd prefer to not obey this rule.
Ask, "Why would your parents have a rule about playing with knives?" Allow the children to respond, then explain the following:
Our parents may have a rule against playing with knives because they know that if we aren't really careful with them, we could chop off a finger, poke out an eyeball or stab ourselves in the behind! In fact, our parents might have say that we can't even touch them! So, even though it might be fun to chop up a carrot into teeny-tiny bits, to obey our parents, I'll put the knife back in the "No box."
6. Pull the Zombie Slayer 2 DVD out of the box. Ask, "What rule(s) do you think parents might have against this?"Allow the children to respond, until one responds to the effect of "Don't watch these kind of movies."
Ask, "Why would this rule be hard to obey sometimes?" Allow the children to respond with various reasons why they'd prefer to not obey this rule.
Ask, "Why would your parents have a rule about watching movies like this?" Allow the children to respond, then explain the following:
Our parents may have a rule against watching movies like this for a couple of reasons. First, sometimes movies like this are just too scary for kids and might be full of things that it's not good for kids to see. Second, our parents know that sometimes we end up acting out the stuff we watch on TV or at the movies. If we watch a movie full of fighting ninjas, we might end up karate-chopping our sister. So, even though we might want to see this, to obey our parents, I'll put "Zombie Slayer 2: Attack of the Super Zombies!" back in the "No Box." Ask, "Why would this rule be hard to obey sometimes?" Allow the children to respond with various reasons why they'd prefer to not obey this rule.
Ask, "Why would your parents have a rule about playing video games like this?" Allow the children to respond, then explain the following:
Our parents may have a rule against playing video games like this because they know they're full of stuff kids aren't ready to see until they are older. They also know that, like movies we aren't ready to see, we sometimes try to do what we see in video games like this and may end up doing something that would hurt us or someone else. So, even though we might really want to play this game, to obey our parents, I'll put "Super Ninja Robot Fighter" back in the "No Box." Ask, "Why would this rule be hard to obey sometimes?" Allow the children to respond with various reasons why they'd prefer to not obey this rule.
Ask, "Why would your parents have a rule about going to bed at a certain time?" Allow the children to respond, then explain the following:
Our parents have a rule about going to bed at a certain time because they want us to be healthy and awake. If we never get enough sleep, we'll make ourselves sick. And, if we don't go to bed on time, we'll fall asleep in class and not learn a thing! So, even though it'd be fun to stay up all night long, to obey our parents, I'll put the alarm clock back in the "No Box."9. Explain the following:
7. Explain that the big idea from today's lesson is: "When we obey our parents, we obey God!" Ask the question, "Should I listen to my parents?" and have the children repeat the big idea a few times, doing the motions below as you say each word.