Tech Que: “Emoji Madness” Title Graphic

I can’t believe it! It’s finally here—the very last week of “Emoji Madness.” I think we should all do a real life emoji. On the count of 3, let’s make the saddest face possible. (Count to 3, make sad face with kids.)

Wow—you’re a pretty sad looking bunch Wow—you’re a pretty sad looking bunch! But cheer up—it’s not over just yet! Today we’re going to explore one more emotion from the Book of Psalms. Before we discover today’s emotion, though, I have a fun fact for you. Did you know that the Book of Psalms is the most popular book in the Bible? More people read from the Book of Psalms than any other book in the Bible.

And it’s not just popular today, even Jesus loved the Book of Psalms And it’s not just popular today, even Jesus loved the Book of Psalms. In fact, in the New Testament, Jesus talked about the Book of Psalms 11 different times. That’s more than He mentioned any other book in the Bible. And as you know, the psalms are filled with all kinds of emotions. Happy, sad, scared or mad—the Book of Psalms has them all.

Are you ready to see which emotion we’re going to look at today Are you ready to see which emotion we’re going to look at today? (Kids respond.) Drum roll please! (Prompt kids to create a drumroll along with the “Emoji Reveal” video.) Tech Que: Play “Emoji Reveal: Peace” video

This week we’ll be looking at peace This week we’ll be looking at peace. Let me see you make the most chill face ever, hold up a peace sign and say, “Peace dude!” (Demonstrate with kids.) Nice job! Being a peacemaker can be tough! When other people mess up or make you mad, it’s easy to want revenge! But our psalm for today says we should pursue peace instead. Let’s take a look at it.

Tech Que: “Turn away from evil, and do good Tech Que: “Turn away from evil, and do good. Look for peace, and go after it.” Psalm 34:14 Let’s dive deeper into that Psalm by looking at a story from another book of the Bible—the Book of Matthew in the New Testament. I’m going to need some help, though.

Choose 4 kids to play the following Bible story characters: Shepherd, Friend, and Christian. Place the appropriate emoji box over each kid’s head with side #1 facing forward. (Stand behind Shepherd.) In Matthew 18, Jesus tells a story about a shepherd. He said, “Imagine there’s a good shepherd who has 100 sheep.

(Turn Shepherd box to side #2: sad (Turn Shepherd box to side #2: sad.) One day, the shepherd is sad to learn that one of his sheep has wandered away. (Turn Shepherd box to side #3: binoculars.) Even though he has 99 other sheep, he leaves them behind to go look for the one lost sheep. (Turn Shepherd box to side #4: very happy.) And when he finds it, he’s happier about that one sheep than he is about the 99 that didn’t get lost.”

When Jesus told that story, He wasn’t really talking about sheep, He was talking about us. You see, Jesus is like the good shepherd in the story and we are like the sheep. Sometimes we wander away from doing the right thing and we get lost in the darkness of sin.

But Jesus doesn’t want us to stay lost in sin, He wants to find us and bring us back into His family. So after He told the story about the sheep, He gave some instructions on what to do when people mess up or make you mad. Let me show you what I’m talking about.

(Stand behind Friend.) Imagine that you’re hanging out with your friend from church one day. You just got a new cat, so you can’t wait to show it to him. (Turn Friend box to side #2: scarred cat.) But when you show it to him, he scares the cat on purpose.

He says that cats are dumb and you’re dumb for having one He says that cats are dumb and you’re dumb for having one. (Turn Friend box to side #3: sleeping.) Then he says that playing at your house is boring and it’s putting him to sleep. (Turn Christian box to side #2: shocked.) At first you’re shocked. You can’t believe your friend would say something so rude and hurtful.

(Turn Christian box to side #3: mad. ) But then you start to get mad (Turn Christian box to side #3: mad.) But then you start to get mad. You start to think about all of the rude and hurtful things you could say back. At first, it might feel good to get revenge, but that’s not what Jesus wants us to do. Instead, this is what He says in Matthew 18 (open Bible and read Matthew 18:15-17.) “If your brother or sister sins against you, go to them. Tell them what they did wrong. Keep it between the two of you.

If they listen to you, you have won them back If they listen to you, you have won them back. But what if they won’t listen to you? Then take one or two others with you. Scripture says, ‘Every matter must be proved by the words of two or three witnesses.’ But what if they also refuse to listen to the witnesses? Then tell it to the church.

And what if they refuse to listen even to the church And what if they refuse to listen even to the church? Then don’t treat them as brother or sister. Treat them as you would treat an ungodly person or a tax collector.” (Close Bible and set it down.) (Turn Friend box to side #4: sorry.) Fortunately for you, when you follow Jesus’ instructions, your friend feels sorry and apologizes to you.

(Turn Christian box to side #4: peace (Turn Christian box to side #4: peace.) And instead of going to war with your friend, you make peace with him. And best of all, you help him find his way out of the darkness of sin and back to the family of God, just like the shepherd did with the lost sheep

Tech Que: “Big Bible Story Questions” graphic At the end of the Bible story have the kids turn briefly to their small groups and discuss the following questions: For Younger Kids: What was your favorite part of this story? Why do you think the shepherd would leave the 99 other sheep behind just to find the one lost sheep? After a few minutes, draw their attention back to the teaching area.

Tech Que” “Emoji Madness” title graphic Maybe you’ve never had someone scare your cat or tell you that you were dumb for having one, but we’ve all had people say or do mean things to us. (Ahead of time, draw an angry face on a balloon. Every time you say the word “more,” blow a big breath into the balloon.)

And when that happens it’s easy to get more and more and more and more (continue until balloon is full) and more angry until you’re so angry that you burst. (Pop the balloon with a needle.) Then you say you never want to talk to them again and you push them out of your life. But that’s obviously not what Jesus wants us to do.

. When someone sins against you, Jesus doesn’t want you to push them away, He wants you to pursue them like the shepherd did with the lost sheep. And guess what—In Matthew 18, Jesus tells us exactly how to do that.

Tech Que: Tell them what they did wrong in private Tech Que: Tell them what they did wrong in private. First, Jesus says to tell the person what they did wrong in private. Do you notice something? Jesus says to “tell” them, not to “yell” at them. When you talk to the person, don’t do it out of anger. Do it because you love them and you want to see them live God’s way.

And do it in private. Just talk to the person who hurt you And do it in private. Just talk to the person who hurt you. Don’t gossip and tell everyone what a terrible thing they did. Tech Que: Take on or two others with you.

Second, if the person won’t listen to you, Jesus says to take one or two other people with you. Talk to your parents, or to your teacher, or to some other adult that you trust. Without being mean, tell them what happened and ask them to talk to the person with you.

Tech Que: Talk to your leaders at church Tech Que: Talk to your leaders at church. Third, if the person still won’t listen, talk to your leaders at church. If the person goes to church with you, the leaders can talk to them too. You can look at the Bible together and see what God has to say about the situation. And if the person doesn’t go to church with you, your leaders can pray with you and help you figure out what God wants you to do.

If you follow these instructions from Jesus, you’ll be a true peacemaker! You’ll be doing exactly what our psalm for today says to do. Let’s take a look at it again. (Encourage kids to open their Bibles to Psalm 34:14. When ready, choose a kid to read the verse aloud or read it aloud yourself.)

Tech Que: “Turn away from evil, and do good Tech Que: “Turn away from evil, and do good. Look for peace, and go after it.” Psalm 34:14 When someone hurts us, it’s easy to want revenge or to push them away. But this psalm says to turn away from evil things like that. It says to do good, to look for a peaceful way to solve our problems and to go after it.

(Sit or kneel near kids.) And here’s the really good news—this is exactly what Jesus does with us. We sin against Him all the time, but instead of getting revenge or pushing us away, He comes looking for us like the good shepherd. Then His Spirit whispers in our heart and tells us what we did wrong. And when we come back to Him, He forgives us and rejoices that the lost sheep has been found!

Tech Que: “Emoji Madness” Title Graphic