How to Meet with God. Lesson 2: Set! Enjoy God s Presence. TM.com

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1 How to Meet with God Lesson 2: Set! Enjoy God s Presence TM.com

2 How to Meet with God TM Lesson 2 Set! Enjoy God s Presence Unit Summary The purpose of the Christian life is to have a relationship with God. Too often people in the church place an emphasis on getting saved but then what? While our ultimate destination with our Creator is to be cherished and celebrated, Jesus also died to welcome us into a relationship with Him during this life on earth! In this unit, your kids will learn tried-and-true techniques for enjoying a personal quiet time with God so they can deepen their friendship with Him. They will also discover how to enjoy the Lord s presence throughout the day and how to call on Him in times of need. Meeting with God is something we can do in a focused quiet time, but God is also available anytime we want to experience His presence and power. Lesson Summary While a daily quiet time with God is a great thing, that should not be the end of a believer s time with God. Far from it! God desires for us to walk with Him and fellowship with Him throughout our day. In this lesson, children will be taught how to practice the presence of God so that they spend time with God all day long, no matter what they are doing! Paul s Power Principle: God is with you throughout your day! Know Disciple Targets In this lesson, your children will... God wants to spend time with them throughout their day Feel The presence of God throughout the day, not just during a quiet time Do Pick something to be a reminder of God during the course of their day

3 SUPPLIES General Supplies Bibles, puppets, video projection (optional) Pencils, pens, paper Spark Interest WELCOME!: paper clips LET S PLAY!: toothbrushes, bowls, towels, cupcakes CONNECT WITH YOUR KIDS: none Explore Scripture KEYVERSE: sleeping bag, blindfold, hand bell Inspire Action DRAMATIZE THE POINT: various books PowerPoint Presentation As you plan your lesson, select PowerPoint slides that correspond to the lesson elements you choose. In the Slide Sorter View, you can rearrange and/or delete the slides as necessary. For descriptions of the included slides and tips on their use, see the notes accompanying each slide. SPARK INTEREST Choose from the following activities and ideas to engage kids and grab their attention. How to Meet with God Lesson , DiscipleLand. All rights reserved. Karl Bastian / Kidology.org Welcome! Paper Clips As the kids arrive, give each of them a string of ten paper clips all clipped together. (Or just give them ten and tell them to string them together.) Tell them that the clips will be used in a very special game during the lesson, so they are not to lose any of them before church starts! Then in the welcome, explain that today we will be learning about being aware of God throughout the day. So anytime anyone mentions God or Jesus or the Holy Spirit anyone who hears a name of God can jump up and say, You mentioned God! Then whoever mentioned God has to give that child a paper clip to add to the chain of clips. Even kids must give a clip to a friend if they mention God. (If they use the Lord s name in vain, they must say they are sorry and give three clips to the person who caught them!) At the end of Kid s Church, whoever has the most paper clips will get some candy! Let s Meet-n-Greet! Turn and meet two people next to you and ask them what brand of toothpaste they use! Leaders, be sure to stop whatever you are doing to move through the audience and greet the children, especially those you do not recognize. Announce any birthdays for the week. (See the How to Use DiscipleTown guide for quick and easy ways to acknowledge visitors and birthdays.)

