Confirmation Lesson
A Split Kingdom
Opening Prayer
Focus for a few minutes in silent reflection on a recent conflict you have experienced at school, home, or other places. Then pray the following:

Lord God, you have called us to be in community with other believers;
Help us be caring and patient.
God, you have given us commandments to show us how to treat others;
Help us follow your commands.
God, sometimes we forget and stray from what you want us to do;
Help us accept the consequences of our actions.
God, when we are selfish in what we say and do,
Forgive us and help us think of others first.
Open our eyes, ears, hearts, and minds as we learn more about how you work in the lives of your faithful people.
Amen.
Similarities and Differences
Get together with 3 or more people (for confirmation, we broke out into groups of 4-5) and figure out 3 things you all have in common and 3 things that only one of you has and no one else in the group does. Write those on your Attendance Makeup Form.
Think about it...
Tonight's story of a split kingdom will explore the tribes of God's people splitting because they couldn't get past differences and focus on their similar faith enough to come together as one.
Think about a time in your life when you found yourself in disagreement with someone you cared about. Maybe it was a family member or a friend or a member of the congregation.
  • What issue or topic did you disagree about?
  • What was at stake for you in the conflict?
  • How long did you and this other person disagree?
  • Was it painful for you to be at odds with someone you cared about?
  • Were you able to resolve the conflict? If so, how did the resolution come about?
  • Did you find an agreeable compromise?
1 Kings 11
Read 1 Kings 11:1-13
Verses 1-4: set the scene for what was about to happen
Verses 9-13: we discover God’s response to Solomon.

Because of Solomon’s unfaithfulness to God and the unfaithfulness of the people, God warned that the once-united kingdom of Israel would split apart and come to an end. When Solomon died, most of his kingdom was ruled by someone other than his son, as God had said would happen if Solomon did not stop worshipping idols.

What do you think?...

• What did Solomon do to
upset God, and what was
God’s response to
Solomon?

• Why do you think God
chose to remove the
kingdom not from
Solomon, but from his
son Rehoboam?

• Why do you think
Rehoboam was punished
for the sin of his father?

• Even though God
punished Solomon and
Rehoboam, what was the
promise God made to
them? Why did God offer
this silver lining?

• Would you say that
Solomon was a good
king or a bad king?
1 Kings 12:1-14
Solomon had imposed high taxes and slave labor on the people of Israel. After Solomon died, Jeroboam asked King Rehoboam to “lighten the yoke” placed on his people. Rehoboam refused. This strategy was perhaps the last straw. The ten northern tribes split off and formed their own kingdom. They chose Jeroboam as king of the Northern Kingdom, Israel. Rehoboam was left with the Southern Kingdom, Judah.
Lord's Prayer - 7th Petition
Read Martin Luther's description of the 7th petition of the Lord's Prayer
from the Small Catechism:
We are asking God to watch over us so that we don’t get lured into temptations that can result in our being unfaithful to God. God doesn’t remove temptations from our lives, but God gives us what we need when we are tempted—grace. God takes us as we are, sinners who don’t always resist temptation, and forgives us, time and time again. That grace of God we receive in God’s word and the sacraments (baptism and communion). When we are weak, God’s word makes us strong and able to overcome all the temptations we face.
Do you have any questions?
If you have any questions or would like to share your thoughts, you can email Leisha at ltays@oursaviourslc.org