YEA Lesson Library
Less Than Human
About This Lesson
This lesson teaches that the killings at Columbine, the death of John the Baptist, and abortion are all murder - and wrong in the sight of God.
CAUTION: Graphic description of partial-birth abortion
Scriptures
Exodus 21:22-23
Psalm 127:3-5
Psalm 139:13-14
Psalm 139:15-17
Isaiah 49:1, 5
Jeremiah 1:4-5
Matthew 10:30-31
Matthew 14:1-13
Luke 1:40-44
Luke 3:3-7
Words to Know
IMMORTAL - not liable or subject to death
FETUS - offspring, young still in the womb
The Lesson
Have you ever attended a school where there was a shooting? Was anyone killed? If you haven’t attended a school where there was a shooting, remember, everyone has not been so lucky. Josh wasn’t. He was a sophomore at Columbine High School when twelve people were killed. He heard the murderer ask Cassie Bernall if she believed in God. And he heard her say “yes.” Then he heard the shot that killed her. This is what Josh had to say about how this horrible event changed his life:
“Until the day (at Columbine), I just took everything for granted. I pitch for the baseball team at school, and I took playing for granted . . . I guess I looked at being a teenager as being immortal. As never being able to get hurt that bad, and definitely never dying, at least not for many more years. Now I can’t think of it that way. I have to live today to its fullest, because I realize you can leave this earth at any given point in your life. It doesn’t matter how old or young you are.” (from She Said Yes).
The Columbine killing of innocent people was a horrible tragedy and this incident changed many lives. Down through the ages, evil people have killed innocent people. Sometimes these victims were even friends or relatives.
John the Baptist was a friend, a cousin, the man who baptized Jesus, and the one the Father sent as a forerunner to the Messiah. He ate locusts like parched grain. Locust were usually roasted, or sun-dried. He wore clothes made of camel’s hair. He shouted from the barren wilderness, “Prepare a road for the Lord to travel on!” John was sent by God to prepare the way for Jesus to come.
He was a very straight forward guy who spoke bluntly, “You brood of snakes! You are trying to escape hell without truly turning to God!” Do you think John was a little strange? King Herod’s wife, Herodias, thought John to be more than strange. She didn’t like him a little bit, because he told King Herod that it was wrong for him to marry his brother Philip’s ex-wife. These words made Herodias so angry that she demanded that the king arrest him and put him in chains. The only reason the king hadn’t killed John was because he feared the people would riot.
Herod’s daughter was a wonderful dancer and wanted to perform at the king’s birthday party. She danced so beautifully that Herod vowed to give her anything she wanted. Yes, anything! Herodias had an enormous influence on the girl. She told her daughter to ask for John the Baptist’s head on a tray. This wasn’t exactly what the king had anticipated or even wanted. How- ever, guests were present and even the king wasn’t exempt from peer pressure. He gave the order that John be decapitated and his head be brought to his daughter on a tray. How could the king ever do such a thing to another human being? Could it be that he and his wife had come to look upon John as less than human because of his clothing and diet?
Jesus didn’t look on John as less than human. He must have been terribly grieved over the murder of his cousin. Immediately upon hearing of John’s murder, He went to a remote place to be alone.
The two boys who killed twelve people at the Columbine High School didn’t value life any more than King Herod. Did they somehow come to look upon their classmates as less than human? Human life is precious to God. He made humans in His own image. And that gives Him the right to decide if a person should live or die. Job said “The Lord gave me everything I had, and they were his to take away”( Job 1:21 TLB). This included his very life.
Our society is rapidly devaluing life. Why do you as a teenager need to know this? Because of how it can impact your life and your loved ones. Josh’s life was changed after the Columbine shooting. He never anticipated hearing Cassie Bernall’s last word before the gunman shot her.
One of the first steps to devaluing human life in this country was making abortion legal. To think that an unborn baby was less than a real human being made it easier to legalize abortion. At abortion clinics the unborn baby is called a “fetus,” “tissue,” and even a “blob.” It makes it easier for the mother if she thinks they are destroying “tissue,” a “fetus” or a “blob” than if she hears them say they are killing her baby.
As of June 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade which federally legalized abortion. This ruling does not make abortion illegal; it merely returns the power to each state to determine legality. Partial birth abortion is still legal in some states. This procedure is used to kill real live babies with fingers and toes and hair on their heads as they are being born. To perform this abortion, the doctor turns the baby as it is being born. He stabs the baby in the back of its head with sterile scissors and sucks out its brains. In most cases the baby could live outside the womb. All of these tiny little innocent babies never get a chance to live and enjoy the things you do because they are killed with this horrible procedure. Is this any less murder than what happened to the students at Columbine High School or to John the Baptist?
Abortion is not a good solution to a problem – it only compounds it. A girl who has an abortion takes a terrible risk of physical and emotional damage. Aren’t you glad that your mother didn’t abort you? If she had, you would not be going to Sabbath School, summer camp or to the Senior Prom. You simply would not be! You are made in God’s image and He values your life! You are not less than human. Neither is a baby in a mother’s womb.
Student Prayer
Almighty Creator God,
You are the one who created me. You gave me life. Thank you that my mother did not abort me. Every human being is precious in your sight. We were formed in your image and you created us for a purpose. Help me each day to value human life in every way, and never take it into my hands to cancel your creation.
In Jesus’ name I pray.
Amen.
