How to ShowRespect

Lesson 4: Public Respect

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Lesson 4—Public RespectUnit SummaryPeople often say: “Kids today have no respect.” But what is respect and where does it come from? We are quick to teach children to respect adults, but biblical respect begins with respect-ing God, respecting ourselves—who God made us to be—and then, based on that foundation, respecting others. Everyone wants respect, but giving it doesn’t come naturally. The good news is that teaching kids respect is simple: to teach respect you must show respect. Writer James Baldwin observed, “Children have never been good at listening to their elders, but they have never failed to imitate them.” When children are respected, they are inclined to respect others. Jesus emphasized this concept in the Golden Rule—treat others the way you want them to treat you. If everyone consistently practiced this principle, the world would be a com-pletely different place!

In this unit, your children will learn basic skills to help them show respect to God, themselves, their families, and others. They will realize that respect begins as an attitude. If we develop a respectful attitude, respectful behavior will soon follow. We can help children become more respectful by helping them accept who God made them to be and by encouraging them to improve their attitudes toward other people.

Lesson SummaryChildren don’t often think about their reputation, but it is critical that they begin while they are young. Luke 2:52 talks about how Jesus, as a boy, began to grow in favor with God and man. Learning to show respect to family, friends, and in all relationships will have an impact that lasts for

years to come. This lesson will help children begin to think beyond the present and realize that the choices

they are making now will have an impact on their future.

Paul’s Power Principle: Your reputa-tion is extremely valuable; guard it wisely.

How to Show Respect

Know• After Jesus humbled Himself, God exalted

Him before everyone

Feel• Motivated to treat others as they want to be

treated

Do• Practice making other people feel good

about themselves

In this lesson, your children will...

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SPARK INTERESTChoose from the following activities and ideas to engage kids and grab their attention.

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org Welcome!—Puppet for President

As preparation for the puppet intro (if you use that lesson option), have “[Puppet’s Name] for church president” petitions on display all around the room. Encourage kids to sign the petitions if they think your puppet would make a good church president. It would be best to even have some color campaign posters of your puppet in front of the church, in the pastor’s office, in the sanctuary, etc. The more creative you are, the better it will look. Add some campaign slogans as well, such as “I’ll put the U back in CHURCH” or other silliness. The less you explain what it is all about, the better, as the leader will be asking the puppet about it during that part of the lesson.

Let’s Meet-n-Greet!Have the children turn and greet the kids around them, learn their names, and ask each other if they have ever had a nickname that they are willing to share. Leaders, be sure to stop whatever you are doing to move through the audience and greet the children, especially those you do not recognize. If you have a nickname be sure to share that information as a way to connect with the kids. Announce any birthdays for the week. (See the How to Use DiscipleTown guide for quick and easy ways to acknowledge visitors and birthdays.)

When you open the service, ask how many had a nickname they liked. How many had a nickname they didn’t like? Nicknames can be a part of our reputation; whether good or bad, they can be hard to change. Today we are going to learn about the importance of working on building a good reputation.

PowerPoint PresentationAs you plan your lesson, select PowerPoint slides that correspond to the lesson elements you choose. In the “Slide Sorter” View, you can rear-range and/or delete the slides as necessary. For descriptions of the included slides and tips on their use, see the notes accompanying each slide.

General Supplies Bibles, puppets, video projection (optional) Pencils, pens, paper

Spark Interest WELCOME!: “Puppet for church president” signs LET’S PLAY!: cups for stacking, wads of paper CONNECT WITH YOUR KIDS: none

Explore Scripture KEYVERSE: none

Inspire Action DRAMATIZE THE POINT: various props (see

activity)

Welcome to DiscipleTown

It s Time for DiscipleTown

SUpplieS

Let s Meet-n-Greet

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gLet’s WorshipAs you introduce the worship time, encourage the children that if they want to live a good life and be victorious, they can’t do it on their own. It all starts with Jesus, and starting our day with Him!

Recommended Song: I Go to Jesus from You’re a VIP to G-O-D, available at Kidology.org

Puppet IntroLeader & puppet introduce today’s lesson. You will find a scripted version of this intro at the end of the lesson.

Note: Before puppet comes out, leader should collect the “[Puppet] for president” petitions that the children were signing as they arrived.

