Leader s manual SP3 Trusting God and living for him

Transcription

1 Leader s manual SP3 Trusting God and living for him A focus on prayer

2 Contents How it works 4 Unit introduction 6 1 Prayer and praise 1 Samuel 1:1 2: Nehemiah s prayers Nehemiah 1:1 2:8; So sorry Luke 18: Jesus prays Matthew 6:5 13; Mark 1: Chosen by God 1 Samuel 16: The Lord, my Shepherd Psalm 23; 95: David and Goliath 1 Samuel 17: King David 2 Samuel 2:4 7; 5:1 4; Always with us John 14:25 27; Acts 1:1 4; 2: The fruit of the Spirit Galatians 5:22,23 79 Serious 3 play

3 Serious play How it works How the sessions are structured Bible passage: All sessions are Bible-focused Aim This is the big idea to be taught during this session. It is child-oriented. Outcomes These statements break down the aim into do-able chunks. There are generally only three, so that the leader can keep them in mind and check up later whether or not they were achieved. They are broken up into: knowledge information, concepts, beliefs understanding more personal ways of grasping the concepts in the session life application ways of making links between knowledge and children s lives, and reflecting on what kind of change might happen in response to God s word. Memory verse This verse will generally be based on the CEV Bible and will be taught during the session. Notes These notes for the leader give Bible context and background. There are hints regarding the theology of the passage, where it fits in salvation history and how it may properly be applied to both leader and child. There might also be comments about the management of the session content and special comments when needed about visual aids and activities. Leader s prayer This section links to the aim and outcomes, mentioning the way this session will actually call for a response from the child and make a difference in their lives. A summary is given at the beginning of the session of all the equipment needed by the leader and when it will be used. Some items will be given as optional. The gear needed for the Start up and concluding Activities is given with the particular activity. Leaders should choose these in advance to ensure that they have all that is needed. It is advisable to try out any unfamiliar activity before the session to make sure it works. Get ready This section gives hints about important preparation to be done before the session starts. Start up During this time activities occur that introduce the theme, aim and ideas of the session. There may be a few activities to choose from. Each activity has a specified purpose. Your choice of activities will often depend on the children in your group and the space available. NOTE: Sometimes during Bible focus time there will be a special comment to the leader about an issue that may come up during the session. Serious 4 play

4 Bible focus Links? Links are made with the previous sessions. Connections with life are raised and the children are encouraged to discuss real life situations they face. We will raise the issue here and it will be drawn to a conclusion during Bringing it together. Teaching time This is the body of the session. It involves teaching and learning activities. For this youngest group the story time is usually presented first and activities done after to reinforce the main ideas raised by the story. The story time has as its central focus the explanation of the Bible text in an age-appropriate way so that the aim of the session is reached. The activities ensure that all the session outcomes are achieved. What the leader actually says to the children is presented in bold text. Directions to the leader are in normal type. In this part of the session the children are helped to understand the Bible. Concepts and activities are ageappropriate. The activities are designed to reinforce the Bible teaching by revising the main concepts and testing the children s recall. Application is an important part of this section and it is done carefully, while being true to the passage and to the developmental needs of the children. At this youngest age group we are laying the foundations for further knowledge and understanding. Regardless of the stage of their faith, they can be called on to respond and encouraged to know how God s word challenges them to love and trust Jesus as their Saviour and Lord. Bringing it together This section is really important. The leader is encouraged to allow enough time for this as connections are discussed that impact the children s lives. There may be open-ended questions that encourage children to respond in their own terms. We are aiming for honest responses from the children. The Memory verse is often taught during this part of the session. Prayer This will normally follow Bringing it together and allows for the issues highlighted by the children to be prayed about. Leaders will model prayer and also teach children how to pray both for themselves and for others, and for issues in the wider world. Activities After the more formal learning time the leader is encouraged to choose one or more of the activities included in each session as a way of reinforcing the main learning ideas and also allowing the children to interact with the adult leaders and also their fellow group members. Munchies Many of the sessions contain ideas for Munchies food and drink that relate to the session for the children to enjoy. It is a good idea to check with parents for any allergies that their children might have before serving food and drink. NOTE: The Links in each session help children to recall what they have already learned. Leaders may wish to include a reflective session also. This icon shows where in the session the Bible will be read to the children so they can listen to and interact with the word of God. Music spot Various songs, on readily available CDs, are suggested to link into the session and to provide a high-interest flow to the activities. Think about it Here the leader is encouraged to think through issues that occurred in the session and reflect on possible strategies for the future. Think ahead This is a very brief indication of what the leader will need to plan ahead for next session. It may involve equipment, people, and so on. Serious 5 play