Daily Devotions
Sunday - Jeremiah 1:4-5
Monday - Luke 1:40-44
Tuesday - Psalm 139:15-17
Wednesday - Isaiah 49:1, 5
Thursday - Psalm 127:3-5
Friday - Matthew 10:30-31
Saturday - Exodus 21:22-23
Objectives
At the end of this lesson, students will be able to:
1. State that all human life is precious in God’s sight.
2. Discuss how God gives life and takes it away.
3. Explain that life begins at conception and abortion is murder.
4. Discuss ways society turns a baby into something less than human to make abortion more palatable.
5. Make the comparison between the Columbine killings, John the Baptist being beheaded and abortion as murder.
Topics & Themes
Abortion
Herod
John the Baptist
Life
Murder
Materials Needed
Bible, YEA students and teacher’s books, attendance and memory verse charts, paper, pencils, songbook, CD/cassette tape, music player, chalk board or newsprint pad, marker pen, prize
How to Teach This Lesson
By sequentially following the questions below, the objectives of the lesson should be met and there should be time to complete each section of the lesson.
Have you ever felt kind of immortal like Josh did before the Columbine shooting? How do you think Josh felt when he heard the shot fired that killed Cassie Bernell? Who can tell us what question the murders asked Cassie Bernell, and what her answer was that caused her to be killed? “Do you believe in God?” And she answered, “Yes.” They placed little or no value on life. They began to look upon other students as less than human.
Who remembers what John the Baptist said that got him murdered? That it was wrong for him to be married to his brother’s ex-wife. Do you feel that what John said was bad enough for the king to have him beheaded? Why or Why not?
Who has the right to kill and make alive? God. Why? He created us. Does anyone else have the right to kill another human being? Yes, the state has the right to administer the death penalty for those who have killed another person. Ask one of the students to read Romans 13:1-5. Discuss how God gave governments the right and responsibility to execute a murderer.
When does life begin? Why do you feel that way? Ask one of the students to read Luke 2:40-41. Explain that Mary had gone to visit her cousin, Elizabeth, who was pregnant with John the Baptist. At the sound of Mary’s greeting, the baby within Elizabeth leaped. Ask: Was this baby less than human?
Ask one of the students to recite their memory verse (Psalm 139:13-14). Ask: Do we have the right to cancel God’s creation with an abortion? Why or why not? Is abortion really any different from murder since it takes the life of another human being?
Who can tell us what happens with a partial birth abortion? Is ending this baby’s life any less than murder?
How do you think people come to the point of doing such horrible things? They begin to look upon a baby as less than human.
Where would you be if your mother had looked upon you as less than human – just a fetus or tissue and aborted you? You wouldn’t be here today. Are you less than human? Is an unborn baby then less than human? Is there a better solution to an unwanted pregnancy? Yes, adoption. What should a teenager do to prevent an unwanted pregnancy? Abstain from sex until you are married. Sex outside of marriage is a very risky business and it is sin!
Teacher-Directed Activity
Have the students plan a talk show and record it. Give the class a few minutes for everyone to use today’s lesson and prepare questions the host will ask a panel. Let the students decide who will be the host, who will be the panel to discuss the questions, who will control the recorder by starting the theme music and recording the program. Include everyone in this production.
REACH Activity
Memory Verse Spotlight
Find the memory verse in at least two different translations than the one given. How do they compare and contrast? Which translation of the memory verse do you prefer, and why? Discuss different translations and preferences with your family or class.
Where in the World?
What kind of life did John the Baptist lead? Where was he born and how was he raised? What values do you think he was taught by his parents? Use your Bible and Bible tools to find out more about Jesus’ cousin, John. Create a timeline of John’s life and present it to your class or family.
They Did What Back Then?
What is the history of the legalization of abortion in the United States? Research this controversial topic. Write and create a pamphlet or brochure that defends God’s view of life as given through Scripture. Present your pamphlet to other YEA classes, the church, and your family. Make enough copies to hand out to friends or family members who cannot attend your presentation.
Making It Mine
The right to choose whether or not to have a baby is yours—before you have sex. Once you have sex, you have to live with the consequences. And there are consequences. If you are not married, you have sinned. There should be feelings of shame, guilt, and responsibility. And sometimes, the consequences are more obvious—a new life has begun.
Once that baby has been conceived, you have another choice. You can take care of the unborn baby or you can murder it. You’ve already sinned by having sex outside of marriage. Murdering the baby doesn’t undo the first sin. Murdering the baby through abortion adds another sin.
You have the right to choose whether or not to have a baby. That choice comes before you have sex. Think about it. Pray about it. Ask God for His help in keeping you out of a situation where you could have sex before marriage. Then do your part.
Worldview Collision
A biblical worldview says that in God’s hands, our lives have unlimited value and potential. God can do anything, including manifesting His glory through people who have little worth to the world around them. Imagine the potential a mentally slow person has with God’s power behind them! All of a sudden, that person isn’t the one with the handicap; we are! Similarly, imagine someone with a physical deformity or a newborn baby—or anyone else! To this world’s standards, they may not be worth much. But add God to the equation, and their potential is unlimited.
Other worldviews look at the surface and the here and now. From their perspective, a newborn baby is not convenient right now, so she is portrayed as an expendable blob. From their perspective, a person with a mental disability is not a productive member of society, so he is portrayed as an expendable blob. From their perspective, a person with a physical deformity makes us uncomfortable to be around, so she is portrayed as an expendable blob.
Don’t buy into the worldview which devalues life and its potential in God’s hands. Life is precious. It is a gift from God, and should be left in God’s care. Some people want to pretend they are God and decide who should live or die. Don’t you do it. Instead, imagine the indescribable worth that person has when God becomes involved in their life!
Song
“We Are His Hands” is on page 9 of The Group Songbook.
Closing Prayer
Have the students form a circle and join hands as one of the students leads the class in prayer. Ask God to help each one to value life as He does, and that each one will have the strength to abstain from sex until they are married.
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