REMEMBER & CELEBRATE

Transcription

1 Date: November 28th REMEMBER & CELEBRATE Remembering and Celebrating God as Redeemer: Feast of Unleavened Bread Schedule ANTICIPATE 10 minutes REMEMBER & CELEBRATE 30 minutes RESPOND 15 minutes BLESS 5 minutes 1

2 Leader Prep Each week you ll find Inspire, Equip, and Support articles that will help you take time for yourself before you begin your prep. The Inspire article contains personal stories of how God has worked in our lives as fellow ministry leaders, along with insights into that week s Ponder Point. The Equip article gives perspective and context as it introduces the lesson s Bible passage. The Support article provides a time of reflection and assessment through encouragement, prayer, and time in God s Word as you prepare your heart to present the lesson to the kids in your ministry. Further Resources Download the following resources to help you plan and lead TruStory lessons: Customizable copy of Lesson Scope and Sequence TruStory How It Works document WANT MORE? Visit truministry.com for this week s Festival Investigation as well as more information regarding the Old and New Testament significance of the biblical feasts and festivals. Inspire If you want to remember something, turn it into a song. If I say, Here I am to worship; here I am to bow down, does a melody pop uninvited into your mind? Do you finish with here I am to say that You re my God? Now think about the words amazing grace. Does the hymn pop into your head? There s great theology in that song. Just as children learn tunes to remember their ABCs, we can learn refrains to teach us and help us remember our God and His redeeming work for us. Remembering the nature of God through music isn t just an exercise in learning, it s healing. When I m sick or afraid or discouraged, a song will come to me and comfort me. My thoughts shift from my current circumstances and focus on the character and person of God. Through these songs of praise and truth our hearts are reminded once again of our God. We can remember Him, celebrate the truth of His nature, and praise Him still. Cristi Thomas Tru Team 2

3 Equip Every 6th and 13th lesson, we pause to remember and celebrate, just as God instructed His people to do. Feast of Unleavened Bread: A Feast Celebrating God as Redeemer The Feast of Unleavened Bread celebrates God s miraculous deliverance of the Israelites from the bondage of Egypt and, ultimately, His deliverance of our bondage to sin. Beginning with the day after Passover, the Israelites were to take seven days to eat bread without yeast and to cease working on the first and seventh days. The unleavened bread represented their quick departure from Egypt, not having time for the yeast to make their bread rise. In the New Testament, Jesus speaks of yeast (or leaven) symbolically, as sin. Jesus broke unleavened bread with His disciples and said, This is My body. Jesus was without sin as His body was broken during His crucifixion. Support God told the Israelites to celebrate the Feast of Unleavened Bread so they would remember how He had redeemed them. Spend some time meditating on Isaiah 41:1 10 or Isaiah 43:1 13. How does God, your Redeemer, encourage you through His Scripture today? Turn your thoughts to the great price God paid to deliver you from the slavery of sin and redeem you as His very own. Quiet your heart before God and reflect on Christ s saving work in your life. May the words from this hymn help you in your time of reflection: Jesus sought me when a stranger, Wand ring from the face of God; He, to save my soul from danger, Interposed His precious blood. To see the complete lyrics of this hymn and to hear the melody, go to: 3

