REMEMBER VERSE Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

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1 date: Bible Passage: Exodus 24 (Mt. Sinai) REMEMBER VERSE Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. Matthew 11:29 God Initiates Relationship Schedule Anticipate 5 10 minutes Celebrate & Respond Large Group minutes Respond & Bless Small Group minutes Environment: MODELING Biblical content needs a practical living expression in order for it to be spiritually impacting. This environment serves as a hands-on example of what it means for children to put their faith into action. Modeling puts flesh on faith and reminds us that others are watching to see if we live what we believe.. TruResources are developed in partnership with ROCKHARBOR Church and a national network of family and children s ministry leaders. All rights reserved.

2 Equip The Mosaic covenant did not arise out of a vacuum, but was created in the context of relationship. God initiated relationship with the future Israelites the moment He called Abraham away from his home. He continued to initiate relationship when He introduced Himself to Moses as the Lord who had heard His people s cries (Exodus 3), freed His people from slavery (Exodus 12), and provided for them in the wilderness (Exodus 16). In Exodus 19 24, God gave His people the Ten Commandments as part of the covenant at Mt. Sinai. This marked the beginning of a new era in the history of God s people and the next stage in the fulfillment of the Abrahamic covenant, which was the basis for the redemption from Egypt. In the Sinaitic covenant, God had freed His people so they could worship only Him. The Sinaitic covenant was God s idea of worship (Exodus 3:12). The gift of the commandments was God s way of modeling how He wanted them to worship Him. Their obedience was a form of worship, and showed their thankfulness for what He had done for them. The Sinaitic covenant demanded not only that the Israelites conform to a set of laws, but also that their hearts be oriented toward God. And from this point on, the history of the Israelites hinged on whether or not they stayed faithful to the covenant with God they accepted at Mt. Sinai. The covenant at Sinai was a beautiful demonstration of the relationship between God and His people. It was also a foretaste of what was to come the new covenant that would not only be written on stone tablets, but written on the hearts and in the minds of all those who believe (Hebrews 8:10). 3

3 NOTES: Lesson Overview Experience Time Summary Supplies/Prepare (Master Supply List under Resource Tab) Anticipate// Small Group Check-In 5 10 min. Encourages interaction among kids, leaders, and parents; engages the kids in curiosity and anticipation of the lesson; and creates an inviting atmosphere. Making Friends Challenge Cards (see Resource Folder) index cards (1 per child) Celebrate// Large Group min. Establishes community and tells stories both personal and biblical in a fun and engaging way. Traditions mementos for your church Traditions (rocks, marbles, ping-pong balls, etc.) Remember Verse cards, slides, and animation (see Resource Folder) Connect Connect Activity slide (see Resource Folder) The Big God Story Bible Timeline slide and animation, images of Mt. Sinai, Ten Commandment tablets; fire video (see Resource Folder) optional props: a personal treasured possession, fog machine Respond// Large Group min. Creates space for children to respond to the Holy Spirit in worship and community as a large group. Obey and Worship canvas or whiteboard fabric markers or dry-erase markers optional: paint, paint cans, paintbrushes Respond// Small Group min. Discusses Truth, reflects on the lesson, engages in relationships, and creates a project or a piece of art individually or together. Reflect: God Initiates Relationship questions Engage: Learn My Ways Game index cards and optional envelopes (20 each, per small group) bag, box, or bowl masking tape Bless// Small Group 5 min. Sends the kids out with a sense of peace and blessing so they can be a blessing to their families and others. Bible (for the blessing) HomeFront Weekly (1 per child, see Resource Folder) 5

4 SMALL Group SECTION Anticipate// 5 10 min. Small Group Leaders An energizing time for parents and kids to start engaging with the material that will be presented in the lesson. It is intentionally designed to spark curiosity and cultivate a sense of awe and wonder about God. Encourage parents to participate in this time with their kids. Partner Church Comments The kids had fun with the different challenges. We challenged them even more by having girl groups approaching boy groups and older kids approaching younger kids. Good Shepherd Church Making Friends SUPPLIES Challenge Cards (see Resource Folder) index cards (1 per child) SET UP Print, cut, and hand out the Challenge Cards to the kids when they arrive. ENGAGE Many, many years before God made a promise with His people at Mt. Sinai, He had declared them to be His people and had a relationship with them. Option 1: Encourage the kids to take on the following challenges. Each challenge is an action that requires them to initiate friendship with someone. Ask them to follow the instructions on the cards and meet someone new. For younger kids, gather them into one large group, read the challenges out loud, one by one, and help them make new friends. Ask someone you don t know what his name is. Shake hands with a new friend. Give a high five to someone you don t know. Give someone something you have with you (i.e., a dime from your pocket). Start a thumb-war with a new friend. Ask someone you don t know what school she goes to. Option 2: In a variation on the Name Game, have everyone sit in a circle and ask them to think of a positive adjective that begins with the first letter of their name (e.g. Kind Kayla, Brainy Brian). Starting anywhere in the circle, have someone begin with his adjective and name. The person on his right repeats his adjective and name, then states her own adjective and name, and so on. The last person gets to name everyone. Younger kids can think of something they like to eat or do instead (e.g. My name is Andy, and I like horses. ). Option 3 (for older kids): In this variation of Guess Who, give each child a blank index card, and have them write down five true facts about themselves, and then their names. Collect all the cards and divide the kids into at least two teams. Play begins with the leader reading the fact clues from an index card and each team guessing the person s name based on the clues given. Play for fun or for points; one point per team, per correct guess. 6

