i say, i say, i say! - salvationarmy.org.nz · by our speech we can ruin the world, ... spread...

Junior Soldiers

Unit 2 : Lesson 1

PURPOSE : For children to explore and understand the power and impact of the tongue, the damage it can do and how God can help us to use it wisely.

‘It only takes a spark, remember, to set off a forest fi re. A careless or wrongly placed word out of your mouth can do that.

By our speech we can ruin the world, turn harmony to chaos, throw mud on a reputation, send the whole world up in smoke and go up in smoke with it.’

James 3:5-6 (TM)

Read:James 3:1–10Ephesians 4:29Colossians 3:16 & 17

This lesson focuses on our choice of words—whether spoken or wri en—and picks up on the part of the Junior Soldier promise that says a Junior Soldier promises to ‘lead a life that is clean in thought, word and deed’.

While our ac ons are more commonly deliberate and thought-out, our words can sneak out some mes before we even know what we’re saying! It’s vital that we learn, at an early age, that our words can have real power and infl uence and, subsequently, our choice of words is important.

As you move through this lesson, be careful to not let the children get carried away with their stories or examples—you don’t want the lesson to become a compe on about who can say the worst word or come up with the funniest/most bi ng insult. Posi ve speech is to be encouraged and poten ally damaging words should be quickly cut off .

Remember that, in this day and age, we also need to include such things as text messaging and social networking online when it comes to learning how to communicate posi vely.By the end of this lesson, Junior Soldiers should understand the importance of choosing their words carefully and they should have an idea of the sort of language that God fi nds pleasing.

I say, I say, I say!

Consider & Prepare

What you will need:For ‘Connec ng In’• 2 sets of hand weights (1kg or 1.5kg will be best for this ac vity)• A stopwatch or something to me the children with in ‘No put downs’

For ‘The Main Thing’• List of tongue twisters• A banana and tube of toothpaste• Plain T-shirt and s cky address labels

For ‘Tying In’• A large piece of paper of card (A2 or A3 would be best) for each child• Textas• Bibles• Materials to crea vely share the passage (e.g. playdough/plas cine or paper magiclay, paint, a camera etc.)

For ‘Home & Beyond’• Bright coloured s cky notes (hearts or stars)• Print off the Home & Beyond cards for each child.

No Put Downs …

• You will need two sets of hand weights (1 or 1.5kg sets will work well).• Two children face each other holding one set of hand weights (one in each hand) with their arms straight out in front of

them (arms straight out from the shoulder).• The children start at the same me.• Have someone ming the children to see how long they can hold the weights without ‘pu ng them down’.• Record the mes.• Let all the children have a turn and see who can hold the weights for the longest me.

• Link: Why do you think we called the ac vity ‘No Put Downs’? (Let the children make some sugges ons before moving on.) We called it this because this is what we want: we want everyone to be strong and to use their words to encour-age and build people up, not to use words that are nasty or pu ng people down.

• Has anyone ever used hur ul words towards you? How did it feel? What did you do? What did you feel like doing? (Important in this sec on to not go over the words that were said, just that they were words that were hur ul and not encouraging.)

• Have you ever used your words in ‘put downs’ towards other people? • The tongue (our words) can be used to build people up or to put them down. Our words can be very hur ul and do

a lot of damage; they can hurt people’s feelings, spread things that are untrue, say things that are just to boast, etc. Today we are going to look at the part of our Junior Soldier promise that talks about being ‘clean in word’ and explore in the Bible what it teaches us about our tongue and the words we speak.

Terrifi cally terrible tongue twisters…

• For this actvi y you will just need a bunch of tongue twisters and see if kids can say them 10 mes to complete the challenge.

• There are a few tongue twisters listed below but you might like to google some more and provide a list for the children to choose from.

Connecting In

stump? → If Freaky Fred found fi y feet of fruit and fed forty feet to his friend Frank, how many feet of fruit did

Freaky Fred fi nd?• Link: Have you ever been tongue ed? Not when you were trying to say a tongue twister but just when you were try-

ing to say something?• It can be tricky trying to get the right words out in order to say what you are thinking or what you are trying to commu-

nicate. There are mes when we get angry or upset or fl ustered by something and it can be even more diffi cult to get the right words out. Has this ever happened to you? (Give the kids opportunity to share.)

• I wonder if there has been a situa on where you were trying to tell someone something and they have totally taken it the wrong way or misunderstood what you were trying to say.

• We need to be very careful with the words we use, some mes things can be taken the wrong way or—because we have got upset or angry or frustrated—things have been misunderstood or not come out the way we intended. Today we are going to look today at the part of our Junior Soldier promise that talks about being ‘clean in word’ and explore in the Bible what it teaches us about our tongue and the words we speak.

You Can’t Take It Back…Read James 3:1–10 together.

I am sure that you have all had the experience of saying something that you would like to take back…

Toothpaste & Bananas• You will need a small tube of toothpaste and a banana for this illustra on.

Do you like bananas? I love bananas but some mes don’t want to eat the whole thing. (While talking to the kids start to peel the banana, break off a piece and eat it.) You know once you peel a banana, you can’t close it back up again. I think that that is the worst thing about bananas, especially if you only want a li le bit.

With toothpaste you only need a li le bit of the toothpaste to clean your teeth with, however, have you ever got a li le bit carried away and squeezed out too much? (At this point squeeze out at least half of the tube of toothpaste onto a volun-teer’s hand for the illustra on.) If you squeezed out too much, could you get it back in?

I am sure that there are some crea ve ways that you could try and seal up the banana or try to get some of the toothpaste back into the tube, but this would not be an easy thing. Our words can be like a banana that you can’t close and the tooth-paste that you can’t get back into the tube—once you have said them you can’t take them back.

• I wonder if you have you ever had a situa on where you have said something and straight away you wish you could take those words back? Maybe you were goofi ng off with some friends and said something hur ul about someone else and then found that that person was standing behind you.

• You might even want to give the kids the opportunity to create their own tongue twisters with a focus

on the fi rst le er of their name. → Double bubble gum: bubbles double → Black bug bit a big black bear. But where is the big black bear that

the big black bug bit? → A big bug bit the li le beetle but the li le beetle bit the big bug

back. → An ape hates grape cakes → A skunk sat on a stump. The stump thought the skunk stunk. The

skunk thought the stump stunk . What stunk: the skunk or the

The Main Thing

Maybe you were frustrated and you said something that you didn’t really mean. Maybe you have said something that was a bit of an exaggera on, making something out to be bigger or be er than it is, infl a ng the numbers or adding untruths. I think we have all had mes like these. (Get the children to share some examples in small groups or with the person next to them.)

→ Why do you think we do this? → Is it easy to take those words back or to fi x them? → Has it happened to you? How did you feel? → What does James have to say about this in the passage we just read? → Read James 1:19 ‘Be quick to listen and slow to speak’. What is the Bible

telling us here?

Labels can s ck• You will need a plain T-shirt and some s cky address labels for this illustra on.• Choose a volunteer to come and put on the plain T-shirt and have someone ready, maybe even two people, to write

things on the s cky labels.• ‘I am sure that you have been called names before or had people put labels on you such as ‘smart’ ‘funny’ ‘sporty’

‘nerdy’ etc. Let’s puts some of those names and labels on our s ckers today and place them on….’• These words can hurt and s ck to us; they can impact what we think about ourselves.• Some of you might have seen the movie Despicable Me. At the end of the movie, when Gru has built his rocket, he has

a fl ashback to all the mes when he had created rockets or pictures of them and his mum had not been encouraging. This is something that stayed with him and impacted what he thought about himself. Even if these words aren’t true, if people say them o en enough we will start to believe them.

• Take the T-shirt off , leaving the s ckers on, and put it back on your volunteer inside out.• So looking at ……… everything looks okay but on the inside the hur ul words and labels are s ll there. Even though we

can look like everything is okay, the words and labels that others place on us s ll impact who we are and how we think about ourselves.

• We need to choose to not let the labels s ck. However, we can’t do this on our own. Jesus is the only one that can help us not to let them s ck and for us not to believe all the nega ve comments and names others say about us.

• If you have a large group you may like to divide into smaller groups for these ques ons.

→ I wonder if there are some labels that people have said about you that have hurt you. → Other than speaking words, what are some other ways we might communicate in a hur ul way? → (Important to talk about inappropriate internet use, i.e. email, Facebook, Twi er, etc.) → How does God want us to use our words? → God wants the words coming from our mouth to encourage and help others, to show honesty and care. I wonder

how you can live that out? (Ask for some examples of this.) → Share together in prayer, focusing on saying sorry for the hur ul things that we say

but also for Jesus to help us not take on labels that others might try to put on us.

Choose one of the ac vi es below for your ‘tying in’ ac vity.

100 Words of Praise …You might have seen a poster that includes the following 100 words of praise for a child.Read through the words of praise with the Junior Soldiers.Give the Junior Soldiers a large piece of paper of card (A2 or A3 would be best) and encourage them to create their own 100 words of praise poster. It might include some of the words/phrases below but it is important for the kids to create some of their own as well.• They could draw their name in bubble le ers and write all the words and phrases in it.• They could choose a shape (square, diamond, heart, person outline) and place all the words inside the outline.• They could cut the paper/card into a shape and then fi ll the space with the words/phrases.• Display the posters in the foyer at church.• It would be great if the Junior Soldiers could share during the mee ng some of the things they have learnt about the

tongue and the words that we speak, and to share some praise words with the congrega on.

Tying In

Hey, I love you! * Way to go * You’re special * Outstanding *Excellent * You are fun * You’re a real trooper * You’re on target *

Outstanding performance * Great * Looking good * You brighten my day *Good * Well done * Remarkable * Super * I knew you could do it * Nice work

What an imagination * I’m proud of you * Super star * FantasticYou’re on top of it * You’re catching on * Now you’ve got it * How smart

Good job * You are the clever one * You are just delightful *That’s incredible * Remarkable job * You’re Beautiful * You’re a winnerYou make me happy * Dynamite * Hip, Hip Hooray * You’re important

Magnifi cent * Beautiful * Super job * You’re the best * You’re on your wayHow nice * You’re Spectacular * You are a Darling * Beautiful workGood for you * Nothing can stop you now * You’re fantastic * Wow

You’re a legend * Great Discovery * You’ve discovered the secretFantastic job * You’re a champion * Awesome * You’re precious Marvellous * You are responsible * Terrifi c * You are exciting *You’re growing up * You tried hard * Neat * You fi gured it out

You’re unique * What a good listener * You’re a treasure * Super workYou mean a lot to me * You’re a good friend * You deserve a big hug

You are an absolute gem * You’re incredible * I like you * Now you’re fl yingI respect you * You’re sensational * Phenomenal * Hooray for you * You care

Creative job * You belong * You made my day * You are nice to be withYou mean the world to me * You’re important * You’ve got a friendYou’re a joy * You make me laugh * You’re A-OK * You’re my buddy

I trust you * You’re perfect * Bravo * You’re wonderful *A big kiss * Exceptional performance * That’s correct * Hey, I love you!

PS Remember a HUG is worth 1000 words!

ons as to how they might like to do this).• This scripture can then be presented crea vely in church, in the foyer or during the service in a PowerPoint.

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Print off the ‘Home & Beyond’ cards a ached. The children might like to keep these in their journals or notebook where they could write or s ck the challenges, refl ect, answer ques ons or complete ac vi es each week.

Post It Notes…

Buy some bright coloured s cky notes for your Junior Soldiers to take home with them, preferably hearts or stars.

Use the s cky notes throughout the weekto use your words in a posi ve way.Leave random notes in special places for specifi c people,e.g. on the bench for Mum saying how much you appreciate all she does. In someone’s lunch box to brighten their day. On someone’s pillow. In the car. In their Bible or book they are reading, etc.

Make sure you leave one for your Big Bud, or maybe even send it in a card.

These s cky notes can also be a reminder to use your tongue to pray for these people this week.

Home & Beyond

Crea vely Sharing Scripture …

Read James 3: 1–10 together a couple of mes.• Ask the children what the key phrases or parts of the passage were. Highlight

at least six key parts (there might be more but for the ac vity you will not want to do more than 10; it’s good to s ll write down all the parts that the kids think are important but, at the end, choose which ones stand out).

• What sorts of images would represent or communicate these key parts of the passage?

