Abraham s Visitors/Sodom and Gomorrah Genesis 18:1 19:29

Transcription

1 Session 11 Abraham s Visitors/Sodom and Gomorrah Genesis 18:1 19:29 Worship Theme: God works in many ways. Weaving Faith Into Life: Children will look for amazing ways God works in their lives and in the world. Session Sequence What Children Will Do Supplies Let s Praise God! (up to 25 minutes) Sing God Is Our Help (Psalm 33:20) (track 18) Worship Only You (track 13) Love the Lord (Deuteronomy 6:4-9) (track 9) Do to Others (Luke 6:31) (track 19) Be Thankful (1 Thessalonians 5:18a) (track 6) KidsOwn Worship Kit: Songs From FaithWeaver Classroom Supplies: CD player, ball Session Sequence What Children Will Do Supplies Let s Learn the Point! (up to 25 minutes) That s Amazing! Share amazing stories. The Three Visitors Act out the story of Abraham s three visitors. * My God Is So Big! Do a finger play that celebrates God s work. 138 KidsOwn Worship Fall Quarter

2 Session Sequence What Children Will Do Supplies Let s Learn the Point! (up to 25 minutes) Camera Obscura See the amazing view through a camera obscura. * The Three Visitors Watch a drama about Abraham and three visitors. * Many Ways Explore the ways God works in the world. Classroom Supplies: Box, utility knife, tape, white paper, nail, towel Classroom Supplies: Photocopies of the script (at the end of this Session), knitting supplies, newspaper Classroom Supplies: Paper, tape, pen Session Sequence What Children Will Do Supplies Let s Pray! (up to 10 minutes) The Offering Offer their gifts to God. Make a Prayer Chain Pray by making a prayer chain. Closing Prayer Pray a prayer of thanks for the ways God works in the world and in their lives. Classroom Supplies: Offering bowl Classroom Supplies: 2 colors of paper (1 sheet of each per 24 children), several tape dispensers, 1 pencil per child, bucket Classroom Supplies: Prayer chain from previous activity * Starred activities can be used successfully with preschool and elementary children together. Customize your session to fit your needs. You can separate preschoolers and elementary children for Let s Learn the Point! Or, if you keep the children all together for the entire worship session, we suggest you choose from the starred activities. Session 11 KidsOwn Worship 139

3 Bible Background for Leaders Abraham s Visitors/Sodom and Gomorrah Genesis 18:1 19:29 In Abraham s desert-dwelling culture, visitors were rare. They provided both an obligation and a welcome diversion. A warm welcome and hospitality were requirements in the culture of that day, and Abraham knew what it was like to travel in the desert. It may seem strange that the three men were standing nearby (Genesis 18:2), but this was customary for strangers in that time and place. They were not free to just approach someone else s tent in the desert. Many scholars believe that these men were angels, though the text doesn t directly say so. The fact that they knew Sarah s name may support the idea that they were angels, and in Genesis 18:10, it becomes clear that one of them at least was speaking for the Lord. For many years, God had been promising a son. Now for the first time, God predicted the time of the birth to 99-year-old Abraham and 89-year-old Sarah: Within one year, the son of the promise would be born. Sarah s laughter is understandable. Who would have thought that a 90-yearold woman could have a baby! God does truly amazing things! When God made it clear that his intent was to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah, Abraham was horrified. No doubt he had done business with people there, and his nephew, Lot, lived there with his family. So Abraham pleaded with God to spare the few who were still faithful. Notice that God s response was not to spare just the right eous; God said the whole city would be saved if only 50 righteous people lived there. It s helpful to remember here God s definition of righteous. Abraham was declared righteous because of his faith, not because of a righteous lifestyle. As Abraham voiced his pleas ever more carefully, God promised to spare the city if only 10 righteous people could be found there. However, there weren t even 10 faithful people there. Lot s position at the gate to the city indicated that he was a man of influence there, perhaps even a judge. His insistence that the visitors stay at his home was almost a requirement of the culture. The moral degradation of this city is obvious in the text, so no further comment is needed here. Lot apparently was at least somewhat involved in what was happening in the culture, as evidenced by his offering of his daughters to the men who were seeking sex with the visitors. God did an amazing thing in sparing the lives of Lot and his family. Lot didn t appear to deserve it, just as we don t deserve the grace God gives to us. But we can be thankful that God is wonderfully merciful and still does amazing things for us. Devotion for Leaders Jesus is God s most amazing miracle. He gave us eternal life when we were dead in sin. Thank God for his precious Son and his greatest miracle. Weaving Faith Into Your Life: How are you at spotting miracles? Look for miracles all around you, not just in big, dramatic situations but also in smaller things: the beauty of the sunrise, the happy gleam in a baby s eyes, or a couple mending problems with forgiveness and love. Ask God to help you see his miracles every day and to strengthen your faith in the impossible. 140 KidsOwn Worship Fall Quarter

