How to ExplainMy Faith

Lesson 3: Be Wise with Words

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DisciplE TargETs

Lesson 3—Be Wise with Words

Unit SummaryJesus’ final command before leaving earth was to “Go and Make Disciples!” For kids to be dis-ciplemakers, they need to know how to explain their faith to their friends. During this unit, your students will discover the joy of sharing their faith with others. As they learn a simple Gospel message, “Good News for Kids,” they will explore each element that Jesus told His followers to take to people everywhere (Matthew 28:18-20). During each lesson, children will unpack Biblical principles that explain how to communicate their faith to others. They will discover how to prepare to share, how to be wise with words and actions, and how to develop the courage to share their faith with people who desperately need the Gospel.

Lesson SummaryEven when we aren’t explicitly explaining the Good News, nonbelievers are often watching our lives and listening to what we say. There’s truth to the saying: “You are the only Bible some people will ever read.” This lesson will challenge children to realize that their lives testify for Jesus—they either draw people toward God or push them away. How we live can eternally impact whether or not people come to Jesus!

Paul’s Power Principle: You either draw people toward God or push them away.

How to Explain My Faith

KnowKind words and thoughtful actions help them share the Good News.

FEElMotivated to speak and behave so that others will respond to God’s message.

DoThink of ways to help them show Jesus’ love to other children.

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In this lesson, your children will...

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SPARK INTERESTChoose from the following activities and ideas to engage kids and grab their attention.

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g Welcome!—Grumpy GreetersAs kids arrive, choose two of your usual greeters to really act with grumpiness. Have them overdo it so it is obvious they are being funny—and they need to do their “act” only with kids they know personally! The rest of the greeters should really step up their friendliness, too! The friendly greeters need to very enthusiastically greet everyone who enters the room with “How are you? I’m so glad you came! How was your week? I hope you have a wonderful service today!” etc. The two grumpy greeters can dress shabbily, look dirty, and say things like, “What are you doing here? It’s a crummy day. I bet church is gonna be terrible today. I feel lousy. You look sick, you feeling alright? Can I sit with you today?” The grumpy greeters need to roam around the room making sure they “greet” as many kids as they know. Their goal is to be rejected when they ask, “Can I sit with you?”

Did any of you meet our grumpy greeters today? I bet you didn’t want to sit by them! They made you want to go the other way, didn’t they? That’s how some Christians are. They don’t draw people to God, they push people away. We want to be wise with our words and actions so we attract people to God, not scare them away!

PowerPoint PresentationAs you plan your lesson, select PowerPoint slides that correspond to the lesson elements you choose. In the “Slide Sorter” View, you can rear-range and/or delete the slides as necessary. For descriptions of the included slides and tips on their use, see the notes accompanying each slide.

General Supplies Bibles, puppets, video projection (optional) Pencils, pens, paper

Spark Interest WELCOME!: none LET’S PLAY!: four identical Sunday papers CONNECT WITH YOUR KIDS: none

Explore Scripture KEYVERSE: none

Inspire Action DRAMATIZE THE POINT: various props (see

activity)

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Let’s Meet-n-Greet!Have kids find others who are wearing the same color shirt or dress. Ask them their names and then tell what kind of person drives them crazy or irritates them.

Ask kids to share what irritates them about people. Do you want to be around people like that? What would happen if Christians acted like that? Would people want to come to church? Would they want to become a Christian? Today we are going to learn that how we act affects people’s attitudes towards Jesus!

Leaders, be sure to stop whatever you are doing to move through the audience and greet the children, especially those you do not recognize. Announce any birthdays for the week. (See the How to Use DiscipleTown guide for quick and easy ways to acknowledge visitors and birthdays.)

Let’s Worship!As you open in worship, emphasize that in order for us to reach others with the Good News, we need to first allow God to reach us and change us, and that starts with worship. As we let God shine His light on us, we then reflect His love to the world around us.

