Lesson 7: Judging others.
Passage: Matthew 7:1-5 - Jesus taught his followers not to judge others or they would be judged by the same standard. He taught that they should focus on removing the plank in their own eyes before pointing out the speck of sawdust in someone else’s eyes, thus highlighting the hypocrisy of judging others when we ourselves are not perfect.
Big Idea: We are not the judge of others.
For Teachers:
Lesson plan.
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Welcome — Activity Leader
Have the children sit in a circle on the circle time rug. Welcome them to class.
Warm Up Activity: Storytime — Activity Leader
Read: tbd
Preliminary Discussion — Bible Story Leader
This summer we’ve been learning about Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount and all the great lessons he taught from the side of a mountain.
Today we will be learning about what Jesus said about judging others.
Does anyone know what it means to judge somebody?
Let’s watch today’s video to find out what Jesus says about judging others…
Video Lesson — Bible Story Leader
Follow Up Questions — Bible Story Leader
When you see someone else doing something wrong or making a mistake, what do you usually think about them?
Do you think that everyone makes mistakes sometimes? Do you ever make mistakes?
Why do you think Jesus tells us not to judge other people or think badly of them when they do wrong or make a mistake?
What do you think we should care about more — what other people are doing or what we are doing?
Prayer — Bible Story Leader
“Dear God, thank you for the lesson we learned today about not judging others. Please help us to remember that everyone makes mistakes or does wrong things sometimes and it's not our job to judge them. Please help us to try to focus on what we're doing instead of worrying so much about what other people are doing. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”
Activity: Bookmark Craft— Activity Leader
Kids will decorate a wooden bookmark and attach tassels to the end.
If a child is not interested in the activity, allow them to move to free play.
Dismissal: Collect tags and make sure each child leaves with their caregiver.
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Welcome — Activity Leader
Have the children sit in a circle on the circle time rug. Welcome them to class.
Warm Up Activity: Storytime — Activity Leader
Read: Lunch Every Day (a story about a kid having a hard time at home; the message is about not judging others)
Preliminary Discussion — Bible Story Leader
This summer we’ve been learning about Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount and all the great lessons he taught from the side of a mountain.
Today we will be learning about what Jesus said about judging others.
Does anyone know what it means to judge somebody?
Let’s watch today’s video to find out what Jesus says about judging others…
Video Lesson — Bible Story Leader
Follow Up Questions — Bible Story Leader
When you see someone else doing something wrong or making a mistake, what do you usually think about them?
Do you think that everyone makes mistakes sometimes? Do you ever make mistakes?
Why do you think Jesus tells us not to judge other people or think badly of them when they do wrong or make a mistake?
What do you think we should care about more — what other people are doing or what we are doing?
Prayer — Bible Story Leader
“Dear God, thank you for the lesson we learned today about not judging others. Please help us to remember that everyone makes mistakes or does wrong things sometimes and it's not our job to judge them. Please help us to try to focus on what we're doing instead of worrying so much about what other people are doing. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”
Activity: Bookmark Craft— Activity Leader
Kids will decorate a wooden bookmark and attach tassels to the end.
Dismissal: Collect tags and make sure each child leaves with their caregiver.
-
Welcome — Activity Leader
Welcome the kids to class, ask how their week was.
Warm Up Activity: Connect 4 — Activity Leader
Set up a game of Connect 4. Two kids will go up against each other while the rest of the group lines up evenly behind each competitor. Competitors stay in the competition until they lose. They will then sit out and the next person in line gets to compete against the winner.
Preliminary Discussion — Bible Story Leader
Today is the last Sunday of our summer series on Jesus' Sermon on the Mount. We've been learning about a bunch of different teachings that he gave to his followers from the side of a mountain.
What was your favourite teaching from Jesus so far? What do you think is the hardest one to follow?
Today’s lesson is gonna be all about judging others. Let’s watch our video to find out more about what Jesus says about that topic…
Video Lesson — Bible Story Leader
Follow Up Questions — Bible Story Leader
Do you find it easy or hard to avoid judging others? What are some things you might usually judge others for?
What do you think are some of the reasons why we shouldn’t judge?
Have you ever felt judged by others? What was that like?
What does Jesus say we should focus on more — what others are doing or what we’re doing?
Prayer — Bible Story Leader
“Dear God, thank you for the lesson we learned today about not judging others and focusing on ways to become better ourselves instead. Please help us to be more gracious and forgiving when we see others making mistakes or doing something wrong, since we usually don’t know the whole story and we can’t see their hearts like you can. Please help us to think the best of others and give them the benefit of the doubt as much as possible, knowing that at the end of the day it’s you who are the judge and not us. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”
Activity: Bookmark Craft— Activity Leader
Kids will decorate a wooden bookmark and attach tassels to the end.
Dismissal: Collect tags and make sure each child leaves with their caregiver.
For Parents:
Follow-up questions.
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What was the story you learned about in class today?
Do you sometimes notice the mistakes that others make or the wrong things they do?
Do you think that someone is a bad person because they make a mistake or did something wrong? Why or why not?
Do you think that we all make mistakes sometimes? Do you ever make mistakes too?
What did Jesus teach us about judging others? What did he say we should focus on instead?
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What was the story you learned about in class today?
What do you think it means to judge someone? Have you ever judged someone or thought badly about them because of something they did?
Why does Jesus say we shouldn’t judge others? What should we try to focus on instead?
Have you ever felt like someone else was judging you? What did that feel like?
What are some things we can remind ourselves when we feel like judging someone?
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What was the story you learned about in class today?
Do you ever find yourself judging others for something they did?
Have you ever felt judged by others? What was that like?
What does Jesus say about judging others and why we shouldn’t do it?
What does he say we should focus our energy and attention on instead?
