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.
As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.
Proverbs 27:17
Doing and saying what is right in a world corrupted by sin can be difficult. This is one reason God has given us other believers—to challenge us, correct us, encourage us, and help us live in a way that pleases God. Hebrews 10:24 says, “And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.”
Think of a time when a friend helped you to do what was right. Perhaps she encouraged you. Maybe he prayed for you. Maybe she offered you accountability when you were tempted. How did this help you to make a wise and God-honoring choice? How has this experience changed your heart to help you to live with integrity?
As you prepare for the lesson, think about how you can spur your students on to live with integrity. As their teacher, you have an opportunity to encourage them and give them godly advice. Many of them may not have other trustworthy adults in their lives. Pray about ways to build relationships with them so they will know you will always speak the truth to them with the love of Christ. Pray that you and your students will follow the example of the only One who can guide you to live with true integrity.
Encourage your students to share what they have learned about encouragement by encouraging their family members.
Teacher Tip: If possible, email or text the Family Connection Card to the families of your students.
Remember to greet your students and ask them if they succeeded in living with integrity since the last lesson. Offer to pray for and with the students who share their struggles with you.
Divide your students into pairs, and have them sit on the ground back-to-back. They should pair up boy with boy and girl with girl. Tell them to work together to stand straight up without using their hands. (If they have trouble doing this on their own, you may want to suggest that they link elbows.)
You can give them several tries and count off the seconds to see if they can improve their time. Next, add 1 person to each group to see if they can still stand up together. (It can be done with up to 10 people.)
Standing straight up without using your hands would be hard to do by yourself. For many things in life you need others to help you. Living with integrity is one of those things. Let’s review what we have already learned about integrity.
A person with integrity demonstrates trustworthiness by doing and saying what is right.
A relationship with God.
Allow students to share their thoughts.
Sometimes it can be difficult to live with integrity, doing and saying what is right. The right thing to do is not always the easy thing to do. To really live lives of integrity, we need the help of caring friends and adults—especially Christians who will help us do what is right.
One reason we need other Christians to help us is because God has called His people to support each other and to help each other to live with integrity. That is also the reason that we need to walk with others on the journey toward living with integrity. God does not just call us to seek the help of others. He also tells us to help others. As we saw in the activity we did earlier, we can do things together that we cannot do alone. When we walk together on this path of integrity, helping each other, it is much easier to live the way God wants us too.
Christians have always faced challenges. After Jesus died and rose again, He told His disciples to go out into the world and preach the good news of His death and resurrection to free people from sin. Many people heard the message the disciples preached and began believing in Jesus.
But many did not believe in Him. The Jewish leaders rejected Jesus. They did not want people to believe that He was the Son of God. So they persecuted the early believers. Because of this persecution, the early church was not a large, organized group. Instead, the church consisted of small groups of believers who worshipped together, studied the Word of God together, and helped one another in times of need. They did not let persecution stop them from sharing the message of God’s love with others.
Many early Christians were forced to leave Jerusalem because of this persecution. Though they had to leave their homes, they continued to share their faith. Because of this, Christianity spread to other countries.
One of these early believers was a man called Barnabas, which means “son of encouragement.” In fact, he was such a great encourager that he was not called by his given name, Joseph. Instead the disciples chose to call him Barnabas because he was such an encouragement to them in their work. Listen to what the Bible says about him and the early believers.
The Lord’s hand was with them, and a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord. News of this reached the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. When he arrived and saw what the grace of God had done, he was glad and encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts. He was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith, and a great number of people were brought to the Lord. Then Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch. So for a whole year Barnabas and Saul met with the church and taught great numbers of people. The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch.
Acts 11:21–26
He encouraged others to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts. He taught a great many people.
They were facing persecution, so they needed someone to help them, encourage them, and speak truth to them.
Barnabas was an encourager and a man of integrity. He was a follower of Jesus who did and said what was right. He encouraged others, including Saul (who was later called Paul), to live and preach with integrity, too. Barnabas was a mentor for Paul, which means he gave Paul godly advice and wise correction and supported Paul with friendship, encouragement, and prayer. Paul and Barnabas later travelled together, preaching the gospel in many cities.
