I Can Be Courageous Like Jesus

FHE Lesson
by Shawni Pothier, Digitized and adapted by Lara Goold


Materials needed: Scriptures

Purpose: This lesson is meant to teach children that being humble and forgiving takes great courage and Jesus
showed us throughout His life how to be courageous.

Preparation: Have the medals made and strung with yarn, so they are ready to award. You’ll also want to think of
specific instances where each child has made a courageous decision recently.

Scripture: “…Be strong and of good courage, and do it: fear not, nor be dismayed: for the Lord God, even my God,
will be with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee, until thou hast finished all the work for the
service of the house of the Lord. ” 1 Chronicles 28:20

Opening song(s) and prayer:

“I’m Trying to Be Like Jesus,” Hymns, page 241
“Nephi’s Courage,” Children’s Songbook, page 120

Lesson:

Jesus’ Examples of Courage:

Take the “Jesus figure” and have the children move Him from page to page as you share
examples of courage from Christ’s life.

Reward/Recognition (for everyone):

Take out the “medals” and recognize each of your children for specific ways they have been
courageous. (For example: “Thank you _________for telling the truth the other day. I know
that was hard and took a lot of courage.” Or “Thank you___________for saying you were
sorry. That was courageous.”

“What Takes More Courage?” Game:

Line your family up at one end of the room. Read the questions on the card. When a child raises
their hand and answers correctly, they can take one step forward. If they answer incorrectly,
they take a step back. The first child to cross the room wins. (We’re kind of competitive in our
house, so we just had everyone step forward with each correct answer. No one really won, but
no one got mad either, so it was a success! )

Award of Courage (to be re-awarded week-to-week):

Show the children the Award of Courage certificate and have them think of things that either
their siblings or they themselves to be courageous like Jesus. Give the award to whomever you
feel has shown the most courageous example to hang on their bedroom door. Explain that next
week (at Sunday dinner or at FHE) you can talk about courage and someone else will get to hang
the award on their door. This creates a great way to continue the emphasis on how important it is
to have courage and to choose the right. It also gives a good outlet for children to share things
that happen in their lives.
 Bear Testimony of the blessings that come from being courageous and standing up for
truth and righteousness.

Closing song: “To Be a Pioneer,” Children’s Songbook, page 218 (Make sure you sing both verses)
“Let Us All Press On,” Hymns, page 243

Closing Prayer:

Refreshments: See below for a yummy recipe

Enrichment: Based on the ages and attention spans of your children, choose one or more of the following enrichment
activities to enhance the message of the lesson. Enrichment activities do not necessarily need to be completed on the
same night as the lesson. We often use them as reinforcement/reminders during the week.

Enrichment ideas :

More scriptures on courage:

Romans 8:31, Psalm 23:4, Deuteronomy 31:6, 1 Nephi 3:7, 1 Nephi 4:1-3.

Courageous Scripture Heroes:

Post pictures from the Gospel Art Kit of courageous scripture heroes. After telling a simple account of a
pictured scripture hero, have the children identify the correct picture. If there is time, review the stories
by handing a picture to a child and ask her/him to retell the story.

Scripture Memorization:
Together as a family, work on memorizing 1 Nephi 3:7 and talk about the courage Nephi showed.

Courage in History:
Brainstorm (or spotlight) some real people from history that showed courage—people like George
Washington, Christopher Columbus, Thomas Jefferson, Mother Theresa, all of the signers of the
Declaration of Independence, etc.

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No-Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars (tastes like homemade Reese’s PB cups)
From http://recipeshoebox.blogspot.com.

The ingredients:

BARS:
1-1/4 cups peanut butter
3/4 cup butter, softened
2 cups powdered sugar
3 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/2 cup semi-sweet mini chocolate chips

TOPPING:
3/4 cup peanut butter
1-1/2 cups semi-sweet mini chocolate chips (the rest of the bag after you've used the 1/2 cup for the base)

DIRECTIONS: Grease 9x13-inch baking pan. Beat 1-1/4 cups peanut butter and butter in a large mixing bowl until creamy.
Gradually beat in 1 cup powdered sugar. With wooden spoon, work in remaining powdered sugar, graham cracker crumbs, and 1/2
cup mini-chocolate chips. Press evenly into prepared pan. Smooth top with spatula.

Melt remaining 3/4 cup peanut butter and the rest of the bag of chocolate chips in medium saucepan over the lowest possible heat,
stirring constantly until smooth. Spread over graham cracker crust in pan. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour or until chocolate is firm; cut
into bars. Store in refrigerator. Makes 24 bars. Enjoy!

