What Type of Fear?
Children learn that to fear God means to respect Him, not to be terrified of Him.
by Theresa S.
TOPICS:Fearing God, Honor God, Pleasing God, Respect MATERIALS:Pastor or other respected individual DURATION:Approximately 5 minutes |
 |
WHAT YOU WILL DO:
Have the Pastor stand at the back of the classroom as if observing the lesson. Have the assistant stand alongside with the inflated balloon and pin kept out of sight. The assistant will pop the balloon immediately after he or she hears you say the word "quiet".
WHAT YOU WILL SAY:
Today, you will be getting firsthand examples of two Hebrew words, Pachad and Yare. You will need to pay very close attention, and be very quiet in order to....
Wow! That certainly startled me! Did it scare you too? (Allow for answers.)
What kind of fear was that? (That kind of fear is called Pachad.)
(Ask the Pastor to walk to the front of the class.) When you see the pastor standing at the front of our class, what kind of fear do you experience?” (Yare.)
If our Pastor asks you to be quiet or put the chairs away quickly, would you obey him? Why? (Because you have a Yare fear or respect for him.)
Just as we respect and obey our pastor when we demonstrate Yare fear, we respect and obey God with this same kind of fear. We need not be afraid of God (pachad type of fear), but when we fear (Yare) God, we show how much we love Him out of reverence and respect.