Season I
Choose To Be Different
Refuse to Bow to Anyone But God
episode 1
Shadrach Meshach and Abednego
Word to the leaders
The intent of this series is to show kids what it looks like to be different
in a way that pleases God. Some people are different simply for the
sake of being different. Other people are different by making right
choices no one else is making simply because it is the right thing to
do.
This lesson is about Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and how they
refused to bow down to the image set up by the king. The interesting
thing is that we never really know what the image was that the king
set up. It is likely that the image represented the god or gods that
king Nebuchadnezzar felt were his favorite and most important. This
lesson will help kids see that the world sets up an image that we are
supposed to measure up to and think is important that sometimes isn’t
really what God sees as important. We don’t ever want to get caught
in the trap of finding our identity in what other people think is reality.
We want to find our identity in what God has for our lives!
We never want to present a modern star and say that they aren’t living
up to God’s plan for their own life. We do, however, want kids to see
that God has a plan for their life, and it isn’t necessarily trying to be
like everyone else! Pray that God will help kids find their identity by
putting God first and not bowing to the image the rest of the world
says they should be!
Take some time and ask God to help you see how much you are worth!
Remember that God has set up plans for your life that are far greater
than anything anyone else could ever hope for your life!
Slide 1 – Your children’s ministry logo
Intro
•Say this – Today we are starting a new series called Stars! How many of
you would like to be a star? Yeah! We all would like to know what it is like
to be a star, wouldn’t we? Well did you know that God wants us to be
stars too? His intention is that we would be a person who stands out and
makes a huge difference for his name! But in order to do that, we have to
learn some of the tricks, or practices, to being a star! So we have broken
the next several weeks into categories to help you learn the steps to
becoming a star!
Slide 2 - Stars series Intro concluding with series logo
If you have the manpower available, switch presenter during this slide to provide a
variety of presenters.
•Say this – So for the next three weeks, we want to help you understand
the first part to being a star. Now, when we tell you that we want you to
understand how to be a star, you need to understand that we are talking
about what it means to be a star in God’s eyes, not the world’s eyes. So
are you ready to hear what the first step to becoming a star is? (wait for
response) If you want to hear the first part, turn to your neighbor and
say, “Listen up! We are about to hear how to be a star!” Now turn to your
other neighbor and say, “I want to be a star; you want to be a star?”
Okay, here go. If you want to be a star, we want you to know that you
have to choose to be different than everyone else!
Slide 3 - “Choose to Be Different”
Skit
In this skit, someone will come in and interrupt the presenter by being different in
a way that makes no sense. The point of this part of the lesson is to show how
people tend to be different for no reason. We want to point out the reason why
we would want to be different and how God would intend for us to be different.
You can do the following skit with a puppet, live character, or simply talking about
it. In order to keep the flow of service moving, the lines for the presenter should
be done by the person who was presenting as slide 3 was played. The character
comes in as the slide is playing.
Character – I’m different all right! I sure am! You can guarantee that
one!
Presenter – Um, excuse me. We are trying to have church here. What do you
think you are doing?
Character – Oh, I’m a star!
Presenter – Well, that’s nice, but we are in the middle of something here. Do
you think this could wait until later?
Character – Nope! I’m here on purpose to interrupt you!
Presenter – That’s not very nice!
Character – Well. . . you said we have to be different! I’m here to show you how
to do that!
Presenter – Now look, we don’t just let anyone come up here and do what they
want. We are talking about how to be different for God!
Character – Nice! Well God would be really happy with me! I sure am different!
Let me tell you!
Presenter – Okay, go ahead. . .
Character – Go ahead and what?
Presenter – Go ahead and tell us. You said you could tell us, so. . . tell us!
Character – I will! (as soon as character says this, they freeze in place)
Presenter – Okay, you can tell us now. . . . . . whenever you are ready. . . . .
don’t let us rush you now. . . . . now would be a good time! Hello! Are you
going to tell us? What is going on here?
Character – See? I did it!
Presenter – You did what?
