lot and abraham

By Michele Stamn

Teaching Goal:  Christians are called to “shine like stars” in a dark world.

Scripture: Philippians 2:14-15 “Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe.”

Materials:

• Tall glass or vase
• Water
• Small glass
• Vegetable oil
• Liquid food coloring
• Fork
• Optional: One piece of black paper and star stickers

1. Play theme song
2. Pray
3. Review last lesson
4. Lesson and Discussion

• Words that are written in bold are when you, the parent, are speaking. Feel free to use your own words.

What does it mean to complain and argue? Whining, not doing what we are asked right away. Do you ever do that? When? How about when you are asked to help around the house? Clean your room? Do your homework? Listen to your children’s answers. Offer ideas of your own. Be sure to include times when you, the parent, might complain or argue about doing something you don’t want to do.

Paul wrote a letter to the Philippians, with one of his goals being to encourage them in their faith. He told them that they should do everything without complaining or arguing. They should work as a team. If others saw them arguing and complaining, they would not have had a very good impression of them as Christians, would they?

We have the same opportunity today. The Bible tells us that if we do everything without complaining or arguing, we will look different than the rest of the world, that we will shine like stars in the sky. What are some things that you can do without complaining or arguing? Chores, picking up toys, brushing teeth, homework. How will that make you shine like a star? I will look different than other people who do complain. I will shine the love of Jesus.

Sometimes moms and dads complain too, about our own chores and jobs. We sometimes even complain about or argue with people in our church. This can give others outside of our church a bad impression of our church, which would not make them want to join our church family, would it? Mom and dad will commit to shining like stars too. We try to no longer complain or argue about. Share your thoughts about your personal commitment to stopping your own complaining or arguing here.

I love looking at the stars shining in the sky on a clear night. They look so pretty, don’t they? I love thinking about how I can shine just like those stars, so the whole world can see the love of Jesus through me. There is something else that shines in the sky just like the stars, around the Fourth of July. Do you know what I am talking about? Fireworks!

We are going to make our own fireworks today, right here in our house.

Follow these steps to create your “fireworks in a glass”. Let your kids help!

Fill a tall glass or vase with room-temperature water, leaving about an inch of space at the top.

Pour 3 tablespoons of vegetable oil into the smaller glass. Add to the oil 1-2 drops of food coloring. (If you are doing this activity around the Fourth of July, you might want to choose red and blue.)

Gently stir the oil and food coloring once or twice with the fork. Do not overmix! You want a collection of smaller and larger droplets of food coloring.

Slowly pour the oil and food coloring mixture into the large glass of water.

Watch closely! Within about 30 seconds, the beads of color will begin to burst through the oil, releasing what looks like mini fireworks falling into the water. Ooooo! Ahhhh!

The next time we feel like complaining or arguing, we should remember that if we stop ourselves, we will be shining like stars as we live for Jesus. We should also remember that we can pray for the Holy Spirit to help us stop our complaining and arguing. God wants us to shine brightly for Him, not to be clouded by complaining and arguing.

Hang a black piece of paper on the wall this week. Every time one of your children (or you) successfully resists the urge to complain or argue, put a brightly colored star sticker on the paper. See how many stars your family can put on the paper this week!

Memorize:

We will not complain or whine.

Then the world will see us shine.

Close in Prayer