Free Preteen Ministry Lesson on Truth
Here’s a free lesson for your preteen ministry on how to know what’s really true!
This lesson helps preteens understand that We were made by God and for God, which means His truth is what shapes us best. Through a hands-on compass object lesson and passages from Psalm 119:160 and John 14:6, students will learn how to compare what they hear with what God says and trust His truth to guide their lives.
(This lesson comes from Truth Be Told – check out the full series breakdown here.)
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FREE PRETEEN MINISTRY LESSON ON TRUTH
Lesson: What Is Truth?
Bible: Psalm 119:160, John 14:6
Bottom Line: We were made by God and for God, so His truth is what shapes us best.
SUPPLIES
Teach:
- Compass
Small Group Activity:
- Washable markers (1 per preteen)
- Sheets of paper (1-3 per preteen)
OPENING GAME
Objective:
To show preteens that what we believe to be true can be wrong.
Game Prep:
No prep needed.
How to Play the Game:
Preteens will be given a crazy “fact” and must decide if it is real or fake. For an active version, have preteens move to one side or the other of the room to vote. For a smaller space, have preteens vote by standing for one option and sitting for the other. Use the game as a tie-in to the idea that it can be difficult to tell truth and lies apart.
SAY: Alright, for our game today we are going to play “Real or Fake.”
You are going to hear some facts, and it’s up to you to decide whether each one is real or fake.
I’ll give you a statement, then you vote on whether you think it’s real or fake.
For a more active version, have preteens move to one side of the room. One side is real, one side is fake. For a smaller space, have them stand for real and sit for fake.
- Honey never expires. People have actually eaten honey that is more than 3,000 years old. (REAL)
- The Great Wall of China is visible from space to the naked eye. (FAKE)
- Cats can’t taste sweetness. (REAL)
- There are more possible chess games than atoms in the observable universe. (REAL)
- The average person swallows eight spiders in their sleep per year. (FAKE)
- It is impossible to hum while holding your nose closed. (FAKE)
- A day on Venus lasts longer than a year on Venus. (REAL)
- Humans only use 10 percent of their brains. (FAKE)
- Lightning never strikes the same place twice. (FAKE)
- A sneeze can travel faster than a car on the highway. (REAL)
SAY: Those were wild!
Did anyone learn something new or realize they had believed a fake fact?
Isn’t it interesting how some of the things we think are real turn out to be false?
Let’s dive more into that with today’s lesson.
TEACH
SAY: This month, we are diving deep into what truth means for a follower of Jesus.
I cannot express enough how important this is.
Truth matters.
As preteens, you may begin seeing that the concept of what is true isn’t quite as clear as you thought it was.
As a kid, you probably just kind of believed everything the adults around you said.
But now you’re getting older.
You’re hearing different opinions, asking bigger questions, and starting to figure out what you believe for yourself.
Here’s the reality: As preteens, you’re starting to dip your toes into the real world.
And with that, it’s normal to start asking questions.
What’s neat is that God isn’t afraid of your questions.
In fact, asking honest questions is often how we grow stronger in our faith.
If you aren’t already, you will soon be challenged with really owning what you believe.
That could be something as simple as how often you should shower in a week – which is really just a matter of opinion for the most part …
… or something as significant as whether God’s Word is the ultimate truth.
One of the biggest lies people believe today is that truth is whatever they want it to be.
There is a common belief that says, “What’s true for me doesn’t have to be true for you.”
But if everyone gets to make up their own truth, then how do we know what’s actually right?
That’s why today’s lesson is so important.
We need a source of truth that doesn’t change based on our feelings, opinions, or circumstances.
When it comes to the bigger questions of life, that’s when truth becomes really important!
What you believe to be true now will shape the rest of your life.
I want you to keep this in mind as we continue talking about this: We were made by God and for God, so His truth is what shapes us best.
We see in the Bible that God created everything, including us.
Because He made it all, He knows what’s true about it.
God then spent hundreds of years guiding and inspiring people to record His truth in a book we call the Bible.
This truth helps us see that we were created by a perfect God, and this God knows all things perfectly.
Because of that, we can trust what He says, and we can know that His truth is the only truth.
That’s very different from what the world teaches.
The world says truth is something we create for ourselves.
God says truth comes from Him.
The Bible actually gives us a few really clear pictures of God and truth.
Let’s look at Psalm 119:160:
160 The very essence of your words is truth; all your just regulations will stand forever.
SAY: God’s Word is truth.
The Bible isn’t just a collection of old stories.
It is God’s own truth, inspired by Him and given to us.
Let’s look at John 14:6:
6 Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.”
SAY: So we know that God’s Word is truth, and Jesus tells us in John that He is the way to that truth.
If we want to know God’s truth, we must seek out Jesus.
Can I have a few volunteers help me with a demonstration?
Bring up a few volunteers and show them the compass.
SAY: See this compass?
There is something special about a compass.
No matter what, it always points north.
I’m going to show the compass to my volunteers, so they can confirm to you guys that it always points north.
I need each of my volunteers to face a different direction for me.
One at a time, let the volunteers hold the compass and point in the direction that the compass is pointing. Each will point the same way, even though they are holding the compass and facing different directions.
