LIGHTS CAMERA ACTION!
TOPIC Integrity BIBLE STORY David Spares Saul s Life - 1 Samuel 24:1-22 MOVIE Lion King TODAY S TAKEAWAY I should do the right thing even when it s hard. WEEKLY VERSE The eyes of the Lord watch over those who do right, and his ears are open to their prayers. 1 Peter 3:12a 2
SKIT Skit Information The skits will require two people. One person will play themselves (the straight character), and the other person will play the funny character. It works best if you can find a person willing to commit to being the character for the entire series. Character Bio The character s name is Cameron Action. Cameron Action is an eccentric director who loves to tell other people what to do. He thinks everything in life is a movie he need to direct. He is a director at his own movie studio, Action Studios. Consider putting your character in all black: shirt, pants, and shoes. Extras: Add a clapper board prop, megaphone, beret, and a fake mustache. 3
SKIT Leader: Hey kids! I m wondering how Cameron Action is doing. Last week he left pretty quickly and I m not sure what he did after that. Cameron: I thought I heard someone say my name. Leader: Oh yes. I was just talking to the kids about you. We were a bit worried about you after you left last week. Where did you go? Cameron: Well, I was a little upset last week when I left. I decided to go over to a studio, that will remain nameless, and see if I could check out what they were doing that was getting them so much more business than my studio. Leader: I guess that s not so bad. So, what did you find out? Cameron: I didn t get too far because there was a lot of security, and apparently I m not important enough to get in. I mean, can t they see I m clearly a movie director? Motions to outfit and props Leader: Clearly. Cameron: Anyways, I did find something extremely useful while I was there, but I m not sure if I should use the information I found. Leader: What is it? Cameron: While I was sneaking around the gates to the studio hoping to find a way past security I found this piece of paper that looked super official. Leader: What did it say? Cameron: It was basically a huge list of the next big actors and actresses the studio is planning on auditioning for the movies of 2018. Leader: Whoa! I wonder how that ended up just lying around on the ground for anyone to pick up? Cameron: That s a good question, but I have an even better one. What should I do with it? Leader: Well, you probably shouldn t... Cameron: I can use the list to sabotage their plans and swipe all their actors and actresses out right from underneath their noses! It s brilliant! Leader: Hold on for a second. Are you sure that is the right thing to do? 4
SKIT Cameron: What do you mean? Of course it is! I mean they are the ones who were careless enough to lose such an important piece of paper. I m just reaping the benefits. Leader: That doesn t sound like the right thing to do to me. Just because it is easy doesn t mean it s the right option. Cameron: I don t think I m going to like the answer, but what is my other option? Leader: I don t think you re going to like it, either. You should probably return the list to the other studio, and forget the names you saw on the list. Cameron: That doesn t sound fun at all, but I guess you re right. Hey! At least this gives me a great excuse to meet with the studio s director! I m going to head over there right now. Leader: I m proud of you for choosing to do the right thing, Cameron. See you next week, and try not to get into any more trouble. 5
Small white boards or paper Dry erase marker (1 per person) GAME: MATCH IT! Supplies Setup Put the words you are planning on using into slides to show on your screen(s) or write the words on pieces of paper. Word options: Movie, Hot, Red, Finding, Pizza, Corn, Take, Lego, Cheese How To Play 1. Choose 1-2 kids from each team to play this game. 2. When a word comes up on the screen the leader and kids will write the word that comes to mind to complete the phrase. Hint: All the phrases are related to the theme. 3. The goal of the game is to match the leader s answer. After 15 seconds everyone will reveal their answers. Each match gives the team a point. 4. The team with the most points at the end of the game wins. 6
MESSAGE Supplies A Bible in your preferred version (this curriculum uses the NLT version primarily) Lion King Movie Clips prepared: - When you become king clip (9:00-9:42) - Hakuna Matata, No Worries clip (44:04-46:10) - I m Going Back clip (1:07:56-1:08:35) Small piece of fabric Scissors Small trash can Candy bar wrapper (put inside small trash can) Candy bar (put inside a box) Introduction Today we are going to be talking about what it means to be a person of integrity. Does anyone know what the word integrity means? Allow kids to respond. Integrity basically means choosing to do the right thing even when it s hard, even when no one is looking. Who has seen the movie Lion King? In Lion King, Simba is next in line to be king of the Pridelands. However, being king may not be exactly what he thought it would be like. Check out this clip from the movie. Play When you become king clip. Simba is definitely not ready for the responsibility of being king yet. He chooses to do what his dad told him not to do, and he goes to the elephant graveyard. This choice almost gets he and his friend killed, and disappoints his father, Mufasa. When Mufasa ends up dying, Simba thinks that if he goes back home they will think it is his fault. Instead of facing his family and the rest of the animals, he chooses to run away. Play Hakuna Matata video clip. Towards the end of the movie, Simba has a very serious choice to make. He can either stay in hiding with Timon and Pumbaa with no rules, no worries, and no responsibilities, or he can go back home, face his past, defeat Scar, and take his place as king. 7