Recommended Song: Shine, Jesus, Shine, from God’s Kids Worship Classic Worship FALL, Disc 2, available at Kidology.org

Puppet IntroLeader & puppet introduce today’s lesson. You will find a scripted version of this intro at the end of the lesson. Supplies: potato sack

Puppet comes out wearing a potato sack. Leader asks why he is dressed like that, and the puppet says he is repenting “Old Testament-style.” Leader says, “I’m not sure I know what you mean.” Puppet explains, “You know, in the Old Testament, whenever the kings were repentant, it says they wore sackcloth. Well, this is the closest thing I could find.” Leader says, “Well, you must truly be sorry for something. Do you mind sharing with us what you did that was so bad?” Puppet says, “Sure, perhaps if they listen to my sad story, it will help spare some of these kids’ friends from eternal doom.” Leader says, “Well, you aren’t in any danger of eternal doom—you know Jesus as your personal Savior.” Puppet cries out in agony, “Not me! But poor Jimmy Johnson—he’s lost forever and it’s all my fault!” Leader tries to calm him down and says, “Why don’t you start at the beginning, and tell us what happened.” Puppet says, “Well, it all started at recess—and Jimmy started it! Well, sorta. I accidentally cut in front of him in line—it was an accident, honestly. But instead of just telling me, he went and called me a sewer-dwelling bug-eater! I don’t eat sewer bugs! I don’t eat any bugs! So I called him a goober-smelling rotten egg-eatin’ homework-lovin’ girly-haired troll!” Leader looks shocked and asks, “And how did that go over?” Puppet looks a little proud and says, “It worked like a charm. He teared up and backed off and went away. I thought I had won the word war. But then after school…” Puppet starts wailing. Leader calms puppet down and asks, “What happened after school?” Puppet goes on, sniffing, “Well, after school, I had agreed to help pass out flyers for our church club, when Jimmy came by and took one. He took one look at the flyer, and then at me, and back at the flyer, and then at me and just said with this confused look on his face, ‘You’re a Christian?’” Puppet starts crying hysterically again before continuing, “You see? He knew I was a hypocrite! Jesus wouldn’t have said such a mean thing! Now he’ll never want to be a Christian after I called him a goober-smelling rotten egg-eatin’ homework-lovin’ girly-haired troll!” The leader responds gently. “Well, you definitely made a mistake and let the situation get the best of you, but that doesn’t mean Jimmy can’t ever be saved. It does mean you owe him an apology. And

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that might be just what shows him that Christians are different. But this is a good lesson for us—as Christians, sharing our faith isn’t just about when we explain what we believe when someone asks, it’s about being wise with our words all the time, because people are watching and listening to us all the time.” Puppet says, “Is there hope for Jimmy Johnson?” Leader says, “If there is hope for you and me, which there is, then there is hope for Jimmy and all our friends.”

Let’s Play!—Newspaper SearchSupplies: four identical Sunday papers

Note: This week the papers must be identical for the game to work.

Divide your group into three equal teams. Give each team a Sunday paper and tell players to divide it up randomly among themselves and be ready! The leader then opens his/her paper and begins to look through it. (You will need a scorekeeper at a board.) The leader calls out things that he/she sees somewhere in the paper and then the teams hunt for it! It can be a specific word they must hunt for, a picture of something (for the nonreaders), a coupon for a certain amount, or anything! The kids race to find it, and when they find it, they race up to the leader and show it. If they are correct, they get 100 points. The leader needs to honor the find as long as it matches what the leader described.

The Point: The leader will find that often what he or she said wasn’t the best description, and the kids found something else that fit the description. (Do this on purpose, such as saying the word “the” and claiming the team’s “the” is the wrong one.) The leader needed to learn to be wiser with his or her words as the game went on and to be more specific. The kids also learned to become more familiar with the paper, knowing where to look for different things. Likewise, in explaining our faith, we get to know the Bible better and learn to choose our words more wisely so that we explain our faith better to our friends.