5 LARGE Group SECTION Celebrate//20 35 min. Host/Storyteller Kids get to be a part of the faith community of God s family. Welcome and Traditions After everyone is gathered together as a large group, open with Traditions. During Traditions, you are helping the kids work toward a common goal and giving them mementos to celebrate things like memorizing the Remember Verse, inviting a friend, or bringing their Bibles. They participate in traditions and share them with newcomers, connect through fun and interaction, and experience The Big God Story through storytelling. REMEMBER VERSE GAME After talking through the verse with the kids, play a game to help them remember it. Write the verse on a whiteboard or chalkboard and have them repeat it after you. Older kids can read it together. For fun, choose a child volunteer to stand up front and cover her eyes or turn toward the board. Choose another child volunteer to read the remember verse in a crazy voice. Then ask the volunteer standing up front to guess which child spoke in the crazy voice. REMEMBER VERSE This is a good time to introduce or remind kids of the Remember Verse. As they arrive, open a Bible and read it together if time allows. Remember Verse cards, slide, and animations can be found in the Resource Folder. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. Matthew 11:29 Mementos can be anything, such as rocks, marbles, ping-pong balls, or connecting blocks. Once the kids have been awarded their mementos, direct them to put the mementos into a container or add them to a building effort. When the common-goal tradition is complete, have a celebration! Connect Connect is a time to laugh, play, and enjoy each other s company. Engaging questions, energizing games, and creative activities encourage the community to get to know each other. Encourage them to participate in the following activity and connect with someone they might not know yet. (See the Connect Activity slide in the Resource Folder). Activity Shake hands with as many people as you can in one minute! Prayer of Release At the end of Connect, pray a Prayer of Release. This is a time for kids and leaders to pause, be still, and ask God to quiet their hearts and minds. If you would like, encourage kids to hold their hands out in front of them in a spirit of releasing their worries and distractions in order to better receive what the Holy Spirit might have for them. Encourage kids to quiet their voices and take a seat. Then ask them to pray with you. 7

6 NOTES: The Big God Story Storyteller During The Big God Story, tell the kids about how God initiates relationship with His people. Though this part of The Big God Story can be delivered verbatim, read it before the lesson, so you can personally interact with the material. Share stories from your life, and speak with your own style by varying your intonation and gestures. Tip Before sharing this part of The Big God Story, point out that what they are about to hear is true and is recorded in the Bible. Open your Bible to the passage and leave it open and visible throughout The Big God Story. Establish a consistent place to keep this Bible every week. Invite kids to open their Bibles and follow along in Exodus 24 as you storytell. Encourage adult volunteers to keep an eye out for kids who need help finding the Scripture passage, and allow enough time for each child to locate the passage. You may even want to project the reference on a screen or write it in large print on a poster board or whiteboard. God Initiates Relationship SUPPLIES Bible Timeline slide and animation, images of Mt. Sinai, Ten Commandment tablets; fire video (see Resource Folder) optional props: a personal treasured possession, fog machine Visual Aids You will find JPEGs of various visual aids in the Resource Folder for every lesson of TruStory. Please use these files in whichever format works best for your church, whether you use computer media, an overhead projector, or poster board. SET UP Place optional props in the storytelling area. Cue Timeline, images, and video. Last week we heard that God called Moses to go up a mountain named Sinai (show image of Mt. Sinai). There, God gave Moses the Ten Commandments. The Ten Commandments were all about leading God s people to, first, love and honor God; second, honor their parents; and, third, love others. All of this, by God s design, is about relationship with Him and others. God wants and initiates relationship. Who knows what the word initiate means? If you initiate something, you start something. If you start a game, you are initiating that game. (Optional: Invite two kids up to the front. Have one person initiate a game, 8