4 Teaching This Bible Story to Children FaithWeaver weaves Sunday school, children s church, midweek, and home life together as everyone in your church studies the same Bible story in interactive, age-appropriate ways. Having all ages study the same Scripture passage each week occasionally presents what could be a challenge at first glance having younger children study what many would consider stories that are not age-appropriate. However, because we believe so strongly in the power of having the whole family living out the learning from the same passage, we are careful to identify an age-appropriate truth and develop the session accordingly for all ages. You might be surprised to see that this week s session teaches children about Sodom and Gomorrah. Rest assured that for this age level we have chosen to focus on how God works in many ways. Check out the session we think you ll find God has a lot to teach children through this important Scripture! Why We Worship for Leaders We serve a resourceful, creative God. We re accustomed to thinking about creation when we consider God s creativity, but think about all the different ways God chooses to work in our world to bring about his will. In the Bible passage for today s worship session, God appears to an elderly Abraham and Sarah to tell them that a baby will be born within a year. That s resourcefulness and creativity! God speaks to people in thunderstorms and dreams. God works through people and circumstances. God reveals himself to us through Scripture and through creation. God uses whatever he chooses to tell us about himself and to bring us to believe in him, trust in him, and devote ourselves to him. God uses all circumstances to bring about good in our lives. Use today s worship session to help children learn to look for God s work in their lives. Easy Prep for Leaders Camera Obscura You ll need a large square box, tape, a utility knife, white paper, and a nail. Tape white paper to make a screen on one wall inside the box. In the bottom of the box, cut a hole large enough for your head to fit through. Make the hole in a back corner of the box, opposite the white paper screen. Then use a nail to poke a hole in the wall of the box that s opposite the screen. Make sure the nail hole is above eye level and is on the other side, away from the head hole, to make sure that someone s head doesn t interfere with the light coming in the nail hole. Poke the nail through the hole from both directions so you get a clean edge. Close up the box, and tightly tape all the flaps down to create a light-tight box. Put paper on the edges of the flaps if it helps to close out the light. The Three Visitors Recruit volunteers to play Abraham, Sarah, and the three visitors. Make photocopies of the script (at the end of this Session) for each player. Have your players gather before the worship session to go through the skit at least once. (It s OK if the players read from scripts during the performance.) The only props you need are make-believe knitting supplies, a newspaper, a few chairs, perhaps an end table to give a living room effect, and a partition to set off the kitchen. Many Ways Write on small pieces of paper the following examples of the many ways God works in our lives. Write on each slip of paper a category nature, White paper screen head hole nail hole Session 11 KidsOwn Worship 141

5 for example and then an example of that category parting the Red Sea, for example. Tape a slip of paper to the bottom of each chair. Make sure each child s chair has a slip taped to it. You may need to duplicate. Miracles The plagues in Egypt Multiplying the loaves and fishes Healing the sick Walking on the water Rising from the dead Nature Creation Noah and the flood The burning bush The parting of the Red Sea Jonah and the big fish Daniel and the lions Angels Angels came to visit Abraham An angel came to give Mary a message Angels announced Jesus birth An angel led Peter out of jail The angel at Jesus tomb People Moses led his people out of Egypt Joseph saved his people from starving The prophets gave God s message Th e disciples taught and healed and wrote so we would have God s message Missionaries tell others about God Pastors teach us and help us grow Me! God can use me! Preschool Activities Refer to the preschool pages for preparations. Let s Praise God! Play Songs From FaithWeaver as children arrive. Designate greeters to welcome children at the entrance. Have the greeters shake hands with the children in different ways backward, behind the back, or overhead, for example. When everyone has arrived, have children sit down. Welcome the children. Today we re worshipping God because he works in many ways in our world and in our lives. To get us started thinking about that, let s figure out all the ways you could get to England from here. Let s brainstorm for a couple of minutes. Let s see how many different ways we can think of. 142 KidsOwn Worship Fall Quarter