4 SMALL GROUP S E C T I O N ANTICIPATE// 10 min. Small Group Leaders Children engage in fun, creative activities designed to pique their curiosity about the day s biblical feast or festival. The Israelites began their Feast of Unleavened Bread the day after Passover. It was their time to remember their hasty exodus from Egypt when there was not time to even let the yeast rise. During this festival, the Israelites would refrain from eating bread with yeast for seven days, and they were to take the first and seventh days to rest. Option 1: Munching Mania (for Younger Kids) Matzo or oyster* crackers (1 box for every 3 4 kids) Dice (1 for every 3 4 kids) Disposable cup (1 for every 3 4 kids) PREPARE AHEAD If using matzo crackers, which do not contain yeast, break them into small pieces about the size of oyster crackers. *Note: Most oyster crackers do contain yeast. Unleavened bread is most similar to a soft cracker. Use the best option you are able to find for your group for this activity. Put children into groups of three or four. Give each group a box of matzo or oyster crackers, a die, and a disposable cup. Today we re celebrating the Israelite Feast of Unleavened Bread. During this celebration, the Israelites would remember how God had redeemed His children and freed them from slavery in Egypt. You may remember that the Israelites had to pack up their things very quickly; they didn t even have time to make bread with yeast in it. So they made a bread similar to crackers, which didn t require time for the yeast to make it rise. For this game, the kids in each group will take turns rolling the die. The number each child rolls represents how many crackers she will place in the cup. However, if a child rolls a six, she can t place any crackers in the cup; instead, she will give the cup to the next child. The first group to fill their cup with crackers wins! If you want, allow the kids to eat the crackers after this activity. 4

5 Option 2: Take and Go (for Older Kids) In celebrating the Feast of Unleavened Bread, we remember the haste in which the Israelites had to pack up and leave Egypt. The children will play a game of speed and cooperation as they race to pack for a journey. Balls (2, medium-sized) Masking tape Backpacks (2) Small items (10 items per team, examples: socks, books, toys, stuffed animals, plastic food containers etc.) SET UP Use the masking tape to create a long starting line, about 10 feet. Place the backpacks several feet apart at the starting line. Place one ball beside each backpack. About four to five feet from each backpack, use masking tape to mark an x on the floor. Then, about four to five feet beyond the x s, spread out the small items. Today we celebrate the Feast of Unleavened Bread to remember that God redeemed His people and delivered them from Egypt. God is Redeemer. As the Israelites packed to leave, God turned the hearts of the Egyptians to look favorably on the Israelites. God directed the Israelites to ask for and take whatever they wanted from the Egyptians as they packed for their journey. We are going to play a game in which we race to pack up. Put the children into two teams. Have each team line up behind a backpack. Have one player from each team stand on the x facing his team. This child is the catcher. The first child from each team will pick up the ball near the backpack and toss it to the catcher. If the ball is caught, the catcher may run to pick up an item and then run it back to her team, put the item into the backpack, and move to the back of the line. The first child on the line then becomes the new catcher, and the process repeats. If the ball is not caught by the catcher, the thrower moves to the back of the line, and the next person in line tosses the ball to the catcher. The goal for each team is to fill their backpack with all the random items before the other team. LARGE GROUP S E C T I O N REMEMBER & CELEBRATE// 30 min. Host/Worship Leader/Storyteller Children pause and look back at what they ve discovered about God during the past several weeks in The Big God Story. For more information on Traditions or any aspect of the lesson please see the How It Works document for Large Group/Small Group in the Resources. 5

6 Welcome and Traditions Mementos for your church Traditions (rocks, marbles, gumballs, etc.) Offered twice per quarter, Remember & Celebrate lessons invite children and their parents to pause and look back at all they ve discovered about God and the ways they ve experienced Him in the past weeks. Each lesson focuses on a biblical festival and explores the origin of the festival and what it shows us about God. Take this time to remember the awesomeness of our God and celebrate who He is! After everyone gathers as a large group, open with Traditions. During Traditions, you re helping the children work toward a common goal and giving them mementos to celebrate accomplishments such as memorizing the Remember Verse, inviting friends to church, or bringing their Bibles. Once children receive their mementos, have them put the objects in the designated container. Once kids fill the container, hold a celebration. Connect Encourage the members of your community to get to know one another through engaging questions, energizing games, and creative activities. Question What are three important things to have at a party? Activity: Clothespin Wars Connect Activity image (see Resources) Connect Question image (see Resources) Clothespins (2 3 per child) Upbeat music (suggestion: Celebrate, TruWorship Sincerely Yours) Give each child two to three clothespins. Explain that while you play music, they will try to pin their clothespins onto their friends clothes. When the music stops, they will freeze. The child with no clothespins on his clothes wins the round! Play as many rounds as you d like. Note: Assign volunteers to facilitate the game so the children don t become too rowdy. Remember and Play Images: ZONK! Questions, ZONK! Answers (see Resources) Optional: ZONK! Directions, Building the ZONK! Wheel (see Resources) At the Jewish feasts and festivals, the people would eat special foods, see special people, and engage in special dances and ceremonies. It s easy to imagine that the Jewish children might have been so excited about the upcoming festivals that they couldn t sleep for days in anticipation. 6