• Choose, as a group, a way to crea vely share this passage, e.g. playdough/plas cine or paper magiclay, you could set these up for people to look at or take photos of them for use in a PowerPoint while the scripture is being read. Alternately, take photo’s with the kids and props and dress ups or draw/paint posters as part of a storyboard. (Your group might have some more sugges-

You are amazing!

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Junior Soldiers

Unit 2 : Lesson 2

PURPOSE : For children to understand the importance of showing respect and that by showing respect in all areas of their lives they are honouring God. (The four areas covered will be: respect for your parents/guardians, respect for everyone, respect for God’s name and respect for other people’s things.)

Read:Philippians 2:1–4 - ‘Have the a tude of Christ’

One of the most important things you can teach a child is respect. Keep in mind that respect is not the same as obedience. Children might obey because they are afraid. If they respect you, they will obey because they know you want what’s best for them. The best way to teach respect is to show respect. When a child experiences respect, they know what it feels like and begin to understand how important it is.Keep in mind the ‘golden rule’: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you’. Respect is an a tude. Being respec ul helps a child succeed in life. If children don’t have respect for peers, authority, or themselves, it’s almost impossible for them to succeed. A respec ul child takes care of belongings and responsibili es, and works towards ge ng along with their peers.Schools work at valuing and teaching children about respect, but parents have the most infl uence on how respec ul children become. Respect is also a biblical principle and by teaching children how to show respect we are teaching them how to honour God through their ac ons.

What you will need:For ‘Connec ng In’• A computer and data projector to show youtube clip (op onal)• Pass the Parcel pre-wrapped with RESPECT le ers in it (you need newspaper, le ers to spell out RESPECT and a prize for

the middle of the parcel)• Music

For ‘The Main Thing’• Whiteboard and whiteboard markers or butchers paper and textas• Bibles

R.E.S.P .E .C. T

Consider & Prepare

Lets fi nd out what it means for me!

For ‘Tying In’• A3 paper for tying in ‘R.E.S.P.E.C.T’ ac vity• Camera or video camera to tape chant

For ‘Home & Beyond’• Print off the Home & Beyond cards for each child.

Get Up and Groove …

The below link is a fun song about showing respect in a variety of areas in our lives. If you have the use of a computer and data projector you might like to use this as an introduc on to the lesson.

h p://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZgidfFs-j4M&feature=related

Pass the parcel…

You will need some newspaper, a small prize for the middle of the parcel and some individual le ers that spell out the word ‘respect’.Wrap the prize in a layer of newspaper. Now wrap it in another layer and add a le er from the word ‘respect’ and repeat un l you have 9 or 10 layers. Sit everyone in a circle and play a short snippet of music. When the music stops, the person holding the parcel removes ONE layer of wrapping and gets a le er, as the le ers are revealed place them in the middle of the circle. Keep playing un l all the layers are open and all the le ers are out. Ask the children to see if they can make a word out of the le ers that they have found in the parcel layers. You may need to give them some hints depending on the age of your group.

Link: Ask the children to help you with the defi ni on/understanding of ‘respect’. How is respect shown? Ask the children to share some examples of what that might look like. ‘Today we are going to explore a bit more about respect and in par- cular what the Bible says about it.’

Brainstorm…

On a whiteboard or a large sheet of butchers paper, brainstorm some ideas for the following sec ons: → People that we need to respect (parents, teachers, friends, the elderly etc.). → Items and things that we need to show respect for (their belongings, other’s belongings, the environment, school

rules). → Ways of showing respect. (These could include using manners, taking turns and speaking kindly.)

Explore…

Look up some Bible verses and see if we can fi nd out who God says we should respect.

Connecting In

The Main Thing

→ Why do you think God wants us to show respect to our parents? → What does this look like? Do you have some examples? → Is this easy all the me? Why/why not?

We should show respect to our parents at all mes or to those who care for us (step-parents, grandparents, carers, rela ves, etc.). If someone is caring for us, providing for us, encouraging us, helping us and so on, they deserve our respect. Jesus lived in a very humble home and his parents were not rich or highly educated, s ll He showed respect to them.

1 Peter 2:17 – ‘Respect everyone and show special love for God’s people. Honor God and respect the Emperor.’ → Who is this verse sugges ng that we show respect to? (all people) → Why do you think God wants us to show respect to all people? → What does this look like? Do you have some examples? → Is this easy all the me? Why/Why not? → Can you give some examples of people that Jesus showed respect for?

Jesus showed respect for lepers, for those controlled by demons, for pros tutes, for tax-collectors, and for li le children. He treated them so much diff erently than others treated them. He treated them like human beings worthy of respect. It is easy to show respect to those we like but harder to show respect to those we don’t know or don’t like. Showing respect to some-one isn’t always easy, but it is the right thing to do.

Ephesians 4:28 ‘If you are a thief, quit stealing. Be honest…’ → Who or what is this verse sugges ng that we show respect to? (other people’s property) → Why do you think God wants us to show respect to other people’s property? → What does this look like? Do you have some examples? → Is this easy all the me? Why/Why not? → How would you like people to treat your belongings?

Respect for the property of others is respec ng their right to own and use the things they worked for or received from their families. It is also important to show respect for your own property and things that your parents have worked hard to give to you. Being responsible and taking care of your things and the things that belong to others is showing respect.

Exodus 20:7 – ‘Do not misuse my name. I am the Lord your God, and I will punish anyone who misuses my name.’ → Who or what is this verse sugges ng that we show respect to? (God’s name) → Why do you think God wants us to show respect when using His name? → What does this look like? Do you have some examples? → Is this easy all the me? Why/Why not?

Respect is both an a tude and a way of talking and ac ng. Respect is giving honour to someone in word or in deed just because of who they are or the posi on they hold. Respect for God and for His name, then, is to give acknowledgement and honour to God.

This is a great opportunity to encourage and help the kids with their Bible skills, looking up, fi nding where things are and also reading and listening to God in the text. It might be nice to sit around in a circle on the fl oor with a large sheet of paper in the middle for the children to add their thoughts and fi ndings about ‘re-spect’ as they go along. It is important when we are exploring God’s word that we allow children the space to think, wonder and ques on, listen to God’s voice and to not only be given the op on of a pat answer.

There is only one verse provided for each of the sec ons but you might like to read some of the surrounding verses to give more context for the children.

Exodus 20:12 – ‘Respect your father and your mother, and you will live a long me in the land I am giving you.’

→ Who is this verse sugges ng that we show respect to? (parents)

R.E.S.P.E.C.T.

It would be good to give the kids a choice for this ac vity as we all like to express ourselves diff erently. They can either;

→ On an A3 sheet of paper write the le ers of ‘RESPECT’ down the le hand side and encourage the kids to think about words that start with each le er that will remind them about the things we have learnt about respect. (For example: R – Respect, E – Everyone, S – School rules, P – Parents, E – Environment, C – Careful with words, T – Treat others well.)

→ Or it would be fun to create a chant/cheer using the le ers and what they stand for including some ac ons and possibly some props. You might like to take s ll photos of each of the le ers or fi lm the chant/cheer, you could then use this in worship at an appropriate me.

When we treat others as we would like to be treated, we are being Christ-like. Showing respect is what Jesus did over and over and is how he wants us to treat others too. ‘A challenge for each of you this week is to stop and think: ‘Is that how I would want to be treated?”

Make a prayer circle and ask the children to pick one thing from their list and to pray a one-sentence prayer about, helping them to show respect in that area this week.


Challenge the children this week to be a ‘Respect Detec ve’. Ask them to keep a list of mes when they have seen peo-ple around them show respect. This could be at school when they see someone pick up li er or maybe at home when their parents use nice manners. This will help them to iden fy the many ways we can show respect during our daily lives. Encourage them to praise people they see showing respect and bring back their list of those they have caught being respec ul.

Make sure they don’t do the opposing list (those who have shown a lack of respect), we want to turn them into Junior Soldiers not cops and dobbers!

Tying In

Home & Beyond

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Junior Soldiers

Unit 2 : Lesson 3

PURPOSE : For children to explore and understand God’s views on giving and what he requires of us in relation to money, time, talents, abilities, creativity, etc.

‘Each of you must make up your own mind about how much to give. But don’t feel sorry that you must give and don’t feel that you are forced to give. God loves

people who love to give. God can bless you with everything you need, and you will always have more than enough to do all kinds of good things for others’.

2 Corinthians 9:7–8

Read:2 Corinthians 8:1–152 Corinthians 9:6–8Luke 12:12–21

It is important to teach kids that there is more to giving than just giving God our money (e.g. me, abili es, energy, passion, etc.) but we need them to understand that if they give other parts of their life to God, that doesn’t mean they don’t also give their money.

Emphasis should also be made of the truth that all we have is due to God’s goodness to begin with. Our focus is not so much on ‘giving’ to God but on ‘giving back’ to God out of all he’s given us.

When it comes to monetary giving, children need to understand the obliga on on Chris ans to the but—more important-ly—they need to know that our giving starts with our the, it doesn’t end there. (Many adult Chris ans also need to learn this lesson!) So, by all means, men on thing, but it should be presented as the minimum obliga on we have when it comes to the giving of our wealth.

If, in your prepara on, you want to get a sense of how important giving to God is in the Bible, read Malachi 3:6–12 where the prophet Malachi says that those who aren’t at least thing are, in fact, ‘robbing God’ of what is rightly his. This is too strong a lesson to be shared with the kids at their age, but it should help to inform you of the priority that we need to place on our giving to God.

Above all, we want the children to understand that working with God to achieve his aims in the world is a partnership. God needs us to do our bit; we need God to do what only he can do. By giving of ourselves to God, we make ourselves partners with God in extending his Kingdom.

Sharing is Caring!

Consider & Prepare

What you will need:For ‘Connec ng In’• Game equipment for ‘Trash and Treasure’: tables, music, CD player/iPod, one

object per child in the group (e.g. hats, scarves, toys, pencils, books etc)

For ‘The Main Thing’• Bibles, textas, large paper• Movie clips from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005 version): Charlie’s

birthday scene; Veruca Salt’s request for a golden cket and her father looking for a cket.

For ‘Tying In’• S ngy and generous egg-carton gardens: co on wool, empty egg-cartons,

alfalfa seeds

For ‘Home & Beyond’• a sheet of large paper and some textas• Print off the Home & Beyond cards for each child.

Trash & Treasure…

Needed: Music, tables, as many objects as people (e.g. hats, scarves, toys, pencils, books etc)

• Pile the objects on the table at the far end of the room.• Play some music. When the music stops, the children grab as much as they can from the table before the leader calls

‘Freeze’.• The children with the smallest amounts are out. (You can make it the child with the smallest amount or the last 2 or 3

children with the smallest amounts depending on how many children are playing and how long you want to play the game for.)

• Remove some of the items (like musical chairs, so that it makes it harder for the children).• Con nue the game un l there is only one person le holding the remaining item. • Ensure the children’s safety by having rules like ‘pushing people out of the way is an instant out’.

• Link: Ques ons to ask the Junior Soldiers → Ask the winner to explain how they feel. → Ask the fi rst person out how they felt. Why do you think you felt that way?

→ ‘I wonder how we could have made this game fairer.’ → Ask them to imagine how it must feel to be a person who sees others who always seem to get there fi rst and grab

everything without sharing. → ‘Today we are going to explore about giving and especially our a tude towards giving to others,

and how sharing what we have with a posi ve a tude is what God is looking for.’

Connecting In

• Write or draw a list of items that you share, e.g. toys, bedroom, car, DVD collec on, pets, Wii games, etc.• Make another list of items that you like to keep to yourself, e.g. lollies, books, toys, jewellery, iPod and other special

items.• Put a number from 1–10 beside these items that show how happy you are when you have to share these items with

others, 1 for ‘grumpy’, 10 for ‘happy’. • Apart from the things you have already listed, what are some other things that God has given us that we can share?

e.g. spiritual gi s, special talents, money, rela onships, crea vity.• Think of some examples as to how these are used to worship God or how they are used in everyday living. Share.

There are three key passages below that show something of what God things about giving and being generous. You might like to choose one to focus on or divide into groups and look at all three.2 Corinthians 8:1–15, 9:6–8, Luke 12:1–21

As a group or small group, read the scripture together. → What do you think God is saying about giving or being generous in this passage? → How would you tell others about God’s message about giving?