Character - I was different?
Presenter – You were something alright! That’s for sure!
Character – No, for real! I did things differently than other people do! So I’m a
star!
Presenter – Well I don’t quite see how standing there turning into a statue was
all that different? What was the purpose of that?
Skit
(continued)
Character – Oh, I didn’t just stand there. . . . I was talking to the kids.
Presenter – You were what?
Character – Oh yeah! I was talking with the kids. . . Only I didn’t use words like
everyone else does. I told them through my mind!
Presenter – You did what?
Character – You bet! I spoke to the kids straight through my mind.
Presenter – But did they understand you?
Character – I hope so. But that doesn’t matter to me. I just wanted to start
doing things differently. So from now on, I won’t be talking with people using
words. I will simply talk to them using my mind.
Presenter – But if they don’t understand you, why would you ever talk to them
that way? It doesn’t make any sense.
Character – Are you questioning my way of being different?
Presenter – I guess I kind of am. I don’t understand it.
Character – Well that’s rude!
Presenter – Well I don’t mean to be rude, we are just trying to tell the kids that if
they are going to be different, they need to do it in a way that has a purpose.
Character – Oh yeah. . . well. . . . (freezes in place again)
Presenter – You’re doing it again, aren’t you. . . . Okay, that’s interesting.
Anyway, kids we want you to know that God wants us to be different than
everyone else. But not just for the sake of being different. He wants us to be
different to glorify Him. I’m going to get (character name) out of here. While I
do that, watch this quick video and you will see exactly what I’m talking about.
Big Deal
Slide 4 - Big Deal video
•The Big Deal is presented on video which also introduces the game!
•Print the Big Deal banners out and hang them throughout the room
during the entire series. Refer back to them as often as possible
throughout the series.
Game
Slide 5
•In this game you will pick a set of left handed players and a set of
right handed players. (Or play it with just one or the other if you
don’t have enough left handed players). They will be called up to
the stage to complete a task with their dominant hand. They will
play one round, and then switch to using their other hand. At the
end of the game, have them compare how hard it was to do things
differently than they are used to.
•After game, say this – It isn’t always easy to do things differently
than we are used to doing them. But sometimes God wants us to
do things differently than everyone else is doing them. Everyone
uses their dominant hand for most things, but what if we wanted
to make our other hand more coordinated and strong? Wouldn’t
we want to start using our other hand? If we are going to be different for God, sometimes we are going to have to step out and do
things differently than how everyone else does them. And sometimes that is going to be really uncomfortable and even hard. But
we have to do it if we are going to shine like stars. That’s how it
was for our stars that we are talking about today! Everyone else
was doing something that they had to stand up against. And it
wasn’t going to be easy! In fact, it was going to be a very uncomfortable situation! We will tell you more, but repeat this week’s
Big Deal with me one time.
Slide 6 - “Refuse to bow to anyone but God!”
Slide 7 – Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego Poster
Star Character
Video Slide 8
• Star Character video introduces the star for the day
•As video ends, say this – As you saw, today we are learning about a
couple of guys called Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. They are
stars to us, because they chose to be different than everyone else! Do
you remember what they did that was so different? Don’t answer that
now. We will talk about it in just a minute! But first, we want you to
learn a verse that reminds us just what it means to be different. This
verse will help us over the next three weeks to figure out what it takes
to be a star! If you are ready, I want you to say, “Refuse to bow to
anyone but God!” What? I couldn’t hear that! Say, “Refuse to bow to
anyone but God!”
Slide 9 – “Refuse to bow to anyone but God!”
Scripture Verse
Slide 10 - Scripture verse video
Slide 11
“Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will
learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.” Romans 12:2
•There are three main ways the scripture verse will be taught each series.
There is a work out video that was produced on the beach in California
to represent the way stars get in shape. You may choose to play that
video all three weeks of each series. There is also a computer prompted
video in which the kids are prompted to say different parts of the verse
and then all together. The third way is to say it live with presenters
prompting the kids as they go. It is recommended that you use all three
styles in each series, but you may choose to use the videos more if you
want to save on presenters. If you are doing it live, choose creative
ways to say the verse and have kids compete. Make it a boys vs girls
competition.
