Are you needing a lesson for Sunday School? Today I’m sharing a free lesson about obedience with a fun read-aloud story. (Keep scrolling to read it!) In addition to the story, there are also accompanying printable crafts and activities that you can use with your students. This obedience lesson for 1st grade or kindergarten is great for Sunday School, junior church, or Bible class.
What’s Included in the Lesson
- 3 Page Obedience Story
- Discussion Questions
- Song, Memory Verse, and Bible Story Ideas
- Obedience Worksheet
- Maze Worksheet
- 3 Bible Verse Coloring Pages
- 2 Coloring Pages
- Color Obedience Puzzle
- Black & White Obedience Puzzle
- Color Lace and Trace Craft
- Black & White Lace and Trace Craft
Read-aloud Story about Obedience
It was Friday afternoon, and school had just let out for the day. As they waited for the bus, Jason and Joe, nine year old twins, were talking to their friends.
“Let’s go to the park when we get home,” Jason said.
The other kids all thought it sounded like fun. The park down the street from where they all lived had just gotten some new playground equipment, and there was a really big slide and some monkey bars they were all eager to try.
The six kids agreed they would all meet at the park if they got permission from their parents.
When they got home, Jason and Joe went in search of their mom. She was in the kitchen making brownies.
“Mmm, brownies!” Joe said, smacking his lips. “Can we have some when they’re done?”
“They’re for tomorrow, so you’ll have to wait,” his mom said.
“Mom, can we go to the park? We already talked it over with Noah, Kearra, and the others, and we’re all going to meet there if we can get permission.”
Mom thought a moment. “Do you have any homework?”
Both boys nodded. “But it’s Friday, Mom,” Joe said. “We’d have all day tomorrow to do it.”
Mom shook her head. “I think it would be best if you did your homework tonight rather than waiting. And tomorrow you’ll be glad you did your homework today. Then tomorrow you can spend time with your friends.”
“I’d rather spend time with them today,” Joe said as he left the kitchen.
Jason followed him, and the two boys went upstairs to their room. Once they were up there, Jason unzipped his backpack and pulled out his math book.
“It’s not fair that we can’t go to the park.” Joe kicked the dresser lightly. “I really wanted to go try out the new slide. I bet all our friends will be there and we’ll be the only ones left out. And tomorrow, they’ll have tried it all out and will want to do something else.”
“Maybe we can hurry and get our homework done, and then Mom will let us go,” Jason suggested.
Joe shook his head. “I have a lot more than you do. It’ll take me all evening to get it done.”
“Well, then you’d better get started on it,” Jason took his math book and headed out of the room.
After his brother had gone, Joe reached for his backpack. He started to pull out his science book, then stooped. What if I went ahead and went to the park anyway? I’ll have time to do my homework tomorrow. Mom could have let me decide when I was going to do it. I don’t see why it matters if I do it tonight or tomorrow. The longer he thought about it, the more it seemed like a good idea go to the park instead of doing his homework like he had been told.
Finally, that’s what he decided to do. He went downstairs and checked the hallway to be sure his mom or Jason were not around. Then he crept to the front door, opened it very softly, and sneaked out. Once he was outside, he ran as fast as he could until he was out of sight of his house. Then he slowed to a fast walk. He had gotten away without getting caught. He knew his mom would be upset with him for disobeying, but he tried to convinced himself that she wouldn’t mind too much. She just wanted him to be able to have fun tomorrow, and he would rather have fun today.
When Joe reached the park, he looked around for his friends. None of them were there, even though they lived closer to the park than he and Jason did. I wonder if they weren’t allowed to come, either. He shoved that thought aside and walked over to the new big slide. It was far taller than the old one had been. There were a bunch of other kids at the park. Some of them he knew from school. He joined one boy. “Have you been done the slide yet, Aiden?”
“No, I haven’t, “Aiden said. “Wanna go down it together?”
“Sure!”
The two boys ran through the mulch in the playground area to the slide. Aiden climbed up the ladder first, followed by Joe. At the top, Joe looked down. The ground was far below. This was going to be an exciting slide! The two boys sat down at the top of the slide. Aiden went first and Joe followed him. The slide had three twists and he went fast as he slid through them. The wind blew through his hair as he went, and then he was at the bottom, almost landing on Aiden who still sat in the mulch at the bottom.
“That was fun!” Joe cried, jumping to his feet and running back to the ladder.
The two boys went down the big slide several times. Then they tried out the new monkey bars. The first three times he tried to cross them, Joe slipped off and landed in the mulch. But it didn’t hurt. The fourth time, he made it all the way across. He wished Jason and his friends had been there to see him going all the way across the monkey bars. He didn’t think all of them would be able to do them yet. Noah probably couldn’t. He wasn’t very good at the little monkey bars at school, and these were even higher.
Finally, the other kids started leaving the park, saying it was time for them to go home for supper. Joe decided he should probably go home too.
Suddenly, he began to wonder if it had been such a good idea for him to come to the park after all. What would his mom say? Would he get punished for disobeying?
