Hands Down at Sixty

Object Lesson · Upper elementary · 5 min

Ben

POWERED BY KIDOLOGY

OBJECT LESSON · Ages 9–11 · 12-17 MIN · Galatians 6:9

BIG IDEA

Galatians 6:9 tells us not to grow weary in doing good, because we will reap in due season if we don’t give up.

SUPPLIES · 2 ITEMS

A Bible

Phone with stopwatch

HOW TO SHOW IT

YOUR NOTES

1-2 min

Sit down when you think a minute is up

DO	Ask everyone to stand beside their own seat or spot. Tell them to stay where they are so nobody bumps into anyone. Open the stopwatch on your phone.

SAY	When I say go, close your eyes. If closing your eyes does not work for you, look straight down at the floor. Do not count out loud. Sit down when you think sixty seconds have passed. Ready? Go.

DO	Start the stopwatch. Watch the room, but do not give clues. Let children sit when they decide a minute is up. Keep the stopwatch running until ninety seconds have passed.

SAY	Everyone still standing, you can sit down now.

1-2 min

Watch the room empty

DO	Show the stopwatch to the group. Do not name who sat first or last. If most children sat much earlier or later than expected, use the actual result rather than forcing the expected one.

SAY	That was ninety seconds. A minute can feel much longer when you do not know exactly when it will end. Some of us were ready to sit down way before the minute was up. Some of us waited longer. Nobody failed a test. Our inside clocks just guessed differently.

DO	If children counted out loud, do not restart. Briefly note that counting gives the brain a clock, then continue. If nearly everyone sat immediately, say that waiting can feel long even before much time has passed.

1-2 min

Why we all sat early

SAY	What made waiting feel longer than it really was?

DO	Take two or three answers. Accept answers such as boredom, not knowing, wanting to be first, wondering if others were sitting, or having nothing to do. If nobody answers, offer those examples and let them nod or choose one silently.

SAY	Sometimes we decide, This has gone on long enough, before the time is actually up.

2-3 min

Due season

DO	Open the Bible to Galatians 6:9. Read the verse slowly.

SAY	Galatians 6:9 (WEB) says, “Let us not be weary in doing good, for we will reap in due season, if we don’t give up.”

SAY	Doing good can feel like standing there with your eyes closed. You help at home, but nobody notices. You keep being kind to someone, but they are still difficult. You start thinking, This has gone on long enough.

SAY	Paul says we will reap in due season if we do not give up. This verse does not tell us exactly when that season will be or what the harvest will look like.

SAY	The point is not to quit doing good just because our inside clock says, Enough already.

1-2 min

One week longer

SAY	Think quietly of one good thing you have nearly stopped doing because it seemed pointless. Do not say it out loud.

DO	Give a few silent seconds. Offer examples only if needed: helping clear dinner dishes, being patient with a younger sibling, or sitting with someone at lunch who often sits alone.

SAY	Now choose one person, one action, and one time before Wednesday. Maybe tomorrow you will clear the table without being asked. Maybe at lunch on Tuesday you will sit with the kid who is usually alone. Keep doing that good thing one week longer.

DO	Close in prayer.

THE PASSAGE · Galatians 6:9

Paul tells believers not to quit doing good when it feels tiring, because there is a harvest in due season if they do not give up.

TALK ABOUT IT · PICK ONE OR TWO

OLDER

What made waiting feel longer than it really was?

What is one reason someone might stop doing a good thing before they see any difference?

What could it look like to keep doing one good thing for one week longer?

BEFORE YOU TEACH IT

Please review and adapt all generated content before use.

Ben · OBJECT LESSON · Hands Down at Sixty KIDOLOGY.ORG

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