In the Verse Kit Box:
Paperclip Kit
Review:
Lesson:
Vocabulary Word: slave
Usually a slave is controlled by WHOEVER owns him, but Peter is making a play on words here to say you are a slave to WHATEVER controls you. Depending on the student, connect this with things that might ensnare them: gaming, screen time, their looks, how popular they are at school. I used myself as an example, commenting that housework can be a slavemaster when I’m trying to clean frantically for someone who is coming over, and I should be taking a break to do my devotions. Or how I love to read, but if reading is taking over my time when I should be fixing dinner, then it’s controlling me. Feel free to use yourself as an example; it makes you real to the students, and is a good heart-to-heart with God. After you are honest about your own issues, they will be more willing to answer when you ask them if there are things that might be taking up more of their time than it should.
Remind the students that there is freedom in Jesus Christ. He says his yoke is heavy, but the burden is light. There is no freedom in the world better than what Jesus has to offer. He wants to walk beside us, carrying the load. He offers abundant life, and the Holy Spirit to guide us.
If there are things in your life that might be controlling you, ask Jesus to point them out, and then ask Him to help you know what to do about them. You may need someone to keep you accountable (a parent, or friend). You may need to find other hobbies to occupy your time. You may need to spend more time with friends, or less time with certain people. Ask God for help, for Jesus says: “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.”
Kit:
Take the BIG paper clip and balance it on your pointer finger lengthwise, so it sits there easily. The clip represents you, and the finger represents God; you are resting in Him and your life is in balance.
Using the provided stickers, name some of the things you do on a regular basis that could become something that controls you. Connect the sticker to the paper clip by folding the sticker in half.
Add the smaller paper clips to the larger one, one at a time, like a chain. The more you add, the harder it is to balance. When things that God has given us as gifts become controlling, our life gets out of whack. They are no longer gifts; they are our slave master, controlling our actions and attitudes and we are a slave.
Bible Literacy:
Help your student find 2 Peter 2:19b in their Bible and highlight or underline it. If they are interested, write the NLT version in the margin.
