Encounter Lesson 1.6. Is It Okay if I Don t Get Caught? Acts 5:1-11; 1 Timothy 1:18-19; 1 John 2:3-6

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1 Encounter Lesson 1.6 Is It Okay if I Don t Get Caught? Key Faith Foundation: Integrity Who I Am When No One s Looking Key Scriptures: Acts 5:1-11; 1 Timothy 1:18-19; 1 John 2:3-6 Bible basis for teachers Acts 5:1-11; 1 Timothy 1:18-19; 1 John 2:3-6 It can be hard for preteens to understand the big deal about sins that don t seem to have any consequences. If no one catches them, what does it matter? Use this lesson to help kids understand that when we do wrong things, the consequence is that we hurt our rela tionship with God. We know, and God knows. God wants us to do the right thing even when we don t think anyone s watching. In 1 Timothy 1:18-19, Paul described what can happen to our faith when we sin, even if no one else knows about it. Paul said the faith of some people had been shipwrecked because they had violated their consciences. Talk with kids about what shipwrecked faith looks like and what it means to have a clear conscience. Encourage kids to confess their sins and to make things right this week. Acts 5:1-11 gives an example of two people who lied and shipwrecked their faith. Ananias and his wife, Sapphira, sold some property and brought some of the money to the apostles. The problem was, they lied and said they brought the full amount. When Peter confronted Ananias with his lie, Ananias fell down dead. Later, Sapphira came and repeated the same lie, and she also died. Ananias and Sapphira forgot that God knows everything. Use this passage to remind kids that God knows everything we do. Ananias and Sapphira paid the ultimate price for their lie. Although we probably won t be struck dead for lying, 1 John 2:3-6 explains why it matters that we obey God no matter who s watching. This passage says if we claim to know God but don t obey him, we don t really know or love God. These verses can help kids understand that our actions display who we really are. If we re truly followers of God, we will follow and obey him no matter who sees us. Encourage kids to examine their own lives and to think about who they are and how they act when no one else is looking. understanding preteens Kids this age begin to see people taking immoral and illegal shortcuts especially when the coast seems clear. They may be tempted to push boundaries and see what they can get away with. Use this opportunity to remind kids about the importance of integrity, no matter the situation.

2 the lesson at a glance LESSON SEQUENCE WHAT KIDS WILL DO SUPPLIES 1 share time 2 grapple time (10 minutes) Say memory verse to leader and share with small group if they completed the dare. Play the What If? game and ponder tough situations. Grapple DVD DVD player 3 grapple team time (15 minutes) 4 grapple prayer 5 verse & dare Create ships and discuss what it means to have a shipwrecked faith. Pray through ACTS. Hear the new grapple dare and work on the new memory verse. Bibles pencils pens paper markers scissors tape copy of the Grapple Team Guide for each person

3 1 share time In grapple teams, listen to the kids who came prepared to say the memory verse from the week before. If they can say it with three helps or less give them a stamp in their booklets. Then ask if anyone completed the grapple dare from the week before. Give each kid a chance to share what happened, and give them a stamp if they completed it. 2 grapple time Get Ready: Cue the Grapple DVD to the Do Right clip. Lead the entire group in the following: Leader: Let s play the What If? game. Close your eyes while I read a set of questions. Then as I read them a second time, raise your hand for the one you d do. Remember: No one can see you, so no one knows how you answer. Here we go. What if you borrowed your friend s skateboard and left it in the driveway and your dad drove over it. Would you tell your friend what happened and offer to buy her a new skateboard? Pause. Or would you tell your friend you don t know what happened to the skateboard? Pause. Or would you buy your friend an identical skateboard and never tell her what happened? Pause. Then repeat the questions. Okay, new set of questions: What if you noticed that your teacher gave you the wrong grade on a test an answer was wrong, but he missed it. Would you ask your friends what they would do? Pause. Or would you pretend you didn t notice and not tell anyone? Pause. Or would you tell your teacher and accept the lower grade? Pause. Then repeat the questions. Have kids open their eyes. Tell All: Raise your hand if you had a hard time answering the questions. How might you have answered the questions differently if you knew everyone could see you? Let s see how someone else deals with a tough situation. Show the Do Right clip on the Grapple DVD. Tell All: What similar types of tough situations have you faced? How did you respond? In the situations we talked about, you could have gotten away without being caught. How does that make a difference, if at all? If you bought your friend an identical skateboard or if you didn t say anything to your teacher about your test grade, no one would know the difference, right? So, is it okay to do something wrong if you don t get caught? Let s grapple with that.

4 3 grapple team time Break into Grapple Teams. Encourage Grapple Team leaders to check in with kids about their week. Grapple Team leaders will facilitate discussion, using the Grapple Team Guide at the end of this lesson. 4 grapple prayer Pray through the ACTS Prayer model as a grapple team. Be sure to explain what each letter stands for, and an example for each. Give 1-2 minutes per each portion, allowing kids to pray (it s a simple as talking to God). A: Adoration is the same as praising God for who He is, not thanking Him for the things He gives us. Encourage your group to think of things that describe how awesome God is and tell Him that. C: Confession is when we tell God we are sorry and ask Him for forgiveness. T: Thanksgiving is when we acknowledge that all we have comes from God and we thank God for taking care of our needs and providing for us. S: Supplication is when we give our needs and requests to God. We can pray for the needs of others, or our own needs. 5 verse & dare Leader: Just because you don t think you got caught telling that lie or cheating on a test doesn t mean no one knows. You know, and so does God. You know what you ve done, and wrong things can hurt your relationship with God even if no one else catches you. Here s your Grapple Dare: I dare you to do the right thing when no one can see you do it. I dare you to tell the truth about the skateboard and show your teacher the test. I dare you to have a good secret between you and God instead of a yucky one! Choose a memory verse activity from the Leader Notebook to practice the new verse until parents arrive. You can do the activity either as one large group or split up into grapple teams.

5 grapple team guide Is It Okay if I Don t Get Caught? In your Grapple Team, use this guide to grapple with today s question. If you ve ever seen a shipwreck in a movie or read about one in a book, you know they can be pretty scary so just imagine experiencing one! Describe a shipwreck you ve seen or heard about. Read 1 Timothy 1: First Timothy 1:19 uses a shipwreck to describe what can happen to your faith when you ve done something wrong, even if no one else knows about it. What does it mean to have your faith shipwrecked? Give some examples of things people might keep hidden that could shipwreck their faith. Create your own ship. Use the paper, markers, scissors, and other supplies to build a ship with your partner. It can be 1-D, 2-D, 3-D and as big as you want. Once you ve built your ship, use a pen to put a few tiny barely visible holes in the bottom of the ship. If the ship is your faith and those tiny holes are wrong things you ve done even barely visible things that no one but you knows about how might those holes affect your faith, if at all? Check out two people who tried to hide something from God and others and shipwrecked their faith as a result. Read Acts 5:1-11. Why was it such a big deal that Ananias and Sapphira lied? What difference does it make that they got caught? Read 1 John 2:3-6. Based on these verses, what could you say to someone who asked, Is it okay if I don t get caught?