Lesson 11: Psalm 119: Delighting in Right Living

Leader Guide for One Room

Classroom: LCC WEB

Psalm 119:9-16; Daniel 5

05/31/2020

Kids share about a topic related to the lesson.

Kids sing songs of praise to God.

Kids watch a video and discuss the Bible point.

Kids reveal and decode the secret message to the king, and they make a collage of words from Psalm 119.

Kids make display stands to hold Bible verses.

Kids use a chemical reaction to reveal hidden words.

Kids make lists of what the Bible can teach them.

Kids pray verses from Psalm 119.

Opening

[5 min]

Welcome

Supplies

• Bible
• poster board
• markers
• tape
• washable ink pad

Easy Prep

• Draw a large open book on the poster board. Leave the pages of the book blank. Hang the poster on the wall.

Welcome

• Thank kids for coming.
• Make announcements.
• Introduce new kids.
• Collect the offering.

Introduce the Lesson

            Say: We’re learning a chapter of the Bible called Psalm 119. Psalm 119 is a song, but we don’t know the tune. It’s all about how awesome God’s Word is! Today’s part of Psalm 119 tells us that God’s Word helps us live right, so let’s make thumbprints representing “thumbs-up” to decorate our Bible. Indicate the poster on the wall.

• Have each child press a thumb in the ink pad and then hold the thumb in a thumbs-up position while pressing the thumb on the left-hand page of the book you drew.
• You’ll continue to add to the poster for two weeks, so leave it hanging.

Share

• Tell kids about a good choice you made in the last week.
• Have kids form pairs. Ask kids to share about good choices they made in the last week.
• After partners have shared, ask two or three kids to share with the whole group.

Summarize

            Open a Bible to Psalm 119, and say: Sometimes it’s hard to make good choices. But we can find so much joy in the Bible because God’s Word helps us live right. Let’s dive into God’s exciting, true book! And let’s talk with God.

            Pray, thanking God for helping us live right through his Word.

Music Video

[10 min]

Vast Voyage

Supplies

• “Vast Voyage” (watch or download here)
• “We Can Trust Him” (Psalm 33:4) (watch or download here)
• “Into the Bible” (watch or download here)

Tip

• Don’t have internet in your classroom? That’s okay! You can download the videos before class using the “download” button at the link provided, or just purchase this quarter’s DVD here.

Sing Songs to God

            Sing the three songs in any order.

Talk-About Video

[10 min]

The Right Choice

Supplies

• “The Right Choice” teaching video (watch or download here)

Tip:

• Don’t have internet in your classroom? That’s okay! You can download the videos before class using the “download” button at the link provided, or just purchase this quarter’s DVD here.

Discuss and Watch “The Right Choice”

            Say: God’s Word helps us live right. How? Let’s look at some practical examples of God’s Word helping a girl make the right choice.

            Watch “The Right Choice.”

            Ask: • When have you been in situations like the ones in the video? Share your own answer first.

            • How did you know what to do?

            • What other examples can you think of to show that God’s Word helps us live right?

            Say: Wow! In this girl’s life, no matter what happened she had a Bible verse that helped her make the right choice. When we don’t know the right thing to do, we can always turn to the Bible, because God’s Word helps us live right.

Core Bible Discovery

[20 min]

Psalm 119: Delighting in Right Living (Psalm 119:9-16; Daniel 5)

Supplies

• Bibles (at least 4)
• white bulletin board paper, poster board, or newsprint (2 large pieces)
• white crayon
• markers
• paper
• pens

Easy Prep

• Tape both pieces of bulletin board paper to the wall.
• On 1 piece, use white crayon to write the following words in large letters: numbered, weighed, and divided.
• Bookmark Psalm 119:9-16 in 4 Bibles.

Reveal the Writing

            Say: Today we’re learning that God’s Word helps us live right. There’s a chapter of the Bible, Psalm 119, that’s all about how amazing God’s Word is! Did you know Psalm 119 is the longest chapter of the Bible? It has 176 verses! And all those verses are a celebration of God’s awesome words to us in the Bible—like this one!

            Read Psalm 119:16.

            Say: There was a guy in the Bible named Daniel who delighted in God’s Word like that. Even though he and other people in his country were captured and taken to a foreign land, he kept on following God. He knew God’s Word, and it gave him wisdom.

            One day, when the king of that foreign land needed help, he came to Daniel. Let’s find out what happened.

            First of all, the king and his friends were having a party, and they were using special dishes from God’s Temple! Those weren’t supposed to be used for an ordinary dinner party!

            Ask: • Tell about dishes your family uses only for special occasions. Share your own example first.

            Say: Now imagine if your mom or dad came into your room and found you smearing dirt all over those dishes.

            Ask: • What do you think would happen?

            Say: Well, the king got in trouble, all right. God showed up in a surprising way! All of a sudden, a hand appeared and started writing on the king’s wall!

            Have kids hold up their fingers and pretend to write in the air.

            Say: Let’s see what the hand wrote.

            Have kids work together to color with markers all over the bulletin board paper you wrote on earlier, revealing the white letters. Have an older child read the words aloud once they’re revealed.