4 Let s Worship! Recommended Song: Obvious, from Obvious Kid s Praise by Mark Condon, available at Kidology.org Puppet Intro Leader & puppet introduce today s lesson. You will find a scripted version of this intro at the end of the lesson. Puppet comes out and says, I saw the principal walking around the playground, and he said in my interview that he is my friend, but I m not sure if that s true. Can I really just walk up and talk to him, or is he too busy for me? I m just a kid. Leader says, I think he is there because he wants to connect with the students. If he said that, you should take him up on it. Puppet isn t so sure. Puppet thinks the man was just saying that to be nice. Leader asks how the interview went. It went great. Puppet talks about how friendly the principal was and how much he said he wants to get to know the kids and how much he wishes they saw him as a friend and not just as the principal. Leader says, Then why don t you go up and talk to him on the playground? That s exactly what he was talking about. Leader then says, That s how it is with God. He wants us to connect with Him. If you don t ask, you can t receive. Jesus said He doesn t consider us servants, but friends. God said we are His children now. We can talk to Him like friends. Puppet decides the next time the principal is on the playground he is going to go up to him and chat it up! Let s Play! Pajama Olympics Because starting our day with God is so important, the games for this unit are themed around morning activities. Enjoy the games, but then at the end emphasize that Meeting with God is the most important part of your day! The more children hear this, the more it will sink in. Clean Teeth! For this game you will need two pairs of kids to compete, but it is important that they are good friends! Therefore, ask for volunteers to raise hands in pairs, holding the raised hands together. In other words, you won t pick individuals; you will pick only pairs of kids who are holding hands. You may use as many pairs as your stage and staff can manage for this game. Up to four pairs can be quite fun! After the kids are up on stage, fully explain the game and give them the opportunity to back out if they want, but don t explain the game before asking for volunteers. Just say that it will be messy and that they need to really be good friends! Position the kids at tables facing each other. On the table before them uncover a new toothbrush, a large bowl of water, and an extra spit bowl. Hand towels are a must! Bring out chocolate cupcakes! Explain that on Go! one member of each pair will be the eater and the other the brusher. They can decide which is which. The eater will eat the cupcake and the brusher will then brush the eater s teeth. They have one minute to eat and one minute to brush! (Extend either as needed on the spot.) Then the leader will inspect the results. The team with the cleanest teeth will win!

5 Connect with Your Kids How do you connect with God during the week? What things draw your attention to God? Nature? People? Music? Photography? Children? Share your answer with the kids. DiscipleTown Visitor Personal Shopper Sara* As leader is finishing the previous segment, a young woman walks by with her arms full of bags of stuff, and she is obviously in a hurry. As she is passing the leader, something falls out of a bag, and the leader stops talking to pick it up. They introduce themselves to each other, and the leader says, Well, you ve been busy shopping! Got a big party this week? Sara answers, Oh, this isn t for myself. I m a personal shopper, and this is all for my client. Leader looks surprised and asks, What? Excuse me, but I ve never heard of a personal shopper. What is that? Sara smiles and says, Well, sometimes I shop for someone, or sometimes I go with someone to the store and help the person shop. I have expertise, so I can help people choose, find deals, and tell them what s the best thing to get. The leader laughs and says, You re hired! Sara looks a little nervous and says, Well, I don t mean to be rude, but only rich people can afford a personal shopper. I charge a lot of money because, well, it s a lot of work. It s a very demanding job, and I still have to get all my own shopping done. Well, I gotta go. So sorry, but I gotta run! Bye! Sara leaves. The leader says, Well, I may not be rich enough to afford a personal shopper, but when you are a Christian, you can afford a personal Savior! And God isn t in too much of a hurry for me. I can ask Him for advice anytime, day or night, and since He has everything and never needs anything, He always has time for me! Philippians 4:19 says that God will provide for all my needs according to His riches in Christ Jesus! *CHARACTERS: These are suggested characters and names. Please feel free to change or adjust according to the actors and props you have available.