7 The Big God Story NOTES: such as: Rock-Paper-Scissors or a Thumb War. Comment on how they weren t playing a game until one of them started or initiated it. Ask the kids to return to their seats.) God started, or initiated, relationship with His people. He freed them from slavery and brought them to a place where they could worship Him. This is how God shows His love, by initiating relationship with His people. Today we will hear about how God took the next step in the relationship with His people by making a covenant, or promise, with them. As we heard last week, God said to the Israelites, If you obey me fully and keep my covenant you will be my treasured possession (Exodus 19:5). What is an example of a treasured possession? (Encourage kids to answer. Optional: Show and tell about your own treasured possession. Carry it around with you for the rest of storytelling, but play it up, by setting it down tenderly while you talk, or cradling it in your arms.) A treasured possession is something that is very, very special and valuable. Do you have a treasured possession at home? You probably take really good care of it, and protect it, huh? Well, that is how God takes care of His treasured people. So, let s get into the next step in the relationship between God and His people! Last week, we stopped at the part in The Big God Story when the Israelites waited at the bottom of Mt. Sinai. (Ask for a few child volunteers to come up front and pretend to be Israelites for the rest of the storytelling time. Have them waiting for Moses, as if they re at the bottom of the mountain.) God came down on the mountain in the form of smoke, clouds, and fire (show fire video, and turn on the optional fog machine) to meet with Moses and give him the Ten Commandments. When Moses came down from the mountain, he told the people the Ten Commandments (show image of the Ten Commandment tablets), and the people responded, we will do everything the Lord has said; we will obey (Exodus 24:7). (Ask the kids to repeat these words.) Then they built a memorial (something to remember) and worshipped God. (Have the child actors pretend to create a memorial while you continue.) So when the Israelites agreed to obey, what, exactly, did they agree to? Well, they agreed to a contract between God and them, an everlasting promise we call a covenant. What do adults do when they sign a contract? (Encourage the kids to answer.) Right! They enter into an agreement. A covenant with God, though, is so much more than that. This everlasting promise can never be broken! So, when the Israelites agreed to obey God s commandments, God promised to make the Israelites His special people. (Thank the volunteer actors, and ask them to return to their seats.) In this part of The Big God Story, we heard that God cared enough about His people to come close to them, start a relationship with them, and give them guidelines about how to live as His people. 9

8 The Big God Story NOTES: It s so amazing how God came to the Israelites; it is even more amazing that God came to be with us thousands of years later, in a human body! Through God s Son, Jesus, God initiated, started, a forever relationship with us. (Tell a personal story about a time when God initiated relationship with you.) Because of Jesus sacrifice on the cross, God came close to everyone in the world so close, in fact, that the Holy Spirit lives in and through us, empowering us to live the life He wants for us. The Holy Spirit leads us to live in relationship, just like God s Spirit led the Israelites to live in relationship with Him so many years ago. And when we are in relationship with Him, He writes His law, His Ten Commandments, on our hearts and treats us as His special treasure. 10

9 LARGE Group SECTION Respond// min. Host/Worship Leader This is a time for kids to worship through silence, prayer, singing, giving, sharing, thanksgiving, and many other ways. Make plans for your worship time but prepare yourself and your team to hold them loosely if the Holy Spirit leads the group in a different direction. Obey and Worship SUPPLIES canvas or whiteboard fabric markers or dry-erase markers optional: paint, paint cans, paintbrushes SET UP Write, God Started Relationship with Me! in block letters on the canvas or whiteboard. ENGAGE When God gave His people the Ten Commandments, He had already established a relationship with them. He had heard their cries and delivered them from slavery. He had shown them His love, and took care of their smallest needs. And their obedience to God s law was an act of worship. Our obedience to God s law is also an act of worship. We don t need to obey God for Him to love and accept us He loves us no matter what. No one is perfect we all sin and do things that disappoint God, but as we live in relationship with God, our lives become more and more holy in Him. We obey God because we have a relationship with Him, we love Him, and we want to worship Him. How does God initiate or start relationship with us and give us the desire to obey Him, follow Him, and love Him? NOTES: Give the kids time to think about the question and respond quietly. Then encourage them to paint, write, or draw on the canvas the ways they want to obey or follow God. Encourage them to respond from their hearts, writing what comes to mind when they think about how the God of the universe cared enough about them to initiate relationship with them. Pray with the group about how God wants them to love and honor Him first, and love others. IT S OKAY IF Help kids understand that God speaks to us in many ways mostly through His Word, prayer, and others. Encourage them to ask God for the ability to hear His voice, but also give them the freedom to know that it s okay if they do not always experience Him in the ways that other people do. 11

