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.
Love one another deeply. Honor others more than yourselves.
Romans 12:10
What makes you a good friend? Is it the way that you listen to others? Is it the forgiveness you offer them when they hurt you? Whatever your friendship strengths are, you recognize the importance of loving your friends. God asks that we love and honor others. Good friends support each other and they care deeply about one another.
Think about someone who has been a good friend. You have likely learned how to support one another. You no longer guess how to help your friend because you know him so well. His heartache has become your heartache. His celebration has become your celebration. Take a moment to recall a time when you hurt deeply because of what a friend was experiencing. Recall a time when you were very excited for a friend. When you are unselfish with your words and actions you honor your friends and love deeply.
Encourage families to talk to their children about how they honor their friends. Ask family members to respond with the ways they honor their friends.
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 each child to name 1 quality of a good friend.
The last time we met, we talked about the qualities good friends have.
They are kind. They listen. They tell the truth gently. They want what is best for others. They forgive others.
Last week, you did an activity to show that friends reflect each other’s actions. Today, we will talk about the importance of how we can be a good friend. Clap your hands if you want good friends.
Pause for children to clap. Signal for children to stop after about 5 seconds.
If you want to have good friends, you need to start by being a good friend. If you are kind to your friends, your friends will want to be kind to you. When you are kind to others, you reflect the type of friendship that pleases God. Let’s try an activity. Please hold 1 hand out.
Put a small ball of clay or mud in each child’s hand.
Look at the clay or mud. It is in the shape of a ball. Now, place your other hand on the clay and gently squeeze the clay. Move your hand so that you can look at the shape of the clay now.
Allow 2–3 children to respond. There should only be a slight change to the shape of the clay.
Even when you do not spend a lot of time with someone, you still change that person a little bit just as the clay changed a little when you squeezed it gently.
Let’s try squeezing the clay again. This time, press your hands together as hard as you can. Move your hand and look at the shape of the clay.
Allow 2–3 children to respond.
When you squeezed the clay hard, the shape changed a lot. It looks a lot like the shape of your hand, right? When you spend a lot of time with someone, that person can begin to look a lot like you. You can affect the decisions your friends make, the things they like to do, and the things they do not like to do. When you make good decisions and are kind to others, you can help your friends to do the same.
Collect the clay so it is not distracting to the children during the rest of the lesson.
Have the children find partners to sit with for the following activity.
Last time we learned that it is important to choose good friends. It is just as important for you to be a good friend as it is to have good friends. Think for a moment about ways you can be a good friend. I will ask a question and give you 30 seconds to think about your answer. Then share your answer with your partner.
Pause about 30 seconds after asking each question to allow the children to think about their answers. Then give them about 1 minute to talk with their partners about their answers. After each question, ask 2 pairs to share their ideas with the whole class.
You had some wonderful ideas about the qualities of a good friend and how good friends act. Good friends help, encourage, and show love for one another. This makes them stronger. Listen to our memory verse. It tells us what a good friend does.
Read the verse directly from your Bible.
A friend loves at all times. They are there to help when trouble comes.
Proverbs 17:17
Good friends love each other! They also help one another when something bad happens.
Allow 2 children to respond.
Those are all good ideas. Here are some more ways you can be a good friend.
Thank you, my wonderful volunteers! If you love your friends in ways like the ones we talked about, you will be a good friend to others. Think about the ways that we talked about to be a good friend. The Bible says:
So encourage one another with the hope you have. Build each other up.
1 Thessalonians 5:11a
When you love, help, and encourage your friends, you honor them and build them up. You make your friends stronger and happier.
Optional: If you are using Student Pages, give the children 5 minutes to color and cut or tear out friendship bracelets.
Ask the children to sit in a circle in the middle of your teaching space.
Do you know anyone who is a good runner? Some people are naturally good runners. Other people must work hard to become good runners. Whether someone is naturally a good runner or not, that person can get better through practice. Practicing something is when you do it many times. Practicing something helps you to get better at it. Friendship becomes better when you practice it.
When you practice listening to a friend, you become a better friend. When you practice forgiving a friend, you become a better friend. Do you know anyone who is a good friend to others? This week, watch and see how that person treats her friends. You can learn from her. For now, we will practice being good friends.
Close your eyes for a moment. Picture a good friend. What does he look like? What good things does he do? Keep this picture of your friend in your mind. Does everyone have a picture of your friend? (Pause) Good! Open your eyes. Listen to what the Bible says:
So encourage one another with the hope you have. Build each other up.
1 Thessalonians 5:11a
This verse tells us that good friends encourage each other and build each other up. Let’s do an activity to help us remember the ways good friends can build each other up and make each other stronger.
Place a pile of sticks in front of you.
These sticks will help you to talk about ways you can practice being a good friend. These are ways you can build your friends up. As you say something that encourages, helps, or shows love to your friends, you will take a stick from in front of me and add it to the middle of the circle. When you encourage, help, or do something to show your love for a friend, you honor that person.
Remember, we talked about some ways that you can show you care about your friend.
You may use these to guide your thoughts as you place your sticks. Think of a way that you can practice being a good friend. For example, I will place my stick in the middle of our circle and say, “I will listen when my friend is sad.”
Allow each child to name 1 way to be a good friend. The child will then place 1 stick in the middle of the circle. Continue in this manner until all the sticks are in a pile with your stick.
Just as we built up this pile of sticks, when you are a good friend, you will build your friend up or encourage her. Look at the sticks in the middle of the circle. When you are a good friend, you build strong relationships with your friends. Friends love each other and are always there for one another. Our memory verse today says:
A friend loves at all times. They are there to help when trouble comes.
Proverbs 17:17
Sing or chant this verse using the same melody or rhythm from the last time. If you were not present for the last lesson or do not remember how to sing the song, ask the children to help you. 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 Proverbs 17:17, over the children.
Blessing: May you always show love to your friends. May you help them by listening, praying, and showing kindness when trouble comes.
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.