He walked slower and slower the closer he got to home. Finally, he arrived and slowly slipped inside, closing the door behind him softly.
“Did you get home, Joe?” Mom called from the kitchen.
Hanging his head, Joe went in. “Yes, I did,” he murmured.
“Did you have fun?”
He nodded.
“You’d better get busy with your homework now,” she said. “Supper’s not quite ready.”
That was all she said. She did not scold him or say what his punishment would be. But Joe was sure he had not heard the last of it. He went upstairs to his room and sat down at the desk to work on his homework. He was working on his science when supper was ready.
Partway through supper, Dad said, “Well, boys, your Mom and I have a surprise for you.”
“A surprise!” Jason cried. “What is it?”
“Tomorrow we’re going with some of your friends to the zoo.”
“Yay!” Jason cheered.
Joe said nothing, feeling suddenly very guilty for not doing his homework earlier. That was why their mom had wanted them to do their homework instead of going to the park. He wondered what would happen since he hadn’t gotten his homework done. He soon found out.
“I’m afraid we’ve had a change of plans and everyone won’t be able to go,” Mom said.
“Why not?” Dad asked.
“You want to tell your dad what happened?” Mom looked right at Joe.
Staring down at his plate, Joe said, “I went to the park instead of doing my homework, and it’s not done.”
“I see.” Dad said. “I’m sorry to hear that.” He looked at Jason. “Did you get all your homework done?”
“Almost. I need to finish my language arts after supper. It should only take a few minutes.”
“That’s good.”
Mom said, “Why don’t you go ahead and take Jason and I’ll stay here with Joe.”
“Are you sure?” Dad asked. “I don’t mind staying.”
“Go ahead. I’ll stay.”
Joe felt miserable all that evening. No only was he missing out on a trip to the zoo but Mom was too. His disobedience was affecting her as well.
The next morning, Joe watched sadly as Mom packed the lunch, packing only enough for Dad and Jason. After they had left for the zoo, Mom told Joe to get busy with his homework. “Get it done quickly and then maybe we can do something together,” she told him.
This time, Joe listened. He brought his books down to the dining-room table and got to work on his school. His mom helped him with the parts he didn’t understand, Finally, a little after noon, he had finished.
Joe thought about his brother and friends having a good time at the zoo. That must have been why none of his friends had been at the park. Their parents had also told them no. And he had been the only one to miss out on the trip because he had disobeyed.
After he had finished his homework, Mom called him into the living room. She patted the seat beside her on the couch and he sat down beside her.
“I’m sorry I disobeyed you, Mom,” he said.
“I’m sorry you did too. I didn’t want you to have to miss out on the trip to the zoo, but I knew you needed to learn why it’s important to obey even when you don’t understand why. God tells children to obey their parents. I know you didn’t see why you couldn’t go to the park yesterday and do your homework today, but you needed to trust that I knew best and had a good reason for what I told you to do.”
Joe nodded. “I see that now. You couldn’t say why we needed to do our homework because that would have spoiled the surprise.”
“That’s right. Hopefully next time you don’t understand why I tell you to do something, you will trust me and obey anyway. I always want what’s best for You.”
Joe leaned over and gave his mom a hug. I’m sorry, Mom. “I’ll try to always obey you even if I don’t understand why or think it doesn’t matter.”
Mom returned the hug. “Now, I have a little surprise for you. Since you have your homework done, you’re not going to have to miss out on everything we had planned for today. When everyone gets back from the zoo, we’re going to go out for pizza and ice cream. And you and I can go for that.
Joe immediately cheered up, grinning at his mom. “Yay! I didn’t miss out on all the fun after all.”
Activities to Accompany the Story:
So, do you think that’s a story your students would enjoy and learn from? If so, they will also enjoy the activities that go along with the story.
Discussion Questions
After the story, there are discussion questions for you to ask your students. These questions will show how well they understood the lesson of the story and how much they remember of it.
Song, Memory Verse, and Bible Story Ideas
There is a sheet with songs, memory verses, and Bible stories about obedience. You can look through the options to figure out which ones you want to include in your lesson on obedience.
Obedience Worksheet
The students will read, or you can read to them, the various sentences about obedience, and they will choose the correct answer. Is obedience taking out the trash when Mom said to do the dishes?
Maze Worksheet
The students will complete this maze by following the paths that each boy took to find out the result of their decision.
3 Bible Verse Coloring Pages
Color pictures relating to the story with Bible verses about obedience. These are great tools for helping your students memorize the verses.
2 Coloring Pages
Obedience Puzzle
Your students will cut out the pieces of the puzzle and put them together. This will give them an opportunity to learn more about obedience as they complete the activity.
Lace and Trace Craft
Your students can complete this fun craft where they weave a piece of yarn or shoe string through the ice cream cone.
Get your free obedience lesson!
I hope this lesson will be a blessing to you as you prepare your lesson to teach your students. I hope it will easy the heavy load that you already carry. And if you like this style of lesson, be sure to check back here as I have several more in the works that I will be adding to my store.