7 The feasts and festivals were both fun and meaningful. God s people reveled in how good it was to be together as they remembered what God had done in their lives. During this time, we will seek to remember in a spirit of fun and celebration making the experience exciting and interesting as well as meaningful, community-building, and spiritually forming. Engage the children by playing the game of ZONK! to help them remember what they ve discovered during the past several weeks. ZONK! Questions and Answers 1) What did Jacob dream about while he slept alone in the desert? a. Angels walking up and down stairs b. That he was flying c. That he could breathe underwater d. That he was hairy like his brother ANSWER: A. In his dream, Jacob saw a stairway going up to heaven. Angels were walking up and down the stairs. 2) True or False: Jacob and Esau never spoke again after Jacob stole Esau s blessing. ANSWER: False. Even though they didn t talk for many years, God drastically changed Jacob s life, and the two brothers happily reunited. 3) What does redeem mean? a. Fly through the air b. Eat a sandwich c. Give a hug d. Buy back ANSWER: D. Redeem means buy back. Jesus redeemed us by paying the debt for our sins when He died on the cross and rose again. God redeemed Joseph s life by turning bad situations into something good. 4) What did Joseph s brothers do to him instead of killing him? a. Threw him into a water well b. Tore up his coat c. Sold him into slavery d. All of the above ANSWER: D. Joseph s brothers harmed him in a number of ways, but God redeemed those difficult situations and used them for good. 5) How did God redeem Joseph s life? a. Made him second-in-command of Egypt b. Brought Jesus to earth through Joseph s family line c. Put Joseph in charge of storing up lots of grain for a famine d. All of the above ANSWER: D. Joseph faced many difficult circumstances in his life, but God redeemed the hard times in good ways that benefited many people. 6) True or False: Joseph cried and hugged his brothers the second he saw them. ANSWER: False. Joseph pretended he didn t know his brothers. 7

8 7) What did God tell Moses to do when He spoke through the burning bush? a. Eat a pickle b. Jump around in circles c. Take off his sandals d. Bow down ANSWER: C. God told Moses to remove his sandals because he was standing on holy ground. 8) True or False: When God fought to free His people from Egypt, He sent an army. ANSWER: False. God used 10 different plagues to prove to Pharaoh and His people, the Israelites, that He is the one true God. 9) How many plagues did God bring down on Egypt? a. 10 b. 5 c. 25 d. 15 ANSWER: A. God used 10 plagues from frogs to locusts to darkness to free His people. 10) What protected the Israelites from the Egyptian army while God held back the waters of the Red Sea? a. A giant b. A big pile of rocks c. A pillar of cloud and an angel of the Lord d. A tornado ANSWER: C. God provided a pillar of cloud to guide the Israelites by night, and an angel of the Lord stood between the Egyptian army and the Israelites until they safely crossed the Red Sea. 11) True or False: The Egyptian army followed the Israelites all of the way through the Red Sea to the other side. ANSWER: False. God brought the waters crashing down on the Egyptian army. RESPOND// 15 min. Host/Storyteller Children gather as a faith community and celebrate who God is and what He has done. They participate in storytelling and connect through fun and engaging worship. God redeemed Israel and bought them back from slavery. Then He led them into the Promised Land. The people had so many reasons to remember and celebrate God s goodness! The Feast of Unleavened Bread was one of many reminders of God s redeeming power. Once a year, for a week, the people would celebrate by eating bread without leaven, or yeast. This kind of bread is kind of like a cracker, and it s called matzo. On the last day of the week, the Israelites would gather, take a break from their work, and worship God. In fact, in the Bible, when the Lord established this feast, He commanded His people to celebrate it every year. He wanted them to use this celebration to teach their children what God had done that the LORD brought [them] out of Egypt with his mighty hand (Exodus 13:9). 8