The children might like to re-write in their own words or paraphrase some verses using key statements.• or they might like to create a storyboard (especially for Luke 12:12–21).• or they might like to represent the key message by doing a sign or diagram.• or you might have some other sugges ons or ideas.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory...

There are two clips to use from this movie, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory to help reinforce the a tude that God wants us to have towards giving.

The fi rst clip is the scene where it is Charlie’s birthday and he receives a small chocolate bar. His family has all put in money and gone without so that they could give generously to Charlie. Even though it was his birthday present—something that Charlie only gets once a year—he wants to share it with his family.

The second clip contrasts with the previous scene showing Veruca Salt being greedy and not thinking about anyone but herself. Show the clip where Veruca requests a golden cket and her father searches for one with all the resources that he can muster.

→ What do Charlie and Veruca teach us about giving? → Do you fi nd it easy to share or give to others generously? Why/why not? → I wonder if there has been a me when you behaved a li le like Veruca and thought only about

yourself. Share some examples together. → I wonder if you have seen someone giving generously. Share.

What the Bible says:

As a group discuss together what the word generous means.GENEROUS: Liberal in giving or sharing; unselfi sh–free from meanness or smallness of mind or character.

Create your own defi ni on of what ‘generous’ means.

Give each of the children a sheet of large paper for them to write and draw on for the next part of the ac vity and ask them to divide it into three sec ons.

The Main Thing

What does God require of us when it comes to giving? He loves those that are cheerful when giving whether it be giving money, me, our talents/gi s, our crea vity or other resources.

S ngy and generous egg-carton gardens

Get the children to make egg-carton gardens. You will need:• The bo om of egg-cartons cut in half• Co on wool• Alfalfa seeds • Eye s ckers or textas to draw faces• Water

Fill the egg-cartons with co on wool so they are all even; moisten the surface with some water.The children might like to added eye s ckers or draw a face on the outside of the egg cartons so that when the seeds grow it looks like hair. In some (about half), sow a LOT of alfalfa seeds and then in the others sow the seeds sparingly (only a couple of seeds). Place in a sunny posi on and water appropriately (do not drown the seeds).

I wonder when the seeds grow what the faces will look like. → Will they all end up with a full head of hair? → How can this remind us of the a tude that God wants us to have towards giving? → (As the plants grow the children will no ce some have a ‘full head of hair’ others are quite bald looking.) → Discuss with the children the diff erences between being s ngy and being generous. → Remind them again that God likes it when we are generous and share what God has given us. →

What can I do?

Print off the ‘Home & Beyond’ cards a ached. The children might like to keep these in their journals or notebook where they could write or s ck the challenges, refl ect, answer ques ons or complete ac vi es each week. To help set up the challenge for Home & Beyond this week you might like to get the children to think about the ques ons together. If you have enough children it would be good to divide into six groups (or even three groups) and give each group two of the dot points below. Give each of the groups a sheet of large paper and some textas to add their sugges ons.

• How can I be generous in the classroom?• How can I be generous at home?• How can I be generous in the playground?• How can I be generous in my neighborhood?• How can I be generous at church?• How can I be generous with my friends?

When fi nished, it would be good to share these with the other groups. Maybe there are some things from these lists that you might like to do this week at home or school or when hanging out with your friends to show that you can be generous with your me, talents, skills and belongings. Record these on your ‘Home & Beyond’ card.

PrayerSpend some me thanking God for the things He’s given us and also asking Him to help us be generous with our money and our gi s and abili es.

Tying In

Home & Beyond

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• • • •

Junior Soldiers

Unit 2 : Lesson 4

PURPOSE : To help the children understand they are special to God and that God loves it when we treat others like they are special too.

‘You are the one who put me together inside my mother’s body, and I praise you because of the wonderful way you created me. Everything you do is marvellous!

Of this I have no doubt.’.Psalm 139:13 & 14 (CEV)

Read:Psalm 139You are Special by Max Lucado

Some mes when we consider the grandness of God—who created the universe, who exists in a unique way, who is all-knowing and all-powerful—we can come to the conclusion that God could not possibly have the me or interest to care for one mere human. In the midst of Junior Soldier lessons about the doctrines and church life and big issues, this lesson is intended to highlight to Junior Soldiers that God s ll knows and loves each of them in mately.

Each Junior Soldier should fi nish this lesson confi dent of God’s love and also aware of their own unique personality and value. They may even begin to grasp what is a deep theological truth: that part of the reason God is considered so great is because he does know and love each of us individually.

Before this lesson, think about the children you teach and the unique things you know about each child in your care. Thank God for them individually. God is doing something wonderful in them and it’s a privilege that he is choosing to use you as his instrument to help disciple young Chris ans.

What you will need:For ‘Connec ng In’• Mr Men or Li le Miss card game or• Guess Who? game

I’m Special! You’re Special!

Consider & Prepare

For ‘The Main Thing’• Book – You are Special by Max Lucado • Cards and textas for “Who am I?’ game

For ‘Tying In’• Shoe box full of diff erent items • Photo frames (cardboard, foam or pine)• Foam le ers or s cker le ers for the frame ac vity• Camera and printer for taking and prin ng photos• Badge-making machine • Card or paper for bookmarks and badges• S ckers, le ers and textas for bookmarks and badges• A3 paper, textas, crayons or pastels• Laminator for bookmarks

For ‘Home & Beyond’• Pre-cut hand prints for take home ac vity• Print off the Home & Beyond cards for each child.

Same or Diff erent …

Play the game Guess Who? or a matching game using ‘Li le Miss or Mr Men Cards’. (You can buy or use any card games with characters on).• Guess Who? is played in pairs and involves describing the a ributes of the characters in the game. • The matching game is played as a large group and children are given one card with a character on it. They must fi nd all

the other people with the same cards as them by asking ques ons as they walk around the room. ‘Do you have glasses on your person? Does your person have a pink ribbon?’ If the answer is ‘Yes’, they keep asking ques ons. If not, they move on to another person to ask ques ons. The game ends when one group has found all their characters or when all the groups are together.

Link: When we were playing the games, we were looking for things that were the same or diff erent about the characters. There are some things about us that are the same—like we have a heart, hair, eyes etc.—but there are also lots of things that are diff erent. Some of the things we can see, like hair colour and height, but some things we can’t see like our favourite possessions at home or a tudes like pa ence. God has made us and cra ed us all diff erently and for a par cular purpose. We are special!

You Are Special …

Read You Are Special by Max Lucado. Talk about the way God has made us uniquely diff erent to everyone else for a reason and that He is the posi ve voice that we need to listen to, not ‘the world’.

→ Why do we listen to what others say and think? → Whose opinion or voice should we be listening to? → Refer to Psalm 139 : 14 ‘I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made.’ → What are some of the things that make you unique or diff erent from others in your group? → What would God say about you? → What do you think God would want you to say about others?

Connecting In

The Main Thing

Below you will fi nd fi ve ac vi es to either rotate through or choose some that will suit the make-up of your group.

Ac vity 1: I’m special statements. Each child is to think about and complete the statements by wri ng or drawing why they are special in the specifi c context. • I’m special at school because…• I’m special at home because…• I’m special in my family because…• I’m special in…because. • Pray using these statements: For example ‘Thank you God that in my family I tell jokes and help to clean the fi sh tank’.

Ac vity 2: I am special Provide the children with A3 sheets of paper and textas/crayons or pastels for this ac vity.Write the le ers of your name down the le hand side of a page and write one word or a short phrase, star ng with that le er of your name, to describe you on each line. Encourage the kids to decorate their page and hang them in the church foyer.

Ac vity 3: Bookmarks and badgesMake badges or bookmarks to reinforce ‘specialness’ – you might like to supply some s ckers, le er s ckers and textas, card and paper for making either bookmark or badges. You might like to laminate the bookmarks once fi nished. See some examples below. • I am fantas c because God doesn’t make junk• I am somebody special • I am loved by God• I am made in an amazing way

Ac vity 4: ‘I’m special’ frameTake photos of each of the children. It would be great if you choose to do this ac vity if you could print the photos out straight away to be put in the frames. Provide the kids with some sort of picture frame for this ac vity. It could be a card-board border or a foam frame or just some cheap pine photo frames that the children can decorate and add s cky le ers to the edge. Put the photos in frames with the words “I am special” around the border using either foam le ers or other s cker le ers to decorate.

Ac vity 5: Shoebox fi lled with ‘special’Have a variety of items in a shoe box or gi bag and get the children to choose an item which reminds them of something they like to do and are good at. Encourage the children to share what it is, why they like doing it, when they do it and then thank God for making them special in that way.

“Who am I?” game...Give each child a piece of paper or card where they can draw or write fi ve clues about themselves. They are to do this in a space on their own so that the whole group can play a guessing game. When everyone has fi nished their card the leader will read out the clues and see how many people can guess who it is. (Each child lists fi ve clues about themselves. The fi rst clue could be to do with their family; I am the youngest person, the second clue could be to do with an interest; I love to play soccer, the third clue could be to do with a favourite food or colour, the fourth clue to do with a favourite book or hobby; I love to read Roald Dahl books, the fi h and fi nal clue to do with church; I play drums in church.)

Tying In


Encourage the children to take home some pre-cut hand prints, enough for each family member. During the week, take me to talk with your family and ask them to share with you things that make each person special. Write or draw something on each fi nger of the hand cutout.

You might like to print Psalm 139: 14 in the middle of the hand prints or encourage the children to look up the verse and write it on the hand print.

Home & Beyond

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Junior Soldiers

Unit 2 : Lesson 5

PURPOSE : For children to understand that God inspired people to record the important truths about Himself and that this record is guidance for them on how to live.

“We believe that the scriptures of the Old and New Testaments were given by inspiration of God,and that they only constitute the divine rule of

Christian faith and practice” Doctrine 1

“God helped good people to speak and write what is in the Bible, so that from it we may learn the way God means us to live.”

Doctrine 1 (simplifi ed form)Everything in the Scriptures is God’s Word. All of it is useful for teaching and

helping people and for correcting them and showing them how to live. The Scriptures train God’s servants to do all kinds of good deeds.

2Timothy 3:16-17 (CEV)

Read:2 Timothy 3:14-17John 20:30-312 Peter 1:16-21

Over the centuries there has been great debate among theologians and some Chris ans about how the Bible was wri en. These range from the theory that it is a masterpiece wri en by one man, to it being wri en by God’s hand holding a big pen!

Inspired by God #1

Consider & Prepare

The most common debates are over the nature of how God inspired men to write it (did he give them ideas/visions/dreams and they wrote them down, or did he tell them word for word what to write?) and the ques on of if the text is inerrant (without mistakes).

Non-Chris ans will, of course, say that the Bible is en rely fi c onal and can’t be believed.

This lesson is important for teaching Junior Soldiers that the Bible is true, that it is inspired by God and that it can be trusted. While many Chris ans have wri en books about Chris an living and Jesus and faith and church—the Bible is the only divine book about God.It is God’s book.

What you will need:For ‘Connec ng In’• Print some cards for Taboo with the word and the associated words on them or write them out for the volunteer to use

out the front.• Timer or stopwatch for the Taboo ac vity.

For ‘The Main Thing’• A small selec on of Chris an books (adults and childrens).• Coke, Corn Flakes and Tim Tams and imita ons of each (see the ‘Main Thing’ sec on).• Lego or equivalent construc on material. Instruc ons for an item to build.

For ‘Tying In’• Playdough, paper magiclay, drawing implements, paints, pastels, paper, journals etc


Chinese Whispers …

• Arrange the group in a circle or long line for this ac vity.• Choose an important message that you want the whole group to know and see if you can get the clear message all the

way to the end of the group.• Whipser the message to the fi rst person in the group to then whisper and pass the message on to the next person.• When the message gets to the end of the group get the fi nal person to share what the message was.• Was it correct, did everything get passed on exactly as it started (usually it will be diff erent in some way even if only a

few words—make sure that the message is long enough that it will be diffi cult to have it exaclty right at the end of the game).

• Have another go and share an important message about God as you go along the group.• Did they get it right?

Connecting In

• Today we are going to look at passing on important informa on. God had some important things that He wanted to say to us and so shared those messages with some people who have recorded them in the Bible. The Bible is a guidebook for how God wants us to live.

