Lesson 9

Self-control

Once God’s Spirit is at work within us, it produces the wonderful fruit of the Spirit: “love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control” (Galatians 5:22-23).

Energy Release!

Introduction

What is self-control? Maybe you tried to exercise self-control, but you still reacted in anger. Or perhaps you were caught in a bad situation and lied to get out of it. Afterward, you felt frustrated with yourself for not exercising self-control to tell the truth regardless of the consequences.

Self-control is not simply a result of trying hard to do something, even though it is important to work to have self-control. Read Galatians 5:22–23. As this verse tells us, self-control in your life is evidence that God is at work—as a fruit of the Holy Spirit. When others notice your self-control, it should point them to Jesus.

When you face difficult situations this week, whisper a prayer. Invite God to do His work in you. Ask Him to increase the fruit of His Spirit in your life. Then, as you teach your class about self-control, tell the children specific ways God is giving you more self-control. Let them see and know about God's work in your life. Then pray that they too will want to see for themselves that the Lord is good.

Activities

Activity 1 "Keep it Straight"

Time: 10 minutes

Materials needed from the cart:

None

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Let's start with a fun game. I will divide you into 2 groups. Each group will line up facing the other. One group will try to make the other group laugh or smile. You can make funny faces, do silly things, or make funny sounds. You cannot touch anyone or use any words. You must stay in the line. The other group will try to keep from smiling or laughing. You cannot leave your spot. Try not to smile or laugh.

Give a signal for the game to start. Give the acting group about 1 minute to try to make members of the other group smile or laugh. Observe the silent group to see how they respond.

When time is up, congratulate those who resisted smiling or laughing. Then reverse the activity. The second group will attempt to make those in the first group smile or laugh by their actions and sounds. Allow the same amount of time. Then clap for their efforts. Have the children sit down for a discussion.

That was fun! Some of you tried so hard to get smiles or laughs from the others. Sometimes it worked. Let's talk about how hard it was not to smile or laugh.

How did you keep your mouth from making a smile?
What helped you keep from laughing?
When you started to smile or laugh, were you able to stop? Why or why not?

The idea of this game was to control your actions. If you were able to resist reacting to what others were doing, you were using self-control. Some of you used self-control by not watching or listening to those trying to make you smile or laugh.

How would you describe what self-control is?

Allow 2–3 children to share their thoughts.

Self-control is the ability to choose to say and do what is right. It is controlling how you react to and express your emotions and attitudes. Choosing to say and do what is right instead of reacting in anger or fear can help us live better, safer, more fulfilling lives. If you choose not to hit someone, you are choosing to use self-control. You are controlling yourself. The Bible tells us that when we give our lives to Jesus and become Christians, God gives us His Spirit to help us have self-control.

Think of a time you or someone you know did not use self-control. What happened as a result? Just share the result—do not share anyone's name.
Now think of a time you or someone you know did use self-control. What happened as a result? Again, please do not use names.
Why is using self-control always better than not using self-control?

Teacher Tip

As the children share stories, remind them not to use specific names, especially when sharing negative examples. If you have examples of self-control from your life, share them now.

Activity 2 "Veggie challenge"

Time: 10-15 minutes

Materials needed from the cart:

Kid's Story Bible- Daniel Chapter 1 pg. 159
Vegetables
Candy

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Challenge 1

Have vegetables and candy laid out on the table. Tell the students that their challenge is to choose the vegetables over the candy but that they are allowed to pick one thing to come and eat. After they have all had the chance to select a food, let them have some candy, too and sit down for the story of Daniel.

Teacher Tip

The children can practice self-control right now! Challenge them to keep their hands in their laps and look at you while you tell the story. Be sure to acknowledge their good behavior when you are finished.

Today we will read in the Bible about a man named Daniel who used self-control. Many of you have heard about Daniel before.

What do you remember about Daniel?

Allow the children to share what they remember. Some children may remember that God protected Daniel when he was thrown in a den of lions. Some children may not know anything about Daniel. Assure them that it is okay.

Daniel was a young man when the king of Babylon invaded his homeland, Judah. The king ordered his chief official to bring him the smartest and strongest young men in Judah. These young men spent 3 years learning the language and customs of Babylon so they could be Babylonian leaders. The king wanted them to forget about their own traditions and God.

Daniel was one of the young men the official brought to the king. The king assigned all the young men a daily amount of fine, delicious food to eat. The food was the same type of food that the king himself ate. It included food and drink that God's people were not supposed to eat.

Do you think Daniel will eat the food sent by the king? Why or why not?

Read the next part of the story in Daniel 1:8 from your Bible.

