Leader Guide FALL 2015 CHILDREN S CHURCH. group.com/sunday-school

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1 Leader Guide FALL 2015 CHILDREN S CHURCH group.com/sunday-school

2 We know you care about kids We do, too! That s why we attempt to ensure that all crafts, toys, and gizmos meet or exceed national safety standards and are produced by manufacturers that don t use child labor or abuse their labor force. You can order Group resources knowing that in addition to caring for your kids, you re also caring for children elsewhere. Let s keep kids safe! We strive to provide products that are mechanically reliable and hold together during normal, intended usage. Items are also checked for flammability, and both paint and surface coatings are checked for heavy metals including lead. You can help your children stay safe by seeing that toys and gizmos are used as designed, for the purposes designed, and that any broken pieces are disposed of promptly and properly. We value your feedback. If you become aware of a problem affecting the safety of any of our products, please inform us immediately. KidsOwn Worship : FaithWeaver Children s Church, Leader Guide, Fall 2015 Copyright 2000 and 2015 Group Publishing, Inc edition All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner whatsoever without prior written permission from the publisher, except where noted in the text and in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. For information, visit group.com/permissions. Visit our website: group.com Current Edition Credits Contributing Authors: Janet R. Reeves, Deborah L. Saathoff, Amy Simpson, Bonnie Temple, and April I. Thoms Editors: Scott M. Kinner and Beth Robinson Copy Editors: Lyndsay Gerwing and Andrea Zimmerman Project Manager: Ali Thompson Chief Creative Officer: Joani Schultz Cover Design & Art Direction: Jeff Spencer Interior Design Team: Jared Bigham, Jeff Brunacci, Kate Elvin, Suzi Jensen, Randy Kady, Rebecca Swain Cover Photographer: Rodney Stewart Illustrators: Max Kolding and Dana Regan All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version, NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. ISBN Printed in the United States of America.

3 Contents Introduction...4 Staffing Your Children s Church...5 The Sessions Session 1: The Israelites Cross the Red Sea Exodus 13:17 14: Week of August 30, 2015 Session 2: God Sends Quail and Manna Exodus 16: Week of September 6, 2015 Session 3: God Provides Water Exodus 17: Week of September 13, 2015 Session 4: God Gives the Ten Commandments (Part 1) Exodus 19:16 20: Week of September 20, 2015 Session 5: God Gives the Ten Commandments (Part 2) Exodus 19:16 20: Week of September 27, 2015 Session 6: The Israelites Worship a Golden Calf Exodus 32: Week of October 4, 2015 Session 7: The Israelites Build the Tabernacle Exodus 35:4 36: Week of October 11, 2015 Session 8: Moses Sends Spies Into the Promised Land Numbers 13:1 14: Week of October 18, 2015 Session 9: Balaam s Donkey Talks Numbers 22: Week of October 25, 2015 Session 10: Joshua Becomes Leader of Israel Joshua 1: Week of November 1, 2015 Session 11: Joshua Sends Spies to Jericho Joshua 2: Week of November 8, 2015 Session 12: The Israelites Cross the Jordan River Joshua 3:1 4: Week of November 15, 2015 Session 13: God Gives Victory Over Jericho Joshua 6: Week of November 22, 2015 Song Lyrics and Motions Table of Contents 3

4 Don t just teach about the Bible. KidsOwn Worship is a resource God will use to change the lives of the children in your church. KidsOwn Worship sessions encourage people to focus on the one most important thing in life: a growing relationship with Jesus. In Luke 10:41-42 (the Martha and Mary story), Jesus said, Martha, Martha, you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Every session in KidsOwn Worship helps students focus on this one thing, a growing relationship with Jesus. Whether they re studying Bible stories from the Old Testament or the New Testament, learners will be challenged to grow closer to Jesus every week. You ll be thrilled at the way KidsOwn Worship encourages learners to weave faith into life. By providing meaningful activities, great discussions, and personal challenges, KidsOwn Worship takes learners past head knowledge of the Bible and into heart- and lifechange. With KidsOwn Worship, students of all ages will experience God s story in fresh, fun, meaningful ways; understand God s Word by doing surprising, fun stuff; discover the adventure of applying God s truth to everyday life; build a forever friendship with Jesus the best friend they could ever have! Change lives! Welcome to KidsOwn Worship: Church for your kids. Children s church is where your preschoolers and elementary children build their worship foundation. It s where they focus on God in a personal way and experience children s worship through uplifting songs and fun, memorable Bible learning. We know you don t want to just teach about the Bible in your children s church; you want to change lives through worship that touches minds and hearts in amazing ways! Thanks to KidsOwn Worship, your preschool and elementary children will experience worship through memorable songs and impactful Bible learning. It s flexible, easy-to-plan and most importantly effective in helping your kids grow a personal relationship with Jesus. While KidsOwn Worship can be used in conjunction with any Sunday school curriculum, it works particularly well with FaithWeaver NOW and FaithWeaver Friends. Together, your families will learn about the same important Bible passages allowing them to grow in faith as families. We re so glad you ve decided to touch the heart of God and change the hearts of your kids with KidsOwn Worship. We know you ll help kids grow closer to God! Thom and Joani Schultz Chairman and Chief Creative Officer Group Publishing, Inc. Weave faith into life! KidsOwn Worship also works hand in hand with FaithWeaver NOW and FaithWeaver Friends. All three of these great programs follow the same Scope & Sequence to help reinforce the Bible message throughout the week. FaithWeaver NOW is available for infants adults.

5 Staffiing Your Children s Church To help make your children s church experience strong, it is important that you have at least one adult helper no matter how many children attend your children s church. In addition, we recommend that you recruit at least one helper for every 15 children. Song Leader You may want to recruit a song leader who can lead your children in a powerful worship experience. Give the CD to the song leader, and let him or her know which songs will be sung each week and what discussion he or she is responsible for. Preschool Leader Important Legal Information By purchasing KidsOwn Worship you also buy the right to use the material, songs, and lyrics as often as you like. Please remember that this content is copyrighted material and can only be used within your children s ministry program. This right does not grant permission to post material on the Internet or to sell, reproduce, or redistribute this material in any manner. To request permission for this, please visit group.com/ permissions. You may decide to keep all the children together during the entire worship time or to separate the preschoolers and elementary students during Let s Learn the Point! If you decide to separate preschoolers for this section, recruit a preschool leader, and make sure there s a room where the preschoolers can meet. Staffing for Your Children s Church Size If your children s church is made up of 30 or fewer children, you ll be able to run an effective children s church program with two leaders one to present material or lead worship songs, the other to gather supplies and help children with their individual needs. If you have more than 30 children in your children s group, we suggest that you use a small-group format, which we call Praise Crews, for discussions. Using Praise Crews will change both the number of volunteers and the kind of volunteers you ll need (see the margin box). Each Praise Crew will need a responsible teenager or an adult helper to build relationships and help with individual needs. Involving Older Children If you have older elementary children or preteens who want to be involved in children s church, consider forming a children s worship team. It s a great way to help children learn to serve, and you ll find that many children are eager to participate on a worship team. Hold regular rehearsals to help the worship-team children learn the song lyrics and motions. Be sure to rotate children into the worship team often so that many children get a chance to learn how to serve. What Do Praise Crew Leaders Do? Arrive early and be ready to welcome the kids in your Praise Crews. Worship enthusiastically! If you put your heart into worshipping God, kids will, too! Listen carefully to directions and help each child participate in the worship activities and the discussion that follows. Gently redirect kids who get off track or start misbehaving. It s your job to help kids have an awesome experience at KidsOwn Worship. Staffing Your Children s Church KidsOwn Worship 5

6 Session 1 The Israelites Cross the Red Sea Exodus 13:17 14:31 Worship Theme: God is mighty. FPO new photo to come Weaving Faith Into Life: Children will worship God for the mighty things he does in their lives. Session Sequence What Children Will Do Supplies Let s Praise God! (up to 25 minutes) Sing Wherever You Go (Joshua 1:9) (track 3) Psalm 23 (track 20) There s Power in the Blood (track 13) Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah (track 11) He Is Powerful (track 14) KidsOwn Worship Kit: Songs From FaithWeaver CD player, electrical outlet, lamp, battery-operated toy, batteries Preschool Session Sequence What Children Will Do Supplies Let s Learn the Point! (up to 25 minutes) Pillars of Cloud and Fire Make Bible story props to begin thinking about how mighty God is. God s Mighty Rescue Plan Participate in telling the Bible story. * Hold the Flow Try to push back and hold water to compare God s power to their own. Blue and black construction paper, 3 cotton balls, and yellow and orange crepe paper streamers for each child; glue sticks; scissors Art from previous activity, source of running water, paper towels 1 straw per child, 9-inch aluminum pie plate, water, towel 6 KidsOwn Worship Fall Quarter

7 Elementary Session Sequence What Children Will Do Supplies Let s Learn the Point! (up to 25 minutes) * God s Game Plan Make banners showing things from the Bible passages that reveal God s might. * God Is on Our Side Add verses to a song to show how God used his might in others lives. Red Rover Dare Receive help to keep a challenger from breaking through a line. Bible, sheet of poster board, scissors, glue, and craft supplies for every 4 children Paper, pencils Session Sequence What Children Will Do Supplies Let s Pray! (up to 10 minutes) The Offering Imagine what God can do with the offerings they give. Circle Prayer Take turns saying specific mighty tasks God has done. No Greater Gift Sing this song as a prayer. Offering bowls KidsOwn Worship Kit: Songs From FaithWeaver: No Greater Gift (track 10) CD player * Starred activities can be used successfully with preschool and elementary children together. Customize your session to fit your needs. You can separate preschoolers and elementary children for Section 2. Or, if you keep the children all together for the entire worship session, we suggest you choose from the starred activities. Session 1 KidsOwn Worship 7

8 Bible Background for Leaders The Israelites Cross the Red Sea Exodus 13:17 14:31 As the mass of over two million Hebrews left Egypt, God knew that facing the warlike Philistines immediately would likely have made the Hebrews lose faith and turn back to Egypt. Even after their roundabout journey, we know that their faith faltered at the edge of the Promised Land when the spies came back with reports of the size and strength of the land s inhabitants (Numbers 13:26 14:4). The pillar of cloud by day and pillar of fire by night must have been awesome. At first the pillars may have frightened the people. But eventually they became symbols of God s presence that must have been extremely reassuring to the newly freed slaves traveling in unknown territory! God instructed the Israelites to turn back somewhat toward Egypt. God wanted to make Pharaoh think that the Israelites were wandering aimlessly, which would lure Pharaoh into coming after them. Pharaoh would have been confident that he could easily defeat the Israelites. Remember that the Israelites were slaves of the Egyptians only days prior to this event. They had been beaten by the whips of the slave drivers and were familiar with the weapons the Egyptians carried. They must have realized that their fighting talents were nothing compared to the Egyptians and that they would be no match for the Egyptians horsedrawn chariots. And they were backed against the sea, with mountains on two sides and the Egyptians bearing down on them. The situation must have seemed hopeless. We need to realize that God had all this planned. He knew that the people would be frightened. He knew that they would doubt him. But he also knew that his power would be remembered forever. God knew that he would prevail, that the Hebrews would be saved from Pharaoh, and that the result would be a people growing greatly in their faith in him. Various attempts have been made to explain how the Israelites could have crossed the Red Sea the way the Bible describes it. Some have said they really crossed the Reed Sea a much shallower body of water. Others have suggested that God sent a wind that moved the water so far to one side of the sea that a sandbar was exposed. We don t know exactly what happened, but we do know that there was enough water to drown the Egyptian army and that God somehow moved the water away so that the Israelites could cross. However it was accomplished, it was a miracle of God responding to the needs of his people. Devotion for Leaders We live in troubled times, when it s easy for people to lose heart and feel hopeless and lost. But a relationship with Jesus can give us peace and joy. Jesus is our light in times of darkness. Weaving Faith Into Your Life: When have you felt out of sorts and desperate to find some control over your situation? Perhaps the Israelites felt these things after they escaped from Egypt. Although they may not have recognized it at the time, eventually they were able to look back and see how God used that time to protect them and bring glory to himself. What part of your life might God have his hand in now? What can you do to connect with God during times of fear and desperation? Take a few minutes each day this week to surround yourself with quiet. No kids. No television or music in the background. Reflect on God s hand in your life. 8 KidsOwn Worship Fall Quarter

