The map is put together and a search is conducted for the
key. The key is found and the treasure is revealed. Each child will go
home with a package of five gold (chocolate) coins at the end of the
program.
Object Lesson
To reinforce the idea of the lesson - doing good for others because
the Holy Spirit has given us the ability to do so.
In this object lesson simply ask the children questions. Often they
are eager to interact with the leader. Ask them to give examples of how
they can do good in their community.
Story
This story is told by a gruff pirate captain who is a
puppet. He requires interaction with the audience. Use pictures to
illustrate the story.
Welcome to Pirate Boot Camp. We are going to train all
you wanna-be pirates to be ship shape. When I'm in charge I expect your
complete attention at all times. I expect you to answer me when I speak
to you. These are the rules at the Pirate Academy. All right let's see
if you can respond to my commands. Every time I yell out a command I
want you to do it. (Have the children act out the commands).
Swab the deck, Hoist the sail, Batten down the hatches,
Full steam ahead.
I'm not impressed, that wasn't good enough. If you want
to be good pirates, it has to be better than that! Let's try it again:
Swab the deck, Hoist the sail, Batten down the hatches, full steam
ahead.
Not bad. I might let you join me on my ship. You make a
pretty good class of Pirates. But I'm here to tell you about the last
group of pirates that come to the pirate academy. They seemed really
good but that is only half the story.
We were training a new bunch of Pirates. They had just
joined the Pirate Academy. I spent four months with them. We did sit
ups, push ups and jumping jacks. I worked them really hard. You have to
get them in shape! You have to straighten them up. They were really
good. They were always polite. They listened, they answered and they
obeyed. They were becoming a tough group of Pirates. But I didn't know
that they weren't always being good. In fact they were horrible behind
my back. Every time I wasn't around they changed. When I was there they
were excellent but when I wasn't they weren't so good.
One afternoon when it was really sunny I gave the new
recruits some jobs to do. I asked some pirates to fix a crack on the
side of the boat. I asked another group to practice tying knots for the
sails and I asked the others to practice emergency drills. They all said
"yes sir" and I expected them to do this. I went down to my cabin to
catch a nap.
While I was sleeping, a storm came up. Suddenly, it got
so bad that I fell out of bed. I heard a huge bang. I ran upstairs to
the deck. The waves were crashing. The deck was almost covered in water.
It was a terrible disaster. I began to yell orders to the crew. They ran
around trying to fix the boat. They tried to mend the crack that they
hadn't fixed earlier. The pirates were attempting to tie the sails down
but couldn't . They were confused and scared so they kept bumping into
each other. It was terrible. Fortunately, the storm let up. I began
talking to them. I asked them why they didn't know what to do in the
storm. It was then that they confessed that they hadn't been practising.
When I had gone to my room to have a nap they hadn't practiced. They
played games. They were good but only when I was watching.
Leader's Conclusion: Being good isn't easy.
Goodness is something God can give you. He can help you to be good all
the time. When you talk to Jesus and you ask him to come and be your
best friend, he will live in your heart. He will help you to show
goodness.
Copyright 1996, Bread of Life Ministries
