The children will learn that:-
Bible Story Reference: 2 Chronicles 26:1-6, 16-21.
Memory Verse:
Matthew 18:15 (NIV)
If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over.
Opening
Bible Story
Uzziah was king of Judah. This meant that he was the big boss of the entire country! The king made all the rules and everyone had to obey him. At first, Uzziah followed God and did what was right, but after he became powerful, Uzziah became proud. He decided that he didn’t have to obey God’s rules and chose to go into God’s holy temple to burn incense. (This was a job God had given to the priests and only priests were to do it.)
Azariah the priest, along with 80 other priests, went to tell King Uzziah that what he was doing was wrong. It took courage for them to do this because the king had the power to order anyone who angered him to be put to death.
King Uzziah did get very angry. As he was raging at the priest, leprosy (a horrible skin disease) broke out on his skin. God had sent leprosy. King Uzziah had to live alone for the rest of his life because he had leprosy; he could no longer be around other people or go into any part of the temple to worship God.
It’s important to remember that it is God’s job to judge (Romans 14:9-11, 1 Corinthians 4:5), while it is our job to encourage others to do right (1 Thessalonians 5:10-15).
Galatians 6:1 explains that when we correct another person, we are to
do it gently. This means that if we are confronting wrongdoing, we need to speak quietly and politely. For example, if your friend suggests that you not allow your little brother or sister to play with you, you could say, “Let’s remember to be kind. The Bible says we are to treat others as we want to be treated ourselves.” That would be much better than yelling, “You’re being mean!”
Confronting wrong can also be easier if we support each other in standing up for what is right like the priests did. If another child points out that someone is doing something wrong, you can support them by simply saying, “I agree with you; it’s important to follow God’s rules.”
At times, there may be other children who make fun of you for choosing to follow Jesus and doing what is right. These are the times that you can remember that Jesus had people hurt Him too. He helps us feel joyful when things are hard by giving us His Holy Spirit.
Questions
Prayer
Dear God, give me the courage to do what is right when others are doing the wrong thing.
Crafts
“Stop” Tree
What You Need
Steps
Trace your hands on paper. Then cut out the tracings. These will be the leaves.
Write “stop” on each of the handprints.
Using brown paper, cut out a tree trunk and branches.
Glue or staple the tree trunk on a large piece of paper. Then glue or staple the handprint leaves to the tree.