Connect with Your Kids“Your life speaks louder than your words.” How can you communicate that to your students in a way that will impact them? Can you think of a story from your life when your actions made an impact on a nonbeliever? I once ran into a man at a store who remembered me from high school. He admitted that in high school he thought I was “odd” (not the word he used!) for not drinking and partaking in some of the other activities my other friends did, but he appreciated that I was still friends with them. Now he was divorced and had other problems. Realizing that he had only himself and his choices to blame, he was finally ready to ask me about my “God stuff” as he called it. It took years for him to realize there might be something to the different way I chose to live. Share a story of a time you got to witness to someone because of your different way of living or a counterculture choice that you made. These real-life examples make a real impact on your kids.

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DiscipleTown VisitorEdward the Editor* Edward is wearing a tie and jacket/vest, has a briefcase full of papers, and a red pen and highlighter in his pocket. He sits down at a desk and gets papers out of his briefcase and begins to read. As he mumbles to himself, he reads something that is “off” and blurts it aloud, phrases like:

Edward: “The sale will take place on Saturday, March 71st?” What? That is supposed to be the 17th. [Continues to read.] Yup...[Pause.] yup...[Pause.] okay...huh. “The sale will feature books, toys, and small children”? I’m pretty sure we aren’t allowed to sell small children—that should read small children’s books and toys. Yikes, that could have gone badly. [More reading.] Oh my—this doesn’t even make sense. What was my columnist trying to say here? “The food section has ‘jans of cuice’ on sale for 99 cents”? [Turns to children.] What are jans of cuice? [See if kids can guess that it should be “cans of juice.”] Ohhhhh. Yay, that makes more sense!

Leader: Um, sir...what are you doing? You seem to be saying a lot of very odd things!

Editor: Oh, I’m sorry. I’m the editor of the paper, and I’m correcting my writers’ typos...the things my columnists write sometimes can be quite outrageous!

Leader: What do you mean?

Editor: Well, it is my job to make sure that the articles and news pieces that get printed in my newspaper are accurate. You know, all the facts straight, words spelled correctly, no typos! Things go horribly wrong when our newspaper tells the world that SuperMart sells small children!

Leader: Oh, yes, I see what you mean. It is a good thing you are taking care to make sure you say things carefully! One little slip-up could really mess things up!

Editor: I know! I should really tell my reporters that you cannot spell cart, “c-a-t”! That would be the day, putting the jans of cuice in the cat at SuperMart! I’m going to have a word with them. I’ll be back a bit later!!

Leader: Boys and girls, this makes me think! The editor takes what others have written and cleans it up, fixing typos and mistakes so that it communicates clearly and doesn’t send an incor-rect message or offend. As Christians we need to be careful that we communicate the Gospel clearly and without mistake. When we aren’t wise with our words, we can send an untrue mes-sage about Jesus to the world, can’t we?

*CHARACTERS: These are suggested characters and names. Please feel free to change or adjust according to the actors and props you have available.

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Let’s Search!—Bible DashSupplies: Bibles

Ask all kids with Bibles to participate, or invite a few volunteers to come to the front. As children hold Bibles closed with hands on covers, state the Bible reference twice, then on the command “SEARCH!” have the students race to locate the verse. Once they have a finger on the verse, they can stand and call out, “FOUND IT!” Have the first child read the verse aloud while you project the verse on a screen via PowerPoint. See suggestions below for comments on each verse. Keep your comments brief and to the point of the lesson.

Ephesians 2:8-9 It isn’t good deeds that save us, only God’s love.Philippians 2:12 We should keep working on being good even after we are saved.Titus 2:11-14 As we wait for Jesus, we still need to work on living good lives.Acts 4:12 Only through Jesus can we be saved.Acts 16:30-31 It is by believing in Jesus we are saved, nothing else.

Paul’s Power Principle: You either draw people toward God or push them away.

Suggested Bible NarrativePaul and Silas and the Roman Jailer—Acts 16:16-40

A jail can be easily made with long dowel rods or cardboard tubes painted black and mounted between some long 1” x 2” boards or even hung from strong fishing line strung across the stage.