Taboo …

• For this ac vity you will need to choose a volunteer to try to communicate a par cular word to the group without say-ing that word, a couple of words that are connected to it or using sounds or ac ons. They can use clues or hints to help you to say the word but not the word itself.

• You might like to give a me limit of approximately two minutes for the group to guess the word.• Have a lucky dip for each of the children that are able to get the group to say the correct word within the me.• Below are some key words with a few associated words listed a er them.

→ Laugh – funny, giggle, joke → Story – read, book, bed me → Circle – round, shape → Band – group, music, instrument → Money – dollars, cents, cash → Army – Salva on, soldier, military → Park – tree, playground, run → Telephone – call, ring, number

• Link: At mes, it can be diffi cult to fi nd the right words when you are trying to communicate something to someone, especially like today when there were par cular words that you could not use. Some mes we need to say things a number of ways to help people to understand what we are trying to say, to give them hints and clues to the message that we are trying to share with them.

• God had some pre y important messages that he wanted to pass on to us, some things that he wanted us to know and remember. A book or some kind of record would be great for that, so we believe in The Salva on Army (and most other churches too) that God ‘inspired’ some people to write down his important stories and messages.

→ What do you think ‘inspired’ means? → I wonder how God shared His messages with these special people?

• Today we are going to look at passing on important informa on. God had some important things that He wanted to say to us and so shared those messages with some people who have recorded them in the Bible. The Bible is a guide-book for how God wants us to live.

• Link: Passing on a message that someone has told you word for word can be very diffi cult. Some people are good at it but not all of us. Today we use other ways to help us remember important things. What might some of those ways be?

• Before being able to write and record important informa on, key knowledge was passed on by ‘oral tradi on’ ‘An oral tradi on is the manner in which informa on is passed from one genera on to the next in the

absence of wri ng or a recording medium.’ ‘It is a way for people to transmit the knowledge that makes up history, literature ora legal system across genera ons without using a wri ng system.’• When this was the only way of passing on important informa on, knowledge

and understanding, people were far be er at it than we are today.

Inspired by God…

The fi rst doctrine of The Salva on Army says that the Bible was inspired by God and is the ‘only…divine rule of Chris an faith and prac ce’.

‘Maybe at your church there is a bookcase with Chris an books on it, or maybe you have visited a Koorong or Word bookstore or another Chris an bookshop. There are thousands and thousands of books about God (you may want to show some examples, adults and children’s Chris an literature) but one book is diff erent from all of them. Which book do you think I am talking about?’Set up some ‘trios’ of products: for example, a bo le of Coke, a bo le of Woolworth’s Cola, and some other no-name Cola drink. Also a box of Corn Flakes and two cheaper imita ons. Maybe also a pack of Tim Tams and two cheaper varia ons.

Ask the children to iden fy which product is ‘the real thing’ and which are the copies. Stress that the copies are fi ne within themselves (this is especially important if, for example, some of the children regularly eat the cheaper cornfl akes!) but they are not the original. They only exist because of the original, i.e. the cola drink was made and is marketed because Coca Cola was invented and is so popular.

‘It’s great to read Chris an books, and many writers are blessed by God to have the ability to write stories for us to read, but never forget—these books are only possible because we had the Bible fi rst, the book inspired by God Himself. The Bible is the ‘only…divine’ book that Chris ans rely on. Other books are helpful, but God’s own book, the Bible, is crucial to all Chris ans.’

Direc ons on how to live…

Divide your group into two or, if you have a large group, you may like to choose just two groups of three to par cipate in this ac vity.You will need a tub of Lego or similar construc on material and one set of instruc ons (that would usually come with the Lego) for an item of your choice e.g. a helicopter, a car, a two-story house etc. Choose the item that you would like them to build and provide the instruc ons to one team. Both teams will be asked to make it within a specifi c me limit, one group will have the instruc ons and one group will just have an idea of what they are trying to build.

→ Who had the easier task? Why? → Have you ever received a present for Christmas that needed to be put together before you could use it? Did you

follow the instruc ons or just start to put it together how you thought it should go? → I wonder if someone in your family has bought an item from the shops like a bookcase or drawers or some sort of

cabinet. Have you watched them try to put it together? Did they follow the instruc ons?

Some mes the instruc ons can be a li le confusing, but they are there to help us. The Bible is God’s way of giving help, guidance and direc on; it gives an image of how we should live. It is the story of God and His people, showing the ups and downs of life and how we, too, can navigate through the good stuff and the not-so-good parts. God has used a special group of people to write down important stuff that He wants us to know and understand, and examples of what to live like.

• Share one of the examples of how God wants us to live that stands out for you with the person next to you.

• Take me to pray as a group and thank God for the way that He inspired those that wrote the Bible and for giving us such a great tool to help us know how to live.

The Main Thing

What does God inspire you to do?

God inspires, encourages, infl uences and mo vates people to do heaps of things. Some people paint in response to God’s love, some people create things, some people write music, some people care for the elderly or work with children, some people talk and care for others, and this is just a sample of how we respond to God’s love and what he inspires us to do.God inspired, encouraged and infl uenced people to write His story for Him; he mo- vated them to write down the things that happened and humanity’s interac ons

with Him.

When you think about God, His love and who God is, what does he inspire, encourage, mo vate, or infl uence you to do?

• Provide a range of materials that the children can use during this me. They might like to just draw something that represents how God inspires them, write about it in their journal or maybe make something from playdough (paper magiclay)or other cra materials.

• It is important that the children have some me to refl ect about what this might look like for them, you could play some quiet music, give them some scripture to read or just let them refl ect with their journal or a blank sheet of paper.

• It is important that we con nue to provide space for children to think and refl ect on what they have been exploring and allow them me with God for Him to interact with them.

Print off the Home & Beyond cards a ached. The children might like to keep these in their journal or notebook where they could write or s ck the challenges, refl ect, answer ques ons or complete ac vi es each week.

Inspired Words For Us …We have been talking about the Bible today and how God has used some special people to communicate His important messages for us. This week it would be good to read some of those important messages.

Read: → Psalm 51:1-13 → Daniel 6:11-23 → 1Timothy 6:11-21 (focusing on verses 17-21) → 1 John 4:7-21

Ask you parents or Big Bud to help you fi nd these if you are having diffi culty.When you have read the passage think about these ques ons.

→ What is God saying in this passage? → What stands out to you? → How does this passage impact you, how you live, what you think? → Pray

Tying In

Home & Beyond

Home

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spire

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essa

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lm 5

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13, D

anie

l 6:1

1-23

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mot

hy 6

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ocus

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t sta

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doe

s thi

s pas

sage

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ct y

ou, h

ow y

ou li

ve,

wha

t you

thin

k?

→

Pray

Home

& B

eyon

dIn

spire

d W

ords

For

Us …

We

have

bee

n ta

lkin

g ab

out t

he B

ible

and

how

God

has

use

d so

me

spec

ial p

eopl

e to

com

mun

icate

His

impo

rtan

t mes

sage

s for

us.

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s

wee

k it

wou

ld b

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od to

read

som

e of

thos

e im

port

ant m

essa

ges.

Read

: Psa

lm 5

1:1-

13, D

anie

l 6:1

1-23

, 1Ti

mot

hy 6

:11-

21 (f

ocus

ing

on

vers

es 1

7-21

), an

d 1

John

4:7

-21

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you

pare

nts o

r Big

Bud

to h

elp

you fi n

d th

ese

if yo

u ar

e ha

ving

diffi

culty

. Whe

n yo

u ha

ve re

ad th

e pa

ssag

e th

ink

abou

t the

se q

ues

ons

.

→

Wha

t is G

od sa

ying

in th

is pa

ssag

e?

→

Wha

t sta

nds o

ut to

you

?

→

How

doe

s thi

s pas

sage

impa

ct y

ou, h

ow y

ou li

ve,

wha

t you

thin

k?

→

Pray

Home

& B

eyon

dIn

spire

d W

ords

For

Us …

We

have

bee

n ta

lkin

g ab

out t

he B

ible

and

how

God

has

use

d so

me

spec

ial p

eopl

e to

com

mun

icate

His

impo

rtan

t mes

sage

s for

us.

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s

wee

k it

wou

ld b

e go

od to

read

som

e of

thos

e im

port

ant m

essa

ges.

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: Psa

lm 5

1:1-

13, D

anie

l 6:1

1-23

, 1Ti

mot

hy 6

:11-

21 (f

ocus

ing

on

vers

es 1

7-21

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d 1

John

4:7

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Ask

you

pare

nts o

r Big

Bud

to h

elp

you fi n

d th

ese

if yo

u ar

e ha

ving

diffi

culty

. Whe

n yo

u ha

ve re

ad th

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ssag

e th

ink

abou

t the

se q

ues

ons

.

→

Wha

t is G

od sa

ying

in th

is pa

ssag

e?

→

Wha

t sta

nds o

ut to

you

?

→

How

doe

s thi

s pas

sage

impa

ct y

ou, h

ow y

ou li

ve,

wha

t you

thin

k?

→

Pray

Home

& B

eyon

dIn

spire

d W

ords

For

Us …

We

have

bee

n ta

lkin

g ab

out t

he B

ible

and

how

God

has

use

d so

me

spec

ial p

eopl

e to

com

mun

icate

His

impo

rtan

t mes

sage

s for

us.

Thi

s

wee

k it

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ld b

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od to

read

som

e of

thos

e im

port

ant m

essa

ges.

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: Psa

lm 5

1:1-

13, D

anie

l 6:1

1-23

, 1Ti

mot

hy 6

:11-

21 (f

ocus

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on

vers

es 1

7-21

), an

d 1

John

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-21

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you

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nts o

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Bud

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elp

you fi n

d th

ese

if yo

u ar

e ha

ving

diffi

culty

. Whe

n yo

u ha

ve re

ad th

e pa

ssag

e th

ink

abou

t the

se q

ues

ons

.

→

Wha

t is G

od sa

ying

in th

is pa

ssag

e?

→

Wha

t sta

nds o

ut to

you

?

→

How

doe

s thi

s pas

sage

impa

ct y

ou, h

ow y

ou li

ve,

wha

t you

thin

k?

→

Pray

Junior Soldiers

Unit 2 : Lesson 6

PURPOSE : To help children to understand why there is an Old and New Testament and the reasons for the different kinds of writing in the Bible.

“We believe that the scriptures of the Old and New Testaments were given by inspiration of God,and that they only constitute the divine rule of

Christian faith and practice” Doctrine 1

“God helped good people to speak and write what is in the Bible, so that from it we may learn the way God means us to live.”

Doctrine 1 (simplifi ed form)

Read:Ma hew 5:17Luke 4:14-21Hebrews 4:121 Corinthians 15:1–5Philemon 1:19

The word ‘bible’ comes from the Greek word for ‘books’ or ‘library’ and it is very appropriate for our Chris an Bible which is really a collec on of 66 books by diff erent authors, in diff erent languages and in diff erent literary styles, wri en over a 2,000 year period. Its writers include prophets, kings, fi shermen and peasants.

It is divided into the Old Testament, containing thirty-nine books, and the New Testament, containing twenty-seven books. There is a break of 400 years between the Old Testament and the New. The Old Testament focuses on the rela onship between the Jewish people and God, while the New tells the gospel (‘good news’) story of Jesus and the forma on of the Chris an Church.

If you wanted to know everything about the movie Star Wars, you would read books about it by the actors, director, pro-ducers and fi lm cri cs; you may also read books about science fi c on movies, hit fi lms of the 1970s and special eff ects; you would also try and get your hands on produc on notes and reviews. Diff erent writers; diff erent literary styles; wri en at diff erent mes—to try and get a complete picture.

Inspired by God #2

Consider & Prepare

Junior Soldiers need to understand that the whole Bible is important because the whole Bible is about humanity’s rela onship with God, expressed in a wide range of styles and formats.

What you will need:For ‘Connec ng In’• Collect a range books as outlined in ‘choosing a story’ ac vity• Print out two sheets (one for each group) with a range of cartoon characters

throughout the past few decades.

For ‘The Main Thing’• Butchers paper or whiteboard for brainstorming• 40 balloons, 2 green shopping bags (or similar)• Stocking legs for use in three-legged race• Collect a sample of some of the books or type of wri ng for the ‘collec on of books’ sec on.