6 EXPLORE SCRIPTURE Seize on the children s interest and direct them into God s Word. Let s Search! Bible Dash Supplies: Bibles Ask all kids with Bibles to participate, or invite a few volunteers to come to the front. As children hold Bibles closed with hands on covers, state the Bible reference twice, then on the command SEARCH! have the students race to locate the verse. Once they have a finger on the verse, they can stand and call out, FOUND IT! Have the first child read the verse aloud while you project the verse on a screen via PowerPoint. See suggestions below for comments on each verse. Keep your comments brief and to the point of the lesson. Zephaniah 3:17 God delights in you; He rejoices in you! Exodus 33:11 You can talk to God like you d talk to a friend. 1 John 1:3 You can have fellowship with God and Jesus. Psalm 34:10 Those who seek God lack no good thing. Psalm 105:3-4 Seek God and let your heart rejoice. Psalm 95:6 Kneel before God when you pray. Paul s Power Principle: God is with you throughout your day! Click here to change text Suggested Bible Narrative On the Road to Emmaus Luke 24:13-35 The men in this story were walking with Jesus and didn t even recognize Him! Do you know that Jesus is walking with you every day? Do you recognize Him? You can talk to Him at any time! Let s Learn! Set! Walk in God s Presence Through the Day Imagine a trapdoor in the sky between you and God and prayer is the key that opens that door. When we say, Dear God, to begin a prayer time, it s kind of like that trapdoor swings open! But when we say, Amen, to end our prayer time, does that trapdoor to heaven close? Allow for responses from the kids. Do not correct any responses; just let the kids answer. Of course, the answer is no! God wants our connection with Him to be open and constant all day long. He doesn t just want us to be aware of Him and to talk to Him during our quiet time, but He wants us to stay in touch with Him all day long! Christians throughout the ages have talked about practicing the presence of God. Of course, God is always present; He is everywhere! But are we aware of His presence? Are we thinking about Him? The secret is to find ways to be reminded of Him and to talk to Him throughout our day. Read or review the story of the disciples who encountered Jesus on the road to Emmaus in Luke 24: They were walking with Jesus and didn t even recognize Him! Do you know that Jesus is walking with you every day? Do you recognize Him? You can talk to Him at any time!

7 What does it mean to be fans of music groups or sports teams? Encourage kids to respond. It means that you like them, you cheer for them, and you want them to win. You go to their games or concerts. You buy music, shirts, hats, toys, etc. that support them. You support them. You are friends with other people who like them, too. Would it be fair to say you are a fan of Jesus? How is being a Christian like being a fan of a music group or sports team? Allow kids to answer. We want God to win! We are friends with other Christians. We might wear clothes with Christian logos. We might buy Christian music and other Christian items. We can be recognized as Christ s fans by these items just as we recognize fans of music or sports teams by what they wear and do. These things can remind us of God just as those things remind us of a sports team or music group. But we also must remember that these items don t make us Christians surrendering our lives to Him and following Him is what matters! There are also things in this world that can remind us of God that aren t even sold in stores. Creation can remind us of God. When we see the attributes of God, such as kindness, love or even the opposite, when we see where God is needed it can remind us of God. We can learn to talk to God throughout our day, not just during a quiet time and when praying at meals. Whenever God comes to mind, just talk to Him! Read Exodus 33:11a. You can talk to God the way you d talk with a friend. Read John 15:15. Jesus made it clear that He is our friend. When you talk to your friend, do you talk the way you talk in a prayer? OPTION: Have a friend of the leader come up on the stage and talk to the leader the way many people pray: Dear Bob, I ve been having a rough week. I just wanted you to know that. I hope that maybe you can help me out. I have so much to do at work, and I m trying to finish that shed I m building in the backyard before the bad weather settles in. Oh, and my son has been struggling with his algebra. And my wife s sick, and she just had a baby. And, well, I gotta go. Amen. During the whole prayer, have Bob offer to help with the shed, send his older daughter to help tutor the son in algebra, and his wife to bring a meal over. But the friend never listens or allows it to be a two-way conversation. After this skit is over, ask the kids what went wrong with the conversation. Ask if we ever do that to God. We pray, but we don t listen to God. He is trying to talk to us. He will give us ideas and suggestions and answers to prayer if we are willing to share with Him our needs and worries and problems throughout the day. But we have to be willing to listen. Read Psalm 34:10. Notice that it says that we will lack no good thing if we seek the Lord. Read Psalm 105:3-4. Notice it says always not just during your quiet time or at meals. Dee s Disciple Tip: Praying from the H-E-A-R-T gives children an easy guide they can use to pray during their quiet times. The Object Talk videos also teach and reinforce this memory device. H = Honor God with praise E = Examine your life

