How to Be Faithful Workers

Transcription

1 How to Be Faithful Workers Lesson 4: Faithful Worker Actions TM.com

2 How to Be Faithful Workers TM Lesson 4 Faithful Worker Actions Unit Summary The topic of work may not immediately appeal to children (or adults for that matter), but God invented the whole idea! Beginning with the first chapters of the Bible and throughout Scripture, God presents work not as a chore but as a gift from Him. Work allows us to engage in God s plan for His wonderful creation. In this unit, you will introduce children to the gift of work, and they will learn how to be faithful workers as they use their attitudes, their abilities, and their actions. Teach children that when we accept the gift of work, have a good attitude, learn new abilities, and get into action, God can provide for our needs! Lesson Summary This lesson will help children understand the importance of being good workers. Our actions as workers reflect our character and serve as a testimony to our faith. The saying Actions speak louder than words is especially true when it comes to our work. Hard work is rewarding not only because it rewards us, but because it gives us a great sense of accomplishment when we see the fruit of our labor in a job well done. Paul s Power Principle: Hard work is always worth it! Know Disciple Targets In this lesson, your children will... God wants them to work at doing their best. Feel Satisfied and confident, knowing God has given them special skills. Do Determine to be responsible workers.

3 SUPPLIES General Supplies Bibles, puppets, video projection (optional) Pencils, pens, paper Spark Interest WELCOME!: name tags LET S PLAY!: cups, pitcher, bucket CONNECT WITH YOUR KIDS: none Explore Scripture KEYVERSE: two-by-four wood board Inspire Action DRAMATIZE THE POINT: lemonade stand PowerPoint Presentation As you plan your lesson, select PowerPoint slides that correspond to the lesson elements you choose. In the Slide Sorter View, you can rearrange and/or delete the slides as necessary. For descriptions of the included slides and tips on their use, see the notes accompanying each slide. SPARK INTEREST Choose from the following activities and ideas to engage kids and grab their attention. How to Be Faithful Workers Lesson , DiscipleLand. All rights reserved. Karl Bastian / Kidology.org Welcome! Name Tag Fun This week, as the children arrive they will find along with the name tags a collection of stickers with character traits. Ask them to pick a sticker with a trait they would like to have describe them, and place the sticker before their name. The purpose of this activity is to help children think about their character during the lesson. There is a direct connection between a person s work ethic and the person s character. In the past weeks the stickers focused on a job, a feeling, and then a skill. For this final week, children will wear character traits by their name tags as a reminder that we get to be known not only by what we do, but by who we are. The stickers can include traits such as the following: Responsible, Trustworthy, Honest, Dependable, Loyal, Organized, Prompt, Energetic, Cheerful, Dedicated, Helpful, Dutiful, Available, Faithful, Teachable, Reliable, Caring, Encouraging, Eager, Kind, Joyful, Patient, Gentle, Loving, Forgiving, Hardworking, and Persevering. (Note: Be sure to provide only positive character traits.) This week, it is fine to make many duplicate stickers; allow children to choose any sticker that they would like to wear.