9 Why We Worship for Leaders Today s culture encourages children to value might. The Man of Steel is a hero because he s more powerful than anyone on earth. The Force gives the good guys the edge in galactic battles. The popularity of professional fighting is at an all-time high. None of these popular images is truly powerful or even real. They exist in imagination or on stage. God s might, however, is a force the Christian can get excited about. God uses his might to further his kingdom, reveal his glory, and fight for his people. God s children can know, without a doubt, that God is mighty enough to do anything he pleases. They also can know that God loves them, hears their prayers, and uses his might for their ultimate good. For this, he is worthy of worship and praise. Easy Prep for Leaders Let s Praise God! Take the batteries out of a battery-operated toy, and hide them in your meeting area where you can easily retrieve them. Set the toy and a lamp at the front of your meeting area. Skits & Puppets In the KidsOwn Worship Kit, you ll find a collection of skits titled KidsOwn Worship Skits. The skits are designed to be used with Theophilus the FaithRetriever puppet during the preschool activities. You can purchase a Theo puppet at group.com. Preschool Activities Refer to the preschool pages for preparations. Important Legal Information When you purchase a KidsOwn Worship CD or kit, you also buy the right to use the songs and lyrics as often as you like. But companies that own these songs haven t given you (or us) permission to duplicate any of these products, except to make one overhead transparency or PowerPoint presentation per song. Making your own copies even for use during KidsOwn Worship is against the law, which is a fact many people don t know. The rights you have purchased grant you permission to use either the transparencies OR the lyrics from the CD, but not both. Let s Praise God! Play Songs From FaithWeaver, Fall 2015 as children arrive. Greet each child by name. Then make a muscle and say to each one, Show me how mighty you are! Check each muscle and make a positive comment, such as, Wow! What a muscle! You must be mighty! When you re ready to begin, welcome the children warmly. You may wonder why I checked everyone s muscles as you came in today. In Joshua 1:9, God says, Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go. For additional worship songs each week, check out the Sing & Praise DVD included with your KidsOwn Worship kit! That s amazing! Our mighty God has commanded us to not be afraid or discouraged, not because of our enormous strength, but because he is with us. In other words, God doesn t want us to be afraid if we are doing what he wants us to do. Session 1 KidsOwn Worship 9

10 God is mighty! That means he s strong enough to handle anything. God is mighty he can make anything happen! When we don t understand our situations, we can know that our mighty God is in control! Let s stand and sing Wherever You Go. Worship Leader Tip Before you do the rhythm, make sure preschoolers are near the front where they can see. You may even want to let some preschool children come up front with you to help lead the rhythm. Sing Wherever You Go (Joshua 1:9). Lyrics are in the back of this book. Track 3 The writer of Psalm 23 knew about God s might. In verse four, he said, Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me. Wow! This man didn t fear evil even when he walked through the valley of the shadow of death. That sounds like a very scary place, don t you think? Why wasn t the psalmist afraid? (He knew God was with him; he trusted God.) God is mighty! God commanded us to not be afraid because he is mighty, he loves us, and he is in control! Repeat Psalm 23:4 after me, a line at a time. Copy the motions you see me do. Lead the children in saying the verse with the following motions. Accent the italicized syllables to give the verse rhythm. E-ven though I walk (March in place.) Through the val-ley of the sha-dow of death, (Squat down on valley. Raise your hands overhead, palms up, as if protecting yourself from an evil shadow on shadow. Cross your arms over your chest and bow your head on death. ) I will fear no ev-il, (Stand and shake your finger back and forth as if saying no.) For you are with me; (Point up three times.) Your rod and your staff, (Extend your left hand as if holding a rod on rod. Extend your right hand in a fist on staff. ) They com-fort me. (Cross your arms across your chest one at a time, with your hands still in fists on comfort. Look down on me. ) God is mighty! What a comforting thought. How does it make you feel to know that our God is mightier than anyone or anything? (Safe; good; happy.) When I look at all God has done and all he is doing, I want to worship him. God is mighty. He can do anything! What kinds of mighty things do you see God doing today? (He brought us to church safely; he made it a beautiful sunny day; he made my brother get better.) Let s sing Psalm 23 to help us remember this verse and to praise God for doing mighty and powerful things in our lives. Sing Psalm 23. Track KidsOwn Worship Fall Quarter

