During the lesson, the information for you to know is written in regular type, and what we suggest speaking or reading aloud to children is in bold. All resources for this lesson, including the Teacher Guide and Student Page, can be downloaded in a ZIP file by clicking on the following link:
In some lessons you will find "resource articles." These are articles written by experts from around the world to help equip you for your work with children and adolescents. Share them with parents or guardians if you consider it appropriate.
If you want to become wise, you must begin by respecting the Lord. To know the Holy One is to gain understanding.
Proverbs 9:10, NIrV
When we respect someone, we show that we believe him to be worthy of honour. This verse tells us that, if we want to be wise, we must first respect God. He is the mighty Creator who is all-good, all-knowing, all-wise, and all-loving. He is worthy of all honour. He is worthy of our respect.
Spend a few minutes thinking of all the ways God is awesome. Write those thoughts down if you can. Then spend a few minutes reading your list. Ask the Lord to make you aware of Him and on how you depend on Him at all times. Ask Him to show you if there are ways that you do not honour or respect Him. Humbly submit yourself to Him. Spend time worshipping Him. As your view and respect of God grows, your view and respect for others will change as well.
Let families know that their children are starting a 4-week unit on respect. Encourage families to talk about what makes someone worthy of respect.
Teacher Tip: If possible, email or text the Family Connection Card to the families of your students.
Greet children by name as they arrive. This makes each child feel valued and seen.
For the next 4 weeks, we will learn about a very important topic—respect.
What do you think it means to respect someone or something?
Allow children to share their ideas. Thank them for sharing.
Respect is to think very highly of someone and honour him. It means that you admire that person deeply and treat him with consideration.
Divide children into groups of 2–3. Explain that each group will create a short skit that shows one way people show respect. Suggest ideas that are common to your community, such as how people greet each other or how leaders are treated.
Give the groups about 2 minutes to prepare their skits. If your class is small, each group can perform their skit for the class. If your class is large, pair each group with another group and have them perform for each other. This activity should take about 10 minutes. When the activity is finished, have the children sit in their groups for the lesson.
As we learned a few minutes ago, respect is to think very highly of someone and honour her. It means that you admire that person deeply and treat her with consideration.
Can you name any groups of people who do not usually receive respect?
Children may say the poor, orphans, beggars, those in low positions, the disabled, or other ideas.
Here is the important thing to remember: God made every one of us. He wants each person He created to be treated with respect. It does not matter what he looks like or what kind of problems she has. Everyone is worthy of respect because each person is created in the image of God.
We can learn a lot about respect by reading God’s Word, the Bible. Let’s read some verses now and talk about what they teach us about respect.
Have the children find partners. Explain that you will read 3 Bible verses about respect. After each verse, the partners will respond to the questions you ask. Give the pairs about a minute to discuss each question. Then allow 1–2 pairs to share their thoughts with the class.
If you are using the Memory Verse Poster, show it to the students.
If you want to become wise, you must begin by respecting the Lord. To know the Holy One is to gain understanding.
Proverbs 9:10, NIrV
If we want to become wise, who must we respect first?
What are some ways we can show our respect to God?
Help children with these ideas if they get stuck: praying to Him, speaking of Him in an honouring way, living by His rules, worshipping Him alone.
Ask 1–2 pairs to share their thoughts with the class.
This verse tells us that we begin showing respect by honouring God. He is the Creator. He is the Mighty King. He is good and loving. He always does what is right. This is why we can respect Him. If we learn to respect God, then we can learn to respect others. Listen to this next verse about respect:
Show proper respect to everyone, love the family of believers, fear God, honor the emperor.
1 Peter 2:17
This verse tells us to show respect to everyone. Why do you think it is important to show respect to everyone, not just some people?
This verse lists some people and groups to whom we should show love, honour, and respect. Who are they?
Everyone, other Christians, God, rulers.
Our country may not have an emperor, but we do have leaders. What are some ways we can show respect to our leaders?
If children are not sure, suggest that one way they can show respect for their leaders is by praying for them.
Ask 1–2 different pairs to share their thoughts.
Listen to this next verse that teaches us more about respect.
Stand up in the presence of the aged, show respect for the elderly and revere your God. I am the Lord.
Leviticus 19:32
Ask 1–2 pairs to share their thoughts. The next questions are for the whole class.
According to God’s Word, we are to respect everyone. That includes the person who cheats you and the beggar you see on the street. It includes leaders or parents whose actions you disagree with and those who are cruel to you. It does not mean you agree with everyone’s actions and choices, but it does mean you respect each person. It does not mean that everything that person does is right. This is difficult to do. It may even be even impossible without God’s help.
Each person God created is special. God wants us to respect each other. Every one of us fails to respect others sometimes. Here are some suggestions for showing respect to others this week:
I will read some questions and pause after each one. In the pause, I want you to answer the question silently to yourself.
Optional: If you are using the Student Pages, there is space for children to write the names of people they want to respect more.
Have children form a circle. Give each child about a minute to think of an “I will” statement about how she will show respect to the person she thought of. For example, someone might share, “I will respect this person by standing when she enters the room” or “I will respect this person by telling the other children to stop teasing him.” If a child does not want to show respect to this person, he can say, “I want to” and share what he wants to be able to do.
Go around the circle, encouraging each child to share her “I will” statement. Remain in the circle and close class by speaking this blessing based on 1 Peter 2:17 and Proverbs 9:10 over the children.
Blessing: May you show proper respect to each person in your life and choose to live in wisdom, respecting the Lord.
Lead the children in singing this quarter’s song, if possible.
Life on Life ©2020 David C Cook. Reproducible for home or classroom use only. All other uses require written permission from David C Cook [email protected]. All rights reserved.