Puppet comes out saying, “Vote for me for church president!” Leader says, holding the petitions, “I see from these petitions that you are running for church president.” Puppet interrupts, “Yes! Vote for ME for church president!” Leader says, “Um, excuse me! First of all, who are you running against?” Puppet says, “I think no one. That should greatly increase my chances, don’t you think?” Leader asks, “And what, exactly, is a church president, may I ask?” Puppet says, “Well, you know, it’s like any president. They don’t really DO anything. They just talk and go around saying what should be done and go to meetings and get their picture taken a lot—oh, and they are really famous and popular!” Leader says, “So that’s what you think a president is?” Puppet says, “Basically. The key is they get all the credit for the work other people do. They are the Top Tomato, the Big Cheese, the Head Rooster. Everyone looks up to them. So I want to be the church president. It’s the best job in the church! Vote for me!” Leader thinks for a moment, “They also get blamed for everything that goes wrong, you know.” Puppet looks surprised: “They do?” Leader says, “Yep. In good times people love them; in bad times, people blame them.” Puppet thinks, “Oh dear. Maybe church president isn’t the best way to work on my reputation, then.” Leader says, “You know, if you want a good reputation, the best way is to just be good. Your reputation is like a mirror; it just reflects you. You don’t have to run for an office to build a reputation; you just have to be you. Your reputation is just what people already think of you, and I think the kids already like you just the way you are.” Leader turns to the kids, “How many of you already like [puppet’s name]? See? I think you already have a great reputa-tion.” Puppet looks surprised and happy and says, “And I’m not even church president!” Leader agrees, “And you’re not even church president!”

Let s Worship

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gLet’s Play—Stacking Up a Good Reputation!Supplies: cups for stacking (option 1: three sets of Speed Stacks® cups; option 2: giant cups to have on stage, three Speed Stacks® timers and mats; option 3: styrofoam or plastic cups), paper wads

Speed Stacks® sport cups are available at a discounted rate at: www.Kidology.org/SpeedStacks

STACK ATTACK!: Choose two teams to compete. Cup colors do not matter—in fact, mixing them up is better. Just divide the cups evenly—the more you have, the better. The object is for each team to build the highest pyramid of cups while attacking the other team’s stack. Make lines on the stage where the kids will build their towers. They must stay behind their tower lines. Give them some wadded-up paper to use to attack the other team’s pyramid. (If you use the giant Speed Stack® cups, you may need some beanbags to knock them over.) Let kids know that they may TOSS the paper balls (or beanbags) at the other team’s pyramid, but that any throwing you consider too hard or wild will get them eliminated from the game; encourage them to play with consideration. Let them know that the winning team will be determined by how many rows tall their pyramid is.

Round One: The kids race to build a pyramid on the tape to see who can build the highest tower. But they can also toss crumpled-up paper (or beanbags) at the other team’s tower to knock it down. They cannot block the throws or reach over the tape that they are building on. Cups or beanbags between the lines are out of play. (Helpers can remove items from the center and give them to the closest side.) Give teams two minutes to build their pyramids while trying to destroy the other team’s pyramid. At the end, announce the winner!

Round Two: Remove the paper wads and beanbags. This time the teams only build—no throwing. Go only one minute. Award the prize to the team with the tallest pyramid.

Round Three: Return the beanbags, but ask teams not to use them. (Be careful NOT to say it is against the rules; just nicely ask teams not to use them.)

The Point: Taking time to knock down others’ work costs you. If both teams just worked on building, they would do so much better. When they were building and throwing, neither team did very well. When they built only, both did great; even the team that didn’t win did way better! On the third round, notice that I didn’t say it was against the rules to throw the beanbags—you could have—I simply asked you not to. I was proud of you that you didn’t. If you had, the other team would have probably thrown back, and it would have been like the first round again! That is how life is. We have the ability to hurt and tear others down, but God asks us not to. Instead, if we work on building ourselves, everyone will improve! Lead kids in a big round of applause for the stackers!