11 Lyrics are in the back of this book. Have the children sit down. Hold up the unplugged lamp. Try to turn it on. I would like to turn on this lamp, but it doesn t seem to be working. What do you think is wrong with my lamp? (You need to plug it in; it needs power.) I think you re right. This lamp needs power. Plug in the lamp, and turn it on. The electricity from the outlet gives this lamp the power it needs to shine brightly. Hold up the toy and try to turn it on. This toy needs power, too. Turn the toy around, looking it over carefully. Pretend you are trying to find a plug. I can t find an electrical cord for this toy. If I can t plug it in, it won t get the power it needs. What do you think I should do? (Change the batteries; put some batteries in; get a new toy.) Take the batteries from their hiding place, place them in the toy, and turn it on. This toy gets its power from a different source. Batteries give the toy the power it needs to run. Lamps and toys may get their power from different sources. But our power can only come through one source: God. Why do we need God s power? (He made us; he knows what s best for us; because God is more powerful than anything.) God is mighty. He can do anything! God never, ever, has a power shortage. God has proven his strength time and time again, and he has never failed. Let s stand and sing There s Power in the Blood in honor of God s might. Sing There s Power in the Blood. Lyrics are in the back of this book. Track 13 Let the children sit down. Our next song, Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah, is a prayer to our mighty God! Jehovah is another name for God. The Israelites prayed that God would guide them safely to the Promised Land. They didn t know the way through the desert, and they had powerful enemies to face along the way. This song is a prayer that could have been written by one of the Israelites. It asks God for guidance, food, and water. It also asks for his strength and protection things the Israelites needed. We need these things, too! The song calls God the bread of heaven, the one who gives us spiritual strength in the same way that food gives our bodies physical strength. God is the strong Session 1 KidsOwn Worship 11

12 deliverer, the one who protects us from dangerous things. Let s sing this song as a prayer to our mighty God. Sing Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah. Lyrics are in the back of this book. Track 11 Jehovah is one Bible name for God. El Shaddai is another. El Shaddai means God Almighty. What a perfect name for our mighty God! He has all the power he needs to do absolutely anything. He has all the power we need. WOW! That s true might. Choose a partner, and answer the following questions together: How has God used his might to provide for his people in the past? (He helped them escape from Egypt; he sent a lamb to be sacrificed instead of Isaac.) How does God use his might to provide what we need today? (He sends friends to help us in hard times; he gives us strength when we don t feel like we can handle something.) Give partners time to discuss the questions. Let volunteers share their ideas with the group. Pray The song He Is Powerful celebrates God Almighty. Through his love and through the ram, God saved Abraham s son Isaac. He parted the Red Sea and provided dry land so the Israelites could escape from Pharaoh s army. He forgave the outcast, the woman everyone else wanted to destroy. He uses his might to set his children free from sin. God is the same today as he was in Bible times. God loves people, and he uses his might to set them free from sin. God is mighty! Let s stand and sing He Is Powerful. Sing He Is Powerful. Lyrics are in the back of this book. Lord, you are mighty, and you use your power for good. You provide all we need. You set your people free. Nothing is more powerful than you, our mighty God. In Jesus name, amen. Let s Learn the Point! Track 14 Preschool Activities, pages At this time, have the preschool leader invite the preschoolers to go to their own room for this section of activities. Tear out the Preschool Activities page, and give it to the preschool leader. Have the preschool leader bring the preschoolers back to participate in Let s Pray! with the older children. If you prefer to keep all the children together, do the starred (*) activities. They will work well with both elementary and preschool children. 12 KidsOwn Worship Fall Quarter

13 Elementary Activities * God s Game Plan Form groups of four or five children. Give each group a Bible, a sheet of poster board, scissors, glue, and various craft supplies gathered from your surplus. Assign one of the following Bible references to each group: Exodus 13:17-22, 14:1-9, 14:10-18, 14:19-20, 14:21-22, 14:23-25, and 14: Let each group of children read the Bible passage and make a banner showing something from the passage that reveals God s might. For example, Exodus 13:17-22 shows God s power to lead his people using pillars of cloud and fire. When the children finish the banners, let each group tell the others what they discovered about the acts of our mighty God. * God Is on Our Side Gather the children. God is mighty! He was on the Israelites side, and his power saved the Israelites. I m glad God is on our side, too! Let s celebrate God s might! Have children form five groups. You may wish to use the words God is on our side, having each child say one of the words around the room. Then all those who said God will form one group, all who said is will form another group, and so on. Give a representative from each group a piece of paper and a pencil. God was on the side of other people in the Bible, too. Name someone from the Bible whom God helped. Allow the children to recall other instances of God s power in biblical lives. God is on our side, too. His power isn t limited to people in the Bible. It s for us today. Let s write some songs about God s power to the tune of Row, Row, Row Your Boat. Choose a recorder to write your group s song. Think of someone who depended on God s might in a specific situation. Work together to write a song about that situation. When everyone is finished, each group can sing its song to the others. Give the children time to work. If a group struggles for an idea, suggest the stories of David and Goliath, Joshua and the wall of Jericho, Daniel in the lion s den, or a situation that happened to someone they know personally. Let each group sing its song to the others. Session 1 KidsOwn Worship 13

14 God is mighty! He made heaven and earth. He saved his people, the Israelites, from slavery in Egypt. He helps his people today, too. Praise his mighty name! Red Rover Dare Divide the group into two equal teams. Have teams line up on opposite sides of the room, facing each other. Show the children how to lock arms down the line. Have one group huddle to choose a challenger from the other team. Once they do this, have them lock arms in a straight line. Once the team has called a challenger, the challenger will shout out where he or she is going to break through the line. Have the group say, Red Rover, Red Rover, send [challenger s name] right over. [Challenger s name], where will you break through? Once you ve committed, that s where you have to go. Remember, if you can t break through the line, you ll join this team. As the challenger runs toward the line, move to the place he or she has committed to try to break through. Stand directly behind this spot in the line and look as tough as you can. Block the way, holding on to the arms of the designated children so the challenger can t break through. Have the child join the team. Repeat the activity once on the other side. (If you repeat it too many times, the children may outsmart you and find a way to break through the line!) Gather the children for discussion. Direct your first three questions to the children who were challengers. What kept you from breaking through? (You were helping the other team; all three of you working together were too strong for me.) How did you feel when I wouldn t let you break through? (I was upset; mad.) If I hadn t blocked the way, do you think you could have gotten through? Why or why not? (Yes, because I was running fast; no, they probably would have still kept me out.) Direct the next questions to the children you supported. How did you feel when you saw the challenger coming at you? (Scared; confident; nervous that he d break through.) Did you think the challenger would break through? Why or why not? (Yes, because she was running fast; no, because we were pretty strong.) How did you feel when I stood behind you? (I knew we could keep the challenger out; stronger; more confident.) Direct the rest of the questions to the group. (continued on page 17) 14 KidsOwn Worship Fall Quarter

