Note to the Teacher

The key idea in this scripture for this lesson is “choosing how we should live.” The icebreaker invites youth to make choices by answering yes or no. The discussion encourages students to discuss how they make choices and what consequences might have been for those choices. The activity allows youth to make choices using music through the decades and examine how they made those choices. Times are based on a fifty-five-minute lesson period but may be adjusted.

Yes/No (15 minutes)

In this game, give each person a piece of wrapped candy. (We prefer to use hard candy.) Be aware of any food allergies so all can participate. Set a timer for the length of the game. When the timer starts, students mingle with one another, asking only yes or no questions. If the answer is “no,” the person who answered “no” must give all their candies to the person who asked the question. Once a student has lost candy, that person can continue to ask questions of others to try to gain the candy back. At the end of the allotted time, the student with the most candy wins.

Modification Option:

To add a layer of choices, the game's " winner " can exchange candy for an upgraded prize, keep the candy, or share the candy among their friends again.

Read Scripture (5 minutes)

Our scripture reading today involves “choosing how we should live.” Read Proverbs 21:1-2, 8-9, 22-23.

Discussion (15 minutes)

Do you usually make choices with your head or your heart? Why?
Do you know anyone who makes poor decisions? Why do you think their choices are poor? (You don’t need to name names. The discussion is more about the behavior/choices than the person.)
Share with the group a time you regretted a decision you made. What did you do about that regret?
What makes some choices good and some choices bad?
Do you think the decision-making process is as important as the decision itself? In other words, is HOW someone makes a decision as important as WHAT that person eventually decides?
How would you apply the insights from the scripture to the decisions we discussed?

Activity and Discussion (20 minutes)

Take this lesson to the next level by involving students' imaginations as they consider the idea of choice. Label one side of the room “hear more,” and label the other side “hear less.” Play this YouTube video and invite each student to step to one side or the other. They cannot stay in the middle, and they have about five seconds before the song will switch.

Points for discussion:

What things influenced your music choices?
For the songs you were familiar with, did you want to hear them again because you were familiar with them?
Thinking back to the scripture passage, what kinds of future choices can you make that would please God?

TOTAL TIME: 55 minutes