Let s Play

Connect With Your KidsOur reputations are very important. It takes a long time to earn a good reputation, but it can be lost quickly and can take even longer to rebuild. Have you ever been in a situation where you had to make a difficult choice in order to protect your reputation? I have shared with my students about a time when I went to a final party to say goodbye to my high school friends, most of whom I wouldn’t see again. I went early and planned to leave early, knowing that there might be some things later on that I didn’t want to be a part of. Before I left they decided to all pose for a group picture. Just as the picture was going to be taken I noticed some of the people in the picture I didn’t know were holding drinks and were underage. I didn’t want to be in a picture with underage drinkers, as that could hurt my Christian reputation, but I also didn’t want to be disrespectful to my friends because I wanted to be a friend of sinners like Jesus was. What was I to do? God gave me an idea. I quickly went and got a jug of milk and poured a glass and posed with the jug and glass of milk so it would be obvious I wasn’t drinking, but that I was among friends. Years later, I ran into a young man in a store who asked me, “Are you that guy who had the milk jug at Mike’s party?” I said, “Yep, that would be me.” He went on to tell me about the problems in his life and asked me about Jesus, and I got to share Christ with him. Pro-tecting your reputation while being friends with those who don’t know Christ is very important. How have you been in the world but not of it? Share a real-life example with your students.

DiscipleTown VisitorMargo Manners* Margo is a little old lady who enters with an apron, cane, picnic basket (contains 2 plates, 2 napkins, 8 carrots, 2 cookies and 2 drink boxes), gray hair, and glasses at the end of her nose.

[Set up a small table and two chairs.]

Leader: Oh hello, Mrs. Manners, it is so nice to see you again! I hope you have another lesson for us today on how we can use manners in everyday life!

Margo: Of course, my dear, it is my pleasure! Now, ladies and gentlemen, sit up nice and straight! I will need two volunteers who are sitting tall, not talking, and who are ready and willing to help! [Chooses two kids to help.] Now, ladies and gentlemen, I am going to teach you how we conduct ourselves at the dinner table. [Hands picnic basket to two kids.] First we will unpack the dishes. Plates first, then napkins. [Allow time for them to do as instructed.] Next place four carrots and one cookie on each plate and one drink box above and to the right of the plate. Next we take a seat; don’t forget to sit up tall! Excellent! Now what should we do first? [Allow kids to answer that they need to pray.] Right, we need to thank God for this snack.

[Asks a child to pray.]

Margo: Before you dig in, what should you eat first off your plate? Right, we need to eat the veggies first, because they are healthy. Last, we eat our cookies. When you are finished, make sure your plate is nice and tidy. Now I want you to clean up after yourself—nice and neat now!! [Guides kids to put garbage in trash and dishes back in basket.] So when we eat, we eat the healthy stuff first, and we always clean up after ourselves. When we do this we will earn a reputation of being kind and respectful.

Leader: [To audience:] Respect for others earns a positive reputation; disrespect, littering, and rudeness also earn a reputation. Which reputation will you choose?

*CHARACTERS: These are suggested characters and names. Please feel free to change or adjust according to the actors and props you have available.

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gEXPLORE SCRIPTURESeize on the children’s interest and direct them into God’s Word.

Let s Search-1 Thessalonians 5:11

Let’s Search!—Bible DashSupplies: 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.

• 1 Thessalonians 5:11 Build each other up.• Ephesians 4:29 Don’t let unwholesome talk come out, but only what builds up.• Romans 16:19 Others will rejoice when they hear about your obedience.• 1 Timothy 3:7 God wants us to have a good reputation with nonbelievers.• Matthew 5:16 Your good works can bring glory to God!• Romans 13:7 Give respect to whom its owed.

Paul’s Power Principle: Your reputation is extremely valuable; guard it wisely.

Suggested Bible NarrativeThe Gibeonite Deception—Joshua 9

Some kings, fearing Joshua, disguised themselves and said they were from far away. They made a peace treaty with Joshua, and he promised not to fight them. Later, he learned they were from a land nearby that he had planned to defeat! But even though Joshua had been deceived, he still stuck by his promise. Why? He wanted to protect his reputation and God’s reputation by keeping his word.

Let’s Learn—Public RespectSticky-Note Encouragement —Supplies: LOTS of sticky notes; a variety of colors is best, pens

Give the children sticky notes and pens and instruct them to move around the room and stick encouragements to each other’s backs. The only way they can read the notes on their own backs is if someone tells them! They are to write positive things they know or have heard about the person, such as “you are a leader,” “you are kind,” “you’re a good listener,” “you are good at math,” or “you play flute well.” They might even want to thank the child for something: “When I was new, you made me feel welcome,” or “I dropped my books and you stopped to help me pick them up.”

