This is a practical lesson using 2 sticks to share with the children that God always keeps his promises and they should do the right thing and not lose hope. The Bible verses used to reinforce the teaching are Romans 12:12 and Deuteronomy 6:18.
Lesson:
Show the 2 sticks and tell the children that you are going to make a promise. The promise is that you will place these two rulers about 2 feet apart and then jump over both of them. (Place the rulers as described and jump on them.) Move them a little further and promise again that you will jump over both of them in one jump. (Make sure you can keep that promise).
Spread the rulers wide enough to make it obvious that you can’t jump over both in one jump. This time, don’t promise to jump over them in one fell swoop, but ask the children what they would think if you made that promise. Would they be able to trust you to keep that promise? (Shows that you can’t jump that far in one try.)
Request:
When I made the promise and the rulers were close together, you had no problem trusting me to keep the promise. When the rulers were too far apart, it would be foolish of me to promise to jump both of them in one leap. Even if I did, you wouldn’t trust me to keep that promise. It makes sense to only promise things that you know you can do. Even then, sometimes we don’t keep some promises. However, when God makes a promise, you can count on it. He will never break a promise, because he can always do what he says he will do.
One of his promises is that God is not against you; He is on your side! Sometimes he allows you to go through difficult situations to teach you how to trust him more. It may not always make problems stop, but it can give you the power to overcome them. God says in Romans 12:12 that when problems arise, you and I should rejoice in hope; be patient in tribulation; and continue in prayer.
If you know Jesus as Savior, do the right thing; don’t lose hope God can give you power to do what is right just as Deuteronomy 6:18 says. (Read the verse.) When things seem hopeless, trust God and do the right thing. Follow these four steps.
First think: God is on my side! He wants to help me.
Second, say, “I will rejoice and be patient in this desperate situation.”
Then pray: ask God to help you trust him.
Finally obey: wait patiently for God to work things out.
God always keeps his promises, so you can depend on him to help you.
