Moses and the Two Courageous Spies

Transcription

1 In the Beginning... Jumping into God s Story UNIT 2: LESSON 8: Moses and the Two Courageous Spies Key Concept When I m afraid, God is with me. Bible Summary Numbers God told Moses to send some men into the Promised Land, so Moses chose twelve spies to check out the land and the people who lived there. When the spies returned, they brought back fruit to show the land was good. But ten of the spies were scared and warned Moses the people in the Promised Land were strong. The Israelites were frightened. The other two spies, Joshua and Caleb, told the Israelites not to be afraid, because God was with them. Bible Verse Do not be afraid for I am with you. Genesis 26:24b Objectives KEY CONCEPT MOTIONS: When I m afraid [hands beside open mouth], God [right fist down at side] is [left fist down at side] with me [point thumbs to self]. KNOW WHAT: Children will hear the story of Moses sending twelve spies into the Promised Land. When the men returned, Joshua and Caleb were the only two spies who were not afraid. SO WHAT: Children will learn God is always with us. NOW WHAT: Children will participate in an activity to help them consider times they are afraid and to talk about ways they can respond. Spiritual Formation Trust People Needed Teacher, Helper Supplies (Labeled visuals can be found in the Lesson 8 Visual folder on the Fall Quarter CDs.) CD player Music for singing Sound effects CD #1 The Beginner s Bible Backpack Stuffed animal Dark glasses or spy mask Small glasses or mask for stuffed animal (optional) Promised Land decorations (see In Advance) Camera Hippos (Lesson 8 LG 1) Tiger (Lesson 8 LG 2) Frog (Lesson 8 LG 3) 10 Spies (Lesson 8 LG 4) Puppy (Lesson 8 LG 5) Nighttime (Lesson 8 LG 6) Lightning (Lesson 8 LG 7) Box of crayons For each child: Dot-to-dot activity sheet (there are six different pages, but each child needs only one or two) (Lesson 8 SG 8 Lesson 8 SG 13) Key Concept sticker (Lesson 8 SG 14) Take-home coloring sheet (Lesson 8 SG 15, Lesson 8 SG 16) Snack 1 Fall Quarter

2 Notes: In Advance Recruit a Helper to operate the music and sound effects CDs and to help you with crowd control. Determine which songs you will use and be prepared to lead the children in singing. Song suggestions: Upbeat song for transition from Activity Stations to the Creative Bible Teaching God Is Number One (Touch the Sky CD) God You Are Great (Touch the Sky CD) Gather the supplies listed above and arrange your classroom as follows: Create a jungle by adding live or artificial potted plants or trees and setting stuffed or toy jungle animals (such as birds, zebras, lions, elephants, etc.) around them. If desired, add a waterfall by placing some rocks in a corner and arranging blue fabric (or even a towel) to fall down around them like running water. Set up a jeep to drive during the lesson. This might be a large, decorated box you can climb inside, a tricycle or wagon, or simply designate a chair to be a jeep for the unit. Place the Bible, stuffed animal, and dark glasses or mask in the backpack to take along on safari. Print the three safari animal pictures and hang them up in the teaching area. Print the Bible story picture and the three application pictures. Prepare the Promised Land in the back of the classroom, where you will travel. This can be as simple as a potted plant or vine and a basket of fruit. Add flowers, vegetables, or additional greenery, if desired. Prepare the materials that will be given to each child. To prepare the stickers, print or copy the pages onto Avery label sheets #5294. Consider cutting the stickers apart for easier distribution. Print the lesson and practice the teaching time. Teacher s Prep READ NUMBERS Alan D Wright writes in his book, A Chance at Childhood Again, You don t know the future, and neither do I. So it really does you no good to glibly say, Everything will work out just like we want. It might not. God really does provide. But right now you may be feeling a lot more of the predicament than the provision. Why would God let us feel the weight of that predicament? Why doesn t He just take away all our pain and fill us in on the details of our future? 2 Fall Quarter

