Your students will have different levels of understanding about events that have happened recently. Some have been protected by parents and teachers from hearing about these tragic events; others have heard about them and are deeply concerned—even afraid. As their teacher, you will know best about the maturity level and emotional responses of your students. Use your best judgment in sharing this material. As you proceed to Step 2 and 3, use every available opportunity in the lesson to reference the tragedies as a way of tying your lesson with this topic. As your students ask questions and open up to talk about these difficult subjects, you may find the information in this booklet helpful General Crisis. While it was written specifically to address natural disasters, its contents can be easily adapted to respond to other tragedies.
Americans woke Monday morning to a grim statistic: At least 31 people died and more than 50 were wounded as the result of two mass shootings in El Paso, Texas and Dayton, Ohio over the weekend. The previous weekend three people died in a third mass shooting in Gilroy, California.
- What have you heard about the incidents?(Allow students to share reports they have received through news coverage, or alternate venues such as parents, friends, or social media. Allow students to share freely.)
People hurting people and people killing people is not new. Cain killed his brother Abel over an offering that Abel brought to God. Bad things like suffering, disease, and death happen in our world. God created the world to be perfect. But when Adam and Eve disobeyed God, that allowed evil and sin into the world. Some of the results of sin can be seen in tragedies such as the recent shootings.
- What emotions have you experienced since hearing about these tragedies?(Students may talk about sadness, fear, confusion, etc.)
- If you could ask God any questions you wanted to about what happened, what would you ask? (Allow your students to talk openly and freely; this is not a time to correct any theology or try to divert questions in a different direction. Accept all reasonable answers as a means of finding out where your students stand emotionally and spiritually in the aftermath of this event.)
“Why did this happen?” is something people frequently ask in situations like this. “Why?” questions are very difficult to answer. Because we are just human and God is so much bigger and wiser, we are not fully able to understand the “big picture” like He does. We can remember that while we do not understand, we can still trust and praise God because He is good, loving, merciful, and at work. When sin entered our world, it brought pain and death to everyone. But we know that God loves every person and made a way through Jesus for all who believe in Him to be with Him forever. Until that time, God wants to show us how much He loves us through His Word. That’s why we come together each week to learn more about Him and how we can respond to Him even in the midst of tragedy. Let’s find out what He wants us to know about Him today.
Teacher Resources:
We do not endorse or disavow the views held in the following links. They are provided only as background information for teachers who have not had a chance to research recent events. It might be helpful to familiarize yourself with what transpired by viewing the following links before class.
President Trump condemned racism and white supremacy [1:26]
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/05/us/mass-shootings.html
Rising death toll, police video and ‘hundreds’ saved: The aftermath of the El Paso, Dayton shootings [1:00]
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/08/05/dayton-ohio-el-paso-shootings-weekend-mass-killings-2019/1919633001/
