SPRING 2010 LEADER GUIDE MARCH. Awesome Start APRIL. Jesus, My Savior MAY. Team Family. range to bottom edge

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1 LEADER GUIDE range to bottom edge MARCH Awesome Start APRIL Jesus, My Savior MAY Team Family X SPRING 2010

2 Session Title Read A Radical the Word Beginning Bible Passage Nehemiah Bible Passage 8:1-12 Genesis 1:1 2:3 Level of Biblical Learning Level of Biblical The Learning Bible is for (Creation) people of all languages, Creation can ethnicities, be credited and to cultures. God only. Bible Truth God wants is the Creator. people to read His Word. Life Application Life God created Application everything, and I can read praise God s Him. Word daily. Memory Verse Those He never who grows hear faint the word of weary; God and there keep is no it are limit to blessed! His understanding. Luke Isaiah 11:28 40:28 Almost all Bible translations begin with these words: In the beginning God... The word translated formless is the Hebrew tohu and means formlessness, confusion, unreality, emptiness. The word has been translated as chaos, confusion, desolation, meaningless, or futile things. God didn t just create the world. He gave a cosmic object lesson of what He can do. On the surface, just reading the words of Genesis 1 is like surviving a hurricane and saying, It was windy. For just a moment, meditate on the enormity of what happened. Hold a blank sheet of paper in your hand. Now make something out of it. The possibilities could have me staring into space for hours. And, to think, I started with something; God began with nothing. God spoke and all the details came instantly to completion. At His command there were colors, textures, circulatory systems, brain functions, and planet rotations that are so set and predictable that their locations in the sky have served as GPS devices long before computers. Week of march 7, 2010 Now consider the orderliness of God s well-constructed plan. Creation was built from the first rays of light to land foundations, to a full-blown ecosystem. For each living element of creation, God designed and directed its purpose. Every theory that counters the biblical account of creation is just that theory that cannot be proven by any scientific method. On the seventh day God rested. The root of the word shabbat is a cease and desist type rest. God s plan includes a day to cease and desist from the average, ordinary daily upkeep that has become our lives routines. God blessed and declared this day as set apart from the others. It is God s invitation to stop what you re doing and concentrate on Him. The preteens you teach may be coming from a variety of experiences. You have the opportunity to focus on the awesomeness of God and the truth in His Word. Lead the preteens you teach to praise God the Creator and celebrate His wonderful creation. God was not surprised by any of it. And each and every thing was declared Good! by the One who created it. 6 bible teaching experience for preteens

3 Extend This Session (page 7, use before or after session) An animal scavenger hunt helps preteens practice Bible skills. Excite (page 7, 5-10 minutes) A critter classification game introduces the creation story. Experience The Bible (pages 8-9, minutes) Preteens will research the days of creation, hear about God s plan for some unusual creatures, and use a brainstorming activity to praise God for His creative works. Express Yourself (pages 10-11, minutes) RGirls: Paper Petals RBoys: Web Wall Hanging RBoys and Girls: Animal Cracker Creation Game DIRECTOR OR TEACHER Species Scavenging 1. Distribute Bibles and copies of Species Scavenging (CD-ROM). Lead preteens to explore the designated Bible books to find the animals illustrated on the sheet. Point out the Scripture references list. Comment that there are more Scriptures listed than needed. 2. If you do not use the CD-ROM item, lead preteens to explore the Old Testament and list the animal names they discover on a sheet of blank paper. Allow preteens to work in pairs to compile the longest list. Rpaper EXCEPTION: Species Scavenging, (CD-ROM) Print one copy of Species Scavenging for each preteen. DIRECTOR AND/OR TEACHER Find Your Kind 1. Birds, Bugs, and Beasts (Pack Item 4). Give each preteen one card. The cards should remain facedown until you direct otherwise. 2. I See God (CD-Track 1). Start the recording. Direct preteens to trade cards with as many people as possible. 3. Stop the recording at any time and say, Find your kind! The preteens should look at their cards and race to assemble by category birds, bugs, or beasts. 4. Repeat the activity a couple of times. 5. For a small-group option, place the cards facedown on a table. Form three teams. At your signal, teams will race to locate the cards applicable to their categories. 6. Transition to Experience. Comment that God created all kinds of animals, and their uniqueness is a reason to praise God. RPack Item 4 RCD (Track 1) Week of MARCH 7,

4 Week of march 7, 2010 RPack Items 2, 3 RCD (Track 2) RTeaching Picture 1 Rlearner guide (pages 3, 4) Rball of string or yarn DIRECTOR 1 Introduce the unit and practice Bible skills. R March Title Banner (Pack Item 2). Lead preteens to speculate which Bible book would be the focus of a unit called Awesome Start. (Genesis) Explain that Genesis, the first book of the Bible, contains stories of first things. Challenge preteens to describe the first thing mentioned in these verses: x x Genesis 2:22 (first woman) x x Genesis 4:8 (first murder) x x Genesis 4:21 (first mention of music) x x Genesis 9:13 (first rainbow) x x Genesis 11:4 (first skyscraper, Tower of Babel) 2 Study the Bible. RCreation by the Numbers. Group preteens into seven groups. Each group will be assigned one day of creation. If your class is small, create groups with equal numbers of preteens and give each group two or three creation days for their assignments. Instruct groups to examine Genesis 1:1 2:3 and identify the item(s) God created on the day(s) their group was assigned. When you call for reports, challenge preteens to explain why the universe could not function properly without the existence of each creation. xx Day 1: Light necessary for heat and growth xx Day 2: Sky/atmosphere necessary for plants and animals to breathe xx Day 3: Land/seas/plants necessary for food and shelter xx Day 4: Sun/moon/stars necessary to regulate days and seasons xx Day 5: Birds/fish necessary for food, beauty, and plant growth (birds scatter and replant seeds) xx Day 6: Animals/people necessary for food, clothing, protection (animals); necessary for God to carry out His plan (people) xx Day 7: Rest necessary for all humans and animals Ask preteens to examine the chapter and find a recurring phrase that describes God s view of His creation. (It was good.) Assert that no creation of God is an accident. Each element is designed with a unique function planned especially by its Creator. 8 bible teaching experience for preteens