5 Unit introduction Trusting God and living for him A focus on prayer Unit aim The children will learn about the importance of prayer and the Holy Spirit as they trust God and live for him. Unit outcomes By the end of this unit the children will: know that God wants us to talk to him in prayer understand that God has kept all the promises he made to his people understand that God sent the Holy Spirit to help his people be more like Jesus begin to appreciate ways in which the Holy Spirit changes us. Memory verses Sessions 1 4 Pray about everything. Philippians 4:6 (CEV) Sessions 5 7 Never stop praying. 1 Thessalonians 5:17 (CEV) Sessions 8 10 God always keeps his promises. Numbers 23:19b (CEV) Where this fits in the Bible Timeline Creation Abraham (ca BC) Samuel (ca 1100 BC) David (ca BC) Nehemiah (ca BC) Jesus Us (AD 21st century) We encourage the children to understand that Jesus is the centre-piece of God s plan and that we can also be part of the plan by having faith in Jesus ourselves. Serious 6 play

6 Notes Bible background These ten sessions have a strong focus on prayer as a means of showing trust in our faithful, promisekeeping, loving God. The children will consider how they can show trust in God through prayer to him at any time and about any part of their lives. The children will also learn about the Holy Spirit who God sent to be with his people and to help them live for him. The first four sessions focus on a number of different Bible characters who prayed, showing a complete trust and dependence on God. The first session introduces Hannah and explores how she prayed to God for a child, placing her complete trust in him despite her misery. The second session considers Nehemiah s cries for help both before and during the rebuilding of Jerusalem. In these sessions the children will be encouraged to pray both in times of need and times of praise. Sessions three and four focus on some different ways we can pray. Session three contrasts the prayer of the proud Pharisee with that of the humble and repentant tax collector. Session four examines how Jesus prayed and introduces the children to the Lord s Prayer. Sessions five to eight explore the story of David, the shepherd boy who became a chosen king. His dependence on God is highlighted and God s character as a faithful, promise-keeping God is further exemplified. God is shown to be a helper for his people, always coming through in times of need. The final two sessions introduce the Holy Spirit, as one sent by God, who helps people to live God s way. The children will hear how and why the Holy Spirit came. They will also understand that the Holy Spirit helps us to grow to be more like Jesus. Faith development Children grow and develop physically, emotionally, cognitively and spiritually at different rates and in different ways. The unit aims to encourage growth in trust of our loving and caring Creator God, for each child at his or her own pace. No matter what stage of their faith development, they can be challenged to respond to God with trust in his faithfulness. involves creatively exploring our beliefs. Trusting involves the relational side of faith. Doing is the way we act as an outworking of our faith. Children, like adults, benefit from learning approaches that involve exploring faith from each of these four aspects. These sessions have been written with this in mind. Special features The leader s pack includes: the Leader s manual of ten sessions a set of 12 full-colour A3 Leader s posters a sample of the children s Prayer book. Extra books may be purchased from CEP so that every child has their own copy to work with in each session. a set of photocopiable masters a variety of Visual aids and activities for each session. Leader s posters There is a Leader s poster to be displayed in each session, summarising the theme of the Bible teaching. These are useful for reinforcing teaching, summarising and recalling past sessions, and creating a colourful timeline of learning. Children s component The children will receive a Prayer book. In the book there is a page that the children will decorate and add to each session to reinforce the session aim. The children will cut out a prayer for each session from the centre pages of the book and stick this on the appropriate page for the session. During sessions the books can also be used as aids for revision. After the children have completed the page for the session, the books will be collected. The children will be able to take home their books in the final session as a visual reminder of what they have learned. You may wish to cover each child s book with clear adhesive Contact at the beginning of the unit. Faith has been described as having four aspects: believing, imagining, trusting and doing. (See Children Finding Faith by Francis Bridger, SU, England, 2000, available from CEP.) Believing involves having faith in the truth of the gospel and a reliance on the promises of God in Christ. Imagining Serious 7 play

