10:30-11:00. Be in class for CONNECT/ CHECK-INS - playtime - coloring pages 8:15-8:45 11:00-11:25 8:45-9:05. GATHER: - Welcome - God s Big Story

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1 Three Year Olds Summer Lesson 8 Bible Passage: Jonah 1 4 (Jonah) Our God Saves LESSON OVERVIEW 8:15-8:45 8:45-9:05 9:05-9:25 9:25-9:45 9:45 - end 10:30-11:00 11:00-11:25 11:25-11:40 11:40-12:00 12:00 - end Be in class for CONNECT/ CHECK-INS - playtime - coloring pages GATHER: - Welcome - God s Big Story RESPOND prepared crafts/activities WORSHIP BLESS and Snack - playtime until end *see Resources 2018 David C Cook. TruResources are developed in partnership with ROCKHARBOR Church and a national network of family and children s ministry leaders. All rights reserved. Reproducible for church use only.

2 LEADER PREP Each week you ll find encouraging articles that help you prepare your heart to present the lesson. Inspire Shares personal stories from fellow ministry leaders about how God has worked in their lives The truck barreled toward us across the median and slammed into our car. I screamed as our car was pushed sideways into another car. I was pregnant, and a passenger in the other car was pregnant too. Amazingly, no one was harmed. Thank You, God. Thank You, Jesus, I kept saying following the accident. As the authorities arrived, I wrestled with my desire for vengeance toward the drunk driver. The police explained that the driver of the truck could be punished to the full extent of the law if someone got seriously hurt. Because both victims were pregnant, our testimonies could possibly increase the charge from misdemeanor to felony. A visit to the emergency room assured me nothing had happened to my unborn baby or me. Yet for weeks I struggled with the fact that an exaggerated testimony in court could potentially put a drunk driver behind bars. During this time, a friend sent me a prayer. For this man we pray too, Lord, she wrote, as he wakes up to the gravity of what could have been, that You would intervene in a way that only You are capable of. Her prayer made me think about God s merciful nature. But I was still mad! The court date arrived, and God had calmed my heart. I didn t set foot in that courtroom. Instead, I prayed that God would intervene with mercy. I prayed that the man wouldn t live with guilt but know that God had protected both families. To this day, I live in the freedom that God is always merciful and He saves. Amy Palmerton ROCKHARBOR Church Equip Offers perspective and context to the lesson s Bible passage God saves. We see His mercy in many ways throughout The Big God Story. In the Old Testament, particularly during the time of the exile, God raised up prophets to be a voice to correct the moral failure running rampant through Israel. The word prophet in Hebrew means, to bubble forth as from a fountain. In Jonah s case, when God asked him to go to the pagan city of Nineveh and preach against it, he had no desire to bubble forth as a fountain. Instead, he ran away. It s easy to see why Jonah wanted to stay away from Nineveh. The Ninevites were wicked people. We read gory details of their practices of witchcraft, prostitution, bloodshed, and terror against their neighbors. Charging cavalry, flashing swords and glittering spears! Many casualties, piles of dead, bodies without number, people stumbling over the corpses (Nahum 3:3). Though Jonah ran away from his God-given task, the Lord showed him mercy. When Jonah was thrown into the sea during a raging storm, God saved him by causing a great fish to swallow him and then spit him out onto dry land three days later. After this miracle, Jonah entered Nineveh to deliver God s message. The Ninevites turned from their evil deeds, and because of their repentance, God didn t destroy their city. God was merciful to His disobedient prophet Jonah, and He saved the most wicked people on earth by giving them the chance to repent and know Him. Support Provides reflection and assessment through encouragement, prayer, and time in God s Word How do we allow God to use us to bring justice and mercy to the world? Consider passages such as this one: He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God (Micah 6:8). As you think about these words justice, mercy, humility meditate on how you know these things to be true about God. Ask God to give you the courage to approach life with justice, mercy, and humility. Pray that, through the Holy Spirit, you might become more aware of God s pattern of offering undeserved forgiveness.

