Satan wants you bitter Suspendisse feugiat mi sed lectus aoreet nec interdum By Trenz Pruca Year 2 Quarter 3 Lesson 2 1
Lesson Overview Power Point: Satan wants you bitter Direction: God wants you better Memory Verse: Watch out that no poisonous root of bitterness grows up to trouble you. Hebrews 12:15 (NLT) Bi#erness is so sneaky. Most of the 2me we don't even know it is there un2l it has already taken root. When it takes root in our lives, it begins to affect us more and more. Bi#erness is so dangerous because it places you directly under Satan s control. Don't allow bi#erness to creep up on you when someone hurts you or offends you. Satan wants you bi#er but God wants you be#er. Bible Lesson: Absalom s Bi0erness (2 Samuel 13) Absalom was so hurt and angry about what had happened to his sister Tamar that he allowed bi#erness to take root in his heart. That bi#erness affected his whole life. It controlled him and caused him to kill his own half brother. Bi#erness can have devasta2ng consequences, which is exactly why Satan wants you bi#er. Object Lesson 1: Bi0erness poisons your mind Someone once said that bi#erness is like drinking poison and hoping someone else dies. When we allow bi#erness into our lives, it is like drinking poison. Using food coloring in water, we will demonstrate how bi#erness poisons your mind and takes over your thoughts. Object Lesson 2: Bi0erness stops you from enjoying your life When someone hurts us, we oken hold on to that feeling of bi#erness towards the other person. What we don't usually realize is that when we do this, the bi#erness actually stops us from enjoying our life. It does nothing to the person who hurt us; it just con2nues to harm us. We cannot enjoy our life if we have feelings of bi#erness towards someone else. Object Lesson 3: Bi0erness forces you to take revenge When someone mistreats us, we will go out of our way to punish and hurt them for what they did. We think that revenge will make things be#er, but what we don t realize is that we can end up hur2ng innocent people in our quest for vengeance. This was the case with someone named Cho Seung Hui. Teacher's Responsibility: Before you begin to teach or prepare this lesson on bi#erness, you need to check your heart. Is there someone who you have held a grudge towards? Is there someone who just rubs you the wrong way? Get with God and check your heart. If you find bi#erness inside, then give it to God. Allow Him to speak to you about that situa2on and person. Get right before God and make sure you have uprooted any bi#erness within your heart, and then you can teach the kids. Bi#erness 1. Poisons your mind 2. Stops you from enjoying your life 3. Forces you to seek revenge 2
Lesson Intro Props Poster board with the le#er I on it, poster board with the le#er E on it, poster board with the word BITTER wri#en on it, poster board with the word BETTER wri#en on it. PresentaIon: Does everyone in here know the alphabet? Do you remember singing the Alphabet Song? I want you to sing it with me (sing the Alphabet Song). That was really good. Now I want to tell you about two very important le#ers in the alphabet. The first le#er is the le#er I (show the le4er I ). People focus a lot on the le#er I and these are the types of things that you can hear over and over again: I don t like what she said to me, I m going to give her a piece of my mind, I was talking and he interrupted, I will not allow anyone to disrespect me. I is a very dangerous le#er in the alphabet because it forces you to focus on yourself. Whenever people start thinking only of themselves, it is really easy for them to become bi0er towards others (show the word BITTER wri4en on it). Bi0erness is an uncontrollable hatred you feel towards someone. It can take place in your life if someone hurts you, talks about you, or says something you don t agree with. Satan wants you bi0er. He will make sure people around you do things that you don t like. He does this because he knows that bi0er people miss out on what God has for them. He makes you think that there is nothing wrong with feeling bi0erness towards someone. There s another le#er in the alphabet that I want to show you and that is the le#er E (show the le4er E ). E stands for everyone else. When you take the 2me to focus on everyone else rather than yourself, look at what happens to the bi0er thoughts you have in your life (show the word BETTER ). You become be0er. Be0er at loving others, be0er at showing forgiveness, be0er at lezng things go. Satan wants you bi0er, but God wants you be0er. Today s memory verse is found in Hebrews 12:15. It says, Watch out that no poisonous root of bi0erness grows up to trouble you. Bi0erness will trouble you. It is so dangerous because it places you directly in Satan s control. So let s review - who wants you to be bi0er? Answer: Satan. Who wants you to be be0er? Answer: God. Satan wants you bi0er, but God wants you be0er. Bi#erness: 1. Poisons your mind 2. Stops you from enjoying your life 3. Forces you to seek revenge