7 Activities Children all learn in a variety of ways. Serious play is for three to five year-olds who enjoy and learn through play, are either non-readers or beginning readers, and are active in the years before formal schooling. Because of this, the story-time component of Bible focus is kept short and to the point, and the main concepts of the Bible passages are then reinforced in the activities. At this stage the children are beginning to learn how to relate to God through his word, the Bible, and also through prayer. It is important that the leaders model this behaviour and encourage the children to follow their example. A Memory verse activity is included in each session and is presented in an interactive way so that the children will begin to build their own personal store of Bible verses. Photocopiable masters Photocopiable masters have also been included with most sessions to provide extra craft activities to reinforce key learning concepts or the Memory verse. The opportunity should be taken when helping the children with these activities to talk to them and learn more about each individual. When choosing the activities you will include in each session, the number of children in your group, their individual skills and the space you have available will be important considerations. Try to encourage a wide range of activities so that the different learning skills of the children will be catered for. Purchase of the Leader s pack entitles you to make one copy for each member of your group. Music spot The Earth movers CD has been especially developed by CEP for use with the 3 5 year old age group. On the CD are songs about God and his promises, movement music for dance, music to cue the children to come back to the leader and get ready to listen, music to get up and boogie to, and music for popular games such as pass the parcel and musical chairs. Often the music helps the children to remember the significant learning that has taken place in the session. You may make one copy only of the CD onto audio cassette for use in the context of your church. This CD is available separately from your kids@church supplier. Each session recommends the song or songs from the Earth movers CD that are most appropriate for reinforcing the key concepts of the session or the unit as a whole. Other children s CDs you may find useful are: Promises, promises, CEP How cool is that, Johnny Burns 10,9,8 God is great, Colin Buchanan Remember the Lord, Colin Buchanan Live in the big tent, Colin Buchanan Whoopah wahey, Doug Horley These CDs are available from CEP. Serious 8 play

8 1 Prayer and praise 1 Samuel 1:1 2:11 Aim To help the children know that our prayers matter to God because he cares for us. Outcomes By the end of this session the children will: know that Hannah prayed for a child and that she joyfully praised God when her prayer was answered understand that we can tell God anything in prayer appreciate that prayer is a way of showing God, and others, that we trust him. Memory verse Pray about everything. Philippians 4:6 (CEV) Notes Read 1 Samuel 1:1 2:11. This session introduces the theme of trusting God and living for him. Hannah s story is of great significance in God s plan for the salvation of his people. Hannah s son, Samuel, was used by God to anoint David as Saul s successor. God s own Son, Jesus, would come from David s royal line. Samuel was a very important figure in Israel s history. He was a link with the period of the judges and acted in the role of both judge and prophet. Under his leadership, the kingship was established in Israel. Even when kings were established in Israel, the king was subject to God s law and the word of God s prophet (1 Samuel 10:25; 12:23). The king was to be an instrument of God s rule over his people. Although Hannah was barren, her husband, Elkanah, still loved her. In those times, a wife s worth was often measured by her ability to bear children. In fact, it was seen as a disgrace for a married woman to have no children. Hannah suffered sorely from the taunts of Elkanah s second wife, Peninnah, who easily bore children. Although miserable because of her situation, Hannah showed her deep trust in God through her prayer for help, as well as her selflessness in promising to give up her much wanted son to God s service. Shortly afterward, God blessed Hannah with a son, Samuel. After weaning him, she duly took him to the temple at the time of the yearly sacrifice and offered him to the Lord as she had promised. Samuel was taken into the care of Eli, the priest. Despite her probable anguish at having to give up her son, Hannah praised God. Her prayer of praise reflected a sound understanding of God s character. It is significant that here she rejoices in God, rather than in the son he gave her. Also significant is the prophetic statement of 1 Samuel 2:10 in which Hannah speaks God s message of the chosen king who will judge the whole earth. Leader s prayer Share with God your own longings and disappointments. Praise him for his loving care and acceptance through Jesus. Pray that the children will come to enjoy this same intimacy with God. Serious 9 play

