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, Student Page, Family Connection Card, and other resources 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.
Before class, clear a large area in your teaching space for the Connecting game. There should be enough space for your children to move quickly from one end of the large area to the other. Place 4 cups at one end of the space. Spread them out so they are at least ½ meter apart. On the other end of the space, make 4 equal piles of pebbles spaced about ½ meter apart.
The angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon. He said, “Mighty warrior, the Lord is with you.”
Judges 6:12
Some days we feel like mighty warriors and trust that God will use us to accomplish His amazing purposes. We know that He is with us and that He will give us the strength to do what He has called us to do. But on other days, we may doubt His plan for our lives. We can see God’s plan, but we feel we do not have the skills, time, or talent to carry it out. We may lose our focus on who God has created us to be—and our lack of confidence causes us to doubt ourselves.
Think of the last time you doubted yourself. Did you respond by hiding from God’s great plans for your life? Or did you look to Him for strength and courage to follow His will? When you lack confidence, change your perspective. Instead of seeing only your own flaws and weaknesses, look instead toward God, who is the source of your confidence. Remember that He will equip you for the battles He calls you to enter, and He will be standing by your side in every challenge. God is with you, mighty warrior! And in Him, the battle has already been won.
Encourage families to talk to their children about something they need to do but think they cannot do. Ask that families help their children think of ways they might accomplish this task. If possible, ask that they pray and ask God to help with the task.
Teacher Tip: If possible, email or text the Family Connection Card to the families of your students.
Greet the children as they arrive. As they enter the teaching space, ask the children to sit by one of the piles of pebbles. Before you begin the activity, be sure each group has about the same number of children.
Last week, you learned what it means to be confident. Remember, when you know who you are and believe you are valuable, you are confident. Knowing God created you and cares about you can give you confidence. You can also be confident in your abilities.
Raise your hand if you are confident in your ability to toss an object and hit a target.
Pause to allow the children to respond.
Today we will play a game to test your ability to toss an object and hit a target. Each team has a pile of pebbles. On the other end of the space, your team also has a cup. When I tell you to begin, your team will try to get 10 pebbles into your cup. However, you cannot walk all the way to your cup. You must toss your pebbles once you reach the person on your team who I will place near the cup. Who would like to stand near his team’s cup?
Have 1 volunteer from each team come over to the cups with you. Have the volunteer from Team 1 stand 3 large steps away from his cup. Have a volunteer from Team 2 stand 5 small steps away from her cup. Have the volunteer from Team 3 stand 2 giant steps away from his cup, and have the volunteer from Team 4 stand 7 tiny steps away from her cup. Each volunteer will be a different distance from a cup.
One person at a time will toss pebbles into your team’s cup. No one on your team will be able to get closer to the cup than this person. The first team to get all its pebbles into the cup will win the game.
Allow the children to bring their pebbles up to the person on their team who is near the cup. Remind them they cannot get any closer to the cup than this person. You may need to remind them that only 1 person on each team can toss a pebble at 1 time.
If we played this game again, would you be confident that your team could win? Why or why not?
Allow at least 1 child from each team to respond.
If time allows, repeat the game, having the teams stand different distances from the cup than they did the first time.
Some of you may feel confident because it was easy for you to throw the pebbles into the cup. You may feel this is a skill you perform well. For some of you, the game may have been difficult. It may have even made you angry, sad, or upset because you could not do what I had asked you to do. If you felt this way, you may not feel tossing pebbles at a cup is a skill you perform well.
Ask the students to help you to pick up the pebbles and put them into the cups. Then ask the children to sit in their usual places.
Have the children sit in pairs for this part of the lesson. Ask the children to answer the questions with their partners.
Have you ever experienced something difficult that made you angry, sad, or upset? If so, what was it?
Give the children 1–2 minutes to respond with their partners.
Sometimes we may feel angry, sad, or upset because we do not think we are good at doing something. When we feel this way, we doubt our abilities instead of being confident about them. The Bible tells a story about a man, named Gideon, who did not have confidence in his abilities and skills.
Gideon and the Israelites had been living a difficult life for 7 years. Every year, the Israelites would plant their crops and care for their animals. And every year, their enemies would come and destroy everything.
How do you think the Israelites felt?
Allow 2–3 children to respond.
If I had to live like the Israelites, I probably would not be confident that things would get better. I might not feel confident that I was valuable enough to have good things in my life. But God had a plan to save His people, and Gideon was an important part of His plan. Let’s find out what happened.
One day, Gideon was hiding in a cave in the ground. He was separating the wheat from the stalks in a secret place so that the Israelites’ enemies would not find him or his wheat. Then an angel appeared and gave Gideon an amazing message:
If possible, read this verse directly from your Bible.
The angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon. He said, “Mighty warrior, the Lord is with you.”
Judges 6:12
How would you feel if an angel appeared and called you a mighty warrior?
Ask the children to share their feelings with their partners.
I would feel excited and encouraged to hear this message, but I might doubt that I am a mighty warrior.
What might have happened if Gideon had believed the angel?
Give the children 1 minute to respond with their partners.
Gideon had suffered greatly, and he doubted the angel’s message. Listen to what Gideon said to the angel.
Pardon me, sir,” Gideon replied, “you say the Lord is with us. Then why has all this happened to us? Where are all the wonderful things he has done? Our people of long ago told us about them. They said, ‘Didn’t the Lord bring us up out of Egypt?’ But now the Lord has deserted us. He has handed us over to Midian.”
Judges 6:13
What doubts did Gideon have?
The children may respond with their partners or in the large group. Possible answers are: He doubted that God was with the Israelites. He doubted that God would save them from the people of Midian.
God responded and told Gideon he was strong and asked him to save Israel. However, Gideon still doubted what God had said. Listen to what Gideon said next.
“Pardon me, sir,” Gideon replied, “but how can I possibly save Israel? My family group is the weakest in the tribe of Manasseh. And I’m the least important member of my family.”
Judges 6:15
Why did Gideon not have confidence that he could save the people of Israel?
The children may respond with their partners or in the large group. Possible answers are: His family group was the weakest in his tribe. He was the least important member of his family.
Optional: If possible, share the images from The Action Bible.
.
Gideon was not confident in his ability to do what God had asked, and he was not confident that God really wanted him to save the Israelites. So, Gideon asked God to show him 2 signs so that he would know God wanted Gideon to be the one to save his people. The first night, Gideon asked God to make a piece of wool wet and the ground around it dry. The next night, Gideon asked that God make the ground wet and the wool dry. God did both of these things, and Gideon was confident God wanted him to save the people of Israel.
Gideon led the Israelites into battle against their enemies. With Gideon’s help, the Israelites won! Gideon doubted his own abilities, but he chose to have confidence in God.
Sometimes when we are afraid, we have doubts and we lose our confidence. We do not believe that we can do what we need to do in that situation. When we focus on God and not our doubts and fears, we can be confident. Listen to what the Bible says about this type of confidence.
I can do all this by the power of Christ. He gives me strength.
Philippians 4:13
While we cannot do everything on our own, God has given us the strength to do good things that please Him. We can trust that He has given us skills and abilities to do the things He wants us to do. When you doubt your ability to do something you need to do, you can replace your doubt with confidence. There are many ways you can build confidence, including:
When we doubt our abilities and skills, it can be difficult to have confidence. Saying “I can” statements is a great way to help us build our confidence.
Have the children stay with their partners for this activity.
Let’s practice replacing doubts with confidence. We will use the idea of turning “I cannot” statements into “I can” statements to help us with this activity.
First, think of something you must do that you do not feel you are good at doing. For example, I might say that I know I need to talk to an important leader, but I do not think I am a good enough speaker to talk with this person. I might say, “I cannot speak well enough to talk with a leader.”
Remember, whatever you think you cannot do, it should be something you know you will need to do or should do. It is important for you to build your confidence, but there are still things you cannot and should not do. Think of an “I cannot” statement that is true about you. When you have thought of a statement, put 1 thumb up.
Pause to allow the children to think of statements. Wait until most of the children have 1 thumb up before continuing. Then, give them about 1 minute to share their “I cannot” statements with their partners.
Next, we will turn our “I cannot” statements into “I can” statements. My “I cannot” statement was “I cannot speak well enough to talk with a leader.”
Can anyone help me turn my “I cannot” statement into an “I can” statement?
Allow 1–2 children to respond. The statement should be something similar to “I can speak well enough to talk with a leader.”
Now change your own “I cannot” statement into an “I can” statement. Share this with your partner.
Give the children about 1 minute to share their “I can” statements with their partners.
Optional: If you are using the Student Pages, the children can draw or write their “I cannot” and “I can” statements on their pages.
Remember, you can also pray and ask God to give you the confidence you need to do things. Let’s take a moment to say a silent prayer to ask God to help us have confidence.
Pause for about 30 seconds to allow the children to pray.
You do not need to doubt what you can do. You can have confidence because God is with you and created you with special skills and abilities. As this week’s memory verse reminds us, when we trust God, we can be confident in what He has created us to do.
If you are using the Memory Verse Poster, show it to the students.
Blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him.
Jeremiah 17:7, NIV
Repeat the verse and actions 3 times. End class by saying this blessing, based on Philippians 4:13, over the children.
Blessing: May you believe and not doubt that you can do the things God wants. May you be filled with God’s strength.
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.
