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.
Before class, make 6 lines on the floor with tape or draw them on the ground in your teaching space. The lines should be about 2 meters long and about 1 meter apart. They should look like this:
______________
______________
______________
______________
______________
______________
And that’s not all. We are full of joy even when we suffer. We know that our suffering gives us the strength to go on. The strength to go on produces character. Character produces hope. And hope will never bring us shame. That’s because God’s love has been poured into our hearts. This happened through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.
Romans 5:3–5
Full of joy even when we suffer? These words may not make sense to someone who does not have faith. However, when we have hope in the living God, that hope is not simply a feeling—it is an action. Hope makes us resilient. It helps us to find joy in suffering, it builds strength of character, and it brings restoration even in difficult times. Hope draws us closer to the One whose love has been poured into our hearts.
Think of a difficulty you have faced. Did you respond with hope and resilience? Or did you allow your difficulties to defeat you? Next time you face a challenge, do not lose hope. Instead, learn from your mistakes and poor choices, ask for help, take a step forward, and look for solutions. Most importantly, be grateful to the One who is the source of your hope. Remember the many beautiful things He has done in your life. Ask Him to restore your hope. The hope that comes from God will never bring you to shame. It brings unexpected joy, even in times of suffering.
Encourage the families to talk with their children about the things they hope for and to ask their children about their own desires. Sharing things they hope for and having their desires affirmed can help children to become more hopeful.
Teacher Tip: If possible, email or text the Family Connection Card to the families of your students.
Greet the children as they arrive. Show them the 6 lines you have marked on the floor. Ask them to help you to think of ways the class can use those lines to play a game or do an activity. When you are ready to begin class, gather the children and have them sit in their usual places.
We have 6 lines on the floor. What do you think we can do with those lines?
Allow 2–3 children to respond.
Let’s think of some games we can play with these lines.
Choose 1 or 2 of the activities below to do with the lines. If possible, use the ideas the children thought of. Affirming their ideas helps them to grow in hope and encourages them to think creatively. The game should take no more than 10 minutes.
After the game, have the children sit at their seats.
Those were fun games! We did not need anything except a few lines and our creative thinking. God has given us amazing brains! We can use our creative thinking to help us to grow in hope because we learn to solve problems. Let’s learn more about this.
Think of a time when you went through something difficult or something you were afraid to do. Maybe a family member got sick or you were badly hurt and had to heal. If you cannot think of any difficult challenges you have faced, think about a difficult situation someone around you has faced.
How did you or the other person get through this difficult situation?
Allow 2–3 children to respond.
When a person is able to become strong, well, or happy again after experiencing a difficult situation, that person is resilient. Being resilient does not mean that you are not affected by a difficult situation. Instead, being resilient means that you are able to feel better and find hope again after experiencing something difficult.
Let me tell a true story from the Bible about a resilient woman named Hannah. For a long time, Hannah wanted to have a baby, but she could not have one. The Bible shows us that Hannah was resilient. Hannah trusted in God and learned to have hope even when she was disappointed and hurt.
Hannah was married to a man named Elkanah, who also had another wife named Peninnah. Peninnah had children, but Hannah did not. Each year, Elkanah took his family to God’s house in Shiloh to worship God. While they were in Shiloh, Peninnah teased Hannah because she did not have children. This made Hannah very angry. Peninnah kept teasing Hannah until she cried and would not eat.
How does it feel to be teased?
Allow 2–3 children to share their responses.
How would you have felt if you were Hannah?
Allow 2–3 children to share their responses.
Hannah was very sad. She could have lost hope and believed she would never have a child. She could have lost hope and believed that Peninnah would never stop teasing her. But that is not what happened. One day when she was feeling very sad, the Bible tells us she went to God’s house and cried.
Read this verse directly from your Bible.
Peninnah teased Hannah year after year. Every time Hannah would go up to the house of the Lord, Elkanah’s other wife would tease her. She would keep doing it until Hannah cried and wouldn’t eat.
1 Samuel 1:7
Have you ever felt very sad, as though you had no hope?
Everyone, show me your very saddest face as though you had lost hope because you felt very, very sad.
Pause for the children to show their very sad faces. Then continue with the lesson.
When you feel sad and hopeless, you can use the things you have learned to grow in hope even though you are feeling hurt or disappointed. You can be resilient.