Bible Story (Message)
Slide 12 - Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego Poster
With 56 career wins and just a handful of losses, Muhammad Ali was one of the
greatest boxers that ever competed! His skill was far above most boxers of his day,
and he proved it fight after fight as he dominated the boxing circuit. His ability to
win so many fights helped develop an attitude that he was the best! And he proved
his attitude every time he talked. He was known for going to press conferences and
making up rhymes to taunt and humiliate his opponent. One of his most famous
lines was directed at George Foreman when he said, “Float like a butterfly, sting like a
bee. His hands can't hit what his eyes can't see. Now you see me, now you don't. George
thinks he will, but I know he won't.” Not only did he have a way of poking fun at his
opponents on the fly, he also made some overly confident remarks that explain his
personal confidence in himself. Listen to some of these comments.
•I’m the greatest! I said that even before I knew I was.
•If you ever dream of beating me, you better wake up and apologize!
•When you’re the greatest, as I am, it’s hard to be humble!
One of the most famous pictures in sports photography is the image on the screen
now (play Slide 13) of Ali standing over Sonny Liston. This was his second fight
against Sonny Liston, the first was a fight just a year earlier in which Ali took the
heavyweight title away from Sonny. In the first fight, Ali jumped to the ropes and
yelled, “I’m the greatest!” Now a year later as he defeated Sonny Liston for the
second time, he is seen here towering over Sonny showing his dominance. He was
heard commenting on this picture later saying, “Liston needs to know that I’m the
greatest and always will be! So stay down on the ground before me!” Ali was so
good that he believed he was unbeatable. He really believed there would never be
anyone like him. In fact, when he lost his first fight 11 years into his career against
the “Mighty Joe Frazier”, he said he didn’t think he would ever lose. In his mind,
there was no one like him.
Slide 14 – Image of statue
That’s kind of how the king in today’s story viewed himself! King Nebuchadnezzar
was so confident in himself that he really believed there was no one like him. In fact
he thought so much of himself that he chose to make a statue for everyone to bow
down to. He ordered everyone in all of the land, no matter what language they
spoke or what group of people they were with, to bow down to his image. While this
image was not necessarily an image representing the king himself, it was an image
that represented the power of his beliefs and what he thought to be true. It may
have looked like one of his gods or parts of many things. But one thing is sure: he
believed it to be the most important thing there was. He wanted everyone to do
what he said because he believed himself to be the best and to know it all.
Bible Story
(continued)
So when he got word that three Hebrew boys were refusing to submit to his beliefs,
he was furious! He ordered them to bow down to this image because it represented
the power he had over everyone! King Nebuchadnezzar would not tolerate rebellion
from these three young men! But Shadrach, Meshack, and Abednego believed in the
one true God who is the only one worthy of bowing down to. They knew that bowing
down to this image would be denying God his true position as the ultimate power
and authority. So Nebuchadnezzar threatened to throw them into the fire.
But listen to how committed they were to only bowing down to God. When the king
told them he would throw them into the fire, they said to him, “O Nebuchadnezzar,
we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into
the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue
us from your hand, O king. But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king,
that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set
up.” (Daniel 3:16-18) In other words, they knew God could save them, but that had
nothing to do with their decision to do the right thing.They chose to only bow down
to God because He is the only one worthy of our praise. Even though everyone else
was bowing down to the image, they refused to bow down! That’s what makes them
a star in our book! They didn’t act like everyone else, they were different. They
stood up for what was right! Oh, and by the way, God did save them! when the king
looked into the fire, he saw that Shadrach, Meshack, and Abednego were joined by
another image in the fire. They were saved from the burning fire! All because they
chose to do the right thing! And what is the right thing? Say it with me,
Slide 15 - “Refuse to bow to anyone but God!”