15 Preschool Activities The Israelites Cross the Red Sea Exodus 13:17 14:31 Worship Theme: Using Theo 1 Session 1 God is mighty. Easy Prep for Leaders Pillars of Cloud and Fire Cut 3-inch pieces of the yellow and orange crepe paper streamers so you have several for each child. God s Mighty Rescue Plan You ll need a source of running water, (water fountain, sink, or pitcher of water) and a pan to catch the water. Hold the Flow Fill an aluminum pie pan about 1 inch full of water. Place the pan on a towel. Consider using Theophilus the FaithRetriever puppet today in these ways: Have Theo lead the preschoolers from the main worship area to the preschool room. Have Theo read God s Mighty Rescue Plan. See the KidsOwn Worship Kit for a puppet skit written for today s worship session. Pillars of Cloud and Fire Gather the children around tables. Our mighty God used a pillar of cloud during the day and pillar of fire at night to lead his people safely away from Egypt and to the Promised Land. Imagine that! God is so mighty, he can make clouds go where he wants them to go. He can make fire do what he wants it to do. How do you think God made the cloud and fire obey? I don t know how God made the cloud and fire obey, but he must be very mighty because they did obey. Let s use our imaginations. Picture in your mind what you think a pillar of cloud looked like. Pillars are straight and tall. Give each child a piece of blue construction paper and some cotton balls. Provide glue sticks. Now you can use the cotton balls to make a pillar of clouds. Give the children time to work. Offer help only if it is necessary. Now imagine what a pillar of fire looked like. How would a pillar of fire be different from a pillar of cloud? Give the children the black paper and several 3-inch segments of the paper streamers. Let them make pillars of fire on the black paper. When they have finished, help the children glue their pictures together back to back. Have the children take their finished projects to the circle for story time. God s Mighty Rescue Plan Gather the children. Have them hold their pillars of cloud and fire in their laps. After God rescued his people from Egypt, he led them to a new place to live. How do you think God led the way? During the day, God used a pillar of cloud to show the people where to go. Show me your pillars of cloud. Have the children hold up their cloud. The pillar of cloud floated high up in the sky for all the people to see. When they followed the cloud, they knew they were going the right way. At nighttime, though, the people couldn t see the cloud. How do you think our mighty God solved that problem? Whenever it was dark, the pillar of cloud became a pillar of fire. The people could see the fire in the black night sky. Show me your pillars of fire. Have the children hold up their fires. One day God led the people to the Red Sea. The water was deep and wide. The people were afraid because Pharaoh had changed his mind about letting them leave Egypt his army was coming to get them! They would have to cross the sea to get away from the army. Session 1 KidsOwn Worship 15

16 Preschool Activities How do you think God rescued the people? God did a very mighty thing that day mightier than making pillars of cloud or fire! God stopped the water and made a path of dry land right through the sea! Let s see if we can stop water. Have the children leave their pictures where they are sitting and follow you as you pretend to cross a dry desert, climb over a few sand dunes, and arrive at the Red Sea, which can be any source of running water, such as a sink, a drinking fountain, or a pitcher. Turn on the water, and let the children take turns trying to pass their hands through the stream of water without getting wet. You all got wet. But God did a miracle that kept the children of Israel dry. Turn off the water, and let the children dry their hands on paper towels. I stopped the water by turning it off, but the Red Sea didn t have a handle to turn or a lid to close! Our mighty God held the waters back with his own power. The water stopped flowing, and the Israelites crossed the sea on dry land. Have the children pretend to cross the Red Sea by walking their fingers through the air where the stream of water would be running if the faucet were still turned on. God is mighty. God made the clouds move to show people where he wanted them to go. God made the fire move to show people where he wanted them to go. God turned off the flow of the water and held it back to make dry land for the Israelites to cross. Nothing is as powerful as our mighty God! * Hold the Flow Set out the pie pan and towel you prepared before the session. I ve created a tiny Red Sea so we can see if we can create dry land across it. You can try different ideas, but you can only use your own power. The water has to stay in the pie plate, just like the water stayed in the Red Sea in the Bible story. What do you think might happen if we all try really hard to make a dry space in the pie plate? Preschool Leader Tip If you have a large group, set up one pie plate and towel for every five to six children with plenty of space between each group. Let each child take a turn trying to scoop the water to one or both sides as the others watch. As each child makes an attempt, give him or her a drinking straw to try to blow the water away. When the child s turn is finished, dispose of the straw he or she used. Encourage the rest of the children to make observations as they watch. After each child has had a turn, gather the children in an area away from the water. Why was it so hard to hold the water back? Do you think it s possible for people to hold back water with their own power? God did something that no human can do. Our God is more mighty and powerful than we are. God is more powerful than the water, or the clouds, or fire, or anything! Let s celebrate God s power with this rhyming prayer. Watch what I do, and do it along with me. You held back that water. (Point upward; then put the backs of your hands together in front of you. Push your hands toward the sides.) You moved that noisy sea. (Pat your hands on your thighs.) If you can do those mighty works, (Make muscles.) Then you can care for me! (Hug yourself.) 16 KidsOwn Worship Fall Quarter