MESSAGE Which one is the right choice? Allow kids to respond. Which one is the easiest choice? Allow kids to respond. Let s see what Simba ends up choosing. Play I m Going Back video clip. Simba chose to do the right thing in the end even though it wasn t the easiest choice. Bible Story The Bible has many examples of people who God used to do incredible things, but most of the time it wasn t easy for them to make the right choice. Let s take a look at just one of the difficult situations David dealt with where he had a choice to make. Open up your Bibles and turn to 1 Samuel 24. At this point in David s life, he is running away from King Saul. Saul found out that David had been anointed to become the next king, and he didn t want David to take the throne from him. He decided to assemble a huge army to find David and kill him. Saul heard that David and his men had gone into the wilderness of En-gedi, and he followed them there. While Saul was searching for David, he realized that he needed to take a rest stop. So, he went inside a cave to take his rest stop. What a coincidence! That was the same exact cave that David and his men were hiding in. David s men told him Now s your opportunity! They thought that God had led Saul into the cave so David could claim his victory and kill Saul once and for all. After all, Saul was trying to kill David so it only seemed fair. David crept over to Saul, but instead of killing him, he simply cut a piece of fabric from his clothes. Pull out scissors and cut the piece of fabric. Why do you think he did that? Allow kids to respond. Well, let s find out. The Bible says that David s conscience started bothering him. He realized that it was not the right choice to repay evil with evil and kill King Saul. When Saul exited the cave David shouted to him, Why do you listen to the people who say I am trying to harm you? Then he showed Saul the piece of fabric he had cut from his clothes to prove to him that he had the opportunity to kill him, but chose not to. This is how Saul responded to David in verses 17-18, You are a better man than I am, for you have repaid me good for evil. Yes, you have been amazingly kind to me today, for when the Lord put me in 8
MESSAGE a place where you could have killed me, you didn t do it. Wow. Talk about being a person of integrity. David could have chosen the easy path and killed King Saul when he had the chance. Instead, he risked his life to prove to Saul that he would do the right thing no matter what. After that day, Saul stopped chasing David. Life Application/Object Lesson We may not have to make choices that are between life and death like in David s situation, but we have a lot of difficult choices to make every day. I have a choice for someone to make right now. Who would like to come up and help me out? Choose a volunteer. You have a choice to make. You can either choose to have what is inside this box Pull out the box with the candy bar in it or you can choose something I have backstage. One of the choices is good and the other is not. Allow kid to make their choice. Just like when my volunteer had to make a choice, we have many choices to make in our lives. The good news is, we don t have to rely on luck or chance to make those choices. We can usually tell what the right choice is and what the wrong choice is. Do we always make the right choices? Allow kids to respond. Unfortunately, we don t always make the right choices, but thankfully God still forgives us. As Christians, or followers of Christ, we should want to live lives that are full of integrity. That means that we have to choose to do what God wants us to do, the right thing, even when it s hard. Sometimes, that might mean standing out in the crowd, or someone making fun of us, or even losing a friend. It will always be worth the cost to do the right thing and follow God s direction. 1 Peter 3:12 says, The eyes of the Lord watch over those who do right, and his ears are open to their prayers. No matter how hard life gets, we can be confident that God is watching over us and He hears our prayers. Let s pray and ask God to give us the strength to live our lives with integrity. 9
GAME: GUESS WHO SAID THAT? Slides prepared or paper Supplies Setup Create slides with quotes and answers to show on your screen(s) or write the quotes and answers on paper and read them to the kids. Quote: Let me get this straight. You know her. She knows you. But she wants to eat him. And everyone is ok with this? Did I miss something? Answers: a. Timon from Lion King b. Dory from Finding Nemo c. Buzz from Toy Story Quote: You don t have to be the bad guy. You are the most talented, most interesting, and most extraordinary person in the universe. And you are capable of amazing things. Because you are the Special. And so am I. And so is everyone. Answers: a. Woody from Toy Story b. Lightning McQueen from Cars c. Emmet from The Lego Movie Quote: Oh, right. That makes perfect sense. Turn right to go left. Yes, thank you! Or should I say No, thank you, because in Opposite World, maybe that really means thank you. Answers: 10
GAME: GUESS WHO SAID THAT? a. Batman from The Lego Movie b. Nemo from Finding Nemo c. Lightning McQueen from Cars Quote: You are a sad, strange little man. Answers: a. Buzz from Toy Story b. Emmet from The Lego Movie c. Tow Mater from Cars Quote: I have short term memory loss. It runs in my family, or at least i think it does. Hmm...where are they? Answers: a. Pumbaa from Lion King b. Dory from Finding Nemo c. Mr. Potato Head from Toy Story How to Play 1. Choose one kid to play in each round. 2. For each round, read the quote aloud and give the three options of who said it. 3. If the kid guesses who said the quote correctly, give them a small prize. 4. Keep playing choosing a different kid for each round. 5. Optional: Allow everyone to play by assigning actions to a, b, and c. For example, if you think the answer is a jump up and down, if you think it is b spin around and if you think the answer is c sit down. 11
SMALL GROUP QUESTIONS 1. What does being a person of integrity mean? 2. Do you think it is easy to live with integrity? Why or why not? 3. Who is an example of a person who chose to do the right thing even though it was hard in the Bible? 4. Give an example of a time you chose to do the right thing even though it was hard. The leader can share a personal story first to get the conversation started. 5. Optional: Look up these verses about integrity and discuss them as a group. - 1 Peter 3:12 - Romans 7:19 - Galatians 6:9-1 Thessalonians 5:15 12
REVIEW QUESTIONS 1. What is the name of our new series? Answer: Lights, Camera, Action! 2. What does Timon and Pumbaa s motto, Hakuna Matata mean? Answer: No worries. 3. What did David choose to do instead of killing King Saul? Answer: He cut a piece of fabric from his clothes. 4. What is Today s Takeaway? Answer: I should do the right thing even when it s hard. 5. What does the word integrity mean? Answer: Choosing to do the right thing even when it s hard. 13