For ‘Tying In’• Have available supplies for the kids to choose from e.g. paper, pens, Bibles, playdough, cra supplies, camera, musical

instruments, paint etc.


Choosing a story …

• For this ac vity you will need to provide a range of books and stories that cover a variety of genres.• These might include – encycolpedia, street directory, Bible, storybooks (picture and text only), books about facts and

trivia, books of short stories, books of poems, songs and pictures.• Provide a number of picture storybooks that are fun or have a good message.• Let the kids engage with the variety of books and talk with them about what is diff erent about them, what are they for,

what do they tell us, how would you use them etc.• Before fi nishing this ac vity, get one of the children to choose a story that you can read together.

• Link: We have just been looking at a variety of diff erent sorts of books. They all share informa on with us in a diff erent way and for specifi c purposes. The Bible is made up of a variety of diff erent sorts of ways to share an important message. As we talked about last lesson, the Bible was inspired by God, he shared his message with special people who recorded it down. These people were all diff erent and had a diff erent part of the story/message to share.

• Today we are going to explore what is diff erent between the Old and New Testaments in the Bible as well as look at how diff erent sorts of wri ng were used to share God’s story with us.

Connecting In

• You might want to place a me limit on this ac vity.

• Link: Today we have been looking at both old and new cartoon characters. They are diff erent but all really cool in their own way. The fi rst cartoon characters have helped to form the new ones as the designers have learnt new things in drawing and special eff ects.

• We are also going to look today at the Old and New Testaments in the Bible and the important part they play in telling God’s story

Story Sentence…

For this ac vity you will need to be in groups of four or have four volunteers to come at a me.Stories will o en have a beginning, a middle, some mes a twist and an end.Assign each of the volunteers with a sec on of the story and get them to add their part in turn.Beginning, middle, twist and end.

Example: → Beginning – “I woke up this morning… → Middle - …we went outside to play… → Twist - …it started to rain… → End - … luckily I had an umbrella so that I could play in the rain!”

Each part of the story is important. We are going to look at two important parts in one ‘big story’, looking at the Old and New Testaments in the Bible–God’s story of love for us. As we are looking at this see if you can pick the parts that might be the beginning, the middle, the twist and the end.

God’s Story…

(When you are sharing this informa on with the kids it would be good to do it in a storytelling way. You might like to use a big, old Bible or you might be able to get one of those book boxes–looks like a book but has a lid that you can put things in, you can o en purchase them at cheap shops/reject shops.)

Old & New …

• For this ac vity you will need to divide the group into two. This can be done two ways, either divide the group evenly including leaders and children or divide the groups into one group leaders and one group children. (If you are the only leader you might like to ask some of the Big Buds to come and help for this ac vity or have some other adults of varying ages come and lend a hand for the lesson/ac vity).

• You will also need to print off some cartoon characters that span across the genera ons. Choose 10–12 diff erent cartoon characters for the two groups to try and name.

• The winning team is the one who is able to name the most cartoon characters both old and new.

The Main Thing

The Old Testament shows us …. In the beginning …

• God wants to be our friend …

• Through the stories of all the families in the Old Testament, we hear about how they chose not to be ‘God’s friend’.• They hurt God by not respec ng how he wanted them to live.• God sent his messengers (many of them were called ‘prophets’) to invite them to be his friend again.• But… many s ll didn’t listen.• They needed someone to help them.

• In the New Testament we read about how God sent Jesus—about His life, His teaching and His death.• Then God gave us the Holy Spirit to help us respect God and live the way God wants us to live.• The disciples (followers of Jesus) and other believers went about telling others in lots of diff erent ways about Jesus and

God and how they want to be connected with us.

What is a friend? What makes a good friend?Spend a few moments with the group brainstorming what friends are like and how they behave towards each other.

Examples: Friends spend me with each other, don’t hurt each other physically or emo onally, they’re nice to each

other, respect each other’s feelings, etc.

2 groups – 10 balloons each – 2 green shopping bags (or similar).The challenge for both of the groups is to be the fi rst to blow up all

the balloons.When the groups fi nish, congratulate the group that fi nishes fi rst.

But… can you put all the balloons into the shopping bag? (The balloons will generally be blown up to a point where 10 of

them will not fi t into the shopping bag.)

Sorry, but you will need to try again as you did not have all the informa on that you needed in order to complete the challenge.

Try the challenge again and congratulate the team that completes this fi rst (they’ll have to blow up the balloons just a li le bit, not fully).

To complete this task you did not have everything that you needed.You needed someone to help you by giving you the full informa on.

So just like the families in the Old Testament–they needed help.How did God help them?

• While the Bible is fi nished and printed, we—as followers of God—are s ll adding to the story of how God interacts with people. We are part of God’s unfolding story of how He and humans do life together.

Collec on of books…

The people that God use to write the Bible were all diff erent and were skilled in diff erent ways and went about communi-ca ng the truth and important message in diff erent ways and formats.

I have a collec on of diff erent styles of wri ng and also where that sort of wri ng is found in the Bible. Let’s look at them together:

→ A newspaper reports what is happening (Acts 24:1–9, as the early church began, the book of Acts recorded spe-cifi c events that took place)

→ We write le ers or emails to people we know to keep in touch (Philemon 1–7 is part of a le er from Paul to Philemon)

→ Poetry is a way of wri ng that can be very crea ve with words (1 Corinthians 13:4–7) → Some mes we can collect sayings, proverbs or quotes in a book (Proverbs 3: 5–8) → Song books contain lyrics (the words) of songs (Psalm 150. The psalms were wri en to be sung; many of them

rhymed in their original Hebrew language.) → A genealogy (family tree) lists people in a certain family (Ma hew 1:1–6, 16) → Books used by the police and the courts and also in sport contain rules and laws outlining what is acceptable

and unacceptable (Colossians 3:12–17) → Made up short stories can teach us valuable lessons (Luke 12: 16–21) → History books record important informa on (2 Samuel 5:3–5) → Stories about people’s lives are called biographies (Exodus 2: –10 with Deuteronomy 34:5–7) → When we predict something that we believe is going to happen it’s called prophecy (Isaiah 11:1–2, tells of the

coming of Jesus. Verse one refers to David’s father, Jesse; remember Jesus was born into David’s family line.) → Teaching and preaching are common in the Bible, especially from Jesus (Ma hew 7:24–29)

These are some of the ways people communicated the message from God, there are heaps of other ways that we can com-municate a message, especially today, and we are going to have a look at some of that now.

Connected: three-legged race.You will need some legs of stockings to use in this ac vity.

Have a three-legged race with everyone in your group.

Being connected to God is like having a three-legged race with Him connected to you all the me; in the ups and downs of your life and everything that happens to you.

Important messages …

• Encourage the kids to think about some of the key messages/truths that we get from the Bible.

• Brainstorm together. • For this ac vity the children might like to work in small groups or even as

individuals.• Choose a key message/truth that you want to communicate to others.• How would you choose to communicate this today?• Some sugges ons are: would you write a story, a poem, song/chant/rap,

would you draw a picture/poster, would you give a speech, make a movie, create something, text or write a blog?• It would be good when fi nished to share these with the other groups. It would also be good to share these messages

with the wider church community either on display or as part of the service.


Inspired Words For Us …We have been talking about the Bible today and how God has used some special people to communicate His important messages for us. We have looked at Old and New Testaments and also diff erent forms of wri ng. This week it would be good to read some old and new and some diff erent types of wri ng.

Read: → Genesis 9:8–17 – History → Psalm 47 – Song/Poem → Luke 9:10–20 – Story/Narra ve → 1 Corinthians 13:1–13 – Le er

Ask you parents or Big Bud to help you fi nd these if you are having diffi culty.When you have read the passage think about these ques ons.

→ What is God saying in this passage? → What stands out to you? → How does this passage impact you, how you live, what you think? → Pray

Tying In

Home & Beyond

Home

& B

eyon

dIn

spire

d W

ords

For

Us …

We

have

bee

n ta

lkin

g ab

out t

he B

ible

toda

y an

d ho

w G

od h

as u

sed

som

e

spec

ial p

eopl

e to

com

mun

icate

His

impo

rtan

t mes

sage

s for

us.

We

have

look

ed a

t Old

and

New

Test

amen

ts a

nd a

lso d

iff er

ent f

orm

s of w

ri n

g.

This

wee

k it

wou

ld b

e go

od to

read

som

e ol

d an

d ne

w a

nd so

me

diff e

rent

type

s of w

ri n

g.

Read

: Gen

esis

9:8–

17 (H

istor

y), P

salm

47

(Son

g/Po

em),

Luke

9:1

0–20

(Sto

ry/N

arra

ve)

, and

1 C

orin

thia

ns 1

3:1–

13 (L

e e

r)

Ask

you

pare

nts o

r Big

Bud

to h

elp

you fi n

d th

ese

if yo

u ar

e ha

ving

diffi

culty

. Whe

n yo

u ha

ve re

ad th

e pa

ssag

e th

ink

abou

t the

se q

ues

ons

.

→

Wha

t is G

od sa

ying

in th

is pa

ssag

e?

→

Wha

t sta

nds o

ut to

you

?

→

How

doe

s thi

s pas

sage

impa

ct y

ou, h

ow y

ou li

ve,

wha

t you

thin

k?

→

Pray

Home

& B

eyon

dIn

spire

d W

ords

For

Us …

We

have

bee

n ta

lkin

g ab

out t

he B

ible

toda

y an

d ho

w G

od h

as u

sed

som

e

spec

ial p

eopl

e to

com

mun

icate

His

impo

rtan

t mes

sage

s for

us.

We

have

look

ed a

t Old

and

New

Test

amen

ts a

nd a

lso d

iff er

ent f

orm

s of w

ri n

g.

This

wee

k it

wou

ld b

e go

od to

read

som

e ol

d an

d ne

w a

nd so

me

diff e

rent

type

s of w

ri n

g.

Read

: Gen

esis

9:8–

17 (H

istor

y), P

salm

47

(Son

g/Po

em),

Luke

9:1

0–20

(Sto

ry/N

arra

ve)

, and

1 C

orin

thia

ns 1

3:1–

13 (L

e e

r)

Ask

you

pare

nts o

r Big

Bud

to h

elp

you fi n

d th

ese

if yo

u ar

e ha

ving

diffi

culty

. Whe

n yo

u ha

ve re

ad th

e pa

ssag

e th

ink

abou

t the

se q

ues

ons

.

→

Wha

t is G

od sa

ying

in th

is pa

ssag

e?

→

Wha

t sta

nds o

ut to

you

?

→

How

doe

s thi

s pas

sage

impa

ct y

ou, h

ow y

ou li

ve,

wha

t you

thin

k?

→

Pray

Home

& B

eyon

dIn

spire

d W

ords

For

Us …

We

have

bee

n ta

lkin

g ab

out t

he B

ible

toda

y an

d ho

w G

od h

as u

sed

som

e

spec

ial p

eopl

e to

com

mun

icate

His

impo

rtan

t mes

sage

s for

us.

We

have

look

ed a

t Old

and

New

Test

amen

ts a

nd a

lso d

iff er

ent f

orm

s of w

ri n

g.

This

wee

k it

wou

ld b

e go

od to

read

som

e ol

d an

d ne

w a

nd so

me

diff e

rent

type

s of w

ri n

g.

Read

: Gen

esis

9:8–

17 (H

istor

y), P

salm

47

(Son

g/Po

em),

Luke

9:1

0–20

(Sto

ry/N

arra

ve)

, and

1 C

orin

thia

ns 1

3:1–

13 (L

e e

r)

Ask

you

pare

nts o

r Big

Bud

to h

elp

you fi n

d th

ese

if yo

u ar

e ha

ving

diffi

culty

. Whe

n yo

u ha

ve re

ad th

e pa

ssag

e th

ink

abou

t the

se q

ues

ons

.

→

Wha

t is G

od sa

ying

in th

is pa

ssag

e?

→

Wha

t sta

nds o

ut to

you

?

→

How

doe

s thi

s pas

sage

impa

ct y

ou, h

ow y

ou li

ve,

wha

t you

thin

k?

