YEA Lesson Library
Honor God
About This Lesson
Using David’s desire to build a Temple for God, this lesson differentiates between showing honor and dishonor and explains why we should honor God always.
Scriptures
2 Samuel 7:1-29
Proverbs 3:7-10
Proverbs 15:33
Isaiah 29:13-17
Matthew 15:8
Matthew 23:1-12
John 5:17-23
John 7:18
John 12:23-26
Romans 12:9-13
1 Corinthians 6:18-20
Revelation 5:12
Words to Know
ESTABLISHED - having set up or put in place
TEMPORARY - something that will not last
PERMANENT - something that will last
IMPLEMENT - in this lesson, to begin or to set in motion
THWART - to oppose successfully: defeat the hopes or aspirations
The Lesson
Beth and Mark were planning a special surprise for their mom. She would be 40 years old on Sunday. First, they would get up early and make breakfast for her. Then they would volunteer to clean up the kitchen, vacuum the living room, dust the living room, and take out the trash. Then, they planned to have their dad barbeque for lunch, so she wouldn't have to cook. They shared a delighted grin as they got ready for bed Saturday night. Sunday was going to be so much fun. The children could hardly wait to see the surprise and pleasure on their mom's face. It would be fun to make her happy and let her know how special she was to them.
Early Sunday morning, before the children's alarm went off, their mom woke them up. She told them to hurry and get dressed. They were going to IHOP for breakfast. Then they were going to spend the day at the zoo. At first, the children were ready to be disappointed. But they knew how much their mom loved seeing all the animals at the zoo. Their plans would have been fine. But this was much better.
Today's lesson is about a plan David made to please God and to let God know how special He was to him. After God established David as king over Israel and gave him peace from his enemies, David began to think about what he could do to show honor to God. He thought about the beautiful cedar palace he lived in. Then he thought about the Tabernacle, the temporary tent where the altar, the Ark of the Covenant, and the rest of the furnishings were - in God's house. So David talked about it with Nathan, the prophet. Nathan told David to do whatever he wanted for God because God was with him. But God had different ideas.
God told Nathan to tell David that He had chosen David to shepherd his people, and He had set him as king over Israel. God didn't want David to build a Temple, a more permanent dwelling for God. But God wasn't angry with David. In fact, God gave David an incredible promise even while He told David not to build a Temple. God said that He would establish David's kingdom so that one of David's sons would rule on the throne after he died. Plus, God would discipline David's son, but He would not take the kingdom from him as He had with Saul. It would be David's son who would build the Temple for God.
What do you suppose David's reaction was? Like the children in our story, his first reaction might have been one of disappointment because he truly wanted to do something to please God and to honor Him. But, like the children, David soon realized that God's plans and His promises for David and David's son were going to be so much better than what David had planned. So David thanked God and submitted to God's will.
It can happen to us in the same way today. We look around and see how very much God has blessed us and we want to give something back. We want to do something for God to let Him know how much we love Him and appreciate what He has done in our lives. David’s experience should serve as a reminder that just because our plans may seem good, we still need to take them to God, spread them out before Him, and ask Him for His blessing on them before we start. We can only see what is right in front of us. God sees the whole picture. He knows what He's trying to accomplish with many people all at the same time. It's good and admirable to want to honor God, but it doesn't honor Him if it conflicts with His plans and desires.
Can you imagine the children in our story getting angry because their plans had been ruined? Can you see them pouting and yelling at their mom? That would have been exactly the opposite of what they wanted to do for her. It would have shown dishonor rather than honor. It would have brought her displeasure instead of pleasure. Likewise, can you imagine David getting angry at God and telling Nathan that he was going to build the Temple for God anyway? That wouldn't have shown much honor to God. And it wouldn't have been pleasing to God.
When we come up with a plan to honor God, we still need to submit to His will. If God doesn't want us to implement our plan, to do it anyway would not bring honor to God. Even when you can see only good in the plan, God may see something different. Be ready to submit to God's will. That will truly honor God.