9 Leader s poster 1 (see Get ready) A CEV Bible marked at 1 Samuel 1:11 Two prepared copies of the Faces photocopiable (page 15) for each child and the leader (see Get ready) A few inflated balloons and a permanent marker Soft rugs, pillows, toys and quilts A children s Prayer book for each child CD of choice and CD player for Take home and Memory verse activities for chosen activities in Start up and Activities sections Food for Munchies Get ready Fold Leader s poster 1 in half along the fold line. Prepare a Match the feelings game for each child as follows. Make two copies of the Faces photocopiable (page 15) for each child. Make two extra copies for the leader. On half of the photocopies, cut around the grid to make a game board; on the other half, cut out each individual face to make game cards. If possible, glue the game boards and cards to cardboard cut to size to make them stronger. Place each child s set of cards in a separate envelope or resealable bag. If you have very young children in your group, it may be easier to cut out the cards after the children have coloured the sheet during the Faces activity in Start up. Start up Do the Faces activity, then choose from the other activities as time permits. For future reference, tick the activities you choose. Faces Purpose: To begin to consider different feelings. A prepared Match the feelings game board and cards for each child and the leader (see Get ready) Coloured pens and pencils Adhesive Contact and scissors (optional) Invite the children to colour their game board and cards. Talk about what sort of face is on each card. Ask the children which faces they like and don t like. Discuss which one shows how they feel today. Encourage them to think of times when someone might make each type of face. Put the children s game boards and cards aside. You might like to ask a helper to cover the game boards and cards with adhesive Contact ready for Bible focus. One-by-one, hold up each card from the leader s set and encourage the children to mimic the face that they see. How do I feel today? Purpose: To consider our feelings and the fact that we can talk to God about them. For extra impact Play music as the children do their Start up activities. One suggestion is the song, Talk to God, track 13 on the Earth movers CD. NOTE: Some of the feelings activities in Start up may provide an opportunity for an impromptu prayer time. The children will show their trust in you by expressing their feelings. In turn, you can help them to build their trust in God by encouraging prayer. A prepared Feelings chart (see instructions outlined below) Each child s and leader s name written on a separate strip of cardboard, plus a few extra strips for new children A marker pen Small stickers featuring a variety of pictures Blu-Tack or Velcro dots A few copies of the Faces photocopiable (page 15), coloured and cut into individual cards Make a Feelings chart by drawing rows on a large sheet of cardboard. There should be one row for each child and leader, plus a few extra for new children. Write the title: Today I feel... in large colourful letters above the rows. The rows must be high enough to stick the child s strip of cardboard, as well as a Face card inside. For large groups, divide the rows into columns. Serious 10 play

10 Hand the children their cardboard strips. Invite the children to choose a sticker to place on the strip next to their name so that they will remember which is theirs. Attach each child s name to the Feelings chart with Blu-Tack or Velcro dots. Encourage the children to talk about their feelings. Ask them about how they are feeling today and invite them to choose the face that best represents how they feel. Attach each child s chosen card next to their name on the chart. Use the completed chart as an opportunity to initiate prayer. If possible, do this at the beginning of each session in the unit to encourage the idea that we can pray to God about our feelings. NOTE: Take careful note of what the children say about their feelings. Some may talk quite freely about their feelings, while others may not. This may be a great opportunity to encourage a short time of prayer with the children. Moody moves Purpose: To express emotions through music and dance. CD of choice and CD player Listen to different types of music that express different moods. Play happy music; slow, sad music; loud, angry music; and so on. Classical music is useful for expressing feelings, as are the karaoke tracks on the Earth movers CD. Encourage the children to dance to the music, expressing the emotion of the music through their movements. Bible focus Links Who do you talk to when you are happy? (Accept responses. Encourage the children to think of as many people as possible.) 1 Who do you talk to when you are sad? (Accept responses.) How does this person feel? Purpose: To talk about emotions and to help build trust. Magazine pictures of people with different emotional expressions Old magazines, scissors, glue and paper (optional) Show the children the different pictures. Ask some what, how, where and why questions to encourage discussion about each picture, such as Why do you think the little boy is laughing? and so on. Talk about whether the children have ever felt like the person in the picture. Discuss what makes them angry, sad or happy, and what they do when they feel like this. If time permits, invite the children to make a collage showing different emotions. What about when you are mad, tired or really excited? (Accept responses.) It is good to talk to people about how we feel.? There is also someone who we can t see that we can talk to. Who do you think this is? (Accept responses. God.) We can talk to God about our feelings. If you had a prayer time earlier, mention this now. Today we are going to hear about a woman from the Bible who talked to God. Teaching time You will need Leader s poster 1, a Bible and the Match the feelings games (see Get ready). Hand out the Match the feelings games to the children. Ask them to put them on the floor in front of them. Serious 11 play

