In this module we are going to consider COURAGE what it means, how it can affect your behaviour and the behaviour of others.

Transcription

1 1 In this module we are going to consider COURAGE what it means, how it can affect your behaviour and the behaviour of others. First of all what does the word Courage mean? Showing courage means not being afraid to do what is right, remembering God is always with us. Have you ever been afraid to do or say something even when you know you should? Of course, we all have. But if we don t do it because we are afraid, what are we forgetting? God is always with us! That doesn t mean we won t be afraid, but it does mean that God will give us courage to do what is right. So what do we do when we re afraid to do what is right? Remember that God is with us and pray for courage and you can be sure that God will answer prayer. What does the Bible say about courage? Have I not commanded you, be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go. Joshua Chapter 1:9 Does the Bible give us any examples of courage? The Bible shows us many examples of courage. Remember the story of Daniel thrown in the den of lions and how God kept him from harm all night? Remember too the story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, the friends of Daniel, who were cast into the fiery furnace and God protected them from the heat and flames? These men were exiled in a foreign land and put under pressure to pray to idols, but their faith in the Living God gave them sufficient courage to face almost certain death. They knew that God would be with them and not forsake them. The Bible is full of stories of immense courage. The boy David stood up against the mighty Philistine Goliath, with only his sling and five small stones. Our God will give us strength and courage too when we need it. We re going to look at three more examples of courage in the Bible. Joshua and Caleb (You can find this story in the Book of Numbers Chapters 13 and 14.) Here are some interesting facts about this story:

2 2 1. The Lord told Moses to send some men to check out the land of Canaan, as He was going to give it to the people of Israel. He commanded that one leader be sent from each of Israel s tribes. 2. So Moses sent them out from the Desert of Paran. He sent them as the Lord had commanded. All of them were leaders of the people of Israel. He told them to see what the land was like, whether the people who lived there were strong or weak, few or many, what kind of land they lived in, was it good or bad? What kind of towns did they live in? Did the towns have high walls around them or not? How the soil was? Was it rich land or poor land? Were there trees on it or not? Also they were to try their best to bring back some of the fruit of the land, as it was the season for the first ripe grapes. 3. The men came back to Moses, Aaron and the whole community of Israel and reported back. They showed them the fruit of the land. We went into the land you sent us to. It really does have plenty of milk and honey! Here s some fruit from the land. But the people who live there are powerful. Their cities have high walls around them and are very large. 4. Then Caleb interrupted the men who were speaking to Moses. He said, We should go up and take the land. We can certainly do it. But the men who had gone up with him spoke. They said, We can t attack those people. They are stronger than we are. And then the men spread a bad report about the land among the people of Israel. They said, The land we checked out destroys those who live in it. All of the people we saw there are very big and tall. 5. That night all the people raised their voices. They sobbed out loud. Joshua, the son of Nun, tore his clothes. So did Caleb, the son of Jephunneh. Joshua and Caleb were two of the men who had checked out the land. They spoke to the whole community of Israel. They said, We passed through the land and checked it out. It s very good. If the Lord is pleased with us, He ll lead us into that land. It s a land that has plenty of milk and honey. He ll give it to us. But don t refuse to obey Him. And don t be afraid of the people of the land. We will swallow them up. The Lord is with us. So nothing can save them. Don t be afraid of them. 6. The Lord said about the people who doubted, And you can be just as sure that these men will not see the land I promised to give them. They have seen my glory. They have seen the miraculous signs I did in Egypt. And they have seen what I did in the desert. But they did not obey me.