4 Let s Meet-n-Greet! Turn and greet the kids around you, and ask two other kids, What is the hardest job you ve ever had to do? Leaders, be sure to stop whatever you are doing to move through the audience and greet the children, especially those you do not recognize. Announce any birthdays for the week. (See the How to Use DiscipleTown guide for quick and easy ways to acknowledge visitors and birthdays.) Let s Worship! As you worship, emphasize that worship is something that we need to engage in with all of our hearts. You can mention that when David worshiped, he danced! Recommended Song: Get Up, Get Down from God s Kids Worship, Summer Quarter, June DVD available at Kidology.org Puppet Intro Leader & puppet introduce today s lesson. You will find a scripted version of this intro at the end of the lesson. Supplies: puppet, small round disc Puppet is very happy. Leader asks why, and Puppet says, I have great news! I have discovered a way to never have to do any work again the rest of my life! Leader says, I m not sure this is such good news, but please explain. Puppet says, Well, you know how people are always saying they will do things when they get around to it? Leader says, Uh, yeah, I ve heard people say that. How is that good news? Puppet says, Well, I have found a way to get them to do my work for me! Leader looks skeptical, but asks for an explanation: So, how do you get these procrastinators to work for you? Puppet pulls out a small round piece of paper and shows it to the leader. I made a bunch of these. Puppet gives the leader a small round disc that has the letters TUIT written on the center. It s a round TUIT! Leader looks confused. What is a round TUIT? Puppet laughs, See, whenever someone says, I ll do it when I get around to it, you pull out a round TUIT and say, Here s a round TUIT so now you can do it! Leader laughs and says, So this is your plan to not have to work? Puppet says, Yup! I ll never have to work another day in my life! I ll just have other people work for me! With a pocket full of these, I am set for a life of leisure and relaxation! Leader looks a little concerned and asks, But then, when will you do all the things that YOU need to get done? Puppet says, Oh, I ll do that stuff when I get around to it. Leader suddenly gets a huge smile, turns and smiles at the children, and asks again, When did you say you d do all the things YOU need to do? Puppet says again, I told you already, I ll do them when I get around to it. For now, I m just going to have other poor suckers do my work for me whenever they are dumb enough to say they will do stuff when they get around to it. I ll just whip out one of my round TUITs and make them do it for me! Ah ha! I am sooooo smart! Leader looks at the kids again with a big grin, before asking a third time, But, help me understand here, just so I am clear: when will you do the work that YOU need to get done? Puppet sounds irritated. Look, I told you already, I ll do it when I get around to it, okay? Leader says, That s what I thought you said. So I just thought maybe I should give you this a round TUIT! So you can do your work NOW! (Let the children laugh.) Puppet says, No! Done in by my own joke! Leader says, You know, [puppet name], too often people do put off the work they need to do until they get around to it. Today we will be learning about the importance of being faithful in our actions. We need to DO our work, not just talk about it. Puppet says, Yeah. Now that you ve given ME this round TUIT, it reminds me, I have some work I need to get done. I ll see ya around.

5 Let s Play! Water Pass Supplies: paper or plastic cups, pitchers, large bucket, water, food coloring (optional) Instructions: As you did in week two, choose two to four teams of four to six children and place a bucket filled with water near the starting line that all the teams share. However, in this relay, rather than having one child at a time race to the pitcher on the opposite side of the stage, the children spread out so they form a line within arm s reach of each other from the starting line to the pitcher on the opposite side of the room. Each child has a cup. On Go! the child closest to the bucket of water dips the cup into the water and fills it with water, then pours the water into the cup of the next person on the team, who then pours the water into the cup of the next person, and so on down the line until the last person pours the water into the clear pitcher. The first person does not need to wait to refill his or her cup. Immediately after emptying the cup, the first person should dip the cup in the water and fill it again. The children continue passing water until the leader declares time is up. The team whose pitcher has the most water in it wins! (Option: Use food coloring if you would like to make the water levels more visible to the audience.) The Point: This was a fun game, and it depended on everyone working together. If even one person didn t do his or her part, the entire team would have lost. As faithful workers, it is important to do our part. Our actions are important when it comes to our work. Connect with Your Kids Have you ever gotten to be on a unique team or go on a mission trip? Perhaps you have some pictures you can share from that experience. Talk to the kids about how you found out about it and what it was like to be a part of that team and how your actions on that team contributed to the overall experience. I love telling kids how my simple skill of making balloon animals opened doors to a refugee camp in a closed country where armed guards let us in after I made them balloon machine guns! Later the missionaries said that they got more contacts on that single day than they usually get in a year. Had I not taken action with my balloons, we would have missed that opportunity. When have you taken action and God produced results?