As the kids do this, leaders can make sure no child is without notes by adding things such as “you always have a welcome smile,” or “you always sit in the front row,” or “when I need help you jump up right away.”

Afterward, make a few extras publicly for your leaders and a few kids that you would like to honor. Then go around the room and read some that you see. As you read the notes, comment on them and encourage the kids some more.

Let s Learn

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gDo you know what these notes represent? They represent your good reputations! They represent what others think of you. Just as they are on your back, your reputation follows you through life. They are like pats on the back. You can’t give yourself a reputation, but your actions determine what kind of reputation you will have.

Did you know that Jesus started working on His reputation when he was only a boy?

Read Luke 2:52. Luke says that Jesus was growing in wisdom (knowledge), stature (His body), and in favor with God and man. That means He was already working on growing in how both God and men thought of Him.

The secret is to think of others as more important than yourself. That’s what Jesus did, even though He is more important than anyone!

Read Philippians 2:3–11. See? Even though Jesus is the most important person in the world—in the universe—He chose to put others above Himself. As a result, He has a great reputation. The same will work with us. When we put others first, we end up with a great reputation. In this passage we see how Jesus lowered Himself, and so God exalted Him. That works with us, too. When we lower ourselves, we end up being raised in people’s opinion of us.

Who Jesus Puts First—Supplies: collection of signs labeled with occupations and roles

You can come up with some of your own occupations and roles; these are just suggestions. Make more or fewer depending on the size of your group. Be sure to include Jesus. Others you may want to include: president, vice president, governor, mayor, general, soldier, pastor, [current famous singer], cafeteria lady, garbage man, and homeless man.

This fun activity always surprises the kids! As you show each sign—not in any special order—invite a child to come up on stage to hold it. Then ask a child to come up and put the people in order of importance. Give no further instruction and don’t allow the audience to help in any way. They will usually order them close to how I have above. Jesus at the top, followed by the president on down to the homeless man. There is no real right or wrong way to do this, other than the fact that they are all equal in God’s eyes. The only point you will make is that Jesus left His high place; walk Him down to the end below the homeless man (or whoever is there) and say, This is where Jesus would place Himself.

Read James 2:1–9. Say, We tend to place people in order of importance based on their job, wealth, or appearance. But God only looks at their heart. The world bases reputation on outward things. But the reputation that truly matters is what God thinks of you.

Read Matthew 19:23–30. When it comes to our reputation, the most important question isn’t, “Are we rich?” or “Are we always first?” The most important question is, “What does God think of us?” We need to make sure we are first on God’s list instead of in the opinions of those around us.

Dee’s Disciple Tip: What would Jesus stop?Sometimes we are so caught up in the moment of what we want, we aren’t thinking about the long-term impact of the choices we make. But the things we do now will make a difference in the future. Consider asking, “What would Jesus stop doing?” There may be things in your life that you need to simply stop doing; not doing them could make a big difference in your life and end up changing your reputation for the better.

Who Jesus Puts First

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gKey VerseTopic: The Golden RuleReference: Luke 6:31

Review the verse and remind the children of the Golden Rule Mission Assignment from last week: To do something for a family member that you thought would shock and amaze them. Allow children to share what they did and how their family member responded when they saw what they did. Have all the kids cheer for them and give them a round of applause! Tell them how much this made God happy and how much this will help their family grow stronger. Review the verse again several times.

Even though this is the last week, the Golden Rule mission this week, “should they choose to accept it,” is to write a letter to someone who has had a big influence in their life. Encourage them to think of someone who isn’t a relative (though relatives are fine, if they really want to write to a significant relative). Let them know, We often fail to thank those who shape our character and reputation. Those people need to know we appreciate them and know that they have helped give us the reputation we have by playing a role in making us who we are today.

Encourage the children to continue doing Golden Rule missions. Let them know, Jesus did Golden Rule missions every day. He said we are to love our enemies and do good for them. This isn’t the way people normally act in our world, but God said His ways are not the world’s ways nor are His thoughts our thoughts. He wants us to be different, and doing to others what we’d want them to do to us is God’s way of doing things.

