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.
I am the Lord your God. I take hold of your right hand. I say to you, “Do not be afraid. I will help you.”
Isaiah 41:13
With God, there is nothing to fear. His words are very clear: “Do not be afraid. I will help you.” There is no question that God is there with us when we are afraid, and yet, it can be difficult to overcome the fears that grab hold of us. Sometimes we are afraid to ask God for help. Maybe we think God has enough to be concerned about without dealing with our fears, but this is not true at all.
God wants to take you by the hand and help you with your fears. Think for a moment about a fear you have that you know does not belong in your life. Now, take a moment to pray and ask God for help. If your fear is something others can help you with, ask someone else to help you overcome it. If you need to figure out the cause of your fear, ask yourself, “What is really so scary about this?” Finally, give your fear to God. This might take time, but know that God will stay with you and will help you overcome your fear.
Encourage families to offer to help their children when they struggle with a difficult task. Explain that their help will show the children they can ask for and receive help when something is too difficult for them to do alone.
Teacher Tip: If possible, email or text the Family Connection Card to the families of your students.
Greet the children as they come to class. Ask them if they did anything during the week to choose courage instead of fear. Have them sit at 1 end of the teaching space.
Today you will do something fun but difficult. You will have 1 minute to get a rock from 1 end of our space to the other without dropping it. The difficult part is that you can only use 1 arm to pick up and carry the rock. You cannot use your hands at all!
Give a rock to each child. Observe the children as they try to complete the task, but do not help them. Set a timer or use a clock for 30 seconds. Ask the class to stop at the end of 30 seconds. Then restart the timer and try the activity again. When you see 1–2 children starting to get frustrated, signal the class for attention.
Raise your hand if you are not sure how to do this task. Do not worry. I know this activity is very difficult to do. Let’s stop for a moment and listen to a story. After the story, we will work together to try this activity again.
Ask the children to give you their rocks as they move to sit in a circle in the middle of your space. Then sit with the children.
It took courage for you to tell me you are not sure how to do this task. Today, you will learn to show courage by asking for help and for more information.
It does not feel good when we cannot complete something we are asked to do. It also does not feel good when we do not have what we need to live: food, water, protection from the weather, and love. When we do not have the things we need, it can make us feel hopeless. When we cannot do something ourselves, we may feel as though we have failed.
Optional: If possible, share the image from The Action Bible.
The Bible tells the true story of a woman who showed courage in the way she got help. This woman needed healing because she was very sick. In fact, she had been sick for 12 years! She had seen many doctors, yet she kept getting worse.
One day, Jesus came to the place where this woman was. He had come there because someone had asked Him to heal a little girl. There was a crowd of people all around Jesus as He walked to visit the girl. As Jesus walked by the sick woman, she did something that took a lot of courage. Listen to what happened:
Then she heard about Jesus. She came up behind him in the crowd and touched his clothes. She thought, “ I just need to touch his clothes. Then I will be healed.” Right away her bleeding stopped. She felt in her body that her suffering was over.
Mark 5:27–29
What did the woman do that required courage?
She touched Jesus’ clothes.
What happened when the woman touched Jesus’ clothes?
She stopped bleeding and her suffering stopped. She was healed
The sick woman wanted to get better, so she touched Jesus’ clothes. It took courage to do this because the woman knew Jesus was very special and very important. She also had to humble herself because she knew she could not get well on her own. She trusted Jesus to help her. Listen to what happened next.
At once Jesus knew that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd. He asked, “Who touched my clothes?”
Mark 5:30
There was a large crowd gathered around Jesus, so the woman may have been surprised that He realized she had touched Him. Jesus’ disciples were surprised when He asked who touched Him. What the woman did next took a lot of courage. The Bible tells us:
Then the woman came and fell at his feet. She knew what had happened to her. She was shaking with fear. But she told him the whole truth.
Mark 5:33
Why do you think the woman was trembling with fear?
Allow 2–3 children to respond.
The woman did not know what Jesus would do when He found out who had touched Him, but she was honest with Him. She knew Jesus had helped her. What Jesus said next showed she had nothing to fear:
He said to her, “Dear woman, your faith has healed you. Go in peace. You are free from your suffering.”
Mark 5:34
Jesus knew the woman needed healing and that she had to have faith in Him and courage to reach out to Him. The woman had nothing to fear because she believed Jesus could heal her. Asking for help means that we hope and trust that the person we ask is willing and able to help us. That takes courage!
The Bible tells us that when we trust God to keep us safe, there is nothing to fear.
I am the Lord your God. I take hold of your right hand. I say to you, “Do not be afraid. I will help you.”
Isaiah 41:13
The woman in our story touched Jesus’ clothes because she needed healing. He cared for her even though she was sick. She was important to Jesus!
When you are in a situation where you need courage to get what you need, you can practice having courage in the following ways:
Let’s think about the task you tried to do at the beginning of class. It was difficult for most of you to complete the task in the time you had. Let’s see what happens if you ask me questions before trying to complete the task.
Give each child a rock. As you give the children their rocks, ask them to walk to the end of the space they gathered in at the beginning of class.
In a moment, we will try to carry this rock to the other end of our space with our elbows. To help you, you may ask me questions about how to do this activity. For example, you might ask me, “How can I pick up my rock using only 1 arm?”
Have the children ask the question, “How can I pick up my rock using only 1 arm and without using my hands at all?” together.
Begin by sitting on the ground. Hold your arm straight out in front of you and place it on the ground. Then use the part of your arm that bends to scoop the rock up. You may need to get very low to the ground to do this. For some of you this will still be difficult. However, I told you that you could only use 1 of your arms without using your hands at all. I did not tell you that you could not help each other get your rocks off the ground. Let’s ask another question: “Can I help someone else get her rock off the ground?”
Have the children repeat the question, “Can I help someone else get her rock off the ground?”
Yes, you can do that! Remember, it is okay to ask for help to complete a difficult task.
Pair up each child with someone standing near him.
Now take turns trying to pick up your rocks. The child trying to pick up her rock will stretch her arm out on the ground and wrap it around the rock where the arm bends. The other child will use his elbow to push the rock gently into the arm of his partner. Once the rock is against your arm, tightly bend your elbow to hold the rock. Then help your partner pick up his rock.
You may need to help the children pick up the rocks with their partners. Once all the children have picked up their rocks, congratulate them. Then ask them to place their rocks on the ground to get ready to try the task again. Set your timer for 1 minute or look at the clock to know when to tell the children to go.
When you asked questions, it helped you to better understand what I want you to do and to get help from your partners. Now let’s try to get our rocks to the other side of the space in only 1 minute. Ready? Go!
At the end of 1 minute, ask the children to stop where they are. Celebrate with the children who made it across the space with their rocks in 1 minute. Encourage the children who did not make it across the space as you remind them some things take practice.
Optional: If you are using Student Pages, give the children crayons and allow them to draw pictures to go with each word.
When you ask questions, ask for help, and talk to others about things that are not going well, you show courage. The Bible reminds us that we can have courage when we know God is with us. Let’s practice our memory verse together.
If you are using the Memory Verse Poster, show it to the students.
So do not be afraid. I am with you. Do not be terrified. I am your God. I will make you strong and help you. I will hold you safe in my hands. I always do what is right.
Isaiah 41:10
Have everyone stand. Sing or chant this verse using the following motions.
Have the children sing or chant with you. Repeat the words to the memory verse 3 times. End class by saying this blessing, based on Isaiah 41:13, over the children.
Blessing: May you know that God is with you and promises to help you. May this give you courage.
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.