→

Pray

Home

& B

eyon

dIn

spire

d W

ords

For

Us …

We

have

bee

n ta

lkin

g ab

out t

he B

ible

toda

y an

d ho

w G

od h

as u

sed

som

e

spec

ial p

eopl

e to

com

mun

icate

His

impo

rtan

t mes

sage

s for

us.

We

have

look

ed a

t Old

and

New

Test

amen

ts a

nd a

lso d

iff er

ent f

orm

s of w

ri n

g.

This

wee

k it

wou

ld b

e go

od to

read

som

e ol

d an

d ne

w a

nd so

me

diff e

rent

type

s of w

ri n

g.

Read

: Gen

esis

9:8–

17 (H

istor

y), P

salm

47

(Son

g/Po

em),

Luke

9:1

0–20

(Sto

ry/N

arra

ve)

, and

1 C

orin

thia

ns 1

3:1–

13 (L

e e

r)

Ask

you

pare

nts o

r Big

Bud

to h

elp

you fi n

d th

ese

if yo

u ar

e ha

ving

diffi

culty

. Whe

n yo

u ha

ve re

ad th

e pa

ssag

e th

ink

abou

t the

se q

ues

ons

.

→

Wha

t is G

od sa

ying

in th

is pa

ssag

e?

→

Wha

t sta

nds o

ut to

you

?

→

How

doe

s thi

s pas

sage

impa

ct y

ou, h

ow y

ou li

ve,

wha

t you

thin

k?

→

Pray

Junior Soldiers

Unit 2 : Lesson 7

PURPOSE : For children to understand that to be like Jesus doesn’t mean to live like a king, it means to live like a servant. This is a lesson about humility and serving.

Read:John 13:1–17 Philippians 2:5–11

JESUS: THE SERVANT KING

The last night of Jesus’ earthly ministry was very even ul. He prayed His great High Priestly prayer (recorded in John 17), taught His disciples many valuable truths, observed the Passover meal with His disciples and was betrayed into the hands of His enemies. Through all of this, Jesus knew that in the morning, He would go to Calvary and die on a cross for the sin of humanity. However, before He began the events of the evening, before they came to the table to eat their last meal to-gether, Jesus took some me to teach these men a lesson in servanthood that s ll speaks to us today. In these scenes, Jesus revealed His heart and His mission. He proved to the disciples that He did not come to be served, but to serve (Mark 10:45).

In showing Himself to be a servant of men, Jesus le us a vivid portrait of the kind of heart we are to have for others. In the Bible passages above, we fi nd out that God’s will for our lives is that we learn to give ourselves in service to others. As you look into these verses, let the Lord speak to your heart as you prepare to teach this lesson to the young people. Let’s consider ‘Jesus: The Servant King’.

‘Jesus the servant King:

Consider & Prepare

What an example!’

What you will need:

For ‘Connec ng In’• Two big bowls and two towels for feet-washing relay.• Coloured cards (postcard size)printed with the template for the ‘pay it for-

ward’ coupons. • Ice, if you choose this op on

For ‘The Main Thing’• A very large plas c bag fi lled with dirt and sand and a tarp.

For ‘Tying In’• Water• A towel to wash someone’s feet


Foot-washing relay…

• Have two big bowls with water and towels and a seat to sit on. • Have two teams and hold a relay race to see which team can wash and dry everyone’s feet fi rst. • To make it more interes ng, you could put ice in the bowls of water.

Link: We have just been playing a fun game of washing feet. Even though for us, today, it has been fun, this was something that people had to do quiet o en in Jesus’ me. We are going to look a li le more closely at: the prac ce of washing feet; who would do it; and what Jesus taught us about this in his words and ac ons.

‘Pay it forward’ coupons…

Supplies needed: Colored card printed and cut using the template supplied• Explain to the kids what a ‘pay it forward’ coupon is. You may want to men on the movie from 2000 that popularized

the idea. ‘Paying it forward’ is a reference to ini a ng a good deed rather than repaying a good deed with another. It is

pro-ac ve rather than re-ac ve. For the children, it may mean doing something good without being asked to, or doing someone a favour.

• Give the children at least six cards that they are to complete.• Invite children to write on the blank side of the card a diff erent idea on each. (Examples: making the bed, taking out

the rubbish, se ng the table, feeding the pet, and helping _____. ) • Talk to them about things that they aren’t usually expected to do as chores that they could do as a gi , as a way of

serving their parents, grandparents, neighbours etc.

Link:What do you think it means to ‘pay it forward’? I wonder what serving others really looks like? Is our a tude important when doing something for other people? Why/why not?Do you know someone who sets a good example of someone who serves others well? Give examples.Today we are going to look at the example that Jesus set for us about serving others and the a tude that we should have when behaving this way.

Connecting In

The Main ThingWalking on the streets …

(Set up the space for this experience—dirt or sand on a tarp—get all the children to stand on the tarp with their eyes closed.)

Say: I want you all to close your eyes and imagine you are in Israel in Jesus’ day. Picture the hot, dusty, dirty streets. Picture camels and donkeys walking alongside men and women as they go about their day. Now, imagine that you are among these people, walking the streets with only sandals, or nothing at all, on your feet. Have you ever been to the beach and felt the sand between your toes? (wiggle your toes in the sand on the tarp) Imagine that feeling again if there was garbage or animal waste on the ground (transport by donkey or horse was common in Jesus’ day) that you may have accidentally stepped in. Do you think this might feel (and smell) really, really bad? If you were invited to be a guest in someone’s house, would you want to go into your friend’s home with your feet that fi lthy? Would you be able to enjoy a meal with that terrible feeling and smell? I know I couldn’t. You can open your eyes now. How did you feel?Say: Today, I need a volunteer who doesn’t mind ge ng a li le dir er. Choose a volunteer. If nobody wants to get dirty, reassure them that they will be clean again by the end of the ac vity.(For this part you will need a strong garbage bag fi lled with dirt and sand, another bag that is pre y smelly and something to add to the mix that will make is squishy, maybe just some water to make it muddy).

Say: Thanks for being a brave volunteer! Now, you get to experience what a mild version of that yucky feeling we were talk-ing about might be like. I’ve fi lled this bag with dirt and sand, similar to what you might fi nd on a street in Jesus’ day. What I need you to do is stand in this bag un l your feet are really dirty. Put the bag on the fl oor and have the Junior Soldier stand in the dirt. Encourage them by saying things like, ‘Don’t be shy! Really work that dirt in!’ or ‘Come on! You call that dirty?’ Add the smelly substance to add to the experience and then add the item that will make the mix squishy. Once the volunteers feet are nice and dirty, have him sit down and show the class how dirty their feet are.

Group Discussion…

Read John 13:1–17Say (while washing the volunteer’s feet): This is a li le like what the last supper would have been like, except the dis-ciples’ feet would’ve been much, much dir er. Now, you can see that this is pre y gross, but Jesus washed all twelve of His disciples’ feet! This task was usually le up to the lowest, most humble servant in the house. But Jesus, the Son of God who created the en re universe with just a few words, performed this disgus ng, lowly task not once, but twelve mes! This kind of humility is very hard to imagine.• Think about someone famous that you look up to and would like to me.• Can you imagine them coming to your house and washing your feet so that you could have dinner? Or coming to your

house and cleaning your bathroom so that it was nice for you to have a shower?• I am sure it would feel pre y weird having them come and serve you in this way, but even this sort of

example takes nowhere near the amount of humility that Jesus had.

Tying In

others, just like Jesus did.)

Prayer: Ask Jesus for the kind of humility and the right a tude of love when serving others that He has, and that He will help each Junior Soldier serve and be humble each and every day.

In verse 15, Jesus says that He has set an example for us. → I wonder what he meant by that? → How is what Jesus did an example for us to follow? Do we need to go

around and wash everyone’s feet? What might it look like for us today? → Read 1 Corinthians 13:1–3. What does love have to do with our service

to others? → Is there something that stands out to you from either of the readings?

(We are to have the same kind of incredible humility that He had. This is because, as Jesus says, in verse 16, we, as servants, are not greater than our master, Je-sus. So if our master, who is greater than us, had the humility and meekness to wash His disciples’ feet, we should be more than willing to do the same for others around us. We are to show humility and serve

Home & BeyondPrint off the Home & Beyond cards a ached. The children might like to keep these in their journal or notebook where they could write or s ck the challenges, refl ect, answer ques ons or complete ac vi es each week.

• Encourage the Junior Soldiers to use some of their ‘pay if forward’ coupons at home during the week.• Encourage the Junior Soldiers to share with their family or Big Bud the example that Jesus set and how he served others.• Send home some extra, blank coupon cards. ‘Encourage members of your family to choose some ways that together you can serve others.’

Home

& B

eyon

d

• Us

e so

me

of y

our ‘

pay

if fo

rwar

d’ co

upon

s at h

ome

durin

g th

e

wee

k.

• Sh

are

with

you

r fam

ily o

r Big

Bud

the

exam

ple

that

Jesu

s set

and

how

he

serv

ed o

ther

s.

• En

cour

age

mem

bers

of y

our f

amily

to c

hoos

e so

me

way

s tha

t tog

ethe

r you

can

serv

e ot

hers

. Writ

e th

ese

on y

our

extr

a co

upon

card

s.

Home

& B

eyon

d

• Us

e so

me

of y

our ‘

pay

if fo

rwar

d’ co

upon

s at h

ome

durin

g th

e

wee

k.

• Sh

are

with

you

r fam

ily o

r Big

Bud

the

exam

ple

that

Jesu

s set

and

how

he

serv

ed o

ther

s.

• En

cour

age

mem

bers

of y

our f

amily

to c

hoos

e so

me

way

s tha

t tog

ethe

r you

can

serv

e ot

hers

. Writ

e th

ese

on y

our

extr

a co

upon

card

s.

Home

& B

eyon

d

• Us

e so

me

of y

our ‘

pay

if fo

rwar

d’ co

upon

s at h

ome

durin

g th

e

wee

k.

• Sh

are

with

you

r fam

ily o

r Big

Bud

the

exam

ple

that

Jesu

s set

and

how

he

serv

ed o

ther

s.

• En

cour

age

mem

bers

of y

our f

amily

to c

hoos

e so

me

way

s tha

t tog

ethe

r you

can

serv

e ot

hers

. Writ

e th

ese

on y

our

extr

a co

upon

card

s.

Home

& B

eyon

d

• Us

e so

me

of y

our ‘

pay

if fo

rwar

d’ co

upon

s at h

ome

durin

g th

e

wee

k.

• Sh

are

with

you

r fam

ily o

r Big

Bud

the

exam

ple

that

Jesu

s set

and

how

he

serv

ed o

ther

s.

• En

cour

age

mem

bers

of y

our f

amily

to c

hoos

e so

me

way

s tha

t tog

ethe

r you

can

serv

e ot

hers

. Writ

e th

ese

on y

our

extr

a co

upon

card

s.

Pay It Forward

And if your Lord and teacher has washed your feet, you should do

the same for each other. I have set the example, and you should

do for each other exactly what I have done for you.

John 13:14-15

Pay It Forward




John 13:14-15

Pay It Forward




John 13:14-15

Pay It Forward




John 13:14-15

Junior Soldiers

Unit 2 : Lesson 8

PURPOSE : For children to explore and understand the importance of acceptance and love for all, and treating others the way that we would want to be treated.

‘Treat others as you want them to treat you. This is what the Law and the Prophets are all about.’.

Matthew 7:12 (CEV)

Read:Ma hew 7:1–12

Today’s lesson has a social jus ce focus and looks specifi cally at Aboriginal people. A JustSalvos children’s curriculum has been wri en on this topic (hence, these briefer than usual lesson notes) that helps children to explore and understand how Aboriginal people have some mes been treated unfairly. This will give the children the opportunity to think about how they think about, talk about and treat others and what Jesus says about this.

This lesson, while specifi cally about Aboriginal people, needs to have a general focus of reconcilia on and inclusion for all. It would be good throughout to also make links to other groups that are disadvantaged or treated unjustly. It is important that we engage in conversa ons about these types of issues with our children, however, in order to do it well we need to provide a safe environment. A safe environment allows children to ask ques ons and share their understanding while look-ing at truths about tricky topics. You will need to take into considera on those (including leaders, families and children) that may have been infl uenced by a racist bias as well as those groups that might have Aboriginal children involved in their groups or part of extended families. If you are not confi dent with this topic you may want to ask the corps offi cer to come and be a part of the lesson.