8 KeyVerse Topic: Jesus Quiet Time Reference: Mark 1:35 Memorization Activity: To help children learn all the elements of this verse in a humorous manner, create an obstacle course that kids can compete to complete as quickly as possible. Each lesson, choose two boys and two girls to come up on stage and compete. Of course, as the kids learn the verse better and watch other kids compete the times will get faster. By the fourth week you should have an overall champ boy and girl, and all the kids should really know the verse, too. The whole verse was taught during the teaching segment of Lesson 1, but use this as an opportunity to reaffirm the teaching during this relay. Keep it short and to the point: Jesus got up, left the house Jesus picked a place and knew He needed to get away from distractions. Make this a timed relay one child at a time will run the course. The child starts out in a sleeping bag. On Go the child must 1) ring a bell [ Very early ]; 2) put on a blindfold [ while it was still dark ]; 3) get out of the sleeping bag [ Jesus got up ]; 4) walk under the arms of two volunteers who form a door [ left the house ]; 5) go to a chair (or bean bag) [ off to a solitary place ]; 6) sit down, take off the blindfold, and fold his or her hands as if in prayer [ where He prayed ]; 7) recite the entire verse. If the child makes a mistake, ring a buzzer or bell. The child is not corrected, just notified so that the mistake can be corrected. The child must give the reference. Then the child runs back to the bed (no eye covering). As soon as the child touches the bed the timer stops! Record the time and post it on the wall for the weeks to come!

9 on presented by month day year INSPIRE ACTION Encourage kids to apply the Bible truth to their lives. Dramatize the Point Failure to Launch Devo Boy is back! This time he is obsessed with what devotional book to use. He opens and closes a book, starts to read, stops, opens another book, and never settles on anything. And again, he never starts talking with God. The Point: Tools are great, but don t let them distract you from God. Object Talks Puppet Talks Supplies: video projection The videos in this unit feature Puppets with a H-E-A-R-T. In this video, Charlie talks about what it means to examine your heart. It seems that sin has a rather obvious impact on him! Featured verse: 1 John 1:9 Let s Talk! Small Group Discussion Small Group Activity: Each person balances a paper plate on his or her head. Everyone walks around and tries not to let the plates fall. They can t touch each other. The last one with a plate on the head wins! Awarded to for Being Ready award The Point: It takes concentration to keep the plate on your head. It takes concentration to keep Jesus on our minds! Discussion Questions 1) How often do you think about God during the day? 2) What causes you to think about God during the day? 3) How could we be reminded about God more often? DiscipleTown Super Citizen Choose a child who was participating well throughout the service to present with the Super Citizen award. Let s Pray! Dear Jesus, too often we pray, and then we forget about You the rest of the day. Remind us that You are with us throughout the day. Come to our minds often throughout the day. Help us to see You in creation, in others, and in our circumstances the situations that come up throughout the day. Help us to remember that we can talk to You anytime. Help us to remember that it isn t just during a quiet time or at meals that we can talk to You but anytime during the day when we feel Your presence. We can just talk to You, and You will hear us. We want to experience You as a real and genuine friend throughout our day. In Your holy name, amen.

10 Cy s Challenge: Pick something that will be your reminder of God throughout the day. Let s Review! If you have extra time, use these review questions to keep the kids focused on the lesson until time to dismiss. A handful of candy will help you keep their attention. After each question, take a minute to reiterate the lesson point related to the question. 1) T/F If you have a good quiet time you are set for the day! 2) T/F God gets mad if you skip your quiet time. 3) T/F You must kneel when you pray. 4) T/F If you forget to say amen, your prayer is ignored. 5) T/F A fan is a crazy person or fanatic. 6) T/F Jesus says we aren t His friends, we are His servants. 7) T/F We are only allowed to pray once a day; God is busy! For the Home DiscipleTown Table Talker: Give each child a copy of this week s DiscipleTown Table Talker. Be sure to show the kids how to put it together and encourage them to ask their parents to lead family devotions three times this week. Parent Copy and send the below to help your parents connect with their kids during the week. Send them early in the week, but not on Sunday. As a courtesy, be sure parents have opted to receive these s. Review and edit as necessary to reflect the lesson elements you have used. You can also find this as a Microsoft Word document in your download bundle. Dear Mom and Dad, While believers should have a quiet time with God daily, that should not be the end of their time with God. Far from it! God desires that to be only the beginning of our walking with Him and fellowshipping with Him throughout our day. In this lesson, your child(ren) were taught how to practice the presence of God throughout the day so that they learn to spend time with God all day long, no matter what they are doing! They learned how to notice Him in creation and in conversations and how to keep the connection open throughout the day. God desires to have an open and constant relationship with us not just during a devotional time or when we pray at meals! Speaking of meals, how is it going with those DiscipleTown Table Talkers? Have you tried them? They provide you with a fun and simple way (no preparation!) to connect with your child(ren), have a meaningful conversation, spend some time in the Bible, and apply the Bible to your family s life. They are always kept simple so that you can do them on the spot, at a moment s notice. I hope you ll give them a try if you haven t yet. You ll be glad you did! If there is any way I can pray for you or help you on your family s journey, please don t hesitate to let me know. I don t know all the answers, but I enjoy wrestling with the questions with you. Forming young disciples who will pass the test of time, [Your Name]

