Week 7 - Consequences

Main Point & Memory Verses

Break God’s law, you gotta pay. God won’t let you get away!

Scripture Spies Verse - How many sins make me guilty before God? - James 2:10 “For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.”

Faith Force Verse - What is the purpose of God’s law? - Galatians 3:24 “Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.”

Tonight, we’re talking about consequences. Consequences are the final results of the things that you do. The consequences for sinning against God are severe—you have to be separated from Him forever.

Game - Survive the Sprint!

Graham will be leading this game if he’s available.

Setup and materials. This game will require cones & dodgeballs. Set up two rows of cones as a wide “Track” that stretches from one side of the gym to the other. Spread the dodgeballs out alongside the cones.
Gameplay. Choose three or four kids to be “Throwers.” The rest of the kids will be “Sprinters.” Have the Throwers stand on either side of the cones and the Sprinters line up by one wall of the gym. On the whistle, the Sprinters will run to the other side of the gym, trying to avoid getting hit by a dodgeball. If they can make it to the other side, they are safe, but if they are hit, they become a thrower for the next round.
Winning. Rounds will continue with kids running from one side to the other until there is only one kid left. That kid is the winner!
Important rules. No Throwers are allowed to step inside the Track of cones. Balls that stop inside the Track must remain there until the round is over. Throwers may not throw the ball until after the whistle has been blown. Head shots are not allowed.
Note for Teachers: The game will go smoothest if the teachers help gather thrown balls during the game and pass them to the Throwers.

Lesson - Numbers 20:1-13

Tonight, we’re talking about consequences. Consequences are the final results of the things that you do. It’s what you’ve got to pay for doing something. If you eat too much food, you’re going to gain weight. If you stay up too late, you’re going to get tired. If you talk during the teaching time at Truth Group, you’ll get a strike. And if you sin against God, you have to be separated from Him forever after you die. Sometimes things that seem small will have big consequences.

Read the entire lesson

Image 1: Show pictures of things that have consequences (eating food, staying up late, spending all your money, talking in class, sinning)

The Bible tells us a story about a person who did something that had big consequences. Moses and his brother Aaron had been leading the Jewish people through the desert to the promised land of Israel. But it had been almost 40 years, and they were getting tired. God had given the Jews a special promise—He would love them and care for them, and they were supposed to love Him back. But sometimes it was hard, especially when they ran out of something they needed like water. The people were complainers, and they complained about their leaders.

Image 2: Numbers 20:2 “And there was no water . . . and they gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron.”

In the middle of the camp was a great big tent where the people would worship God. Moses and Aaron went there and bowed down to pray to God. They fell on their faces, and they waited to see what God would say.

Image 3: Picture of Moses & Aaron bowing before God

God spoke to Moses and Aaron. He said, take your rod (it looked like a big walking stick), and go gather all the people together in front of the rock. Then I want you to speak to the rock, and water from inside will pour out for everyone to get water to drink.

Do you think this was what Moses wanted to hear? He and Aaron gathered up all the people and had them come around the rock. Then Moses spoke to them, “Listen up you rebels! Do we have to get you water out of this rock?” He was very angry.

Image 4: Numbers 20:11”And Moses lifted up his hand, and with his rod he smote the rock twice: and the water came out abundantly”

Water came out! And the Jewish people had plenty to drink. But God was not pleased with Moses. What did he do wrong? He disobeyed God’s command to speak to the rock. Instead, he hit the rock with his rod. God told Moses that because he broke His law, he was going to have to pay the consequences. God had planned to let Moses lead the people into the land of Israel. But instead, now, Moses was going to die in the desert before they got into the promised land.

Image 5: Main Point — Break God’s law, you gotta pay. God won’t let you get away!

Moses sinned against God, and now he had to be punished. And what God said came true, eventually Moses did die. He never got to go into the promised land of Israel with the people. But Moses also trusted God to forgive his sins. When he died, he got to go to paradise to be with God.

All our sins have consequences. When we break God’s law, we have to pay! And the biggest consequence happens after we die. We need someone else to pay for our sins, or else we will be separated from God forever in a horrible place called the Lake of Fire. That’s the really bad news!

But the really good news is that Jesus already paid for our sins. He’s God’s Son! And He became a human, lived a life without ever sinning, and died on the cross even though He didn’t do anything wrong. When He died, He paid for all our sins. He took all that punishment for us! And He wants everyone to believe on Him so that they can be saved.

Training Time - Girls

Group Activity:

Have a mock court for your room. The teacher will be the judge. Some children be a jury and a child stand trial. Make up a rule (or have the kids help you make up a rule), such as “You can’t say the word ‘Um,’ and if you do, you are guilty. Write that fake law down and talk about how breaking that law made your “criminal” guilty. Then talk about God’s laws and how we are guilty of breaking His real laws.

Group Discussion:

As the kids color their picture, teach them their memory verse and explain what it means. Do a “repeat after me” exercise and see who can get the whole verse first!

Prayer:

Have some children mention some unsaved friends or family they are praying for. Have one person pray God will show those people they are guilty of breaking God’s law and need Jesus.