This week's theme: pride

Goals: To teach the children that:
1. The Bible is our guide for living
2. God wants each of us to be humble.
3. We need to recognize that God is the greatest and we need to serve him with our whole hearts.
4. Pride, thinking we are the greatest, leads to problems.


Chef Skit:

The Swedish chef comes in to the room in his crazy manner, singing and flinging his utensils around. He runs around the room dancing and singing. He is very excited because he is making a soufflé. He carries a picture of a beautiful soufflé and shows it to the leader. He tells her that he can make a much better and fluffier soufflé because he is the greatest cook in the whole world. He brags and brags about how good he is until it becomes obnoxious. He tells the leader that even as he speaks his soufflé is rising into a beautiful culinary work of art. He tells the leader that he will be right back to show her the soufflé that is now ready to come out of the oven. He leaves to retrieve the soufflé. As he leaves a large popping sound is heard (a balloon popping). The chef returns with a very flat, hard soufflé which has fallen. His ego is equally smashed. He is devastated.
The leader explains to the chef that pride comes before a fall. Thinking that we are the greatest and that no one compares with us leads to nothing but problems. God is the greatest. It's ok to be good at something, but it's not ok to brag and be prideful about the talents that God has given us. The chef leaves broken hearted and sobbing.

The Bible is full of stories that tell us how to live and what to do. And it is full of stories of people who let their own pride lead to destruction and troubles. King Nebakanezzer is one such character in the Bible who has a fascinating story about pride.

Crazy Moose story: Cocoa the crazy moose pops out in the puppet stage. He tells the leader that he knows all about that story. He begins telling about how king Nebuchadnezzar had a dream and it frightened him. He dreamed that he saw a BEE (brings out a bee) that grew large and strong. The leader corrects him and tells him it was a tree. The moose then comes up with a pie and says the tree grew so tall and strong from eating pie. The leader corrects him and tells him that it grew tall and strong that it touched the sky and could be seen from all over the earth. It had beautiful leaves and plenty of fruit for everyone to eat. It was the home to wild animals and it's branches; moose comes in with cheese curds and says it's branches were full of curds. The leader corrects and says birds not curds. Then moose comes up with a paper angel with holes all over and says a holy angel came down from heaven. Leader again corrects and says that it is not that kind of holy. The leader continues that the angel said to cut down the tree, but to leave the stump and it's… moose comes up with boots- leader corrects and says roots not boots. The angels said to leave the stump in the field with grass and let it become wet with- moose comes up with mountain dew; leader corrects and says dew not mountain dew. At this point the moose gives up and the leader finishes telling the story found in Daniel chapter 4. Daniel interprets the dream and tells the king that the tree represents the king and that he has become powerful and great like the tree. People all over the world can see his kingdom. Because you have become proud and arrogant your kingdom will be cut down. You will be forced away from people to live among wild animals. You will eat grass like an ox and dew from heaven will make you wet. You will live like this for seven years until you learn this lesson "The most high God rules over every kingdom on earth and gives those kingdoms to anyone he wants."
All this came to happen just as Daniel had said. The king became like a wild donkey eating grass and living in a field. His hair grew long like feathers on an eagle and his nails grew like the claws of a bird. At the end of seven years the king gave honor to God and God restored him to his kingdom.

Cool Clyde's death defying double dare:

Cool Clyde comes out to teach the memory verse. After teaching the verse he challenges the kids to his death defying double dare. This dare involves eating something really gross that he has cooked up. One child from each team comes up and takes the item out of Clyde's lunch bag, put it in their mouth and eat it and then recite the verse.

This week Cool Clyde has marshmallows with mustard. When he shares his treat he explains that people who are too proud have puffed up egos. Marshmallows are puffed up sugar. When we look at marshmallows God wants us to remember that we should not have puffed up egos. We need to be humble and give more honor to others than to ourselves.

Philippians 2:3 Be humble and give more honor to others than to yourselves.

Write each word of the memory verse on a balloon. Select 11-12 children to come up and hold the balloons. Line them up in order. The kids say the verse and then the leader sneaks up behind one of them and pops a balloon. The child then sits down and the process continues until all the balloons are popped and the kids know the verse.

Game Balloon popping relay
You will need one color of balloon for each team. Blow up 5 balloons for each team. Teams line up behind a chair. The first person in line races across the room picks up a balloon and pops it by sitting on it or stomping on it. Once the balloon is popped they race back and tag the next player in line who is now sitting in the chair. This process continues until all the balloons are popped.


After playing the game discuss the following:

1. What is pride?
2. Why is pride wrong?
3. What happens to people who are proud?

Closing object lesson:
The Swedish fish comes up with a deflated balloon. He tells the leader that he has been listening to the lesson and he thinks that this empty balloon could be helpful in helping the kids understand pride and what happens to people who become prideful. He tells the leader to begin slowly blowing up the balloon. He explains that people who are prideful are often said to have big heads. He says they get proud and they let it go to their heads and they begin thinking better of themselves than they should. Just like the balloon keeps getting bigger and bigger, their ego keeps getting bigger and bigger. What happens to the balloon if you keep blowing it bigger and bigger? Eventually it pops! It shatters into pieces. People who are prideful have the same problem. Their heads get bigger and bigger