17 (continued from page 14) Why did it make a difference when I stood behind the line the challenger was trying to break through? (You helped; if the challenger got through, you would have been there to help; you gave extra strength to the line.) Who gives us extra strength when we are challenged in life? (Friends; family; God.) How was this game like or different from God helping us? (God helps us when we face a challenge; God gives us strength.) It s good to know that God is on our side. God is mighty, and he can help no matter how hopeless things seem. Praise our mighty God! Pray Let s Pray! The Offering God is mighty. He can do anything he wants to do. What do you think God can do with the offerings we give? (Feed hungry people; send missionaries anywhere he wants; anything.) As you give your offerings today, remember that you are giving to a mighty God. Offer your gift for God to use as he pleases. God is mighty. He will use our gifts in just the right way. Lord, we trust you. All we have belongs to you. Use the gifts we bring today to do what is best for your kingdom. In Jesus name, amen. Take the offering. Circle Prayer Have the children stand in a circle, holding hands and bowing heads. Pray Let s praise God for his mighty acts. Think of something God has done. You may think of something you ve read in the Bible. You may think of something he s done for you. You may think of something you ve heard he s done for friends or family. I will pray first. I ll praise God for one of his mighty acts. When I m done, I ll squeeze [name of child to your left] s hand. [Child s name] will praise God for one of his mighty acts and squeeze [next child s name] s hand. We ll go all the way around the circle. If you don t wish to pray aloud, quietly squeeze the next person s hand when it is your turn. That person will know to go ahead. Let s pray now. God, you are mighty! You saved your people, the Israelites, from slavery in Egypt. Session 1 KidsOwn Worship 17

18 Pray Squeeze the hand of the child to your left. Let each child pray in turn. You are so mighty, God. We re glad you are on our side. We praise and worship you. Thank you for all you have done. In Jesus name, amen. Pray No Greater Gift God is mighty! He sent a pillar of cloud to lead the Israelites during the day. He sent a pillar of fire to lead them at night. It must have felt like a warm hug to know God was caring for them. They must have rested well at night, knowing God was in charge. God uses his might for our good. God cares for us 24 hours a day. Let s sing No Greater Gift as a prayer of praise to our mighty God. Sing No Greater Gift. Lyrics are in the back of this book. Lord, you have been so good to us. We re glad you are our mighty God. In Jesus name, amen. Track KidsOwn Worship Fall Quarter

19 Encouragement for Leaders Remember as you teach your students that what you say may very well bless the hearts of adults at home! From Heartfelt Thanks for Sunday School Teachers. Copyright 2003 Group Publishing, Inc., Loveland, CO.

20 Session 2 God Sends Quail and Manna Exodus 16:1-26 Worship Theme: God gives good gifts. Weaving Faith Into Life: Children will praise God for giving good gifts and offer what they have back to God. Session Sequence What Children Will Do Supplies Let s Praise God! (up to 25 minutes) Sing Psalm 23 (track 20) There s Power in the Blood (track 13) He Cares for You (1 Peter 5:7) (track 2) His Great Love (Romans 5:8) (track 9) Give Thanks (1 Chronicles 16:8) (track 17) KidsOwn Worship Kit: Songs From FaithWeaver CD player, poster board, Bible, marker, 2 boxes of snack crackers, gravel, timer, chalkboard, chalk, 1 gift bow per child Preschool Session Sequence What Children Will Do Supplies God s Gift Clues Look for and discuss symbols of God s gifts to the Israelites. 2 sheets construction paper, marker, 3 gift bows Let s Learn the Point! (up to 25 minutes) Gifts for All People Play a game to identify things God has given them to appreciate their own special gifts from God. * The Gift Box Game Play a game to anticipate getting a good gift. CD player, CD of praise music, 4 boxes, wrapping paper, scissors, tape, bow, 1 treat per child 20 KidsOwn Worship Fall Quarter

21 Elementary Session Sequence What Children Will Do Supplies Let s Learn the Point! (up to 25 minutes) * Good Gifts? Watch a DVD, and discuss what makes God s gifts good. * God s Great Deal Open three different gifts, and compare them. Alphabet Thanksgiving Thank God for things in alphabetical order to praise God for giving good gifts. KidsOwn Worship Kit: Lesson Videos DVD: Good Gifts? TV, DVD player 3 gift boxes, wrapping paper, scissors, tape, confetti, feather, 1 lollipop per child Session Sequence What Children Will Do Supplies Let s Pray! (up to 10 minutes) The Offering Learn they can never outgive God. Give and Thank Prayer Offer themselves and their things to the Giver of Good Gifts. No Greater Gift Sing this song as a prayer to give themselves in worship. Offering bowls KidsOwn Worship Kit: Songs From FaithWeaver: No Greater Gift (track 10) CD player * Starred activities can be used successfully with preschool and elementary children together. Customize your session to fit your needs. You can separate preschoolers and elementary children for Section 2. Or, if you keep the children all together for the entire worship session, we suggest you choose from the starred activities. Session 2 KidsOwn Worship 21

22 Bible Background for Leaders God Sends Quail and Manna Exodus 16:1-26 After three days in the desert without finding water, the Israelites came upon a spring. But the water was bitter and the people complained. Despite the grumbling of the people, God turned the bitter water sweet so they could drink it. Approximately 30 days have passed since the Hebrew people left Egypt. Apparently the food they had brought with them had run out, and they began complaining. How quickly they had forgotten the oppression of the Egyptians! All they could think of was the food available back in Egypt. Even though they complained instead of trusting God and asking him for what they needed, God came through again. Here was another opportunity for the Israelites to learn to trust God. We don t know exactly what the glory of the Lord was that the Israelites saw in the cloud, but it was a visible sign to them (perhaps like the cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night mentioned in Exodus 13). God wanted the Israelites to know that he was still there, that he was aware of their need, and that he was going to provide for them. When the manna appeared the first morning, the Hebrews question, What is it? apparently caught on as its name because manna means What is it? Though some have suggested various possibilities for what manna was, nothing we know of today is a good match for the description given in Exodus 16:31: It was white like coriander seed and tasted like wafers made with honey. Certainly this was a miraculous provision that God made for his people. The miraculous nature of manna is further exhibited in what happened to it over the course of a Sabbath as opposed to a weekday. The Israelites were not to work on the Sabbath, but to keep it as a day for worship. Gathering manna on the Sabbath would have been work, so God simply didn t make it appear. If anyone tried to keep manna from one weekday to the next, it would spoil. However, if anyone kept it from the morning before the Sabbath, it would stay good through the Sabbath. God provided just what his people needed, just when they needed it! Devotion for Leaders God is our provider! These are words to trust and embrace. Everything we have is from God, and he has provided a way for us to have a relationship with Jesus. The eternal gift of salvation is the greatest provision we could ever receive! Weaving Faith Into Your Life: What do you find yourself wanting more than anything? How often do you view this desire as a need? It is important to recognize the difference. God allowed the Hebrews to live as slaves for many years. When God decided they needed to leave Egypt, he provided the miraculous opportunity to do so. Our greatest need is to honor and glorify God. Despite our wants and desires, we are fulfilled when living in God s will. Write down some specific circumstances in which you can glorify and honor God. Pray for the strength and awareness to do just that. 22 KidsOwn Worship Fall Quarter

