YOUTH GROUP LESSON ON SOLOMON

Here’s a free youth group lesson on Solomon based on Ecclesiastes 12:13 and Matthew 22:36-40.  

Bottom Line: ​​A wise life acknowledges God’s incredible love, strength, and faithfulness, choosing to obey Him.

Includes a fun opening game to set up the lesson and small group discussion questions to use afterward. 

Enjoy!

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YOUTH GROUP LESSON ON SOLOMON

Bible: Ecclesiastes 12:13, Matthew 22:36-40

Bottom Line: A wise life acknowledges God’s incredible, unparalleled love, strength, and faithfulness, and chooses to be obedient to Him.

GAME SUPPLIES:

• Solomon or Some Old Man game sheet (download here)
• Rope or tape to divide your space in half
• Timer
• Prizes for the winner(s)

GAME PREP:

Print off Solomon or Some Old Man worksheet.

HOW TO PLAY THE GAME: 

Say: Today we are playing a crazy game called “Solomon or Some Old Man.” 

It’s all about proverbs.

Think of a proverb as a little piece of wisdom that people have learned over time and passed down through generations.

It’s like a life hack or a shortcut to understanding something important about how to live well.

Proverbs are short, catchy phrases that give advice or make a point about human nature and life.

A famous guy we read about in the Bible named Solomon is said to be the wisest man to ever live.

We’ll learn more about him later.

He wrote down a lot of proverbs for us in Proverbs and Ecclesiastes in our Bibles.

In this game, we’re going to see how well you know your proverbs.

In a minute I will read a proverb.

You’ll have 15 seconds to decide who said it.

If you think Solomon said it, move to the left side of the room.

Point to the left side of the room – the student’s left, your right.

But if you think Some Old Man other than Solomon said it, move to the right side of the room.

Point to the right side of the room – the student’s right, your left.

If you guess right, you get to keep playing.

If you guess wrong, you’re out and will sit down over here.

Point to a designated place where those who are out are to sit outside of the play area.

Last one standing wins!

Ready?

Read off each proverb from the Solomon or Some Old Man sheet, allow students 15 seconds to move, read who said the proverb, and have incorrect guessers sit down.

Then crown your winner(s).

TEACH

Say: Today we are going to take a close look at Solomon.

This guy had life hacks, epic insights, street smarts, mind fuel, big brain energy, and nuggets of truth.

In other words, he was a real wise guy.

The wisest guy to ever live, in fact.

Solomon was the child of King David and Bathsheba. 

Maybe a little drama with that couple, but that’s a story for another day.

Solomon’s dad, King David, appointed him king with a whole lot of family upheaval that would rival any Netflix drama today.

It is believed that Solomon was in his early 20s when he took the crown and sat on the throne.

You might feel like 20 is old, but just imagine if you were put in charge of a whole nation a couple of years after you graduated high school.

Would you be ready to rule? Probably not.

Solomon probably felt like he wasn’t ready to rule the people of Israel at all.

His dad, after all, had been an epic king – King David!

Was he qualified? Was he up to the task? Could he fill the royal sandals of King David?

He probably didn’t think so.

So when God appeared to Solomon in a dream and offered to grant him whatever he asked for, Solomon requested wisdom to discern between good and evil so he could properly lead the people of Israel.

I’d like to think that I’d ask for the same, but truthfully, I think I might ask for ridiculous wealth or so many followers on social media that they couldn’t be counted or beauty or fame or the classic wish – a million more wishes.

But Solomon asked for wisdom.

And God was pleased with him for asking for such a selfless thing! So God granted Solomon immeasurable wisdom.

And as a result of his humility in asking for such a selfless thing as wisdom, God gave Solomon fame and fortune too.

King Solomon is known for writing three important books in the Bible:

• Proverbs: This book is packed with wise sayings and practical tips for living a godly life.
• Ecclesiastes: A thought-provoking book that dives into the big questions about the meaning of life.
• Song of Solomon: A beautiful, poetic book that celebrates love and marriage as God intended.