9 Remembering My Experience with God Bibles Worship Response and Create/Engage pieces from previous weeks Optional: Worship Response Stations SET UP From the Worship Response and Create/Engage pieces, choose three or so you might want to discuss and have them available. Talk and pray about this with your team and choose the pieces that most impacted your group. Place the Worship Response and Create/Engage pieces around the room in lesson order. Optional: Set up the Worship Response Stations you have chosen to use for Remember and Celebrate lessons. Invite children to look back at how they ve experienced God during the past several lessons. Optional: Discuss the Worship Response and Create/Engage pieces and encourage kids to share memories of those response experiences or activities. WORSHIP RESPONSE Lesson 7, God Is Faithful: A relationship with God is a journey. How have you seen your relationship with God differently since you heard about how God worked in Jacob s life? Lesson 8, God Redeems: How does it feel to know God has redeemed you so you can be in relationship with Him? Lesson 9, God Saves: God s plans are bigger than our plans. We took pieces of maps and asked God to lead us. How has He been working in your life to bring others to Himself? Lesson 10, God Is I AM: How does knowing who God is, and how God defines you, change the way you want to live your life? How does it help you think about the person you want to be when you grow up? Lesson 11, God Is Warrior: During this lesson you may have laid down the heavy things in your life so God could fight for you as your Warrior. Has God used this experience to change the way you live your life? Lesson 12, God Is Victorious: After God freed the Israelites they sang a song of worship to celebrate God s victory. Do you have a song you like singing to celebrate God? CREATE/ENGAGE Lesson 7, Three-Legged Race Home: God is always faithful. He speaks to each one of us individually, and He also unites us into one body as His church. How have you seen unity among Christians recently? Lesson 8, Scenes of Redemption: God redeems broken lives, broken hearts, and broken situations. How have you seen God s redemption in your life? Lesson 9, Famine Flee: During this lesson, we heard about how God used Joseph to save thousands of people from starvation by placing him as the second-in-command in Egypt. How have you seen God provide in times when it felt impossible? Lesson 10, I AM: As we created a burning bush, we wrote statements about God by completing the phrase I AM What new statements would you add today? Lesson 11, Fetching Frogs: During this fun activity we remembered how God sent a plague of frogs. God sent a lot of plagues to convince Pharaoh to let God s people go, and Pharaoh eventually did! How have you seen God fight for you or someone you know? Lesson 12, Red Sea Run: After the Israelites crossed the Red Sea on dry land, Pharaoh s armies 9

10 chased after them, but then God sent the water crashing down on them! God had the victory. Are there any areas in your life where you want to see God s victory? Storytelling Optional: Campfire video (see Resources) Bibles PREPARE AHEAD Pick one or two of the storytelling options listed below. Gather stories from your faith community, or invite kids and families to start thinking of stories they may want to share. Storytelling allows members of the community to tell stories about what God has been doing in their hearts at church and at home. You and your kids and parents can share stories in various forms videos, s, written or spoken stories, etc. As you tell stories, encourage children to be respectful of their friends and leaders by listening quietly while others speak. Also, whether you choose to experience storytelling with high energy or in a more restful way, remember to continue in a spirit of celebration for what God has done in the lives of your kids, leaders, church, and families. Optional: Set up your storytelling time like an experience of telling stories around a campfire. Have kids sit in a giant circle. Be creative with ways to create the sense of being around a campfire by playing the Campfire video or playing sound effects (crackling fire, crickets, etc.), setting out wood, and more. Storytelling Ideas Set up open mics around the room and allow kids to tell their stories. How God answered their prayers How God used the Remember Verse in their lives What God did in their hearts during the last few weeks (such as what they learned about God and how that changed them) How they saw God with their families or outside of church Gather stories from the community. Ask parents for stories about their experiences with God at home with their children Ask parents to pictures of spiritual experiences with their children (such as a baptism) Take pictures of family church experiences Show a video or picture collage gathered during the last few weeks Interview someone about what he experienced, discovered, or learned about God. Someone who has recently come home from a mission trip A parent who had a God experience with his child, or a child who experienced God with her family Someone who recently accepted Christ Celebrate by Breaking Bread Food, drinks, plates, napkins, utensils, cups 10

