God is in control of the future.

Transcription

1 Praise Jesus! Abram Travels to an Unknown Land Lesson 5 Bible Point God is in control of the future. Bible Verse And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them (Romans 8:28). Growing Closer to Jesus Students will n predict what their lives will be like in the future, n experience waiting for a future event, and n learn to trust God with their futures. Teacher Enrichment Bible Basis n Abram travels to an unknown land. Genesis 12:1-7 Sell everything you can t carry with you, leave all your friends and extended family, get your wife and belongings in the car, and start driving. You ll probably never come back here again, but don t worry about that I ll show you where to go. If God were speaking to Abram today, that might be what he d say. What trust in God it took for Abram to leave his home, his country, and everything familiar and comfortable and set out for an unknown destination! What helped Abram on his way was a trusting relationship with God. Lot, Abram s nephew, went along but probably not just for companionship or adventure. Abram may have asked Lot to go because Abram had no offspring of his own to take charge if Abram died or became incapacitated. Or Lot may have seen this as an opportunity to inherit Abram s riches, knowing that his uncle was bound to die before long. Either way, Lot probably was expected to be Abram s heir. We are told nothing about the journey, but the trip from Haran to Bethel was approximately 500 miles, much of it over rough desert land. Finally Abram completed the journey in faith, and the Lord appeared to him (Genesis 12:7). God had spoken to Abram earlier, but now God appeared and confirmed the promise he had made to Abram back at Haran: The fertile land before him would one day belong to his descendants. That meant he would still have descendants! The promises were beginning to come true! Another Scripture used in this lesson is Lamentations 3: Prayer Read Proverbs 3:5-6. How might your life be different if you trusted God more completely? Pray: Lord, please help me trust and follow you without question. And help me to be an example of a trusting servant for the children I teach. 55

2 Lesson 5 Before the Lesson n Collect the necessary items for the activities you plan to use, referring to the Classroom Supplies and Learning Lab Supplies listed on the chart. n Make photocopies of the Hands-On Fun at Home handout (at the end of this lesson) to send home with your students. n Pray for your students and for God s direction as you teach the lesson. This Lesson at a Glance Attention Grabber What Students Will Do Classroom Supplies Learning Lab Supplies Looking Ahead Predict what they ll be doing in the future. Pencil, index card Bible Exploration & Application Trail of Faith Journey around the room, and read the story of Abram from Genesis 12:1-7. Bibles, tape, paper scraps Rainbow Spring Challenge Play a game that includes trusting promises, read Romans 8:28, and praise God for being in control of their futures. Bibles, CD player, masking tape That s Knot Fair! Untie knots in the streamer, and discuss Lamentations 3: Bibles, snack, tape Closing Back to the Future Commit to trust God about their futures, and thank God for being in control of the future. 56

3 Abram Travels to an Unknown Land Welcome As kids arrive, ask them how they applied last week s lesson to their lives. Ask questions such as, How did you care for God s world? and What did you learn about the world around you? Remind kids that whenever you honk the Harpo horn twice, they are to stop talking, clap twice, and focus on you. Explain that it s important to respond to this signal quickly so the class can do as many fun activities as possible. Attention Grabber n Looking Ahead SUPPLIES: index card, pencil Write a number between 1 and 20 on an index card, and fold it in half. Have kids sit on the floor in a circle. Say: I ve written a number between 1 and 20 on this card. Who d like to guess what number I ve written? Take guesses from several students, and then share the actual number with the class. Say: We make guesses every day. We guess what the weather will be like so we can wear the right clothes. We might guess which team will win a game so we can cheer for it. Sometimes we guess what our lives will be like in the future. Spin the plastic spin top, and say: I wonder what we ll all be doing in the future. I ll pass this top around so each of you can spin it. As you spin it, tell us one thing you think you might be doing in seven or eight years, when you re in high school. While it s spinning, the rest of us will guess other things you might be doing in the future. After the plastic spin top has been passed around the circle, place it out of sight for use in future lessons. Ask: What was it like to make predictions about your future? (I didn t know what to say; it was fun to think about what I might be doing; I was worried I might be doing something I won t like.) What did you think about the predictions other people made for your future? (They were all wrong; I might like to do some of those things; I don t know if they ll turn out to be true.) What might God think about our predictions for the future? (God knows what will happen; God is probably laughing.) What things about the future do you look forward to the most? (Driving a car; not having anybody boss me around; Christmas and summer vacations.) Can you control what will happen in the future? Explain. (No, anything could happen; yes, I can decide to stay home from school tomorrow, but my mom may make me go; yes, my family is planning to go to my grandma s house for Christmas.) It s important to say the Bible Point just as it s written in each activity. Repeating the Bible Point over and over throughout the lesson will help kids remember it and apply it to their lives. If your class is larger than eight people, spin the plastic spin top yourself. Give kids a few moments to think before you spin the top. As it s spinning, have kids take turns saying one thing they might be doing in seven or eight years. Spin the top two or three more times, and let kids call out predictions about their friends. 57