What are some of the ways we have learned to grow in hope?
Allow 2–3 children to respond.
We have discovered we can learn from our mistakes and poor choices, we can ask for help, we can pray, we can talk about what is bothering us, we can do something familiar, and we can be grateful for the good things in our lives.
What do you think Hannah should do to have hope and be resilient in her situation?
Allow 2–3 children to respond.
Hannah asked for help. She prayed to God and made a promise to Him. Listen to what she said.
Lord, you rule over all. Please see how I’m suffering! Show concern for me!
Don’t forget about me! Please give me a son! If you do, I’ll give him back to the Lord.
Then he will serve the Lord all the days of his life.
1 Samuel 1:11
Optional: If possible, share the images from The Action Bible.
A priest named Eli was sitting at the doorway of God’s house. He saw Hannah crying and praying. The priest blessed her and told her that God would give her what she hoped for. This made Hannah feel better, so she went back to her family.
How can we tell that Hannah was resilient in this situation?
Allow 2–3 children to respond. Be sure they mention that she felt better and went back to her family.
When you are sad, what makes you feel better? When you have an idea, smile very big. It needs to be a very big smile so I can see it! Then, we will all say our ideas together as loud as we can!
Wait until all of the children are smiling. Then allow them all to call out their answers at the same time. Quiet the class with a hand signal and go on with the lesson.
What happened that made Hannah feel better?
Allow 2–3 children to respond. Be sure they mention that she had been blessed by the priest and she knew that God cared for her.
Why do you think knowing that God cared for her would make Hannah feel better?
Allow 2–3 children to respond.
Hannah did not lose hope because she knew that God would hear her. She knew that God would keep His promise. Listen to what the Bible says about having faith and hope in God.
When you hope, be joyful. When you suffer, be patient. When you pray, be faithful.
Romans 12:12
God’s love is the source of hope. When we rely on Him, we can grow in hope! This hope helps us to be resilient.
In her difficult situation, Hannah learned to be resilient. Hannah had hope that God would hear her, and He did! She later had a son! Hannah learned to be hopeful even when she was hurting. We can do that, too! Let me tell you about another way you can grow in hope and be resilient.
Put one hand in front of your eyes. What do you see?
Now take your hands away from your eyes and look around you. What do you see?
Just as you only saw the hand in front of your face, we sometimes only see the problems in front of us. This can cause us to lose hope. When we look beyond our problem and take the hand away from our eyes, we can see all of the good things in the world around us. Hope can help us to see that there are solutions to our problems and that our problems will not last forever.
We can grow in hope by asking “How?” instead of “Why?” when we face a difficult situation.
When we ask “Why?” we are thinking about the sad or angry feelings we have when we face a difficult situation. When we came into class, I showed you the lines on the ground. You could have thought, “Why did my teacher put lines on the ground?” or “Why can we not do something more fun than playing on lines?” This would have kept you focused on the problem.
Instead of focusing on the problem, you all helped me to explore how we could use the lines to have fun. When we ask “How?” we begin to think about how we can solve the problem. We begin to look for good solutions, and we believe that our problem will not last forever. This helps us to have hope and to be resilient.
Optional: If you are using Student Pages, give the children crayons and allow 3–5 minutes for them to colour. Then guide them through thinking of a problem and looking for hope.
We have learned a lot of ways to grow in hope. If you remember what they are, raise your hand.
Wait until most of the children have raised their hands. Then allow the children to share their responses. If they do not mention all of the ideas that follow, briefly talk about them with the children: learn from mistakes and poor choices, ask for help, pray, talk about your thoughts and feelings, do something familiar, be grateful, and look for solutions.
Let’s use these to help us to be resilient in difficult situations.
We have learned a lot about hope and resilience. Our memory verse this week teaches us we can be filled with hope when we trust in God. Our hope is always secure in Him!
Our memory verse today reminds us that God is always with us, even when we feel uncertain.
If you are using the Memory Verse Poster, show it to the students.
I know that the Lord is always with me. Because he is at my right hand, I will always be secure. So my heart is glad and joy is on my tongue. My whole body will be full of hope.
Acts 2:25–26
Repeat the motions with the words 3 times. End class by saying this blessing, based on Romans 5:4–5, over the children.
Blessing: May you ask God for strength in difficult times. May this strength give you hope. And may your hope help you when you most need it.
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.
