13 Very Big Mistakes People Made and What God Did about Them

13 VERY BIG MISTAKES PEOPLE MADE AND WHAT GOD DID ABOUT THEM

Published by David C Cook

4050 Lee Vance Drive

Colorado Springs, CO 80918 U.S.A.

David C Cook U.K., Kingsway Communications

Eastbourne, East Sussex BN23 6NT, England

The graphic circle C logo is a registered trademark of David C Cook.

All rights reserved. Except for brief excerpts for review purposes, no part of this book may be reproduced or used in any form without written permission from the publisher.

All scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

LCCN 2017952574

ISBN 978-0-8307-7258-2

eISBN 978-0-8307-7298-8

© 2018 David C Cook

Developed by Standard Publishing

The Team: Lindsay Black, Amy Konyndyk, Rachael Stevenson, Abby DeBenedittis, Susan Murdock

Cover Illustration/Design: Dennis Jones

If we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.

1 John 1:9

Contents

How to Use These Sessions

SESSION 1 Adam and Eve’s Big Mistake

We honor God when we obey him.

Genesis 2:15–18, 22; 3:1–19

SESSION 2 Cain’s Big Mistake

Being jealous hurts everybody.

Genesis 4:3–16

SESSION 3 Pharaoh’s Big Mistake

God is more powerful than anyone.

Exodus 5:1–4; 7:14–24

SESSION 4 Aaron’s Big Mistake

We worship only God.

Exodus 20:1–4; 32:1–8

SESSION 5 Saul’s Big Mistake

God knows best.

1 Samuel 13:8–14

SESSION 6 Elijah’s Big Mistake

God gives us strength to do what he wants.

1 Kings 19:1–12, 18

SESSION 7 Jonah’s Big Mistake

We can’t hide from God, and we don’t need to.

Jonah 1:1–5, 15–17

SESSION 8 The Teachers’ Big Mistake

God cares about our hearts and our actions.

Matthew 23:1–7, 27–28

SESSION 9 Peter’s Big Mistake

We can trust Jesus.

Matthew 14:22–31

SESSION 10 Paul’s Big Mistake

Let’s make sure we’re doing what God wants.

Acts 9:1–6; 13:2–5

SESSION 11 Ananias and Sapphira’s Big Mistake

God wants us to tell the truth.

Acts 5:1–10

SESSION 12 The Rich Young Man’s Big Mistake

God wants us to put him first.

Luke 18:18–30

SESSION 13 The Disciples’ Big Mistake

Jesus loves children.

Luke 18:15–17

How to Use These Sessions

First, thanks. Thanks for caring about children and for helping them dig up 13 mistakes—big mistakes!—that people in the pages of the Bible made. You’ll explore the mistakes, figure out what went wrong, and show kids how to avoid those mistakes themselves. Your kids might be surprised at all the ways people got themselves in trouble, and even more surprised at how God used those people for his purposes anyway.

Welcome to Easy

These sessions for elementary kids are carefully designed to make your life easy. They’re light on supplies, quick to prepare, and long on fun. You’ll find most supplies in the church’s supply closet or kitchen or at home in your garage, pantry, or junk drawer—no need to spend time ordering materials online.

Because these sessions are created so beginning teachers or mature teenagers can lead them confidently, you won’t need highly trained teachers. And the variety of options in each session will snag the attention—and hold it—of first-grade through six-grade children, including the boys!

Best of all, you’ll see kids grow in their faith as they open their hearts to what God shares with them through these 13 sessions.

Welcome to Simple Learning

Preparation is easy too. Each week you’ll focus on one key Bible truth, which children will explore and apply. You’ll drive that point home through Bible exploration, fun discussion, giggle-worthy games, and Oh, wow! activities that engage kids in multiple ways through multiple learning styles.

Welcome to Deep Bible Discovery

Each week, your children will actually experience a Bible story. They’ll discover it, ponder it, talk about it, pray about it, and apply what they learn. If that’s what you’re looking for—for your children to do God’s Word instead of just hear it—you’re in exactly the right place. And here’s a tip: supersize the learning by using a kid-friendly version of the Bible to make sure the stories are understood by children.