You will fi nd the JustSalvos children curriculum for Aboriginal people with this lesson or you can download it from JustSalvos’ download page. It is good to also have a look at other resources on this site.

h p://salva onarmy.org.au/justsalvos/downloads/

Aboriginal People

Consider & Prepare

What you will need:

• Download the JustSalvos children’s curriculum for Aboriginal people.• Choose what ac vi es you are going to use for your lesson. • Gather all that is needed for the ac vi es/games/stories that you are going to

use.• Organise cards for the Junior Soldier with the ‘Home & Beyond’ informa-

on on them or arrange for each of the Junior Soldiers to have a notepad or journal for this purpose each week.

Extra Ac vity …• Instead of doing dot pain ng, you may like to use paper magiclay or plas cine to create some Aboriginal art.• You could use black cardboard as a background and then roll li le dots to create an image of God or what it looks like to

have acceptance for all.• Or you might like to make some creatures, e.g. snake or lizards (this would look most eff ec ve using black for the base)

and then add coloured dots/balls/lines etc. for decora on.• While crea ng, it would be good to engage the kids in conversa on about the lesson.

→ ‘Today we have been talking specifi cally about Aboriginal people but, if we read Ma hew 7:12, what is Jesus saying to us about others?’

→ ‘I wonder what your ac ons, thoughts and words might look like if you follow Jesus’ guidelines?’


Finishing up with this lesson and helping the children to think about their Home & Beyond for this week, it is important to focus on ‘reconcilia on’ in general and also acceptance for all and not just Aboriginal people.

Challenge for all …

Refl ect this week on how you want to be treated at home, at school, playing sport or par cipa ng in another type of event…

Ask yourself, ‘Do I treat others the way that I want to be treated?’

Think about these two areas below: → Someone who is not being treated fairly. → Someone you have not treated fairly. → ‘How can I help or say sorry?’

Examples: If older sibling have been a bit rough or not let you play, you might get some of your toys and go and ask them to play. If you haven’t been nice to your mum or dad or appreciated them, or you’ve been nasty or not done what you have been asked, you might go and do something nice that you know you need to do without being asked.

I am sure you can come up with plenty more op ons.

Tying In

Home & Beyond

Home

& B

eyon

d

Refl e

ct th

is w

eek

on h

ow y

ou w

ant t

o be

trea

ted

at h

ome,

at s

choo

l,

play

ing

spor

t or p

ar c

ipa

ng

in a

noth

er ty

pe o

f eve

nt…

Ask

your

self,

‘Do

I tre

at o

ther

s the

way

that

I w

ant t

o be

trea

ted?

’

Thin

k ab

out:

→

Som

eone

who

is n

ot b

eing

trea

ted

fairl

y.

→

Som

eone

you

hav

e no

t tre

ated

fairl

y.

→

‘How

can

I hel

p or

say

sorr

y?’

Home

& B

eyon

d

Refl e

ct th

is w

eek

on h

ow y

ou w

ant t

o be

trea

ted

at h

ome,

at s

choo

l,

play

ing

spor

t or p

ar c

ipa

ng

in a

noth

er ty

pe o

f eve

nt…

Ask

your

self,

‘Do

I tre

at o

ther

s the

way

that

I w

ant t

o be

trea

ted?

’

Thin

k ab

out:

→

Som

eone

who

is n

ot b

eing

trea

ted

fairl

y.

→

Som

eone

you

hav

e no

t tre

ated

fairl

y.

→

‘How

can

I hel

p or

say

sorr

y?’

Home

& B

eyon

d

Refl e

ct th

is w

eek

on h

ow y

ou w

ant t

o be

trea

ted

at h

ome,

at s

choo

l,

play

ing

spor

t or p

ar c

ipa

ng

in a

noth

er ty

pe o

f eve

nt…

Ask

your

self,

‘Do

I tre

at o

ther

s the

way

that

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Junior Soldiers

Unit 2 : Lesson 9

PURPOSE : To help children understand that many of the things we associate with Christmas are not part of the Bible’s story about the birth of Jesus as well as to consider why these things have been added and whether they help or detract from their understanding of what Christmas is really about.

‘‘My dear friends, you always obeyed when I was with you. Now that I am away, you should obey even more. So work with fear and trembling to

discover what it really means to be saved. God is working in you to make you willing and able to obey him.’

Philippians 2:12–13 (CEV)

Read:Luke 2:8–20Ma hew 1:18–25Ma hew 2:1–12

Christmas is a very busy me full of lots of celebra ons, signifi cance, tradi ons, songs, stories and more. It is easy to be-come confused about God’s story to us through the birth of Jesus as we read it in the Bible and all of the ‘extras’ that make up our Christmas stories each year as part of our celebra ons and tradi ons. Even the Na vity o en has added extras that are never men oned in the biblical narra ve. Your Junior Soldiers will have heard the Christmas story, for some perhaps many mes before, but do they have the real story? How many ‘extras’ do they have in their understanding of God’s gi to us?

What you will need:For ‘Connec ng In’• Sca ergories game, dice or le ers to draw from a bag for ‘Christma egories’ game• Print off Christma egories game cards

‘Whose story is it?’

Consider & Prepare

For ‘The Main Thing’• Textas• Post-it notes• Butchers paper• Blu tac• Bibles, in a number of diff erent transla ons• Op onal: download these videos from Max7

→ Luke 2:8-20 h p://www.max7.org/resource.aspx?id=3d08b802- ce-467e-9214-0293606a0d3e

→ Ma hew 2:1-12 h p://www.max7.org/resource.aspx?id=87bd3b6e-9a37-4091-8655-384ea25bad63

→ Three clips of the Christmas story (Ma hew 1:18–25, Luke 2:8–16 & Ma hew 2:1–12) h p://www.max7.org/resource.aspx?id=1a041264-4fe7-423d-872b-4a91c96f094a

• Op onal: computer and data projector (or alterna ve) to show video clips.


Christma egories Game ...

Played in a similar way to ‘Sca ergories’If you can get a dice from a Sca ergories game it will give you an easy way to randomly choose le ers. Another way to do this would be to put some Scrabble les with useful le ers (i.e. not le ers like X or Q) in a bag and draw them out or simply make your own le ers to use in this way. • A diff erent le er of the alphabet is rolled or drawn out for each round.• A mer is set so that everyone knows when the round is up. A minute is long enough.• Players write answers to as many categories as possible in the me allowed.• Each answer must begin with that le er but the same answer can’t be given twice, e.g. angel cannot be a character and

a decora on. Also, extra points can be gained for using mul ple le ers, e.g. le er H - Hark the Herald Angels Sing = 2 points for 2 words beginning with H; le er: R – Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer = 3 points for 3 words.

• Play as many rounds as me allows but stop before the game becomes boring.• Depending on the age make up of your group you may like to pair some children together for this ac vity.• See example below and template at the end of the lesson.

Le er: ‘H’ Le er: ‘S’

Christmas Song Hark the Herald Angels Sing Santa Calus is coming to town

Christmas Character Herod Shepherds

Christmas Food Ham Seafood

Connecting In

• Put one idea only per post-it note.• S ck post-it notes on the sheets of butcher paper as you go.• When ideas start to come to an end, call a halt.

Sort

• Group common ideas together on butchers paper. If the same thing has been wri en a number of mes just leave one post-it note with that item. (Note, this will make it easier when you have to move the ideas around.)

• Sort the ideas into three categories: Bible Story, Not Bible Story, Not Sure.• Use one sheet of butcher paper for each category. • Use a thick texta to label each sheet so there is no confusion about what goes where.• Decide if the Christmas item comes from the story of Christmas found in the Bible or not. One sheet is for those things

they are undecided about.• Junior Soldiers work together to sort the ideas on the post-it notes and transfer them to the correct sheet of butchers

paper.• If possible split up the group so they can work on sor ng all three sheets at once.

Discuss

→ Talk about the items on each sheet of butchers paper and why they have been placed there. → The group may decide at this stage if any items need to be moved.

Brainstorm 2

• Using the post-it notes, write down all the Christmas stories you can think of, e.g. The Na vity, Frosty the Snowman, A Christmas Carol, The Nightmare Before Christmas etc.

• One story per post-it.• Put the stories up on the appropriate sheets of butcher paper.

Read

Read the story of Jesus, birth in the Bible: Luke 2:8–20, Ma hew 1:18–25, Ma hew 2:1–12.• If you can, use some diff erent transla ons and see if there are any varia ons in the story.• It would be good at this point to use the Max7 video clips in the CEV transla on as suggested above.• You can allocate diff erent passages to groups or individual children (Big Buds if they are involved)

Discuss

→ What is diff erent or the same about the story of Jesus’ birth in the diff erent Gospels? → What is diff erent or the same about the story of Jesus’ birth and other Christmas stories? → Are there any things you have discovered that are or are not part of the Christmas story? → Do you need to change any items to a diff erent sheet of butchers paper?

Christmas Brainstorm…

You can do this as one group or if you have a larger number of children you could split into smaller groups. This could also be done with Big Buds in groups or adapted to a one-on-one discussion depending on your situa on.

• Put three sheets of butchers paper up on the walls.

Brainstorm 1

• Using post-it notes, write down everything you can think of that is associated with Christmas, e.g. Jesus, shepherds, Santa, presents etc.

The Main Thing

Debrief...

• What did you discover about the things that are and are not part of the Bible’s Christmas story?

• Why do you think there are so many stories about Christmas?• In what ways do other Christmas stories help or not help us to understand the

birth of Jesus?• Why do you think we have added so many other things to the way we

celebrate Christmas?• In what ways do these extra things (i.e. those things not men oned in the Bible) help you to understand and celebrate

the birth of Jesus and God’s gi of salva on? • In what ways do the extra things confuse, blur or disguise the story of Jesus’ birth and God’s gi of salva on?• Pray together that the way you celebrate Christmas this year will be about God’s gi to us of salva on through Jesus’

birth.


• Choose some things that could help you celebrate the birth of Jesus and talk with your family and/or Big Bud about what you can do to make those things a signifi cant part of your Christmas celebra ons.

• Start a new family Christmas tradi on.

Tying In

Home & Beyond

Christmas Song

Christmas Character

Christmas Food

Christmas Toy

Christmas Present

Christmas Story

Christmas Movie

Christmattegories

Christmas Song

Christmas Character

Christmas Food

Christmas Toy

Christmas Present

Christmas Story

Christmas Movie

Christmattegories

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Junior Soldiers

Unit 2 : Lesson 10

PURPOSE : For children to understand that there are unique, distinctive elements to the Salvation Army’s identity; things that show who we are and who we belong to.

‘‘No one gets a blessing if they have cold feet and nobody ever got saved while they had toothache!”

William Booth

‘…be strong through the grace that God gives you in Christ Jesus. You have heard me teach things that have been confi rmed by many reliable witnesses.

Now teach these truths to other trustworthy people who will be able to pass them on to others.

Endure suffering along with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus’(2 Timothy 2:1–3)

Read:1 Corinthians 12: 1–31

The scripture passage from 1 Corinthians talks of the ‘body of Christ’ and the need for the various parts and their func- ons—the eye, the eye, the ear, the hand, the feet etc. The passage can be interpreted in a number of ways, but is useful as

a ‘parable’ of the nature of the Chris an Church and its various denomina ons.

Imagine if the whole Chris an Church was monas c and Chris ans lived in seclusion, studying scripture, medita ng on God and faith, praying almost endlessly. Or imagine if the whole Chris an Church was high Anglican, with church services steeped in formality, tradi on, liturgies and centuries old prac ces.

The fact is: the many parts of the Chris an Church need each other to form a whole and complete ‘body of Christ’ in the world.

‘Distinctives’ [Part 1 - Identity]

Consider & Prepare

The Salva on Army’s dis nc ve iden ty makes us the church that acts as God’s hands in the world; a church that exemplifi es ‘Chris anity in ac on’ by our wide-ranging acts of service and our Chris an ac vism. One of our best-known slogans is: ‘heart to God and hand to man’; it captures our unique role in the universal Chris an Church.

William Booth’s quote above, shows that his intent is for people to be saved spiritually but, o en, someone’s physical needs had to be addressed fi rst. As one Army offi cer has said: ’Deal with the crisis then deal with the cross!’