SAY: There is something even more impressive about a compass, though.
Begin to walk around, shake the compass, etc., as you say the next line.
SAY: No matter where I go, no matter how much it gets moved or shaken, this compass is always going to point the same direction.
Invite your volunteers to come to you if you’ve moved around. Show the volunteers that the compass is still pointing north, and have them confirm it for the group.
Thank your volunteers and let them sit back down.
SAY: That is exactly how God’s truth works.
No matter what happens in life, God’s Word is always true … even if we’re in a new place or we feel shaken up.
As you get older, you’ll notice that not every message you hear lines up with God’s truth.
Sometimes social media gets it wrong.
Sometimes our friends get it wrong.
Sometimes even our own feelings get it wrong.
It can be something small, like what kinds of words are okay to use.
Or it can be something big, like what we were created for and how we’re supposed to live.
So the question for us is: How can we know what’s true?
What’s the “compass,” if you will, that we can use to guide us in life?
ASK: Where do you think we should go when we’re trying to figure out what’s actually true?
Allow students to respond.
SAY: The answer goes back to what we talked about earlier.
We go to God.
And where is God’s truth kept?
In His Word.
So, as you begin to hear more and more different ideas and opinions about how we should live in this world, take them to God.
Bring your questions, your concerns, and the things you struggle with to God and to people who trust and believe in God.
But here’s something to be aware of:
One of the biggest struggles with God’s truth is that the world loves to take that truth and twist it just a tiny bit.
We see this in the very beginning of the Bible.
When the devil tempted Eve in the garden, he didn’t tell her a completely obvious lie.
He twisted God’s words just a little.
And that tiny twist was enough to convince Eve to disobey God.
That’s still how it works today.
The world and the devil rarely try to get you to throw out everything you believe all at once.
Instead, they try to get you to take small steps away from the truth.
It’s those small steps that begin to create a big difference over time.
Maybe someone says, “God wants you to be happy, so it doesn’t matter what you do.”
That sounds close to truth.
God does care about us!
But He also cares about holiness.
That’s how deception often works – it sounds almost right.
Over time, if we let it, the world will keep encouraging us to take small steps away from the truth until we’re so far off the mark that we don’t even know where to go.
So as you go through your days, think about the truth you believe in.
The next time you hear an idea online, from a friend, or at school, ask yourself:
- Does this line up with what God says in His Word?
- Does this help me follow Jesus?
- Or is it pulling me away from Him?
We were made by God and for God, which means His truth is what shapes us best.
Let’s hold on to that.
SMALL GROUP ACTIVITY
In this activity, preteens will play a game of telephone, but with drawing instead of words. Each preteen will use a washable marker to draw an image on a piece of paper held to the back of the person in front of them. When the person in front feels the drawing on their back, they try to copy it onto the back of the person in front of them. This continues down the line until the last person tries to draw the image on their sheet of paper. Compare the final result to the original image and use it to illustrate how truth can get distorted when it’s passed from person to person rather than going straight to the source. Close by having preteens write Psalm 119:160 on their drawing to take home as a reminder.
SAY: We’ve got an interesting one for you all today.
I need everyone to grab a washable marker.
Hand out washable markers and pieces of paper to each preteen.
SAY: Let’s line up now.
Everyone should be facing the back of the person in front of them.
Here’s what’s going to happen: I will whisper something to the first person in line.
They are going to try to draw that thing on the paper on the back of the person in front of them, gently.
When you feel someone drawing on your back, you can begin copying what you feel onto the back of the paper on the person in front of you.
We’ll keep the chain going all the way to the last person.
The last person will draw what they feel on their sheet of paper.
Then we’ll compare and see how it turned out!
Begin the game. Whisper a simple image to the first person in each line. Feel free to play multiple rounds if time allows.
SAY: That is so interesting, look at how different those pictures are!
The first person knew exactly what the image was.
But by the time it got to the last person, things got pretty messy.
That’s the reality with truth: If we don’t go straight to the source, we can end up with a distorted version of it.
God and His Word are the source of truth, so that’s where we should go.
Now, let’s take our drawings and write Psalm 119:160 on them to take home as a reminder that God is our source of truth.
Help preteens find and copy Psalm 119:160.
SMALL GROUP DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
- If you had a compass that always pointed to one thing besides north, what you would want it to point to? Why?
- What are some places that students your age get information about what is true? How do you know if those sources are trustworthy?
- Why do you think God gave us the Bible?
- Have you noticed truth becoming less clear as you’ve gotten older? What are some things you once trusted that are becoming harder to trust?
- Who can you go to when you’re having a hard time knowing whether something is true or not?
- Why can we trust God as the ultimate guide for our lives?
- What does God creating us have to do with why we should trust Him?
- Can you think of an example of a lie or half-truth you hear regularly?
- How can you fight against those lies or half-truths when you encounter them?
- Is God still there for us when we’re struggling with the truth or doubting what we believe?
End Lesson
Looking for preteen ministry curriculum? Check out the…
Custom Preteen Curriculum: Every church is different. Your curriculum should be too. The trusted curriculum you love is now fully customizable for your church.