Don’t be afraid and lie; trust the Lord! Includes a teaching guide and 3 games.
Intro Game #1: Lie Detector
This game is similar to Two Truths and a Lie. Tell students that you’re going to tell them a story about what happened to you. Most of it will be true, but someone of it won’t be. It’s their job to call out whenever they think you’re saying something that isn’t true.
Intro Game #2: Bad Interview
Have students pair up. One will interview the other. They can ask the person questions about themselves or to tell them a story about something they did. The one rule is that the person answering the questions can only tell lies. Give them a couple of minutes and then have them switch roles.
Lesson
Ask students, Is it ever okay to lie about something?
When do you think it would be okay to lie? (Affirm that God always wants us to tell the truth unless we’re playing a game and people know we’re lying. We should never try to trick someone.)
Last time, we learned about a man named Abram. Does anyone remember what God told Abram to do?
God told Abram to leave his country and his friends and his family and go to a new country.
Did Abram listen to God and go to that new country? (Yes. Abram went to the country of Canaan.)
(Summarize Genesis 12:10-20 with this Bible story asking the included questions as you read.)
But soon, the country of Canaan started to run out of food. It hadn’t rained for a long time and all the plants and animals were dying. So Abram left Canaan and went to Egypt to live there for a while. On their way to Egypt, Abram told his wife, Sarai, “Pretend that you are my sister and not my wife while we are in Egypt. You are such a beautiful woman that someone will want to kill me if they think I’m your husband so that they can take you for themselves.”
And sure enough, when they got to Egypt, one of the men saw how beautiful Sarai was and told Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, all about her. So Pharaoh came and took Sarai to be his wife!
What do you think about that? Can Pharaoh come and take Sarai to be his wife if she’s already married to Abram? (No, he can’t.)
So God made Pharaoh and everyone in his palace sick because he had taken Sarai to be his wife. Then, Pharaoh called Abram and said, “What have you done to me? You’ve made everyone in my palace sick! You should have told me Sarai was your wife! Take her back and leave my palace right now.”
Do you remember why Abram lied about Sarai not being his wife? (Because he was afraid that someone would kill him and take Sarai away from him.)
Do you think Abram should have lied? (No, he shouldn’t have lied.)
What do you think Abram should have done instead? (He should have known that God was always with him and would protect him from being killed if he told the truth about Sarai.)
And we don’t have to be afraid of anything, either, because we know that God is always with us and can protect us. All we have to do is trust in God.
(Tell students about a time you lied because you were afraid of getting in trouble. Explain the positive result of what would have happened if you had told the truth.)
Game: Alex and Alicia
Help students apply the lesson by giving advice to two fictitious students.
Story #1: Alex’s Accident
One day, Alex was playing with his friend Arthur. They were running around the house, chasing each other. Suddenly, Alex tripped and fell. As he was falling, he knocked over a picture of his grandma. As he heard the glass break, he knew he was going to get in trouble. He wasn’t supposed to run in the house to begin with and now he had broken something. He thought about lying about it and saying that he didn’t know how the picture broke. He even thought about telling his parents that his friend, Arthur, knocked the picture over.
What should Alex do in this situation?
(Alex should tell the truth even though he might get in trouble. God will be happy with Alex for not lying.)
Story #2: Alicia’s Good Hair Day
One morning, Alicia was on her way to school. She was riding the bus with her friend, Ally. “Your hair looks so nice today, Alicia!” Ally exclaimed. “Thank you,” Alicia replied. “My mom braided my hair this morning.” “Oh, I’m going to braid my hair!” Ally said, and she started to braid her own hair. When Ally was finished, she asked, Alicia, “What do you think?” Alicia looked at Ally’s hair. Ally’s braids did not look very good at all, but she didn’t want to hurt her friend’s feelings.
What should Alicia do in this situation?
(Alicia should tell the truth. If Ally’s braids don’t look very good because she tried to braid her hair herself, then the other students might laugh at her when they get to school. God will be happy with Alicia if she tells Ally the truth to keep her from being embarrassed.)
Closing Prayer
Father, we thank You that You are always with us. Help us to always trust in You and tell the truth so that You will be happy with us. Amen.
This lesson is included in my book, Father Abraham: Children Sunday School Lessons on Genesis 12-50.