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.
Blessed are those who keep his statutes and seek him with all their heart— they do no wrong but follow his ways.
Psalm 119:2–3
The truth of God’s Word can completely change the way we experience the world. Spending time with God and allowing the truths of the Bible to guide our lives helps us to know that our identity is in Him. Through the Bible, we are reminded that we are not alone. God is with us and for us! There is not a more powerful message—for you or for your students!
When you are feeling exhausted, discouraged, or troubled, go to God’s Word. When you need guidance and encouragement, look to the One who is always there. As God speaks to you through His Word, He gives you renewed hope, inspiration, comfort—whatever you lack!
Encourage your students to ask their family members, “What is the most important responsibility you have? Do you enjoy it?” The teens can then share that spending time with God is an enjoyable responsibility that helps us to grow closer to Him.
Teacher Tip: If possible, email or text the Family Connection Card to the families of your students.
Greet your students and welcome them to class. Ask them about important things they have done this week. As they share their answers, be sure to let them know you recognize the importance of their activities.
Allow students to share their thoughts. Guide the discussion to be sure they say that they like to spend time with their friends.
Some things are important because they are our responsibilities. You may be responsible for getting water for your family or you may be responsible for caring for your younger siblings. You may be responsible for earning money for your family. These things are important, so we do them whether we enjoy them or not.
Other things are important because we enjoy doing them. You may like to play football with your friends or look at the stars at night. You may enjoy cooking with your mother or telling stories to your younger sister. We do these things because we want to do them. These things are important because they bring us happiness.
Ask the teens to stand in a circle. Go around the circle and assign every other student to be part of the Responsibility Team. The remaining students will be part of the Enjoyment Team. Each student will be standing between 2 people from the opposite team. Give 1 stone to a Responsibility teen and the other to an Enjoyment teen standing across the circle.
Both teams will pass their stones around the circle in the same direction. The Responsibility teen will pass the stone to the next Responsibility teen in the circle. The Enjoyment teen will do the same. They will continue passing the stones to the next students on their teams. Remind the students to look at the students passing the stones, so they will be ready to receive the stones. They will then turn and quickly pass it to the next student on their team. The object is to try and overtake the other stone going around the circle. The students will continue passing the stones until 1 stone overtakes the other. Tell the students that they are not to interfere with the other team’s stone.
Students may give answers such as “Our responsibilities sometimes take over our enjoyment” or “Enjoyment and responsibilities are both important.”
Spending time with God can be both a responsibility and something we enjoy. When we choose to accept the gift of salvation that God has given us through Jesus, we begin a relationship with God. We get to know our friends by spending time with them. The better we know them, the more we enjoy spending time with them. The same is true of our relationship with God. We get to know Him when we spend time with Him.
You can approach spending time with God like you approached the game. When you were waiting for the stone, you watched as the stone made its way around the circle. You prepared to receive it. When you pray and study the Bible, the Person you will receive from is God. He wants to share His love with you. He wants you to know Him. He wants to give you comfort, wisdom, encouragement, and help. He wants you to grow and become the person He made you to be. He can speak to you about your identity. In order to hear from God, you need to prepare to receive what He has to say.
After you received the stone in the game, you turned toward the next teammate. That is what you do with God as well. Once you receive His Word, you should allow Him to use it to change the direction of your life. Then, just as you passed the stone to the next teammate, you can pass on what you have received to someone else.
Let’s learn 3 steps we can use as we prepare to read God’s Word. The first 2 steps are things that Jesus did when He was on earth when He spent time with His Father.
Show The Action Bible image of Jesus praying if possible. Then have the teens close their eyes to image the scene as you slowly read the following verse in a calm, quiet voice:
It was very early in the morning and still dark. Jesus got up and left the house. He went to a place where he could be alone. There he prayed.
Mark 1:35, NIrV
Have the teens open their eyes, then ask:
Answers might include: spend time with God in the morning, find someplace quiet, try to be alone or away from distractions, and pray.
Jesus set aside time to spend with His Father, and He found a quiet place to be with Him. Let’s talk more about these first 2 steps.
