Feelings Unit
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Have you ever thought about all the feelings that you have? Some feelings, like joy, pride and love, make us feel good. Some people think that it is a sin to have these “bad” feelings. Maybe that’s what you think. In His lifetime, Jesus had many of the feelings that make us feel bad. Yet, in the book of Hebrews, we learn that Jesus was “without sin.” This means that even though He had those feelings, they were never a sin. So ... it’s OK to have feelings. What we have to be careful of, though, is that those bad feelings don’t make us do bad things. That’s the hard part, but we know that we can do anything if we let Jesus help us. Will you let Him help you?
What does the Bible say?
Jesus said,
"Let the little children come to me, and do not hold them back, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to them."
Matthew 19:14
A Lesson from the Bible
This story, which is found in the book of John, is about Jesus and three of His dear friends, Mary, Martha, and Lazarus. It is full of many different feelings. See how many of them that you are able to find.
Mary, Martha, and Lazarus lived in the town of Bethany and were very happy and content. Jesus loved them all very much and visited them whenever he was in their town. Once when Jesus was away with His disciples, Lazarus became very sick. Mary and Martha sent a message to Jesus saying, “Lord, Lazarus is sick!” They wanted Jesus to come because they knew that He could help. When Jesus heard the news, He waited two days and then said to His disciples, “Let us go to Bethany. Our friend Lazarus is dead.” The disciples didn’t want to go. They were afraid because the last time that they were there, certain people had tried to kill Jesus by throwing rock sat Him. Jesus said that He was going anyway, and the disciples went along as well.
By the time they reached Bethany, Lazarus’ body hand been in a tomb for four days. Mary and Martha were so sorrowful that they had been crying the whole time. When Mary finally went to Jesus, she was very upset and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” When Jesus heard this and saw her weeping, He felt troubled inside. “Where have you laid him?” Jesus asked. “Come and see,” the sisters replied. When they arrived at the grave, Jesus began to cry and then, after praying, He asked some men to roll the stone away from the grave. “Lazarus, come forth,” he shouted. As everyone watched, Lazarus came walking out of the tomb with his grave clothes still hanging from his body. What a joyous moment that must have been for everyone thereÉbut especially for Mary and Martha.
• How many different feelings did you find in this story?
• Have you ever felt any of these same feelings? _______ When?
How can you apply this story to your life?
Small Group Activity
What events cause you to have good feelings?
When you have these feelings, how do you act? ________________________________
What events cause you to have bad feelings?
When you have these feelings, how do you act? ________________________________
Family Discussion - Feelings
What feelings are easy to talk about in your family? __________________________
What feelings are hard to talk about in your family? __________________________
Is it normal to have bad feelings when we have been hurt or when we are mad?
How can Jesus help us with these bad feelings? ______________________________
How can our parents or grandparents help us when we have bad feelings about something?
What feelings bother you the most? (Anger, fear, hurt sadness, rejection, etc.)
Why? ________________________________________________________________
___________________________________
PARENT’S SIGNATURE
"He will turn
the hearts of the fathers to their children
and the hearts of the children to their fathers." Malachi 4:6
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