RADIANT LIFE TEACHERS GUIDE- TEENS SUNDAY SCHOOL RESOURCE, SEASON 13| JULY-DECEMBER, 2022
August 7, 2022
Unit 2: Basic Training
Study 2: Recover From Bad Choices
Text: 1 Sam 21:10-15; Psa 34:1-10, 17-22; 56:1-11
Key Verse: Psa 56:13
Thou hast delivered my soul from death: wilt not thou deliver my feet from falling, that I may walk before God in the light of the living? (KJ)
>>Focus
Every day, and throughout the day, you make choices. Of course, some of the choices you make are more important than others. Even now, you may be able to think back and laugh at some really stupid choices you made in the past. But there are some of the choices you made in the past that may have you looking to God every day for His grace to help you live with the negative consequences.
Some of your students, though young, may have bad choices they need to recover from. Help students understand that they can recover from bad choices (either made by them or imposed on them by others), and use their experiences to help them make better choices today. They also need to realize that, while God can forgive them for sinful choices they have made, God doesn’t always remove the negative consequences for sin.
If you can think of a funny situation that arose from a decision you have made, you may want to open the study by sharing your story. Doing this may make it easier for students to be open to sharing about the poor choices they have made and give you an opportunity to minister to them.
>>The Basic Message: Explain to students..
• WHAT’S THE BIG IDEA?
We need God’s help to recover from the pain and devastation brought on by bad choices.
• WHY DOES IT MATTER?
Bad choices may have serious consequences today, and can even impact where we will spend eternity.
• HOW DO I LIVE IT?
Rely on God to help you make good decisions, and turm to Him for forgiveness when you have made a bad choice.
RADIANT LIFE TEACHERS GUIDE- TEENS SUNDAY SCHOOL RESOURCE 2022 August 7 2022
>Activity Option: TWO REQUESTS
Have students respond to the scenario provided below: God appears to you and says He will grant you two requests on the following conditions: The first thing you ask for, God will also give to your best friend. The second request you make will also be done for the person you like least. Afterwards, ask volunteers to share their responses and why they chose What they did in each case.
>>Guide: Explain that life is full of choices. Some choices don’t have lasting effects, while other choices can affect us for the rest of our lives. Today we are going to look at how we make choices and how God can help us recover when we make bad choices.
RADIANT LIFE TEACHERS GUIDE- TEENS SUNDAY SCHOOL RESOURCE 2022 August 7 2022
>Study Overview
Explain that today’s study considers:
• The importance of being able to recognize when we have made a bad choice.
• Factors that can influence our choices.
• How we can look to God to help us make good choices and to help us recover from bad choices.
>>inform and Discuss
a. Recognize Bad Decisions
>>Teacher Hint: For better understanding, read up the background information for this study from 1 Sam 19:18-21:9; time will not allow you to do it in class, yet that background information will be helpful to you for the class presentation. Read or ask a volunteer to read 1 Sam 21:10-15. After several attempt on his life by Saul, David knew that Saul would never stop hunting for him until he is dead. Fearing for his life, David made a desperate choice to seek refuge among Israel’s most bitter enemy at that time. He went to Gath (the hometown of Goliath), which was the capital city of the Philistine ruler, Achish. That is, the same David who fearlessly defeated Goliath now sought to be accepted as a political refugee among the same people whose champion he killed.
1. What does David’s choice of seeking political refuge in Gath reveal? [Guide: Explain that we all have areas of weakness that, if not checked, is capable of causing us to make bad choices and to fail to look to God for help. Point out that a person may be fearless in witnessing to strangers, but may choose to do something he or she knows is wrong when he or she is with friends. This is why we need good friends who will help us through our weak moments, not those that will feed our weaknesses and cause us to stumble.]
2. Do you think David was directed by God to act like an insane man? Why or why not? 1 Sam 21:11-15 [Hint: Though the act worked for him,
nothing suggests that David looked to God for direction. Rather, fear was the major factor that informed his choice of going to Gath, and that of acting like an insane man- 1 Sam 21:10, 12-13.]
3. Discuss with students how one bad choice often leads to other bad choices. [Hint: E.g., Lying; for one lie often has to be covered by another lie.]
