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IT’S COOL TO BE WISE
Week 6 - GUARD YOUR HEART
Today’s material is based around the wise saying from Proverbs chapter 4 verse 23 - Above all else guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.
Week 6 PowerPoint slides, leaders’ notes and various other items downloadable from the bottom of this page.
SLIDE 1 - Series theme slide ‘It’s Cool to be Wise’
SLIDE 2 - Week 6 key phrase slide ‘Guard Your Heart’
Part 1
Lead-in session drama
Outline for Leaders
This week Ed lands in front of a no parking sign on the street. There is some misunderstanding with the local policemen before Ed can get down to the business of looking for the final piece of code.
Props: Wardrobe travelling machine, policeman’s hat, boots, notebook & pencil (policeman white shirt). ‘No Parking’ sign,
Sound effects: Travelling wardrobe
Drama setting: Open outdoor kerbside street space. The scene set is the Policeman’s (Bobby) beat.
Characters: Ed, Policeman, Post person, Narrator.
Drama - ‘No Parking’
(SLIDE 3 - PowerPoint slide Week 6 chart ‘A’ )
Put up slide 3 before the narrator starts. If you like, someone introducing the drama can ask the kids if they can remember what last week’s word ‘Strong’ was all about.
(Sound effect of wardrobe taking off / landing)
Narrator: Whoops, that’s an interesting place for Ed to land, he’s landed on a street.
(Ed opens the door and comes out of the wardrobe, just as the community policeman comes onto the stage.)
Policeman: (Taking out his notebook and pencil) Ello, ello – what have we here then? Parking your vehicle in a no parking space. Against the law that is you know.
Ed: Yes, but it’s not a car or a van or something.
Policeman: Sorry son, I don’t care if it’s a jumbo jet, you can’t park it against a ‘No Parking’ sign. These signs are here to help and protect the local residents.
Ed: But this is a wardrobe, it doesn’t have wheels.
Policeman: I can see that, but a boat doesn’t have wheels either and if you parked that here I’d have to give you a ticket.
Ed: But officer, it’s not a boat or a jumbo jet – it’s a wardrobe and I can’t control where it lands.
Policeman: Now why didn’t you say that in the first place?
Ed: Say what?
Policeman: That you can’t control where it lands. You mean you’ve broken down.
Ed: (scratching his head) well no, not really, you see the wardrobe just lands where it’s supposed to and I don’t know where that is until I get there.
Narrator: Ed explains to the policeman all about the wardrobe and that he’s after the last piece of code and an important clue. The policeman shakes his head in disbelief but says that he will give Ed 30 minutes to move the machine.
Ed: Phew, that’s not long but will you help me look please?
Narrator: The policeman agrees and Ed and the policeman start looking around
Ed: (looking at his watch) Oh dear, I’ve not got much time.
Narrator: As Ed and the officer are searching for the code the Postman stops by and shows the policeman something he found in the post box. Ed, can’t believe it, it’s the code and clue piece he’s been looking for: But the policeman is not prepared to hand the items over to Ed unless he can prove that they do belong to him. Ed goes back to the wardrobe and shows the officer the other pieces of the code and the policeman is satisfied.
Policeman: Now son, I hope you don’t think I’ve been too hard on you but I do have to look after the people on my beat. They’re all very important you see and they look to me to keep an eye on them to keep them safe. I’ve got a special place for these people in my heart you see, that’s why I call my beat my ‘Heart Beat’. Hearts are very important things to look after you know.
Ed: (excitedly) that’s it, that’s the answer to this last clue (policemen looking puzzled) ‘HEART’ the clue is what does the policeman call his beat? ‘Heart – Beat’. And what’s in your heart is so important, what you think, what you say, how you treat people.
Thanks officer, just made it in 30 min’s. Must go.
(SLIDE 4 - Display Week 6 chart ‘B’ showing the final code piece and key word)
Narrator: And with that, very excitedly Ed takes off for the last time to return home. This week’s key word ‘Heart’ can now clearly be seen on Ed’s chart. Ed now has all the pieces of the code, so he can now crack it and all will be revealed.
