Cars ~ Greg J

Kids' Lesson for March 8, 2015

GJ: I'm glad to see all of you here today! Be sure to get some popcorn.  Oh, I see that's not a problem. The theme today is "Cars". But first I have an interesting question for you.  [Fires up PowerPoint slides, reproduced below.] Suppose you are given a huge present....

GJ: So, you have your own car! It might be a red Ferrari F40 like this one. Or something else.

Student:  I want pink!

GJ: Where would you go?

Various: Disney World! San Diego! Grandpa & Grandma's! Florida for sure!

Various: Merits of Disney World vs Disney Land briefly discussed.

GJ: You have almost everything you need to drive. But there's a little something you may want to do first.

Student: But you said we had a license.

GJ: Yes, but too many people with licenses don't know how to drive.

GJ: Let's see a video that shows what might happen when kids drive a car.

[As the following ten-minute, 2010 YouTube video began, two kids commented that they had already seen it, but it was really good and they wanted to see it again.]

YouTube: Fast Cars, Bad Kids

GJ: So, is it a good idea to steal cars?

Class: Noooo!

Various: Your parents will kill you.  Or you might crash and die!

GJ: Is it a good idea to learn how to read words like "Stop" and "Do  not enter"?

Class:  Yessss!

GJ: It takes a long time to learn steering. It takes a long time to learn parking! In the next video we hear the voices of two other little girls. They are playing "Going to Driving School". We don't see the two little girls until the end.  Instead, some really good actors are doing what the little girls say.

Class: Giggling throughout.

GJ: The next video is real, really real. In some other countries such as Russia, people have a video camera running in their car whenever they use the car. That way, if someone hits their car, they have proof of who did it! What we are about to see is video number 63 of over 100 long videos. Each long video shows many, many real crashes.  We are going to watch only about six minutes of this ten-minute video. This shows what happens when people don't study driving. This is what can happen when drivers are not always careful.

Kids, throughout video: Ow! No! Watch out! That came flying out of nowhere! Slow down! Oh!

GJ: Yes, driving a car is risky.  Even if you are driving perfectly, you must watch out for crazy people.

Various: My dad had an accident... My cousin was in a crash...

GJ : You may be glad now that you don't have a car.  Well, I have news.  You. Really. Do. Have. A. Car!  You will drive your car in a few minutes. No kidding!  Let me explain.

GJ: "Your body is a Ferrari for the Holy Spirit..." Is that in the Bible?

Younger one: Yes, it says so.

Older one: No. They didn't have Ferraris back in the Bible. 

GJ: You're right. No Ferraris in the Bible. But! The Bible says Jesus drove the money changers and the animals out of the temple! Jesus drove them out! Here's a picture. [Shows slide of Jesus hauling sheep in his Chevrolet Truck. See above.]

Student: No, it's like Jesus pushed them out.

GJ: OK, maybe Jesus didn't drive a Chevy truck. That's just an artist's idea.  Jesus' car may have been a Honda.  In the Bible, in John chapter 12 verse 49, Jesus says, "For I did not speak of my own Accord."

Student: What?  They didn't have cars back then!

GJ: Oh. No cars? Well, I guess you are right. 

GJ: The usual way to say the verse is, "your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit."  Ferarri? Temple? What you do is much the same.  Respect your body! Don't crash your body!  Don't crash into other people's bodies.

Student: Yeah, I can get another Ferrari.

GJ:  Yes, that's possible.  Your body can last longer than a car, but you get only one body! Exactly one. Just one. Take care of your body. Honor God with your body. 

GJ: There are two in your car. You and God's Spirit are in your car.  I wonder, with two in the car, who is driving?  Oh, I have a song about that! It's country music.

GJ: [Starts "Front Seat, Back Seat" by Chuck Girard, from the 1972 album Love Song.]

[Students A & G jump up and line dance to the music.  You know you are groovin' when kids spontaneously dance. By the second verse, about all are singing along.]

Front Seat, Back Seat

I was running from my Master,
and I tried out every new thing
I could find.

But my life turned into one disaster,
without the Lord I almost
blew my mind.

---

(Chorus)

I was sitting in the front seat,
trying really hard to be the driver
            
Thinking I was making real good time,
but always winding up the late arriver

---

But now I've been trying
out the back seat,
and I find it is a very great relief.
        
Now I'm riding in the back seat
and I'm leaving all the driving
to the chief.

---

I went barrelling out full speed ahead,
I went a-running every stop sign that I'd see,
          
Thinking I'd give the Lord a short cut,
yeah,
but I found out he don't need
no help from me

---

(Chorus)

I was sitting in the front seat,
trying really hard to be the driver
            
Thinking I was making real good time,
but always winding up the late arriver

But now I've been trying
out the back seat,
and I find it is a very great relief.
        
Now I'm riding in the back seat
and I'm leaving all the driving
to the chief.

---

GJ: Here is what a driving school is like.

GJ: With a good teacher and with slow practice, you can become a better driver.

GJ: But still, don't crash your car, I mean, your body!  Honor God with your body! You've got only one.

GJ: Here are some different kinds of cars you might drive some day. Which cars do you like? We'll watch around half of this until it's time to go downstairs.

GJ: Drive safely, I mean, walk safely!  Honor God with your body! You have only one.