LESSON The decisions you make

OVERVIEW today will

Lesson
tomorrow
affect your
Title

You’ve heard this quite often that life is about CHOICES , DECISIONS and CONSEQUENCES.
This is a great lesson to teach to kids because we want them to learn at an early age to make
good decisions. What is the difference between good and bad decisions? God. If these kids
are going to make good decisions TODAY they must learn to do what pleases God in every situ-
ation. This is one of those LIFE lessons that every person should learn. If you want a better to-
morrow, you need to make good decisions , daily. This lesson should be hard hitting. But here’s
a tip, it is so easy to talk about choices , decisions and consequences all in one sentence. Your
teachers must really discipline themselves to only talk about theirparticular point.

So here’s a breakdown of the Sub points:

Understand Your choices

In any given situation, the kids have more than one choice but often they do not understand
what their choice s are. They are a product of their environment. They react the same as
everyone around them. With this sub point, we want to tell them to Stop! Think through the
situation and understand what the different choice s are before they decide to react to things.
They don’t have to do what everyone else is doing they have other choices.

Make good decisions

How do you teach a kid to make good decisions ? Most of them do not read the Bible or have
a consistent reminder in their lives to make good decisions . The role model the kids choose
have a negative influence on them. They make their decisions based on what rappers and sing-
ers say. Present to them the best role model ever, Jesus Christ.

Live with the Consequences

It does not matter what decisions you make, good or bad, you will live withthe consequences
of that decision.
 The decisions you make today will affect your tomorrow

LESSON
BREAKDOWN
PRE-OPENING ACTIVITY: Watermelon Seed Spit
Participants: 1 boy and 1 girl to represent their teams.
Props: Watermelon seeds, 2 cups and 2 buckets.
Preparation: Place the watermelon seeds evenly in the 2 cups. Place the buckets on the
floor side by side.
Playing: Have the girl and boy standing side by side facing their bucket. They need to stand
an equal distance away from their buckets. I will stand them about 6 feet away. Now hand
them their cup of seeds. When you say “Go!” They must place watermelon seeds in their
mouth and try to spit them into their bucket. When their seeds are all gone, count the
seeds that have landed in their buckets. Whoever has the most wins this game.

OPENING
Welcome
Rules
Opening Prayer
Pledges
Songs of your Choosing
4 Reasons

GAME TIME
1. Dizzy Dance
Props: Two bats and four books.
2. The Great Snowball Fight
Props: Seven folding chairs and 100 pieces of wadded-up paper
 Lesson 13

LESSON
BREAKDOWN
LESSON TIME
Short Overview of the Lesson
Quiet Seats Explanation
Props: 4 Red balloons, 4 blue balloons, a whistle, and quiet seat prizes.
Lesson Introduction
Props: Calendar
Power Point: The Decisions you make today will affect your tomorrow
Sub points:
1. Understand your choices
2. Make good decisions
3. Live with the consequences
Memory Verse
“I always do what pleases Him. ” (Proverbs 21: 3)
Props: Overhead projector, blank transparency or poster boards.
Bible Lesson: “Pharaoh’s Decision” (Exodus 5-14)
Props: Three actors and Bible Costumes - Moses, Aaron and Pharaoh.
Object Lesson #1: “Understand your Choices”
Props: Menu, plate of food and water.
Object Lesson #2: “Make good decisions”
Props: Small table, 6 beer bottles stored in a box.
Object Lesson #3: “Live with the Consequences”
Props: Four poster boards, three will have the names of people who have done something
bad and are now living with the consequences and the fourth poster board will say, “You.”
Life Lesson: “Terrence and the Toy Factory”
Props: Illustrated Story
Director’s Note
Christian Training versus
Christian Learning
 The decisions you make today will affect your tomorrow

OPENING L e ade r ' s

WELCOME
Props: Whistle
Presentation: Good Morning Kids!!! Today we’re going to
be talking about making decisions, making good deci-
sions. You made a good decision when you decided to
come to Kids’ Church today and with every good deci-
sion you make, you will have a good consequence. Your
consequence is learning about God. But you still have
more decisions to make today and whatever decisions
you make today will affect your tomorrow. How many of
you want to make good decisions? We’re going to have a
good time, let’s get started. Everybody put 10 fingers up
in the air and count down with me. 10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1.
Note s
Set the tone right away as the kids are enter-
ing the building:
1. Music - Have up beat, age appropriate
music playing as the kids are entering the
building.
2. Greeters - Have greeters at the door
greeting the kids and telling them where
to sit.
3. Announcements - Make sure there is
someone on the mic communicating clearly
to the kids such things as: “Welcome to Kids’
Church. We have 10 minutes before Sunday
School starts. Take off your coat. Girls, sit on
my left, Boys, sit on my right. I am excited to
see everyone here today!”
4. Countdown - We officially start Sunday

RULES School with a countdown.

Kids’ Church always works best when we work together.