3 Because God delights in our trust. He revels when we put the full weight of our lives in His arms. It s during those times of fear and doubt we realize God is so much bigger than we are. God will provide. He will take care of us, and will always be on our side. Activity Stations (20 MINUTES) Choose which Activity Stations you will use from the list included in the Activity Stations folder. Creative Bible Teaching (15 MINUTES) [Play upbeat music as children transition to the teaching area. Encourage kids to clap their hands along with you. Clap in a variety of styles, like overhead, on your knees, on your belly, etc.] Welcome, everyone! Guess who I am again today? [Kids respond.] That s right. I m Scott-E [or Suze-E.], the Expert. I m really excited to be here today, back at the safari! We ll see new animals, learn new things, and hear a great Bible story about God. To help us get started, let s remember our two special rules so we can have the most fun. Rule number one: be kind. What is it? [Kids respond, Be kind! ] We can be kind by sitting down so everyone can see and by being very quiet so everyone can hear. Rule number two: be safe. What is it? [Kids respond, Be safe! ] You can be safe by keeping your hands to yourself. Good job! Well, leaping lions! I can t wait to go on safari. I love adventures. And I love, love, love Bible stories. Are you ready for an adventure? I hope you re not afraid of any wild animals, because you have nothing to fear when you are with me and my trusty Bible. Let s get going! [Sit in or behind your jeep. ] Friends, you can pretend to drive with me. First, we should buckle our seat belts. [Demonstrate.] Grab that strap and pull it over to the buckle. Click! Next, let s turn on the engine. [Pretend to turn a key in the ignition.] [SFX 47: Engine running extended.] Now, put your hands on the steering wheel like this: one [first hand], two [second hand]! Let s put it in gear [pretend to move gear shift with right hand] and get ready for adventure! Drive with me, friends. We re going back to our special safari spot! 3 Fall Quarter

4 [Shade eyes.] It looks like the road curves up ahead. [Dip sharply with each turn.] Everyone, turn right! Whoa! Now turn left! Whoa! Now turn right again! Whoa! [Point to hippos picture.] Look at that big animal. It s a hippo! Did you know that hippos can run underwater? They can sink to the bottom of the river and run along the ground just like a horse. [Look ahead.] Oh, wow. There s a big hill up ahead! All right, everybody. Lean back! [Lean way back in the seat.] Whoa! [Look around.] We re pretty high up here. But now we re going down. Everybody lean forward. [Lean forward in the seat.] Whoa! [Point to tiger picture.] Friends, do you see that tiger? Did you know tigers not only have striped fur, but they have striped skin, too? Lesson 8 LG 1 Animals sure are amazing. [Look ahead.] It looks like the ground gets a little bumpy up ahead! Hold on, friends! [Bounce around in the jeep.] Whoa! [Point to frog picture.] Hey, friends! I see a frog. Did you know that frogs can breathe air and drink water through their skin? [Look up.] Fantastic ferns! We re here. [End engine sound effect.] Lesson 8 LG 2 Let s get out and take a look around, shall we? [Look around.] Look at all the animals. Some of them are a little scary. I get afraid to come out here after dark. Friends, do any of you ever get afraid? [Kids respond.] Hey, I have an idea! There s a story in the Bible that talks about being afraid. [Pull Bible from backpack and thumb through.] Crazy koalas! Here it is. It says we don t ever have to be afraid, because God is always with us! Would you like to hear that story, friends? [Kids respond, Yes. ] Lesson 8 LG 3 First, let s put on our safari ears so we can hear the Bible story. We re going to make monkey sounds when we put on our ears. First this one [point to left ear]: Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh! Now this one [point to right ear]: Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh! Now, let s put on our safari glasses to see the Bible story. We re going to roar like a lion. Ready? [Bring left hand to eye.] Rrrr! [Bring right hand to eye.] Rrrr! Good job. Our story for today begins after the people learned God s special rules. Moses had led the people to a new place to live, but there was a problem. There were already other people living in the new land. God told Moses to send 12 men to explore the new land and spy out the people living there. Here s a picture of the 12 spies. [Take out ten spies picture and hold it up.] Let s count, friends. [Point to each spy and count with the kids] One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine...ten.prickly porcupines, there are only ten spies! Lesson 8 LG 4 I know what we can do. My special storytelling assistant, Sam, can help us. [Pull out stuffed animal.] Let s all say hi to Sam. [Kids respond.] Sam and I will be the last two spies. [Pull out dark glasses or mask and put them on. If you have a mask for Sam, put it on him.] 4 Fall Quarter

