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.
Don’t let any evil talk come out of your mouths. Say only what will help to build others up and meet their needs. Then what you say will help those who listen.
Ephesians 4:29
What comes to mind when you think of “evil talk?” Do you think of gossip or perhaps talking about others in a way that makes them sound bad? Words can be very powerful. When you use words to make people feel bad or make yourself sound better than others, this uses the power of words for unkind purposes. However, when you use your words to make people feel good, your words become pleasing to God.
This week, listen to the words you use when speaking to others. If you catch yourself talking about someone in a way that is unkind, apologize to that person. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you not to speak unkind words. It can be challenging to say only kind words, especially when people are not always kind to you. By practicing kindness in this way, you will feel better and your words will be pleasing to God.
Encourage families to ask the children to share examples of kind words. Then, encourage families to listen to these words as they go through the week.
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 tell you what it means to be kind. The children may respond with “Love in action,” their own definitions, or an example of a kind act.
I am so excited to see you all here today! Raise your hand if you like to play football. That is great, because we are going to play a game of football. I will divide you into 2 teams.
Divide the children into 2 equal teams. Name 1 team the Purple Team and name the other team the Orange Team. Have all the children sit in the middle of the playing space to listen to the rules of the game.
Here are the rules of our game:
If I see anyone who is not following the rules, I will ask that person to sit down and leave the game. When I call, “Time!” you will stop playing and come sit down. Does everyone understand?
Answer questions if needed. Allow the children to play for 5–7 minutes. Be sure to monitor the words children use. If you hear children being mean or discouraging, tell them to sit out of the game.
Time! Come sit with me. I hope you had fun playing. Let’s talk about what you saw and heard. As you answer these questions, please do not call out any names. I only want to know what you saw, not who was doing it. Okay?
Put your hands down. Very interesting. It looks like you played better when people were kind to you. Today, we will talk about the power of kind words.
Last week, you learned that kindness is love in action. Actions include both the words you say and the things you do. Today, we will focus on the words you use. Think of a time when someone said something unkind and unloving to you. If you still remember what happened, it may be because it made you angry or sad. Words can be very powerful. The Bible says:
Read the verse directly from your Bible.
Worry makes the heart heavy. But a kind word cheers it up.
Proverbs 12:25
Using kind words can change the way people feel. When they are worried, you can make them feel better. To show you what I mean, I will tell you a story. This is a true story from the Bible.
Before David became king of Israel, he served under King Saul. During this time, he became best friends with Saul’s son, Jonathan. Their friendship was very strong.
Many years later David was king. King Saul and his son Jonathan had died. But King David remembered his friend and wanted to show kindness to his family. So he asked if there were any family members still alive. He found out that Jonathan’s son, Mephibosheth, was still alive.
Pause for a moment and ask the children to try to say Mephibosheth after you. It is a long and funny name to say out loud!
King David asked for Mephibosheth to come before him. Mephibosheth did not feel worthy to stand before the king. Both of Mephibosheth’s feet were hurt, so he was not able to walk. He was probably worried about what the king wanted with him. Let’s see what King David said to Mephibosheth:
“Don’t be afraid,” David told him. “You can be sure that I will be kind to you because of your father Jonathan. I’ll give back to you all the land that belonged to your grandfather Saul. And I’ll always provide what you need.”
2 Samuel 9:7
David promised him land and everything he needed.
We can show kindness with our words and our actions. King David said kind words and then he showed kindness in his actions by doing what he said. He provided all that Mephibosheth needed.
Now let’s listen to a fictional story about the power of kind words.
Rachael looked the same as the other girls in her class. But when Rachael spoke, everyone noticed that she was different. Rachael stuttered. So when she tried to say, “I like to swim,” it would come out, “I like t-t-to swi-swi-swim.” The girls would tease Rachael when the teacher was not present.
Divide the children into groups of 2–3. Allow 1 minute for the children to answer each of the following questions with their groups.
After the children have answered the questions as a group, allow 2–3 children to share their answers with the class.
Rachael felt bad. One day Rachael was asked to speak in class. She stuttered through her answer to the teacher’s question. As she did, she heard the girls whispering to one another and giggling. She knew the girls were making fun of her. They were not using kind words.
Allow the children to answer the following questions with their groups. Pause between questions for the children to respond. Give them about 1 minute to answer the questions.
The teacher spoke to Rachael after class. The teacher said, “I know that it is not easy for you to talk in class, but I am always so happy to hear your thoughts.”
Rachael explained that the girls had been teasing her. Then, the teacher said, “Rachael, you are smart and have good ideas. I wish you would speak more in class, not less. I know that you struggle with your words sometimes, but I like hearing what you have to say.”
This teacher encouraged her! Listen carefully to what the Bible says:
Worry makes the heart heavy. But a kind word cheers it up.
Proverbs 12:25
Allow 3–4 children to respond.
The next day, Rachael thought about her teacher’s words as she sat in class. When the teacher asked the class a question, she bravely raised her hand to answer. Remember a verse we read earlier:
Kind words are like honey. They are sweet to the spirit and bring healing to the body.
Proverbs 16:24
Allow the children 1 minute to answer these questions in their groups. Then allow 1–2 children to share their answers with the class.
The words helped Rachael to feel better about herself and gave her courage to speak.
By using kind words when you talk to someone, you can make him feel good about himself. You can also show that person that God cares about him. You can be kind like God is kind.
As you saw in today’s stories, kind words are very powerful. Giving someone a compliment such as, “You are really good at reading” is one way to use kind words. Here are some examples of kind words:
Have the children divide into the 2 teams they formed at the beginning of the lesson. Each team should sit in a line off to 1 side. One person from each team will stand in the middle of the space and kick a goal. When she kicks the ball, the team members will say kind words to encourage her. Then the next person on each team will kick a goal. Continue until all the children have kicked a goal while the team encourages them.
Let’s play another game of football! This time each person will have the opportunity to kick the ball toward the goal. As you kick the ball into the goals, your teammates will say kind words to you. Even if someone does not make the goal, use kind words. Ready? Go!
After each child has had a turn, ask the children to sit in a circle away from the goal.
Optional: If you are using Student Pages, explain the assignment to the children. They may use pencils, crayons, or any other available writing tools to draw their pictures.
Good job using kind words! Hopefully, even if your ball did not go in the goal, you felt good because your team said kind words to you. Imagine if your friends were like this to you all the time. Imagine if you were like this to your brothers and sisters all the time. Words are very powerful, so remember to use kind words when speaking to others. When you use kind words, you show your love for other people.
The whole law is fulfilled by obeying this one command. “Love your neighbor as you love yourself.”
Galatians 5:14 NIrV
Use the rhythm you created to say the words for this verse 3 times. If you used a familiar melody to sing this verse with students, sing it 3 times. You will use the same rhythm, and melody, for the next few lessons.
End class by saying this blessing, based on Proverbs 12:25 and 16:24, over the children.
Blessing: May you understand the power of kind words. May you use your words to help others. May others use kind words with you.
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.
