Unit: Lyalty- ur duty t Gd, the Prmise Keeper Definitin: keeping prmises f devtin, duty, r attachment t smebdy r smething Fcal Biblical Truth: Gd mdeled lyalty by the way He std by the characters in the bible and by the fact that He std by us even when we had dne the wrng thing. Being lyal is a gdly character trait in the living prism. Overall take-away pints: We have a lyal Gd. We must be lyal t Gd. Our circumstances cannt determine ur lyalty, but ur lyalty will determine ur respnse t Gd during ur circumstances. Gd calls us t chse sides. Our level f lyalty will determine ur legacy. Week One Lyalty when thers think yu are wrng. Week Tw Lyalty in the face f ridicule Week Three - Lyalty in the fact f dubt/mistakes Opening Activity Music Stand by Me/Get up Stand Up/ Wedding March (Sngs f Lyalty) Teachers cntinue wearing yur favrite representing attire. Sprts team jerseys, cllege apparel r smething that yu are lyal t that yu can be challenged n. Teachers culd playfully just between their lyalties t sprts teams and s frth. Values Clarificatin Game Intr frm the frnt f the rm and relatinship t the stry f Jshua. Put signs up in the hallway that say, agree, disagree and I dn t care. Have ne side f the rm be agree and the ther side disagree and the middle be I dn t care. Then ask questins and the kids will have t decide what they think and mve t that spt. The questins can be fun but shuld have definite decisin pints. Over the years the Steelers have prven themselves t be the better than the Chicag Bears. It desn t matter what a celebrity des in their persnal life as lng as they d the right things n the jb. We shuld always give mney t hmeless peple begging by the side f the street. If yu are a gd persn and try yur best, yu will g t heaven. Crest is the best tthpaste n the market. The iphne is the best phne.
Harvard is a better cllege than Vanderbilt. Etc. The pint f the game isn t the right r wrng f their decisins but the fact that they have t make ne. (Althugh yu might get sme insight!) Then gather in smaller grups and let the shepherds as the fllwing questins: Hw tempting is it t just hang in the middle? IF yu weren t sure, what did yu d? Did yur friends influence yu in what chice yu made? Hw d yu decide what t be lyal t? SUMMARY POINT: The pint f this is that all lyalty requires a chice. Nthing can be mre imprtant t yu than making the right chice the chice t be lyal t the ne yu prtect. Last week we discussed hw Jshua and Caleb believed Gd and std lyal t Him and t the prmises he had made t them. This placed them away frm the ther ten spies and eventually frm all thers their age. Tday we will see hw Jshua lyally beys sme very strange instructins. He makes n excuse; he des the mst ridiculus thing. He des a Gd thing. Transitin t wrship We wrship Gd because he has std by us. Will he find us lyal t Him? When we are lyal we chse t supprt r believe in Gd even when it isn t ppular. We are headed int wrship nw let s shw him hw much we believe in him and lng t serve him by taking the time and making the effrt t wrship him. Wrship Time Wrship is usually three sngs Wrship team will dismiss the grup Tech persn will play music as they crss the hall. Shepherd Time Questin What is smething that yu are very lyal t that is imprtant (ie will matter in ten years r will impact decisins yu make in yur life.) Blue Bucket cards and Shadw cards are written. (see Living Prism Cards) Please check yur students in n the sign in sheet.
Large Grup Time Blue Buckets/tithe/annuncements Students cme int the large rm t music picked by the tech peple unless yu give them smething specific. Upfrnt teacher will pick smene t thrw a rck ut the dr. The wrship team sets ut the buckets f rcks fr yu. I smetimes pick a persn wh has the mst Advance Team pints, r frm a certain grade, r has a birthday, r shws the mst enthusiasm The rck thrwer is given a drum rll by the rest f the class and then runs t the dr and tsses the rck ut. Upfrnt teacher makes reference t the fllwing pints by week, assigned s that nne f them get lst. Week three: Blue buckets dn t get us int heaven. Jesus will ask yu if yur have given yur life t fllwing him and if yu have said, yes then he will let yu int heaven. AND THEN he will ask yu fr yur blue bucket. ALWAYS: say the pem.. Yu say ONLY ONE LIFE They say WILL SOON BE PAST Yu say ONLY WHAT S DONE They say FOR CHRIST WILL LAST Mentin where the buckets are and that the tithe bucket is in frnt n the stage. Tech persn will play music and let the kids g freely t the buckets and drp their cards in them the white cards are ften shredded up s n ne can read them. If yu can get the kids t clap r dance t the music that smetimes adds fun. Up Frnt intr. Theme f Lyalty. Definitin f Lyalty: keeping prmises f devtin, duty, r attachment t smebdy r smething Tie in the sngs - especially the wedding march. A wedding is the strngest stand f lyalty t anther human that mst f us will ever make. T death d us part. Lyalty is serius business and when lyalty is brken, it is ften painful and tragic. Think abut the vws being smething ridiculus like, Oh yes my lve, I will be faithful t yu until yu gain weight r lse yur jb r.. dress funny. we wuldn t think f taking vws like that at ur wedding r accepting vws like that. Why then d we nt give the tpic f ur lyalty t Gd mre thught? Gd ften refers t His relatinship t us as a wedding match. He takes us t be his bride, prepared a wedding feast and calls us unfaithful when we find thers mre wrthy f ur time, mney, talent etc. than Him. Refer t the qute n the pwer pint and discuss a dgs lyalty t man. Refer t Shadw in Hmeward Bund. Remind them that: Gd accepts NO excuses Lyalty is divisive! Jshua Lyal even when everyne thinks yu are wrng Smetimes everyne thinks yu are a chump (Chance s pinin f Shadw in Hmeward Bund) Jshua and Caleb as spies everyne thught they were wrng Jshua Lyal even when yu might be ridiculed Jerich what strange instructins yet the peple fllwed and the walls did fall dwn. Chance changed his mind abut Shadw nw he wants t be like him.