5 Moses told the 12 men to find out who was living in this new land, if they were strong or weak, if they had good food to eat, and if the new land was a good place to live. So the 12 spies left for the new land. Friends, hold your safari glasses up and look with us! [SFX 48: Spy music.] [As the music plays, hold Sam and dodge, roll, and scamper around the room, finally ending up in the back at the Promised Land. Along the way, make comments to the kids like: Do you think the people will be strong or weak? I wonder if the new land is a good place to live. ] [As the music ends.] When the 12 men got to the new land, they were amazed at what they saw. The land is beautiful, they said. It s filled with all kinds of wonderful things to eat. Look at this food! This would be a great place to live. [SFX 49: Promised Land music.] [In slow motion, give a thumbs up and rub your tummy.] But then the spies saw the people who were living there. [Look afraid.] [SFX 50: Ominous music.] The people who lived in the new land were very big and strong. Ten of the spies were afraid. This was not good. The spies went back to tell Moses about the land. [SFX 51: Spy music.] [Duck and roll back to the teaching area.] When the 12 men saw Moses, they told him that the land was beautiful. It looked like a good home and filled with all kinds of wonderful things to eat. [SFX 52: Promised Land music.] [In slow motion, give a thumbs up and rub your tummy.] They told Moses that everything was great...except for the people living there. [SFX 53: Ominous music.] Ten of the men told Moses they were afraid. They told Moses there were big strong people in the new land. But two of them weren t afraid. Their names were Caleb [gesture to Sam] 5 Fall Quarter

6 [Use a different voice for Caleb s lines and have Sam move during those lines.] CALEB: Hi, I m Caleb! and Joshua. [Point to self.] That s me! Caleb and Joshua told everyone they didn t have to be afraid of the people living in the new land. God promised to be with them, and they trusted God. CALEB: Don t be afraid of the big, strong people. God will be with us! The ten other spies thought Caleb and Joshua were crazy! [Hold up ten spies picture again.] They didn t want to go back to the new land. They were afraid the big, strong people would try to hurt them, but Caleb and Joshua told the others God wanted them to go back. They both knew God would be with them and keep them safe. Friends, do you think the people believed Joshua and Caleb? [Kids respond.] No, they didn t. They were too afraid of the big, strong people in the new land. [SFX 54: Ominous music.] You must believe us, Joshua and Caleb said. God told us to go to this new land! CALEB: God promises to be with us. And when God is with us, we don t have to be afraid! The other spies still didn t believe them. But listen to this, friends. Because Caleb and Joshua knew that God was with them, they were not afraid of going to the new land. Joshua and Caleb had to wait a long time. When they finally went back to the new land, they found it was filled with all kinds of wonderful things good food, nice animals, a good place to live. God protected Caleb and Joshua from the people living in the new land, because they trusted God. God was with Caleb and Joshua. That was a great story! Friends, who in our Bible story trusted God to always be with them? [Kids respond, Caleb and Joshua! ] Caleb and Joshua knew that God was with them, so they weren t afraid. And we know God is always with us, so we don t have to be afraid, either. Today we re learning when I m afraid [hands beside open mouth], God [right fist down at side] is [left fist down at side] with me [point thumbs to self]. Let s say that together. Ready? When I m afraid [hands beside open mouth], God [right fist down at side] is [left fist down at side] with me [point thumbs to self]. Say it in your squeaky voices. When I m afraid [hands beside open mouth], God [right fist down at side] is [left fist down at side] with me [point thumbs to self]. Say it in your whisper voices. When I m afraid [hands beside open mouth], God [right fist down at side] is [left fist down at side] with me [point thumbs to self]. 6 Fall Quarter