6 Brainstorm about different ways to get to England. For example, you could take an airplane or a hot air balloon, you could swim, or you could persuade a dolphin to let you ride on its back across the ocean. Encourage outrageous, silly ideas as well as practical ideas. Keep going until the kids have thought of at least 20 ideas. Wow! This is a great list of all kinds of ways we could get to England from here. It takes a lot of creativity to come up with this many ideas. When we say that God works in many ways in our world and in our lives, we re saying that God is creative and that he can do anything. We can depend on him to be strong in any situation! Sing God Is Our Help (Psalm 33:20). All song lyrics can be found at the back of this book. Track 18 After the song, bring out a beach ball or another soft ball such as a Nerf foam ball. We re going to use this ball to help us remember a Bible verse that explains how God works in so many ways. Luke 1:37 says, For nothing is impossible with God. Let s say that together. Have the children say the verse with you a couple of times. Now let s see if we can do the impossible. Let s bat this ball around while we all say the verse aloud. Don t let the ball hit the floor, and remember to say the words of the verse along with me. Toss the ball into the group of children, who should keep the ball in the air by batting it with their hands. Each time someone bounces the ball back up into the air, the children must say another word of the verse. Keep trying for at least three minutes. Then retrieve the ball, and put it away. That was sure tough! We tried hard to keep the ball in the air while we said the verse, but it wasn t an easy job. Why do you think we couldn t keep the ball in the air? (We couldn t keep up with it; it went to places we couldn t get to.) There are lots of things that are just impossible for people to do. What are some things that are impossible for people to do? (Fly without an airplane or balloon; read minds; swim across an ocean.) As humans, we can t do everything. We can t fly without the use of machines. We can t breathe underwater without an oxygen tank. Some of us can t even walk and chew gum at the same time. But God is different from us. God can do anything and everything. There is nothing that s impossible for God. That s one reason we worship God because he s so powerful and creative that he can do anything. Isn t it amazing that a God who can do anything, a God for whom nothing is impossible, loves us so much? It s also amazing that such a mighty God wants us to love him. He is so pleased when we praise him and when we tell him we love him. Let s sing Worship Only You and tell God we love him. Session 11 KidsOwn Worship 143

7 Sing Worship Only You. Track 13 A God as great and powerful and mighty and creative as ours deserves not just a little portion of our love. God deserves our whole hearts, our whole minds, and our whole lives. God works in our lives every day in so many ways. Let s tell God how much we want to love him. Sing Love the Lord (Deuteronomy 6:4-9). Track 9 God uses his creativity and ability to work in our world and in our lives. God wants to have a friendship with us through his Son, Jesus. God always wants people to come to know Jesus and love him; that s why God works in so many ways in our lives. Sometimes God leads us through other people in our lives, and these people teach us more about God and how to follow him. Sometimes God wants us to teach others about how to follow God by our own actions. A verse in the Bible says we do that by treating others in the way we want to be treated. Let s sing Do to Others (Luke 6:31). Sing Do to Others (Luke 6:31). Track 19 God shows his love and care for us in many ways. We show our love and worship for God in many ways. We show God how much he is worth to us when we obey him and try to stay close to him. When we do that, we show God how important he is to us. Let s end our praise session by singing Be Thankful to thank God for all his blessings. Sing Be Thankful (1 Thessalonians 5:18a). Let s Learn the Point! Track 6 Preschool Activities, pages At this time, have the preschool leader invite the preschoolers to go to their own room for this section of activities. Give the Preschool Activities page to the preschool leader. Have the preschool leader bring the preschoolers back to participate in Let s Pray! with the older children. If you prefer to keep all the children together, do the starred (*) activities. They will work well with both elementary and preschool children. (continued on page 147) 144 KidsOwn Worship Fall Quarter

