Faithfulness and Self Control

OBJECTIVE

We hope to teach children that God is not only the Pantocrator (all-mighty, all-knowing, all-powerful), but also that He loves us with infinite love. If we trust that He knows everything and if we trust that he wants the best for us, then we will be faithful and trust Him, even when it doesn't make sense to us as humans. Sometimes that means not doing the things that we want to do or making things go our way so that God can do things His perfect way. When we say no to ourselves, we are practicing self-control.

INTRODUCTION - 10 Minutes

Recap the Fruits of the Spirit: Remember the fruits of the spirit? What are they? And what chapter and verse of the Bible are they in? They are characteristics of God and, if we plant our life in God and keep Him as the center and source of our life, He will give us these same characteristics in us.

Last week, we talked about gentleness and joy. We saw how Jesus' gentleness with the Samaritan woman changed her whole life and saved not only her, but many of the people in Samaria. Today we are going to talk about two more fruits of the spirit: faithfulness and self-control.

What is faithfulness? Faithfulness is having complete trust in God. It comes from understanding that God was powerful enough to create everything, that He knows all things that have happened and will happen, and that He is a good and perfect God who loves us. If we understand all these things, then we will trust Him.

What is self-control? Self-control is being able to say no to yourself. It is having the power to manage your feelings, your anger, and your actions

HOLY SCRIPTURE - 5 Minutes

Memory Verse- "Only fear the Lord, and serve Him in truth with all your heart; for consider what great things He has done for you." 1 Samuel 12:24

CONTENT (KEY POINTS)- 25 Minutes

Synaxarion - 3 Baounah

Today we will learn about a saint who lived in the 20th century and his name was Anba Abraam. He was an amazing saint and as I tell you his story, think about how he was faithful and how he had self-control.
Anba Abraam was the bishop of some provinces in Egypt called Fayyoum and Giza. He always wanted to help poor people with whatever they asked for. If someone came and asked him for money, he would give the person what he had and he trusted that God would take care of everything.
- Is this an example of faithfulness or self-control? Faithfulness because he trusted God would always take care of everyone and everything
Anba Abraam followed Christ's commandments. Jesus gave us commandments to feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, take in the stranger, clothe the naked, and visit the sick (Matthew 25 - 35 - 40). Anba Abraam would give money, clothing, and food to anyone who asked him. If anyone wanted to spend the night, he would let them stay in the bishopric (the house of the bishop).
One time a poor man came and asked Anba Abraam for money because his wife was about to have a baby and they didn't have any money. Anba Abraam only had one pound left and he gave this poor man the pound, which was a lot of money back then, almost like $100 now. When the poor man was leaving, the assistant of Anba Abraam took the pound from the poor man and gave him a quarter of a pound instead (like taking $100 from him and only giving the poor man $25). The poor man went to Anba Abraam and told him what happened so Anba Abraam called his assistant and told him not to worry that they did not have any other money and to give the poor man the full pound. The assistant obeyed him and gave the poor man back the full pound and as soon as the poor man left, another one of the believers came and gave Anba Abraam 10 pounds, telling him that he owed it for wheat he had purchased before.
- Would Anba Abraam have given away his last pound if he didn't believe that God would provide for him? No - that is faithfulness, knowing that God will take care of us if we follow His commandments
Anba Abraam followed God's commandments so he trusted that God would never leave him without the things he needed
Anba Abraam's bishopric (the place where the bishop lives) was in very bad condition so someone donated brand new furniture to him. He wouldn't use it but asked his assistant to put it in storage. After a while, a woman came and told him her daughter was getting married, but that the engagement was going to be called off because they didn't have enough money to buy furniture. Anba Abraam told her to take whatever furniture she wanted from the storage and the girl was able to get married. Many people went and complained to the pope, Pope Kyrillos V, that Anba Abraam was wasteful with the things of the church and the money of the church
Many people donated money so that they could build a new episcopate. The people wanted to build a big, beautiful church and a new building for the bishop to live in. But whatever money they gave to Anba Abraam, he gave to the poor people. Whoever would ask him for money, he would give it to him and he would trust that God would provide for everyone and everything.
After many years of people donating for the new episcopate, the people came to Anba Abraam and asked him where the new episcopate was. Anba Abraam told them that he had built them all a huge episcopate in heaven. He knew that by following God's commandments, and helping the poor and needy, he had treasure in heaven But the people were so mad at him because they wanted to see treasure on earth Again, the people complained to the pope.
After all these complaints, Pope Kyrillos V called Anba Abraam so he could ask him why he was wasting the church's possessions and money. When Anba Abraam walked into the Pope's room, he had an overcoat (it's called a farageya in Arabic) on his arm. He thought he saw a rope hanging across the wall so he threw his overcoat on the rope he saw. But the pope knew that it wasn't a rope at all. It was actually just the reflection of the light through the window. If we look at the laws of science, it is impossible to hang an overcoat on a ray of light. So the pope realized that this man was a saint because God honored him by letting the light, which he thought was a rope, hold up his overcoat. When the people came to ask the pope what he would do with Anba Abraam, the pope said " How can I argue with a man of God who was able to hang his coat on a ray of the sun?"
- What do you think a normal person would do if he was given a lot of money to build a great big mansion that he would get to live in? He would probably want to build the nicest mansion for himself, right? What do you think a normal person would do if he was given brand-new, beautiful furniture for that mansion? He would probably make his mansion beautiful with the new furniture, right? But that's not what Anba Abraam did. He did not use the money for his own pleasure, even though that's probably what would have made his life the most comfortable. He said no to himself and said no to the comfort of the world.
- Is that faithfulness or self-control? It's self-control because he said no to what he wanted even though it's very tempting to want to have a big mansion with beautiful, comfortable furniture.

