Activity #1: Show the children the video or picture book
about the devastation of a forest fire. Talk about how it can start from
just one small spark. Then light a match for emphasis.
Pose Question: Can fire be used for good?
Answer: Yes, but only when it is under control.
Pose Question: What part of our body can be as destructive as
a forest fire?
Read Scriptures: Read James 3:3-10 and point out that the
tongue is powerful.
Activity #2: Create a two-column list of ways the tongue can
be used for good or evil.
|
Good: |
Complimenting, teaching, encouraging, telling truth,
etc. |
|
Evil: |
Teasing, gossip, swearing, name calling, lying, etc. |
Activity #3: Have the children sit around the dinner table.
Give each of them a tube of toothpaste and a paper plate. Have them race
to squeeze every possible drop of toothpaste out of the tube onto the
plate. Give them two or three minutes to finish the job. When done, give
them each a spoon, lay $10 or $20 bill on the table, and tell them that
the first person to get all of the toothpaste back into the tube wins
the money. Give them twice as long to finish - four to six minutes.
(Don't worry, your money is safe.)
Pose Question: Which was harder, squeezing the toothpaste out
or trying to get it back in?
Point: Once they are out, we can never take our words back.
Read Scriptures: Read Proverbs 15:28 and Luke 6:45 and make
the point that, just as the toothpaste came out from inside the tube
through the "mouth" of the tube, so our words come out from inside our
hearts and minds through our mouths. What's in your heart controls
what's on your mind, and what's on your mind controls what you say.
Memorize: Do it God's way. Be careful what you say!