8 Preschool Activities Abraham s Visitors/Sodom and Gomorrah Session 11 Worship Theme: God works in many ways. Easy Prep for Leaders No preparations are needed. Genesis 18:1 19:29 Using Theo Consider using Theophilus the FaithRetriever puppet today in these ways: Have Theo lead the preschoolers from the main worship area to the preschool room. Have Theo participate in the My God Is So Big! activity. See the KidsOwn Worship Kit for a puppet skit written for today s worship session. That s Amazing! Have the children sit in a circle. Let s talk about amazing things. What amazing things have happened to you? Preschoolers are always ready to tell about the interesting and amazing things that have happened to them. Encourage the children to share their amazing stories. After each child shares, have the rest of the children say in unison, Wow! That s amazing! The Three Visitors Let s act out the Bible story. As I tell the story, follow my actions. One day Abraham was sitting at the entrance to his tent. It was hot outside. Fan yourself. Abraham looked up (shield your eyes) and saw three men standing nearby. Hold up three fingers. Abraham didn t know it, but it was God who had come to visit him. Isn t that amazing? Put your hands on your cheeks. Abraham hurried to greet the three men. Move your arms by your side as if you re running. He said to them, You must be tired and hungry. Please be my guests. You can rest and have a meal. The men agreed. So Abraham hurried to tell Sarah, his wife, about the visitors. Move your arms by your sides. Abraham said, Make some bread. We have guests, and they re hungry. Allow the children to share their stories as time allows. After a few minutes, wrap up the storytelling. Amazing things are fun to talk about. God has done many, many amazing things. The Bible is full of interesting stories about God s amazing deeds. Right now, I m going to tell you a story about one of the amazing things in the Bible that God did. So Sarah made some bread. Make stirring motions. And Abraham hurried to prepare some meat. Pretend to put a roast in the oven. When the food was ready, Abraham took the food to the visitors. While they ate (make eating motions), they asked, Where is your wife, Sarah? Abraham said, She s over there in the tent. Point to the tent. Then God said, I will come to visit you about this time next year, and when I come, Sarah will have a baby boy. Hold your arms like you re rocking a baby. Now Sarah and Abraham were much too old to have children. But God said they were going to have a baby boy. Isn t that amazing? Put your hands on your cheeks. Sarah had been listening at the entrance of the tent. When she heard that God said she would have a baby, she laughed to herself. Hold your sides like you re laughing. The news was so amazing that she couldn t quite believe it. Session 11 KidsOwn Worship 145

9 Preschool Activities The Three Visitors (continued) God knew that Sarah was laughing. God said, Why did Sarah laugh? Is there anything that s too hard for the Lord? I tell you again, when I come next year, Sarah will have a baby boy. * My God Is So Big! Gather the children in a circle for this finger play version of the classic song My God Is So Big! Have the children say the words and do the actions as described below. Then have the children take turns saying things God has done. For example, a child might say that God made the stars or that God gave a baby to Abraham and Sarah. After a child shares an idea, repeat the finger play. My God is so big, (Raise your hands high in the air.) And that s just what happened. The next year, Sarah had a baby boy. Hold your arms as if you re rocking a baby. Isn t that amazing? Put your hands on your cheeks. So strong and so mighty. (Make muscles.) My God works in so many ways. (Pretend to count on your fingers.) Continue until all the children have had a chance to contribute an idea. Our God is a great big God! He is strong and mighty! He works in many ways in our lives and in our world. Let s give a big cheer for God. Ready? Here we go. Yea, God! 146 KidsOwn Worship Fall Quarter