Welcome to Flexibility

We get it: sometimes you have to punt. A sermon goes long … or short. Kids are quick to dive into a lesson or need some time to warm up to being together. Older kids might zip through an activity while their younger friends take longer.

Relax. We’ve got you covered.

You can use these sessions with kids in practically any setting: in Sunday school, children’s church, evening programs, or while kids’ parents are attending an adult class or small group. There’s maximum flexibility because each session is written to last 45 minutes and then provides enough extras to fill a full hour. These sessions stretch to fit exactly what you need, when you need it. They’re …

• multi-aged—suitable for mixed ages of elementary children;

• easily adapted—sessions work for just a couple kids or a packed classroom;

• relational—children grow close to Jesus and one another

• flexible—brimming with options to fit varying time frames; and

• fun—even easily distracted kids can engage, learn, and grow!

So are you ready for some fun? Let’s dive in!

SESSION 1

Adam and Eve’s Big Mistake

The Point: We honor God when we obey him.

Scripture Connect: Genesis 2:15–18, 22; 3:1–19

Supplies for all Session 1 activities options: pencils, prepared poster, paper, plastic or paper cups (1 per child), water, towels, Bible, clean socks (1 per child), markers (that won’t bleed through) or colored pencils, 10-foot clothesline (or heavy twine)

The Basics for Leaders

It’s easy to criticize Adam and Eve. They had just one rule to obey. Just one—to not eat the fruit from a specific tree—and yet they disobeyed. Big mistake.

But are we all that different?

Jesus said that, to please God, we should love him with all our hearts, souls, and minds and love our neighbors as ourselves (Matt. 22:35–40).

Two rules. Just two.

And how have we done with obeying those two rules?

As you prepare for this session with your kids, if you feel a tug of conviction about your own disobedience to God, pause. Let that conviction do what it needs to do: call you to change, repentance, and freedom.

In what ways can you honor him today?

OPENING ACTIVITY—OPTION 1

HOWZITGOIN’

Time: about 5 minutes, depending on attendance

Supplies: pencils, prepared poster

Before kids arrive, draw a line on a poster. Write a 1 on the left end of the line, a 10 on the right, and a 5 in the middle. As kids arrive, ask them to pencil in their initials on the line.

Say: If this past week was so awful you wish you’d slept through it, place your initials by the 1. If it was a great week you wish you could repeat, put your initials by the 10. Place your initials anywhere on the line that shows how you feel about this past week—except exactly on the 5. Because there’s no such thing as a week that’s exactly half good and half bad!

After kids have signed in, give them 30 seconds each to explain why they placed their initials where they did. Be sure to include your own initials and explain your placement on the line. Kids will begin to express themselves more over time, and hearing their stories will help you adapt this lesson to make it relevant to your kids’ lives.

OPENING ACTIVITY—OPTION 2

TV FAMILIES

Time: about 10 minutes

Supplies: none

Say: Think of a family you’ve seen on TV—any TV family will do—but don’t tell which family you’re thinking of! (pause) Okay, now let’s take turns, and we’ll each pretend to be someone in the TV family we were thinking of. You can use words or actions, but you can’t say the name of the family member or the family. I’ll go first.

Act out the character you’ve chosen. Encourage kids to guess who you’re impersonating. Then let kids take turns acting out the characters they’ve chosen.

Note: While you should choose a G-rated TV show, you might find that some of your kids watch shows you consider off-limits. Avoid giving a lecture. Keep conversation going. As you dig deeper into the discussion, your kids may discover for themselves that they could choose better shows.

Have children circle up and discuss:

• How does the family you acted out compare to your real family? What’s alike and what’s different?

• Compared to the kids in the TV family you chose, do you obey your parents more or less than those kids? Why?

• Why do you think it’s important to obey parents … or is it not important?

• What helps you obey? What makes it difficult?

Say: Today we’re talking about honoring and respecting God in one special way: obeying him. We honor God when we obey him.

Big Mistakes Game

WATER POUR

Time: 10 minutes or more, as desired

Supplies: plastic or paper cups (1 per child), water, towels, Bible

Note: