David C Cook COVID-19 Response

Promise Keeper

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Materials Needed:

  • Internet access

Matt, an American soldier, made a promise to Janis, an Afghan translator who helped the US army in combat.

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US soldier keeps promise to translator who saved his life

Because Janis saved Matt’s life and served the U.S. army as a local translator, he was promised help in coming to America and escaping the Taliban. However, in spite of this promise, it’s possible Janis wondered if the U.S. would keep that promise. After all, there was war and tension between his country, Afghanistan, and the United States. It would have been easy for them to ignore their promise after they received all the help they needed from Janis.

  • Do you think Janis was surprised by the promise kept? Why or why not? (Answers will vary.)
  • How do you think Janis would have felt if Matt hadn’t kept the promise? (Answers will vary but may include: betrayed, hurt, disappointed, angry, depressed, unable to trust his friend’s word, etc.)

People are good at promise making, but are not always as good about promise keeping. We make some promises with serious intent to fulfill them. Sadly, other promises are made without much thought about how we’ll fulfill them. Some people cross their fingers when they make a promise and claim that means they don’t have to keep the promise. Others are unable to keep a promise due to circumstances out of their control, even though they intended to stay true to their word.

  • What promises have you made and kept? (Answers will vary.)
  • What are some promises that people made to you? Was the promise kept? (Answers will vary.)
  • When someone broke a promise to you, what do you think when that person makes you another promise? (Answers may include: don’t believe them; the person will not keep this promise either; I will need to remind the person to keep this promise; this person doesn’t really care about me, etc.)
  • When someone has kept a promise to you, what do you think when that person makes you another promise? (I can trust this person; this person cares about me.)

Abraham counted on a promise made to him. Then he was asked to do something that seemed to contradict the fulfillment of that promise. Still, he trusted his Promise Giver to be a Promise Keeper. Let’s find out what happened.

Looking for Steps 2 & 3?

You can find Steps 2 and 3 in your teacher’s guide. To purchase a teacher’s guide, please visit: Bible-in-Life or Echoes.

Materials Needed:

  • Internet access
  • Promise-a-Day Calendar bases printed on cardstock (1 per student; template found here contains 2 per sheet)
  • Whiteboard and marker (or screenshared document)
  • Sticky notes (10 notes per student)
  • Pens or fine-tipped markers
  • Optional: art supplies; extra calendar bases and sticky notes for making extras to give away

Spread the word

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