Object Lesson #1
Back in the day, Sesame Street had a segment called “One of These Things Is Not
Like The Others.” Today we are going to play that same game! On the screen you
will see a group of images. Try to figure out which one is different and why it is
different. If you get it correct, you will win a prize.
•Slide 16 – 4 images of a movie star in front of a backdrop with sponsors
printed in the background image; the fourth image doesn’t have the
sponsors on the image
•Slide 17 – 4 images of M&Ms; one of the images has them all turned so that
the writing is visible.
•Slide 18 – Video of 3 kids going to church; one kid sleeping in.
•Slide 19 – Image of 3 kids trying to be like a rock star; image of one kid
trying to be who God made them to be
•Slide 20 – 4 images of shoes; one image has one of the shoes untied
•Slide 21 – 3 images of kids at a concert trying to reach out and touch a
star; one image of a kid at church raising their hands in worship
•Slide 22 – 3 images of people playing video games; one image of a person
reading their Bible
Slide 23 - Each of these slides show one person being different than the other
three. In some of these images we really saw what it looks like to put God above
all else. That’s what we are talking about when we say that we won’t bow to anyone
but God. We mean that we will put God first above all else! Sometimes it seems
more fun to play video games than to come to church, and we may even know
people who do that! But if we are going to bow down to God only, then we need to
make sure we are not putting anything else in his place! It might seem like more
fun to sleep in than to go to church, but does that make God as important as he
should be in our lives? It is even okay to like listening to certain music and even like
the way some of the stars dress, but we should never put the way they think over
the way God thinks! He made us to be us, so let’s not place the image of a rock
star as more important than the way God made us to be! That’s just some of the
ways we can be sure to refuse to bow to anyone but God!
Slide 24 – “Refuse to bow to anyone but God!”
Object Lesson #2
We want to take a second and talk a little bit more about one of the images you just
saw. It was a person who was trying to be like a rock star instead of trying to be
who God made them to be.
Slide 25
Now let me explain how that is bowing down to something other than God. God
made you exactly the way he wants you to be! He has given you talents and abilities that are unique to you, and he has blessed you with a personality unlike anyone
else! But sometimes we want to be what the world sees as cool! For instance, how
many of you would love to be as cool as...
Slide 26
Justin Bieber?! Or How many of you would like to have cool cars like...
Slide 27
some of the rap stars?!
Slide 28
It would be cool to have some of those things, but God has made us with a plan in
mind already. It’s easy to start looking at what the rest of the world sees as cool,
and start trying to make our lives measure up to that. Shadrach, Meshack, and
Abednego said that they didn’t care what the rest of the world saw as cool; they
would only put God first. That meant they were willing to not only be made fun of,
but also lose their life if it meant it.
That’s what it means to refuse to bow down to anyone but God! Only put his
plans first for your life. Don’t try to be something he didn’t make you to be. And
don’t try to measure up to what the world sees as cool, unless it’s what God sees as
cool too! But all in all, remember to always, say it with me,
Slide 29 - “Refuse to bow to anyone but God!”
Closing
Slide 30
•Tell kids that everyone struggles with figuring out who they are
•We need to always remember to submit to God’s way and not worry
about what the rest of the world sees as important!
•Pray for kids to be able to hear God and be who He wants them to be.
Small Group Questions
1. If you could be any star in the whole world, who would you like to be?
2. What is the thing that makes you want to be like them?
3. If you could change any one thing about yourself, what would it be and
why?
4. God created you the way he wants you to be. Now sometimes we get put
into situations that aren’t fair, but God still has a plan for us! What is a time
when you really wished you could have someone else’s life instead of your
own?
5. What are some things your friends value above God?
6. Do you feel pressure to be a certain image that everyone else is trying to
be? If so, what type of image seems to be important to you?
7. Do you have any other friends who are trying to make their decisions
based on what God wants instead of what the world says? If so, how can
you support each other in this decision?
8. What do you need to change in order to put God first more often?
9. Together, let’s ask God to help us put him first.