11 BONUS MATERIALS Use these options to extend your time or as substitutes for the ideas above. Chip s Snack Time! Supplies: Frosted Flakes cereal Health experts say that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. If you start your day with a good breakfast, your whole day will go better! Well, the same is true spiritually. If you start your day out with God, your whole day will go better! Each week, give kids a small cup filled with a popular dry cereal to munch on as an object lesson on the value of starting their day with God. Isn t it sweet that God wants to spend time with us throughout the day? Additional Ideas Red Light, Green Light This is a classic playground game. If you have a small group, perhaps all the children can play. Otherwise, invite as many volunteers on stage as you have room for. A crowded stage is OK. The children all begin on one end of the stage, either behind a maskingtape line or with a hand on a wall (depending on your setup). The leader is on the opposite side. The goal is for the children to reach the leader and tag him or her. The leader starts by facing the children, who are frozen. But when the leader turns away from the kids and says green light, the children can walk (or run) toward the leader. However, the leader can say red light, rapidly turn around at any time, and the children must stop. The trick is, if the leader sees any of them moving, he can tell those children to go back to the beginning; so the children should move very cautiously, being careful to move only when the leader s back is turned. The leader should be fair to say red light and then turn around, not while turning, but the leader can turn quickly. The green lights can be very brief, however, so children really should not run but take only a few steps at a time. It is a very fun game to play and watch. Good sportsmanship is a must. (Complainers can be asked to return to their seats rather than back to the beginning.) It is best played with lots of catching rather than making it easy for the kids. Then the children will really start to move slowly and cautiously, which is when it gets fun. The Point: They win by really watching the leader and focusing on the leader s words and movements. We win in life by really focusing on God and listening to Him. 10

12 Presliced Banana Bananas are a very healthy part of a breakfast! Show the children a banana and ask them if they knew that stores are now selling presliced bananas! They won t believe you until you peel your banana and it falls apart in nicely sliced bite-sized pieces! The secret? You ll need a needle and thread and some patience, but for the effect, it is well worth it. And I do recommend practice! Mark your banana lightly with a pencil where you want your slices to be. You can erase or rub off these guides later! Thread a thin needle with thin thread and get ready to slice your banana. Enter the banana on one of the ridges (the high point) and come out at the next high point along your guided slices. Pull enough string through that will go all the way around the banana. Now (this is important!) enter back through the same hole, continue on to the next high point, come out at your guide, and pull the thread through, but leave some string outside the banana at the first hole! Now, again, enter back through the same hole and continue on to the next high point. Continue doing this all the way around your banana, always going out and back in through the same hole. Pull through some string, but always leave a little behind, leaving a little loop sticking out of the hole you exited and reentered. Why? You are laying string around the outer edge of the banana, inside the peel! When you come out the original/first hole you will have a loop of string all the way around the banana! Now you may slowly pull the loop, and if you did it right, the loop will slice your banana inside the banana peel and will exit the banana out the first hole; no trace will be left. While you can see some minor damage to the banana, this can t be seen from the audience. With practice, you ll be able to stash your banana on a table after you are finished, and even someone standing next to you won t be able to see the holes! Enjoy your presliced bananas. 11