Note: If you use the bonus fifth week in the supplemental resources, you can have the children report next week on who they wrote to.

KeyVerse-reference

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Dramatize the Point—The Respect BureauSupplies: Agent GPB777, Agent DD111, and Agent JT321 wearing black hats, trench coats, black boots; briefcase, cell phone, note pad and pen, chair or bench with Bible underneath, Disciple-Town visitor Margo Manners

[Entrance: GPB777, JT321 and DD111 all arrive and enter their “secret room” using the scanner from week 1 (raise right hand and identify themselves).]

Voiceover: It is the top secret Respect Bureau. No one knows they exist. They walk among us, looking like normal men and women and boys and girls. But instead of acting or responding like everyone else, they treat others with respect, no matter what. They are Golden Rule agents. They are changing the world, one right decision at a time.

GPB777: Grand PoohBah checking in.

JT321: Justin Tyme checking in.

DD111: Darrin DoLittle checking in.

GPB777: Good day, agents. I would like a report on your last assignment.

JT321: It was the strangest thing! I didn’t want to clean anyone’s room, but I decided to clean my brother’s room! It took me two hours, but I got it done before he got home from baseball. He walked into his room and just stood there. He went and asked Mom if she had cleaned it, and she hadn’t, of course! I suddenly felt like I had given him the best gift ever!

DD111: That’s crazy! The same thing happened to me! I decided that I was going to clean out the fridge for mom. My sister spilled jam all over the bottom drawer yesterday and it was a horrible sticky mess! When Mom saw it was done, she just sat down and smiled and cried! I didn’t even realize she had worked a double shift and was so tired. My little bit of work turned out to be a huge gift to her!

GPB777: Excellent work, agents. You have been officially promoted! You are now officially re-cruiters for the Respect Bureau.

JT & DD: What? Woo-hoo!

GPB777: Your first task is to find someone who already has a good reputation for doing the sort of thing we do here at the bureau and invite them to join us!

[JT & DD run off stage excitedly. GPB777 begins to talk on his cell phone, looking around so no one would hear him.]

GPB777: Ah, yes. Hi, Grandma. I did have a great week, thank you! Did you get the flowers I sent? I was thinking we ....

[JT & DD run back on stage with their notebooks and interrupt GPB777.]

JT&DD: We just made some amazing discoveries!

GPB777: [To Grandma on the phone:] I’ll have to call you back, okay? ‘Bye!

JT321: Wow, Agent Darrin and I made the most amazing discovery today!

GPB777: You did?

DD111: Well, several things actually. First we discovered that an umbrella only works when you

INSPIRE ACTIONEncourage kids to apply the Bible truth to their lives.

Respect Bureau

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ghold it one way! JT discovered that pancake syrup is very hard to get out of my hair, and I dis-covered that the monkey trap really does work, but that’s not important right now. The big discovery was Erik!

GPB777: Erik? Who’s Erik?

DD111: Well, we found a group of little old ladies playing bingo in the park. We asked them if they knew anyone with a reputation for doing good around the city.

GPB777: And what did you learn about this Erik?

JT321: Well, he has quite the reputation around town!

GPB777: He does? Oh dear!

DD111: No, it’s a good reputation! Everywhere I went, people told me of the amazing things he did!

GPB777: Well, like what?

JT321: Erik has a reputation for calling people ma’am and sir, for opening doors for people, for letting others in line ahead of him, and for never leaving a mess.

GPB777: Wow! That is a pretty amazing reputation!

DD111: I know, but that’s not all. He also has a reputation for always wearing red on Tuesdays, wearing helmets on his knees, and getting stuck between the shrubs in his backyard!

GPB777: Oh, interesting!

DD111: I know, but this was the most interesting one: Erik is always seen standing when the old ladies are around! I wonder why that is?

GPB777: I’ll bet he’s scared they’re going to put their false teeth on his chair!

DD111: I know, that’s what I thought too, but get this: whenever a lady or girl walks into a room, he stands up!

GPB777: Really? Why would he do that?

JT321: Well we had to get to the bottom of it, so we tried to track him down and ask him our-selves, but we only found his grandma!

DD111: His grandma said that a gentleman always greets a lady by standing!

GPB777: Wow, these are great ideas. We need him on our team! Excellent work, recruiters! You need to get him signed up right away! Off you go now!

