Here is an activity for [tag]Sunday school lessons for teens[/tag] to use while teaching the lessons of Jacob and Esau. In the previous postings, we discussed how children do not like when it appears they’ve been treated unfairly.
Their internal sense of justice works quite well, and at the same time, it is important to reinforce to them that things do not always go well. Oldest siblings are often held more responsible for what is the younger child’s fault. Especially for children in large school districts, they deal with the trickiness of how all must all follow the same rules, even though every children and every circumstance is unique. In a world that is not always fair, the best answer is to wait on [tag]God’s justice[/tag]. We get what we’re after when it’s a good thing, and when we are patient.
JACOB LEARNS ABOUT GOD’S HONESTY
Through [tag]Jacob and Esau[/tag], we saw how life is not always fair. This week, it was Jacob who was put in the unfair position. Jacob worked for seven years before he could marry the woman he loved”¦that is a long time. And then! What does he end up with? Her sister, who didn’t appeal to him at all. To get the girl he loved, he had to work another whole seven years.
Can you think of a time when you were treated unfairly? Like maybe when you were blamed for something you didn’t do? Let children answer.
Some prompts:
– Parents punished you when a sister or brother started a row.
– Teacher blamed you for a class upset without hearing your side.
These are very frustrating times. God has an answer on how to handle times like these. Like most things of God – it’s simple. But it’s not easy.
Bring out a roll of electrical tape/duct tape and a king sized pillow case. (If you teach younger children, masking tape will work, though older children will be strong enough to break through it.)
Bring one child to the front of the room. (For this demonstration do not use an overly nervous or hyperactive child. A calmer child works well.) Put the pillow case over the child so it hangs down to her knees or below.
Sometimes we find ourselves in a “sticky mess,” as they say. That means a problem starts coming upon us, sort of like Jacob’s problem.
At the base of the pillow case, wrap duct tape around several times, securing it to the child’s legs.
Sometimes, we find the problem is even worse than we initially thought.
Have the child sit down. Cover her legs with another pillow slip. Wrap duct table around her ankles outside the pillow slip.
Have the child lie still on the floor. Two snips with a pair of scissors will cut her free. Set her, released, before her friends.
Isaiah 40:31 says, “They that wait on the Lord will renew their strength. They will mount up with wings like eagles.”
Let’s learn to wait on God to make things fair.
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