11 Celebrate with the kids by breaking bread together. Explain that eating together is one of the ways people celebrate today and one of the ways the Israelites celebrated together during their festivals. You can break bread many ways. Here are some options: Have parents bring food and come to eat with the kids on either Remember & Celebrate weekends or on the last weekend of the quarter. Have a feast after church such as a potluck or smorgasbord. Parents, leaders, and kids can make food, bring it to church, and then eat together after the service. If your kids fill a clear container or build a structure as part of a Tradition, give out simple foods (e.g., pretzels or animal crackers) on most Remember & Celebrate weekends. Save the more extensive party for when they complete their goal. Celebrate with Music Worship music (suggestions: Celebrate or Remain, TruWorship Sincerely Yours) Play upbeat songs and encourage the kids to sing along and dance. Celebration Station Rocks (1 per person) Used items (1 per child, examples: newspapers, empty water bottles, grocery bags, etc.) Permanent markers (1 per child) Plastic bin (large) SET UP Set out rocks, markers and used items for children and families to access. Scripture often refers to rocks as symbols of remembrance (e.g., Samuel setting up an Ebenezer pile of stones). At this station (used only during Remember & Celebrate weekends), children and parents write a word or phrase they want to celebrate (e.g., new job, faithful, God has a plan for my life, etc.) on a rock. (Find an image and instructions for building your own Celebration Station in How It Works, found in Resources.) God s Word teaches us that He is the Redeemer. To redeem something means to buy it back. Redeem can also refer to making something new. One way we use the word redeem today is when we talk about recycling something. For example, you can take an old water bottle to a recycling center and they will redeem your bottle. What do they do after that? Allow responses. Yes! They recycle it. They make something new from that old bottle. 11

12 As His children, God is also making us into new people people who look more and more like Him. Today, as we celebrate God as Redeemer, go to the Celebration Station and take an object that ordinarily would be thrown away or recycled. Sit with that object and talk to God about how He is redeeming your life. Pray that He would use you for His kingdom. Then write a message or prayer to God on your item and place it in the bin. As everyone places his item in the bin, we ll form an altar to God. Encourage the kids to visit the Celebration Station and respond to what God s Spirit may be speaking to them today. SMALL GROUP S E C T I O N BLESS// 5 min. Small Group Leaders Children are blessed through a prayer of commission, a portion of Scripture, or words of encouragement and guidance. HomeFront Weekly (see Resources) Bible For this experience, have small groups gather together. Then pray a blessing from Psalm 98:1 9a over the group. As you read the blessing, pause at the indicated places and encourage kids to celebrate for a few seconds by cheering, dancing, and clapping. Sing to the LORD a new song, for he has done marvelous things; his right hand and his holy arm have worked salvation for him. Celebrate. The LORD has made his salvation known and revealed his righteousness to the nations. He has remembered his love and his faithfulness to Israel; all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God. Celebrate. Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth, burst into jubilant song with music; make music to the LORD with the harp, with the harp and the sound of singing, with trumpets and the blast of the ram s horn shout for joy before the LORD, the King. Celebrate. Let the sea resound, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it. Let the rivers clap their hands, let the mountains sing together for joy; let them sing before the LORD. Celebrate. Finally, pray the following blessing over your group: May you know God loves you and redeems you. May you rest in His peace, joy, and grace this week. 12

13 HomeFront Weekly is provided as a parent resource with each week s lesson (see Resources) and can be ed out or printed and distributed. This preteaching tool encourages families to spend time in God s Word together before children arrive at church. The best part is that parents are the first to introduce their kids to the Bible content they ll hear at church. In this way, the church is supporting families as they spiritually nurture their children. 13