Let’s Learn!—Be Wise with WordsSupplies: salt shaker, honey, sugar, toothpicks, radishes

Skit: A scholarly-looking person enters and starts teaching without any introduction. In fact, for best effect, the leader can be interrupted and even act surprised when it happens! The professor begins by saying, “Salutations, children! Sit up and ready your eager minds for thoughtful education, for I am about to expand your brains and prepare them to be wise with words!” The leader tries to interrupt and ask who this instructor is, but the professor hushes him/her with such authority that the leader backs down and lets the person continue. “My name is Professor Lingo, and I am here to increase your vocabulary so that you can impress everyone around with your mastery of the English language. First, we shall start with politics! Whenever you hear grown-ups discussing politics, you simply say, ‘Well, I believe in antidises-tablishmentarianism.’ and they will think, ‘Ah! There is a wise kid!’ even though they will have no idea what you are talking about. Neither will you, but they won’t know that! Next. When you want to stay home from school, just tell your mommy that you are coming down with pneumono-ultramicro-scopicsilicovolcanoconiosis. What is that, you ask? Why it’s a lung ailment caused by the inhalation of volcanic ash, commonly known as the black lung disease. But again, your mommy will not know that! She will just say, ‘Oh, my dear! My poor, poor thing! You must stay home from school today!’ How wise with words you are! And then, whenever some

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EXPLORE SCRIPTURESeize on the children’s interest and direct them into God’s Word.

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grown-up asks you, ‘What do you want to be when you grow up?’—like you are supposed to know that!—you just answer, ‘I want to be an aerobiogeocosmomicrobiologist.’ And when they give you that blank look and ask, ‘Uh, and what do they do?’ you simply answer, ‘Well, duh, they study aerobiogeocosmomicrobiology.’ See, with the proper use of big words, you can appear wise beyond your years and impress everyone around you! And that’s what your lesson is about today!” Finally, the leader steps in and says, “Um, I’m not sure that’s what our lesson is about today.” The professor says, “It’s not? Don’t you want these kids to be wise with words?” Leader says, “Well, I do—but not to impress people. God wants them to be wise with their words in order to lead people to Jesus.” The professor says, “Aha! Then they need to use big Bible words like propitiation and sanctification and reconciliation!” Leader says, “Um, I think you need to let me take it from here. It isn’t big words they need, but words of kindness, honesty, and truth. Those go a lot further.” Professor looks really confused. “You know, I think I have a bottle of methylchloroisothiazolinone* about to overheat—I’ve gotta run. See ya!”

(*ingredient found on nearly every shampoo bottle, when the kids ask)

Sometimes we get an opportunity to explain our faith to someone, but many more times people are just watching us to see if we live what we say we believe. That is why we need to learn to be wise with our words.

As we saw in our story, sometimes people will simply ask, “What must I do to be saved?” But why did the jailer ask that? It was because he saw and heard something in Paul and Silas’s lives first. Ask the kids what they think the jailer saw in them that was different from the other prisoners he had seen over the years.

Object Lesson: Read Colossians 4:5-6. Show a salt shaker. We use salt today to add flavor. In Bible times it was also used to preserve things and keep them from going bad, much like we use a refrigerator. In our relationships with nonbelievers, God says we are to be like salt. Our job is to make God taste better, by not turning people away by how we act. We also preserve people’s lives, by sharing the Gospel with them so they can last for all eternity when they accept Jesus as their Savior!

Read Matthew 5:15-16. There should be something different about us, something that makes non-Christians want to know what makes us different. We should be more loving, kinder, and more forgiving than nonbelievers. We aren’t better people—but we have Jesus inside.

Object Lesson: By a show of hands, ask children who likes potatoes, who likes bananas, who likes radishes, and who likes gummy bears. Choose two to three children who do not like radishes to come up on the stage. Cut a radish into quarters, put pieces on toothpicks, and ask them to eat them! (They will likely decline.) Ask them if they would eat it if you dipped it in honey and sugar. Continue seeking volunteers who do not like radishes but who will try them dipped in the yummy stuff.