4 Lesson 5 Say: We all look forward to the future, but we can t predict or control what s really going to happen. Only God can predict the future. And God is in control of the future. This activity works best in a large open space. If you can t move the furniture in your classroom out of the way and if weather permits, do this activity outside. To make sure that kids have enough space to spin, have the rest of the class step out of the way of the person pointing the pick-up stick. If more kids want to be spun, spin a few more of them after you ve read the entire passage. Use the extra steps to lengthen your hearts and stars trail. As you lead discussions with your class, ask open-ended questions. Rather than rephrasing questions as statements and asking children to agree, wait for kids to answer on their own. Respect what class members say, and let the kids teach you. You ll be surprised how much they know! Bible Exploration & Application n Trail of Faith SUPPLIES: Bibles, paper scraps, tape Before the lesson, tape scraps of paper over the eyeholes in one of the mystery masks. Have kids form a single-file line. Distribute Bibles, and help kids look up Genesis 12. Wait until everyone has found the passage before continuing. Say: People in Bible days had concerns about the future just as we do today. Let s take a journey with one man who had no idea what his future would hold. Give the first person in line one pick-up stick to use as a pointer. Use the mystery mask with the eyeholes covered to blindfold this person. Have the next person in line spin the first person around. When the first person stops spinning, lead the class five steps in the direction the pick-up stick points. Vary the type of steps kids take. For example, you could lead them with giant steps, baby steps, or even bunny hops. Each time you take a step, drop either a heart or star from the linking hearts and stars. Wait at the end of the trail until a different spinner points in a new direction. When you ve finished the activity, the hearts and stars will mark the winding path you took through the room. After you ve taken your first set of steps, ask a volunteer to read aloud Genesis 12:1. Have the rest of the kids follow along in their Bibles. Ask: Would you want to leave your home and family if you didn t even know where you were going? Why or why not? (No, because I might have to go someplace I wouldn t like; yes, I d like to try going to a new place; yes, I d like to get away from my family.) Have the first person go to the end of the line. Transfer the mystery mask and the pick-up stick pointer to the next person. Have the new second person in line spin the blindfolded person, and then take your next set of steps. Say: Let s see what else God said to Abram. Ask two volunteers to read aloud Genesis 12:2 and 3. Ask: Now how many of you think you d go? Why or why not? (Yes, because God said he would bless Abram; God said he would make Abram famous; no, I still wouldn t know where I was going.) Transfer the mystery mask and the pick-up stick pointer to the next person so someone can spin him or her. After you ve taken your steps, say: Even though he had many unanswered questions, Abram believed God had the future under control. Listen to what Abram did. Ask three volunteers to read aloud Genesis 12:4, 5-6, and 7. 58

5 Transfer the mystery mask and the pick-up stick pointer to the next person in line. After kids take their five steps, ask them to stand in a circle. Place the mystery mask and the pick-up stick out of sight for use in later lessons. Say: Raise your hand when you think of an answer to each question I ask. I d like to hear lots of different, interesting answers. When someone gives an answer you thought of and you don t have anything more to add, you may sit down. When everyone is seated, I ll ask you to stand again for the next question. Point out the trail of hearts and stars you left behind. Ask: How is the path we took through our classroom like the journey Abram took? (We didn t know which way we were going to go; we took the long way around the room; we all went together.) How do you think Abram knew which roads to take on his journey? (He took a wide road so he could fit all his camels; he flipped a coin; he went the way God told him to go.) Why didn t God tell Abram where he was going before he left? (God wanted Abram to trust him; God wanted to give Abram a tour of the countryside; God wanted to see if Abram would go.) How is this heart-and-star path like our future? (It goes in different directions; we didn t know what it would be like until we got to the end.) Say: We don t always know exactly where we ll end up when we follow God. But like Abram, we know that God is in control of the future. And the longer we follow God, the more we ll see God guiding the future. Collect the linking hearts and stars for use in the next activity. Abram Travels to an Unknown Land n Rainbow Spring Challenge SUPPLIES: Bibles, CD player, masking tape Before the lesson, use masking tape to make two parallel track 6 6-foot lines on the floor. Place the lines about 8 feet apart. If your room has tile floors, consider using Scotch-Blue painter s tape for delicate surfaces. Have kids form two equal groups. Ask one group to line up single file behind one masking-tape line, and give the first person five pieces from the linking hearts and stars. Ask the other group to form a single-file line behind the second tape marker, and give the first person the rainbow spring. The two groups should be facing each other. Say: Most of you have probably never heard of the Rainbow Spring Toss Challenge game, but I m hoping it becomes an Olympic event in oh, about 2208 or so. That means we d better get started training! Select a volunteer, and demonstrate how to play the game as you explain. Say: My partner and I are a team. The goal of this event is for my partner to gently toss the hearts and stars to me one at a time and for me to catch each piece in this rainbow spring. There are three rules: 1. I must hold the rainbow spring cupped in both my hands. I can t guide the hearts and stars in with one hand while holding the spring in the other. Bible Insight Abram covered about 450 miles on his trek from Haran to Canaan. During these travels, Abram and his entourage probably lived in tents made from animal skins stretched over wooden poles. If your class is larger than eight students, have kids form two sets of lines so more kids can play the tossing game at the same time. 59