            Ask: • What do you think these words meant for the king?

            Say: God had a message for the king, but the king couldn’t really understand it any more than we can! But the king found out something important about Daniel.

            Read Daniel 5:11-12.

            Say: Daniel was wise and could solve problems because he knew God’s Word! God’s Word helps us live right, and then we can be an example like Daniel! Let’s find out what Daniel said the words meant.

Find Out the Meaning

            Have kids form three groups with at least one reader in each group. One group will look up and read Daniel 5:26, another Daniel 5:27, and the third Daniel 5:28.

            Ask: • What’s the message for the king?

            Say: Yikes! That doesn’t sound very good. The king was about to lose his kingdom because he didn’t measure up. Unlike Daniel, the king didn’t read and follow God’s Word. God’s Word helps us live right, but without it, the king was living badly.

Make a Word Collage

            Say: We saw how God wrote some words on the wall as a message for the king. We have messages from God in his Word, the Bible. They’re messages to help us live right, so let’s read God’s messages.

            Have kids form four groups. Assign each group two verses from Psalm 119:9-16. Each group will read the verses together, and then kids will each choose a word that most delights them from the verses. When they’ve chosen a word, kids will write it on the blank bulletin board paper. Encourage kids to decorate their words or use fancy letters, such as bubble letters or block letters, to write their words. Younger kids can draw pictures that show being happy or delighted instead of writing a word.

            Have kids step back and look at the collage.

            Say: Wow! Look at all the messages God has for us in just these few verses! No wonder the people who wrote Psalm 119 delighted in God’s Word. They knew God’s Word helps us live right. Read Psalm 119:9.

Craft

[20 min]

Bible Verse Display

Supplies

• disposable paper bowls (1 per child)
• craft sticks (1 per child)
• chenille wires (2 per child)
• pens
• markers
• “Bible Verse Display” handouts (1 per reader) (download here)
• white card stock
• stickers
• page 2 of the “Bible Truths” handout (1 per nonreader) (download here)
• scissors

Easy Prep

• Make a sample craft to show kids.
• For each nonreader, fold a piece of card stock as follows: Fold up 1 inch at the bottom of the page. Fold the remaining piece in half. Then slightly unfold it so it stands up like a tent with a ledge.
• Cut apart the pictures on the “Bible Truths” handout.

Make a Bible Verse Display

            Show kids the sample craft you made. Give each reader a bowl and a “Bible Verse Display” handout. Give each nonreader a piece of folded card stock and a set of pictures from the “Bible Truths” handout. Set out the remaining supplies to share, and have kids follow these directions to make Bible Verse Displays.

• Older Kids:
  • Color the outside of the bowl any way you’d like.
  • Curl two chenille wires to the halfway point using a finger.
  • With the bowl upside down, poke the chenille wires through the center of the bowl, positioning the curls on top, and twist them together above and below the holes as shown in the picture. (You may need to use a pen to poke the holes.)
  • Poke a craft stick through the bowl right behind the chenille wires so the verses can lean against it.
  • Cut apart the verses on your handout, and choose which verse you want to display first.
  • Put the whole stack of Bible verses in the curls of your chenille wires to hold them, positioning the one you want to display first in front.
• Younger Kids:
  • Decorate the card stock with markers and stickers.
  • Color the pictures of the Bible truths.
  • Choose your favorite picture, and put it on top of the stack. Then balance the whole stack of pictures on the ledge of your stand.

Talk About It

            Ask: • Tell about the verse you chose to display. What do you like about it?

            • What’s one thing you like about the Bible?

            Say: God’s Word is full of amazing stories and wisdom! God’s Word helps us live right. You can use your Bible Verse Display to see Bible verses all the time! You can rotate through the stack to switch things up or even make new cards when you find new verses you like to read.

            Have kids take their displays home and use them to remind themselves, their friends, and their families of what God’s Word says.

Object Lesson

[10 min]

Writing Revealed

Supplies

• white printer paper
• baking soda
• measuring spoons
• 3-ounce disposable cups (2 per child)
• grape juice (about 1 ounce per child)
• cotton swabs (1 per child)
• paintbrushes (1 per child)
• tables
• wet wipes (in case of spills)

Easy Prep

• Mix equal parts water and baking soda, and then pour small portions into disposable cups, 1 for each child. The baking soda will settle to the bottom of the cups quickly, so stir the mixture well and continue to stir as you divide it among the cups to ensure each portion has baking soda in it.
• Pour small portions of grape juice into disposable cups, 1 for each child.

Use Grape Juice to Reveal Hidden Words

            Say: In today’s Bible story, Daniel was the only one who knew the meaning of words God had written on a wall. Let’s experiment with our own kind of hidden messages and see if, like Daniel, we can figure out what a message is telling us.   