Jshua Lyal even in dubt and cnfusin! Tday s lessn will shw us hw Gd handles ur cnfusin! Teach the Stry Jurney Hand t the Plw / Luke 9 (see vide) Gd des nt accept excuses. We must put him first! There can be n but firsts! As they were walking dwn the rad, a man said t Jesus, I will fllw yu wherever yu g. Jesus replied, Fxes have hles and birds have nests, but the Sn f Man has n place t lay his head. Jesus said t anther man, Fllw me. The man replied, I will fllw yu, but first let me g and bury my dead father. Jesus replied, Let the dead bury their dead, but yu g and prclaim the kingdm f Gd. Still anther man said t Jesus, I will fllw yu, but first let me g back and say gd-by t my family. Jesus replied, N ne wh puts his hand t the plw and lks back is fit fr service in the kingdm f Gd. Intr t teaching time: Jshua is ur Bible case study f the character trait f Lyalty. In Jshua 9, Jshua is deceived by the Gibenites int making a cvenant with them fr safety. It makes lgical sense t him but he sn realizes he is cnfused and unsure. Let s see what happens Shepherd Time Lessn Shepherds teach the stry f Jshua and the Gibenites in Jshua 9 and 10. (T lng t printmake sure t read and review frm yur wn bible) In Jshua 9 Jshua is deceived by the Gibenites int making a cvenant with them fr safety. It makes lgical sense t him, and he desn t cnsult Gd. This is a mistake n his part. Yet, when he realizes the mistake he knws that he cannt break a cvenant relatinship. In Jshua 10 Jshua and his army have t g fight fr the Gibenites. Gd is lyal t Jshua and the Israelites even thugh they had made a mistake. Gd fights the battle fr them with cnfusin and hail as weapns. Then He listens t Jshua and has the sun stand still fr him in rder that they may finish the battle. Jshua is lyal t his wrd a persn f integrity in spite f the persnal and crprate pain it will bring. Gd supprts Jshua s lyalty by being lyal t the cause f the Israelites. The battle is referred t as the Lrd s battle and He fights it. The Gd f the universe calls int actin the stars and the sun. They are bedient t Gd. The sun stands still and the stars wait t shine the battle is allwed t finish. We can be lyal t ur Gd withut fear and he is a Gd the supprts lyalty he is lyal t us. He calls all his resurces int standing by the causes f His peple.
Optinal Mvie Clip: Hmeward Bund 55:15-58:57 in this clip Shadw hears a little girl crying and ges t her they stay with her and help her. Then when the peple cme t hunt fr her they decide t help even thugh it might mean harm t them and it isn t their agenda. They are successful in saving her life. Jshua desn t have it n his agenda t help the Gibenite army, but he is bund by his cde f Lyatly t his treaty s he ges and fights fr them. It saves them. Frm the Frnt Jshua knew the Gd wh held the sun still s the Israelites culd win the battle. (Jshua 10:1-15) He knew the Gd wh wuld stand by him when he made mistakes (Jshua 9). He knew the Gd wh made the walls f Jerich fall dwn. At the end f his life weary f a peple wh wuld nt be lyal, he frces the peple t decide and Stand BY their decisin. He will nt accept any mre excuses. In Jshua 24 we hear Jshua saying, as fr me and my huse we will serve the Lrd. In the midst f peple dubting and cmprmising, Jshua made a clear decisin and std firm. Table Grups What will yu d whm will yu serve? Gd, yurself and yur desires? The nly thing Satan wuld have yu d is t bey yur wn desires. D what thu wilt is the cre f the Satanic bible we serve the devil himself when we live fr urselves instead f fr ur Gd. What wnderful things has Gd dne fr yu what Gd mments are in yur life that help yu t stand by Him when it gets tugh r yu feel full f dubt and cnfusin, r verwhelmed. End with Stand By Me Pray and dismiss