Activity
Teaching the Lesson:
Legacy Lesson: Student book/Teacher book - Teaching Time: 25 mins.
Lesson Prep - Teacher book - Time: 30 mins.
Activity (Teacher book): Presenting Projects & Celebration - 35-45 mins.
Song: "Heavenly Father, I Appreciate You" - page 82 of the Kids Classics Collection - Time: 5 mins.
Activity (Student book): What is Honor? - Time: 10 mins.
Extending the Lesson - REACH Activities:
*Back to the Bible: Honor
*Journal Jot: Honor
*Word Study: Honor - timē
*Just Toolin’ Around: Building a House
*Did you Know? Solomon’s Temple
*Stretch It Out: Proverbs 15:33 Banner
*Music Notes: How Great Thou Art
*Questions? - Writing Prompt - 10 mins.
Student Prayer
Dear Heavenly Father,
Let everything that I do bring glory and honor to You.
In Jesus' name.
Amen.
Daily Devotions
Sunday - 1 Corinthians 6:18-20
Monday - Romans 12:9-13
Tuesday - John 12:23-26
Wednesday - Proverbs 3:7-10
Thursday - John 5:17-23
Friday - Isaiah 29:13-17
Saturday - Matthew 23:1-12
Objectives
At the end of this lesson, students will be able to:
1. Describe how David wanted to honor God.
2. Describe God's reaction to David's plan.
3. State God's promise to David and his son.
4. Explain the phrase: humility comes before honor.
5. Differentiate between honor and dishonor in actions towards others.
Topics & Themes
David
Honor God
Honor Your Father and Mother
Solomon
Temple
Ten Commandments
Honor Your Father/Mother
Preparation
Since this is the last lesson in the Bible Heroes series, plan to have a celebration for the students. They need the reward for having reached another goal. If possible, decorate the Sabbath School room prior to their arrival. Interestingly enough, planning a celebration for the students ties right into the lesson! You are showing honor to them because of their hard work to reach a goal. It will be a good teaching tool as you present the lesson.
Make a banner of Proverbs 15:33: "The fear of the LORD teaches a man wisdom, and humility comes before honor." Hang it in the Sabbath School room along with decorations, preferably over the table where you'll display the students' projects.
How to Teach This Lesson
After opening the class with prayer, follow the lesson plan below.
Students' projects: Make an effort to greet each student as they walk into the room. Pay extra attention to the projects they were to have finished and brought to class today. (Their project was to create a display to show all of the books of the Bible they've read over the past ten weeks.)
Discussion: When students are seated, talk about the honor shown them for completing not only another book, but the whole Bible Heroes series, and for completing their projects. Why would a teacher do that?
Giving honor: Define honor. Why do we honor people? Why do we honor God? How do we honor God? Can anyone think of a good Scripture which talks about honoring God? David wanted to honor God. Discuss 2 Samuel 7. Why did David want to honor God? How did David want to show God honor? What was Nathan's response to David at first? What was God's reaction? What was David's response to God saying no?
Our plans: Sometimes we make plans to honor someone. And sometimes those plans are thwarted. What should our reaction be? Would it show honor to get upset because we can't implement our plans? Why? If we are unwilling to submit to the will of the person we want to honor, then who are we really trying to honor - possibly ourselves? In the Students' book, seven scriptures are listed in the activity section. Have the students take turns reading them. Ask the students if the scripture is talking about honor for God or honor for themselves. In each case where the honor is for God, it is accompanied by the idea of serving and humility. In each case where the honor is for self, it is accompanied by pride and self-importance.
Proverbs 18:12: Ask for a volunteer to read Proverbs 18:12. Discuss the contrast in the verse. Summary: It is good to show honor to other people and especially to our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. Just make sure your actions are truly honorable.
Memory verse: This is a good point to have the students recite today's memory verse.