These books show Solomon’s wisdom and insights on life, love, and faith.

It is in the book of Ecclesiastes where we find the grand finale of King Solomon’s insights into living a life on God’s path – his final thoughts.

I think the instructions we share as our “last words” are very important. 

Especially the last words of the wisest man to ever live.

Right? We might want to pay close attention to those.

Can someone read Ecclesiastes 12:13 for us please?

Allow a student to read this passage

That’s the whole story. Here now is my final conclusion: Fear God and obey his commands, for this is everyone’s duty.

The wisest man to ever walk on this planet gives us two things that would be the wisest of all things we could ever do.

What are those?

Allow students to answer

Exactly – fear God and obey His commands.

Let’s start with “obey His commands.” 

What exactly are those? What commands?

It’s amazing but someone else asked the exact same question to Jesus.

Matthew 22:36-40 says:

36 “Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?”

37 Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”

Jesus says the whole law, all the commandments we are to follow, fall into two boxes:

1. Love God
2. Love others

Obeying God’s commandments means that every day we love God and we love others. 

What are some examples of how we can do that? 

Allow students to answer

Great answers! It might mean:

• Extending grace or mercy
• Being patient
• Telling the truth
• Choosing to worship God instead of myself or something else
• Putting God’s ways above the world’s ways
• Praying instead of worrying … or
• Being thoughtful, selfless, kind, and full of justice

The second instruction Solomon gives during his last words speech is what?

Allow students to answer.

Right! Solomon told us to “fear God.” 

“But hey, you’ve told us before that the Bible tells us not to fear,” you might be thinking.

“Do not be afraid and do not fear are lessons you’ve taught us so many times before!” 

First, thank you for paying attention to all those other lessons.

Second, fearing the Lord is different than being afraid.

Fearing the Lord is less about feeling scared and more about understanding that God is incredible and amazing.

When we fear the Lord, we understand that He alone is the creator, the author, and the one in charge of everything.

It’s not about being afraid of Him, but instead being in awe of His great power and strength.

So to “fear God,” as Solomon says, is to first recognize that He is exactly who He says He is:

• All-powerful
• All-knowing
• Always-present
• Merciful
• Loving
• Just
• Immutable – meaning He never ever changes!
• Faithful

And then it is to treat Him exactly how He deserves, with reverence and respect through:

• Worship
• Love
• Trust
• Humility
• Gratitude
• Obedience

And there it is again – obedience.

Solomon, the wisest guy to ever live, left us with his final tidbit of wisdom.

Likely what he felt was the most important of all

Fear God and obey His commands.

Let’s pray.

Close in prayer. 

SMALL GROUP DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1. If God came to you and offered to grant you one wish, what would you wish for? Why?
2. Why do you think Solomon chose wisdom as his one wish from God?
3. What do you think it means to “fear God”?  
4. How could that idea change the way you live your life every day?
5. How do you think following God’s commandments fits in with your life today? 
6. What are some things about loving God and loving people that you find really difficult?
7. Do you ever find it hard to make choices that line up with what you believe is right? How do you handle those times?
8. Ecclesiastes 12:13 says “That’s the whole story. Here now is my final conclusion: Fear God and obey his commands, for this is everyone’s duty.” What does it mean when it says it’s “everyone’s duty” to fear God and follow His commands? How does this affect what you feel responsible for in your own life?
9. Ecclesiastes talks about finding meaning in life.  How does this verse help you think about what life is all about?
10. How do you think understanding and following Solomon’s final instructions might change the way you interact with your friends, family, people you don’t really like?

End lesson.

Looking for youth ministry curriculum? Check out the…

A CHRISTMAS STORY – A new & improved 4-week youth ministry series taking an in-depth look at the Christmas story to show the infinite, knowledge, power, care and love of God.

Looking for another freebie? Check out this…

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