YEA Lesson Library
Sleepy Friends
About This Lesson
This lesson relates the events in the Garden of Gethsemane and asks the student if he is asleep or awake spiritually.
Scriptures
Proverbs 20:13
Proverbs 24:30-34
Matthew 25:1-13
Matthew 26:30-56
Luke 13:24
Luke 22:39-46
John 18:1-12
Romans 13:11-14
Words to Know
LEUKEMIA - cancer of the bone marrow characterized by an increase in white blood cells which brings about anemia
The Lesson
Katie and Diane grew up in the same small town and started the first grade together. They were best friends who lived within three blocks of each other. Rarely a day passed without them seeing each other. They laughed and played together. Frequently they slept over at each other’s houses. As luck would have it, they were always in the same class. Katie was like Diane’s shadow – when you saw Diane, you knew Katie wasn’t far behind.
Oddly enough, they even had the same birthday. Their moms always planned one birthday party for the two of them. Their birthday parties were big celebrations. They got such neat presents and had so much fun.
At Katie’s and Diane’s 12th birthday party, everyone noticed how pale Katie looked. She was always tired. Her mother took her to the doctor to see if there was a problem. She was in and out of the hospital for tests. It seemed as though every test in the book was run on her. The results came back and the news was not good. Katie had leukemia. Treatments didn’t arrest the disease. And Katie grew weaker and weaker.
The bad news came that Katie wasn’t expected to live through the night. The one thing she found to be a real comfort to her was her friend, Diane. She had such fond memories of the many times they had spent the night together. Diane could always make Katie laugh. In the past, spending the night with Diane had been an all night laugh session. So her last request was that Diane come to the hospital and spend the night with her. Diane being a true friend, was there to hold Katie’s hand, to try to make her laugh, and to pray for a miracle. But Katie lost the battle.
Have you ever had a friend with terminal cancer or visited someone who is dying? What do you say to him? How do you act around him? What kind of reassuring words can you give at a time like this? If your closest friend was dying, could you stay awake all night long and be there to give strength and encouragement?
After Jesus and His disciples finished with the Passover, Jesus and 11 of His best friends headed over to the Garden of Gethsemane. He knew that the very next day He would die a horrible death. Jesus said to His disciples, “My soul is crushed with horror and sadness to the point of death. . . stay here. . . stay awake with me.”
Even though Jesus was the Son of God and soon to be a Spirit being, He was still just as human as you are. He had needs and fears. The thought of dying was just as difficult for Him as it would be for you. This was the toughest night of His life. He needed the encouragement and comfort of His friends, the disciples.
“He went forward a little, and fell face downward on the ground, and prayed, ‘My Father! If it is possible, let this cup be taken away from me. But I want your will, not mine’.” He returned to His friends – the disciples, and found them asleep.
Do you remember Peter in our last lesson? He said He would never deny Jesus, but here he was asleep when Jesus needed him. He couldn’t even stay awake one hour when his Friend, his Savior, was filled with sorrow and sadness beyond words. Then Jesus encouraged His disciples to stay alert and pray. Otherwise temptation would overpower them. And He left them again to pray.
This time Jesus said, “My Father! If this cup cannot go away until I drink it all, your will be done.” He went back to His friends. Again, their eyes were heavy and they were asleep. So
He went back and prayed the third time. “Then an angel from heaven appeared and strengthened him, for he was in such agony of spirit that he broke into a sweat of blood, with great drops falling to the ground as he prayed more and more earnestly ”(Luke 22:43-45 TLB).
He was absolutely exhausted from grief as He returned to His disciples and found them asleep again. He told them to get up and pray that they would not fall when they were tempted. As these words were coming out of His mouth, a mob led by Judas the betrayer showed up. He gave Jesus a “friendly” kiss on the cheek so the mob could identify Him. At last the sleepy friends came awake enough to realize this mob was going to arrest Jesus.
It would be easy for us to think that we could stay awake with our friend if he knew he would be killed the next day. And maybe we could. But are we a sleepy friend of Jesus, that is spiritually asleep, or are we really awake? In Matthew 25 Jesus gave a parable of five wise and five foolish virgins. The five wise virgins had oil in their lamps. Oil is a symbol of having God’s Spirit. The five foolish virgins slumbered and slept. The bridegroom came, which is symbolic of Jesus returning to this earth, but the door was shut to the foolish virgins who slumbered and slept. The message here is that we can’t make it into God’s Kingdom if we are a sleepy friend of Jesus. We must have His Spirit and be busy doing the work of our Father. Are you a sleepy friend of Jesus? Or are you awake and on fire for Jesus with God’s Spirit directing your life?
Student Prayer
Oh Merciful Father,
Thank you so much for my Savior, Jesus Christ. Please give me oil in my lamp, your Spirit, that I may be on fire for Jesus and have His Spirit directing every aspect of my life. Please help me to never be a sleepy friend of Jesus.
I pray this in His holy and righteous name.
Amen.
Daily Devotions
Sunday: Matthew 26:30-56
Monday: Luke 22:39-46
Tuesday: John 18:1-12
Wednesday: Matthew 25:1-13
Thursday: Proverbs 20:13
Friday: Romans 13:11-14
Saturday: Proverbs 24:30-34
Objectives
At the end of this lesson, students will be able to:
1. Explain that we can’t be a “sleepy friend” and make it into the Kingdom of God.
2. List things they can do to grow spiritually.
3. Discuss things their local church can do to grow spiritually.
4. Set goals for ways they can help their church to grow spiritually.
5. Discuss what was lacking in Judas’ spiritual maturity to cause him to betray Jesus, his friend of three or more years.