When we follow rules, things run smoothly. There are
many children here today. In order for us all to have fun
and learn, we all have to follow the same rules. We do
not play favorites in Kids’ Church, and we do not allow
bullies either. We all follow the same rules. Today we
have a shortcut to help us remember the rules. The
shortcut is the word “SOW. ” Let us sow a good seed
today by obeying the rules. (Keep the rules posted or
write them on the chalkboard or on poster board. )
Let’s review the rules:
S- Stay in your seat.
O- Obey your leaders.
W- Whistle means quiet.
 Lesson 13

L e ade r ' s
Note s
OPENING
Allow one of the children to lead the
opening prayer. You might have to offer a
OPENING PRAYER
little guidance. Choose a boy or a girl who Dear God,
would like to pray. Here is a sample prayer
that you can guide them through. Remember Thank you for being here with us in Kids’ Church today.
to keep it short and to the point. You will God we want to make good decisions daily. We need your
eventually want to get the kids to the point guidance, we need you to show us what to do. Help us to
where they can pray on their own without
any help from you.
understand that every decision counts. Every decision
we make TODAY will affect our tomorrow. We love you, in
Jesus’ name, Amen

PLEDGES
Graphics are included in the power point presentation.

Graphics are included in the Powerpoint

Presentation.
 The decisions you make today will affect your tomorrow

OPENING L e ade r ’ s
Note s
SONGS OF YOUR CHOOSING
If you have a Praise and Worship team, it would be
great to implement them for this part of your service.
If you do not have a Praise and Worship team, then use
CDs. Try to play songs that the kids will know. Have the
songs written on transparencies or poster boards so
the entire audience can see the words and participate
in your Praise and Worship time.

THE FOUR REASONS WHY WE COME

TO KIDS CHURCH
Props: Poster board or overhead projector so everyone
Before you pick the two boys and girls to say
can see the “Four Reasons.” the four reasons, teach them to everyone as
a group. You can start off by saying to the
Every week, always take time to teach the kids why they
kids, “If you are in school and someone asks
come to Kids’ Church. “Spaced Repetition” is the name you why you go to church, what will you say?”
of the teaching technique that we employ at this point
Answer
in the lesson. The concept is simple; by reinforcing and
repeating these four key truths every week, it becomes
ingrained in our children. Have the kids repeat “The
Four Reasons Why We Come to Kids’ Church. ” You can
even give rewards to kids who can say them correctly
without help. Pick two boys and two girls, and have them
say the “Four Reasons” without looking at them. Doing
this every week can be a great start for your kids to
always know why they are doing the things we tell them
to do every week.
1. To love God first
2. To learn His word
3. To lead others to Jesus
4. To live right every day
 Lesson 13

L e ade r ' s
Note s
GAME TIME
1. Use your game time as a review time. Games are fun and exciting. I do not know one single
2. Make sure you have two opposing teams. kid who does not like to play games. I do not know one
3. Assign runners.
single kid who does not like to win cool prizes after
playing a game. Let’s face it, kids are bored at church.
4. Assign someone to operate your CD player.
They want to laugh, play, and have fun. Teachers want
5. Put someone in charge of organizing and them to learn the Word of God. Is it not possible to have
cleaning up games.
both? Who says Sunday school has to be dry and
6. Put someone in charge of giving out boring? There is a middle ground. Include games in your
prizes.
Sunday school.
7. Ask simple questions.
Game Time should be:
8. Explain the game well.

