YEA Lesson Library
God’s Costume
About This Lesson
This lesson teaches that Halloween is wrong and should not be celebrated.
Scriptures
Isaiah 50:10
Romans 13:12-14
Ephesians 5:11-14
Philippians 4:8
1 Peter 3:14
1 Peter 5:5
1 John 1:5
Words to Know
EVIL - bad
The Lesson
Are you afraid of the dark? Do you see things on television that scare you? Have you ever waked up from a bad dream because you were afraid? God says, “Do not be afraid.” God is love and He wants you to be safe and happy.
God loves beauty. Look at the birds in the sky. Aren’t they beautiful. Have you ever seen a humming bird getting nectar from a flower? God made the humming bird and the flower. And He made both of them very beautiful. The trees are beautiful. The lakes are beautiful. And the mountains are beautiful. God made this world beautiful. He didn’t put ugly, scary things in this world.
A long, long time ago, Halloween started as a celebration of very bad, ugly things. It celebrated cold, darkness and death. Do you like to be cold? We don’t like to think about darkness and death. Halloween costumes are made to look like dead skeletons, Dracula, or all kinds of things with scary faces. Do you think this makes God happy?
Halloween is a day when people think they can be as bad as they want to be. They think evil things are fun. But God doesn’t think evil is fun. He always sees what we are doing.
Jesus never went trick or treating. He always did good things for others. Don’t you want to be like our Friend Jesus? Halloween is not a day God’s people celebrate. He doesn’t want us dressing up in scary costumes. He wants us to be in His Kingdom. Then He will put a beautiful costume on all the people who love and obey Him. We will not be afraid or scared. We’ll be so happy in His beautiful Kingdom.
Daily Devotions
Sunday - Romans 13:12
Monday - Romans 13:14
Tuesday - Ephesians 5:11
Wednesday - Ephesians 5:12
Thursday - Ephesians 5:13
Friday - Ephesians 5:14
Saturday - 1 Peter 5:5
Objectives
At the end of this lesson, children will be able to:
1. State that Halloween is not a day God wants us to celebrate.
2. Tell that there are scary, ugly and evil things connected to Halloween.
3. Explain that God made the world beautiful and didn’t put ugly, scary things in it.
Topics & Themes
Creation
Evil
Fear
God’s Kingdom
God’s Omniscience
Holidays, Halloween
Jesus Sets Example
Obedience
Sin
Materials Needed
Bible, YEA students’ and teacher’s books, songbook, CD or cassette tap, music player, all kinds of interesting junk such as pieces of fuzzy fabric, buttons, shiny fabric, candy canes, old cards, keys, lunch bags, cord, feathers, braid, rick-rack, shells, old earrings, chains, small rocks, etc., construction paper, glue
Preparation
When the Kingdom of Israel was divided, “Jeroboam built shrines on high places and appointed priests from all sorts of people, even though they were not Levites. He instituted a festival on the fifteenth day of the eighth month” (1 Kings 12:31-32). In other words, Jeroboam changed the Feast of Tabernacles from the 15th of the seventh month to the 15th of the eighth month and corrupted the worship of God. Since Halloween usually falls just about a month after the Feast of Tabernacles, one wonders if Jeroboam started what became Halloween. Read the chapter for yourself. This led to the downfall and destruction of Jeroboam’s kingdom. It’s not up to us to change God’s appointed times nor how He tells us to worship Him.
The message in Halloween is so evil. It is one of an evil spirit world, of death, and darkness. Churches are trying to clean it up by “Redeeming The Day. Rather than avoiding Halloween, transform it . . .” (Group Magazine September/October 1997). There is no way that we can “transform” the evil spirit world. We can avoid it and all it stands for. Children should be taught from the earliest age not to participate in extortion (trick or treating), not to give any day or time of their life to demons and evil spirits. God has so many beautiful, wholesome things for them to learn and enjoy. Help your class to understand this.
Before class, make enough happy faces out of yellow construction paper and glue a popsicle stick to each one. On the back side, make a sad face. Make enough for every student to have one.
Review Questions
Have the children sit on the floor in a circle. Roll a ball to the child who will answer the questions. They can then roll it to the next child to answer the question. Make sure every child gets to answer a question. If the ones below are not enough, repeat them.
1. Does God want us to celebrate Halloween?
2. Does Halloween have beautiful or scary things connected with it?
3. Did Jesus trick or treat?
4. Does Jesus want you to dress up in ugly Halloween costumes?
5. Does God think evil is fun?
REACH Activity
Letter: A (This letter can make many sounds. Focus on the schwa or lazy a sound.)
Words: alone, ago, away, again, another, afraid, abandon, available, against, a
Sentence:
ANOTHER PAGAN DAY TO LEAVE ALONE IS HALLOWEEN. LONG AGO, GOD TOLD HIS PEOPLE TO STAY AWAY FROM EVIL. AGAIN, DON’T BE AFRAID TO ABANDON A THING WHICH IS AGAINST GOD’S WAY.
Song
“I Have Decided to Follow Jesus” is on page 23 of Kids Classics Collection.
Closing Prayer
Lead in prayer thanking God for making such a beautiful world, for keeping us safe and happy. Ask Him to help the children to understand how evil Halloween is and how wonderful and beautiful He is.
Printable Pages