Sweetness makes everything more appealing, and the Gospel that we have inside us will be received better if we deliver it with sweetness instead of judgment or anger. Many Christians try to argue people into God’s Kingdom—it never works. Instead, we are to be known by our love.

Read John 13:35. When we care for each other and help others, just as Jesus did, it draws people to God. Many people don’t like God because they don’t like the Christians they have met! So we have some work to do!

Read 1 Peter 2:12. This verse is awesome because it gives us a challenge—live such a good life that even if people pick on us, someday they will glorify God because of us!

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Dee’s Disciple Tip: Give God the credit to point others to Him! When we receive a compli-ment for doing something good, don’t just say, “Thank you.” Give the credit to Jesus so people know there is a reason we did what we did. It is Jesus who helps us do what is right, and we need to let people know that, because they are trying and failing on their own. They need to know our secret to doing the right thing: Jesus helped us do it!

KeyVerseTopic: Give a ReasonReference: 1 Peter 3:15

Memorization Activity: Review the entire verse using the rebus. This week, focus on talking about being gentle and respectful.

When we explain or share our faith, we need to do it kindly and gently. You will never argue anyone into God’s family. Many Christians try to argue with people about God, and it never works. If you are made to feel dumb or wrong, does that make you want to join the other side? When you lose at a sports game, do you want to join the other team? No. You usually don’t like the other team after they beat you!

Jesus said we should be known by our love. The best way to draw people to Jesus is not by arguing with them, but by loving them. Look at what Jesus did. Did He argue with people? No, He healed them. He taught them. He fed them. We can answer their questions when they ask. But until they are asking, we are better off to listen and love.

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Dramatize the Point—The NewsroomThis drama needs an editor-in-chief (with vest and necktie), two reporters (with clipboard and note-pad), and a photographer (with camera around neck). The editor brings staff together for a daily huddle.

Editor: Okay, team, what have you got for me? The Anniversary Issue is just around the cor-ner—we need to get a move on here!

Reporter 1: Well, we found out a lot of amazing things. This Gospel thing isn’t just something that happened long ago!

Editor: What do you mean?

Reporter 2: Seems this Jesus is still alive in the people who are following Him today!

Editor: I need proof! Evidence!

Reporter 1: We got it, boss! We met people who love and follow Jesus, and they don’t just follow the history of Jesus in the books, they are living it today! Loving people, forgiving people, doing unto others what they would have them do unto them! It’s radical the way they live!

Reporter 2: Turning the other cheek! Giving to the poor! Leaving the comforts of home to go to foreign lands to share this Good News!

Editor: I need more!

Photographer: Well, I have pictures of people worshiping God and giving soup to homeless people. They said they did it because of the Good News of Jesus!

Editor: We need something extra special—a hook. You know, a feature story!

Reporter 2: I got it! I found out that salvation is on sale at the corner store for just $3.99! The store owner seemed very happy that everyone would be wanting some—he is going to order a whole bunch in for the Monday after our article!

Editor: Um...on sale for $3.99? What are you talking about? Salvation is free, for everyone. You can’t buy it at a store. Jesus is the only source for salvation!

Reporter 2: Well, it says right on the package…see? [Shows package to editor.]

Editor: Oh, boy. That says “salutations.” These are greeting cards! Now go tell that store owner not to order so many! The rest of you, keep it up! Oh, boy! [Exits.]

Photographer: [Calls after editor.] We’ll get it all together, boss! We’ll get pics, stories, the works. The main thing is Jesus! He’s the big story! [Yells as they all exit:] He died to save anyone who will call on His name for salvation!

Object Talks—Puppet TalkSupplies: video projection

In his ongoing video blog, a puppet named Toby shares a powerful experience where he discovers just what it was that Jesus did for him. His new friend Luke accepts the punishment for one of Toby’s sins committed at school. Suddenly, Jesus seems alive to Toby as he sees Him living in his friend. Featured verse: Matthew 5:15-17

INSPIRE ACTIONEncourage kids to apply the Bible truth to their lives.

