I stared at the little face wondering when the body would move. I had given the instructions at least two times and the actions still had not been completed. Helping our children understand why following directions is important is a step in the right direction on the narrow path of godliness. {Deuteronomy 5:32}
Scripture Focus: Genesis 6-7; Proverbs 3:1-2
Materials: white board, an easel, or a large sheet of paper, 2-3 sheets of paper with one simple drawing on each one, such as a smile face, a star, or a simple design.
**I use Biblegateway.com so you easily have the Bible references you need. I choose a version of the scripture I like, but you can change it to the version you would rather use, ex. King James. I also like that I can link sections of verses together for your convenience. Enjoy!!**
Free Poster: Click on the image below and print.
Background: In the first few chapters of Genesis, genealogies are listed and interesting facts are given in scripture about different men. But the main thing we see is how sin has spread. The wickedness was great, and God as searching to and fro for a man who was righteous.
Object Lesson on Following Directions:
{Choose 3 volunteers. Have them form a line, front to back. Give the first person a crayon, or marker, and have them line up in front of the board.}
These kids are going to practice following directions. {Give the last person one of the pictures, allowing the rest of the kids to see it.} The person standing on the end of the line will draw the picture given to him on the back of the person in front of him. Then the next person will draw the picture on the back of the next person. Finally, the first person will draw the picture on the board. No talking allowed. Let’s see if they can follow each others directions!
{Allow the kids to do this. If time, let them rotate so each person in line has a chance to draw on the board.}
Was this an easy task? How come? What would have made it easier? [Hopefully they will notice that it is easier to get information from the original source (the paper), but that paying close attention to the person giving directions was important.]
Bible Lesson on Following Directions:
Noah was given directions. The directions came from God. He was the original source of the information so Noah could trust him.
{Read these verses from Genesis 6: 5-9, 13-14, 17-20, 22. And these from chapter 7: 2, 5-6,9.}
God gave Noah detailed instructions for building the ark. God even told him why he was making the ark. Verse 22 tells us that Noah did everything God told him to do.
What would have happened if Noah had not followed God’s instructions? What if he decided to use a different type of wood, or made the ark smaller or larger in size? (Perhaps the ark would not have been as strong, or large enough to hold all of the animals.)
{Read Genesis 6: 15-16.}
God gave specific instructions and Noah followed them. He didn’t question them. What was Noah doing with God before he was asked to make the ark? (Noah walked with God.) Do you think Noah’s walking with God would have made it easier, or harder, to follow God’s directions? (Easier) How come? (Allow for answers, but make sure they focus on relationship and trust.)
Life Application for Following Directions:
If God told you to build an ark, would you? (Allow for answers.) Has God ever given you directions? (Allow for answers, but they might say, No. If they say, Yes, ask them to tell you what God asked them to do.)
God gives us many directions. He gave us the Bible and it is filled with instructions for us to have a great life here on earth.
{Hold up the poster. Read it aloud.}
How do we not forget God’s teachings? (regularly reading the Bible and memorizing scripture) How do we let our hearts keep the commands? (Allow for answers; lead them to consider that public obedience is great, but that most obedience comes from our attitudes and thoughts, which people never see.) Are there rewards for following God’s commands? (Yes! long life, a full life, and well-being.)
So, if we always obey God’s directions, will we have nothing bad happen to us and we’ll live until we are 100 years old? (No) No, we will have bad things happen to us because we live in a fallen world or because of sinful people. We will make bad choices because we are not perfect. And consider Jesus. He perfectly obeyed God’s directions and he died when he was about 33 years old.
Consider this: If we are trying our hardest to follow God’s directions, is it less likely, or more likely, that we will make good and healthy choices? (More likely that we will make good choices.) And that is the reward and blessing. If we made more good choices than bad choices, then we are more likely to not physically hurt ourselves, or others. We are less likely to be mean to others, so we will have good friends and relationships with people.
What can we learn from Noah? If we want to be godly, then we must choose to know and obey God’s directions.
{Display the poster in the room throughout this series and read it each week.}
This lesson has been UPDATED and is a part of my book Walk This Way: Ethics and Sanctification Lessons for Kids. CLICK ———> HERE for more information.