3 3 And they have put me to the test ten times. So not even one of them will ever see the land I promised with an oath to give to their people of long ago. No one who has made fun of me will ever see it. But my servant Caleb has a different spirit. He follows me with his whole heart. So I will bring him into the land he went to. And his children after him will receive land there. 7. The Lord said, You will die in this desert. Every one of you who is 20 years old or more will die. Every one of you who was counted in the list of the people will die. Every one of you who has spoken out against me will be wiped out. I lifted up my hand and promised with an oath to make this land your home. But now not all of you will enter the land. Caleb, the son of Jephunneh, will enter it. So will Joshua, the son of Nun. They are the only ones who will enter the land. As for you, you will die in the desert. Your children will be shepherds here for 40 years. They will suffer because you were not faithful. They will suffer until the last of your bodies lies here in the desert. For 40 years you will suffer for your sins. That is one year for each of the 40 days you checked out the land. You will know what it is like to have me against you. Ten of the spies came back with a bad report about the land, but Caleb spoke up and said that they should go ahead and attack. Only Caleb and Joshua believed that God would fulfill His promise and give them victory over the land so that it would be their dwelling place. This was the Promised Land that God had led them to throughout their time in the wilderness. God was so angry with the people for doubting His promise that He refused to let anyone into the Promised Land who were over 20 years old, except those belonging to the tribe of Caleb and Joshua. The people of Israel allowed their fear to overwhelm them, despite the reassurance of God s promise. We too should remember that God keeps His promise and if we show courage when standing up for Him, He will be with us. Activity Make sure you have enough balloons for every child in your group. You will need to have prepared the same number of slips of paper on which you have written a promise from God. (The Bible is full of promises so you can choose enough to provide each child with a promise.) Take each slip of paper and roll it up into a very small scroll. Insert one scroll into each of the balloons. Then inflate each balloon and tie off the end with a secure knot. The idea is that each child has to burst their balloon in order to

4 4 read the promise inside. Some of the children might well be afraid to burst the balloon and will need courage to do it. Explain to them that sometimes we have to do difficult and scary things, but we should have courage to do what is right because we know that God will be with us and give us the strength to see it through. Here is another story that shows great courage. Elijah confronts Ahab s idolatry (You can find this story in the First Book of Kings chapters 17 and 18.) Here are some interesting facts about this story: 1. Ahab was a wicked king who married a Sidonian woman. She was not a Jewish woman. God had told His people that they should not marry women who did not worship the One, True God. The woman that Ahab married was named Jezebel. Jezebel had not been taught in her home to worship Jehovah God, but she had been taught that Baal was her god. Baal was a stone idol that the people worshiped. They offered their infant children as sacrifices to their god. 2. King Ahab brought her into his family and made her his wife. As the leader of his family he should never have allowed her to bring her Baal worship into their home. 3. Elijah, the prophet of God could see the evil influence that Ahab and Jezebel were having on God s people. The people of Israel began to follow Ahab s example and many people in Israel began to worship Baal. This was a terrible sin! God had told His people in the 10 commandments that they were to have no other gods besides Him. God was their God. They had no need for any pretend gods. The bad influence of Ahab and Jezebel affected the people of Israel and many of them sinned as a result. 4. Elijah knew that God must punish sin. God had told the people what would happen if they disobeyed Him and so he went straight to King Ahab and said, As the Lord, the God of Israel lives, whom I serve, there will neither be dew nor rain in the next few years, except at my word. 5. God told Elijah to go and hide by the Brook Cherith by the Jordan River. He told him that he could drink water from the brook. He also said that He had commanded the ravens to feed him there. When Elijah got to

5 5 the brook he had plenty of water to drink. Just as God had said, every morning and every night God sent ravens with bread and meat for Elijah to eat. 6. The drought came just as Elijah said it would. God s people were being punished for sinning against Him. Elijah was God s obedient servant and God was taking care of him. 7. As time passed with no rain, the brook began to dry up and there was no more water for Elijah to drink. So far God had taken care of him. Would God continue to help Elijah? 8. During the three and a half years of drought, Elijah had to depend entirely on God s protection. His life was in danger because wicked Queen Jezebel was so angry that Elijah had brought God s message to them saying there would be no rain. She was so angry that she took her anger out on all of God s prophets. She began to send her people through the land killing God s prophets. She really wanted to kill Elijah as well, but God hid him safely in Zarephath with a widow and her son. 9. As each month passed and not one single drop of rain fell from the sky, all the plants and grass dried up and died. Rivers and streams that once were flowing with water had now dried up and all that could be seen were cracks in the ground. Each day King Ahab and Jezebel grew angrier and angrier with Elijah. They searched everywhere for him. They sent servants to the surrounding countries and asked if they had seen Elijah. When they said no, Ahab made them promise that they had not seen him. 10. Obadiah was in charge of Ahab s house, he was a governor for Ahab. But Obadiah was a devout believer in the LORD and with great courage hid 100 of God s prophets in 2 caves. He placed 50 in each cave and secretly brought them bread and water so Jezebel could not kill them. 11. King Ahab was getting very concerned about the remaining livestock he had. He desperately needed green grass for his animals. He asked Obadiah to go out with him and search for food for his animals. Ahab and Obadiah split up and went into two directions, looking over the land, trying to find grass. 12. Obadiah was walking along and Elijah appeared to him. Obadiah immediately fell on his face and said, Is that you my lord, Elijah? Elijah