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Let’s Talk!—Small Group DiscussionSmall Group Activity: Have children look up Romans 2:4. Ask them to list the “tools” that God uses in this verse to draw people to repentance.

Discussion Questions:1) What are the ways that God draws us to Him?2) According to Romans 2:4, it is God’s kindness or goodness that draws us to Him. Why do you think God chooses kindness to draw people instead of rules, threats, bribes, or demands?3) What does this tell us about how we should approach those who do not know God?4) How are you going to let this verse change your heart?5) How will you know that your heart has changed?6) Challenge kids to memorize Romans 2:4.

DiscipleTown Super CitizenThis week choose a child who was overheard using kind or gracious words during the service and award him or her with the Super Citizen Certificate.

Let’s Pray!Dear Jesus, we have learned today how important it is for our actions and words to show Your love to those who don’t know You. Please forgive us for the times when we do not represent You well. Fill us with Your love this week and keep filling us so that Your love shines through our lives to those who don’t know You. Amen.

Cy’s Challenge: Ask yourself, “If someone were spying on me, would they know I was a Christian?”

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For the HomeDiscipleTown Table Talker: Give each child a copy of this week’s DiscipleTown Table Talker. Be sure to show the kids how to put it together and encourage them to ask their parents to lead family devotions three times this week.

Parent Email: Copy and send the email below to help your parents connect with their kids during the week. Send them early in the week, but not on Sunday. As a courtesy, be sure parents have opted to receive these emails. Review and edit as necessary to reflect the lesson elements you have used. You can also find this email as a Microsoft Word document in your download bundle.

Dear Mom and Dad,

Even when we don’t explicitly explain the Good News, nonbelievers are often watching our lives and listening to what we say. There’s truth to the saying: “You are the only Bible some people will ever read.” This week we challenged the children to realize that their lives testify for Jesus—they either draw people to God or push them away. How we live can have an eternal impact on whether or not people come to Jesus!

We do not have to feel condemned when we mess up, as we all do, because God’s grace is always there to help us when we make mistakes. Being aware of how our actions affect others is a significant part of leading others to Christ.

Take some time during your mealtimes this week to use the DiscipleTown Table Talker discussion starter questions. This will go a long way to helping you understand the hurdles your child(ren) have in their lives as they learn to walk with God.

Let us know how we can support you or if you need additional resources on this topic!

Building young disciples,

[Your Name]

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Chip’s Snack Time!Supplies: animal cookies, cat food or dog food box

Place a new bag of animal cookies inside an empty cat or dog food box and bring it to class. As you prepare for snack time, put the box of “dog/cat food” in the center of the table and remind the children not to touch it. Let them know you are just going to get some plates so that we can enjoy our snack. Allow a bit of time for kids to start to question if you are going to make them eat dog/cat food. Give a plate to each child, and proceed to reach into the box and open the bag without revealing the cookies. Ask kids who would like some of your yummy snack.

Our actions speak louder than our words, and they are often the first things people see. The first thing you saw was the box. You all thought I was going to feed you dog/cat food. Even though inside I had a yummy snack, you immediately became suspicious about the kind of snack that I had to share. This is why it is so important for God’s love to show on our outsides, so people want what is inside!

Additional IdeasStinky Sock Sale—Explain to the children that you are having a yard sale, and that you really want to get rid of a stinky sock. Stick the sock in a paper bag and fold it carefully and nicely. Make an “advertisement” on a piece of paper that says “Good News: Super sock, fits perfectly every time—$5.00” Remind the children that sometimes we try to give away things of little value as if they were really important. Next, write “Good News of Jesus Christ” on a paper. Explain that often as Christians, we take something with a lot of value, and we hide it or try to give it away as if it wasn’t important at all. Place the Good News paper inside a second stinky sock. Present both options (the bag and the sock). Which one would you pick? What is your life saying about the Good News that is inside you? Are you being a stinky sock?