Review Questions
1. Why did David want to honor God?
2. How did David want to honor God?
3. What was God's reaction to David's plan?
4. Why does humility come before honor?
5. How do you know when your actions and thoughts honor someone?
6. How can you tell when your thoughts and actions don't honor someone?
7. Who is always worthy of honor?
Teacher-Directed Activity
Allow students to present their projects. Encourage them to talk about chapters they've read and what they've learned. Ask them the most interesting thing they learned. Then spend a little extra time allowing them to have snacks. Give students Book One in the Life of Christ series to study next week's lesson.
REACH Activity
Back to the Bible: Honor
The fifth of the Ten Commandments says to honor your father and your mother. It is the first commandment with a promise. What is that promise? Go back and look at the promise that is given if you honor your parents. Why do you think this is such a big deal? If you can learn to show honor to your physical parents - who you can see - then you will find it a natural step to show honor to your Heavenly Father - who you can’t see. Why is it vital that you honor God? Write your thoughts about this in your Bible notebook.
Journal Jot: Honor
What does honor mean to you? Write down a definition in your own words. Once you’ve done that, go look up the definition in a dictionary. How close was your definition to the one the dictionary displays? Now think about how you honor someone. Do you get to decide what shows honor to that person? If yes, when? If no, why not? How does this apply to showing honor to God? Can we show honor to God any way that we want to? Write about this topic in your Bible notebook.
Word Study: Honor - timē
The Greek word for “honor” in Revelation 5:12 means “a value, i.e. money paid, or valuables, by extension then, esteem (especially of the highest degree), or the dignity itself: honor, precious, price, some.” (Source: Zohdiates’ NAS Hebrew-Greek Key Word Study Bible, 1990, G#5092)
In other words, when you honor someone, you are showing by your words and actions just how much you value and esteem them. Conversely, if you dishonor someone, you are telling them you just don’t think they are important enough! This is serious, regardless of whether we’re talking about your parents or about God. God’s command says to honor your parents. And God is worthy of all our honor. It is not something we should take lightly.
Just Toolin’ Around: Building a House
David wanted to build a house for God. God told him no, but because this was the desire of David’s heart, God would build a house for David. We’re not talking about a house that you live in. The house that God built for David was the generation after generation line of descendants down through the years to the Messiah. Read Psalm 127 with this thought in mind. God’s the One building the house. Solomon is the one who wrote Psalm 127 - probably not a coincidence.
Did you Know? Solomon’s Temple
According to historical accounts, King Solomon's Temple in Jerusalem stood for approximately 400 years before it was destroyed by fire. The temple was completed in the 10th century BCE and was destroyed in 586 BCE by the Babylonians under the rule of King Nebuchadnezzar II.
Stretch It Out: Proverbs 15:33 Banner
Using felt material and sticky foam letters, make a banner of Proverbs 15:33. Hang it on a dowel rod by turning the top inch of the felt over and gluing it with a hot glue gun. Then attach string to both ends of the rod so that you can hang your banner on a nail.
Music Notes: How Great Thou Art
This hymn is on page 107 in the CEM Hymnal.
The original text of this hymn was written by a Swedish pastor, Carl Boberg, in 1886. “While visiting a beautiful country estate, Boberg was caught in a sudden thunderstorm. The awesome and violent lightning and thunder quickly ended, leaving clear brilliant sunshine and the calm, sweet singing of the birds in the trees. Falling on his knees in awe and adoration of Almighty God, the pastor wrote nine stanzas of praise.” The Reverend S. K. Hine later translated the text into German, Russian, and English. (Source: Amazing Grace, Kenneth Osbeck, 1990, p. 141)
I remember walking out in the Sierra Nevadas near Lake Tahoe after sunset on the Last Great day one year. The stars were so brilliant. I began singing this hymn and my family joined in. I can never think of this hymn without thinking of that very special moment of praising God for who He is.
What is your favorite part of this hymn? Write down the line in your Bible notebook.
Questions?
Write down any questions you have in your Bible notebook so that you can remember to ask your parents or your pastor.
Song
"Heavenly Father, I Appreciate You" is on page 82 of the Kids Classics Collection.
Closing Prayer
Lead the students in prayer asking for God’s help in discerning when their actions honor Him and others and when they don’t.
Printable Pages