13 Puppet Intro Principal or Friend? DIRECTOR S NOTES The words in italics are notes for you and your puppeteers; they are not to be read aloud. Leader: Hey, [puppet name]. How d your interview with your principal go? Puppet: It was really good, but now I kinda have a problem. Leader: Oh? What s up? Puppet: Well, I saw the principal walking around the playground, and he said in my interview that he is my friend, but I m not sure if that s true. Can I really just walk up and talk to him, or is he too busy for me? I m just a kid. Leader: I think he is there because he wants to connect with the students. If he said that, you should take him up on it. Puppet: I m not so sure. I think he was just saying that to sound nice in my interview. Leader: You said the interview was good? Puppet: It was great! The principal was really friendly, and he really seems to want to get to know us kids. He did say that he wishes we would see him as a friend and not just as a principal. Leader: Then why don t you go up and talk to him on the playground? That s exactly what he was talking about. Puppet: You think? Leader: Yeah, I do. And that s also how it is with God. He wants us to connect with Him. If you don t ask, you can t receive. Jesus said He doesn t consider us servants, but friends. God said we are His children now. We can talk to Him like friends. Puppet: Wow, if God wants me to think of Him as a friend, maybe I can do the same for my principal. Leader: Good for you. Puppet: Next time I see my principal on the playground, I m going to go and chat him up! *PUPPET: Develop a puppet character to use regularly. The children will get to know the personality and enjoy these regular visits. Dee, Cy, and Paul puppets are available at DiscipleLand.com How to Meet with God Lesson , DiscipleLand. Permission granted to reproduce for volunteers.

14 DiscipleTown Visitor Script DIRECTOR S NOTES The words in italics are notes for you and your volunteers; they are not to be read aloud. A young woman walks by with her arms full of shopping bags overflowing with stuff. She is obviously in a hurry. As she passes the leader, something falls from a bag, and the leader stops to pick it up. Personal Shopper Sara*: Thanks! It would not have been good if I d lost that. I m Sara. Leader: Hi, I m [leader name]. Well, you ve been busy shopping, Sara! Got a big party this week? Sara: Oh, this isn t for myself. I m a personal shopper, and this is all for my client. Leader: What? Excuse me, but I ve never heard of a personal shopper. What is that? Sara: [Smiles.] Well, sometimes I shop for someone, or sometimes I go with someone to the store and help the person shop. I have expertise, so I can help people choose, find deals, and tell them what s the best thing to get. Leader: [Laughs.] You re hired! Sara: Well, I don t mean to be rude, but only rich people can afford a personal shopper. I charge a lot of money because, well, it s a lot of work. It s a very demanding job, and I still have to get all my own shopping done. Well, I gotta go. So sorry, but I gotta run! Bye! [Exits.] Leader: Well, I may not be rich enough to afford a personal shopper, but when you are a Christian, you can afford a personal Savior! And God isn t in too much of a hurry for me. I can ask Him for advice anytime, day or night, and since He has everything and never needs anything, He always has time for me! Philippians 4:19 says that God will provide for all my needs according to His riches in Christ Jesus! *CHARACTERS: These are suggested characters and names. Please feel free to change or adjust according to the actors and props you have available. How to Meet with God Lesson , DiscipleLand. Permission granted to reproduce for volunteers.

15 Curriculum Map (DiscipleTown Units in no particular order*) How to Worship God How to Use My Bible How to Show Respect How to Pray How to Be Faithful Workers How to Love God How to Memorize God s Word How to Be Global Christians How to Grow Spiritual Fruit How to Make Good Friends How to Walk in the Spirit How to Be Jesus Disciple How to Build Character How to Navigate the New Testament How to Explain My Faith How to Earn Eternal Rewards How to Follow God s Plan How to Make Good Choices How to Navigate the Old Testament How to Study My Bible How to Know the Truth How to Discover Gifts and Talents How to Walk Victoriously How to Meet with God Each DiscipleTown Unit will teach your kids an essential how to skill to become victorious disciples of Jesus! *DiscipleTown Units are still in production. Please visit DiscipleTown.com for availability. TM.com