6 6 told Obadiah that he needed to go and tell Ahab that he was in the land and that he was ready to speak with him. Obadiah was really scared at what Elijah was asking him to do. He was afraid that Elijah would disappear and Ahab would kill him instead. Elijah reassured Obadiah that he would not disappear. Obadiah went and told Ahab where he could find Elijah. 13. When Ahab met with Elijah he said, Is that you, O troubler of Israel? Elijah looked at Ahab and said, I haven t troubled Israel but you and your family have. You have disobeyed God s commands and worshiped Baal. What I want you to do is gather the 450 prophets of Baal and the 400 prophets of Asherah and bring them to me at Mount Carmel. Also gather all of Israel and bring them here too. 14. Ahab agreed to do this and went back and gathered the false prophets of Baal. Ahab, all Israel and the false prophets of Baal came to Elijah on Mount Carmel. Elijah, a true prophet of God, was standing before the Israelites who had been worshipping a false god. Elijah said, How long will you waver between two opinions? Either the Lord is God, or Baal. You need to choose who is the true God that you will follow. 15. Elijah said there would be a contest that would prove who the true God was. The prophets of Baal would present a sacrifice to him and Elijah would present a sacrifice to the Lord God. The prophets of Baal would call on their god and Elijah would call on the Lord God. Whoever answered by fire would be the True God. The people agreed to the contest. 16. The prophets of Baal took their bull and prepared it as a sacrifice on an altar. They began to call out to Baal. Oh Baal hear us! They cried out to Baal until noon and there was no answer. They leaped and danced around, still no answer. At noon, Elijah began to tease the prophets of Baal and said, Cry louder, maybe he is busy meditating or is away. Maybe Baal is asleep and needs to be awakened! 17. The false prophets cried aloud and began to cut themselves with knives as they did in their worship of Baal. Not a spark came from anywhere to light their sacrifice on fire. They continued doing this until the evening and still no answer. 18. When there was no answer, Elijah called them to him as he prepared the sacrifice before the Lord. He prepared an altar that had been used to worship the Lord a long time ago but had long since been forsaken

7 7 since the people worshiped Baal. He took twelve stones that represented the 12 tribes of Israel and built an altar. Elijah made a trench around the altar and filled it with seed. He put the wood on the altar and the cut up bull on top. Next, Elijah asked for 4 water pots to be poured on the altar. He asked them to pour these 4 water pots on the sacrifice 3 times. That is 12 pots of water on the sacrifice. (Why do you think he poured water on the sacrifice? Fire doesn t burn wet things very well. Elijah wanted the people to see that the Lord is God and he wasn t doing any magic tricks to start the fire.) 19. When the sacrifice was ready Elijah spoke to the Lord, Hear me, O Lord, hear me, that this people may know that You are the LORD God, and that You have turned their hearts back to You again. Elijah didn t shout and dance. He didn t cut himself or anything else. He just spoke this simple prayer to the Lord. Immediately fire fell from heaven and consumed the sacrifice. The Lord s fire was so powerful that it not only burned the entire, but the wood and stones as well. All the water in the trench was gone. The One True God showed His people that He alone is God and there is no other. 20. When the people saw God s amazing power, they all fell on their faces. They said, The LORD, He is God! The LORD, He is God! They had seen that Baal could do nothing, but the Lord heard and answered his prayer. Elijah told them to kill all the prophets of Baal and not to let one of them escape. All 450 prophets of Baal were killed that day 21. As soon as all the people had returned to their homes and Elijah was alone on the mountain, Elijah knelt down with his face between his knees and prayed, Please, O God, send rain to our people. The people now realise that You are the One, True God. Elijah prayed knowing that God hears and answers prayer. After Elijah prayed he sent his servant to go and see if he could see any rain clouds in the sky. His servant came back and said he could not see any. Elijah prayed again and sent the servant out again. The servant came back and said he saw no rain clouds. This happened 7 times. On the seventh time the servant came back with the news that there was a cloud as small as a man s hand rising up from the sea. Elijah told his servant to go and tell Ahab the news. 22. Elijah trusted God and even though he prayed 7 times, God heard every prayer and waited for His perfect timing to answer that prayer. The servant went to tell Elijah s message to Ahab. As he went, the sky began to turn black. Dark clouds appeared and the wind increased,