9. Judge quickly and fairly.

• A review of last week’s lesson
• Fun
10. M
 ake sure you rehearse the games with
• Organized
your workers.
A review of last week’s lesson
The only way that kids can play a game is if they answer
a question from last week’s lesson. Instantaneously,
kids are going to start listening to your teaching every
week because they want to play a game.
Fun
Game time must be fun! Make sure your games are
exciting and unpredictable. Do not get in a rut with your
games. You need to keep the kids guessing as to what
will happen next.
Organized
We call game time “controlled chaos. ” We want the
kids to have the most fun they can have in a controlled
environment. There is a lot of organization required for
game time. For instance, someone has to:
• Set-up and clean-up the game
• Pick kids to answer the review question
For other game ideas, click here.
• Operate the CD player
• Help the kids pick a prize
 The decisions you make today will affect your tomorrow
GAME TIME
REVIEW QUESTIONS
Select one child from each team who can answer their
review question correctly to play in this first game. Allow
each child to choose one partner of the same sex to
play this game with them.
1. In last week’s lesson we told you your time is now to
make a __________? Answer-Difference.
2. In the Bible lesson Queen Esther spoke to the King to
save her what? Answer-People.
GAME #1
Dizzy Dance
Participants: Two girls and two boys.
Props: Two bats and four books.
Playing: Instruct each player to touch his forehead to
the top of the bat. Then, without lifting the bat off the
floor, the player runs around it 10 times. As soon as the
child stops running, hand him a book and have him walk
to a finish line while trying to balance the book on his
head. If the book drops, he must pick it up and place it
on his head before continuing. The contestants cannot
“steady” the books with their hands. Once he crosses
the finish line, the second player begins. The first team
to get both players across the finish line wins.
Precaution: Make sure helpers are there to steady a
child if he falls from dizziness.
L e ade r ' s
Note s
Use your voice to build up excitement while
asking the question. As soon as you have
finished asking the question several things
should happen at the same time.
1. Upbeat music starts to fill in dead time.
2. A preassigned “runner” runs out into the
audience and finds a kid who knows the an-
swer to the question. “The runner” always
asks the kid the answer to the questions
before the music stops. If the kid does not
know the answer, the “runner” should find
another kid.
3. Once the runner signals to the game lead-
ers that have found a kid who knows the
answer to the question, the game leader
blows the whistle to stop the music.
4. Ask the kid his/her name.
5. Ask the question again allowing the kid to
give the answer on the mic. The runner
helps the kid pick the right amount of
partners needed to play the game.
6. Game leaders ask a second question for
the opposite side; repeat steps (1-5).
7. One game leader explains the game to the
audience. The other game leader explains
the game to the kids on stage making sure
everyone understands how to play & WIN
the game.
8. Make sure there is a clear start
9. As soon as the game leader says the word
“Go”, the person operating your CD Player
plays upbeat music.
10. As soon as there is a clear winner, game
leader will blow the whistle, the music
will stop, game leader will announce the
winning team.
11. Helpers on the stage will:
• Clean up game
• Help winning team pick a prize
• Give losing team consolation prize.
• Set up the next game.
 Lesson 13
L e ade r ' s
Note s
1. Use your game time as a review time.
2. Make sure you have two opposing teams.
3. Assign runners.
4. Assign someone to operate your CD player.
5. Put someone in charge of organizing and
cleaning up games.
6. Put someone in charge of giving out
prizes.
7. Ask simple questions.
8. Explain the game well.
9. Judge quickly and fairly.
10. M
 ake sure you rehearse the games with
your workers.
GAME TIME
REVIEW QUESTIONS
Select one child from each team who can answer their
review question correctly to play in this second game.
Allow each child to choose two partners of the same sex
to play this game with them.
1. God wants to use you to make a difference don’t give
him _________? Answer-Excuses.
2. In the story Pete Potato decided his time was now
to make a difference and because of that decision he
saved the _________? Answer-Ship.
GAME #2
The Great Snowball Fight
Participants: Three boys and three girls.
Props: Seven folding chairs and 100 pieces of wadded-
up paper.
Playing: Divide boys and girls into two teams. Divide the
“snowballs” between each team as evenly as possible.
Line up seven chairs in a straight line to form a divider.
Have contestants kneel and toss their “snowballs”
across the divider at the opposite team. After one min-
ute stop the game and count how many “snowballs” are
on each side. The side with the fewest “snowballs” wins!
Precautions: Be sure to have someone toss the
“snowballs” back on the thrower’s side if they are
thrown out of bounds.
 The decisions you make today will affect your tomorrow

LESSON TIME L e ade r ' s

Note s
SHORT OVERVIEW OF THE LESSON 1. This is what we are teaching.

2. This is why we are teaching what

Power Point we are teaching.
The decisions you make today will affect your tomorrow
3. This is our supporting verse
Direction 4. This is how we will support the
A good decision is when you do what pleases God powerpoint.

Memory Verse
“I always do what pleases Him” (Proverbs 21: 3)
Sub Points
1. Understand your choices
2. Make good decisions
3. Live with the consequences

KEY WORDS AND KEY PHRASES

Key words and Key phrases that should be used
throughout the lesson.
The you make will affect your
tomorrow
A good decision is when you do what pleases God
Tomorrow
Pleases God
Object Lesson #1-Choices
Object Lesson #2-What Would Jesus Do?
 The decisions you make today will affect your tomorrow

QUIET SEAT L e ade r ' s

Note s
Props: You will need a loud whistle, four blue balloons When explaining the “quiet seat” rule
teachers should be sure to communicate
for the boys’ side, and four red balloons for the girls’
well. You are communicating your
side. You will also need helpers on the boys’ side and expectations to the kids. Kids need to know
helpers on the girls’ side to pass out the “Quiet Seat” what the rules are, and the consequences
prizes. Prizes like candy, snacks, or Bibles are all for breaking them.
effective prizes. The prizes are given only to the kids Tips
who are the quietest during the teaching time. The 1. Use pauses
“Quiet Seat” time officially starts after the whistle has 2. Look at the kids when you are
been blown. talking to them.

Presentation: Boys, I have four balloons on your side. 3. Do not pace. (Stand strong and make
If I see you talking to your friends or playing with your purposeful movements. )