11 Display the picture of Hannah looking sad on Leader s poster 1. This is Hannah. Point to Hannah. Her story comes from the Bible. Show the Bible. Does Hannah look happy or sad? (Accept responses. Sad. ) Ask the children to hold up a sad game card from their Match the feelings game. Match the card to the game board. What is she doing? (Accept responses. Crying.) Why do you think Hannah is so sad? (Accept responses.) Hannah was sad because she didn t have a baby. Point to Peninnah on Leader s poster 1. This is Peninnah. She had lots of babies. How does Peninnah look? (Accept responses. Mean.) Ask the children to hold up a mean game card from their Match the feelings game. Match the card to the game board. Peninnah was mean to Hannah. She teased Hannah all the time. You can t have any babies, she said, but I can. Ha ha! Poor Hannah! She was miserable. She cried so hard that she couldn t even eat. This is Hannah s husband. Point to Elkanah on Leader s poster 1. How does his face look? (Accept responses. Worried.) Ask the children to hold up a worried game card from their Match the feelings game. Match the card to the game board. He was very worried about Hannah because he loved her. Hannah, he said, why won t you eat? But Hannah kept on crying. Who do you think Hannah should talk to? (Accept responses.) Hannah decided to talk to God. She cried and cried, and prayed to God. Listen to what she said. Read 1 Samuel 1:11 from a CEV Bible. Was it a good idea to talk to God about her sad feelings? (Yes.) Why? (Accept responses. God loves us and cares about us.) Some time later, God gave Hannah her own baby. She called the baby Samuel. Display the picture of Hannah laughing on Leader s poster 1. Look at Hannah now. Why do you think she is laughing? (Accept responses. God gave her a baby.) Ask the children to hold up a happy game card from their Match the feelings game. Match the card to the game board. Hannah was so happy that she prayed again. She said, Lord, you make me so happy! You make me feel strong! You know everything and everything belongs to you. You always take care of your people. With smiles and laughter, Hannah talked to God for a long time and told him everything. Was it a good idea to talk to God about her happy feelings? (Accept responses. Yes.) Bringing it together Display Leader s poster 1. Have ready the inflated balloons and permanent marker. Hannah talked to God when she was sad (point to the picture of sad Hannah on Leader s poster 1) and when she was happy (point to the picture of happy Hannah). Hannah knew that God cared for her and that she could talk to him about anything and everything. Ask a child to draw a happy face on one side of the balloon and show it to the others. Does God want to know when we are happy? (Accept responses.) Ask another child to draw a sad face on the other side of the balloon and show it to the others. Does God want to know when we are sad? (Accept responses.) What about when we are cross, tired or lonely? (Accept responses. Draw faces on more balloons if you like!) What other things can we talk to God about? (Accept responses.) God wants to know all these things. We can trust God to always listen to us when we tell him these things. Stand up and play a short game with the balloon in which the aim is to keep the balloon off the floor. Serious 12 play