8 8 bringing with it heavy rain. Ahab got in his chariot and began to ride home to Jezreel. God gave Elijah power and he tucked his robe in his belt and began to run toward Jezreel. God had given him so much power that he ran faster than Ahab s chariot and beat him home to Jezreel. 23. God had answered Elijah s prayer and rain finally came after three and a half years. God showed everyone that He is the One True God. He alone is to be worshiped. We can learn from both Elijah and Obadiah that in all situations we should stand up for God because He is powerful and He will take care of His children. When God makes a promise to us, He will never let us down, and it grieves and angers Him if we doubt His word. Personal testimony Share about a time you were afraid to do what was right and how the Lord helped you overcome your fear. This would be a good time to ask the children if they can think of anything that they are afraid of and how they might be helped to deal with it. Our final story about courage is from the New Testament. The Apostles preach in spite of prison (You can find this story in the Book of Acts Chapter 4 verses 1-31.) Here are some interesting facts about this story: 1. The crowd at the temple courts that day had witnessed an amazing miracle when Peter and John healed the lame man and they heard Peter preach in the power of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit gave Peter the words to share the Good News that if the people would repent from their sins and believe in Jesus they would be saved. In order to get an idea of how many people believed let s look back at Acts 2:41. 3,000 were saved at Pentecost and Acts 4:4 implies that the number grew to 5,000, so 2,000 were saved that day.) This crowd s reaction to the teaching of God s Word was to believe. 2. Peter and John were obeying Jesus command to tell others the Good News about Jesus, but some priests, Sadducees and the officer in charge

9 9 of the temple guards arrived. They were annoyed at the Apostles teaching and arrested them, putting them in prison for a night. 3. The next day Peter and John were brought before the religious leaders, who asked them questions. By what power or what name did you do this? Peter could not have answered the religious leaders with courage or boldness unless he was filled with the Holy Spirit. It wasn t long ago that he saw the Lord Jesus crucified by the religious leaders who hated Him. Without the Holy Spirit Peter would have been afraid for his very own life. 4. Peter replied, There is no other Name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved. Peter was referring to Jesus. There is power in the Name of Jesus. In fact the crippled man was healed by faith in the Name of Jesus. 5. While Peter was speaking to the religious leaders they saw the courage that Peter and John had. They knew these men were just ordinary men. Because Peter and John had the power of the Holy Spirit living inside them it was hard for others not to notice something was different about them. The people were astonished and they took note that Peter and John had been with Jesus. 6. The religious leaders didn t like what they heard. They went off by themselves to figure out what they should do. They had to be careful how they went about doing this. They didn t want to upset the crowd because they understood that everyone in Jerusalem knew that a miracle had taken place and that couldn t be denied. They wanted to put a stop to people spreading the Good News about Jesus to anyone else. 7. They brought Peter and John back in before them. This is what they said, We command you not to speak or teach at all in the Name of Jesus. 8. Because the Holy Spirit lived inside them, Peter and John knew that they could not obey the religious leaders command because they would be disobeying Jesus command to go into the world and make disciples. 9. The religious leaders threatened Peter and John a bit more and then released them.