3 !! Children develop relationships with their leaders and one another through simple activities and conversation starters. - Playtime - Coloring Pages Children experience and learn more about God through traditions, song, and storytelling from The Big God Story. Welcome Bible Story Spots Hamilton puppet Toy boat Ponder Point: Our God Saves Hi, friends! Welcome! I m so excited to be here with you. It s time to hear a part of The Big God Story. Friends, do you know who loves The Big God Story? Encourage responses. That s right. Hamilton the Hedgehog. Should we call him and ask him to join us? Children will answer. On the count of three, let s call him together. Are you ready? One, two, three. Hamilton, where are you? Encourage kids to call for Hamilton. Hmmm I don t think he heard us. Maybe Hamilton is hiding somewhere. Let s call him again. Hamilton! Hamilton the Hedgehog comes out of his house carrying a toy boat. Hamilton, is that a boat you have there? Hamilton nods up and down. Do you think someone in The Big God Story is going to be traveling in a boat? Allow children to respond. I think you re right! Are you ready to hear this part of The Big God Story? Hamilton nods excitedly. Me too! But before we get started, do you know where we can find The Big God Story? Hamilton nods his head and gestures to the Bible. That s right the Bible. God gave us the Bible so we can learn about Him. It s full of things that help us get to know God. We read the Bible to learn about God and about His Son, Jesus. And I know that you love to dig, dig, dig right into God s Word to find out what He has to say to us. Isn t that right, Hamilton? Hamilton nods his head. Let s all stand up and sing our Bible Song together. Bible Song (sung to the tune of Mary Had a Little Lamb ) Now it s time to hear God s Word Hear God s Word Hear God s Word Now it s time to hear God s Word So let s look in the Bible As the song ends, have the children return to their Story Spots. Hamilton can model this for the children by sitting quietly as he listens to The Big God Story. The Big God Story The Big God Story is written for a three-year-old audience. It can be told in its entirety or shortened if the class is on the younger side.

4 Jonah Our God Saves Jonah 1 4 The Big God Story images #1 6 (see Resources) Card stock (6 sheets) Story Spots Masking tape Bedsheet Hamilton puppet Hamilton s toy boat PREPARE AHEAD Print The Big God Story images #1 6 in color onto card stock. SET UP Create four Storytelling Centers as follows: Storytelling Center #1 (Jonah s House): Story Spots on the floor. Storytelling Center #2 (The Boat): Make a boat outline on the floor with masking tape. Storytelling Center #3 (Belly of the Fish): Drape a large bedsheet over two tables to make an area under which you and the children can sit. Storytelling Center #4 (Nineveh): Story Spots on the floor. Before we get started, let s pray and ask God to teach us. Lead children in a Prayer of Release to pause, be still, and ask the Holy Spirit to quiet their hearts and minds. Begin the story at the children s Story Spots. A man named Jonah loved God. Show The Big God Story image #1. God talked to Jonah and told him to go to Nineveh and tell the people to listen to God s words. The people in Nineveh didn t obey God. They were doing bad things. They needed to hear special words from God. But Jonah didn t want to go to Nineveh. He didn t want to give God s words to the people. So Jonah ran away. Do you think God knew where Jonah was? Children respond. Yes, God always knows where we are, because He is always with us. Hamilton holds up his boat and shows it to the children. Hamilton, is that going to help us with the next part of the story? Hamilton nods his head. Jonah ran away and got on a boat. Show image #2. Let s pretend to run away and get on the boat I made. Lead children to the boat and have them sit inside it. Look at us! We re in a boat, just like Jonah. Jonah went to sleep in the boat. Then a big storm came. The boat started to rock back and forth. Let s rock back and forth in our boat. Rock back and forth with Hamilton and children. The boat rocked hard, and everyone was afraid. Jonah told the people that God sent the storm because he d run away. Jonah said, Throw me off the boat, and then the sea will become calm. So they threw Jonah into the water. Show image #3. Then the storm stopped, and it was quiet again. Did God save the men on the boat? Allow responses. Yes, He did, because our God saves! But Jonah was still in the water! Oh, no! Let s all jump out of the boat and pretend that we re in the water too. Do you think God saved Jonah? Allow children to respond. Yes, God did save him! God sent a big fish to swallow him. Show image #4. Here s a pretend fish s belly. Lead children to sit under the bedsheet. Let s crawl inside and hear the rest of The Big God Story. We re inside the fish s belly now, just like Jonah. Do you think it was stinky inside? Encourage children to respond. I think so too. What do you think Jonah did inside the fish? Allow children to respond. Jonah prayed. He prayed for three days and three nights. All of a sudden, the fish spit out Jonah onto the sand. Show image #5. When Jonah was out of the fish, God talked to him again. God said, Go to Nineveh. Do you think Jonah obeyed this time? Allow children to respond. Hamilton nods his head too. Yes, he did. Let s all pretend our Story Spots are Nineveh. Lead children back to their Story Spots. Show image #6. Jonah went to Nineveh and said God s special words to the people. Do you think they listened? Children respond. Yes, they did. They stopped doing bad things and started to obey God. Did God save the people of Nineveh? Children respond. Yes, our God saved them. If we re in trouble and need God s help, do you think God can save us too? Children respond. Yes,