[JT and DD exit excitedly stage left. GPB777 goes to get his cell phone out again, but Margo Manners enters stage right and puts her hand on the scanner.]

Margo: Margo Manners, checking in.

GPB77: [Surprised:] Oh, hi, Grandma. [Stands up as she walks towards him.] What a surprise, it is so nice to see you!

Margo: Oh, Erik, you are such a dear. What a gentleman you have turned out to be! Won’t you walk with me to the kitchen? It’s time for tea! [GPB777 hooks his arm for her to hold, and together they walk off stage.]

GPB777: It would be my pleasure, Grandma! [Turns and winks at the kids and smiles.]

Voiceover: Kids, you can be members of the Respect Bureau! Your code name is your initials plus your birthday! Your mission is to infiltrate the world with respect and consideration! Do you have what it takes to be an undercover agent of Respect and help change the world?

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gObject Talks—Your Reputation MattersSupplies: video projection

The video clip for this lesson features Karl, the Kidologist, doing a short object lesson featuring a bragging Speed Stacks® cup who is caught making up stories to get other cups to admire him. He learns that falsehood leads to a bad reputation and it is better to have people like you just for who you are.

Featured verses: Matthew 5:37 and Proverbs 20:11

Let’s TalkGravestone EulogySupplies: image of cartoon gravestone, pens or markers, calligraphy lettering samples

Have children write their own name on top of the gravestone. They can model fancy calligraphy letters from samples. Underneath, have them write ten specific things they want others to say about them after they die (e.g. they were honest, they were caring, they followed God all their lives). Flipping over the paper, have them write down ten things they need to do every day to ensure that these things can be said about them.

Follow with these discussion questions:1) What will be the hardest thing on your gravestone list to do? Why? What will you have to change before this can be put on your gravestone?2) Can we put off making these changes until “just before we die”? Why or why not?3) What is one change you need to make in your life right now?4) Who wants to help us with these changes?5) What will be your first step to making this change?

DiscipleTown Super CitizenAward a Super Citizen Award to a child nominated by a classmate as having a godly reputation.

Let’s PrayDear Jesus, thank You for teaching us how to live and how to serve others. Please forgive us for the times when we have pointed people away from You by the choices we have made. Help us to live a life of honor and respect so that anyone who knows us will know what You are like, too. Thank You for loving us, no matter what. In Your holy name, amen.

Cy’s Challenge: Write a letter to thank someone for impacting your life.

Awarded to

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Godly Reputation

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gLet’s ReviewDivide your kids into two or three teams. Have them line up single file. When you say go, the first person in line must run to the leader to read the review question. Once the child knows the answer, he or she must go and whisper it to the next teammate in line, who in turn will whisper it to the next, all the way down the line. The last person must take the answer and run to tell the leader. If the answer is correct, that team gets one point. The last person in line now becomes the first person in line for the next round. Alternate between teams until you run out of questions.

Review Questions:1) What is the memory verse and reference?2) Whose reputation were the Gibeonites afraid of?3) What word means what other people hear about us?4) What should a gentleman do when a lady enters the room?5) Name one thing Jesus did to work on His reputation as a boy.6) Who should be the most important person in our lives?7) Who can help us build a good reputation?

For the HomeDiscipleTown Table Talker: Give each child a copy of this week’s DiscipleTown Table Talker. As you show them how to put it together, encourage the kids to ask their parents to lead family devotions three times this week.

Parent E-mail: Copy and send the e-mail 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 e-mails. Review and edit as necessary to reflect the lesson elements you have used. You can also find this e-mail as a Microsoft Word document in your download bundle.

Dear Mom and Dad,

As we wrap up our series on respect, we have discovered that we need to have a healthy respect for God, for ourselves, and for our family. This week we learned that our responsibility goes even further than that. The choices we make affect everyone who comes in contact with us in our daily lives.

You can use the DiscipleTown Table Talker to start conversations or use questions of your own to encourage your child(ren) to explore ideas of how you as a family could make an impact on your neighborhood. Make a plan together to do something kind to serve and love a neighbor or friend, as a family. These shared experiences will be memory makers for your family and will strengthen the bond between you as well as open doors for relationships in your neighborhood.

Let us encourage you to make this a weekly family event from now on. Choosing to be intentional about kindness and about loving those around us is a habit we must actively build in our family and our children.