neighbor, I am going to pop a balloon. If I pop all four 4. Make sure you speak with authority. (This
of your balloons, I am going to give all of the candy to does not mean yelling; it means having a
clear, strong and stern voice. )
the girls. Girls, you also have four balloons. If I see any
type of distraction on the girls’ side, I am going to pop 5. “Quiet Seat” time does not officially begin
a balloon. If I pop all four of your balloons, I am going until you blow the whistle. (You cannot
pop a balloon until you blow the whistle. )
to give all of the candy to the boys. I have quiet seat
watchers walking around looking for the perfect kids.
A perfect kid is a kid who is sitting up straight, feet on
the floor, hands in your laps, and whose eyes are on the
teachers. If the quiet seat watchers see a perfect kid,
they will slip a piece of candy into your hand. You are
not to eat that candy until you are outside of the build-
ing. Everyone should be sitting up straight with your
feet flat on the floor. No one should be moving around
at this time. The bathrooms are now closed. The only
ones who will be moving around in here are the quiet
seat watchers. Their job is to watch you, not us. If I see
anyone talking, I will pop a balloon. You know what hap-
pens if we pop all of your balloons; you go home today
with nothing. We are now ready for the most important
time of the day. It is now time for the preaching of
the Word of God. On the count of three, I will blow my
whistle, and quiet seat time will officially began. One,
two, and three. (Blow the whistle. )
 Lesson 13

L e ade r ' s
Note s
LESSON INTRO
Props: Calendar
Power Point: The Decisions you make will affect your
tomorrow.
Presentation: I have a calendar here (Illustration 1-
Show the Calendar). I am going to tell you the most
important day on the calendar. I know some of you are
Illustration 1
already thinking, “Christmas is the most important day
on the calendar because that’s the day I get lots of
presents”. Some of you may be thinking the most impor-
tant day is your birthday. Those days are important but
they are not the most important day on the calendar.
The most important day on the calendar is TODAY (Il-
lustration 2-point out today on your calendar).

Illustration 2
TODAY is the most important day because the deci-
sions you make TODAY will affect your tomorrow. I’ve
seen many people have one “high” TODAY- drug addicts
tomorrow; one drink TODAY- alcoholics tomorrow; one
fight TODAY- prison tomorrow. The decisions you make
today will effect your tomorrow. That’s why we want you
to start making good decisions. But how do you make
good decisions?
A good decision is when you do what pleases God. In
every situation you can either do what people want you
Right here is where I brought in the direction
to do or you can do what pleases God. Only choosing to
of the lesson.
do what God wants you to do will guarantee you a good
decision. Whatever decision you make, good or bad, you
will live with the consequences. Life is about choices,
decisions and consequences.
TODAY, you have to:
1. Understand your choices
2. Make good decisions
3. Live with the consequences
 Lesson 13

L e ade r ' s
Note s
MEMORY VERSE
The choices we make today are so important “I always do what
for our tomorrow. To get prepared to teach
pleases Him. ”
this lesson, I want you to think back on 10
major choices you have made in your life. John 8: 29 (NIV)
1.
Props: Overhead
2. projector and a
3. transparency with
4.
the scripture verse
written on it. If you do not have an overhead projector
5.
then use poster board with the verse written in markers
6. large enough so everyone can read it.
7
Preparation: Set the overhead before the lesson begins
8. so all you have to do is turn the projector on or if you
9. have a poster board with the verse written on it. Make
10.
sure it is ready to be carried out.
Where did those choices lead you? How would Presentation: Today’s memory verse is a very important
your life be completely different if you had verse. It’s found in John 8: 29. It says “. . . I always do
made different choices?
what pleases Him. ” Him is referring to God. The best
decision you can make TODAY is to do what pleases God.
God is pleased when you make a decision to forgive peo-
ple who have hurt you. God is pleased when you make a
decision to help a person in need. God is pleased when
you make a decision to love your enemy. God is pleased
when you make a decision to make Him the most impor-
tant thing in your life. TODAY is the most important day
of your life. If you make a decision to do what pleases
God TODAY, your tomorrow will be great. The decisions
you make TODAY will affect your tomorrow.
 The decisions you make today will affect your tomorrow

BIBLE LESSON L e ade r ' s

Note s
Set up your preaching point at the beginning
PHAROAH’S DECISION of preaching.
Exodus 5-14
Props: Three actors and Bible Costumes - Moses, Aaron
and Pharaoh.
Point: The decisions you make TODAY will determine if
God works for you or if God fights against you.
Presentation: What would you rather have, a God who
works for you or a God who fights against you? What if
I tell you that the decisions you make today will deter-
mine if God works for you or if God fights against you?
When you choose to do things God’s way, God will work
for you. When you choose to do things your way, God
will fight against you. Let me tell you about a man in the
Bible who chose to do things his way.
This man’s name is Pharaoh (Illustration 3-Pharaoh
enters). He was in charge of Egypt. He had a lot of
slaves called Israelites. The Israelites were God’s cho- Illustration 3

sen people and God wanted them to leave Egypt. God

sent Moses and Aaron with a message for Pharaoh. (Il-
lustration 4-Moses and Aaron enter.)
Aaron: This is what the Lord, the God of Israel says: Let
my people go, for they must go on a three day journey
into the wilderness to offer sacrifices in my honor.
Pharaoh: Is that so? And who is the Lord that I should Illustration 4
listen to him and let Israel Go? I don’t know the Lord,
and I will not let Israel go.
Aaron: The God of the Hebrews has met with us. Let us
take a three-day trip into the wilderness so we can offer
sacrifices to the Lord our God.
Pharaoh: Who do you think you are, distracting the
people from their task? Get back to work.
 Lesson 13

