LESSON 5: LISTEN AND RESPOND
THEME: Jesus Helps Us Through Hard Times
VERSE: Proverbs 3:5-6 says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.”
VOCABULARY: who, what, when, where, faith, heard, traveled, fired,
STORY: There is a man. His name is John. He lives in a big city. He has a family. His wife is Susan. He has two kids. His daughter Maria is 12. His son Paul is 10. John works for a big company. His wife stays home with the kids. They had a good life. They traveled and did many things. The kids played sports and were in many activities. Then one day everything changed. One day he went to work and his boss told him they had to let him go (fire him). John was very upset. He went home and told his wife. His wife told him not to worry, and that God had a plan for their family, “For I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” John tried to stay positive. But after several months he still had no job. He started to get discouraged and started drinking. Things spun out of control. He stopped looking for a job. The family had no money. Susan was very worried about her husband and their future. But Susan never lost faith. She kept on praying and knew that God would restore their family. One day she heard the Lord say to her, “Susan, there is no plan that can succeed against the Lord.” (Proverbs 21:30) With this, Susan began praying over her family and John. She asked John to go to church with her and the kids. John went to church and slowly Susan saw him changing. He started drinking less. John started looking for a job. John started to submit his life to the Lord and began to see the Lord working in many ways. Proverbs 3:5-6 says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.”
STORY WITH QUESTIONS: There is a man. His name is John. (What is the man’s name?) He lives in a big city. He has a family. (Where does he live?) His wife is Susan. He has two kids. (Does he have a wife? How many kids does he have?) His daughter Maria is 12. His son Paul is 10. (How old is Maria?) (How old is Paul?) John works for a big company. His wife stays home with the kids. (Does his wife work? What does his wife do?) They had a good life. They traveled and did many things. The kids played sports and were in many activities. (Did they have a good life? What are some of the things they did?) Then one day everything changed. One day he went to work and his boss told him they had to let him go.(fire him). (What happened to John?) John was very upset. He went home and told his wife. (How did John feel?) His wife told him not to worry, God has a plan for our family, “For I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” John tried to stay positive. (Was his wife positive or negative about the situation?) But after several months he still had no job. He started to get discouraged and started drinking. (What happened after several months?) Things spun out of control. He stopped looking for a job. The family had no money. Susan was very worried about her husband and their future. (How does Susan feel?) But Susan never lost faith. She kept on praying and knew that God would restore their family. (What kept Susan positive?) One day she heard the Lord say to her, “Susan, there is no plan that can succeed against the Lord.” (Proverbs 21:30) With this, Susan began praying over her family and John. (What did Susan do?) She asked John to go to church with her and the kids. John went to church and slowly Susan saw him changing. (What did John start doing?) He started drinking less. John started looking for a job. John started to submit his life to the Lord and began to see the Lord working in many ways. (How did John change?)
ACTIVITIES:
- Review the vocabulary words. Listen to the Vocabulary File
for pronunciation. Look up the meaning of any words you don’t know. - Listen to Audio 1 as you read through the story.
- Listen to Audio 2 – Story with Questions as you read through the story and answer the questions.
- Fill out the Lesson 5 Worksheet below
- End class with prayer.
LESSON 5 WORKSHEET
- Who is the main character in the story? __________________________________________
- How is John at the beginning of the story? ________________________________________
- John (start, started) drinking when he lost his job. __________ (select the correct verb tense)
- Susan stays faithful to her family and her husband through the whole story. What keeps her positive? ______________________________________________________________________
- Susan (begin, began) praying over her family.__________(select the correct verb tense)
- John finds the Lord. How does the Lord help him? ___________________________________
- How can the Lord currently help you? ____________________________________________