Topics & Themes
Angel
Betray
Death
Disciples
Judas
Gethsemane
God’s Will
Holy Spirit
Jesus, Suffering of
Judas
Oil
Parables
Ten Virgins
Prayer
Staying Awake
Temptation
Materials Needed
Bible, YEA students’ and teacher’s books, attendance and memory verse charts, songbook, cassette tape or CD, music player, paper, pencils, an assortment of toys for different age groups (see background), table
How to Teach This Lesson
Begin the class by asking the students to go to the table and separate the toys into three different age levels – babies, elementary school level and adults. Ask for a reason as to why they put each toy into its group. Explain that just as we grow physically and outgrow playing with certain toys, we also grow spiritually.
Discuss Katie and Diane - How would you rank their relationship compared with the three groups of toys? What kind of maturity do you think it takes to sit with a friend who is dying?
Disciples maturity - How would you rank the disciples maturity on the night Jesus was arrested compared with the toys on the table? Why do you think they couldn’t stay awake? What impact do you think it had on the disciples when Jesus came back from prayer with His sweat being great drops of blood? What kind of impact did it have on you to read this?
Judas the betrayer - Judas along with the other disciples had been with Jesus for about three years. They had shared a lot together. What kind of spiritual maturity do you think Judas had? What do you think was lacking in Judas’ spiritual maturity that caused him to betray a friend of three years? What steps in spiritual growth could he have taken to pre- vent him from coming to the point of betraying Jesus?
Sleepy friends - How would you describe being spiritually asleep? Ask one of the students to read Matthew 25:1-13 aloud from a modern translation. Ask: What is the message for us today in this Scripture?
Activity in the students’ book - Ask for a show of hands on the first question. For the second question ask the students to see how many other things they can add to the reasons they want to grow as a Christian. What things will you commit to trying for a month, which things are listed under number three, to help you grow spiritually?
Activity Scriptures - Ask for a different student to read each of the scriptures from the activity in their books, and tell the class that they are to find a common theme in these verses. After the verses have been read, allow the students to give their opinion on the common theme. See if you can get an agreement from the class.
Teacher-Directed Activity
Divide the class into groups of three. Explain that spiritual growth is important to the individual. But we also grow in Christ through community. The church is the community in which we share spiritual growth. Tell the students that they will have five minutes for each group to list on their paper as many ways as they can think of where their church can grow spiritually and how they can do it. Send them to different parts of the room to do their work. At the end of the five minutes, bring them back together and have them read their ideas. Now ask them to tell you the things their class can do to help their church grow spiritually. Write them on a piece of paper as they give them. After class, have them present the ideas to their pastor or church council, including the list of things they can do to help their church grow spiritually.
REACH Activity
Spotlight Memory Verse
Read the YEA lesson memory verse in another Gospel account, for example, Matthew 7:13. What kind of picture comes to your mind when you read Jesus’ words? In your Bible notebook, draw a picture of what the memory verse means to you, and find three supporting or connecting Scriptures relating to the memory verse.
Where in the World?
Where is the Garden of Gethsemane located? What does the word “Gethsemane” mean? Is it really a garden? Research Gethsemane and create an informational poster with facts that you have found about this well known biblical place.
They Did What Back Then?
James Montgomery wrote “Go to Dark Gethsemane,” a song that relates very well to this YEA lesson. Find the words as well as the story behind the song. Learn the song as a class or family. Write a newspaper article as if you were a reporter that had been sent to cover the events in the Garden of Gethsemane. Remember that you are not writing the article as if it happened in the present, but at the actual time of the life of Jesus Christ. Share your article with the class or family.
Making It Mine
Are you a secret service Christian? Do people around you know what you believe—because you live it daily? Or would they be shocked to learn that you believe in Jesus, keeping the Sabbath and God’s laws, and celebrating the Holy Days? Do you tell them you are going on a family vacation, or do you tell them you are celebrating the Feast of Tabernacles?
After you’ve answered these questions honestly to yourself, read Mark 8:34-38. Read it slowly and think about how it applies to you. Are you ashamed of Jesus and your beliefs? Are you more concerned about your life than bringing glory to God? Are you worried about now or thinking about the future? These are tough questions that all serious Christians should consider. Evaluate your life, the choices you make, the impressions others have of you. Then make changes which glorify our God.
Worldview Collision
The media and entertainment industries have made “Christian” a bad word. In February 2008, Charles Barkley (basketball superstar) critically observed that Christians are judgmental and have no right to pass judgment on others. Many others jumped on the Christian-bashing bandwagon to cite how terrible Christians are. It is almost funny to read! These people are doing exactly what they accuse Christians of: passing judgment, sweepingly, on an entire group of people.
In reality, the Bible tells Christians to make judgments (1 Corinthians 2:15, 1 Corinthians 6:1-3). We must judge whether actions are godly or not. But we are not to judge people because we cannot know their hearts. God is the Judge. That is not our place. But it is our place to judge behaviors as right and wrong, based on God’s holy and righteous law. That’s where sinners object. They don’t want their actions to be judged and condemned as wrong. But if you don’t stand up for what is right, you are not a very good light in a darkened world.
Song
“How Deep Is Your Passion” is on page 88 of The Group Songbook.
Closing Prayer
Have the students form a circle and join hands. Ask for a volunteer to lead in prayer asking God to show them more ways to grow and become like Jesus Christ. Ask for the strength and determination to stick with a plan of spiritual growth.
Printable Pages