L e ade r ' s
Note s
BIBLE LESSON
Teacher: That was Pharaoh’s decision. He did not care
what God wanted. He was not trying to please the Lord.
He made life even more difficult for the Israelites. So
Moses and Aaron went back to Pharaoh.
Aaron: The Lord, the God of the Hebrews has sent me
to say, “Let my people go, so they can worship me in the
wilderness.”
Teacher: Pharaoh made his decision. He did not let
God’s people go. The decision he made really affected
his tomorrow. God started to fight against the Egyp-
tians. God turned all the water in Egypt into blood. The
Egyptians could not drink the water. Their lives were
miserable. An entire week passed then Moses and Aaron
went back
Aaron: God has sent you a message Pharaoh. He says,
“Let my People go, so they can worship me. If you refuse
then I will send a vast horde of frogs across the entire
land”.
Teacher: Pharaoh had a decision to make. Would he
decide to do what God wanted him to do or would he
continue to do what he wanted to do?
Illustration 5
Pharaoh: I will not let you go! (Illustration 5-Pharaoh
asks them to leave his presence)
Lesson 13

L e ade r ' s
Note s
BIBLE LESSON
Teacher: Again, Pharaoh made the wrong decision. This
is how that decision affected his tomorrow, there were
frogs everywhere in Egypt except for where the Isra-
elites lived. There were frogs in the Egyptians bed, in
their ovens and all over the land. Their lives were miser-
able. God sent Moses and Aaron back again and again
but Pharaoh kept making wrong decisions and God kept
fighting against him. God sent gnats, diseases that
killed their animals, sores on their skin, a hail storm,
locusts across the land, darkness and the death of all
their oldest sons. The Egyptians had a lot of bad days
because Pharaoh kept making the wrong decisions. On
the other hand, God was working with the Israelites and
they eventually got the freedom they wanted.
We can all learn from Pharaoh. Whenever God asks you
to do something, your decision should be to please God
in everything you do. If you please God TODAY, God will
take care of your tomorrow. God will work for you. Don’t
you want a God who helps you out in school, around
your home and provides the things you need in life?
You can have a God like that. Make the best decision for
TODAY. Make a decision that you will please God. I can’t
make that decision for you. That decision is up to you.
The decisions you make TODAY will affect your tomor-
row.
 The decisions you make today will affect your tomorrow

OBJECT LESSONS L e ade r ' s

Note s
OBJECT LESSON 1
I didn’t order that
Props: Menu, plate of food and water
Point: In any given situation there are many different
choices. You have to understand what your choices
are.
Presentation: (Illustration 6-Woman is sitting at a
table in a restaurant. A waiter comes out with a plate
Illustration 6
of food.) Can you imagine what life would be like if you
had no choices? Can you imagine what life would be like
if someone else made all of your decisions? Can you
imagine what it would be like to go into a restaurant?
Waiter: (Illustration 7-Enters with a plate of food)
Here is what you will be eating today.
Woman: WHAT! I don’t like this kind of food.
Waiter: But this is really good. I tried it myself.
Illustration 7
Woman: I would like to see what my other choices are.
Please bring me a menu.
Waiter: Did you say, you want to see what the other
choices are?
Woman: Yes.
Waiter: (laughs hysterically then composes himself.)
You don’t have any choices. Everyone who comes into
this restaurant likes this food. If they can eat it so can Illustration 8
you.
Woman: Ok, I guess, I’ll eat this food.
Teacher: Freeze! Do you see what this man is doing? He
is making a choice just because he thinks everyone else
makes the same choice. If everyone ate the same food,
why would there be menus at restaurants? (Illustration
8-Give the menu to the woman.)
 Lesson 13

L e ade r ' s OBJECT LESSONS

Note s
Most people make the same choices as everyone else
because they don’t understand what their choices are.
Let me give you an example. I’ve seen kids curse at old
ladies just because their friend does it. When I asked
them why they cursed at that lady, they said, “Everyone
else does it”. Just because everyone else does things
does not mean you have to do it. You have other choices.
You need to understand what those choices are. I’ve
seen people quit school because they thought it was
too hard. “It’s so hard, I have no other choice”. You don’t
have to quit school because it’s hard. That’s not your
only choice. You need to understand what the other
choices are. You can get help from your teacher. You can
ask for extra credit work. You can ask for a tutor. In any
given situation, there are many choices to choose from.
Don’t just make the first choice someone tries to give
Illustration 9 you. Stop! (Illustration 9- -Take the menu from the
woman and wait for her response.)
Man: I’ll have a steak with mashed potatoes please.
Before you make a quick decision, understand what
your choices are. You have the choice to smoke - or not
to smoke, to curse - or not to curse, to steal - or not
to steal. You don’t have to do something just because
everyone else is doing it. The decisions you make today
will affect your tomorrow. Before you decide on any-
thing, make sure you understand what all of the choices
are.
 The decisions you make today will affect your tomorrow

