Drawing Contrasts

• This simple teaching idea can be adapted to any story, age group or teaching situation.
• The video instructions use the stories The Tower of Babel and The First Church as examples.

Materials:

1. Pencil or pen
2. Paper

Preparation:

1. Read the scripture containing the lesson you have chosen and decide on the theme/idea you want to apply.
2. Consider the application from 2 aspects so that you will be able to guide the children in contrasting the two. These are usually applications of whatever the theme of the story is. Examples of applications for various lessons are:
   1. For the John the Baptist story: “Hard heart” versus “Soft heart”
   2. For the David Helps Mephibosheth story: “A kind 10 year old” versus “Unkind 10 year old”
   3. For the Ruth and Naomi story: “Hands that help” versus “Hands that cause trouble”

Instructions:

1. You or the children can draw a line down the centre of a paper and use the two columns to make contrasts, or you could draw two simple items that depict the story. The video uses the following aspects and drawings:
   1. Tower of Babel story: There are two simple towers- one is labelled “Healthy Pride” and the other “Unhealthy Pride.”
   2. The First Church story: There are two simple church buildings. The words “Which is a church?” are across the top of the page.
2. Guide the children in filling in the two columns or drawings with words or pictures that describe each category. As you talk, ask them if these things have happened to them or someone they know. What did they do? What would be a good choice or a bad choice if they are faced with this situation again? Pray about anything appropriate that arises from this conversation.

Adaptations:

1. Use a chalkboard or whiteboard and do this exercise together as a group.
2. Cut out pictures from magazines and glue them to the drawings in the appropriate places.
3. Give the children a chance to work with a partner and then come back to the group to share their ideas.
4. Before class, write descriptions of situations on cards. Children take turns drawing a card and deciding which side it goes on.
5. Before class, write scripture references on cards. Children can look up these scriptures in their bibles and talk about how the scripture applies to the lesson.