Experiences That Help Others

David C Cook COVID-19 Response

Middle School

Lesson 11
Spring 2025
By: RLD Editorial Team
May 18, 2025

Lesson Focus:

God can use our experiences to help others.

Bible Basis:

Genesis 45:1-11

Materials Needed:

Step 1:

Internet access

Step 4:

Internet access
Index cards
Pens/pencils

Summary & Links:

Students will watch a video about high schoolers mentoring those younger than themselves as they discuss how God can use our experiences to help others.

Multiplication Tips and Tricks

Memory Verse:

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as the members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.
—Colossians 3:15

Students will watch a video about high schoolers mentoring those younger than themselves as they discuss how God can use our experiences to help others.

Materials Needed:

Internet access

Greet your students as they enter. When everyone is settled, ask them to remember back to when they learned their multiplication tables.

Which tables were the hardest for you to learn? (Multiplying by 7 or 12 is often the hardest.)
Did anyone teach you any tricks that helped you out? (Allow a few students to share. Some tricks might include remembering that the digits to a 9 multiplication problem always equal 9 [3×9=27, 2+7=9; 5×9=45, 4+5=9, etc.], or when multiplying 7 x 8 just think “5-6-7-8” [56=7×8], etc.)
Did you figure out any tricks that made multiplication (or any other subjects) easier for you? What were you able to pass on to others? (Allow a few students to answer; be prepared to share your own experience.)

One of the great things about mastering a skill or getting through an experience for the first time is that we can share our hard-earned knowledge with others. Let’s watch how these students are sharing their experiences in a way that helps others.

Share this video with your students [3:44; stop at 2:36]: High School Mentors — Lehi High’s Latinos in Action Teach English to Elementary Students

Like Fabiola, these mentors are using their previous experiences of being second language learners to help others navigate through life situations a little easier. Today we’re going to look at someone who used their experiences to help others, even when they didn’t deserve it.

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
Index cards
Pens/pencils

If your class is meeting online, invite students to bring supplies with them to class.

God used Joseph’s bad experiences to put him in a place to help others. God uses our experiences to help others, too. Helping can be difficult at first, so let’s give it a practice run.

Divide students into pairs and ask them to share something that they’ve gone through that they think God could use to help others. Once both partners have shared, invite your students to roleplay helping someone in a similar situation. Ask one partner to pretend to be a younger student with that need, and the other student can practice sharing their experience in a helpful way. Then switch roles. Allow a few students to share with the larger group what experiences they think might be valuable to others. (If your class is meeting online, you can use the breakout room feature of your video chat software.)

God uses our experiences, big or small, to help others. Joseph’s experiences allowed him to protect a whole country, plus his family, from famine. Our experiences might lead to a big, world-shaking impact like that, or they might just make one person’s day a little easier. Our job isn’t to decide how our experiences impact another’s life, but to trust that God will use them perfectly to help others.

Just like the student mentors in our earlier video, God calls us to share our experiences. Distribute supplies (or invite students to have them ready at home). We might not change a person’s entire life, but if we all share a bit of what we have, we can help them. Think of someone you can help this week because of your past experiences. Write the name on your index card along with your thoughts on what you have to offer. Give your students a minute and say a silent prayer for the people they wrote down and for God to open up a door for your students to help.

After the students have finished praying, remind them that their experience and help might seem small, but just like the helpers in the video, it adds up.

End by praying for your students to have the courage and opportunity to share their experiences in a way that will help others and honor God.

About

David C Cook is a nonprofit organization dedicated to publishing and distributing leadership and discipleship resources to help Christians all over the world grow in their faith and pass it on to the next generation. We call this “DiscipleShaping”.

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David C Cook COVID-19 Response

Middle School