OBJECT LESSONS L e ade r ' s

Note s
OBJECT LESSON 2
What would Jesus do?
Props: Small table and 6 beer bottles stored in a box.
Point: Make good by asking yourself, “What would
Jesus do?”
Preparation: Put the small table in the front center of
the stage. Store your beer bottles in a box until you are
ready to place them on the table.
Presentation: My grandfather was an alcoholic. My
uncle was an alcoholic. (Illustration 10-Set a beer
bottle on the table) My cousins were alcoholics. (Illus-
tration 11-Set a beer bottle on the table) I remember
Illustration 10
seeing beer bottles everywhere thinking, “One day I will
be an alcoholic just like most of my family. I’m going to
drink myself to death”. As I got older and started go-
ing to parties with the rest of my cousins, they would
get drunk (Set a beer bottle on the table). They got
into fights and car accidents (Set a beer bottle on the
table). They had hang-overs from drinking so much.
Sometimes they would end up in jail. Every time they
Illustration 11
asked me to take a drink, I said, “No not today”. Even
though I was saying “No”, in the back of my head, I kept
thinking I would one day wake up an alcoholic (Set a
beer bottle on the table).
One day I realized something very important. People
don’t just wake up an alcoholic. They made a bad deci-
sion to start drinking one day (Set a beer bottle on the
table). Every day I said, “No I’m not going to drink”, I
was making a good decision not only for TODAY but for
tomorrow as well. TODAY is very important day for you.
If you start making good decisions today, your tomor-
row will be good.
 Lesson 13
L e ade r ' s
Note s
I remember receiving some shocking news
when I was in High School. One of my class
mates shot and killed a 16 year old kid. He
went to a club one night with other friends.
They all started smoking marijuana and
drinking. They saw this 16 year old kid
who looked familiar to them. My classmate
started to fight the kid over a previous
incident. All of his friends began beating the
kid. My classmate took out his gun and shot
the kid-ended his life on the scene. The fact
that he killed the 16 year old kid wasn’t the
shocking part. The shocking part was that he
confused the kid with someone else. He killed
an innocent kid. He went to prison. Years
later, he said this in reflecting back on the
incident. “When I took his life, I took my own
life. I will have to live with that forever”.
Illustration 12
OBJECT LESSONS
The best way to make good decisions is to have a good
role model. Today I want to present to you the best
role model you will ever have, Jesus Christ. If you truly
want to make good decisions, stop and ask yourself,
“What would Jesus do”? When that kid calls you fat and
you feel like cursing him, stop and ask yourself, “Would
Jesus curse him out”? Would Jesus let your best friend
copy his school work? Would Jesus ignore your mother
because she is getting on His nerves? If Jesus won’t do
it, you shouldn’t do it.
In my case, I don’t think Jesus would become an al-
coholic. I choose to make a good decision that I won’t
become an alcoholic either. My first decision is I won’t
even put this stuff in my mouth. My grandfather, my
uncle and my cousins made bad decisions and they
have all died drunk. Today, I know I don’t have to be like
them. It’s important that you make good decisions. The
choices you make today will affect your tomorrow.
OBJECT LESSON 3
Live with it!
Props: Four poster boards, three will have the names of
people who have done something bad and are now living
with the consequences and the fourth poster board will
say, “You. ”
Point: You will live with the consequences of every
decision you make .
Presentation: There are many people who have made
bad decisions that have affected their tomorrow in a
crazy way. And now they are all living with the conse-
quences. I have three posters here with names that you
probably all have heard of and what they did and the
consequences they are living with today. The first one
is Mike Tyson. (Illustration 12- show the poster board
with his name)
 Lesson 13

L e ade r ' s
OBJECT LESSONS
Note s
Most people know him as the boxer who bit the other
guy’s ear off during a match. Because of what he did
that day, he went to jail for a while, he lost his wife, and
he has a bad name. He has to live with those conse-
quences now.
Another person that I have here is Darryl Strawberry.
He used to be a famous professional baseball player. He
decided to do drugs one day, and now his baseball ca-
reer is ruined and he is not allowed in the hall of fame.
He lives with the consequences now.
Here is one that you all should know, (add someone who
is familiar with your audience.) ________________. Today
Illustration 13
he is living with the consequences. (Illustration 13-
show all the names). The last one is…YOU. (Illustration
14). What decisions are you making TODAY? How will
those decisions affect your tomorrow? Be careful what
you do. Good or bad, you will live with the consequences.
If you don’t want to end up pregnant before you get
married, don’t have sex before you are married. If you
Illustration 14 want the life that God has for you to live, you have to
choose to please God in the way you live. In Deut. 30:
15-30, “God says I have set before you life and death,
blessing and cursing, therefore choose life, that both
you and your descendants may live. ” It doesn’t matter
what decisions you make, you will always live with the
consequences of your decisions. God tells you to choose
life and live the way he wants you to live. When you
chose to live life the way God wants you to live, you will
live a good life. The choice is yours. The decisions you
make TODAY will affect your tomorrow.
Lesson 13