10 10 Here is an up-to-date story about courage Anil hated school. In fact, he would do anything in his power to avoid going to school. Actually, he wasn t at all bad at his lessons. He usually came top of the class in mathematics, and at least second in history and geography. His English wasn t too bad either, but he was rubbish at sport. Most of the boys in his class loved sport, especially cricket and football, but Anil just couldn t seem to catch a ball, hit a ball with a bat or run with a ball. He was a laughing-stock at school. When the sports teacher asked the children to pick teams, no one wanted Anil. He was always left until last and a groan would go up from the side he was forced to join. This made Anil very sad and lonely. He had tried to offer to help other boys in his class with their mathematics or their history, but no one seemed interested at all. What could he do? On the way home from school one day he was confronted by a gang of boys from his school led by a boy named Vedant. Vedant was a tall, athletic-looking boy who captained one of the school s cricket teams. As he drew near he could hear the jeers of the boys making fun of him. The nearer he got, the more scared he got. He wondered if he should turn tail and run away, but he guessed that most of the boys would be able to run much faster than he could and would soon catch up with him. Then they would call him a coward. What do I do?, he thought. Lord please help me to show courage and be brave! As he drew alongside, the group of boys encircled him, jostling and shouting at him. Then they began to push him, and a few times he nearly fell over. What a little squirt you are, said Vedant. You re useless, he said. Anil said a quick prayer and replied, No I m not useless. I m no good at sport but I m good at mathematics and other things which I think will help me much more in my life than just cricket! he said shakily. Really? remarked Vedant. Well we don t agree with you, do we? he said to the rest of the group. The

11 11 group of boys let up a roar, which really frightened Anil. I tell you what said Vedant, I ll give you a chance. You could become my slave Anil wondered what he meant. Whatever I want you to do, you will do it laughed Vedant. If I want you to clean my shoes, run my errands, in fact whatever I choose to ask you to do, you will have to do it. If you say no, then I will beat you up. Anil was really scared now. What could he do? In that split second Anil remembered that he served the Living God and no one else. He was certain God would not want him to agree to be Vedant s slave just because he was frightened. Vedant was a bully and the only way to deal with bullies is to stand up to them because at heart bullies are cowards. Anil stood up straight, took a deep breath and said, Vedant, I m not scared of you. You are a bully. I don t care what you do to me, but I am certainly not going to be your slave, like so many of the boys that hang around with you. I serve the Living God and He tells me to be of good courage and will always be with me, giving me strength, so you can do your worst but I will not be your slave. Vedant couldn t believe his ears. No one had ever stood up to him before. He towered over Anil and glared down at him, hoping that it would frighten him even more. But Anil stood his ground. Vedant then took a swing at Anil, but Anil ducked and Vedant s fist missed him and hit the grinning boy standing next to him. Hey, watch out, yelled the boy. While Vedant faced the boy who was clutching his swollen jaw, Anil pushed Vedant with all his might and he lost his balance and toppled over. Suddenly the rest of the boys in the group began to laugh and before long they began to jeer at Vedant, who picked himself up from the ground and marched off in a huff. The rest of the boys started to clap Anil and pat him on the back. One of them said, We re glad you did that. Vedant was a real nuisance to us, making us do things that he wanted to do without considering what we want to do. Anil was shaking inside and he hoped that no one else noticed it. Well I m glad I came to your rescue, he said. Now if anyone would like any help with their schoolwork, I m happy to oblige! The whole group of boys erupted into laughter. We may just do that, they cried. So from that day to this, Anil was accepted by everyone in his class. They didn t care that he wasn t good at sport, because on many occasions they needed his help with their homework. Thank

12 12 goodness I stood up to that bully, he said to himself. God gave me the courage to stand up to him and it set me free from the worry and fear that could have remained in my life for a long time. Now Anil enjoys school and never needs an excuse to get out of going! Prayer Time Pray with the children that God will help them to show courage and believe in His promises. Activity Ask the children if they can find which string is attached to the balloon labelled Courage.

13 13 LAZINESS COURAGE WORRY RUN AWAY FEAR A C D B E Which string connects to the balloon labelled COURAGE? Is it A,B,C,D or E?

