LESSON 11: READ AND RESPOND
THEME: Loneliness/Anger
VOCABULARY: faithful, difficult, problems, situations, a lot, anger, angry, pressure, groan, lift, relief, holy
STORY: There is a boy. His name is James. He is 13 years old. He lives with his mom, dad, brother, and sister. He has recently made a new friend named Paul. Paul has helped James in many ways over the past few months. James was very lonely. But then James found comfort in the Lord. However, the Lord has not taken all of his difficulties away. James still has to take care of his siblings a lot during the week. This has caused him to continue to struggle with anger. He feels angry that he cannot just be a kid. He feels a lot of pressure to a good example to his siblings and a good son to his parents. James knew that giving his life to the Lord would not take away all of his problems. He knows that God is there for him, but that people and situations can cause things in life to be difficult. James really tries to stay faithful to Jesus, but sometimes he gets angry with God. Sometimes James feels it is not fair that he has to work so hard and be so responsible. He questions God and the purpose God has for his life. He wonders why other kids get to live so freely. He reads Psalm 22:1-3, which says, “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me? Why are you so far away when I groan for help? Every day I call to you, my God, but you do not answer. Every night I lift my voice, but I find no relief. Yet you are holy…” James is slowly learning that even though we may not feel like God sees us in our time of need, God is always there. James is learning that he has to continue to seek the Lord and continue to look for comfort in his time spent with the Lord. James knows that one day the Lord will help relieve him of all of his anger and loneliness and that maybe now is just not the time.
ACTIVITIES
- Review the Vocabulary Words .
- Listen to Audio 1 as you read the story.
- Listen to Audio 2 – Story with Questions as you read the story and answer questions.
- Think about the main theme:
- Does God get rid of all of our difficulties right when we want Him to?
- What do we need to wait for? (God’s timing)
- How can we continue to be faithful even when we are upset or angry?
- Has there been a time when you have been upset or angry? What did you do?
- End the class in prayer.