6 Lesson 5 2. All five hearts and stars must be tossed within 20 seconds. And 3. Players must stay behind their respective lines. As spectators, we must decide how well we think each team will toss and catch before they start. Before each team starts, the person holding the hearts and stars will say, I promise five. If we think the team will successfully complete five tosses and catches, we ll say, We trust you. If we don t think they ll be successful five times out of five, we ll remain quiet and the Tosser will then say, I promise four. If we think the partners are great at the sport and can be successful four times out of five, we ll say, We trust you. Tossers, you ve got to keep counting down until nearly everyone is saying I trust you after you promise a number. Then get started and see if you can do it or even better! Ready? Let s play! Keep the process good-natured and moving quickly. Encourage pairs by applauding all efforts. After every pair has had a turn, move on to the debriefing. If you have time, let teams reverse roles so everyone has a chance to toss and catch the hearts and stars. Ask pairs to discuss: How did you decide whether or not to trust each pair s promises of success? (If they re coordinated; based on what we have seen them do before.) If you d seen a pair practicing and being successful each time, would it have been easier or harder to trust that the team would be successful? Why? (Easier, because practice makes perfect; easier, because then we have evidence.) Call the class back together by honking the Harpo horn. Wait for kids to respond, and then have them share what they learned from their discussions. Help kids look up Romans 8:28 in their Bibles. Ask a volunteer to read the verse aloud with you: And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. Have kids repeat the verse together several times. Say: It s easier to trust someone to come through if we ve seen that person come through before. With your partner discuss the following questions. Pause for a minute or two after asking each question so kids have time to discuss. When God promises to work things out for the best, we can think about people in the Bible that God helped. Who are some of those people? (Ruth and Naomi; Noah; Daniel in the lion s den; Esther.) Does knowing that God took care of Abram and many other people make it harder or easier to trust God with your future? Why? (Easier, because he has shown that he has the power; easier, because I know he cares about me, too; harder, because I still have choices to make.) Call the class back together by honking the Harpo horn. Wait for kids to respond, and then have them share what they learned from their discussions. Say: Like Abram, we don t know what s waiting for us in the future. But we do know that God is in control of the future. That means he s in control of our futures, too, and we can trust him to lead us where it s best for us to go. Let s listen to a song about that. Play And We Know (Romans 8:28) (track 6) on the CD. The lyrics are at the back of this book. When the song is finished, stop the CD. Say: Let s thank God for being in control of our futures. Ask kids to form a circle with you, facing inward. Ask the 60

7 students to offer brief sentence prayers to thank and praise God for being in control of their futures. Begin by praying: Thank you, God, for being in control of my future. Because I know you re powerful and loving, I m not afraid of my future. Then turn around and face outward. Encourage kids to offer their own prayers and then to turn outward to symbolize facing their futures. If kids don t want to pray out loud, tell them that God will hear their silent prayers as well. Remind them to turn around and face outward when they are finished with their prayers of thanks and praise. Play And We Know (Romans 8:28) (track 6) on the CD again quietly during these prayers. When everyone who wishes to pray and turn outward has done so, close the prayer. Pray: You are so good, God. Thank you for being with us now and in our futures. In Jesus name, amen. Abram Travels to an Unknown Land Say: We know God always keeps his promises. God kept his promise to send us a Savior Jesus and he ll keep his promise that Jesus will come again. We have an eternity in heaven with Jesus to look forward to. Talk about a great future! All we have to do is believe in Jesus. HANDS-ON BIBLE Give each person a handful of cotton balls and a sheet of heavy paper. Make sure kids have their Hands-On Bibles. Have kids turn to Psalm 95 in their Hands-On Bibles and complete the Why Worship? activity found nearby. When everyone is finished, ask: How was God like a shepherd to Abram? (God led Abram and showed him where to go; God took care of Abram.) How does it make you feel to know that you have a good shepherd in control of your future? (Good, confident, happy, safe.) n That s Knot Fair! SUPPLIES: Bibles, snack, tape Before class, divide the streamers of the tinsel wand into three sections, and tape the ends of each section. Starting at the bottom, tie three knots in each section. The knots should be about 4 to 6 inches apart. Then remove the tape. Hold up the tinsel wand, and say: I have a little job for us to do. I ve tied a bunch of knots in our tinsel wand. Could you help me untie these knots? If you ll each take one knot, I m sure it won t take very long. I ll untie the first one to get us started. We ll have a special treat when we re through. Take your time untying the first knot. (Note: It will be easier to untie the knots if 61

