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.
We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us.
Romans 12:6
God has given each of us amazing gifts, and He has blessed us abundantly. God made each of us with special care, giving us the skills and abilities He knew we would need. He gives us these gifts so we can use them to honour Him and help others. As we use our gifts, we grow in our skills and abilities—and we also grow in confidence. And as we grow in confidence, we will dare to do more for Him.
Make a list of your God-given skills and abilities. How can you nurture them to make them grow? How will that growth increase your confidence? Decide on 1 thing you can do to begin to grow in your skills and abilities. Pray that God will help you to build your confidence. And pray that He will help you to use your skills and abilities to build up the confidence of the children you teach.
Let your children’s families know that this week you are teaching on skills and abilities. If family members are not sure what their own skills and abilities are, encourage them to ask each other. They can take turns telling each family member something he or she is good at.
Teacher Tip: If possible, email or text the Family Connection Card to the families of your students.
Welcome your children warmly. Ask them if any of them felt more confident last week because they remembered who God says they are.
In today’s lesson we will continue to learn more about growing in confidence.
Who remembers what confidence is?
Call on 1–2 children to share their ideas.
Those were good ideas! Remember that confidence is the assurance or trust we have in who we are, our worth, and our abilities. Confidence affects the way we act and how we treat ourselves and others. True, lasting confidence comes from understanding who God says we are. Today we will talk about our God-given skills and abilities.
God created every person with unique skills and abilities. All of us have these God-given gifts, even if we have not discovered them yet. Some examples are being a good leader, running fast, repairing broken things, listening well to others, and doing well in school.
Today we will learn that we can grow these abilities and share them with others. When we do, we will better understand who God created us to be, and our confidence will grow!
Have the children find partners.
Once you have found a partner, share with him something you can do well. When you have both shared, answer these 2 questions.
After 3 minutes, ask 3 students to share what they learned about their partners’ skills and abilities.
Let’s listen to a story from the Bible about a man named Moses. He was born as an Israelite slave in Egypt. When he was a young man, he left Egypt and lived in a foreign country for 40 years, herding sheep.
One day Moses saw a burning bush. It was on fire, but it did not burn up. So he went to see this strange thing.
What would you think if you saw a burning bush that did not burn up?
Allow the children to share their thoughts.
Moses must have been surprised. And he was probably even more surprised about what happened next! Suddenly God began to speak to him from inside the burning bush!
God said that He had heard the Israelites’ cry for help. God loved His people and knew that they were suffering as slaves in Egypt. God said that He would bring the Israelites out of Egypt and into a wonderful land where all of their needs would be met.
Then God said something that probably surprised Moses even more! God said, “Moses, go to Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, and bring my people out Egypt.”
What would you say if God asked you to go to the leader of a powerful country and take away his country’s slaves?
Allow 2 children to share what they would say.
Moses said, “Who am I to bring this people out of Egypt?” Maybe Moses was afraid to do the job God had given him to do. Maybe he did not think that he could do it. Maybe Moses did not have confidence in his ability to do such an important task.
Moses made many excuses as to why he could not do what God asked him to do. God was patient and responded to each of Moses’ excuses. Finally, Moses told God that he was not a good public speaker and said, “Pardon your servant, Lord. Please send someone else.” Let’s read from the Bible how God responded.
Optional: If possible, share the image from The Action Bible.
Then the Lord’s anger burned against Moses and he said, “What about your brother, Aaron the Levite? I know he can speak well. He is already on his way to meet you, and he will be glad to see you. You shall speak to him and put words in his mouth; I will help both of you speak and will teach you what to do. He will speak to the people for you.”
Exodus 4:14–16
Moses believed what God had said. So Moses and his brother, Aaron, went to the Israelite leaders to tell them what God was going to do for His people. Let’s read from Exodus 4:
Moses and Aaron brought together all the elders of the Israelites, and Aaron told them everything the Lord had said to Moses. He also performed the signs before the people.