10 SMALL Group SECTION Respond// min. Small Group Leaders A time to engage in relationship, reflect on the lesson with spiritual conversation, and/or create a meaningful project or piece of art. NOTES: Reflect: God Initiates Relationship God had a relationship with the Israelites long before He made the covenant with them at Mt. Sinai. God had already chosen them as His special people when He called Abraham into the desert and promised to bless his family line. And He showed them how much He wanted to be in relationship with them when He freed them from slavery and brought them to a place where they could worship Him. This covenant was the natural next step in the relationship God started between Himself and His people. (Open your Bible, and encourage kids to look up the Scripture references to the questions below.) Questions for Younger Kids Have you ever started anything? How did God start a relationship with the Israelites? (Genesis 12:1 3; Exodus 2:23 3:7) How did God start a relationship with you? Why does God want a relationship with people? Questions for Older Kids What does the word initiate mean? Have you ever initiated (started) anything? How did God start a relationship with the Israelites? (Genesis 12:1 3; Exodus 2:23 3:7) How did God want to use the Israelites as a model to other nations? How did God initiate (start) a relationship with you? Why does God initiate (start) a relationship with people? How did Jesus model the life God wants us to live? Engage: Learn My Ways Game SUPPLIES index cards and optional envelopes (20 each, per small group) bag, box, or bowl masking tape SET UP Write each commandment on one of 10 index cards, and the opposite of each commandment on another set of 10 cards. Optional: Put each card in an envelope. Place cards (or filled envelopes) into a bag, box, or bowl to draw from. Tape two sets of 10 lines, a foot apart, on the floor, numbered 1 (starting line) through 10 (finish line). 12

11 NOTES: ENGAGE The Bible tell us, Therefore you shall keep His statutes and His commandments, that it may go well with you and your children after you and that you may prolong your days in the land which the Lord your God gives you forever (Deuteronomy 4:39 41 AB). And, Leave your simple ways and you will live; walk in the way of understanding (Proverbs 9:6). As a group, the Israelites were to learn to live the way God commanded. And we learned earlier that it s the Holy Spirit God in our lives who nudges us to live the life that is God s best for us. So today we are going to play a game to help us learn God s ways. Divide the kids into two teams. Have each team select one person from their team to be a game marker. The game marker for each team stands on the starting line you taped onto the floor. Encourage older kids to open their Bibles to Exodus 20. Each team will then take turns selecting a card or envelope from the bag, box, or bowl. The leader reads the card out loud. The teams must hurry to determine which commandment (1 through 10) has been read or which commandment is the opposite of what was read. Whichever team is first with the answer advances one space, to the next tape line, and so on, until one team wins. Keep younger kids in one group, and select a child to be the game marker. Have the kids take turns selecting a card from the bag, box, or bowl. Read the card out loud, and encourage the kids, as a group, to decide if what was read was a commandment, God s way?, or My way? If they answer correctly, the game marker advances one space, to the next tape line, and so on, toward the finish line. 13

12 SMALL Group SECTION Bless// 5 min. Small Group Leaders A blessing can be a prayer of commission, a portion of Scripture, or words of encouragement or guidance. A blessing can be offered in order to ask God s Spirit to overflow from the child s life to bless others or prayed over a child for the purpose of declaring God s protection, joy, or wisdom. Leader Tip The blessing can be done in many ways, but the more intentional you are about it, the more powerful it will be. Depending on whether parents are able to join in at this time, you may want them to put their hands on their child s head or kneel and look him in the eye as they bless him. Leaders, be sure to model how you envision the blessing working in your church so your volunteers and parents become comfortable with it. As kids are blessed, tell them they have the opportunity to also be a blessing to others. Encourage them to freely share with others the joy and love they have received from God. Encourage the kids to hold their hands in front of them, palms up. This posture is meant to symbolize a willingness of heart to respond to God s Holy Spirit and receive what God has for them. Invite them to remain in this posture as you bless them. Encourage parents to come early in order to read the blessing over their child. Open a Bible and read Philippians 1:9 11 (NLT): I pray that your love will overflow more and more, and that you will keep on growing in knowledge and understanding. For I want you to understand what really matters, so that you may live pure and blameless lives until the day of Christ s return. May you always be filled with the fruit of your salvation the righteous character produced in your life by Jesus Christ for this will bring much glory and praise to God. May God show you how to love Him and love others for His glory and for your reward. May you know the peace and joy of real relationship with Him. HomeFront Weekly: Be sure to send home the HomeFront Weekly for next week s lesson! This preteaching tool for parents encourages families to spend time in God s Word together before children arrive at church. HomeFront Monthly: Every four weeks we highlight one of the 10 environments. For each new environment, parents should receive HomeFront Monthly. This resource gives families ideas for how to create fun, spiritually forming times in their homes setting aside a sacred space for family in the midst of their active, everyday lives! 14