23 Why We Worship for Leaders The Israelites didn t deserve good gifts. They whined and complained as they traveled to the Promised Land. Their commitment was often halfhearted. But God didn t give them what they deserved. He gave them good gifts to provide for their needs. God gives us good gifts, too. Like a loving father who cares for his children, God gives us what we need and more. His gifts help us through life and prepare us for eternity. They are carefully chosen for our ultimate good and perfection by the God who knows us better than we know ourselves. Let s praise and thank our generous God throughout the day. Easy Prep for Leaders Let s Praise God! Use a black marker to print Psalm 23:5-6 on poster board. Empty one box of snack crackers, and set the crackers aside. Fill the box with gravel, and close it up. Good Gifts? Set up a TV and DVD player, and cue the Lesson Videos DVD to Good Gifts? Watch it at least once before the worship session so you ll be familiar with it. God s Great Deal Put confetti in a gift box. In another gift box, put a feather. Leave the third box empty. Wrap all three boxes. Put the lollipops where they are out of sight but easy to reach. Preschool Activities Refer to the preschool pages for preparations. Let s Praise God! Play Songs From FaithWeaver, Fall 2015 as children arrive. Greet children by name. As children enter the room, place a bow on each head, and say, You are a good gift from God! When you re ready to begin, welcome the children warmly. God is the greatest! God is more powerful than anyone or anything; God can conquer any problem. God is the wisest of all; God can answer any question. God is more generous than we can ever imagine; God gives us good gifts. Let s celebrate his greatness today! Sing Psalm 23. Lyrics are in the back of this book. Track 20 For additional worship songs each week, check out the Sing & Praise DVD included with your KidsOwn Worship kit! Show children the Psalm 23:5-6 poster. Have the children read it aloud. Session 2 KidsOwn Worship 23

24 God gives good gifts everything we need. Psalm 23 compares God to a good shepherd who watches out for his sheep and provides for their needs. Let s see how many good things we can find in Psalm 23:5-6. Have the children call out the good things they see in the passage. Use a marker to circle these gifts. Answers may include table, oil, cup, goodness, love, life, and house of the Lord. All these things are gifts from God. God gives us food and water. God watches over us when we are in danger. God brings healing when we re injured or sick. God offers his goodness and love. Our very lives are a gift from him. When we die, we can live forever in heaven, God s home. That s the best gift of all! God has everything we need. He may not give us everything we want when we want it, but he gives us what we need when we need it. God will never fail to do what is best for his children. God gives us power through Jesus. Let s sing There s Power in the Blood. Sing There s Power in the Blood. Lyrics are in the back of this book. Track 13 God has all the power we need, and he gives good gifts because he cares for us! In Luke 12:24 (New Living Translation), Jesus said, Look at the [birds]. They don t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for God feeds them. And you are far more valuable to him than any birds! In verse 28, Jesus says, And if God cares so wonderfully for flowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. If God cares for birds and flowers, how much do you think he cares for you? (A lot! God cares more than anything; God loves us so much he died for us.) ALLERGY ALERT Be aware that some children have food allergies that can be dangerous. Know your children, and consult with parents about allergies their children may have. Also be sure to read food labels carefully, as hidden ingredients can cause allergy-related problems. Sing He Cares for You (1 Peter 5:7). Lyrics are in the back of this book. God cares for you, and I do, too. Today I brought you a snack. You may pass it around and share. Hand the box of gravel to someone in the front row. Let the child open the box and react. Pretend not to notice at first. Go ahead. Take some for yourself, and pass it on. There should be plenty for everyone! Listen to the children s reaction. Notice the problem. Oh, no! I must have given you the wrong box. That s my gravel collection. Isn t it cool? Trade the box of gravel for the box that really has snack crackers. Track 2 24 KidsOwn Worship Fall Quarter

25 I would never really give you gravel for a snack! That could break your teeth. I care too much about you for that. God cares too much about you for that, too. In Matthew 7:9-11, Jesus asks parents if they would give their children stones when they ask for bread. Of course their answer would be No way! Then he reminds the people that, even though they re not perfect, they know how to give good things to their children. God is perfect, so we know he will give good gifts. I care about you and want good things for you. But sometimes I make mistakes like giving you gravel instead of crackers! God never makes mistakes. He cares for you more than anyone else ever could. God knows just what you need when you need it, and he gives good gifts because he cares for you. Not only does God care for you, he loves you. And his love is great and everlasting. That means it lasts forever, no matter what. In fact, his great love is one of his good gifts. What a wonder! Let s sing His Great Love. Sing His Great Love (Romans 5:8). Lyrics are in the back of this book. What do you do when someone gives you a gift? ( thank you; I get excited; I smile.) When someone gives me a gift, I say, Thank you. But I could never thank God enough for all of his good gifts to me. I probably don t even know about all of them, because I don t always recognize God s gifts right away. God is always watching for opportunities to give good gifts to the children he loves. Let s thank God for his good gifts. I m going to give you two minutes to think of as many gifts from God as you can. I ll make a mark for every gift you name. Let s see how much we can thank God for! Set the timer for two minutes. Let the children name all the gifts they can in that time. Make a mark on the chalkboard for each one. Tally the marks at the end of two minutes. Track 9 You remembered some important gifts. But you ve only just begun. Every day we can find new gifts from God. Try to thank God every day for something you ve never thanked him for. You ll never run out of gifts because the Bible tells us God s mercies are new every morning. Let s sing Give Thanks. Worship Leader Tip Here s a great way to include preschoolers in your worship session. As kids call out gifts from God, have preschoolers take turns making marks on the board. Pray Sing Give Thanks (1 Chronicles 16:8). Lyrics are in the back of this book. God, we thank you and we praise your name. You give good gifts. We worship you now as our generous and loving God. In Jesus name, amen. Track 17 Session 2 KidsOwn Worship 25