DISCUSSION (Challenge) - 10 Minutes

Is there an area of your life that needs self-control?
Is it your tongue?
- Do you talk about people? Do you complain? Do you use language that would hurt the heart of God?
Or maybe you have a hard time keeping your hands to yourself if you're angry or frustrated about something.
- Do you hit, push, or kick?
What about your free time?
- Do you spend time with God during the day? Do you help around the house and do your homework?
- Or do you lack self-control and spend too much time on the computer, watching TV, or playing video games?

APPLICATION (Action) - 10 Minutes

Can you think of people in the Bible that had great acts of faithfulness?

Noah - building a huge ark for 150 years before the rain started and even though he and his family were alone in what they were doing
Abraham - waiting for God to give him a child for 25 years after God made the promise
Joshua - marching around Jericho 7 times without any battle gear or swords

Can you think of people in the Bible that had great acts of self-control?

Joseph - when Potiphar's wife asked him to have a relationship with her and he said he could not sin against his God
Daniel - when the king's servant wanted him to eat meats and drink wine, but Daniel insisted on fasting
The Three Youths - being willing to die rather than worship a false god

ACTIVITY - 10 Minutes

Quiz the students using the following questions:

Who lacked self-control by eating a piece of fruit, even though God had commanded against it? (Eve)
Who lacked self-control by giving into peer pressure and ate a piece of fruit also? (Adam)
Who lacked self-control by letting jealousy control him and killing his brother Abel? (Cain)
Who lacked self-control by complaining in the wilderness to Moses? (the Israelites)
Who lacked self-control by spending all of his money on wild living? (the Prodigal son)
Who was a good example of self-control in the desert fasting for 40 days? (Christ, Moses, etc.)

Have students make an Impulse Control Book

RESOURCES

PARENTS CORNER/HOMEWORK

Consider buying Philo and the Faithfulness SuperHoly
Point out instances for your child or ask your child to point out instances where they can practice self-control, things like managing their temper when they get angry or not getting upset if they lose a game
Demonstrate faithfulness through your prayers. Anytime there is a problem in the house or at work, let your child see you place the problem in God's hand through prayer.