Scripture Passage: Mark 6:17-29
Key Verse: Mark 6:26b. “Because of his oaths and his dinner guests, he did not want to refuse her.”
Goals and Objectives:
• To determine what makes peer pressure influence us so strongly.
• To develop a strategy to decrease the influence of our peers over our decisions.
Main Idea: Through forethought and the power of the Holy Spirit, a believer can develop strategies to de-fuse the power of peer pressure.
Materials Needed:
• Copies of the student handout
Background:
Herod Antipas was the son of the Idumean Herod the Great and a Samaritan woman. He ruled as tetrach of Galilee from 4 BC until 39 AD. Herod, as revealed in Scripture and secular writings of the time, was immoral, superstitious, and tricky as a fox. He rejected his first wife in order to seduce and win the wife of his half-brother Philip. John the Baptist confronted him with his sin and was arrested as a result. Later, when Pilate was looking for a way out of the dilemma of the Jews asking for Jesus to be crucified, he sent Him to Herod. When Jesus refused to entertain him, Herod allowed the soldiers under his command to violently mistreat and ridicule him. Then, lacking the courage to make a decision, he sent the Lord back to Pilate (Luke 23:8-12).
Warm up:
Tell the story below, or a similar situation you have observed or experienced, to illustrate peer pressure.
Imagine if you will, that you are an adult at a wedding reception. It is crowded, but you find a table with a few friends from your church. There are some Sunday school teachers, and some deacons among the group. In your church, not very many people drink alcoholic beverages in public because of the Scripture that says, “Determine this, not to put an obstacle or a stumbling block in a brother’s way” (Romans 14:13).
A waiter comes by to pour servings of champagne for the traditional toasts to the bride and groom. The first person declines to accept any, saying that she doesn’t like it. The second person accepts a full serving. The third person says, “I’ll take just a tiny bit.” The fourth, fifth and sixth persons accept small amounts as well.
Get the students thinking by discussing briefly the following questions or ones like them.
• What are they dynamics of this situation?
• Why did the final four take only a very small portion?
• Who do you think was the first person to be influenced by peer pressure? Explain your answer.
Make the transition to the lesson by saying, “We are all influenced by peer pressure. Sometimes we are influenced to do things that are good, and sometimes the choices are both all right. Other times, though, we may be pressured into doing something that we really don’t want to do, or that we consider to be wrong. Let’s look at an incident of peer pressure in the Scripture and see if we can determine what motivated the character and how he might have chosen differently if he had been prepared to stand against the influence of the group he was with.
I. Observe what led to Herod’s foolish and costly decision. Read Mark 6:17-29 with feeling and drama. You might even assign parts and read the passage as a dramatic dialogue with a narrator filling in the details not contained in conversations. After reading and explaining the background of the story as needed for understanding what happened, ask the following question. What elements of the story make this an example of peer pressure?
A. Verses 21 and 26. (Herod had influential and important people as his guests. This implies that he was concerned to impress them.)
B. Verses 22 and 23. (Herod made a statement without thinking of the consequences of what he promised. He put himself into a trap because of his pride.)
C. What did Herod do as a result of trying to impress his guests? (He killed John the Baptist.)
II. Define the tempting elements present in this story. Re-read verse 20, and note Herod’s opinion of John the Baptist. Then, brainstorm answers to this question. “What made Herod consent to having John killed?” Answers will include variations of the following:
A. Pride. He cared what his guests thought of him.
B. Making a decision and rash statement without thinking. With some forethought, he could have rewarded Herodias’s daughter appropriately without losing face before his guest. In fact, he could have avoided a gross and violent spectacle.
III. Determine if the same elements are present in today’s experiences with peer pressure.
Divide the students into groups of four to six. Assign have each group to develop and act out a short skit that illustrates a peer pressure situation. After each group presents its skit, discuss the following questions in order determine how peer pressure was involved.
A. What kinds of people were present in the situation? Were they people you would want to impress in some way?
B. In the situation you were involved in, was there any pressure to make a decision quickly?
C. To what degree, on a scale of 1 to 5, did you feel pressured by the people or the situation?
D. What would have made the pressure less?
E. Do you think the people in the skit made a good, neutral, or bad decision? Why?
Action Point:
After all the skits have been presented and debriefed using the questions above, help the class determine what they can do that will help them made better decisions when they might be tempted to follow their peers. As you discuss what the people in the skits could have done better, develop some principles like the following that can be used to lessen the influence of peers. Students can record the principles on their handouts.
Principles for making decisions in peer pressure situations:
• In my heart, whom do I want to please most, God or my peers? (Determine to please God and godly people rather than peers. Seeking to please parents and teachers will help young people make wiser choices.)
• What standards will I use to determine what is OK to do and what is not? (Set standards of behavior, attitudes, and actions that is in line with God’s Word. Young people need to know what they stand for or they will fall to whatever situation arises.)
• When should I decide about how to respond in a peer pressure situation? In advance or on the spot? Why? (Think about how to handle situations that may arise before they do. If you have a ready answer to negative peer pressure, you won’t be as likely to cave in because of the pressure of the moment.)
• How can the Holy Spirit living in me help me when I find myself in a situation in which I’m tempted to follow my peers by doing something I know is wrong? (Practice “Help me, God” prayers. The Holy Spirit resides within every believer. One of His functions is to help us determine right from wrong and give us the power to choose correctly (John 14:12; Galatians 5:16, 25).)
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