6 DiscipleTown Visitor Find a script version of this segment at the end of this lesson. Lazy Larry*: (You will need a second actor Boss Bob at the end!) Just as the leader is finishing up the previous segment, a man starts meandering across the stage in a zigzag pattern. He shouldn t act drunk, but merely act like he is in no hurry. He looks behind things and stops to look at things. It is best if he comes out while the leader is still wrapping up the last segment; also, the leader shouldn t notice him at first. (Use a key phrase as a cue for the actor to come out so that the leader has finished all that he wants to communicate so that the actor isn t interrupting the conclusion of the previous segment.) Let the kids keep pointing to the DiscipleTown visitor until finally the leader looks. For added fun, have the actor pass behind the leader several times as the leader keeps looking the wrong direction! With some practice with the actor, you can draw this out and have some great fun with the kids before the conversation that follows. Lazy Larry s shirt is untucked, one shoe is untied, and his hair is a bit messy. Don t overdo it, but the point is to communicate visually that he is a lazy fellow. When the two finally connect, the leader asks who he is. The visitor responds, Yo, I m Larry, but my friends call me Lazy Larry. Leader says, And you are telling me this? Larry smiles, Sure, I think it s a compliment! The world needs more lazy people. Leader asks, Really? Larry says, Sure! Everyone s in too much of a hurry going here and there and everywhere, never stopping to smell the roses (looks around) You got any roses around here? Leader says, Well, I agree, we do need to stop and take time to relax and enjoy life, but that isn t the same as being lazy. We need to be responsible for our actions too. Larry laughs, Actions, smactions! That s what my mom is always telling me like just this morning when she told me to get out of bed. Leader asks, You still live with your mom? Larry says, Of course! I never got around to finishing third grade, or moving out. Leader asks, Then how do you expect to get a job? Larry says, Easy peasy, dude. Uncle Bob gave me a job family, ya know. I got connections. On my way there now, actually. Leader, Wow, well, you are lucky, you know. When do you start? Larry says, Oh, he said to get there this morning, but hey, it s family, so whenever I get there, it s cool, dude. (Just then, a man comes storming into the room, visibly upset, and yells, So THERE you are! Where have you been? Never mind! I gave you a chance because you are family, but I ve needed you all morning, and here you are. (mutters and mumbles, make it funny so its not scary to the kids) YOU RE FIRED! (and he storms off) Lazy Larry is stunned. Leader puts his arm around Larry, Larry, you know, you might want to think about changing that nickname from Lazy Larry to Loyal Larry, because your actions are important. Larry says, I think I need to think about that. And go apologize to Boss Bob, my uncle, for blowing him off when he needed me. Leader says, That sounds like a great first action. Good luck. I ll pray for you. *CHARACTERS: These are suggested characters and names. Please feel free to change or adjust according to the actors and props you have available.

7 EXPLORE SCRIPTURE Seize on the children s interest and direct them into God s Word. Let s Search! Bible Dash Supplies: Bibles Ask all kids with Bibles to participate, or invite a few volunteers to come to the front. As children hold Bibles closed with hands on covers, state the Bible reference twice, then on the command SEARCH! have the students race to locate the verse. Once they have a finger on the verse, they can stand and call out, FOUND IT! Have the first child read the verse aloud while you project the verse on a screen via PowerPoint. See suggestions below for comments on each verse. Keep your comments brief and to the point of the lesson. Proverbs 14:23 Hard work leads to a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty. 1 Thessalonians 5:14 Warn those who are idle. Proverbs 21:25 Lazy people end up hungry. Colossians 4:17 Complete the work the Lord gave you. Acts 20:24 Life is worth nothing if I don t complete the work God gave me. James 4:17 Anyone who knows the good he ought to do and doesn t do it, sins. James 1:22 Don t just listen to the Bible; do what it says. Paul s Power Principle: Hard work is always worth it! Let s Learn! Faithful Worker Actions (Nehemiah, Man of Action) The story of Nehemiah can be a powerful lesson. While it is an entire book, you can tell the story in summary form to make a few points. After the introduction below, you can show a video version of the story, use a flannelgraph, or act out a section of the story with drama or puppets. To introduce the story, build a wall out of shoe boxes, shipping boxes, cereal boxes, or some other type of box. As you build the wall in a half circle around yourself or on the front of the stage, talk about how people in biblical times built walls around their cities to keep them safe. (Option: You could have some kids come up and help you build a wall with the game cups.) After a good-sized wall is built on the stage, talk about how in a battle the enemy would come and attack the wall. Pass out a piece of paper to every child, have them wad them up into balls, and on the count of three let them all throw them at your wall and try to destroy it! Knock over parts of the wall while the kids are throwing paper wads. Then point to the rubble of your wall and all the trash of the paper and say, That is how Jerusalem looked in the time of Nehemiah. Start telling the story of Nehemiah. Leave the trash where it is until you get to the part of the story where the people picked up the rubble and began rebuilding the city wall. Have some volunteers from the audience come and pick up all the paper and repair your wall on the stage. Here are the main points you will want to emphasize for the children: 1. (1:1-3). Nehemiah learned of a need. 2. (1:4-6). He had compassion, and he prayed. 3. (2:1-5). He went and asked for help. 4. (2:13-16). He examined what needed to be done. 5. (2:17-18). He inspired others to join him in the work!