10 (continued from page 144) Elementary Activities Camera Obscura You ll need a towel and the camera obscura you made before the worship session. Do this activity outdoors if possible. If it s too cold, you ll need a brightly lit room. Invite the children to take turns looking through the camera obscura. To do that, place the box over a child s head, and wrap the towel tightly between his or her neck and the opening of the box to seal out any light. Make sure breathing isn t a problem. Tell the child to hold onto the box with both hands and to point the nail hole toward the light. The child may need to tilt the box to see the image. The child should see an image on the front wall of the box. The image will be in color, upside down, and reversed. While the children are waiting for their turns, encourage the children who ve already looked through the camera obscura to talk about what they saw. When everyone s had a turn, continue. How do you think this box worked? (There was a picture on the wall; you had a light in the box.) Open the box, and show the children that there s nothing inside but a sheet of white paper. How do you think this box worked? (It seems impossible; I have no idea.) What things happen in the world that seem impossible? (People are healed after being sick for a long time; family and friends get along after fighting for a long time.) What things does God do that seem impossible? (God helps people get along; God helps people have babies when they didn t think they could.) God works in our world in many ways. Sometimes God s ways are strange and confusing to us. We don t understand how God works. It s hard to figure out how he does it. But God is greater than we are. God is smarter and more powerful. We can trust that God wants the best for us when he works in our world, even when we don t understand what he s doing or why he s doing it. Let s watch a skit about something strange that happened to Abraham. * The Three Visitors Retell the story of the three visitors through a modern-day drama of the story. You will need five adult or teen volunteers: three to portray the visitors and two to play Abraham and Sarah. Although you don t need costumes, Abraham and Sarah should look and act old. You could ask an older couple in your congregation to play Abraham and Sarah. Session 11 KidsOwn Worship 147

11 This will be an interactive drama in which the kids in the audience will participate in making the sound effects. You, as worship leader, will help the children with their cues. God works in many ways. God loves to do the impossible! He loves to do amazing, wonderful things for his people. In Genesis 18, God does something very special for Abraham. Let s see what happens. Have the players use the script to perform the drama. How did God work in our story today? (He promised to give Abraham and Sarah a baby; he followed through on his promise; God sent the visitors with great news.) Do you think Sarah had given up on the promise to have a son? Why or why not? (Yes, because she was too old; yes, she laughed at the news; no, she trusted God to follow through.) Why did Sarah laugh? (She didn t think she could have a baby; she thought the visitors were joking with her.) Was the promise that Abraham and Sarah were going to have a baby a miracle? Why? (Yes, because people that old don t have babies; no, people have babies all the time.) Nothing is impossible with God. Even though Abraham and Sarah were too old to have a baby, God made it happen! He loves to do the impossible! 148 KidsOwn Worship Fall Quarter * Many Ways God worked in many different ways in the Bible, and he works in many different ways today. Let s find out what some of those ways are. Taped to the bottom of your chair, you ll find a piece of paper with a way God worked in the Bible or works today. Find all the other people who have the same category you have written on their paper, and stand in a group. Help the children form smaller groups. There should be four groups: a miracle group, an angel group, a nature group, and a people group. Once children have formed the small groups, have each child share with the group members what is written on the paper. Get everyone s attention by clapping your hands or flipping the lights on and off, and ask one person from each group to share an example of how God works. Other than the ones we ve mentioned, what other ways does God choose to work in the world? (He helps people grow closer to him; he forgives our sins; God works out plans in our lives.) Why do you think God chooses to work in all these ways? (He loves us; he wants us to see his power.) What is God accomplishing by working in all these different ways? (God is helping people grow closer to him; God is helping the world see who he is.)

12 What do all these methods of working in the world tell you about God? (He loves us; God is amazing and creative.) We serve an amazing, creative God! Our God works in many ways in our lives and in our world. God loves us and wants us to love him, too. God works in all of these ways to protect us, to help us, to teach us, and to bring us closer to him. God works in all of these ways to show us who he is. Let s thank our wonderful God for working in our world. Let s Pray! The Offering Have the children stand in a circle. If there are more than 30 kids in your children s church, have them form two circles. As we take the offering today, let s think of different ways God works in our world. As the offering bowl comes to you, put in any offering you ve brought and say aloud one way God works in our world. Let s do this as a prayer. It ll be our way of acknowledging how great and good and powerful God is. Pass the offering bowl around the circle. God, we recognize how great you are. We have learned about how you work in our world and in our lives. And we praise you for all you do. In Jesus name, amen. Make a Prayer Chain God works in many ways. One of the ways God works is through our prayers. Prayer is a mystery because even though God knows everything about us, he still likes for us to talk with him and tell him the things we need and the things we re happy about. God still wants to hear about the things we need help with and about our friends who we want him to help. Distribute pencils and two small pieces of paper that are at least 1 inch wide and 3½ inches long. Give each child one each of two different colors. On one piece of paper, have children write something they need God s help with. On the other piece of paper, have them write something they re thankful for. Pair preschoolers with older children so the older children can help the younger ones write on their pieces of paper. Put the cards in a big bucket. Pray with the children over the bucket, thanking God for the things the children are happy about and interceding for their concerns. After you pray together, make a prayer chain. Using tape or glue sticks, make a chain out of the pieces of paper by forming each piece of paper into a circle or link with the words to the inside of the circle. Then loop the next piece of paper through the first link, and tape it together. Session 11 KidsOwn Worship 149

