Ananias and Sapphira/Lying
Objectives: The students will be able to
- retell the story Ananias and Sapphira
- explain that lying is wrong and why
- identify which commandment lying is breaking
- explain why lying is not the answer to their problems
Review:
Prayer, Take Home Sheet, and vocabulary from last week’s lesson and also Objects Used at Mass cards (show picture cards that we have done thus far)
Vocabulary Words: (Write words on the board and discuss with class)
lie- not telling the truth
truth- something that is fact or reality
honest- being truthful
trust- to behave with responsibility or honorably, taking good care or somebody or something, etc.
Plan:
What is a lie?
1. A false statement deliberately presented as being true. (“My room is clean.”)
2. Something meant to deceive or give a wrong impression. (“I’m so sorry you didn’t make the team.”)
Think about a time when you told a lie. Why did you do it? How did you feel? What happened? Whether we want to admit it or not, lying is a part of life. Each of us has told a lie or two, whether it was to:
• get out of trouble (“I didn’t do it.”)
• avoid hurting someone’s feelings (“You look great!”)
• get something we want (“I finished my homework, so I’m going to the movie.”)
Unfortunately, some people do it more than others. And they don’t just lie about little things, but about big things as well.
Some think lying is no big deal, but in reality it is. Lying is breaking one of the ten commandments. Which commandment is it breaking? The 8th Commandment: Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor. (Catholic version)
Read story: "Ananias and Sapphira" (Acts 4:32 - 5:11) and ask questions from Take Home Sheet that will be sent home today.
Ananias and Sapphira belonged to a wonderful church. The people cared about each other and tried to do everything God wanted them to do. People would give whatever they could to help others who were in need. One member of the church named Barnabas sold his land and brought all the money he made to the apostles and set it at their feet as a sign that he was giving it to be used by God for whatever it was needed for.
Now Ananias and his wife Sapphira were very impressed with Barnabas and decided God would also want them to do the same thing. They wanted to please God too, so they sold their land. But Ananias and Sapphira decided that they didn't want to give the whole amount, they wanted to keep some of it for themselves. They talked about it and decided it was their money and they could do whatever they wanted with it. Besides no one would know how much they sold their land for any ways. No one would know that they kept part of the money for themselves. They would think that they were just as generous as Barnabas was.
Ananias brought part of the money to the apostles and laid it before them. Peter, through God’s power, knew what was in Ananias’s heart. He said to Ananias, “Why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back part of the price of the land for yourself? While it belonged to you, was it not your own? And after it was sold, was it not your own to use? Why have you planned this thing in your heart? You have not lied to men, but to God.” When Ananias heard these words, he fell down and died. Great fear came on all those who heard these things. Some young men who were there rose up and wrapped Ananias in his robes, carried him out, and buried him.
About three hours later Sapphira came in, not knowing what had happened to her husband. Peter asked her, "Is this the price you and Ananias got for your land?" She said, "Yes, that's the price." Peter said, "How can you lie to the Lord?" and at that moment she fell down at his feet and died.
The Bible tells us that God hates lying and that we should search out and examine our ways to make sure we aren't doing wrong. Lying takes many forms and sometimes we don't realize we are lying. It is important that we learn to detect the lies so that we don't lie.
Activities:
Introduce activity: What is a lie? (When you do not tell the truth.)
daniellesplace.com- Watchdog
Lesson about learning to be aware of what they say and how to control what they are saying. Lesson includes activities, coloring, crafts, songs, etc. Other lessons in this series are at the bottom: Backbiting, Taming the Tongue, Watchdog Training, and Lie Detectors.
applesaucekids.com- Lying, The Lying Snake
Activity with story about lying and how the lies get bigger and bigger to hide the other lie.
children.calvarychapel.com- Ananias and Sapphira (New Testament) lesson with memory verses, circle the correct words, true or false, fill in the blanks, puzzles, and color sheets.
ebibleteacher.com- Ananias and Sapphira lesson
missionarlington.org- Be Honest With God lesson
street.ns.ca- Lesson One: Lying (skit, object lessons, games, puppet show, etc.)
Lies and God’s Eyes
childrensministry.com
In this activity, the children will make writing appear with water and crayons to show that even when we try to cover up our lies, God sees through it all.
Preparation: Mix a drop of blue food coloring and the cup of water in a resealable plastic bag.
Say: Mandy had a problem. She had borrowed her sister's china animals for Show and Tell without asking anyone. On the way home, Mandy dropped the bag of animals. Every miniature animal was shattered. Mandy swept all the broken pieces back into the bag and hid it under her bed before her sister got home. When her mom asked her what she used for Show and Tell, Mandy told her mom that she showed the class her seashells.