L e ade r ' s
TODAY’S LIFE STORY
Note s
Terrence and the Toy Factory
Frame 1
Terrence is poor. Terrence is
the kind of poor that makes
the other poor kids laugh
at him. It’s the kind of poor
that makes him go hungry
at night. Not many good things happen in Terrence’s life,
but that is about to change. The other person in this
story that you should know about is a famous toy maker,
named Harry Hornblower. Mr. Hornblower was in charge
of a company that makes the best toys in the country.
His company was famous for all the different kinds of
toys and games they made. One day, everyone in Ter-
rence’s class was talking about the same thing. There
was so much excitement in the air. It was all because
Harry Hornblower had announced that he would give
away the most amazing prize ever. Not only would the
winners get a tour of his magical toy factory, they would
also win a lifetime supply of toys! Everyone was excited.
Terrence is sure that he will win. He doesn’t know why.
But he has a feeling, deep down inside.
 The decisions you make today will affect your tomorrow

TODAY’S LIFE STORY L e ade r ' s

Note s
Frame 2 Play theme music for Harry’s grand entrance
It’s exactly one month later.
A group of kids line up out-
side of Harry Hornblower’s
Toy Factory. These are all
the children who won the
factory tour contest. Terrence was one of those kids.
The great doors of the factory slowly swing open as the
famous Harry Hornblower makes his grand entrance.
Terrence smiles from ear to ear as he stands in front of
the group holding his gold ticket. Harry Hornblower is
his hero and this is a dream come true for him. Horn-
blower makes a few rules clear before everyone goes
inside. If they wanted to win the lifetime supply of toys,
they were not allowed to go in any room unless they had
been invited. They were not allowed to touch any of the
new toys unless they were instructed to. Finally, they
were not allowed to take anything out of the factory. All
the children agreed.
Lesson 13

L e ade r ' s
TODAY’S LIFE STORY
Note s
Frame 3
The tour is pretty normal,
just what you might expect
in a regular factory. That is
until the group gets to the
Research and Development
Area. Hornblower told the kids that this was the most
amazing part of the factory. It was here that the most
amazing toy creations in the world were invented. One
of the kids on the tour was named Vincent, but all of his
friends called him “Video” because all he ever did was
play video games. When he saw the room where all of
the computer games were invented, he was ecstatic.
“This is my newest invention,” explained Harry. “It’s a
device that can put you inside any video game. Imagine
paying a game where you can actually drive the car in
the game. It is an amazing invention.” Harry gave them
a demonstration by zapping an apple into a video game.
Harry said whatever you do, don’t ever jump in front of
the zapper. All of the kids started putting pressure on
Vincent. “You’re video Vincent. You have to get into that
game.”
Vincent felt so much pressure from those guys, he
jumped in front of the zapper and within moments he
was really inside the game! Everyone just stared at him
and he waved back from the middle of a Powder Puff
Girl video game on the TV screen.
His dad screamed for him to get out. But Harry Horn-
blower said, “The reason why I told you not to jump in
front of the Zapper is because we have not found a way
to get people out of the game yet.”
 The decisions you make today will affect your tomorrow

TODAY’S LIFE STORY L e ade r ' s

Note s
Preaching point
Video Vincent jumped in front of that zapper because
he felt so much pressure from his friends. He felt like he
had no other choice but to do what his friends expected.
I know a lot of you guys are like Video Vincent. You do
whatever everyone else does. You don’t even think about
other choices. Let me tell you something. Everyone
can be lying, stealing and cursing but you have other
choices. You can choose to tell the truth, buy what you
need and speak good words to people. Don’t allow your
friends or anyone else to put pressure on you to make
bad decisions. Before you make any decision, stop and
understand what your choices are. Video Vincent did
not understand what his choices were and he jumped in
front of that zapper. That’s really sad because the deci-
sion he made TODAY will really affect his tomorrow.
Frame 4
Harry Hornblower has a
group of workers that he
found in the jungles of Sri
Lanka to help him out. They
are called the Slappy Hap-
pies. They are the best, most efficient workers ever.
Harry calls the main worker from the Slappy Happies
over to discuss the situation. This is a serious problem.
No one knows how to get Vincent out of the video game.
After a few minutes, it is decided to have one of the
Slappy Happies go in after him with a rope attached to
his waist. It’s not a very good plan, and Video Vincent
might be trapped in a Powder Puff Girl video game
for the rest of his life, but it’s the best plan they have.
Everyone looked around and thought about the bad
decision Video Vincent made.
 The decisions you make today will affect your tomorrow