• Have kids gather around two tables, one for kids who can read and write, and another for kids who can’t. Give each child a sheet of paper, a cotton swab, a paintbrush, a cup of the baking-soda water, and a cup of grape juice. (For the younger kids, you may want to hold off on distributing grape juice until it’s time to use it.)
• Have each writer come up with a one-word action to write as a “hidden message.” Allow a minute or two for everyone to think, and offer some ideas if needed, such as “jump,” “clap,” or “run.”
• Kids who can’t write will draw a picture instead.
• Have kids write their messages or draw their shapes by first using the cotton swab to mix up the baking-soda water, then painting the message on the paper with the wet cotton swab. Adult and teen helpers can help anyone struggling to spell the chosen action, but reassure kids they won’t be judged based on spelling.
• The cotton swab can be dabbed in the baking-soda water as many times as needed until the message is complete, but guide kids to not soak their papers or the message will take too long to dry.
• The baking-soda water needs to dry for a couple of minutes and should become almost invisible. Kids can blow on their papers to help them dry.
• Once the messages are dry, have readers move around the table to stand at a different message. Nonreaders can stay at their own pictures.
• Next, have each child use a paintbrush to lightly and quickly paint grape juice over the paper and watch as the message is revealed. The places where the baking-soda water was applied will turn gray.
• Have readers do the action they think the message says to do. Younger kids can show their pictures to the others at their table.

Talk About It

            Say: You painted your hidden message with baking soda water, and baking soda makes a compound called a base. Grape juice is an acid. Bases and acids are opposites, so when they’re mixed, they cause what’s called a chemical reaction. The chemical reaction turned the words gray when you painted grape juice over the message written with baking-soda water.

            Ask: • What was easy or hard about figuring out what the hidden message looked like or what it was telling you to do?

            • What’s easy or hard about knowing what the Bible says to do?

            Say: Sometimes it’s fun to figure out a hidden message, and sometimes it’s frustrating. Thankfully, God doesn’t hide his message for us about what he wants us to do to live right. God gave us the Bible—God’s Word—and God’s Word helps us live right.

Deeper Bible

[15 min]

Can the Bible Really Show Me How to Live?

Supplies

• Bibles
• whiteboard or poster board and markers
• 11x17 paper (3 sheets)
• washable markers

Make a List of Lessons

            Say: Have you ever seen those posters that say things like “Everything I need to know I learned from…”? For example, “Everything I need to know I learned in kindergarten,” or “Everything I need to know I learned from watching ‘Sesame Street.’ ” Usually they include a list of funny or meaningful lessons.

            We’re going to make a poster like that now.

            Make two columns on the whiteboard or poster board. Label the first one “I learned…” and the second one “from…”

            Say: I’ll start with an example. I learned to fly a kite from watching Mary Poppins. Fill in the chart with “fly a kite” in the first column and “Mary Poppins” in the second column. Feel free to use a different example if you prefer.

            Allow time for kids to call out their own funny life lessons, then add them to the list.

            When you have a fairly robust list, point to it and say: Wow! We’ve learned great lessons from a lot of different places. So if we can learn important lessons like these from all sorts of places, what’s so special about the Bible? After all, it was written a long time ago—before computers or smartphones or lots of things we have today. Can the Bible really show us how to live better than anything else can? Let’s dig in to what the Bible can do for us that’s unlike any other book.

Dig Deeper

            Form three groups with at least one reader in each group. Give each group a Bible, an 11x17 sheet of paper, and some markers.

            Say: Let’s see what the Bible can do.

            Read 2 Timothy 3:16-17.

            Assign each group one of the following topics from 2 Timothy 3:16-17, and have kids write it as a header at the top of their paper. They can also make a small note on the back of the paper of which references they should look up.

• Everything I know is true I learned from the Bible. (John 3:16; 1 John 3:1; Psalm 139:16)
• Everything I know about right and wrong I learned from the Bible. (Philippians 2:14; Romans 12:9; Romans 12:17-18)
• Everything I’m prepared to do I learned from the Bible. (James 1:27; Philippians 2:4; Colossians 3:23)

            When groups have their headers written, they can start looking up the passages and making lists of what they can learn about what is true, what is right and wrong, or what they’re prepared to do. They may come up with more than one thing per verse! Kids can also decorate their posters if they have extra time, which is a great way to involve kids who can’t contribute to the writing.

            When everyone is ready, allow time for groups to present their posters and the lessons they learned.

            Say: God’s Word helps us live right. The verse we read earlier said God’s Word teaches us what’s true, makes us realize what’s wrong, and prepares us to serve God. How cool that the Bible is jam-packed with awesome life lessons for us!

Life Application Wrap-Up

[5 min]

Prayers of Delight

Supplies

• Bible

Pray From Psalm 119

• Read Psalm 119:11 as a prayer, pausing for kids to repeat after you.
• Read Psalm 119:14 as a prayer, pausing for kids to repeat after you.
• Read Psalm 119:16 as a prayer, pausing for kids to repeat after you.
• Pray: God, thank you for the Bible! Thank you that your Word helps us live right! We celebrate and delight in the fact that you speak to us through the Bible! In Jesus’ name, amen.
• Thank kids for coming, and encourage them to come back next week.

Epic Teachings of the Bible, Lesson 11: Psalm 119: Delighting in Right Living, Design and base content Copyright © Group Publishing, Inc. Licensed for use with 1-20 students. Permission to reproduce granted for local church use only.