Bible Lesson Absalom s Bitterness Props 3 Bible costumes Actors Amnon, Absalom, Tamar PresentaIon: It s really easy to become bi0er towards somebody who hurts one of your family members. Seeing a loved one experience pain and heartache can be almost unbearable. There was a man in the Bible named Absalom who experienced this kind of bi0erness. Absalom had a sister named Tamar (Tamar enters and sits on the floor in the middle of the stage). One day Absalom s half- brother Amnon (Amnon enters and stands to the back on the right with his arms crossed) did something really bad to Tamar. What he did was so painful that Tamar cried all day long (Tamar puts her head in her hands and cries). It lek her hurt, broken, and wounded on the inside. Her brother Absalom watched this and it hurt him as well (Absalom enters and stands to the led watching Tamar cry). Maybe some of you are like Absalom (point to Absalom). You see someone in your family going through a really tough 2me (point to Tamar). They are hurt and broken because of what someone did to them. Maybe your li#le brother cries every night because your parents fight all the 2me. You are bi0er towards your parents for causing you and him so much pain. Or maybe your sister s boyfriend lek her alone with a baby. Your sister cries all the 2me because she is so heartbroken. You hate to see her like that. It makes you angry and bi0er towards her boyfriend for doing that to her. This is exactly how Absalom felt. Seeing his sister in so much pain made him so angry (Absalom looks angry). He could not believe what Amnon (point to Amnon) had done. The bi0erness took complete control of him un2l he decided to do something about it (Absalom mofons for Amnon to exit with him the two exit). The Bible says that Absalom tricked Amnon and ordered his men to murder him. His bi0erness took complete control of him and he ended up murdering his own half- brother. Not only did he take Amnon s life, he also ruined his own. Don t be like Absalom don t let Satan control you with bi0erness so that you end up destroying other people and yourself. Learn how to be be0er. Satan wants you bi0er, but God wants you be0er.
Object Lesson 1 Bitterness poisons your mind Props Picture of a t- shirt that says Bi#erness: Drinking poison and hoping someone else dies, table, 2 large jars of water, green food coloring, table, s2r s2ck PreparaIon Set table in middle of stage, with jars of water, food coloring and s2r s2ck on it. PresentaIon: I was buying some t- shirts online when I came across an interes2ng one. It said: Bi4erness: Drinking poison and hoping someone else dies (show picture of t- shirt). AKer I read that, I thought about it and realized that it is so true. Before we get bi0er we have a normal, clear mind, just like this water here (point to the jar of clear water). Everything is fine, un2l someone hurts you. Maybe someone lies to you, hits you, or ignores you. When this happens, you have a choice whether to become bi0er or be0er. Unfortunately, most of the 2me we become bi0er (add green food coloring to the water). That bi0erness gets into your mind and starts to change it (sfr water). Now every 2me you think about the person who hurt you, you no longer have a clear mind and you don t think good thoughts at all. You think thoughts like, How could my Dad leave my mother and me? He s the worst Dad in the world, I hate him! Or you think, My friend lied to me, how could she do that? She s not even my real friend nobody likes her. These thoughts come, because bi0erness poisons your mind (point to the green water). Look at these two jars here. This was your mind before the bi0erness (point to jar of clear water) and this one is poisoned by the bi0erness (point to jar of colored water). You constantly think hateful, angry thoughts towards the person who hurt you. The thing is you re not hur2ng the other person at all, you are just making yourself feel worse. That s why bi0erness is like drinking poison and hoping the other person dies. You want to hurt them, but the bi0erness is only hur2ng yourself and poisoning your mind even more (put more green food coloring in the water). So when someone hurts you, don't let bi0er thoughts poison your mind (point to green water). Instead, be be0er and keep your mind clear (point to clear water). Satan wants you bi0er, but God wants you be0er. Be be0er and not bi0er because bi0erness poisons your mind.
Object Lesson 2 Bitterness stops you from enjoying your life Props Baseball bat, book bag, white cloth PresentaIon: If you understand what bi0erness really does to a person, it will help you to let go of it. Let s take the most painful situa2ons some of you face. Some of you don t have a father at home because he lives with another family. He has other kids by another woman that is not your mother. You really want your father to be there for you but he is not. When you think of him playing baseball (hold up a baseball bat) with the other kids, it makes you angry. You heart becomes filled with bi0erness. You think of him taking the other kids school shopping (hold up book bag) when your mother can barely afford to buy you the things you need. The very thought of this makes you so angry. Your heart becomes filled with bi0erness. You become so bi0er that you start ac2ng up in school. You don t do your homework. You don t obey your mom. The truth is, you don t even enjoy your life. Some of you know exactly what I m talking about and you think you have every right to hate your father and hold on to this bi0erness (hold cloth in your hand). Or maybe it s not your father but it s someone else who has hurt you. There is someone you probably hate right now and you can t enjoy your life because all you think about is how angry you are with them. You hold on to that bi0erness (hold cloth Fghtly) and you can t enjoy your life because it grows every 2me you think of that person. You need to know that those thoughts come from Satan. He wants you bi0er but God wants you be0er. The Bible says this in Job 21:23-24, Some people stay healthy 2ll the day they die; they die happy and at ease, their bodies well- nourished. Others have no happiness at all; they live and die with bi0er hearts. If you don t learn to let go of bi0erness today, it will con2nue to stop you from enjoying your life. It s not easy, but you have to let it go (let the cloth fall to the ground). Bi0erness stops you from enjoying your life, so learn to let it go. Satan wants you bi0er but God wants you be0er.
