choice

King Solomon Disobeys

~ hebidsthemcome ~ Leave a comment

Hello again! Today’s story is from 1 Kings 11.

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For all of King Solomon’s wisdom and good decision-making, he had a big problem. He LOVED the ladies. And he didn’t just love one lady…he got married a whole bunch of times, which God said you’re not supposed to do. The ladies he married also didn’t love the One True God, they worshipped other pretend gods.

After a while, one said, “Solomon, hunny…please build a statue of my god!” And he did. Then another said “What about me?! Please build a place for me to worship MY god.” And he did. He built places for them to worship their pretend gods and he even worshipped them too sometimes. His heart was not faithful to God like King David’s had been. And God was NOT happy. 

So the Lord said to him, “Since you have disobeyed my rules and not been faithful to Me, I am going to tear this kingdom away from you and give it to one of your servants. But because of how much your father David loved and served Me, I will not do this while you are still alive. I will take the kingdom away from your son.  And even then, I will not take away the entire kingdom; I will let him be king of one tribe.”

King Solomon’s choices were going to affect a lot of other people. When we make decisions, we need to think about how it might help or hurt others. Especially people in power…like kings, presidents, moms and dad, teachers, pastors…the things you do and say don’t just have good or bad consequences for you, they can help or hurt others. When we try to follow God’s laws and live a life of love (because of how much He loves us), then our choices will have good consequences for others. But Solomon wasn’t thinking about that. He was only thinking about what HE wanted…not what God wanted and not about what might happen to other people.

The funniest part is that King Solomon wrote a whole chapter of the Bible about this exact thing. Proverbs 29 talks all about how children’s actions affect their parents and how parents affect their children. How bosses and kings and neighbors all affect the people around them. But in the end, Solomon did not follow his own advice. He chose to live the way HE wanted, not the way God wanted…and the people of Israel would soon pay a big price for his poor choices.

“And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”  Colossians 3:17 (ESV)

 

Thanks for joining us again, love to you all.

 

Psalm 1

~ hebidsthemcome ~ Leave a comment

Hello everyone! Today’s lesson is from Psalm 1. This is a song about wisdom. Wisdom means knowing how to make good choices. You can learn a lot of things, but one of the most important things is how you make decisions. When you know what the Bible says, and what God wants then you can make wise (good) decisions. If you don’t know what the Bible says and don’t know what God wants, it can be easy to make bad choices. This song that David wrote talks about that.

1 Blessed is the one
    who does not walk in step with the wicked
or stand in the way that sinners take
    or sit in the company of mockers,
2 but whose delight is in the law of the Lord,
    and who meditates on his law day and night.
3 That person is like a tree planted by streams of water,
    which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither—
    whatever they do prospers.

4 Not so the wicked!
    They are like chaff
    that the wind blows away.
5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
    nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.

6 For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous,
    but the way of the wicked leads to destruction.

Our preschool version:

Good things come to people who do not make bad choices
or stand around with other people who make bad choices.
Good things come to those whose joy is God’s word,
and who always think day and night about what God wants.
That person is like a tree planted by streams of water,
it gives good fruit and its leaves does not wither away
whatever they do prospers.

But not for the wicked!
They are like chaff (the extra trash part of wheat and corn)
that the wind blows away.
The wicked will be in trouble for not listening to God,
these people will not get to stay with God forever.

Because the Lord watches over the way of the righteous,
but those who make unwise choices will only find destruction.

These verses say someone who listens to God and makes wise choices is like what?

A tree.

What do we know about trees? They are strong, and beautiful…if they are healthy, some trees make beautiful leaves or good fruit. People who listen to God and obey Him by making good choices are also strong and beautiful. And instead of fruit (because kids can’t grow fruit!!) they give other good things to people–like happiness, friendship, love and kindness.

But people who do not listen to God and make bad choices are like the extra part of wheat–when the farmers pick all the wheat, they grind up the extras and they get blown away in the wind. These people are not strong, they go any which way someone tells them to go and they can’t give good things to other people because they don’t have good things in their heart.

It’s important to listen to God and be able to wise choices so we can be like the strong trees that give good things to other people.

