"Problems Contain Hidden Opportunities"

Tigers Christian Club -- Lesson for Wednesday, November 28, 2018
Adapted from “Problems Contain Hidden Opportunities” from Kids Honor Club from Biblical Parenting

Intro and follow-up questions:
Can we try a song again?  “For God So Loved the World” -- We tried it in a round!

During our lessons this fall we’ve been talking about honor.  Anyone remember the three parts of honor?
-Treating people as special
-Doing more than what’s expected
-Having a good attitude

Today we're going to learn how to solve problems with honor, and to start I have a few activities for you.

Intro games:

1. Break into groups of four and balance a ping pong ball in the middle of a poster board.  Then work together with your group to try these challenges:
   1. Keep the ball in the center of the poster board
   2. Lower the poster board to the ground without dropping the ball
   3. Make the ball roll in a circle -- first clockwise, then counterclockwise

 ** Look for ways to encourage each other, offer words of correction, point out ways to
     focus on the solution instead of what might go wrong.

    2. The Human Knot: Stand in tight circle.  Reach right hand in and grab someone’s hand.  Grab anyone’s hand except the person next to you.  Repeat with left hand. Then, untangle yourselves! You can go over or under arms or through legs.  The goal is to end up in a circle again.

Today we’re going to learn about ways to solve problems in an honoring way by working together with others.

Story and skit: Matthew 14:31-21, told in paraphrase (quotes are from the Kids Honor Club curriculum):

Today’s Bible story comes from the book of Matthew, chapter 14:13-21.  

Jesus had just received some very sad news.  His friend John the Baptist had been killed by King Herod.  When he heard what had happened Jesus took a boat and went to a quiet place to be by himself.

But crowds of people paid attention to where Jesus went, and they followed him on land.  They met Jesus when his boat landed at the shore, and when Jesus saw the large crowd “he had compassion on them and healed their sick.” (Matthew 14:14)  He “took time to help them.

“After working for most of the day, it started to get dark.  The disciples thought the people were getting hungry, and they came to Jesus with the problem.  The disciples liked to bring problems to Jesus. Sometimes Jesus would go ahead and solve the problem and other times we would give them ideas for solving the problem themselves.

“This time he just gave the problem back to try to solve themselves.  He said, “You give them something to eat.”

“Why do you think Jesus did that?  Do you think Jesus could have solved this problem by himself?  Then why did he tell the disciples to solve it? He knew the disciples didn’t have any food.  

“I think Jesus wanted to teach them how to solve problems for themselves.  I wonder if there are sometimes in your family when your mom or your dad encourage you to solve your own problem.  Can you think of a time when they told you to solve a problem yourself instead of solving it for you? Maybe you lost your shoes and they told you to go find them.  Maybe you wanted a drink and they encouraged you to get one yourself. Maybe you wanted to buy something special and your parents said you could earn the money for it.  Why do moms and dads do that? Why don’t they just solve the problem for you?

“Sometimes the loving thing is for a parent not to solve a problem so that you can learn to solve problems for yourself….Jesus wanted to teach the disciples how to solve problems for themselves and how to trust God in that process.

“The disciples looked at each other and then started looking for food.  Somehow they found a small boy who had a lunch of five small rolls and two fish.  They brought the food to Jesus and he did a miracle. The Bible tells us that he gave thanks to God and then began breaking the bread and the fish.  Then the food just kept coming and coming. Pretty soon there was enough food for all the people to have plenty and there was even some left over.

“How do you think the disciples felt as they watched all of that happen?  What do you think they learned that day? Sometimes we learn things by solving the problem ourselves.

Today’s Bible verse can remind “us to be confident even when we find ourselves with tough problems.”

Bible verse:
Philippians 4:13 says, “I can do everything through Christ who strengthens me.”

Closing:  
Today we talked about how try to solve problems ourselves in an honoring way.  I’m going to read three problems to you now and ask whether you have ideas of how to solve them.

1. Problem 1: “Bill lost his shoe.  It wasn’t under the bed with his other one.  What are some ways Bill could solve this problem besides getting upset?”
   1. Could Bill look again or in another place?  Could he stop and think about the last place he had his shoes?  Could he ask someone nicely for help?
2. Problem 2: “Sarah’s friend Mindy wants to play with her and wants Sarah to exclude Kayla.  Sarah would like to play with both Mindy and Kayla. How might Sarah handle this problem?”
   1. Could Sarah talk about it with Mindy?  Could she make some time to play with Mindy alone and plan on another time to include Kayla?  
3. Problem 3: “Tom’s mom said ‘no’ when he asked her if he could go over to a friend’s house and play for the afternoon.  How might Tom handle this problem without becoming mean to Mom?”
   1. Could Tom talk to his mom about how disappointed he is?  Could he ask his mom nicely why she is saying no? Could he make a plan with his mom for setting up the playdate for another day?

Thanks for brainstorming solutions to these problems!  You guys have learned that instead of complaining or whining or fighting for our way, there are honoring ways to work with others to solve problems.  I think you guys have learned to see things in a new way so that you can find solutions.

Prayer:  
Dear God, “Thank you for helping us solve problems.  Help us to work well together to see new solutions to our problems.  Amen.”

Activity: 
Today we’re going to make Problem-Solving Wheels to give us ideas on how to solve problems and to remind us that we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us.  

Directions:

1. On the first wheel use the word bank to label wedges with ideas on how to solve a problem.  You could choose to draw a picture of how to solve a problem.

Word Bank:

1. Apologize
2. Tell them to please stop
3. Wait (cool off / take a break / use a calm down skill like praying)
4. Walk away
5. Take turns / Share / Compromise
6. Talk about it
7. Go play another game
8. Ignore it
   

2. Then place the second wheel with the Bible verse on top and attach them in the center using a brad.

Closing on rug:
Thank you for coming today!  Here is a pair of sunglasses for each of you for you to remember to look for solutions that honor others.