5 ! He can, because our God saves. Doesn t that make you glad? Children respond. Me too! Have the children say good-bye to Hamilton as he goes back into his house. Thank him for coming and being a part of The Big God Story. Children reflect on what the Holy Spirit is teaching them and respond to God through creative activities and games. Craft: Our God Saves Children remember that God saves as they use finger paint to make a handprint on a poster board. Poster board Marker Finger paint Disposable plates (2 3) Wet wipes Dot paints for 2 year old class PREPARE AHEAD Write Our God Saves across the center of the poster board with the marker. SET UP Place the poster board in the center of the table. Squirt some finger paint onto each plate and set the plates near the poster board. Be sure to have wet wipes on hand for easy cleanup. Invite children to join you at the table. God saved a lot of people in The Big God Story. He saved the men on the boat. He saved Jonah. He saved the people of Nineveh. He saves you and me too. The poster says Our God Saves. Each of you may use the finger paint to put your handprint on the paper. Help each child put her hand in the paint and then press it down on the poster board. Have a wet wipe ready to clean her hand right away. Write each child s name near his handprint. We can hang our poster by the door so your families will see it when they come to get you. Activity: In the Belly of the Fish As children remember how God sent a fish to swallow Jonah and save him from the sea, they mold a figure of Jonah out of sand dough and put it in the belly of the outline of a fish. Butcher paper Marker Sand dough/play dough SET UP Draw a large fish on the butcher paper. Set the paper on the floor or table along with the sand dough. Invite children to join you around the paper. A big fish swallowed Jonah and then spit him onto the sand. We need to fill this fish up with some of our sand dough. Let s make a Jonah figure with the dough and then put him inside the fish. Show children how to press dough onto the fish shape, or let them create Jonah figures on their own. Optional: Provide cookie cutters of fish and a person (for Jonah) and allow children to cut fish and Jonah shapes from the dough.

6 ! WORSHIP// 9:25 and 11:40 2 s - In your classroom 3 s - in the worship room, unless combined with 2 s Children receive a blessing from their leaders and sometimes one another. A blessing can be a prayer of commission, a portion of Scripture, or words to encourage and guide. TruBlessings coloring sheet (see Resources) At Home Weekly (see Resources) Bible Gather the children around you for a blessing. Show children how to use their hands, palms together and fingers touching, to move like a fish swimming in the water. Let them use their hands to swim like the big fish in today s part of The Big God Story as you bless them: Children, our God is a God who saves. May you trust in Him alone to save you. Open a Bible and read Galatians 3:26: So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith. Send home At Home Weekly with all of the children to support families as they preteach the next four weeks of lessons.