7 Good job, everyone! God is with us all the time. Let s all stand and sing. [Sam waves to the kids as you put him away in the backpack.] MUSIC Song suggestion: God Is Number One [Invite kids to sit on the count of three.] Life Application Activity (10 MINUTES) Today we re learning when I m afraid [hands beside open mouth], God [right fist down at side] is [left fist down at side] with me [point thumbs to self]. Jumping giraffes! Why don t we play a game to help us remember that God is always with us. It s a picture game! I ve got some special pictures here in my backpack. Some of them are things I m a little scared of. But when I ask, Who s always with you? I want you to say, God is with me! So let s practice. Who s always with you? [Kids respond, God is with me! ] Who s always with you? [Kids respond, God is with me! ] Okay! We re ready for my first picture! [Open backpack.] [SFX 55: Trumpet fanfare.] [Hold up the dog picture.] Oh, look! It s a cute little puppy. This is a picture of my neighbor s dog when she was a puppy. But now she s really big and barks really loud. Sometimes I m afraid of big dogs. Friends, touch your nose if you ve ever been afraid of big dogs. [Kids respond.] Lesson 8 LG 5 When you re afraid of big dogs, who is always with you? [Kids respond, God is with me! ] Let s see our next picture. [Reach in backpack.] [SFX 56: Trumpet fanfare.] [Hold up nighttime picture.] It s dark. Nothing s there. All I see is a moon. This reminds me sometimes I m afraid of the dark. A lot of us are afraid of the dark. I know I am. When you are afraid of the dark, like I am, who s always with you? [Kids respond, God is with me! ] Great job! Next picture. [Reach in backpack.] [SFX 57: Trumpet fanfare.] Lesson 8 LG 6 [Hold up lightning picture.] It s a picture of a storm. I don t like storms. They can be loud. But when we re afraid, who is always with us? [Kids respond, God is with me! ] Happy hippos, 7 Fall Quarter

8 you guys did great at that game! No matter how scared we get, we can remember God is always with us. God is so great. He s with us all the time! Everyone stand up and sing. MUSIC Song suggestion: God You Are Great [Invite kids to sit down in a circle.] Lesson 8 LG 7 Today we learned a Bible story about 12 spies who went to a new place to learn about the land and people who lived there. The spies came back with lots of food from the land. How many were afraid of the people in the land? [Kids respond, Ten. ] What were the names of two spies who were not afraid? [Kids respond, Caleb and Joshua. ] Let s play a game to remember that when I m afraid [hands beside open mouth], God [right fist down at side] is [left fist down at side] with me [point thumbs to self]. We are going to connect the dots on some pictures. Everyone will get a picture of something that might make us feel afraid. When you connect the dots on your picture, you can tell us what your picture is [Teacher and Helper hand out crayons and the dot-to-dot activity sheets. There are six different pictures; start each child with one picture. Help the children complete their pictures. After a child has shown his or her picture, ask if the child has ever been afraid of the thing in the picture. Remind the child of the key concept for the day. If time allows, give each child a second picture and repeat the process.] Lesson 8 SG 8 (1 of 6) Shepherding Tip: While the children are connecting the dots on their pictures, be sure to affirm their feelings. It is okay to feel afraid. Tell the children when they are afraid, they can pray to God. Let s remember the Bible story we learned today about Joshua and Caleb. [Read the story of the two courageous spies from The Beginner s Bible.] Today we heard the Bible story about two brave spies, Joshua and Caleb, who trusted God. We learned when I m afraid [hands beside open mouth], God [right fist down at side] is [left fist down at side] with me [point thumbs to self]. Let s pray to God and thank Him for today. [Lead the children in the following finger play. Then have the children repeat after you as you pray.] Open them. [Open hands.] Close them. [Close hands.] Open them. [Open hands.] Close them. [Close hands.] Give a little clap. [Clap hands.] Open them. [Open hands.] Close them. [Close hands.] Open them. [Open hands.] Close them. [Close hands.] Fold them in your lap. [Fold hands in lap.] Dear God, Thank You for the Bible story. Thank You for always being with me. Thank You for our snack. In Jesus Name, Amen. 8 Fall Quarter

9 When I m afraid, God is with me. Lesson 8 SG 14 Snack and Coloring Activity (15 MINUTES) Use this time to continue building community and to learn more about your kids and their concerns. Listen closely so you are better equipped to pray for and reach out to each child. GIVE each child a snack to eat. GIVE each child a Key Concept sticker to put on their shirt while they are eating their snack. GIVE each child a coloring sheet to color while they are waiting to be picked up. ASK each child a question or two about themselves: What was your favorite part of the Bible story? When you feel afraid this week, what can you do? (Pray to God.) When I m afraid, God is with me! Two Courageous Spies (Numbers 13-14) Lesson 8 SG 15 9 Fall Quarter