BONUS MATERIALSUse these options to extend your time or as substitutes for the ideas above.

How to Explain My Faith—Lesson 3 © 2010, DiscipleLand. Permission granted to reproduce for volunteers.

DIRECTOR’S NOTESThe words in italics are notes for you and your puppeteers; they are not to be read aloud.

You will need a potato sack the puppet can wear.

Leader: [Puppet name], why are you dressed like that?

Puppet: I’m repenting!

Leader: Repenting?

Puppet: Repenting. Old Testament-style.

Leader: I’m not sure I know what you mean.

Puppet: You know, in the Old Testament, whenever the kings were repentant, it says they wore sackcloth. Well, this is the closest thing I could find.

Leader: A potato sack? Well, you must truly be sorry for something. Do you mind sharing with us what you did that was so bad?

Puppet: Sure. [Gestures to audience.] Perhaps if they lis-ten to my sad story, it will help spare some of these kids’ friends from eternal doom.

Leader: Well, you aren’t in any danger of eternal doom—you know Jesus as your personal Savior.

Puppet: [Cries:] Not me! But poor Jimmy Johnson—he’s lost forever and it’s all my fault!

Leader: Why don’t you start at the beginning, and tell us what happened.

Puppet: Well, it all started at recess—and Jimmy started it! Well, sorta. I accidentally cut in front of him in line—it was an accident, honestly. But instead of just telling me, he went and called me a sewer-dwelling bug-eater! I don’t eat sewer bugs! I don’t eat any bugs! So I called him a goo-ber-smelling rotten egg-eatin’ homework-lovin’ girly-haired troll!

Leader: [Shocked:] And how did that go over?

Puppet: It worked like a charm. He teared up and backed off and went away. I thought I had won the word war. But then after school… [Begins wailing.]

Leader: [Trying to calm him down:] There, there. What hap-pened after school?

Puppet: [Sniffles as he talks.] Well, after school, I had agreed to help pass out flyers for our church club, when Jimmy came by and took one. He took one look at the flyer, and then at me, and back at the flyer, and then at me and just said with this confused look on his face, “You’re a Chris-tian?” You see? He knew I was a hypocrite! Jesus wouldn’t have said such a mean thing! Now he’ll never want to be a Christian after I called him a goober-smelling rotten egg-eatin’ homework-lovin’ girly-haired troll!

Leader: Well, you definitely made a mistake and let the situation get the best of you, but that doesn’t mean Jimmy can’t ever be saved. It does mean you owe him an apology. And that might be just what shows him that Christians are different. But this is a good lesson for us—as Christians, sharing our faith isn’t just about when we explain what we believe when someone asks, it’s about being wise with our words all the time, because people are watching and listening to us all the time.

Puppet: Is there hope for Jimmy Johnson?

Leader: If there is hope for you and me, which there is, then there is hope for Jimmy and all our friends.

*PUPPET: Develop a puppet character to use regularly. The children will get to know the personality and enjoy these regular visits. Dee, Cy, and Paul puppets are available at DiscipleLand.com

Puppet Intro—Lost Opportunity?

curriculum MapHow to Grow Spiritual Fruit

How to Make Good Friends

How to Walk in the Spirit

How to Be Jesus’ Disciple

How to Build Character

How to Navigate the New Testament

How to Explain My Faith

How to Earn Eternal Rewards

How to Follow God’s Plan

How to Make Good Choices

How to Navigate the Old Testament

How to Study My Bible

How to Know the Truth

How to Discover Gifts and Talents

How to Walk Victoriously

How to Meet with God

How to Worship God

How to Use My Bible

How to Show Respect

How to Pray

How to Be Faithful Workers

How to Love God

How to Memorize God’s Word

How to Be Global Christians

(DiscipleTown Units in no particular order*)

Each DiscipleTown Unit will teach your kids an essential “how to” skill to become victorious disciples of Jesus!

.comTM*DiscipleTown Units are still in production.

Please visit DiscipleTown.com for availability.