3rd-5th-grade

3/22/14 class Lesson 7

Worldly Influence: Teachers Guide

1 Corinthians 6: 19-20, Matthew 4:1-11, 1Kings11, Leviticus 26:1, Deuteronomy 5:8-9, Titus 2:12-13, Romans 12:2, 1 Timothy 4
You Will Need: Computer to show Power Point Slideshow Internet Connection Ask for Prayer Requests: In your prayer be sure to mention something along the lines of, We pray that we will love the things that are good and be wise enough to stay away from the things that are bad. Slide 1-3: Ask the class what they think worldly influence means. Show them the pictures and ask them if they see any influences that are bad. Discuss how there are good and bad influences. Slide 4-9: What does the Bible say? Read these verses aloud with the class and discuss what they are clearly saying. There can be nothing before God. Slide 10-11: Today Idols do not have to look like a golden calf. Idols could be anything a person loves more than God. So, idols can be science, technology, food, your pet, entertainment, school, or your job. Slide 12: Read aloud about King Solomons fall from grace in 1King 11 Solomon was warned not to marry into cultures that did not worship God. He did not listen and ended up having hundreds of wives that wanted him to build altars to their gods.

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3/22/14 class Lesson 7

Instead of standing up for the one true God, Solomon listened to his wives and built altars to idols. This angered God and he allowed King Solomons reign as King to end. Solomon was a great and wise King, but as soon as he stopped putting God first he lost everything! Slide 13-20: The world is more connected now than it has ever been before. Information on just about anything can be found at the click of a button! It has become increasingly easy to pass things off as truth (Video: A mermaid sighting hoax that is pretty convincing, but fake) For example: Photographs used to tell the truth, but now they can be altered far beyond what was originally there. (Video: A sped-up recording of a photo alteration process used daily all over the world. Photoshop. The end of the video shows the difference between the original photo and the enhanced photo) Along with all of the fake imagery in the world there is also a good bit of false information. The Bible is a bunch of childrens stories If it feels good it must be right I was born this way Why did God let this happen? The Devil loves to spread messages like these all over the world. It is only a portion of what Christians are fighting against today. Slide 21: We need to be careful what we get ourselves into, because once you experience something it is there inside of you forever. There is no taking it back. We want God to be the biggest part of our heart not a bunch of garbage. Slide 22-26: It is true that God gave Christians the choice to choose Him. This means Christians can do whatever they want. But, obviously we need to be striving to be like Jesus Christ. So, if we are doing something that God says is bad then we need to be able to check ourselves and correct the problem. This means we need to be aware of the difference between right and wrong. As Christians we dont get a free pass to sin as much as we want and if we are enjoying something wrong then

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3/22/14 class Lesson 7

there is a real problem that requires asking God for forgiveness. This does not mean that Christians cant have any fun. We can still do what we love, but it has to fall in with what God has told us is good.

Slide 27-30: God warns us that I we do not give up our idols our conscience may become as if it were seared with a hot iron. Explain how youre conscience is your ability to know right from wrong. Then give an example. Do you think I should tell my friend Suzy that her face looks like green eggs and ham? The students should respond with NO! Tell them that their conscience is how they know it would be wrong to be mean to Suzy. You may need to remind the students about Jiminy Cricket and cattle branding if there is still some confusion. Then explain that desensitization is like a pile of sand. A pile of sand is soft and fluffy. The first couple of times you step on it the sand will be disturbed, but still be mostly soft and fluffy. But, if you walk on the pile of sand all day in the end it will no longer be a soft, fluffy pile, it will be squashed down, hard, and flat. We dont want this to happen to our conscience, our ability to know right from wrong. How can you follow Gods Word and get into heaven if you cant tell the difference between right and wrong? We always want to be able to know the difference, so that we dont miss out on the promises God has given us. Slide 31: Nothing in the world could ever be better than what God has promised us. (Video: Have the kids examine this Casting Crowns music video Be Careful Little Eyes. This song sums up how desensitization does not happen suddenly, it happens over a period of time. Our job is to not take that second look or step in the wrong direction that would lead us down a path away from God.)

3rd-5th-grade

3/22/14 class Lesson 7