8 Click here to change text There are all kinds of needs around us! We need to open our eyes and see those needs! We need to have compassion toward those around us, and we need to pray and ask God how we can help meet those needs. Often we will need to go to those who have the means to help and ask them to help us. We may need to study the situation and make a plan for how we are going to do the work, and we may need to invite others to join us! But if we are willing to work hard and be faithful workers, we can accomplish great things, just as Nehemiah did! Read Nehemiah 6: The wall was completed in only 52 days and Nehemiah gave credit to God! HOW NOT TO BE A SLUGGARD Learning how to be a faithful worker by looking at the opposite in the book of Proverbs: Read Proverbs 6:6-8. We can learn from the ant. Without a commander, it knows to be busy and not lazy. It works hard and plans ahead so it will be prepared for tough times ahead! Read Proverbs 26:14. Like a door on a hinge, so a lazy person returns to his bed. This is a humorous verse! The best way to explain this verse is to have a bed or sleeping bag on the stage. Lie down and have an alarm go off. Show a lazy person getting up and dragging himself out to eat, and springing back to sleep; dragging out to brush teeth, and springing back to bed; dragging out to do homework, and springing back. The person wants to be in bed, so he pulls himself from bed for everything, but springs back every chance he gets like a door hinge, he can t wait to be back in bed! That s what this verse means. Like a hinge that can t wait to be closed, the sluggard can t wait to be back in bed again! Don t be like that. Sleep is important, but our attitude should be that we can t wait for the next chance to serve God! Suggested Bible Narrative Parable of Two Brothers Matthew 21:28-31 Summary: In this story we see the difference between words and actions. One brother at first says the right thing, but does the wrong thing. The other says the wrong thing, but in the end does the right thing. Who ultimately is God pleased with? The one who DID the right thing. Our actions are more important than our words. Dee s Disciple Tip: There are twelve traits of faithful workers that kids can develop. This week they should work on these traits: Be Responsible Be Prompt Be Dutiful Many workers look for the easy way the lazy way or the shortcut. They aren t faithful workers, and in the long run they cheat only themselves. They will earn less and will be given fewer opportunities. Faithful workers take action and learn to be responsible. They are prompt and do their duty as unto the Lord and are rewarded for it, both by their earthly bosses and by the Lord. Hard work always pays off for those who learn to roll up their sleeves and be faithful workers.

9 KeyVerse Topic: Work for God! Reference: Colossians 3:23-24 This week, focus on reviewing the verse and making sure the children know it. So rather than teaching, focus on the memorization activity and the overall message of the verse: Joy in work is found when we focus on working for God and not men! Memorization Activity: This week, take your KeyVerse boards for the entire two verses. Invite children on stage and pass out the boards at random to the kids. Have them stand in a row so that the words are out of order. Act as if you are unaware that the words are out of order, and ignore the children as they try to tell you about it. Start to read the verse out of order as though it is correct. After having some fun with this, explain that you need some help getting the verse back in correct order. Choose three children from the audience to come on stage, and have them direct the children on stage to move around until the words are in the correct order. The kids in the audience are allowed to yell out help but can t leave their seats. This isn t so much a game as it is a group activity to engage all the children. Once the words in the verse have been put in the correct order, read the entire KeyVerse together. Then remove one board at a time; have that child sit in the audience. Repeat the verse again. Repeat this action until every child has sat down and you are left with a pile of boards on stage. Option: Allow the children to keep the boards as souvenirs.