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For
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For
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For
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For
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For
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FHE
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Jesus’ Courage (to be used with the “Jesus figure” and scenes from His life)
There are many people who are courageous. Alma was courageous when he left wicked King
Noah to teach the words of Abinadi. Ammon was courageous when he wen to preach the gospel
to his enemies, the Lamanites. Joseph Smith was courageous because he wasn’t afraid of all
the mean men who called him a liar. The prophet is courageous each day when he stands up
for what is right even if others don’t agree. He guides us to do what Jesus would do so we can
return to live with Heavenly Father.

But the most courageous person who ever lived is Jesus Christ. (Use the scenes from Jesus’ life
and the “Jesus figure” included as you tell about each of the following. For older children, you
may want to show the picture with Jesus and have them guess what He is doing in it and why it
took courage to do what He did. You could also ask them what they could do in their own lives
that takes courage correlating with each picture you discuss.

1. Jesus knew from a very young age that He was someone very special. He knew that He
was going to be different from everyone else. Jesus knew that His life would not be easy, and
yet, He went forward with courage to do what His Father in Heaven planned for Him to do.

2. When Jesus was very young, He went and studied with the High Priests in the temple.
This took a lot of courage because He was so much younger than they were. But even as a
small child, He believed in who He was. It takes great courage to have faith in yourself.

3. Jesus taught a beautiful Sermon on the Mount of Beatitudes where He said if someone
hits you or hurts you, you should never hit them back. It takes more courage to walk away from
a fight than to hit someone. He also said, “Love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do
good to those who hate you, and pray for those who are mean to you.” Doing those things is so
much harder and takes much more courage. It is easier to be mean to the people who are mean
to you. Jesus only showed humble courage, even when people where mean to Him.

4. Jesus taught that if you see someone who is sick or hungry or hurt, you should help them.
He helped everyone He saw. He said that if we help these people, it is like we are helping Him.
It takes more courage, and is harder, to help people we don’t know.

5. Once Jesus and His disciples took a boat out on the Sea of Galilee. While He was
sleeping, a great storm arose. The huge waves beat down on the little ship until it was sinking.
His friends were very scared, so they yelled at Jesus, waking Him up, saying, “Don’t you care if
we die?” And Jesus calmly stood and said to the sea, “Peace, be still.” The waves stopped and
storm went away. He said to his disciples, “Why were you afraid? How is it that you have no
faith?” Jesus showed great courage in the face of a storm because He knew who He was and
had faith in Heavenly Father. He never doubted that He was special.

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 6. At the Last Supper, Jesus knew that one of his friends would betray Him and tell the
Roman guards where He was. That would be very scary, but Jesus forgave His friend Judas for
betraying Him. Jesus knew that He had to be brave and face what He needed to do.

7. When Jesus was in the Garden of Gethsemane, He prayed that he would be strong enough
to die for all the sins of the world. He asked Heavenly Father if it would be okay if He decided
He didn’t really want to die. But then, with a courageous heart, He said, “I will do what you
want me to do.”
After the soldiers took Jesus to be judged, the mean people tore his clothes and spit on Him. He
never yelled back at them. Jesus showed great courage by being humble and not angry. And
when they hung His body on the cross, He forgave them and loved them.

Sometimes we think that to be courageous we have to be tough, or face many dangers. But as
Jesus taught, to be courageous, we must be humble and forgiving. To be like Jesus takes the
greatest courage of all.

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Medals of Courage: (cut these out, punch a hole through the top, laminate if desired, and thread
a piece of yarn through to make a necklace) Make at least one per person and more if you’ll
keep passing them out during the week.

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“What Takes More Courage?” Game:
What takes more courage, to hit someone who hits you, or to turn and walk away?

What takes more courage, to not talk about others or to pass on gossip?

What takes more courage, to say you are sorry or to stay angry?

What takes more courage, to stick with your old friends, or to be nice to the new kid
in school?

What takes more courage, to help someone up when they fall down or to laugh at
that person?

What takes more courage, to tell the truth even if you will get in trouble, or to cover
up the truth with more lies?

What takes more courage, to come home when your mom asks you to, or to stay
with your friends because they will tease you if you leave?

What takes more courage, to copy off your friend’s homework, or to get a bad
grade?

What takes more courage, to ignore someone who hurt your feelings or to talk to
them and tell them how you feel?

What takes more courage, to turn off the TV when a bad show comes on, or to keep
watching it?

What takes more courage, to keep your language clean, or to repeat bad words you
have heard?

What takes more courage, to tease the child who is different when your friends are
laughing and think you are funny, or to be a friend to the child?

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Quote for the Week:

“ Life's journey is not traveled on a

freeway devoid of obstacles, pitfalls,
and snares. Rather, it is a pathway
marked by forks and turnings. Decisions
are constantly before us. To make them
wisely, courage is needed; the courage
to say no, the courage to say yes.
Decisions do determine destiny.”
Pres. Thomas S. Monson

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