TODAY’S LIFE STORY L e ade r ' s

Note s
Frame 5
Harry Hornblower shows
the kids the doll production
facility of the factory. Every-
thing is pink and flowery.
The boys are just rolling
their eyes, but the girls love it. They race down the hall
and then jump up and down and hug each other when
they see all of the dolls, doll clothes and doll houses.
Harry Hornblower explains that the latest thing they are
working on is to make it so girls cannot just play with
dolls, they can play as dolls with a special chemical that
makes them the same size as the dolls they own. They
will be able to play in the doll houses, drive the doll cars
and swim in the doll pools; all just by putting on special
doll clothes that will shrink you down to doll size. “What-
ever you do”, said Harry, “Do not put on these clothes.”
One of the girls, Priscilla, slips on some of the clothes
on purpose and starts to put the doll’s clothes on as
Harry calls for her to stop. There is a reason why this is
called the research area, he says, we are still research-
ing. DON’T PUT THAT ON! But it was too late, she already
started to shrink and there was nothing stopping her.
We haven’t figured out how to make the shrinking stop.
That’s the problem with this toy.
Frame 6
“Decisions, decisions, deci-
sions, they can be a killer
if you make bad decisions”,
said Hornblower. He called
some of the Slappy Hap-
pies over to take her out and to try to fix her. Take little
Barbie to the balloon blowing room and try to blow her
up to the right size before she shrinks to nothing.
 The decisions you make today will affect your tomorrow

TODAY’S LIFE STORY L e ade r ' s

Note s
Preaching point
What a bad decision Priscilla made. She knew exactly
what Harry did not want her to do and she disobeyed
him. This caused her some serious problems. Good deci-
sions start with a commitment to always please God.
In order to make good decisions, you have to want to
please God in every way. You have to do what God wants
you to do in all of your life. Whenever you decide to do
things that please God, you are making a good decision.
The decisions you make TODAY will affect your tomor-
row.
Frame 7
By this time, Harry was so
mad at the kids he said,
“The next person who
touches anything will never
be allowed in the factory
again.” Right after he said that, Leroy opened up a box
of Never Ending Legos. As soon as these Legos came
into contact with the air, they began to multiply. Of
course, the problem is that they don’t stop multiplying.
When Leroy made the decision to open up the box with-
out permission, he put himself in danger and everyone
else in danger too.
Frame 8
They all had to run for their
lives. Leroy was lost in the
Legos, and the Slappy Hap-
pies had to come in with
bulldozers to get the Legos
under control. Leroy wasn’t found for hours. The Slappy
Happies had to work over time to contain all of the
Legos.
 The decisions you make today will affect your tomorrow

TODAY’S LIFE STORY L e ade r ' s

Note s
Preaching Point
That was about all Harry could take. He told Leroy to
leave his factory and never come back again. Leroy
made a decision to be disobedient and now he has to
live with the consequences. It does not matter what
decision you make in life, you will have to live with the
consequences. If you decide to have sex before you get
married, you may end up with a baby or with a terrible
disease. If you start smoking cigarettes TODAY, you
might end up with lung cancer. If you don’t control your
anger TODAY, tomorrow, you may end up in prison. There
are always consequences for every decision. Leroy had
to live with the consequences of his decision. The
decisions you make today will affect your tomorrow.
Frame 9
Terence was one of the few
kids who completed the
tour and won the lifetime
supply of toys. He didn’t do
anything great. But every
step of the way, he made good decisions. Good decisions
will lead to a good life. Terrence completed the tour,
made all the right decisions, and the consequences he
saw were all good ones.
Frame 10
As a matter of fact, Harry
Hornblower was so im-
pressed with Terrence that
he asked him to come and
work for him. The deci-
sions Terrence made that day affected his tomorrow.
He proved to be one of the most fair and good people
in Harry Hornblower’s factory. All of the Slappy Happies
are happy to work with him. The decisions you make
TODAY will affect your tomorrow.
 The decisions you make today will affect your tomorrow

TODAY’S LIFE STORY L e ade r ' s

Note s
POINT OF DECISION
We have told you that the decisions you make TODAY
will affect your tomorrow. How many of you would like to
make good decisions in your life? To make a good deci-
sion you must always do what pleases God. And to find
out what pleases God you must read the Bible. The Bible
tells us what kind of things and attitudes please God. I
want you to make a decision today that you are going to
read the Bible everyday and write down one thing that
pleases God. Who thinks they can do that? Let’s pray.

CLOSING PRAYER
Dear God, We want our tomorrow to be great! In order
for our tomorrow to be great we have to start making
good decisions today. God I want to do what pleases
you. So God, I make a decision to read the Bible every-
day to find out what pleases you. Help me to make good
decisions for my life. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
 OT E S
R’S N
EC TO
DI R
CHRISTIAN TRAINING vs.
CHRISTIAN LEARNING
Let’s take last week’s thought one step further. The lists that we compiled last week were compiled from
research done in public schools. Can we look at our Christian education in our church and honestly evaluate
the successfulness of it? Are we training our children as you would train a pet, or are we bringing them up in
the nurture and admonition of the Lord?
The book of Deuteronomy commands us to take God’s Word and teach it diligently to our children. The word
“diligently” means perseverance, painstaking effort and care. We are teaching our children the Word of God
with perseverance, painstaking effort and care.
Compare a Christian education program that is training-oriented with one that is learning-oriented.
Christian Education -Training-Oriented
Goal is to transfer knowledge.
Focus is on Bible knowledge.
Progress gauged at church.
Sunday only program.
Uses only denominational material.
Christian Education-Learning- Oriented
Goal is to see genuine change.
Focus is on life skills.
Progress gauged at home.
Lifestyle program (every day).
Uses best material available.