We have lots of resources to help you with your ideas; let us know how we can help!

Building young disciples,

[your name]

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Chip’s Snack Time!—Follow My FootprintsSupplies: large foot-shaped gummy candies (two or three per child)

Just as our foot leaves a lasting impression in the sand or mud we walk in, our lives leave a lasting impression on every person we meet. Our choices determine whether it is a good impression or not. Are we leaving tracks that lead others to Jesus?

Additional IdeasRipple Effect Game—Have children lie on their bellies in a circle. Have them put their hands out in front of them, facing the center of the circle, and rest on their elbows. Their left hand should cross over to the left of their neighbor’s right hand.

Designate a starting person who taps the floor with the left hand; then each hand in counter-clockwise order on the floor must tap. (Picture three people in a row: A, B, and C. Person B taps the left hand, person A taps the right hand, person C taps the left hand, person B taps the right hand, and so on.) If an error is made, the person must put the offending hand down by his or her side, and the tapping begins again. The goal is to get the ripple around the entire circle without messing up.

The Point: Our actions and words affect those around us and have a ripple effect that we often can’t see. We must be considerate and respectful of those around us so that the ripple effect of our lives is one of love!

Plaster of Paris Handprint—Have kids make handprints or footprints from plaster of paris (you can find instructions by searching online)

The Point: Just as our hand leaves a lasting impression on this plaster, our lives leave a lasting impression on every person we meet. Our choices determine whether it is a good impression or not.

The Point (If you decide to use feet instead of hands): Just as our foot leaves a lasting impression on this plaster, our lives leave a lasting impression on every person we meet. Our choices determine whether it is a good impression or not. Are we leaving tracks that lead others to Jesus?

Megaphone —Demonstrate how the megaphone works—how much louder it makes your voice when it is used. The noise that others hear is much louder than your actual voice!

The Point: Just as the megaphone amplifies our voice so everyone can hear us, our reputation is what everyone else hears when we make choices to act or speak. Often it is much louder and much bigger than we actually are. Guarding our reputation and being careful to make good choices is VERY important!

BONUS MATERIALSUse these options to extend your time or as substitutes for the ideas above.

How to Show Respect—Lesson 4 © 2011, DiscipleLand. Permission granted to reproduce for volunteers.

DIRECTOR’S NOTESThe words in italics are notes for you and your puppeteers; they are not to be read aloud.

Before Puppet comes out, leader should collect the “[Puppet] for president” petitions that the children were signing as they arrived.

Puppet*: [To kids:] Vote for me for church president!

Leader: [Holds petitions.] Hmm... I see you are running for church president.

Puppet: Yes! Vote for ME for church president!

Leader: Um, excuse me! First of all, who are you running against?

Puppet: No one, I think. That should greatly increase my chances, don’t you think?

Leader: And what exactly IS a church president, may I ask?

Puppet: Well, you know, it’s like any president. They don’t really DO anything. They just talk and go around saying what should be done and go to meetings and get their picture taken a lot—oh, and they are really famous and popular!

Leader: So that’s what you think a president is?

Puppet: Yeah, basically. The key is they get all the credit for the work other people do. They are the Top Tomato, the Big Cheese, the Head Rooster. Everyone looks up to them. So I want to be the church president. It’s the best job in the church! Vote for me!

Leader: [Thinks for a moment.] They also get blamed for everything that goes wrong, you know.

Puppet: [Surprised:] They do?

Leader: Yep. In good times people love them; in bad times, people blame them.

Puppet: Oh, dear. Maybe being church president isn’t the best way to work on my reputation, then.

Leader: You know, if you want a good reputation, the best way is to just be good. Your reputation is like a mirror; it just reflects you. You don’t have to run for an office to build a reputation; you just have to be you. Your reputation is what people already think of you, and I think the kids al-ready like you just the way you are. How many of you al-ready like [puppet name]? See? I think you already have a great reputation.

Puppet: [Surprised and happy:] And I’m not even church president!

Leader: And you’re not even church president!

*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

Puppet Intro—Puppet for President

curriculum Map

.comTM

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

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

(DiscipleTown Units in no particular order)

Each DiscipleTown Unit will teach your kids an essential “how to” skill to become victorious disciples of Jesus!