VERSES: Galatians 6:7-8
MEMORY VERSE: Galatians 6:7 "Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap."
BOOK TO REMEMBER: Luke. Write "Luke" on small slips of paper, so the students may take home another book of the New Testament home to memorize.
PRAYER: Pray that we are determined to live in a godly way here on this earth, pleasing God, and helping others.
SPECIAL SONG: The Wise Man Built His House On The Rock (See March 2014 - Songs We Sing In Bible Class #3 on this blog. Click on orange circle to hear tune.) Adam And Eve In The Garden (See March 2014 - Lesson - Sin In The Garden on this blog. Click on the orange circle to hear tune.)
VISUAL AID: Write "Galatians 6:7-8" on the white board or chalk board. Explain that 'Galatians' is the 'book,' '6' is the chapter, '7-8' are the verses, and the dash ( - ) means all the verses in between the numbered verses. As the Bible teacher teaches the lesson, "godly" words and "evil" words may be discussed and written on the board, also making it easier for the students to spell the words during the Activity (see below).
LESSON POINTS:
- (This lesson may be designed for older students, but can be made simple for the young ones. Please review to see if the lesson will be understood by your students.)
- God has always had laws or rules. In the very beginning of the pages of the Old Testament, we read about God giving rules to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden (see March 2014 - Lesson - Sin In The Garden on this blog). God gave the first man and first woman a command: "You may eat of every tree in the garden, but do not eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. The day that you eat of that tree, you shall surely die." (Genesis 2:16, 17). Did Adam and Eve obey God's rules? No, they did not! They listened to the serpent and sinned in the Garden! Is that what God wanted them to do? No. God always wants us to obey Him. When we do what God tells us to do and are obedient to Him, God is pleased, but when we disobey, God is not pleased and there are always consequences that follow that disobedience. Were there consequences for Adam and Eve? Most certainly! In the end, they were banished or sent out of the beautiful Garden of Eden, working among the weeds for their food and having to eventually die a physical death.
- On the other hand, God rewards those who love and obey Him. We remember Abram in the book of Genesis (see March 2014 - Lesson - Abram Obeys God on this blog). God talked to Abram and told him to leave his home and travel to a place where God wanted him to go. Did Abram obey God and travel to a land far away, not knowing where he was going? Yes, he did! He listened to God and obeyed and was blessed by God. Did God reward Abram for his obedience? Yes! He promised that He would make Abram's name great, would make Abram a father of many nations, and through Abram all nations would be blessed. Did God keep His promises? Yes, He did. God always keeps His promises.
- There are many more examples of God blessing those who obeyed Him and even more examples of God's anger toward those who disobeyed Him. But, what determined God's blessings or His anger? The person either chose to obey God or to disobey. Does God still want us to choose His way and obey His rules? Let's turn our Bibles to a New Testament book--the book of Galatians, chapter 6, and verses 7 and 8. (Read verses.)
- "Be not deceived" - We are told not to be tricked!
- "God is not mocked" - No one makes fun of God!
- "For whatsoever a man soweth" - whatever someone plants in the ground
- "That shall he also reap" - that exact same thing is what the man will harvest or grow.
- When we plant carrots in this earth, what comes up? Carrots! When we plant watermelons in the dirt, what comes up? Watermelons! One cannot call carrot seeds watermelon seeds and expect to grow watermelons! God cannot be tricked and we, also, should not be tricked! God sets the rules for this physical earth and also for the spiritual. Man cannot change God's laws.
- Are we sowing seeds of goodness, patience, and love or are we planting seeds of deceit, bitterness, and lies? It matters what is in our "seed packets." It matters what we are sowing and planting because one day, we will reap what we have sown. (Discuss godly and evil seeds that people plant in their lives and what they reap when the fruit of those seeds are harvested.)
- The person who is disobedient to God and plants bad things in his life, like lying and stealing, cannot expect to grow good things and be pleasing to God! God knows what kind of life we are living and knows what types of fruit we will harvest by the seeds we have planted. If we live in a wicked and worldly way, we will reap worldly and wicked fruit, but if we live in an obedient and godly way, then we will reap an everlasting life. What a reward it will be to be in heaven! Let's sow those good things and never the wicked.
- Sometimes people try to trick other people by pretending to live godly, but they are really living a wicked life. These people are called hypocrites. They say one thing, but do another. There will be no hypocrites in heaven. God cannot be tricked. He knows everything.
- Definitions: "Sow" means to plant; "Reap" means to harvest.
ACTIVITY: Godly and Evil Sowing
Materials: One 9.5 inch long envelope, one 12" x 18 " tan construction paper, scissors, crayons, marker.
- Hand out one envelope to each student.
- Lick the envelope and seal it.
- Cut envelope in half. These are the seed packets.
- On one half of the envelope, write "Godly Sowing" and "Galatians 6:7,8." Open side should be facing up.
- Decorate "Godly Sowing" with cheerful coloring.
- On the other half of the envelope, write "Evil Sowing" and "Galatians 6:7, 8." Open side should be facing up.
- Decorate "Evil Sowing" envelope with plain coloring.
- Hand out tan paper.
- Fold tan paper in half, then in half again.
- Draw the outline of three large "seeds".
- Cut seeds out, cutting through all four thicknesses of paper. (If this is too difficult for smaller hands, simply draw a total of twelve seeds and cut them out one at a time.)
- On six of the seeds, write six characteristics or deeds that would be considered "godly," such as "love," "joy," "kindness," "helping others," "goodness," and "patience." One deed should be written on each seed. If time permits, the words "The seed of" can be written above each deed.
- On the other six seeds, write six characteristics or deeds that would be considered "evil," such as "gossiping," "envy," "stealing," "lying," "anger," and "selfishness." One deed should be written on each seed.
- Place all seeds face down in front of the student, so that the words cannot be seen.
- One by one, the student chooses a seed and places it in the appropriate seed packet until all seeds are in packets.