For our craft today, we made two pictures. One of a tree (we drew the trunk and glued on craft leaves–but you could draw it all, use tissue paper for the tree or collect real leaves from outside.) Our text reads: The wise are like a tree: strong, gives off fruit (good things to others), beautiful. Psalm 1:3

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Then for our second picture we drew stalks of wheat (just straight up and down lines with a yellow marker) and then dabbed some glue and glitter to be the chaff blowing away in the wind. Our text reads: The wicked are like chaff: blows any way, not strong, does not give good things. Psalm 1:4

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THIS is a kids song version posted by PricklyPear111.

THIS video has the verses with motions to help kids memorize this chapter (posted by Jena Thacker).

And THIS is a recitation with pictures to help kids visualize the verses posted by BaberAnimation.

Thanks for joining us! Love to you all!

I choose God!

~ hebidsthemcome ~ Leave a comment

Hey all! Today’s lesson is based off of Joshua 24. Last year’s lesson and craft can be found HERE.

After Moses died, God had Joshua lead His people into the promised land. They divided up all the land so that each tribe (or big family) got their own part.

When Joshua was very very old and about to die, he called the leaders together and reminded them of all God had done for them and all He had taught them.He reminded them of how many times He had saved them and fought for them. (Sometimes we don’t even KNOW God is helping us! Sometimes we forget! Maybe take a minute to think with your family about some of the great things God has done for you, or things He has taught you!)

He told them to be strong and not to be afraid. He reminded them to always love and obey God.

Lastly, in Joshua 24:15, he told the people they had to choose for themselves if they would serve God or not. “But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.” he said.

Your mom and dad can tell you about God and about Jesus’ love and how He died for your sins. You can sing songs and your family can go to church. But YOU, in your heart, have to choose to follow God. You don’t just love God because mommy and daddy do. You have to choose in your heart to love and obey God. As you grow up, you will learn more and more what it means to follow and love God and you’ll also understand more and more how much He loves you!

And we don’t just choose to love God one day and then forget about it. (That’s what happened to the Israelites a LOT!) We choose to love God everyday…we pray…and read our Bibles…and obey what He tells us. We worship God everyday with the choices we make. But just like Joshua told the people they had to have faith of their own, you have to choose too, if you want to follow and obey God.

 

For our craft today, we made hearts and then added the text: “As for MY heart, I choose God!” Then we made a space to write our names and added some heart stickers.

 

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Thanks for joining us again! Love to you all!

When God lets us choose…

~ hebidsthemcome ~ Leave a comment

Hello again! Today’s lesson comes from Romans 14. (Also covered in 1 Corinthians 8, 10, and Colossians 2)

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Do you remember last time we talked about worshipping God with our whole lives? Some of the things God tells us to do He is very clear about. Can you think of anything God says NOT to do? (Lie, steal, murder). Can you think of anything God says TO do? (Love one another, tell others about Him, pray and talk to Him).

But sometimes God lets us choose. He doesn’t tell us what kind of job to get when we’re a grown up, or what kinds of games to play. He doesn’t say we can only wear certain colors…He lets us choose those things.

Do you know sometimes grown ups in church fuss over what kind of songs to sing to God or what they should wear to church? And in Paul’s day lots of people fought over what kind of food was ok to eat. But Paul reminded the people of Rome to not argue about things like that. He said, “Loving God is not a matter of what you eat or drink, it’s about being right with God, and having peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, anyone who serves Jesus in this way makes God happy. So let’s try to do things that help everyone get along and know God better. All food is ok to eat, but it is better not to eat or drink (or to do anything else) that will cause your friend to make a choice they think is bad….then they will be sinning against God. If it bothers your friend, try not to do it. If you know your friend doesn’t like something and you do it anyway…that’s not very loving.” He also said some things you can talk to God about and He will help you know if it’s a good choice or bad choice for you. (You can and SHOULD always read the Bible to see what God has to say).

So sometimes God is very clear about what He wants. But sometimes He gives us choices. Before we make a choice we should always

  1. Read God’s word (the Bible) and pray to see what God has to say about it (this can be hard because sometimes our friends don’t make choices that God wants them to. But we can make good choices even if our friends don’t. God will always help you make the right choice if you ask for help!)
  2. Make sure it won’t cause anyone else to make a bad choice
  3. Make sure it’s a choice that shows God love and helps others
  4. If a friend makes a different choice that still shows God love and helps others, then we don’t need to fuss about. (If your friend is making choices that make God sad or hurt other people, then you can help remind them how to make good choices or find a grown up to help).

We can make good choices if we think about loving God and loving others.

 

Thanks for joining us again. Love to you all!