Lesson: Sermon on the Mount: Doing Good Privately/Let Your Yea be Yea

Sermon on the Mount:
Doing Good Privately/Let Your Yea be Yea

To Remember: We don't serve God to show off; we do what we say

Vocabulary

Privately: secretly, with no one watching

Lesson - Matt 5:33-37; Matt 6:1-4, 16-18

Why do we do things that are good? (discuss: to please God, because it is right, to make others happy) Is it possible to do a good thing in a bad way? Yes, it is. Sometimes people do good things just to gain popularity or to look good in front of others. Has anyone ever seen someone do that in school - helped the teacher only to look important in front of their friends? Jesus said that if we that, we will not be pleasing to God. We must not be good just to show off. Jesus said that if we do good and no one knows about it, God will reward us Himself. Isn't it better to please God than to please men?

So how does one do good secretly? You can do a chore without announcing to everyone that you did it. You can send an unsigned note to cheer someone up. Adults can donate money to people or causes without signing their name. Sometimes people will find out, and that's ok. The point is that you help people without caring whether anyone else knows you did it. God knows, and He will be pleased.

True or False

God knows everything we do. T
We should think more about others than about ourselves. T
Jesus said He would reward those who help others secretly. T
All good works can be done secretly. F
I will know every good work that others do. F

Sing: I want to be a worker for the Lord

Discussion: Have you ever heard someone say, "Cross my heart and hope to die." What are they doing? They are promising to do something. They are swearing they will do it. Often, people who swear to do things are known for not fulfilling their promises. They have to swear to make people believe them.

Jesus said that we should be known as people who always do what we say we'll do. Others should not need to hear us swear to believe us. We should be dependable. This means we should not promise things we either don't intend, or are not certain we can finish. Be careful what you say you will do, and do what you say. why do we believe anyone who swears? Are they really saying they hope to die? Of course not. Most people swear by things they can not control, which is useless to begin with.

Activities

Memory Work
Puzzle: Print out picture of boy praying and cut into a puzzle for students.
Fishing
1. Name one thing the Pharisees did to be seen of men. (prayed, fasted, gave alms)
2. Where should the Pharisees have been praying? (in closet)
3. What was the Pharisee's reward? (praise from men)
4. Name something we can do for others secretly. (chores, send notes or flowers, donate)
5. What did Jesus say we should swear by? (nothing)
6. Someone is dependable when they...? (do what they promise)
7. What kinds of things did the Pharisees swear by? (heaven, earth, altar, hair, etc)
8. Why is swearing useless? (we can only control our behavior, not heaven, earth etc.)
9. T or F: We should be very careful about making promises. (True)