Lesson 6: Solomon Writes Many Proverbs Bible Point: Wisdom means following God s word. 1 Kings 4:29-34; Proverbs 1:1-7 Key Verse: The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. Proverbs 9:10 Pre Activity 15 min PLEASE NOTE AN ADDED 5 MIN. ICEBREAKER: First 5/10 Min: Welcome children to the classroom as they arrive. Ask children one fun thing that they did this past week or weekend. Ask what they remember from last week s lesson. (Solomon Asks for Wisdom) Small Group Icebreaker: Split into your small groups (boys and girls split- one classroom leader per group). Today we are going to talk about the Proverbs that Solomon wrote. So the Fun Question of the Day is: How many proverbs are written in the Book of Proverbs in the bible? Discuss as a group and come up you re your best guess and a child designated to represent your group. Group with the closest answer wins candy! *Take kids to 203 for worship and the lesson at FIFTEEN after. Worship 15 min WORSHIP: Lesson Leader (LL): Welcome children and state the lesson name and bible point. Open in prayer. Begin worship by getting kids excited! Live It Out CD Worship: 1. We Shine 2. Fearfully & Wonderfully Made When songs are completed, have the kids sit in semi- circle, criss- crossed in front of the LL. (teachers joining the group; preferably sitting near those that are more quick to distract) Lesson 15-20 min LARGE GROUP LESSON: LL: Before we begin our lesson today, let s let each small group share their best answer for the fun question of the day- How many proverbs are in the Book of Proverbs? (3,000) now THAT S a lot of wisdom! Candy for winning small group Activity: What is Wisdom? (and WHAT is the difference between God s wisdom and worldly wisdom?!) Question: What is wisdom? (knowing things, give advice, being smart, etc.) LL: It is definitely correct to say that someone who is wise is smart, but sometimes we get a little too concerned with being smart. We sometimes forget that we need to live wisely for God! Game:
LL: We need everyone standing on this line (place a row of masking tape long enough to fit your estimated number of kids, at the center of the room before the beginning of large group). Designate one side of the line to represent worldly wisdom and one side to represent Godly wisdom. LL: I am going to state a situation that could take place and I want you to move to this side of the tape if you think the situation shows worldly advice. I want you to go to that side of the tape if you think it shows the godly wisdom. Your friend is struggling with an assignment in class and you are really good at the subject. He could really use your help, but you just don t think you have the time to fit it in. It would be best if you focus on your own work and let your friend deal with his own problems. You don t want to risk your grade. You are playing baseball during recess and you see a boy/girl in your class who is sitting alone not a part of the game. You ve seen him play before and he really isn t a very fast runner, but you ask him to join your team anyway because it is good to help him make friends and be a part of the team. You just had a big family dinner with a lot of dishes. Your mom and dad worked hard to cook such a nice meal, and now they must clean it up. They were at work all day long and still haven t had a second to relax. You could help with the dishes, but you want to watch the TV. You decide they are faster at washing the dishes anyway, and you deserve to be happy, right?! Your baby brother or sister is sick and your mom and dad need to take them to the doctor, but you were supposed to go to a sleepover at your best friend s house. You could be upset and throw a fit because you have to miss it, but you know that your baby brother or sister is more important and you go with your parents to the doctor without any complaints, helping in any way that you can. *Have kids sit back down in their groups. Question: How did you decide which was which? Question: Do you think that there are two kinds of wisdom? (Yes, God is wiser than the world/ no, it is not wisdom if it is not from God.) Masking tape Bible Dry Erase Marker lllesson: LL: True Wisdom means following God s word. A wise person knows how to live a life that pleases God. Today we re going to continue learning about a very wise man named Solomon and what wisdom means. The bible tells us just how wise Solomon was. Let s open up our Bibles to 1 Kings 4:29-34 and see what God s Word days about this man Now, every time you hear the word wisdom or wise I want you to hold your hands up, making a W for wisdom. So listen hard! *LL read 1 Kings 4:29-34. Question: In what ways was Solomon wise? (He made good decisions; he
asked God for help when he need help.) Continue Reading of Lesson and Key Verse: Solomon wrote many wise sayings called Proverbs. The very beginning of the book of Proverbs tells us why Solomon wrote the Proverbs. Let s see what he says *LL read Proverbs 1:1-7. Question: So, why do you think Solomon wrote these Proverbs? (to help us make good decisions! To teach about godly character- a character that reflects God s) Question: So, what are THESE specific verses telling us of the meaning of wisdom? (to do the right thing, to know God.) LL: Solomon said that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge of wisdom. But Solomon didn t mean that we had to be afraid of God. In this case, fear is actually another word for worship. Knowing how amazing and powerful God is awesome and inspiring, so much so that it makes you want to worship Him- this