The word "defile" means to pollute or make dirty. Daniel was an Israelite. He served the One True God. He was committed to following the laws God gave His people in the Old Testament. If he ate the king's food, he would break God's laws. He would pollute himself. Therefore, Daniel asked for permission to eat only vegetables and drink only water. The king's official was worried that Daniel would become unhealthy on this diet. He was worried that Daniel would be weaker than the young men who ate the food the king assigned. So Daniel asked the official to test him and his 3 friends. For 10 days they would only eat vegetables and drink water. If their bodies were strong after 10 days, they would be allowed to continue eating only vegetables and drinking only water. Let's read from the Bible to see what happened after the 10-day test.

Read Daniel 1:15–16 from your Bible.

Daniel and his friends were stronger and healthier than the other young men after eating only vegetables and drinking only water for 10 days. So they were allowed to continue doing this. They did not defile themselves by eating the king's food. After 3 years, the king called Daniel and his friends in to see him. He was very impressed with their intelligence and wisdom. They became important men in his kingdom. During all this time, Daniel and his friends continued to worship and pray to the One True God.

Remember that self-control is choosing to say and do what is right, even when it is difficult. How did Daniel use self-control in this story?

Daniel showed self-control when he refused to eat the king's delicious, fine food. He could have been punished for this, but he still made the right choice.

Throughout Daniel's life, he stayed true to God and His ways. He worshiped God. He spent time praying to God every day. God strengthened Daniel and helped him act with self-control!

Activity 3 "Roll/toss Challenge"

Time: 10 minutes

Materials needed from the cart:

One large ball
One small ball

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Let's play a game to show how self-control takes effort.

Have everyone sit in a circle on the floor. Give the 2 balls to 2 different children. Point to the small ball and tell the children that this one must always be tossed. Point to the large ball and tell the children that this one must always be rolled. They will begin tossing or rolling the balls slowly across the circle. They must try not to mix up which one gets rolled and which one gets tossed. If anyone makes a mistake with either of the balls, that person is out. The circle will get a little smaller and the children will play again. Each time you begin a new round, encourage the children to go faster and faster. When things are sped up, more and more children will mix up what to do with each ball. After you have a winner or you have played for about 5–6 minutes, discuss the game with the children.

How easy or hard was it to make sure you used each ball correctly at first?
How difficult was it to keep doing the right thing when we went faster?
What would have happened in our game if someone had decided to keep one or both of the balls?

Children may answer that the game would have been over, they may have felt angry about the selfish actions of that person, or other things.

Today we will talk about some ways to practice self-control when we are in hard situations. Remember that self-control means making the choice to say or do the right thing even when it is difficult.

Activity 4 "Self-controller"

Time: 15-20 minutes

Materials needed from the cart:

Small box
Construction paper
Stickers
Markers
Foil (optional)

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We took pie boxes from McDonalds & stuffed them with plastic grocery bags to make them stiff. Then we wrapped them with foil like a present. The buttons we used are “Stop”, Pause”, “Power”, “Guide”, & “Select”. These remind us to STOP before reacting, PAUSE to ask God for His power, POWER to do the right thing comes from the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit is our GUIDE, and we can SELECT the right reaction, words, etc. You can make one for each member of the family to have & personalize them with stickers (or small drawing & tape on) to remind of those areas they want to work on self-control with : money, food, frowny face, thought bubble, crazy face, eyeballs, a mouth, a tv, etc. Use creativity.

Be sure & get the Bible verse on there somewhere at least in part. Did it help you remember to pause, stop, use the Holy Spirit’s power, did you select the right reaction because of it?? Share with us – we can encourage one another!

Activity 5 "Object Lesson"

Time: 5-10 minutes

Materials needed from the cart:

Mentos
2 two-liter soda's
Large bucket to catch the mess, :-)

Activity 6 "Handprint Tree"

Time:10-15 minutes

Materials needed from the cart:

Brown/Green Construction Paper
Fruits of the Spirit Printable
Markers/Crayons
Glue

Activity 7 "Fruit-loop-of the Spirit"

Time: 5-10 minutes

Materials needed from the cart:

Fruit of the Spirit Fruitloop Page
Fruit loops
Glue
Markers/Crayons

Wrap It Up!

-Come together and sit in a circle to talk about what they learned today. Ask them the same questions that you asked at the beginning of the day. How are their answers different now that they know more about Self-control? Talk about what they can go home and tell their family about Self-control.

-Ask if anyone has a prayer request/praise report. Pray over requests.

-Worship time- Have the kids go find a spot to themselves and have some time with God (play on of the songs below for around 3/5 minutes).

Worship

Last Minute Filler Ideas

-Have them gather around the table and draw a picture or write a letter to their families about what they learned today.

-Play a game of some sort. (If you have the hula hoops, have them join hands in a circle and pass the hula hoop around the circle without breaking their hands)