1. Make time. There is not a rule about when you should spend time with God. It is helpful to use the same time each day so you will not forget or run out of time. Mornings are a great time to spend with God because it is a great way to start the day! Focusing on God and His truths, promises, and love will help you to have a more joyful and purposeful day. Some people prefer to spend time with God before they go to bed at night. They can thank Him for His help during the day, share any troubles with Him, and then rest well, knowing that they have given everything to God. The important thing is to find a time that works for you.
2. Find a quiet place. The second step is what Jesus did in the verse we read. He found a quiet place to be alone. Talking with God and studying His Word are not about increasing your Bible knowledge. It is a time to build your relationship with Him. It is difficult to do this if there are a lot of distractions around you.
3. Prepare your mind and your heart. The third step is to prepare your mind and your heart to meet with God. We need to set aside distractions that can keep us from focusing on God. If you find that you begin to think about other things, talk with God about your concern. Listen to this verse:
Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him.
Psalm 37:7
God wants your mind and heart to be quiet and to rest in His presence. As you do this, ask Him to show you if there is anything that might be in the way of connecting with Him. Listen to this verse:
If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened.
Psalm 66:18
Turn to your neighbor and share in your own words what this verse means to you.
No, this verse does not say that we have to be perfect before God will hear our prayers. We all sin, but we can always come to God. However, if we cherish our sin—if we continue to hold onto it and refuse to change our hearts and our behaviour—that sin will come between us and God. If we ask Him to forgive us and take away our sin, He will.
Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.
Psalm 119:105
God’s Word will help us know how to walk out this life. Preparing your heart also involves inviting the Holy Spirit to be a part of your time with God. Ask Him to help you notice, understand, and remember what God wants to tell you. When you read the Bible and pray this way, you will find that God is present, giving you His wisdom and love.
We began our class with a game about responsibility and enjoyment. While spending time with God and studying His Word are responsibilities, God can also bring us great enjoyment from these things. Think about this: God is all-powerful, all-knowing, holy, good, and the creator of everything, including you—and He wants you to know Him. He wants to have a relationship with you. The way you can know Him is by spending time with Him and reading His Word.
You may not know God. You may have questions about Him. You may have some difficult things in your life—things that hurt or discourage you. These things may make you feel alone or hopeless. God wants you to come to Him. He does not want you to have to walk through life alone. In His Word you can find comfort, encouragement, hope, and, most of all, love.
Now we are going to think about making a plan to get to know God and study His Word. Even if you are not a Christian, think of what your plan would be if you did need to find encouragement, hope, comfort, or help for the hard things you face in life.
Answer these questions quietly to yourself.
You may not have a Bible available to read. But you can memorize His Word as you learn verses with our group or at church. You can make up songs or rhythms to help you remember them. Repeat a verse over and over until you can remember it. Use the verses in your prayers. Draw pictures that relate to what you have read or heard.
As you spend time with God, asking Him to reveal Himself to you, you will find joy. Let God’s Word fill your heart and mind as you discover more about who He is and how much He loves you.
Optional: If you are using the Student Pages, allow the students to respond to the verses on the page.
Close your eyes. I will say the 3 steps of preparing yourself to spend time with God. As I say each step, think about how you will do that step. If you are not ready to commit to spending time with God, think about the things that are keeping you from Him. Think about what it would be like to let God love you completely.
1. Set aside time. (Pause as teens think.)
2. Find a quiet place. (Pause as teens think.)
3. Prepare your heart. (Pause as teens think.)
After you have given teens time to think, have them find partners. They will share with each other their plans for growing closer to God. Encourage partners to come up with creative ways to spend time with God and study His Word. As a fun option, partners can create a secret handshake, nod, wink, or other greeting. Every time they see each other, they can do their unique greeting as a fun reminder to spend time with God.
Those who are not Christians can share the things that are keeping them from growing closer to God and share about hard things in their lives. The partners can answer their questions, if they are able, and pray for them.
After a few minutes, pray this blessing, based on Romans 12:2, over the students.
Blessing: May you be transformed by the renewal of your mind. May God show you in His Word what is good and acceptable and perfect.
Encourage your students to think about how this quarter’s worship song can help transform their minds to be more like Christ.
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.
