In the Verse Kit Box:
From home: school glue, black sharpie, markers or paints (to decorate the activity page)
Review:
Lesson:
Introduce James 4:4 by reading through the card out loud while the student follows along. Then, have them read through it (if they are too young to read, say one 2-3 word phrase at a time and have them repeat it after you) just once. You are only introducing the verse at this point.
Ask what they think it means to be a friend of the world (younger children think literally. They think it means the earth and they shouldn’t go outside!) Explain that it means “things of the world” like saying bad words, disobeying parents, lying, being mean, anything that displeases God.
With older kids, emphasize the word BECOMES. Choosing worldly things over God is a gradual process. You don’t just wake up one day and decide you’re going to be an enemy of God; no, it’s a slippery slope! One little thing leads to another, and then another. One good illustration is the frog in the hot water. If you put a frog in a cool bucket of water, and dump boiling water in, he will jump out. But if you put the same frog in the same cool bucket, and add a little bit of hot water until it’s all boiling water, he becomes accustomed to the temperature change and doesn’t jump out; he dies.
Then go through the review (photos above). They are always in order, the top one is last week; the 2nd one is 2 weeks ago; the 3rd one is 3 weeks ago.
Then come back to James 4:4 and read it out loud again while they follow along. Have them read it.
Have them read it a second time, reminding them to really pay attention. When they are done, see if they can say it without looking. If they stumble, help them out. If they need to, have them repeat a phrase at a time after you. Try to build the phrases together until they can say the whole verse. However, don’t frustrate them. They will review this verse for another 3 weeks.
(If the verse is said 7 times in a verse kit call, the child will probably commit it to short term memory. Review over the next month will solidify it to long term memory.)
Kit:
1. Write the letters F R I E N D on the 6 wooden heart shapes.
2. Glue the wooden hearts on the red “I am a …. of God!” activity page.
3. Decorate the activity page with markers or paints!
Bible Literacy:
Help your student find James 4:4 in their Bible and highlight/underline it. Read it together.