Allow students to share their thoughts.
This is not the whole story. In fact, it is only a small part. One of the most amazing parts of the story of Barnabas is who he was encouraging. When he was still called Saul, Paul was a powerful Jewish leader who knew all the laws and rules and made sure that everyone followed them. He was very well-known—mostly for persecuting and killing Christians.
Optional: If you are using The NIV Action Study Bible, allow students to read more about this in the “Unlock It” section on page 988.
Once Paul started following Jesus and living with God’s integrity, he was persecuted by the people who had once been his friends. He was mocked, beaten, imprisoned, and left for dead because he told the truth about Jesus. But God provided Paul with friends like Barnabas, who encouraged him to continue following Jesus no matter what. Barnabas encouraged other Christians to forgive and trust Paul, even though Paul had been one of their greatest persecutors. Barnabas knew that Paul’s passion for rules and laws had now turned into a passion for Jesus. God used Barnabas to help Paul become a man of integrity who shared the love of Christ with others. Paul went on to write 13 of the 27 books of the New Testament of the Bible. Listen to a verse that Paul later wrote.
Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.
1 Thessalonians 5:11
The Bible tells us more about encouragement and helping others.
As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.
Proverbs 27:17
And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.
Hebrews 10:24
Living with integrity can be difficult sometimes, especially if you have lived in hard circumstances. Think of times when you or someone you know did not live with integrity. Maybe you have lied to protect yourself or someone else. Or perhaps you stole to have something to eat. Maybe your parent has done these things. God sees the hard things you have experienced. He cares about you! It can be hard to live with integrity in difficult circumstances.
Though Jesus can guide and help us on our path to integrity, following Him does not mean it will be easy. But if we trust in Him and allow Him to guide our steps, He can help us to keep our integrity—even in difficult situations. One thing that makes it easier is having the help of caring friends, especially other Christians, who will encourage us to do what is right. To live with the kind of integrity God wants us to have, we need to encourage others also. We have a group of people who can encourage each other right here! Let’s spend some time encouraging one another today.
Direct the students to stand in a circle and close their eyes. You should stand outside the circle. Stand behind one student and lay your hand on that student’s shoulder or head, if the student is comfortable with it. Say the student’s name aloud and make an encouraging statement about that student. Invite other students to share encouragement as well. After a minute or two, go on to the next student, repeating the same actions. Continue until each student has been encouraged.
Optional: Have students sit in a circle, and hand out a piece of paper and pencil to each student. Then give them the following instructions:
Write your name at the top of your paper and make a fold just beneath it. Pass your paper to the left. Look at the name at the top of the paper you now hold and write an encouragement for that person. For example, you might write: “I like the way you are always kind to others” or “I can always trust that you are telling the truth.” When you are finished writing on that paper, fold the paper back in the other direction, like a fan, and pass it to your left. We will write on as many papers as we can in the time we have left.
Make sure each student gets the correct paper back when you are finished. These encouraging words could very easily become a treasured possession.
God has provided us with other people to help us live with integrity. We need each other. Today we spent some time encouraging each other, but do not let it stop here. When you see someone doing or saying what is right and true, encourage her in her integrity. If you notice someone is struggling, take time to talk with him or pray for him. Make sure you have other Christians in your life to help you live with integrity. And, if you are seeking true integrity, look to God for guidance and wisdom on your journey.
If you have time, you may want to pair the students up—boys with boys and girls with girls—to have a short prayer time for specific areas of integrity they may be struggling with. This will give them the opportunity to experience firsthand encouragement for their present needs.
Optional: If you are using the Student Pages, the teens can use their pages to write notes to encourage others.
When you are ready to end class, close your time with a blessing over your students based on Hebrews 10:24.
Blessing: May our God, who has provided us with other believers, show you how to encourage others on toward love and good deeds. May you always be encouraged to do what is right and say what is true.
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.