Exodus 4:29–30
Now let’s read what happened when Moses and Aaron spoke to Pharaoh.
Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Let my people go, so that they may hold a festival to me in the wilderness.’”
Exodus 5:1
Pharaoh would not let the Israelites go. He was angry and ordered that the Israelites be given even more work. But Moses and Aaron did not give up. Let’s read what God told Moses to do next.
“When Pharaoh says to you, ‘Perform a miracle,’ then say to Aaron, ‘Take your staff and throw it down before Pharaoh,’ and it will become a snake.”So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and did just as the Lord commanded. Aaron threw his staff down in front of Pharaoh and his officials, and it became a snake.
Exodus 7:9–10
Again Pharaoh would not let the Israelites leave Egypt. So God sent terrible plagues on the Egyptians. God told Moses and Aaron to warn Pharaoh before each plague. And each time, Pharaoh refused to let the Israelites leave. At first, Aaron spoke to Pharaoh and performed the miracles. But that began to change.
One of the plagues caused Egypt to be filled with frogs! There were frogs in the canals, in the ponds, and even in people’s houses!
Let’s read what Moses said about the frogs:
Moses said to Pharaoh, “I leave to you the honor of setting the time for me to pray for you and your officials and your people that you and your houses may be rid of the frogs, except for those that remain in the Nile.”
Exodus 8:9
Moses’ confidence was growing. He saw that God was doing what He said He would do. Though Aaron was still performing the miracles, Moses was now able to speak to Pharaoh.
Do you think Pharaoh let the Israelites go this time?
Allow 2 children to share their thoughts.
Again, Pharaoh would not let the Israelites go. So God sent more plagues on the Egyptians. Let’s read about the ninth plague.
Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward the sky so that darkness spreads over Egypt—darkness that can be felt.” So Moses stretched out his hand toward the sky, and total darkness covered all Egypt for three days…. Then Pharaoh summoned Moses and said, “Go, worship the Lord. Even your women and children may go with you; only leave your flocks and herds behind.” But Moses said, “You must allow us to have sacrifices and burnt offerings to present to the Lord our God.
Exodus 10:21–22, 24–25
Did you notice what happened? As Moses began to use the skills and abilities that God had given him, he honoured God and helped others and his confidence grew. As he used these skills and abilities, he became a better leader and his confidence grew. Moses no longer needed Aaron’s help. He had learned to trust in God and to be confident in the gifts God had given to him.
God can do the same thing for you! God gave you many wonderful skills and abilities. He wants you to use them to honour Him and help others. When you use the skills and abilities God has given you, your confidence will increase. If you trust Him, He can help you to use your skills and abilities to help others.
If you are using the Memory Verse Poster, show it to the students.
Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.
1 peter 4:10
Here are some tips for growing in confidence:
Third, remember that not everyone can do everything. Do not let your confidence be shaken by what you cannot do. Remember that your confidence comes from God and doing what He has gifted you to do.
When you know who God created you to be, you can have confidence in who you are. You can be confident that you were created with valuable skills and abilities that you can use to serve God and help others. And you can be confident that God will help you.
Turn to your partner from the beginning of our lesson to talk about these questions.
Pause for about 1 minute after each question for children to discuss with their partners.
Think about a skill or ability God has given to you. How can you use it to honour God? To help others? To help yourself?
Share examples such as these: If you have the ability to make friends easily, you can honour God by being friendly to children who are bullied by others. If you are good at sports, you can encourage your teammates and your opponents.
What is something you can do this week to grow that skill or ability?
Share examples such as this: If you have an ability in leadership, you can teach younger children how to play a game.
Optional: If you are using the Student Pages, the children draw a picture of themselves using one of their skills.
Close class by speaking this blessing over the children.
Blessing: May God help you to recognize the wonderful gifts He has given you. May you grow in confidence as your skills and abilities grow, and may you learn more of who God created you to be.
Lead the children in singing this quarter’s song, if possible. (soft return here)
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.
