Do not Worry (Pt 1)

Lesson: God feeds the birds. And I am more valuable than birds.

1.  Intro: Fun facts about birds or Fun facts about ravens <use pictures, soft toys etc to illustrate; or as pop quiz>

     e.g.

• The raven is the largest bird of the crow family: it is 2x heavier than a common crow at 1.3kg
•  Ravens can live 40 years in the wild and 70 in captivity
•  Ravens can soar high above the trees and are capable of aerial stunts 
•  Ravens can live from deserts to forests and cliffs, nesting in either stick-made nests or rock cavities
• Ravens feed on almost anything — fruits, seeds, nuts, fish, carrion, small animals, food remains and garbage. They even dig on snow to inspect plastic bags with waste. They also follow fishers and hunters for days to “glean” from their hunts
• Ravens are considered one of the most intelligent birds in puzzle solving or performing series of complex actions, such as counting or opening a zipped bag
•  They often get other animals to do their work for them — e.g. making calls to attract wolves and foxes to break the carcass of a dead animal so that they can access the meat inside
•  Ravens have different dialects according to the area they are in
• In the Bible, the raven was the first animal to fly or leave Noah's Ark, to see if the flood had died down.
•  Ravens are mentioned in 7 verses of the Bible

2. Story: (Luke 12:22-26; Matt 6:25-27)

• Do you know that the ravens/birds do not sow or plant crops? They don’t reap the harvest? They don’t have storerooms where they keep their seeds?
• How then do they survive? God take care of them. He makes sure that they can find food when they need to.
• Just as God takes care of the raven/birds, He takes care of you and me.
• After all we are worth so much more than ravens. We are more important than all the birds in the air. Just as God provides for the ravens, He provides for you and me.
• That’s why Jesus tells us not to worry:
• about our life
• about what we will eat
• about our body
• about what we will wear
• Many things in life are out of our control. Worrying about them will not change anything. Jesus tells us that no matter how much we worry, we can’t add an hour to our life. Our lives are in God’s hands, and He alone is in charge.
• We don’t worry about whether our mummy knows when to go to the market to buy food. We don’t worry about when our daddy gets his pay cheque and whether he has paid the bills. We trust them to take care of us. In the same way, we can trust God to take care of us all the time!

• Memory Verse: Luke 12:24 Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds!

      3.  Activity Ideas

• Song: He’s got the whole world in His hands 
• Cut out pictures of birds and stick on paper plate or cardboard and write around it, “God takes care of the birds. God takes care of me.

*****

     Youth Bible Study

      

     Leader's Guide

     Lesson: We are more important to God than birds

     A.      Intro: Fun facts about birds pop quiz: Who am I?

• I am the most common bird on the planet. Chicken
• I am a bird that doesn’t fly. Penguin, ostrich, dodo
• I am the only bird without wings. Kiwi
• I lay the world’s smallest egg. Hummingbird
• I lay the world’s largest egg. Ostrich
• When I get excited, my head changes colour. Turkey
• I can fly backwards. Hummingbird
• I don’t build my own nests. I use other birds’. Cuckoo
• I am considered the most intelligent bird in puzzle solving and performing a series of complex actions. Raven

Let’s read Luke 12:22-26 and Matt 6:25-27.

1. What are some of the common worries Jesus mentioned?

Our life, what we will eat, our body, what we will wear

2. What are some of your worries? Why do you worry about these things?

<Open for discussion>

3. What can we accomplish by worrying? What does Jesus say we cannot accomplish by worrying?

Nothing. Jesus said we cannot add a single hour to our life by worrying. Thus we shouldn’t waste time worrying.

4.  What lesson can we learn from the birds?

The birds do not sow or reap, have no storeroom or barn (preparation or hoarding for fear of lack in the future) yet God feeds them, takes care of them.

5. What assurance do we have?

We are worth so much more than ravens, than all the birds in the air. Just as God provides for the ravens, He provides for you and me.

Many things in life are out of our control. Worrying about them will not change anything. Our lives are in God’s hands, and He alone is in charge.

We don’t worry about whether our mummy knows when to go to the market to buy food. We don’t worry about when our daddy gets his pay cheque and whether he has paid the bills. We trust them to take care of us. In the same way, we can trust God to take care of us all the time!

Memory Verse: Luke 12:24 Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds!