PYCLs: HOW DO WE PRAISE GOD? (1) REVEL IN ALL THE STORIES OF DAVID (2) HOW DOES A GARDEN GROW? (3) A WATER FAUCET FIELD TRIP… (4) CAN THERE BE AN “EVIL SPIRIT FROM GOD”? (5)
Possible Younger Class Lesson ideas for the Christian Science Quarterly Bible Lesson on
“God the Only Cause and Creator”
for Sunday, December 4, 2022
by Kerry Jenkins, CS, of House Springs, MO
kerry.helen.jenkins@gmail.com • 314-406-0041
PYCL #1: HOW DO WE PRAISE GOD?
To answer this we have to ask about the nature of God. I do this often, since I sub as a teacher for different classes. But even if I had a regular class I might inquire often about their thoughts on who God is. It is so easy to slip into the feeling that God is a “being”. It can seem comforting, as if there is some sort of anthropomorphic being that will listen and answer our prayers. Even though we do pray to God, ask for help, and even though the Bible refers often to God as a “being”, it is most Scientific to consider God as one of the synonyms — as, for example, the law of Love/Truth/Life. This is, in fact, what we see revealed in this week’s lesson through three stories about David and one of Jesus healing three blind men. It is a perfect opportunity to consider the nature of God as the source of all consciousness, of all conscious Being, which is Life, and Mind. God as Cause, God as Creator–This is Principle and Mind right? Let’s talk about how we can pray by listening, by praising, by recognizing our oneness with Love, Life, Mind, and so on. If God is conscious Mind, then we can expect to find answers as we listen to that Consciousness within each of us.
Now we can move into how we praise God. Since God is not a being who needs man to “praise Him”, we can look to Jesus, or David to see how it is done! We praise through expressing God. Make a list of qualities that David and Jesus express in this week’s lesson. Make a list of qualities that we each express that are “God in action”. These actions, thoughts, expressions are praise of the Divine. If we express gratitude to someone for anything–helping with a transaction, holding a door, sharing a meal–we are expressing the Love that is God. We are the living creations of Principle and the love that we expressed is caused by Principle, by Love, by Mind. Look at the Golden Text Ps. 9:1 and Ps. 96:1,2 from the Responsive Reading for statements of praising God, showing Love’s works, singing God’s song, blessing God’s “name”/identity, and showing God’s “salvation from day to day”.
It’s so fun to get a deeper insight into these statements that we read in Bible lessons that almost seem like “throw aways” or “filler” citations, but are actually calling us to understand how we fit in a day to day living of divine Being.
PYCL #2: REVEL IN ALL THE STORIES OF DAVID.
I’m sure most of you reading these notes spend a lot of time on Bible stories each week. I have found that Christian Scientists often have an amazing knowledge of the Bible and of Bible characters because of their time learning about them in Sunday School. I certainly found that to be the case as I went through literature classes in high school and college. This is not, of course, why it is important, but it’s a fun perk! Children love stories, heck, we all love stories. These three stories of David can be considered together here as examples of the kind of praising that we spoke of above. (cit. B6/1Sam. 16:1,4 (to.), 5-7, 10-12, cit. B8/1Sam. 16:15-23, and cit. B11/1Sam. 17:4,10,11,32,45,49,50). How was David “praising God” in each of these stories? In caring for his sheep, being humble, courageous, tender, loving…in all these ways David was praising the Creator, and living as much as possible as the unlimited spiritual expression of this Creator. David and Goliath is always a fun one to share and talk about.
You can think about what the five smooth stones represent and you can bring them each some smooth stones to put in their pocket after you talk about what they might represent for each student. How many did David end up needing? Why did he have five? Why didn’t David need armor and swords? What were his “armor” and his “weapons”? What is the battle really between? What are our own “Goliaths”?
PYCL #3: HOW DOES A GARDEN GROW?
Work with citation B16/Isa 61:11 and ask this question. When we plant and tend a garden what happens? Don’t the plants naturally sprout, grow, mature? This passage is telling us that just as the earth causes things to grow, so God brings out good in His creation naturally.
Make a list of things that Love “grows” in us, that “Truth” grows in us, and so on. You can be creative or have the students do it if they are old enough and draw qualities as words springing from the ground or growing from a tree that you draw. Each child can add a quality to the drawing. You might get it started so that they understand the idea by making a word such as “grace” twist up out of soil or dangle from a tree branch. With younger children you could prepare stickers of such words/drawings and have them stick them to the picture, coming out of soil or off of branches.
PYCL #4: TAKE A FIELD TRIP TO A WATER FAUCET–HOW IS GOD LIKE A WATER FAUCET?
Ask the children what will come from the faucet. Make some jokes about whether maybe this time chocolate milk will come out! (or anything that seems fun and silly). How is God like the water faucet, or drinking fountain? A water faucet only produces water, that is all that it is supplied with, that is all that comes out of it. In the same way, a lie cannot come out of Truth, sickness cannot come out of Life or Love. When it seems like we are experiencing error of any kind, it is a counterfeit of creation. It may seem to have a “source” but that source is only our mortal belief in error. Love only makes love and loving things or expressions of love. Just like the water faucet only pours out water, so Love only pours out love.
PYCL #5: CAN THERE BE AN “EVIL SPIRIT FROM GOD”? cit. B8/1 Sam. 16:15-23
We read in this story that Saul is struggling with “an evil spirit from God”, probably some sort of chronic depression or other mental illness. From everything we have discussed, do the students think that God gave Saul such an “evil spirit”? Why is it stated this way? You may have your own thoughts on this, mine are that the author of this story had no easy explanation for why man struggles with things such as depression, so he attributed it to God. This is a continuous theological explanation throughout the ages.
The book of Job delves into and allays this idea that man is visited with tribulation by God for one reason or another. But this doesn’t fit with our “faucet” example above. If God is Love itself, there is no cause within Love for evil of any kind. Spirit is all Spirit, all good, no “evil spirit” within it. You can share the story of Jesus healing the blind men here as another example of overcoming the belief that God could possibly be the source of error. (cit. B14/Mat 20:30-34).
Did God cause the blindness in these three men? Or was blindness a misconception of their nature that Jesus knew and revealed when he healed them in an instant?
Can you share a healing of your own that proves a situation to be a “misconception” or “counterfeit” of the true nature of man?
Have an amazing week in Sunday School!
