THE WILD WILD WEST

LESSON TWO - BEING OBEDIENT

Theme: We will be in the wild west discovering Godly Character traits for kids.

The Set: Set up the class room to look like a town in the wild west. Decorate with cardboard cactus, stick horses, a jail house, a place to park horses, a hotel, wanted posters, etc.

CHARACTERS NEEDED

Sheriff Sam - a good guy, the sharpest shooter in the west.
Deputy Do Good - a dumb deputy who is good at heart and always tries to do good.
Reckless Rex - a mean outlaw
Pauly Peddler - a traveling saleswoman who always has something for sale she thinks will save the day.
Miss Daisy - the waitress at the local restaurant
One Eyed Will - a puppet who has only one eye. He is the memory verse bandit and is always lurking around waiting to steal the memory verse.
Bobo - a big hairy puppet that is always getting himself into trouble.

This week: Kids will discover the importance of being obedient.

GOALS

Kids will learn that:

• As Christians we must be obedient.
• We must be obedient to Christ, our parents, and those in authority.
• There are consequences for disobedience.

PRAYER

Have kids spend 1-2 minutes at their seats in prayer and then allow Deputy Do good to open in group prayer. This time is very important as it teaches the kids not only how to pray but also that they can pray.

RULES

Add a western spin to the rules this week. The sheriff can come out and explain the rules.

• No Walk: Keep those horses tied down....including legs, fingers, etc..
• No talk: Keep your voices down or you're sure to upset Deputy Do Good.
• Have fun: We are here to have fun praising God.

WORSHIP

Start the worship with a cowboy puppet song or use O.B.E.Y from the donut man.. Encourage the kids to sing along with the puppets. Worship is a special time. Encourage the kids to worship with their hands, hearts, and voices.

PUPPET SKIT

(The sheriffs house has been decorated with toilet paper strung all over) The sheriff comes running out screaming about his house.

Leader: Oh my! I think I know what's happened to your house sheriff... I think Bobo might have something to do about this. Bobo!!! Come up here this minute.

Bobo: (comes up sheepishly.) Who me???

Leader: Yes, I do believe that you are the only one here named Bobo.

Bobo: Well, I suppose I am. Well nice to see you. I'll catch ya later pardner.

Leader: Hang on just one minute Bobo. I would like to know what that is before you leave. (Points to sheriffs house)

Bobo: That? Well, it looks like the sheriffs house to me.

Leader: I know that!!! I mean what is that all over the sheriffs house?

Bobo: Well, let me see... I do believe that it must be toilet paper. Yes, siree, it's toilet paper. Well glad to be of help. See you later.

Leader: Oh no you don't. You stay right here. How did that toilet paper get on there?

Bobo: It seems most logical to me that someone must have put it there.

Leader: I know that!!! What I want to know is WHO put it there.

Bobo: Well, that is NOT what you asked.

Leader: Bobo, who put that toilet paper on the sheriffs house?

Bobo: I refuse to answer on grounds that it might incriminate the wayward person that is responsible for this great travesty of an incident!

Leader: I believe I can interpret that to mean that you Bobo are guilty!!

Bobo: How did you ever guess?

Leader: Bobo, didn't I tell you last week that you were not to toilet paper the sheriffs house?

Bobo: Well,...... kind of.... I guess.

Leader: Bobo, don't you know that disobedience is a very bad thing?

Bobo: Yes, I know that.

Leader: Then why did you disobey me and toilet paper his house anyways?

Bobo: (sobbing) because I am so disobedient....

Leader: Why are you disobedient?

Bobo: I am so disobedient because I'm just a dummy. A smart dummy, but still just a dummy.

Leader: I don't think that excuses are going to work. God expects us to be obedient and he doesn't accept excuses. You know you will have to be punished. There are always consequences for disobedience

Bobo: Oh please don't throw me in jail. I promise never to do it again.

Leader: I'm not going to throw you in jail Bobo. But I am going to make you help the sheriff do yard work every day this week. You can start by cleaning up all the toilet paper in his yard.

Bobo: All of it??

Leader: Yes all of it!!

Bobo: I guess that means I need to get a ladder huh?

Leader: Great idea Bobo. And remember, it's important to always be obedient to those God has placed in authority over you.

Bobo: (hollers as he leaves the puppet stage) I'll be reminded every time I look at a roll of toilet paper.

OPENING SKIT

Miss Daisy comes running in to town. She is very excited and frightened. She informs the sheriff, deputy and the peddler that she's just saw Reckless Rex headed for town.

Reckless Rex shows up riding a stick horse. He is very angry that he is having a bad hair day. He fumes and fusses and rants and raves. The town peddler steps forward and announces that she has just what he needs to fix his problem. She has just what he needs to save the day. She has a special tonic that will get rid of bad hair days once and for all. He excitedly wants to buy the tonic. However the peddler tries to tell him that there are very important instructions that he must follow. He angrily grabs the hair tonic and runs off. A few seconds later he comes running back screaming and hollering. The tonic has turned his hair bright green because he failed to obey the peddlers instructions.

Deputy Do good tries to explain to Reckless Rex that obedience is a very important Godly character trait. Obedience means following instructions and doing what you are instructed to do. God wants us to be obedient to God, our parents, and those in authority. There are consequences for disobedience. Reckless Rex stomps off hollering that nobody's going to tell him what to do.

BIBLE LESSON

(make two pitchers of sassafras lemonade before class. Add salt to one.) The sheriff announces that after all that hard work it's time for a break of lemonade and cookies. They buy some lemonade and cookies from the peddler. The deputy pours the sheriff a glass from the salty lemonade. The sheriff takes a drink and spits it out. They talk about the salty lemonade and the deputy decides to tell the sheriff a story about salt while they are on break. The deputy tells the story of Lots wife being turned into salt because of her disobedience.

MEMORY VERSE

The pony express (a horse puppet) delivers the memory verse written on brown paper wrapped around a brick and tied with twine. The deputy unwraps it and teaches it to the children. As he is teaching it the memory verse bandit one eyed will sneaks up and steals it. The deputy freaks out and the sheriff comes running. The deputy doesn't know what to do. How will the kids learn the verse? Thankfully the sheriff happens to know this verse and finishes up teaching it to the kids. They then post a wanted poster up of one eyed will.

OBJECT LESSON/POD GROUPS

Give pod groups a clue sheet. If they follow the instructions they will find a treat at the end. Once the treats are found have pods discuss the importance of obeying Gods instructions. Be sure to discuss the reward we will receive if we are obedient to God.

GAMES

Cowboy dress up relay. You will need a set of cowboy clothes for each team. Make a poster board that lists the order in which the kids must put on each piece of clothing. The kids will race across the room put on the clothes in the correct sequence and then spin around a cone 3 times and then remove the clothing and race back to tag the next player. Stress the importance of following the correct order.

Copyright 1999, Sheryl Coats