Object Lesson 3 Bitterness forces you to seek revenge Props Book bag, fake gun, 2 folded papers with Cho s quotes wri#en on them (see object lesson). Actors Cho Seung Hui Music Sound of gun shots, single gun shot PreparaIon Have sound effects cued to correct 2me. PresentaIon: Cho Seung Hui (student enters stage, sad, alone) was a 23 years old student who hardly ever spoke and if he did, it was only a whisper. He was known as one of the quietest people in the whole world. He spent his whole life feeling like a vic2m. People spat on him and made fun of him. He felt ignored, hurt, and rejected. Over the process of 2me, all of these feelings led to bi0erness. We told you that bi0erness is an uncontrollable anger felt towards others. Cho was angry (Cho looks angry). He never smiled. He never let anyone hug him. He felt as if people treated him like garbage. It seemed as if he didn t even exist. He wrote this shortly before he died. (Open paper and read) You have devastated my heart, you have raped my soul and set my conscience on fire. AKer many years of feeling hurt and rejected, Cho became so bi0er that he decided to do something about it. He bought his first gun February 9, 2006 (Cho pulls out gun). He walked into Virginia Tech University and took the revenge he had been dreaming of for so long (play the sound effect of gun shots).the doctors called him depressed. Some people called him weird. He thought of himself as a vic2m and not the murderer of the 30 people he lek dead. In one of his le#ers, he wrote to everyone who would hear about this tragic event (open the second paper for everyone to see), You had one billion ways to stop me. This is a lie. There were not one billion ways to stop this man. There was only one. He needed to release the bi0erness stored up in his heart. He needed to stand before God and ask God to help him to let go (let the character fall to his knees in tears). When you let go, you get be0er. This man never stood before God and asked God to help him to get be#er. Instead, his bi0erness forced him to get revenge. AKer he killed those 30 innocent people, he then killed himself. (Cho holds gun to his head. Sound effect of one single gun shot. Cho falls to the floor.) Cho's bi0erness forced him to seek revenge, and that s what your bi#erness will do too. Satan wants you bi0er, but God wants you be0er. Be be0er and learn to let go before bi0erness forces you to seek revenge.
Life Lesson Perry Pepper Props Sound Effects Bullhorn, flashlight Horn sound effect Frame 1: When Perry was a young pepper he was swimming in the sea one day when all of a sudden a huge storm hit. Waves started to crash over his head and he struggled with all his might to stay afloat but the current was too strong. He took what he thought would be his last breath, when out of nowhere somebody grabbed him and pulled him into the safety of a boat. As he lay in that boat and opened his eyes, he saw the badge on the man s uniform: RET. From that moment on, Perry knew that he would do whatever it took to wear that same badge. He would one day be a part of the strongest and bravest swimmers in the world - the Rescue Elite Team. Frame 2: Here he is, a few years later on his first day of training at the Rescue Elite Academy (REA). He knew it was going to be extremely tough, but he was ready to do whatever it took to become a part of the RET. This class was on teamwork. Perry was excited to be a part of the team, un2l he heard Steve lean over and whisper, This is lame. My dad and grandpa set records at the REA. I m here to break them all and show everyone how it s done! Frame 3: The next morning they were awoken at 5am by a blaring horn (play horn sound effect). Get in your swim gear and get to the pool now! Captain Ken yelled, (speak the next few lines into the bullhorn) Your first task is to prepare you to save people who are drowning in icy water. We have 50 gallons of ice in the pool. Your task is to stay there for as long as you can. Half an hour and you pass. The record is 1 hour and it s not been broken for 20 years. Let s go! The whole team suited up and ran to the pool. Frame 4: AKer half an hour people started to get out of the pool. Perry could hardly breathe; the water was so cold that he could barely move his arms and legs. But he was determined to push himself to the limit so he could be a good RET swimmer. At 50 minutes, Steve couldn t take it anymore and angrily lek the pool. Perry managed to stay there for an hour and ten minutes he broke the record! Perry was so happy, but Steve wasn t. As Steve lek the pool, his mind was flooded with poisonous thoughts of how much he hated Perry. He started to think of ways to be be0er than him. He would cheat or lie if he had to, but he would never lose to Perry again. Steve had become extremely bi0er. Preaching