PACT for the First Week of April

Did You Really See That? Item needed: computer   Go to the website: http://www.optics4kids.org. Look at some of the optical illusions posted there.   Did your eyes trick you?    Sometimes we are confused or can be tricked into making bad choices. Things are not always as they seem to be and we need discernment to decide between right and wrong.   What is discernment? (To recognize, to distinguish, to tell the difference between, etc.)    We need discernment to make good choices—to recognize what is the best thing to do. We can't always rely on how we feel because our feelings can trick us (just as our eyes were tricked by these optical illusions). We must make decisions based on the truth of the Bible.     Strong Foundation   Items needed: blocks or Lego's or building materials, sand, large flat rock, and a pitcher of water   Divide kids into two teams and give each team one of the two foundations: a large, flat rock and some sand. Ask each team to build a house on their foundation. Do a test to see which house will stand the longest. (You may want to do this outside.) Pour the pitcher of water over the houses to see which one stays put. (Hopefully, the one on the rock will.)   Read Matthew 7:24-27. (The man who built his house on the rock is like a wise man that follows and obeys Jesus' words; the foolish man who doesn't listen to or obey the Bible is like one building a house on sand.)   Why is the Bible a good foundation for us to build on? (It is strong; it has been proven true; it will help us know the right things to do, which will help us build a better life, etc.)   We must use the Bible as a way to discern between right and wrong, between wise and foolish choices.          Green Light. Yellow Light. Red Light.       Use the stoplight to teach kids how to make decisions.   STOP and THINK  (RED) CAUTIOUSLY Consider the Choices  (YELLOW)    GO GOD'S WAY (GREEN)   STOP and THINK—RED   Why is it a good thing to stop and think before making a choice? (Keeps you from just following the crowd, keeps you from reacting wrongly, etc.)   A wise person doesn't just follow the crowd. A wise person doesn't just do what he feels like doing. He stops and thinks before he does things. If we only stopped to think before we said or did anything, we might keep ourselves from saying or doing something wrong.   CAUTION, Consider the Choices—YELLOW   2 questions to ask:   1. Does the Bible say anything about this?   Not all choices are equal. Some are between right and wrong; some are between things that are wise and unwise. If the Bible has specifically said something is wrong, we should choose NOT to say or do it. But not all choices are between right and wrong. How do you decide when you have a choice between two okay things?   2. What is the WISE thing to do?    GO GOD'S WAY—GREEN   Choosing to GO GOD'S WAY is always best. If something were clearly wrong, then the wisest choice would be to say no or walk away. If something is not wrong and it would be a wise thing to do . . . then do it! We want to be wise and choose daily to follow God's way and rules.   Give the kids some chances to practice making choices using the stoplight. Some situations: your friends ask you to steal something; a friend wants you to disobey your parents; you want to eat cookies just before dinner; you want to play your video game but have homework, you have an hour of free time, etc. On the Journey with you, Pastor Beau