10 INSPIRE ACTION Encourage kids to apply the Bible truth to their lives. Dramatize the Point Act this out or read as a story. Supplies: group of actors, lemonade stand For this final week of the skit, you will need extra actors. You might even want to recruit some adults from an adult class or a small group to come by. If they don t want to miss the adult service, consider moving the skit to the beginning of children s church so that they can come just for the beginning of the service. You want to have a LOT of customers, and if they are strangers to children s church, it will really add to the effectiveness of the skit! Sally opens her lemonade stand and has a long line of customers! She and her friends are super busy! Be sure to have her cash box filled with over $100 in singles and change (play money) so that after the skit you can show that God provided and that she made more than enough to go to camp! You can really use this skit to show that when we accept the gift of work, have a good attitude, learn the ability and get into action, God can provide for our needs! Option: You could have Sally s lemonade stand open for business in the back foyer of the church as families are arriving for church as a surprise for the children, or as they enter children s church, and give away free lemonade in small cups. Object Talks The Saw and the Level Supplies: video projection The video clip for this lesson features Karl, the Kidologist, doing a short object lesson featuring a saw who is nervous to make a cut because he is afraid to make a mistake. The level encourages him that it is better to take action, even at the risk of making mistakes. Better to makes mistakes and learn from them, than to do nothing and miss out on what God wants to do. Use this short teaching video to show the kids or to train a leader to do the talk live. Featured verse: 1 Corinthians 4:2; 1 Timothy 4:14 Let s Talk! Small Group Discussion Start the small group time with a contest of thumb wrestling. You can have a series in which each person competes against each other person, keeping track of wins and losses until you have a championship match between the two people with the most wins! Declare the Thumb Wrestling Champion the one who has the toughest thumb of them all! Use the following questions to help children process what they ve learned: 1) What are some jobs you have? 2) What job do you feel like you are a champ at? 3) What job do you feel like a loser at? 4) How could you improve as a faithful worker? 5) Where do you need to improve the most? In your attitude, abilities, or action? 6) What is something you could do THIS WEEK to show your parents that you are a faithful worker? (clean your room, do yard work, finish a project you are behind on, start a project early, finish an abandoned job, etc.) 7) How can we pray for you?

11 on presented by month day year Take some time as a group to pray for each other. Pray that you would all be faithful workers. Pray that the kids would accept the gift of work, have a good attitude, learn new abilities, and step up and take action when God gives opportunities to serve Him and others. Awarded to for Being a Great Helper award DiscipleTown Super Citizen Choose a child who takes action in some way during the service and award him or her for taking action. (Perhaps the child sees something that needs to be done and jumps up to help.) Let s Pray! Dear Jesus, You are a God who gets stuff done, and the most amazing part is that You LOVE to get stuff done using Your people. If You wanted, You could just use miracles and do it all Yourself, but for some crazy reason You love to use us. Maybe You love to show what amazing things You can do through people who are willing to trust You! For whatever reason, I know it s how You work! Please help these children come to discover You the way I have. Help them to accept the gift of work, to work hard to learn new abilities and grow in the ones they have, to develop a winning attitude that will take them far, and to master their abilities. If they will do that, there is no limit to the exciting adventures You will take them on as they serve You as faithful workers! In Your holy name, amen. Cy s Challenge: Think of a job you are sure to be asked to do this week, and do it before you are asked! Let s Review! If you have extra time, use these review questions to keep the kids focused on the lesson until time to dismiss. A handful of candy will help you keep their attention. After each question, take a minute to reiterate the lesson point related to the question. 1) What is a round TUIT? 2) What did we learn from our game? 3) What did Lazy Larry learn? 4) Which brother pleased his father? 5) What did Nehemiah accomplish? 6) Fill in the blank: A lazy man is like a on a door. 10

