Elementary Level, Block 8—Ezra / Nehemiah / Esther
Week 73
Ezra—Setting His Heart
Point to Emphasize: We want to be those who set goals.
Reference Reading: Ezra 7
Memory Verse: For Ezra had set his heart to seek the law of Jehovah and to do it and to teach His statutes and ordinances in Israel. (Ezra 7:10)
Story Sample
There is a phrase in our memory verse that is very interesting, that is, “Set his heart”. We don’t use this expression much anymore. What do you think that means? [Let the children try to answer.] Well, it means to be determined or to decide to do something. It is to REALLY want something and then to choose to do it. It’s kind of like setting a goal.
Now we all know what that is. We’ve all decided to do something at one time or another, haven’t we? When I was six years old I set my heart, or decided, or determined, or had a goal —however you want to say it— to learn how to ride a bike. I wanted to be able to ride the two-wheeler my cousin had handed down to us. It was a good goal. But I found out it wasn’t as easy as I thought. There was a small hill right behind our house and I thought if I went to the top of the hill and started rolling down, I would be able to ride by myself. But I fell—again and again and again. I had set my heart to learn, but I just wasn’t qualified to teach myself to ride a bike. But I was still determined to learn how to ride a bike! I thought about it and realized I knew someone who was qualified—my older sister. She knew how to ride a bike, so I asked her to help me and she came with me to the top of the hill again, this time, she held on to the bike at the back, so that as I went down, I could feel how it was to balance the bike. It took several trips to the top of the hill but eventually, I made it down all by myself. I was determined, and so I finally learned to ride a bike! [Storyteller, add your own story from your experience about being determined to do something.]
When you set a goal, you have something to focus on and work toward. Setting goals in life will help you to be a productive person. When you set a goal, you commit to it and work on it until you reach your goal! You don’t give up! What are some goals you can set? Let’s write some down together. What are some goals you can set at school? You can have the goal of counting to 50, learning to read a particular book or learning to write your name! How about at home? What goal can you set for yourself at home? You could learn how to make your bed, tie your shoelaces, or brush your teeth. How about in sports? You can have the goal of swimming underwater or learning how to ride a bike. Learning to play an instrument is a good goal. How about in children’s meetings? You can have a goal of memorizing today’s verse! [Storyteller, it might help the children to visualize if you write these goals on the board.]
Now, let me tell you what Ezra’s goal was. Ezra set his heart, or you can say, he had the goal of learning God’s Word. He wanted to learn God’s Word so that he could go to Jerusalem and teach the people all about it! Wasn’t that an excellent goal? We should all have that same goal! Our goals can be little or big goals! May we all be like Ezra, having the goal to teach God’s Word to others!