12 Prayer Make up a big bed. Place a soft rug on the floor and add several pillows and soft toys. Invite the children to lie down. Place a quilt over them and ask them to shut their eyes. Ask the following questions: What do you think about before you go to sleep? Are your thoughts sad, happy, funny, scary or exciting? Do you think about secret things? Do you think about yesterday, today or tomorrow? Tell the children that whatever they think about, they can tell God. He listens to everything we tell him, because he cares for us so much. Invite the children to talk to God silently. End with the following prayer: Dear God, Sometimes we feel sad and sometimes we feel happy. But no matter how we feel, you always listen to us. Thanks God! Amen. Take home An envelope with a heart drawn on it for each child Coloured pens and pencils Confetti Give each child an envelope. Invite the children to colour the heart shape. Help the children to place a small amount of confetti into the envelope. Make one for yourself too. Gather the children and take some confetti from your envelope. Tell the children that the small pieces of confetti remind you of all the thoughts, ideas and feelings inside you. Select one piece and tell them this is a sad thought. Ask if the children can find a sad thought in their envelopes. Use the different pieces of confetti to discuss the different thoughts and feelings the children have, such as happiness, fear, anger and so on. The children don t have to share their exact feelings out loud, but be prepared for them to do so. Tell the children that because God loves and cares for us, we can tell him all our thoughts, even the sad or angry ones. Help the children to seal their envelopes. The children can take home the envelopes and Match the feelings games in their Serious play backpacks as a reminder that we can tell God everything. Music spot Encourage the children to join in as you play the following songs. Dance to the music! God is with me (track 5) and Talk to God (track 13) on the Earth movers CD. Memory verse Play a game using the Match the feelings games. Turn all of your cards face-down in front of you. Ask the children to lay their cards face-up in front of them. One-by-one, hold up each card and invite the children to find the matching card in their set. Name the feeling and place the cards face-up on the game boards. As you match each card, ask Can we pray to God when we are [insert emotion]? and encourage the children to answer by repeating the Memory verse. Pray about everything. Philippians 4:6 (CEV) Activities Do the Prayer book activity, then choose from the other activities to conclude the session. Play music while the children are working. Prayer book A children s Prayer book for each child Glue or adhesive tape Scissors A pen Give each child a Prayer book. Explain that each session they will be reading their Prayer book. Invite the children to look at the picture of Hannah on the inside front cover. Ask the children why Hannah looks so happy. Ask: Was she always happy? Why was she sad? Help the children cut out the prayer for Session 1 from page 6 of the Prayer book. Glue the prayer into the empty space on the inside front cover. Read the prayer with the children. Remind the children that God wants us to pray to him about how we feel and that he will always listen. Ask the children if it feels good to know that God always listens. Collect the Prayer books. Remember to write the children s names on the books. 1 Serious 13 play

13 Feel like a story? A children s picture book that deals with different emotions Read a book that deals with different emotions. The following suggestion may be found in Christian bookstores, but there are plenty of other suitable ones in libraries: God gave me feelings by Catherine Mackenzie Who s who? A black sheet of A3 paper for each child (you could paint white paper with black paint) Adhesive tape An overhead projector or strong desk lamp A chair A white pencil and a pen A helper Blu-Tack or pegs and string Silhouettes take some work but make a fantastic keepsake of individual children. Tape a sheet of A3 paper to the wall and direct the overhead projector or strong desk lamp towards it. Position a chair close to the wall so that when the children sit down a clear life-size profile from the chest up can be traced onto the paper. Work quickly! Repeat this for all willing children, remembering to write their name onto the back of their picture. Ask the children to help you display the pictures on the wall or peg them onto a piece of string. Look at each one and try to guess who is who. Tell the children that each one of us is precious to God and that he loves it when we talk to him. Remind them that we can talk to God about anything. Pray everyday Sing the following song to the tune of Baa baa black sheep. Add actions where appropriate. You could combine this activity with the Praise God activity. Pray when you re happy, pray when you re sad, Pray when you re excited and pray when you re mad. Pray in the morning and pray in the night, Pray any time you like, but pray with all your might. Just keep praying, no matter what you do, God will always hear you, he cares about you. Praise God Long ribbons, scarves or streamers Musical instruments Ask the children what Hannah did after she had baby Samuel. Tell the children that Hannah praised God. She said God made her strong and happy. Show God how strong and happy he makes you by singing one of your favourite songs (or choose a song from Music spot). Encourage the children to move to the music. Tie the ribbons, scarves or streamers around their wrists for added movement. Play the musical instruments. Munchies Plain biscuits and chocolate sauce in a plastic sauce bottle or small meat pies and tomato sauce in a plastic sauce bottle (optional) Ask the children if they are feeling happy or sad. Use the sauce bottle to make smiley or sad faces on the biscuits. If you have access to an oven, and a willing helper, use meat pies instead of biscuits. Make sure that the filling is not too hot. Think about it Did the children understand that they can talk to God no matter how they are feeling? Did they enjoy the games and activities you chose? Think ahead You will need Leader s poster 2, the children s Prayer books and wooden blocks. You will also need a copy of the Nehemiah photocopiable (page 23) for each child. See in Session 2 (page 18). Serious 14 play

14 CEP 2004 The purchaser of the Serious play SP3 manual is entitled to photocopy this page for use with his or her group. Serious 15 play