12 For the Home DiscipleTown Table Talker: Give each child a copy of this week s DiscipleTown Table Talker. Be sure to show the kids how to put it together and encourage them to ask their parents to lead family devotions three times this week. Parent Copy and send the below to help your parents connect with their kids during the week. Send them early in the week, but not on Sunday. As a courtesy, be sure parents have opted to receive these s. Review and edit as necessary to reflect the lesson elements you have used. You can also find this as a Microsoft Word document in your download bundle. Dear Mom and Dad, While the topic of work may not immediately appeal to children (or adults for that matter), God invented the whole idea! Beginning with the first chapters of the Bible and throughout Scripture, God presents work not as a chore but as a gift from Him. Work allows us to engage in God s plan for His wonderful creation. In this unit we have introduced your child to the gift of work and how to be faithful workers through their attitudes, their abilities, and their actions. This month we have taught your child(ren) that when we accept the gift of work, have a good attitude, learn new abilities, and get into action, God can provide for our needs! This past week we helped children understand the importance of being a good worker through taking action. They learned that our actions as workers are a reflection of our character and serve as a testimony to our faith. The saying Actions speak louder than words is especially true when it comes to our work. Hard work is rewarding not only because it rewards us, but because it gives us a great sense of accomplishment when we see the fruit of our labor in a job well done. I hope that you have seen some tangible results in your child(ren) s work around the house and in their schoolwork as a result of this unit. We ve tried to help them see that while work may not always be fun, it can be fulfilling! I also hope that you have discovered how fulfilling it can be to take a few extra minutes at your meals and invest in some meaningful family discussions with the DiscipleLand Table Talkers. They are a great way to engage your child(ren) in conversations about what we are learning at church. It is a small way you can help us partner with you in your home. Please don t hesitate to let me know how I can pray for your family. Building Young Disciples, [Your Name] 11

13 BONUS MATERIALS Use these options to extend your time or as substitutes for the ideas above. Chip s Snack Time! Supplies: vanilla wafers Buy a BUNCH of vanilla wafers and let the children enjoy building walls with them before they enjoy being an invading army and eating the walls! Group Activity Everyone knows how to play Simon Says, but instead of Simon, play using the leader s name instead. This is where all the children stand and the leader gives various instructions preceded by Teacher Says. If the teacher preceded the command with Teacher Says (for example, Teacher Says stand on one foot ), the children are to obey. But if the teacher doesn t precede the instruction with Teacher Says and only says, Put your hands on your head, they are not to obey. Any children who mess up and obey when they shouldn t are out and sit down. Continue until there is only one child left, or until time is up. The point is that our actions matter, and we should only do the things that God Says. Additional Ideas Mingle Mingle! This is a fun activity that the children will especially enjoy! It is extremely simple but fun. All you do is instruct the kids to all stand up and mingle meaning to walk around and mingle. They can dangle their arms, bobble their heads, waddle, and mutter, Mingle, mingle, mingle. Don t worry, they will figure it out! The only catch is that when you say, Freeze! (or blow a whistle if you have a large group), they are to instantly freeze in whatever position they are in! You can play this for several minutes. There is no other point than the fun of it! It is a hoot to watch a room full of children mingling! 12

