[PYCL: Bang a divine gavel! (2) Share a reenactment of Moses & the fake snake! (3)]
Possible Younger Class Lesson Ideas for Sunday School from
the Christian Science Quarterly Bible Lesson on:
“Matter”
for September 20, 2020
by Kerry Jenkins, CS, of House Springs, MO
kerry.helen.jenkins@gmail.com • 314-406-0041
Pycl #1: Have students highlight every mention of "law" or "laws" throughout the lesson.
What is a law? Have a conversation about law. Is it something that can be "broken"? Are there different kinds of "laws"? Share some examples together of different laws that the kids are familiar with. If a "law" is broken, is it a law of God? What might the difference be between a "law" of matter, and a law of God? Is God a great "policeperson" in the sky? Why do we feel like we are being "punished" when we break a human law? (For example, when we are pulled over for speeding in a car). Is God doing this punishing? Or is this an example of "sin punishing itself"? Sometimes, we feel like we are doing a good thing, and we have an accident, and we wonder "why did that happen when I wasn't doing anything wrong?"
Living a life of Spirit, is not, despite our best efforts, about living without any problems! This would be the same as thinking that we have made a mistake every time something doesn't happen the way we think it should! Rather, each time things go in a way that is challenging, we are being given an opportunity to watch and rejoice in the presence of God being revealed to us.
If the students are readers, have them highlight every mention of "law" or "laws" throughout the lesson. Give each student a section or two to spread out the work. Have them read their passages and tell the class what these passages are saying to us. What must a law look like in order for it to be a law of God? See the Responsive Reading! It must be "holy, just, and good." So, if a law is not serving justice, we need to see how God's law is in operation right where things seem unfair. Do you have an example from your own experience? If not, find one in a periodical to share with your class!
Pycl #2: Set-up a simplified trial/courtroom. Firmly bang a "gavel" and say no to the lying senses…!
The last half of the Bible lesson contains the trial from Science and Health. I have been pondering how to share this in a simplified way with younger children. If you are meeting in person you could set up a small trial/courtroom. Simplify the number of participants to a judge, a prosecutor, and a defense attorney, as well as the defendant. You can mention others if the children are a bit older.
Talk about how there is a person there in the court to defend you, to clear you of any false charges! You can certainly talk about the two places where this trial takes place and think together about how we sometimes look at our bodies and try to figure out from what we see, what the "verdict" will be. If we experience a broken bone, we listen to the prognosis of a six- to eight-week healing time, for example. Is this a law of matter, or Spirit? Look together at the definition of "Time", in the Glossary, p.595 of Science & Health. Is there anything spiritual about that definition that would say we need more of it, in order to heal? Again, share some examples that might even be pretty ordinary, about how the laws of time were overcome.
In this trial, the man is sentenced to death, but Science saves him! It is never too late in Spirit because time is a mortal concept of material thinking, not spiritual. While it is useful, it is not a "law". I love the idea of encouraging the students to take every "case" to the court of Spirit! Don't stand in the court of matter, of material sense, and listen to the lies that tell us we are "hurt", "sad", "angry", or "sick". The judge, God, always gives us good. God bestows freedom, joy, peace, never anything less. If it is less, we are either misunderstanding the good that is present, or we are using our material senses to try to define our state of being, when we are always needing to judge things with spiritual sense, our discernment of the presence of God, good, gratitude, grace.
With the youngest classes you can bring a small mallet to represent the "gavel". Talk about how a judge uses a gavel. They use it to bring order when things get loud and argumentative. Can we do this when our thoughts argue that we are really angry, hurt, etc.? Can we firmly bang the metaphoric "gavel" and say no to the lies of sense?
Think of examples and have them practice! A judge also uses the gavel to represent the final decision in a case. If the judge is God, that final decision is always one that is good. So, you could think of this as the end of a good treatment in Christian Science, a really good "trial" where you have found that Spirit has set you free. You would then punctuate that freedom with a "bang"! There are no more arguments after that proclamation, no more whining, doubts, fears, Love has already proclaimed us free. If you are meeting over Zoom, you could just use your hand on the table to represent the gavel.
Pycl #3: Share examples to show every healing is like Moses & the fake snake or like Jesus' W.o.W! [Share part or all of a 6-min, YouTube video reenactment by "Moses."]
Can the children find an example in this week's lesson where the "laws" of matter are totally overcome and ignored? One story is in Section 2, where Moses is told to throw down his rod and it turns into a snake, which he picks up and it turns back into a rod. You might enjoy talking about how every healing is like this rod story.
[Warren: If you think it might be a fun illustration for your class and you have the time, technology and know-how to share it, you might try sharing this link to a YouTube video of Moses and the fake snake… that a couple of friends and I had fun re-enacting. See the back story as GEM#1a, 1b, 1c.]
We are obedient to God's direction, when we dismiss the material situation (the fake snake), and we listen to God and pick up the snake by the tail! Each time we do this we are enjoying a Christian Science healing, and that healing becomes a "staff to lean on". This just means that we really trust and lean on God more after we have a healing, after we understand and enjoy what happens when we are glimpsing divine law in action. Maybe, if you are meeting in person, you can give each student a "staff", a peeled stick to represent this amazing idea! Or encourage them to find one on their own!
Another story is in Section 3 where Jesus walks on water (W.o.W!) You can be a little silly and ask whether any of them have ever tried to walk on water. Maybe they are old enough to have been water skiing and they will think of that! But the point here is that Jesus overcame material "laws" of physics in order to teach us all that God's law is supreme. He didn't do this as some "party trick". It was meant to really stretch our thinking past the point where we just accept our material senses of things as they are.
If they are having a hard time with this concept you can help by pointing out that our material senses tell us lots of things that we know are not true, but they always look like they are! On a hot day, we see "water" on the road ahead which is only a mirage. Railroad tracks look as if they meet in the distance. And the sun looks as if it rises and sets, rather than like the earth is spinning and orbiting around the sun. You can bring in some Escher drawings if you think that will help illustrate these ideas. Can you also share a healing that illustrates well, this idea of overcoming material illusions?
Pycl #4: After they understand what the "royal law" is and how they are living under that law as kings or queens, have paper crowns to show (or give) them!
I do like the mention in citation B13 from James 2:8, of the "royal law". How is that different from material "law"? Think for a moment about when someone is unjust, cruel, or unkind to you. Shouldn't this cause you to treat them in a way that is also unkind, etc.? That would be a law of matter.
One of the early Mosaic laws said "an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth". You can explain this law. Its origins were meant to keep people from overreacting to slights from others and, for example, killing someone when they steal a chicken from you. In this version of human law, they would have to merely replace your chicken, not get murdered! But the "royal law" is one that Jesus revealed in his Sermon on the Mount. And it is a law that loves your neighbor as yourself, loves even your enemies, and blesses those that curse you! Why would that be in accord with God's law? Does God supply all with good? Do we ever lack, or need something that someone else has and we cannot?
(For example…) Under God's laws we can "afford" to be only generous, loving, forgiving and so on, because we know that all good comes from God and is infinite. Have some paper crowns to share after they understand what the "royal law" is and how they are living under that law as kings or queens!
Have a great week in Sunday School!