Ask: What did Mandy say that she brought to class?
Write "seashells" in orange on the paper. Have each child scribble over the word "seashells" with the blue crayon. Tell children that the blue marks they make are like the lies Mandy told to cover up what she had done. While each child is scribbling, ask him or her why Mandy lied.
After each child has had a turn, say: "Mandy took her sister's animals and broke them. Then she lied to cover up her mistake. We often lie to hide another sin, just as the word "seashells" is hiding under the marks you made. But God has very special eyes. He can see right through our lies.
Take the bag of blue water, and lay it over the paper. Let the kids see the words pop out.
Read Genesis 18:15 and ask:
• Why did Sarah lie?
• How is that like Mandy's problem?
• How are the marks we made with blue crayons like Mandy's lie?
• What can you do if you are afraid to tell the truth?
Say: Mandy lied about the animals because she was afraid of the consequences from breaking them. "Consequences" means what happens to you for doing something. Mandy will have to suffer the consequences of breaking the animals and now also for lying. If you lie, you need to be truthful as soon as possible. God can see through all our lies anyway! Most people will be happy to forgive you. It's always best to tell the truth
Crafts:
Introduce craft: How good are you? Let’s find out.
rotation.infopop- Art
Cut out things from a magazine that make a "good life." Have children divide them into two groups -- things they'd be willing to give up for God and things that they'd really rather keep. Use it to discuss how all of us really have a little Ananias and Sapphira in us.
Movie:
Introduce movie: What is a fib? A fib is a lie.
Veggie Tales- Telling the Truth: Larry Boy and The Fib From Outer Space (25 min.)
Questions you may like to ask:
1. What was the first fib that Jr. told? (He said that Laura broke the plate.(
2. Who broke the plate? (Jr.)
3. What happened to Laura? (She got into trouble.)
4. What happened to the Fib? (It got bigger and bigger because Jr. kept telling lies.)
5. How was the lie stopped? (Jr. told the truth that he broke the plate.)
6. Does God want us to always tell the truth? (Yes.)
Games:
Introduce games: How do you know when someone is lying or telling the truth?
rotation.infopop- Games
What about a simple game like "button button who's got the button" but adapted to the story. (the children have some sort of "property" they hide in their hands.) Take turns being Peter to see if you can discover who is lying and who is telling the truth. In the story, I believe Ananias and Sapphira are dragged out of the church at the end, symbolizing their separation from the community. Fill some boxes with moderately heavy things, tape them up and label them with words like "greed", "lies," etc. Try and have equal sizes and weights for two teams. Then have a relay race to see which team can push, drag, and otherwise remove the greed and lies from their "church" to an "outside" area. Lead to a discussion of how we can try to remove greed and lies from our own church community.
The Truth!- Have students sit in a circle. Pick someone to go first and they ask a question. The person to their left must answer that question, then they ask another question. The person on their left answers that question and asks another question for the next player. The play continues around the circle and the first player must answer the question that the last player asks. Remember your answers must be the truth.
For example:
What is your name?
What is your favorite color?
Do you like basketball? Etc.
familyfun.go.com- Tag, You’re It! Tell the Truth
This variation on tag will have players trying to tell truth from fiction.
col-ed.org- Truth or Lies Game
Have fun: it's a sanctioned time to "lie" about themselves.
Liar, liar pants on fire!- Here is a fun game that helps children to recognize what lying is and how to resist it.
Introduction to game- To bear false witness means to not tell the whole truth. It is lying, but it is much more than lying. We lie to either make ourselves look good (and this is called pride) or sometimes to make others look bad. Sometimes we lie to get out of trouble. Sometimes it’s so easy to lie that we didn’t even realize we lied! The truth is very important because we need to be able to trust each other and understand each other. We need to guard what we say, and say what we mean by speaking the truth.
Snacks:
Introduce snack: (Draw a doughnut on the board). Say: What is inside a doughnut? (Nothing). When we lie, we are like a doughnut, we are empty inside.
pillsbury.com- Baked Sugar Doughnuts
Puzzles, Mazes, Worksheets:
children.calvarychapel.com- Ananias and Sapphira (New Testament) lesson with memory verses, circle the correct words, true or false, fill in the blanks, puzzles, and color sheets.
wordsearchfun.com- (word search)
uk.friendsandheroes.com- Worksheet (scroll down to worksheet 18.1a)
worksheetplace.com- Honesty
Homework: Prayers and Take Home Sheet (It is in MS Word and can be changed any way you like according to your student’s abilities.)
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