is the fear of God. Later on in the book of Proverbs, Solomon said it again! Let s look at our key verse for the day *LL will read Proverbs 9:10 - write verse on white board The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. Proverbs 9:10 Ask kids to repeat the Key Verse with you line by line. Question: So, who is the Holy One? (God.) Question: According to our key verse, how can we be wise? (fear of the Lord and knowledge of the Holy One) LL: Solomon must have thought it was extremely important for people to know what it means to be wise, as he wrote it twice. So now we have it! To be wise is to know how amazing God is and to want to worship Him with true excitement and love! Question: Who can name something amazing about God? Question: so what does this verse mean to you? If you had to explain to your mom or dad what this verse means when they pick you up, what would you say? *ask for volunteers to give answers Small Groups 25 min In small groups today, you will be going through some of the Proverbs that Solomon wrote. *Dismiss by grade. (starting with the quietest grade!) SMALL GROUPS: Re- read the Key Bible (Proverbs 9:10) Verse and reiterate the fact that fear does not mean being afraid of God, but having the knowledge of God s holiness. Bible K- 2 nd Small Groups: Knowledge of the Holy One SGL: We just read Proverbs 9:10 where we talked about knowledge of the holy one. This is where wisdom begins. To be wise and follow God s Word K- 2 nd Magazines,
you have to know God and want to follow Him. Question: What are some of the things we know about God? What is he like? (Listen to some of their answers of who God is). SGL: (pass out Who is God? Sheets, have glue sticks, scissors and magazines on the tables). Listed on this sheet are different words that help us to know who God is. Try to find a picture in the magazines that shows this part of who God is. (Read the names to the children since many can t read). Encourage kids to finish sheet at home with their parents. 3 rd - 5 th Small Groups: Discovering Proverbs Pass out Proverbs sheets and pencils. you will be reading a few proverbs from chapter 10 and as a group writing down in your own words what they mean. Have kids use the different translations to best understand what the passage means. (Do a few and have them finish the last one or two at home with their parents). SGL: Let s look at some of the Proverbs of Solomon. There are actually A LOT of Proverbs remember, as we read in 1 Kings 4:29-34, God gave Solomon an amazing gift of vast amounts of wisdom and he is sharing it with us so that we may know God and learn how to better worship Him; Can we put each of these in our own words to better understand? When finished with the sheets discuss as a group. Question: Which proverb do you want to work on in your life? What will you do? Question: Who do you know in your life that is wise? Understanding what wisdom is from these proverbs, why would you call them wise? Tithing Buckets Collect offering. **SGL: We have talked about how tithing is giving back to God and His church resources that can be used. We have a special tithing challenge this month- all month we want you to tithe bags of candy for Candy Fest- a special event that we put on for kids in the neighborhood who don t have as much. So starting next week bring in bags of candy. Teachers- pass out the candy fest cards for children to take home as a reminder. glue sticks, scissors, Who is God? Sheets (double- sided) for each child 3 rd - 5 th Proverbs 10 verse sheet (double- sided) for each child, pencils Candy Fest tithing cards for each child Prayer Take prayer requests from the children. Write them down and then repeat them in summary to the group before you pray. Pray as a group for one another. 3 rd - 5 th you could start teaching them to write down prayer requests so they can remember to keep praying for these things throughout the week.
God is LOVE Who is God? The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. Proverbs 9:10 God is STRENGTH God is CREATOR God is GIVER
God is GOODNESS God is FAIR God is TRUTH God is WISDOM
Discovering Proverbs The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. Proverbs 9:10 Proverbs 2:6 ESV- For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding. NIV- For the Lord gives wisdom, and from his mouth came knowledge and understanding. NLT- For the Lord grants wisdom! From his mouth come knowledge and understanding. Proverbs 3:3 ESV- Let not steadfast love and faithfulness forsake you; bind them around your neck; write them on the tablet of your heart. NIV- Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. NLT- Never let loyalty and kindness leave you! Tie them around your neck as a reminder. Write them deep within your heart. Proverbs 10:1 ESV- A wise some makes a glad father, but a foolish son is a sorrow to his mother. NIV- A wise son brings joy to his father, but a foolish son grief to his mother. NLT- A wise child brings joy to a father; a foolish child brings grief to a mother.
Proverbs 10:8 ESV- The wise of heart will receive commandments, but a babbling fool will come to ruin. NIV- The wise in heart accept commands, but a chattering fool comes to ruin. NLT- The wise are glad to be instructed, but babbling fools fall flat on their faces. Proverbs 14:26 ESV- Whoever despises his neighbor is a sinner, but blessed is he who is generous to the poor. NIV- He who despises his neighbor sins, but blessed is he who is kind to the needy. NLT- Those who fear the Lord are secure; he will be a refuge for their children.