(Sound effect of wardrobe taking off / landing)
Ed Cracks the Code
SLIDE 5 - The conclusion of Ed’s adventure can be done in many ways. One way is for Ed to land back where he started at his home. Here Ed sits down and discovers that the code pieces of Roman numerals and Morse code combined give him six letters to spell the word ‘WISDOM’. At this point the final PowerPoint slide is put up.
Narrator or someone else to round up:
Kids it really is ‘COOL TO BE WISE’ if you want to be wise you can ask God to give you wisdom and He will.
Later, we’re going to look at our last wise word ‘Heart’ and see how important it is.
PART 2
BIBLE CHAT - LISTEN UP TIME (SLIDE 6 )
Guard Your heart
Props: You may like to take along a selection of things that protect us in some way in lieu of using slide 10 PP slide. Always good to use a variety of visuals. You may have similar physical items to those pictured. Other protective items include sunglasses, sun cream, umbrella, sun hat, wellington boots, thick coat…
SLIDE 7 - Remind the children of today’s key phrase putting emphasis on ‘Guard Your Heart’ - ‘Above all else guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.’
(Proverbs chapter 4 verse 23)
Today we're talking about 'Guarding Your Heart', let’s think for a minute. What are you doing if you guard something? (You are guarding it to keep it safe.)
SLIDE 8 - Where might you find this chap?
SLIDE 9 - Yes, of course he’s guarding the king of England in Buckingham Palace
What other word might we use for guarding something? Yes you are protecting it. Protecting it from what? (Damage, harm, danger.)
SLIDE 10 - Let the kids comment on the gear that protects or guards us in some way - look after hands, ears, face, feet, eyes, skin...) (Instead of using SLIDE 10 you may like to take along similar physical items - see Props note above for ideas)
SLIDE 11 - How about this one? (Fire guard is used to guard against people getting burned.)
SLIDE 12 - So we have been talking about guarding things, protecting our physical bodies, but what about our theme today - what are we on about when we say 'GUARD YOUR HEART’ because everything you do flows from it.
What does our heart do inside our bodies? It pumps the blood around, if it stopped pumping, we wouldn’t be alive. But this wise saying isn’t talking about our physical hearts, it’s talking about who we are inside, our personality what makes me, me, and you, you. But just as your physical heart is so important - vital for life, your mind and personality is also vital for life and we are told in the saying to guard it, because it affects everything we do.
So how can we guard it? We need to be careful what we watch on TV and video games that show us violent and unkind images. In other words, we need to ask Jesus to help us to do what is good and right and walk away from any bad influences that want to lead us astray. Stay away from bad company, that lead you into trouble, don't get involved with things such as Ouija boards, and anything that can disturb and worry us, things like horror films, drugs, and violent movies. Remember, if something or someone comes your way and asks you to look at or do something you are unsure about or your conscience tells you this isn't good - don't do it!
If we look at and get involved with bad stuff, then bad stuff will come from our lives.
SLIDE 13 - But if we follow Jesus in watching, listening, and doing good stuff, then good stuff will come from our lives and this will please God, bless others and bring us joy. Guarding our hearts is really important and Jesus will help us all the way if we ask Him! He wants us to be filled with His joy.
And Finally - rounding up this series ‘It’s Cool to be Wise’
PART 3 - RESPONSE TIME (IN SMALL GROUPS)
SLIDE 14 - By means of discussion or an end of series quiz, reflect on the whole topic of being wise. At this point put up the series theme slide - ‘It’s Cool to be Wise’.
Ask the kids to say why they think it’s cool to be wise.
In what ways have we learned that we can be wise?
Who can we ask to give us wisdom?
What can the kids remember about:
a. Who should we put our trust in?
b. Choosing friends
c. Speaking with calm words
d. Making plans for our lives
e. Who is a strong tower?
d. Why should we guard our hearts?
End by praying with the kids in your group that God would give them wisdom, helping them to be wise in the decisions of their lives and that He would fill them with the joy that only He can give.
Week 6 DOWNLOADS
Week 6 PowerPoint slides
Drama Script, Bible Chat & Response Time Leaders’ Notes
Printable Lettering for ‘No Parking’ Sign
WEEK 6 Printable Code Piece (Morse - - = letter ‘M’)
Alternative PowerPoint slides WK 6 for:
Ed’s Adventure charts A, B & C with blank centre
for alternative travelling machine to be inserted.