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Theme: Follow the crowd or follow God?
1. Exodus 23:2 says, “Do not follow the crowd in doing wrong.” Why is it a bad idea to go along with the group? Is it ever okay?
2. Daniel 6 tells about one person who chose to follow God rather than the crowd. His name was Daniel. The leaders of Babylon didn’t like Daniel. They made a law to try to get him into trouble. The law said that everyone had to bow down and pray to the king. Anyone who bowed down and prayed to any other god would be thrown into the lion’s den. Daniel loved God.He continued to bow down to God even knowing that he might be killed for this. The leaders of Babylon threw him to the lions. But God protected him. Think about how Daniel followed God as you listen to today’s program.
After you listen
Quiz
A: Spray paint signs on the Reptarium school building and grounds.
A: Join a group led by Rocky Rocket to steal a Marshland School statue.
Reflect
In this episode, Liz makes the wrong choice when the crowd wants to do something wrong. Have you ever been pressured by your friends or classmates to do something dangerous, wrong, or scary? Then you should meet Esther.
Esther was the new queen. The King had banished the old queen for not obeying him. Esther learned that the king had made a law that Jewish people could be robbed and killed just because they were Jewish. Esther was Jewish. Her friends told her to remain silent and save herself—no one would ever know that she was Jewish. But she knew that she might be able to persuade the king to change his mind. Then she could save her people. She also knew that if she spoke up, the king could kill her. What did she do? Esther asked for prayer and then went to the king. The king listened to her and changed his law to protect his Jewish citizens.
What about you? The next time you are pressured to do something wrong or feeling pressure not to do something right, think of Daniel and Esther. Tell God about the pressure you are experiencing. Ask him for his wisdom and strength. God took care of both Daniel and Esther, and he wants to help you too!
Want to dig deeper about doing what’s right? Read Proverbs 13:20, Colossians 3:17 and Exodus 23:2
Challenge
What are some situations you might be in where it might be tricky for you to say no? It’s good to be prepared ahead of time and think through what you will say and do.
Think of some situations and come up with some things you could say or do to get yourself out of these tricky situations. You can be straightforward (“No way!”), use humor (“I get bad gas when I do things like that!”), or distracting (“No thanks! But where are the chips?”). You can take a stand (“I don’t think that’s right”) and share your faith (“God doesn’t want me to do that and he knows what’s good for me”). Having a plan for situations ahead of time will help you when peer pressure comes! Talk through these ideas and role play some of these situations with your family.