What you will need:For ‘Connec ng In’• Ball (so ball or ball made out of newspaper)• Enough coloured bandanas for two teams to play soccer (this will depend on

the size of your group)

For ‘The Main Thing’ & ‘Tying In’• Cream of Tartar and other ingredients to make playdough (including red food colouring)• Large candle, matches and enough tea-light candles for each of the Junior Soldiers• Large bowl of water, hand towels or paper towels• A3 sheets of paper• S cky foam sheets, felt or coloured card for making their fl ag• Textas, crayons, pastels, bright coloured paper, scissors and glue s cks


Whose team are you on?

• Organise a game of soccer with your group. Depending on your space you might like to use a so ball or even a news-paper ball for this ac vity.

• Divide your group into two teams; don’t give them anything to iden fy which team they’re on.• Play the game for a li le while.• STOP – ‘Freeze!’

→ ‘Is it hard to know who is on your team?’ (This will be harder for larger groups; if you have a small group get the kids to imagine how it would be if they had another 10 players on their side.)

→ Off er the teams a set of bandanas each. ‘Do you think these bandanas will help with easily being able to iden fy who is on your side?’

• Play again for a li le while, probably un l there is a winner of the game.

• Link: Was it easier to play the game with the bandanas? Why/Why not?• It is easier to play a game like soccer if we are clear who is on our side. That is why spor ng teams have uniforms. It

can even be a li le diffi cult when the uniform of the team that you are playing is similar to yours. There may have been a me when you mistakenly threw or kicked a ball to someone on the other team. Today we are going to look at some things that iden fy people who belong to The Salva on Army.

→ What do you think some of them might be? (Allow the kids to brainstorm.)

Connecting In

Why do police have a uniform?What about anyone else that wears a uniform—what reasons do you think they would have for wearing one?Why do Salvos wear a uniform? What is the purpose?

In the 1800s, members of the military and navy were highly-respected in Bri sh society, each family could boast of its fam-ily member(s) who had served their country on the war front. William Booth thought that one part of winning respect was the wearing of uniform. More so, it made members of the church visible. Booth was saddened by ‘anonymous’ Chris ans who a ended church on a Sunday but then remained ‘invisible’ in their community and on the streets through the week. Booth wanted ‘his’ Chris ans to be visible and available should someone need help, assistance or prayer. The wearing of uniform achieved this. He said that if uniform couldn’t be worn, even the wearing of a badge was to be encouraged—just like the Junior Soldier badge!

Wearing a uniform is an important tool to being ‘iden fi ed’ as belonging to a par cular group/movement/job. It means that you will be recognizable and show clearly what you stand for or who you belong to.

• Design a uniform. Something that says something about who you belong to or the things that you stand for. It might look like a superheroes uniform.

• The design elements used in the uniform must be for a specifi c reason or purpose.• Explain your uniform design to the rest of the group.

Flag…Create a fl ag!Think about some fl ags of other countries or that might be used for a par cular group or organiza on. Each part in the fl ag will usually have a specifi c meaning or reason that it has been used to make up the image of the fl ag.The Salva on Army fl ag (show the kids a fl ag at this point)is made up of three key sec ons, and each of those sec ons has a par cular meaning. We are going to look at each of the parts as we put together our own fl ag.• For this ac vity you can use a number of materials to make a fl ag. S cky foam sheets, felt, coloured cardboard etc.

RED: Jesus blood/he died for us.• Make some playdough with the kids (the best recipe is on the back of the Cream of Tartar box/cylinder and made with

boiling water rather than cooking in a pot).• Do not add the colour yet (i.e. make white playdough)• Roll into individual balls for each of the children. Get them to fl a en their ball of playdough down and then give them a

drop of red food colouring to mix into their white dough.• The red is on the fl ag to symbolize that Jesus died on the cross for each of us. If we are the white playdough then the

red drop is Jesus making a diff erence to who we are. He did this for each of us. (Isaiah 53:4–6).• Get the children to start their fl ag with the red background that symbolizes that Jesus died for us.

These two sec ons will be combined for this lesson. There are four ac vi- es for the Junior Soldier to par cipate in, depending on the size of your

group you might like to rotate through these ac vi es or move as a whole group from one to the other.

Uniform…Why wear uniform?Why do you wear the same uniform on a spor ng team?Why do superheroes have a uniform?

The Main Thing & Tying In

YELLOW: The fi re of the Holy Spirit.For this illustra on you will need a large candle, some matches and a small tea-light candle for each of the children.

Acts 2:1–4 (New Living Transla on) ‘On the day of Pentecost all the believers were mee ng together in one place. Suddenly, there was a sound from heaven like the roaring of a mighty windstorm, and it fi lled the house where they were si ng. Then, what looked like fl ames or tongues of fi re appeared and se led on each of them. And everyone present was fi lled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other languages, as the Holy Spirit gave them this ability.’

• Light the large candle and share the verses about the Holy Spirit.• Carefully – get the children to pass their hand over the candle to feel the

warmth.• ‘We can feel the warmth of the candle but you can’t see the warmth—just like the Holy Spirit—you can see or feel the

evidence of Him in your life but you can’t see Him.• The Holy Spirit was given for each of us so that we can have the joy and power of God with us at all mes.• Encourage each of the children to light their own tea-light candle to represent the Holy Spirit’s fi re in their lives.• The children can add the yellow star (8 pointed star) to their fl ag and write ‘Blood & Fire’.

BLUE: Purity of God the Father.• For this illustra on you will need a large bowl of water for the children to wash their hands in and some hand towels or

paper towel.• Encourage each of the children to come and wash their hands in the bowl of water.• While they are doing this talk about how the blue in the fl ag represents the purity of God—how clean and good and

perfect He is.• ‘Today, washing our hands is just a small way of looking at how God is pure and clean and good.’ (Psalm 34:8, Psalm

107:1)• The children can now add the blue border to the fl ag.‘The Salva on Army fl ag can tell people so much about who we are and who we belong to from the individual parts.’

Shield…For this sec on it would be good to have a variety of symbols or logos that the children have to see if they can name what the logo is for, e.g. McDonalds, Nike, Apple, etc.You could do this as a whole group or as two teams to see who can guess the most right.

• Show the children the Red Shield.• What do you think of when you see this logo? (give the children me to share their thoughts and ideas)

The Red Shield is an interna onally recognised symbol of Salva on Army service to those in need. It represents the ‘shield’ we provide to people in need of help, whether it be spiritually, physically, fi nancially or emo onally. Metal shields were worn as badges by Salva onists in the early 1880s.

Colonel Walter Peacock, a well-respected Canadian Salva on Army offi cer, designed and introduced the ‘Red Shield’ into the Canadian-held trenches in France in 1915. It was an easy way to indicate his posi on to servicemen needing support or counseling. It was adopted worldwide soon a er.

Crest…Design a picture/crest that represents you!

The crest is a meaningful symbol of the Salva onist’s beliefs. Captain William Ebdon designed the crest in 1878 and the only altera on to his original design was the addi on of the crown. Its emblems set forth the leading doctrines of The Salva on Army as follows:

→ The crown speaks of God’s reward for His faithful people → The sun (the surround) represents the light and fi re of the Holy Spirit → The ‘S’ stands for salva on from sin → The cross of Jesus stands at the centre of the crest and the

Salva onist’s faith → The swords represent the fi ght against sin → ‘Blood and Fire’ is the mo o of The Salva on Army. This describes the

blood of Jesus shed on the cross to save all people, and the fi re of the Holy Spirit which purifi es believers.

• Find a crest somewhere in your hall: this might be on a wall or in a songbook etc

• Talk through the parts of the crest and what they stand for.• Can you think of some other crests that you have seen? What have they been for? (schools, spor ng clubs, countries

etc.)• You might like to have some examples of other crests or coat of arms available for kids to have a look at.• Each part of a crest will have a par cular meaning or be included because it says something about that school or that

country or that family.• Design a picture/crest that represents you. Include some of the things that are important to you or the key things you

value e.g. family, sport, God, food, other ac vi es or people etc.• You will need some A3 sheets of paper, textas, crayons, pastels or even coloured paper, scissors and glue s cks for the

children to design their crest.• It would be good if you have done a rough dra of one for yourself to help the children to think of some ideas.• When they are fi nished it would also be good to display these in the church foyer as a representa on of some of the

children in your church.

Prayer…Pray together and thank God for how He has dis nc vely formed The Salva on Army to stand up as followers of God and make a diff erence for Him.


How do you show who you belong to? Do you wear your footy team colours or badge? Do you wear Aussie clothes, fl ags or colours on Australia Day or to the cricket? Do you wear a school uniform? Do you wear a Junior Soldier T-shirt or badge?

Are you willing to show others today that you belong to the Salva on Army?

Some sugges ons on how you might like to do that: → Wear your Junior Soldier T-shirt or badge at some me during the week (not just at Junior Soldiers!) → Take a Kidzone to someone at school → Tell someone what you have been doing on the weekend or one of the other programs that you a end with The

Salva on Army → Invite someone to come to a program or event with you. → Pray that God will give you the courage to show that you belong to The Salva on Army and

that you belong to God.

Home & Beyond

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u sh

ow w

ho y

ou b

elon

g to

? D

o yo

u w

ear y

our f

ooty

team

col-

ours

or b

adge

? D

o yo

u w

ear A

ussie

clo

thes

, fl a

gs o

r col

ours

on

Aust

ralia

Day

or to

the

cric

ket?

Do

you

wea

r a sc

hool

uni

form

? D

o yo

u w

ear a

Juni

or S

oldi

er T-

shirt

or b

adge

? Ar

e yo

u w

illin

g to

show

oth

ers t

oday

that

you

belo

ng to

the

Salv

a o

n Ar

my?

Som

e su

gges

ons

on

how

you

mig

ht li

ke to

do

that

:

→

Wea

r you

r Jun

ior S

oldi

er T-

shirt

or b

adge

at s

ome

me

durin

g

the

wee

k (n

ot ju

st a

t Jun

ior S

oldi

ers!

)

→

Take

a K

idzo

ne to

som

eone

at s

choo

l

→

Tell

som

eone

wha

t you

hav

e be

en d

oing

on

the

wee

kend

or o

ne

of th

e ot

her p

rogr

ams t

hat y

ou a

end

with

The

Sal

va o

n Ar

my

→

Invi

te so

meo

ne to

com

e to

a p

rogr

am o

r eve

nt w

ith y

ou.

→

Pray

that

God

will

giv

e yo

u th

e co

urag

e to

show

that

you

belo

ng to

The

Sal

va o

n

Arm

y an

d th

at y

ou b

elon

g

to G

od.

Home

& B

eyon

dHo

w d

o yo

u sh

ow w

ho y

ou b

elon

g to

? D

o yo

u w

ear y

our f

ooty

team

col-

ours

or b

adge

? D

o yo

u w

ear A

ussie

clo

thes

, fl a

gs o

r col

ours

on

Aust

ralia

Day

or to

the

cric

ket?

Do

you

wea

r a sc

hool

uni

form

? D

o yo

u w

ear a

Juni

or S

oldi

er T-

shirt

or b

adge

? Ar

e yo

u w

illin

g to

show

oth

ers t

oday

that

you

belo

ng to

the

Salv

a o

n Ar

my?

Som

e su

gges

ons

on

how

you

mig

ht li

ke to

do

that

:

→

Wea

r you

r Jun

ior S

oldi

er T-

shirt

or b

adge

at s

ome

me

durin

g

the

wee

k (n

ot ju

st a

t Jun

ior S

oldi

ers!

)

→

Take

a K

idzo

ne to

som

eone

at s

choo

l

→

Tell

som

eone

wha

t you

hav

e be

en d

oing

on

the

wee

kend

or o

ne

of th

e ot

her p

rogr

ams t

hat y

ou a

end

with

The

Sal

va o

n Ar

my

→

Invi

te so

meo

ne to

com

e to

a p

rogr

am o

r eve

nt w

ith y

ou.

→

Pray

that

God

will

giv

e yo

u th

e co

urag

e to

show

that

you

belo

ng to

The

Sal

va o

n

Arm

y an

d th

at y

ou b

elon

g

to G

od.

i say, i say, i say! - salvationarmy.org.nz · by our speech we can ruin the world, ... spread...

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