>>Note: Sadly, we often allow a series of bad choices to lead us to the worst choice, as we fail to admit our failure to God and ask for His help.
RADIANT LIFE TEACHERS GUIDE- TEENS SUNDAY SCHOOL RESOURCE 2022 August 7 2022
b. Deal with Fears
Read or ask a volunteer to read Psa 56:1-11. In this passage, David gave us FOUR PRINCIPLES for dealing with fears and worries that can lead us to make bad decision. They are: 1. Trust in God (v3). 2. Recognize God’s greatness (vv4, 11). 3. Stand on the promises found in God’s Word (vv4, 11).4. Call on God for help (v9).
1. What does it mean to trust God? [Guide: Have students give and compare their understanding of what trusting God means. Emphasize that trust is shown by our action. We show we are trusting God when we are no longer anxiously seeking our own solutions but wholeheartedly pursuing His.]
2 Why is God trustworthy ? [Teacher Hint: Guide the discussion to include the second and third principles captured above. Explain that it is natural with God to be trustworthy- it is in His nature to be trustworthy: He is all-powerful and loving. He has given us promises in His Word that He will never leave us or forsake us (Heb 13:5-6). We are assured that nothing can separate us from His love (Rom 8:38-39).]
>>Guide: Explain that the last principle, Call on God for help (v9), is clearly what David did when his fears led him to make bad choices. Just as God was merciful to David and caused his enemies to “turn back’, He is merciful to us too. God will help us overcome bad choices if we will call on Him for help.
c. Rely on God
Read or ask a volunteer to read Psa 34:1-10.
>>Guide: Explain that in the first three verses of this psalm, David expressed praises to God and invited others to join him in doing so. Why?
Verse 4 states: “l sought the Lord and he answered me, he delivered me from all my fears.”
1. When has God delivered you from a fearful situation you called on Him for? [Guide: Give two or three students to share their answers. Afterwards, emphasize that we all have different things that can make us fearful; and that we shouldn’t look down on others for being afraid of or struggling with something we would not. Rather, we need to support one another so that we can strengthen each other’s weaknesses.]
2. How can you summarize in few words what the Psalmist said in verses 5-10? [Hint: Responses will vary. The basic idea of these verses is that the Lord protects and provides for those who put their trust in Him. This is a truth we can live by today.]
3. Read or ask a volunteer to read Psa 34: 17-22. What insight do these verses give on why we can rely on God to help us recover from bad choices ? [Hint: 1. God hears us and helps us when we call on Him V1/).2. God cares for us, even when we are deeply distressed. 3. God delivers us from all our troubles (vv19-20). 4. God will uphold those who rely on Him and justly judge those who would trouble them (vv21- 22).]
Note: Relying on God is no guarantee that we will never have troubles. Rather, It is a guarantee that God will deliver and protect us when troubles come.
>>Involve Them: ACROSTIC REMINDER
Provide students with paper and pencil. Then ask them to come up with the words or phrases that relate to the major themes of this study. Read “The Basic Message” portion to review those themes. Encourage students keep this acrostic in their Bibles as a reminder of how they can rely on God when dealing with their fears and making decisions.
>>Inspire Them
Remind students THE BASIC MESSAGE of this study (pg 023), explaining WHAT the Big ldea behind the study is; WHY it matters; and HOW we can live the lesson captured in this study.
>>Invitation Option: Give students the opportunity to make a choice about surrendering their lives to Christ. Pray with any who respond. Also offer to pray with students who have made bad choices and need forgiveness.
>>Conclude the study by challenging students to rely on God to help them make good choices; and to turn to Him for forgiveness when they’ve made a bad choice.
RADIANT LIFE TEACHERS GUIDE- TEENS SUNDAY SCHOOL RESOURCE 2022 August 7 2022
>Teacher Hint: Ask Yourself…
1. Do students understand that they need God’s help to recover from the pain and devastation brought on by bad choices?
2. Do students understand that bad choices may have serious Consequences today, and can even impact where they will, spend eternity?
3. Can students explain why and how they can rely on God to help them make good decisions?
RADIANT LIFE TEACHERS GUIDE- TEENS SUNDAY SCHOOL RESOURCE 2022 August 7 2022