Point: Satan wants you bi0er; God wants you be0er: Just like Steve had become bi0er, Satan wants you bi0er. He wants you to be jealous of the fact that your friends have things that you don t. He wants you to hold on to all the hurt and resentment you feel towards your father for leaving you. Satan wants you bi0er, but the Bible says, Stop being bi0er and angry and mad at others. Don't yell at one another or curse each other or ever be rude. Instead, be kind and merciful, and forgive others, just as God forgave you (Ephesians 4:31-32). God wants you be0er. He wants you to be able to be kind to others instead of becoming bi0er. God would want Steve be0er too, but he was so bi0er. Frame 5: That night they had to complete an obstacle course in the forest. The winner of this task would become team leader. Steve knew he had to win. To make sure that he would (turn on flash light and look carefully both ways), he checked to make sure nobody was looking and then skipped one of the obstacles to save 2me. But at the end of the race Frame 6: Captain Ken announced Perry the winner! Steve finished in the shortest 2me, but what he didn t know was that I had a secret lookout. I saw him skip obstacle 6, so the real winner is Perry! He handed Perry the Team Leader badge and liked his arm in victory. Perry was enjoying himself, but Steve was not enjoying life at all. He stormed off in a bi0er rage. Life Lesson - Page 1
Life Lesson Perry pepper Frame 7: He was so upset that he sat on a fallen tree and pounded his fist against the trunk. His bi0erness had stopped him from enjoying life. He desperately started to think of ways that he could seek revenge on Perry. Frame 8: The next morning the team loaded into a helicopter. They were making their first real dive into the ocean! They all had their own oxygen tank. But look! Steve had taken a knife to cut Perry s oxygen tank and get revenge! Preaching Point: Bi0erness forces you to seek revenge: Steve s bi0erness had forced him to seek revenge, and bi0erness will do the same to you. It will control the way you think and make you believe that seeking revenge on people for the hurqul things they ve done is the only way you will feel be0er. That s a lie! The Bible says, Stop being angry and don't try to take revenge. I am the Lord, and I command you to love others as much as you love yourself (Levi2cus 19:18). Don t focus on how you can seek revenge, instead focus on how you can love and be be0er. Revenge can become a very dangerous thing, Steve was willing to go so far as to do something that could kill Perry. As soon as he finished puzng a hole in Perry s tank, the helicopter hit an air pocket and sent the tanks everywhere. Let s go! Captain Ken yelled as he started strapping oxygen tanks to each of them and pushing the team into the ocean. Frame 9: As soon as Steve was underwater he took a deep breath and immediately knew something was wrong. He inhaled a mouthful of water! He couldn t breathe! He struggled to swim to the surface but his tank was too heavy. He tried to free himself but he could t. As he lay there suffoca2ng, he realized that his own bi0erness had cost him his life. Frame 10: Steve died that day because he never learned how to let go of his bi0erness. But Perry ended up gradua2ng the REA. As Captain Ken handed him his diploma, Perry started to dream about all the people he could now rescue, just as he was rescued as a boy. Point of Decision This lesson is so important. If you learn to let go of your bi0erness now, then you will be able to let go in the future if people hurt you and Satan wants to make you bi0er with it. This is what it means to be a Chris2an - lezng go. It s not about feeling good all the 2me and gezng everything you want from God. Being a Chris2an means you learn to forgive others just like Jesus forgave you. Everybody close you eyes. I want you to think for a moment about the people in your life. If someone has hurt you and you feel bi0erness towards that person, I want you to whisper that person s name aker 3. 1, 2, 3. Closing Prayer I want everyone to look at the TV monitors and say this prayer with me. Where you see the line is where I want you to put in the person s name who has hurt you. Jesus, I feel bi0erness towards. Help me to let it go and forgive for hur2ng me. (Give them 30 seconds.) Hold out your hand and make a 2ght fist. I want you to think of all the things this person has done to you. When I count to three, I want you to open your hand and let it go. Ready? 1, 2, 3. Now repeat aker me. Dear God, thank you for that you want me to be be0er. The next 2me someone hurts me, help me to remember that Satan just wants to use it to make me bi0er so that he can destroy my life. I won t let him. Help me to be be0er every day. In Jesus Name I pray, Amen. Life Lesson - Page 2