5 3 Introduce the life application and learn the memory verse. R Our Helpful Friends (CD-Track 2). Encourage preteens to listen carefully for facts about two of God s less-appreciated creations (earthworms and leeches). Invite volunteers to share other animal trivia that demonstrate God s awesome creativity. RIsaiah 40:28 memory verse (Pack Item 3). Explain that the verse is a fitting description of God, the Creator. Direct preteens to stand in a circle. Hand a ball of string to any preteen. Cue him to say the first word of Isaiah 40:28 as he grasps the end of the string and tosses the ball across the circle to a classmate to create the first strand of a spider web. The second preteen will say the next word, grasp the string, and toss it to another preteen. Continue with the remaining words of Isaiah 40:28. Challenge the group to untangle the web by repeating the process in reverse. 4 Use the learner guide and pray. R Hop to It! (learner guide). Lead preteens to complete the activity. Invite volunteers to share their answers. Guide each preteen to finish this prayer silently, God, I praise You because you created. R The Real Approach to Creation (learner guide). Encourage preteens to complete the Bible story review at home. 5 Review. RTeaching Picture 1. Challenge preteens to identify something in the picture that represents each day of creation. If your classroom has an outside window, allow preteens to look outside and do the same. 6 Form Express groups. Lead each preteen to join the appropriate teacher. Week of MARCH 7,

6 GIRLS Rlearner guide (page 3) Rheavyweight paper or scrapbook paper (various colors and solid green) Rchenille craft stems Snip about two-thirds of the stems in half. Rfine-point markers, tacky glue TEACHERS Girls: Paper Petals R A Wing and a Praise (learner guide). 1. Guide girls to count butterfly spots and locate the related verses. After volunteers read each verse aloud, ask: xx How would you define praise? xx Why does God want you to praise Him? xx How does observing God s creation lead to praise? xx Why is praise a healthy habit? 2. Steer the discussion to the conclusion that praise shifts a person s focus from all about me to all about God. 2. RMake paper flowers. 1. Bend 5-6 chenille craft half-stems into petal shapes. Instruct girls to glue each petal shape to scrapbook paper. The stems should hang off the paper. 2. Set the paper petals aside. While the glue dries, cut a leaf shape from solid green paper. Direct girls to print a praise phrase on the leaf shape. 3. Carefully cut around each paper petal. Wind the stems together to create a flower shape. Allow girls to thread the punched leafs through the petal stems. 4. Make a long stem by attaching a full-size chenille stem to the petal and leaf arrangement. Wrap Up. Encourage girls to display their paper flowers at home as a reminder to praise God for His creation. Boys Rlearner guide (page 4) Rbundle of 6- to 8-inch twigs Rstring Rblank index cards Cut the cards into thirds. Boys: Web Wall Hanging R From A to Bee (learner guide). 1. Invite boys to define praise. Compare their definitions to the one in the learner guide activity. 2. Emphasize that praise is not limited to singing and praying at church. Praise can be expressed in ways that suit each individual s personality. 3. Guide boys to complete the activity and suggest other creative ways to praise. Remind boys that today s memory verse (Isaiah 40:28) expresses the reason to praise God. Distribute blank cards and challenge boys to print the verse from memory. RCreate wall hangings. 1. Distribute the cards to boys and instruct them to write today s memory verse on it. Direct each boy to set the card aside to insert into his web later. 10 bible teaching experience for preteens

7 Arrange three twigs in a starburst shape. Use the string to secure the center of the twigs with a knot. Beginning at the center and working outward, wind the string around each twig to create an artificial spider web. Leave a ¼- to ½-inch space between each row of string. Knot the string firmly to finish the web. Make a hanging loop with another short piece of string. Tuck the memory verse card into the web. (Optional: glue a toy spider to one twig.) Wrap Up. Encourage boys to display their wall hangings as a reminder to praise God in a manner that suits their unique personalities. ; Boys and Girls: Animal Cracker Creation Game RIntroduction. 1. Lead preteens to find and read Psalm 104:24. Comment that the variety of God s creations reveals what an awesome Creator He is. 2. Encourage the group to examine Psalm 104 and name at least 20 creations mentioned. Call attention to verse 33 and ask what the psalm s writer did as a result of thinking about God s creation. (praised God) RPlay a game. 1. Distribute paper and pencils. 2. Player 1 will draw an animal cracker from the bag and identify the animal. When he does, give preteens 60 seconds to list as many creations as possible that begin with the first letter of the animal s name. (Elephant cracker eyes, ears, eagles, and so forth) 3. Compare lists. The player with the greatest number of unduplicated answers may draw the animal cracker for the next round. (Option: Play without crackers. Preteens can take turns suggesting letters for each round.) Boys and Girls Rpackage of animal crackers Rtimer or watch with secondhand Wrap Up. Play a final round of the game based on this category: words beginning with the first letter of your name to describe God s creation. Lead each player to share his list. Urge preteens to use those descriptive words often in prayers of praise to their Creator. Week of MARCH 7,