Genesis 28: 12-16 (NIV)
“He (Jacob) had a dream in which he saw a stairway resting on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. There above it stood the Lord, and he said: ‘I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are lying. Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring. I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.’ When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought, ‘Surely the Lord is in this place, and I was not aware of it.’”
Use this same idea with your students – talk about what success looks like and what is required for success to happen – in lots of different circumstances and examples.
- Read the Biblical account of Jacob’s dream in Genesis 28…draw attention to the different characters within this story and what each is doing.
- Discuss what success might look like through God’s eyes. (You could use different character traits or throughlines here as examples.)
- Help students to notice what Jacob was doing when God made His promises: Resting.
- Unpack what it means to “rest” in God.
- For younger students, bring in a small ladder as a visual aid. Re-enact the story of Jacob’s dream.
- Focus discussions around how much God loves them and wants to bless them.
- List the promises that God gave to Jacob. Which of those promises does God make to us today?
Read Matthew 5:14-16 (NIV): “You are the light of the world. A city on a hill can not be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.”
- Discuss with students how God works through us to bless others and to draw people to Himself. This is success in God’s eyes. When God blesses and ministers to us (at the bottom of the ladder), HIs light can shine through us to bless and serve others.
Photo by Vitaliy Grin on Unsplash