13 To do this quickly and easily, have the children sit in their seats. Redistribute the prayer strips so each child has two. Pass around the tape or glue sticks, and have each child link the two strips to the strips of the child next to him or her. Then as each row or group has finished a chain, link the chains together. Continue until the group has created one large prayer chain. Closing Prayer When children have completed the prayer chain, have them stand in a circle holding the chain around the circle (if you re in permanent rows, have a few rows turn to face the other rows and hold the chain in between them). This chain represents the different ways God is working among us. The needs we wrote down are many ways God is going to work in our lives. The things we are thankful for are the many ways God has already worked in our lives. Let s thank God for the many ways he works in our lives and in our world. As you all hold the chain, have the children repeat these prayer phrases after you: God, thank you (pause) for all the ways (pause) you work in our lives. (Pause.) We love you (pause) and worship you. (Pause.) In Jesus name, amen. Dismiss the children. Then hang the paper chain in your worship area as a reminder of how God works in many ways. 150 KidsOwn Worship Fall Quarter

14 The Three Visitors (Abraham is reading the newspaper, and Sarah is knitting. They hear a knock at the door.) Kids: (Knock on your chairs three times.) Abraham: (Gets up and answers the door.) Sarah: (Gathers the knitting and goes into the kitchen. ) Abraham: Well, hello! What an honor to have you come to my house. Please come in and have dinner with us. Visitor 1: That sounds great. We ve been traveling for quite a while. Visitor 2: We ve come from far away. Visitor 3: I didn t realize how thirsty I was. Abraham: You all look hot and tired. Would you like to wash up? (Abraham leads guests to a sink to wash up. Visitors turn on the water faucet and pretend to wash.) Kids: (Make sounds like water gushing.) Visitor 2: Boy, that s some water pressure you ve got here! (When the guests have finished washing, Abraham leads them to some chairs and invites them to sit.) Abraham: Excuse me for a moment. (Goes into the kitchen.) Sarah, quickly make dinner for our three important guests. They re starving, and they must eat right away. (Abraham returns to the living room.) Sarah: (Dramatically) Dinner! I can t possibly prepare it so quickly. What ll I do? (Rummages through the refrigerator and then puts her finger in the air as if she suddenly has a great idea.) I know! Pizza! (Pretends to dial a phone and order pizza. Then stands and listens at the door as the dialogue continues.) Kids: Yummy! Pizza! Hope it s pepperoni! Visitor 1: So, Abraham, how are things going? Abraham: Well as you know, I ve been living here in the desert for a while. Once in a while I have to bail my nephew Lot out of trouble, but for the most part it s same old, same old. Visitor 1: Abraham, I ve got some great news that s bound to put the spark of excitement back into your dull routine. Next year at this time, Sarah will have a baby a son! Kids: (Rock an imaginary baby and say waah! ) Sarah: (Holds her sides and silently rocks with laughter.) Visitor 1: Why did Sarah laugh? Is there anything that s too hard for me? Sarah: (Runs into the living room. ) I didn t laugh! Visitor 1: (Smiling gently) Yes, Sarah, you did. Sarah: (Puts hands over her face in shame.) Visitor 1: (Gets up and hugs Sarah.) Kids: (Knock three times on chairs.) Abraham: (Goes to the door and answers it.) Kids: Pizza s here! Permission to photocopy this handout from KidsOwn Worship Leader Guide, Fall, granted for local church use. Copyright Group Publishing, Inc. group.com Session 11 KidsOwn Worship 151