14 14 Here is a game of snakes and ladders you can play with the children. You will need a dice. Let the children take it in turns to throw the dice and move up and down the board according to whether they land on a square with a ladder or a snake.

15 15 TEACHING NOTES TO ACCOMPANY THE MODULE ON COURAGE These notes are to be used in conjunction with the teaching module on Courage. The Bible stories used in this module are from the Book of Numbers Chapters 13 and 14. This is the story of Joshua and Caleb who were two of the spies sent out into the Promised Land by Moses. The second story is from the First Book of Kings Chapters 17 and 18 and tells the story of how the prophet Elijah showed great courage when he confronted King Ahab about the idolatry his wife Jezebel had introduced into the Land. The third story is from the Book of the Acts of the Apostles and shows the courage shown by Peter and John as they preach to the people, but are thrown in prison. It will be useful to familiarise yourself with these stories before presenting the module to the children. You will need to cut up strips of paper and write on them Bible promises, inserting one into each balloon. Make sure you have sufficient balloons for the number of children in the group. You need to make sufficient copies of the Balloon pictures for each child. Also it would help if you glued the Snakes and Ladder game onto a piece of stiff card. Joshua and Caleb The ten spies sent out by Moses to view the Promised Land came back with differing stories. Only Caleb and Joshua believed God at His word. God had promised to give the children of Israel this Land. It was to be their Promised Land. Caleb and Joshua believed that God would be true to His word and whatever obstacles lay in the way, God would give His people the strength to overcome them. This is a wonderful example of courage in action. Elijah confronts Ahab s idolatry It must have seemed to Elijah that his was a lone voice declaring God s commandment that the people should have no other gods but Him. However, King Ahab had already broken God s law and married a non Jew called Jezebel. She had entered his household bringing with her an idol called Baal. Not only that, but she encouraged the people of the land to bow down before stone idols and worship them. God was so angry with His people that He sent Elijah to King Ahab declaring that a drought would come over the land. In fact the drought lasted over three and a half years and much of the king s livestock died. During the drought Elijah s

16 16 life was at risk and he was told by God to hide away in the desert, but that he shouldn t be scared because God would provide him with food and water. King Ahab and Jezebel became more and more angry and sought out the prophets of God to kill them. Obadiah, a godly man who lived in the King s household, hid 100 of the prophets away from King Ahab. The story culminates in the challenge that Elijah puts before King Ahab. Elijah tells the king to gather all the stone idols together and ask the people to pray before them and ask them to send fire down on their sacrifice. Pray as hard as they might nothing happened, as Joshua knew it wouldn t. Elijah ordered the people to pour water on the altar, thus making it even more difficult to set alight. He then called on the name of the Lord to send down fire. God answered his prayer and sent down the fiercest fire the people had ever seen. Elijah continued to trust God, and even though he prayed 7 times for God to send rain, he believed in his heart that God would answer his prayer. God heard every prayer and waited for His perfect timing to answer that prayer. God did answer Elijah s prayer and rain finally came after three and a half years. God showed everyone that He is the One True God. He alone is to be worshiped. We can learn from both Elijah and Obadiah that in all situations we can stand up for God because He is powerful and He will take care of His children. The Apostles preach in spite of prison It is good to compare the boldness of Peter here with the fear he showed when he denied knowing Jesus on the night before Jesus crucifixion. Since then the Apostles had been together in the Upper Room and had experienced the power of the Holy Spirit entering their lives. They knew that this power was how Jesus would indwell them and stay with them throughout their lives. Knowing this gave them courage. As Christians we too have the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives and because of the strength and courage He gives us, we are able to face difficult times. Many thousands of people who heard the Apostles preach repented and gave their lives to Christ. But Satan tries everything in his power to stop people coming to Christ and he caused the authorities to be angry and arrest Peter and John and throw them into prison. However, this did not deter them. Their courage drove them on. Conclusion Being a Christian can be hard at times. Sometimes our friends ridicule us. In some countries people are tortured for their faith in Jesus. As

17 17 followers of Jesus we have to be ready to show courage and be able to give an account to others about the faith we believe in (1 Peter 3:15). We should take God at His word, which tells us, Have I not commanded you, be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go. Joshua Chapter 1:9.