8 Lesson 5 As kids finish untying knots, ask them to remain seated until all the knots have been untied. Tell them they may talk quietly until they hear the signal. you begin at the bottom.) Then assign each person a knot. If your class has more than eight kids, have them work on the knots in pairs. As kids finish, direct them to find a seat in another part of the room. Keep them waiting until the last person has untied the last knot. After all the knots are untied, place the tinsel wand out of sight. Honk the Harpo horn twice to bring everyone together. Wait for kids to respond, and then distribute a snack. As kids are eating their snacks, ask: What was it like to know that other people were waiting for you to finish? (It made me nervous; it was annoying; frustrating; hard.) What went through your mind while you waited for others to finish? (Hurry up; I m bored; what s taking so long?) What are some things you have to wait for every day? (I have to wait for my big sister to get out of the bathroom; I have to wait my turn to play Foursquare at recess; I have to wait for my mom to get off the phone.) Could you get any of those things without waiting? Explain. (Yes, I could take cuts in line; no, I just have to wait until I get a turn.) What are some things that are really worth waiting for? (A trip to Disneyland; my birthday; Christmas; a good movie.) Say: Sometimes we have to wait for God to act, just like we had to wait until everyone finished before we got our special treat. We re going to read a passage from the Bible now. Listen carefully, and see if you can tell me why God is worth waiting for. Help kids find Lamentations 3:22-26 in their Bibles. Ask for a volunteer to read the verses aloud while the others follow along in their Bibles. Ask: What did you hear in these verses that would make you want to trust God with your future? (God s love never ends; God is good to those who depend on him; it s good to wait for God.) Say: We don t know what our future will bring, but if we trust God we can t go wrong. God is in control of the future. Closing n Back to the Future SUPPLIES: none Have kids stand in a circle, facing inward. Say: I m going to pass this inflatable microphone around the circle. When it reaches you, complete this sentence: When I grow up I want to be Pass the inflatable microphone around the circle, giving kids each a turn to tell what they might like to be when they grow up. When the microphone returns to you, say: Now I m going to pass the inflatable microphone around the circle again. This time when it comes to you, complete this sentence: One way I can trust God with my future is 62

9 Pass the inflatable microphone around the circle again. When it returns to you, say: We don t know what kinds of changes will happen or what we ll be like in the future. But no matter what we end up doing in the future, we know that God is in control of the future. We can trust our futures to God. Let s pass the inflatable microphone around one last time. I will close in prayer, and when the microphone comes to you, add one word to complete the prayer. Pray: God, thank you for watching over our futures. Knowing we can trust you with our futures makes us feel Pass the inflatable microphone around the circle a final time, giving each person a turn to add one word. Then have everybody join in a loud amen. Abram Travels to an Unknown Land Growing closer to Jesus extends beyond the classroom. Photocopy the Hands-On Fun at Home handout (at the end of this lesson) for this week, and send it home with your kids. Encourage kids and parents to use the handout to spark meaningful discussion on this week s topic. 63

10 Lesson 13 5 God is in control of the future. And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them (Romans 8:28). Read Matthew 6:25-34 together. Have each person in your family share one thing about the future that worries him or her. Hold hands and pray for one another. Tape several sheets of paper together to make a family timeline. Start with the date your parents were married, and then take turns adding other important dates. Be sure to include everyone s birthday! Other special events you might want to mark on your timeline include vacations, holiday celebrations, moving to a new house or a new city, getting a pet, and starting school. Discuss how God will take care of your family in the future, just as he has in the past. Read Psalm 17:6-8. Think of a time God protected your family. How can you trust God to protect you in the future? Read Genesis 8:6-16. Do you think it was hard for Noah to wait for the water to go down after the flood? What are some things that are hard for you to wait for? Why? 64 Give everyone in your family a sheet of paper. Have each person cut the sheet of paper into enough pieces so there is one for each member of the family. (If you have more than four people in your family, give each person two sheets of paper to cut.) Have everyone complete this sentence on each piece of paper: [Name], I m glad you re in our family because and then sign and date it. Collect all the papers, and put them in a shoe box. Seal the box with tape. After one month, open the box and give the members of your family their special notes! Permission to photocopy this handout from Group s Hands-On Bible Curriculum, Grades 3 & 4, granted for local church use. Copyright Group Publishing, Inc., 1515 Cascade Ave., Loveland, CO group.com