Do not be afraid
AGE: Juniors |
THEME: Fear |
AIM: |
| To reflect on how God encourages those who are fearful to overcome their fear. |
PREPARATION: |
You will need two volunteers.
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INTRODUCTION: |
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Begin by telling the children that the theme for today is FEAR. Inform them that everyone is frightened of something. You may wish to share with the children some of your own fears before asking for volunteers to tell you what frightens them. Show the children the list of the most common and more unusual fears. Tell them that whilst only some people are frightened of some of the things on the list, most people in the world are frightened of getting hurt. That's why fear is good, in a way, because it keeps us safe. |
DEVELOPMENT: |
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Ask for two volunteers to assist you in an exercise in fear. Put a blindfold on one of the volunteers and ask the other volunteer to watch you closely. Stand behind the blindfolded volunteer and ask her to rock backwards on her heels, keeping her feet together and her legs and body rigid. Reassure the volunteer that you will not let her come to any harm as you will catch her. The volunteer must only rock backwards on your instruction. Having caught the blindfolded volunteer several times, surreptitiously swap places with the other volunteer. From a position not behind the blindfolded volunteer, order her to rock backwards again. If she hesitates, offer words of encouragement. When the blindfolded volunteer has been caught successfully, commend her for her trust that helped to overcome her fear. Thank both volunteers and ask them to return to their places. Continue by telling the children that although fear is in some ways a good thing, as it keeps us from hurting ourselves, it can also be a bad thing as it can stop us from living a normal life. For example, some people are so afraid of going outside that they spend all their lives inside their houses. Some parents can be so afraid of their children getting hurt that they stop them from doing normal things like riding a bike. Fear can also stop us from doing what we know is right. In school, a child might be being bullied but is too frightened to tell anyone. Other children might even join in with the bullying because they are frightened that if they don't they might get bullied as well. In the Bible, the phrase God uses most is 'Do not be afraid'. God says it over 80 times to different people. God made us and knows that we all have fears. But he wants us to overcome our fears by trusting him. One person in the Bible whom God helped to overcome his fears was called Gideon. |
THE STORY OF GIDEON: |
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Gideon was a Jewish person who lived thousands of years ago in the country we now call Israel. At that time it was occupied by people called the Midianites, who made life terrible for Gideon and all the other Jewish people who lived there. The Midianites drove the Jews out of their homes and destroyed their animals and their crops. The Jews were living in fear. But instead of trusting that God would save them from the Midianites, just as he had saved their ancestors from slavery in Egypt hundreds of years before, many Jewish people stopped worshipping the Lord God and began worshipping other gods. Gideon was as afraid as all the other Jews. He stayed in his house as much as possible and whenever he had to do work outside, he did it in a pit in the ground. One day, when he was working away in the pit in the ground, covered in dust, Gideon heard a voice above him. The voice said, 'The Lord is with you, oh brave and mighty warrior.' Gideon wiped the dust from his eyes and nervously peered over the edge of the pit to see a man sitting under an oak tree. Who could this man be? And why was he making fun of Gideon? As the man had used the Jewish name for God, Gideon reckoned that he must be another Jew. Gideon became less nervous. 'I don't want to be rude,' said Gideon, 'but if God is with us, how come we're all living in fear? Why can't he do miracles like he did in Egypt to save us from the Midianites? Let's face it, God has abandoned us.' Like everyone else, Gideon was beginning to doubt God. 'What about you?' replied the man. 'You could save your people.' 'ME?' shrieked Gideon. 'You've got to be kidding! All my family are weaklings, and I'm the weakest of the lot!' The man replied, 'But I will be with you. That's what God says. And when God is with you, fighting the Midianites will seem like fighting just one man.' Gideon was taken aback. Perhaps this man wasn't really a man at all. Gideon had an idea. 'Wait there a minute,' he said to the man. 'I'm not going anywhere,' the man replied. Gideon ran back into his house and quickly prepared some food. If the man ate the food, then he would be just another man. But if he didn't... Gideon placed the food on a rock next to the man. The man touched it with his stick and - WHOOSH! - flames leapt from the rock and the food disappeared. So, too, did the man. Gideon panicked. 'Oh no, he said, 'I've seen the angel of the Lord face to face. I'm going to die! I'm going to die!' In the midst of his panic, Gideon heard a voice telling him to calm down. 'Don't be afraid,' the voice continued. 'You aren't going to die.' In that moment, Gideon knew that God was with him and all the other Jewish people. God had not forsaken them and with God's help, and with Gideon as their leader, they would drive the Midianites from their land. And that's what happened. Gideon led an army of 300 against the Midianites and although they were outnumbered 400 - 1, they won the battle. But, on the way to victory, God had to reassure Gideon many more times. When the battle was over, the people wanted to make Gideon their king. 'You already have a king,' said Gideon, 'One who is bigger and more powerful than me and my family. More powerful too than the Midianites. Far greater than your greatest fear. His name is the Lord God.' |
CLOSING REMARKS AND PRAYER: |
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Whenever people who believe in God begin to be afraid, they sometimes say a little prayer to help them to remember that God is all-powerful, all-loving and someone whom they can trust. This little prayer also comes from the Bible and was written by a man called David: 'When I am afraid, I will trust in you, In God, whose word I praise, In God I trust; I will not be afraid. What can human beings do to me?' Display the prayer written on a acetate with the words 'human beings' blanked out. Invite the children to say the prayer along with you, but at the blank space to insert whatever it is that frightens them. They are to say this in their heads. |
SONGS: |
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The suggested songs can all be found in Kidsource published by Kevin Mayhew, ISBN 1-840-03310-X: 'Be bold! Be strong!' 'I was once afraid of spiders' 'Whenever I'm afraid' Also recommended: 'Do not be afraid' by Gerard Markland in Worship Today, Spring Harvest, ISBN 1-899-78836-0. |