14 Puppet Intro Round Tuit DIRECTOR S NOTES The words in italics are notes for you and your puppeteers; they are not to be read aloud. You will need paper cut into a disc shape. [Puppet is happy and bouncy.] Leader: Why are you in such a good mood, [puppet name]? Puppet: I have great news! I have discovered a way to never have to do any work again the rest of my life! Leader: I m not sure this is such good news, but please explain. Puppet: Well, you know how people are always saying they will do things when they get around to it? Leader: Uh, yeah, I ve heard people say that. How is that good news? Puppet: Well, I have found a way to get them to do my work for me! Leader: How so? Puppet: [Hands leader the disc-shaped paper.] I made a bunch of these. It s a round TUIT! Leader: What is a round TUIT? Puppet: See, whenever someone says, I ll do it when I get around to it, you pull out a round TUIT and say, Here s a round TUIT so now you can do it! Leader: [Laughs.] So this is your plan to not have to work? Puppet: Yup! I ll never have to work another day in my life! I ll just have other people work for me! With a pocket full of these, I am set for a life of leisure and relaxation! Leader: But then, when will you do all the things that you need to get done? Puppet: Oh, I ll do that stuff when I get around to it. Leader: [Smiles at audience.] When did you say you d do all the things you need to do? Puppet: I told you already, I ll do them when I get around to it. For now, I m just going to have other poor suckers do my work for me whenever they are dumb enough to say they will do stuff when they get around to it. I ll just whip out one of my round TUITs and make them do it for me! Ah ha! I am sooooo smart! Leader: But help me understand here, just so I am clear: when will you do the work that you need to get done? Puppet: Look, I told you already, I ll do it when I get around to it, okay? Leader: [Smiles at audience.] That s what I thought you said. So I just thought maybe I should give you this a round TUIT! So you can do your work now! Puppet: No! Done in by my own joke! Leader: You know, [puppet name], too often people do put off the work they need to do until they get around to it today we will be learning about the importance of being faithful in our actions. We need to do our work, not just talk about it. Puppet: Yeah. Now that you ve given me this round TUIT, it reminds me, I have some work I need to get done. I ll see ya around. *PUPPET: Develop a puppet character to use regularly. The children will get to know the personality and enjoy these regular visits. Dee, Cy, and Paul puppets are available at DiscipleLand.com How to Be Faithful Workers Lesson , DiscipleLand. Permission granted to reproduce for volunteers.

15 DiscipleTown Visitor Script DIRECTOR S NOTES The words in italics are notes for you and your volunteers; they are not to be read aloud. [As leader is finishing his talk, a man starts meandering across the stage in a zigzag pattern. He shouldn t act drunk, but merely act like he is in no hurry. He looks behind things and stops to look at things.] Lazy Larry*: Yo, I m Larry, but my friends call me Lazy Larry. Leader: And you are telling me this? Larry: Sure, I think it s a compliment! The world needs more lazy people. Leader: Really? Larry: Sure! Everyone s in too much of a hurry going here and there and everywhere, never stopping to smell the roses [Looks around.] You got any roses around here? Leader: Well, I agree, we do need to stop and take time to relax and enjoy life, but that isn t the same as being lazy. We need to be responsible for our actions too. Larry: Actions, smactions! That s what my mom is always telling me like just this morning when she told me to get out of bed. Leader: [Astonished.] You still live with your mom? Larry: Of course! I never got around to finishing third grade, or moving out. Leader: Then how do you expect to get a job? Larry: Easy peasy, dude. Uncle Bob gave me a job family, ya know. I got connections. On my way there now, actually. Leader: Wow, well, you are lucky, you know. When do you start? Larry: Oh, he said to get there this morning, but hey, it s family, so whenever I get there, it s cool, dude. [Enter Bob, visibly upset.] Boss Bob: So there you are! Where have you been? Never mind! I gave you a chance because you are family, but I ve needed you all morning, and here you are [Mutters and mumbles in a funny way.] YOU RE FIRED! [Exit Bob, storming offstage. Larry is stunned.] Leader: Larry, you know, you might want to think about changing that nickname from Lazy Larry to Loyal Larry, because your actions are important. Larry: I think I need to think about that. And go apologize to my uncle for blowing him off when he needed me. Leader: That sounds like a great first action. Good luck. I ll pray for you. *CHARACTERS: These are suggested characters and names. Please feel free to change or adjust according to the actors and props you have available. How to Be Faithful Workers Lesson , DiscipleLand. Permission granted to reproduce for volunteers.

16 Curriculum Map (DiscipleTown Units in no particular order) How to Worship God How to Use My Bible How to Show Respect How to Pray How to Be Faithful Workers How to Love God How to Memorize God s Word How to Be Global Christians How to Grow Spiritual Fruit How to Make Good Friends How to Walk in the Spirit How to Be Jesus Disciple How to Build Character How to Navigate the New Testament How to Explain My Faith How to Earn Eternal Rewards How to Follow God s Plan How to Make Good Choices How to Navigate the Old Testament How to Study My Bible How to Know the Truth How to Discover Gifts and Talents How to Walk Victoriously How to Meet with God Each DiscipleTown Unit will teach your kids an essential how to skill to become victorious disciples of Jesus! TM.com