26 Let s Learn the Point! Preschool Activities, pages At this time, have the preschool leader invite the preschoolers to go to their own room for this section of activities. Tear out the Preschool Activities page, and give it to the preschool leader. Have the preschool leader bring the preschoolers back to participate in Let s Pray! with the older children. If you prefer to keep all the children together, do the starred (*) activities. They will work well with both elementary and preschool children. Elementary Activities * Good Gifts? To help us learn more about the gifts God gives to us, let s watch this DVD. Show the DVD segment titled Good Gifts? This segment shows a child at a birthday party receiving an odd assortment of gifts. After the segment, have the children turn to a partner and answer these questions. After each question, ask a few volunteers to share their discoveries. What did you think about the gifts this boy got for his birthday? (They were boring; I wouldn t want to get those gifts.) If today were your birthday, what would you like to receive as a gift? (A new bike; an Xbox.) What makes some gifts good and other gifts not so good? (Whether or not we need them; good gifts are the ones we really want.) What makes God s gifts good? (They meet our needs; he gives them to us out of love.) What do you think God would have given to the boy in the DVD? (A hug; better friends.) When we receive gifts, we really hope that they re good gifts. The boy in this DVD was disappointed with what he got for his birthday. But we ll never be disappointed with the gifts God gives us. God s gifts are always good. 26 KidsOwn Worship Fall Quarter * God s Great Deal Gather the children in front of you. I have three gift boxes for you to open today. The gifts in the boxes will teach us a little more about our generous God. I am going to give the first gift to the youngest person in this room.

27 Determine which child is youngest. Let that child choose and open a gift. Read the response below that goes with that gift. Let the oldest child in the group and the child whose birthday is closest to Christmas open the next two gifts. Read the responses that go with those gifts as the children choose them. God gives good gifts. God gives gifts that his children need because he loves and cares about them. God hears their prayers. And God enjoys their happiness as they celebrate his goodness. We worship a generous and loving God. ALLERGY ALERT See Let s Praise God! Worship Leader Tip If you are including preschoolers in the God s Great Deal activity, note that lollipops can be a choking hazard for young children. Choose a different kind of individually wrapped candy instead. Gift #1: The Empty Box Gift #2: The Feather Gift #3: The Confetti Oh no! The box is empty! How does it make you feel to find an empty box? (Sad; frustrated.) If God gave you a present, what do you think you d find in it? (Money; love; everything I need.) How do you know God would not give an empty box? (God gives good gifts; God meets our needs.) God gives good gifts. When the Israelites were hungry, they complained and asked for food. How do you think God felt about hearing all their grumbling? (Sad; angry.) God didn t appreciate their grumbling, but he answered the people anyway. God promised he would send food. God gives good gifts and he knows what his people need. It s a feather! What can we do with a feather? (Tickle people, feel how soft it is.) We can tickle people with feathers and make them laugh. But the Israelites didn t feel like laughing in the desert. They were hungry. God kept his promise, though. He sent flocks of quail the very evening of his promise. This box is full of confetti! What does confetti remind you of? (Celebrations; parties.) Confetti makes me think of parties and parades. It also reminds me of manna. When the Israelites woke up the morning after God promised food, the ground was covered with manna for the Israelites to eat. Picking up manna may have been hard work for the Israelites. They had to pick up tiny morsels like this confetti, but they were hungry. Let s see how they felt. Reach into the box, and act as if you are going to throw the confetti on the children. Then scatter the lollipops on the floor instead. When each child has a lollipop, have the children unwrap and enjoy the candy. How do you feel about picking up candy? (It s exciting; I love it.) As the Israelites collected manna for breakfast, they probably felt like throwing a party! God kept his promise. He gave them a good gift. Session 2 KidsOwn Worship 27

28 Alphabet Thanksgiving Sit with the children in a circle. We can thank God for good gifts from A to Z. God gives good gifts. I m thankful for air to breathe! Have the child to your right say, God gives good gifts. I m thankful for [something that starts with B]. Continue around the circle. If you reach the end of the alphabet before every child has a turn, start over again with A. Wow! We ve thanked God for things from A to Z, but I can still think of more things God gives! 1 Corinthians 2:9 says, No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him. When the Bible says, No mind has conceived, it means no one can imagine. Wow! No matter what you imagine, you ll never be able to imagine all the wonderful gifts God is planning to give to you! What is the greatest gift from God that you have received? (My little brother; my best friend; making new friends when we moved.) What is the greatest gift from God that you can imagine receiving? (Never having to need anything; protection from bad things.) The gifts God plans to give are even greater than all of these! Our alphabet list will never be complete because God always has more gifts to give. He s preparing gifts now that we can t even imagine. Our God gives good gifts generously! Let s Pray! The Offering As you prepare to give your offerings, there is something I want you to think about. What do you do with money people give to you? (Spend it; save it; buy cool things with it.) What does God do with the money we give to him? (Uses it to bring others to him; helps his church grow.) God doesn t really need money. He can make anything he wants or needs just by thinking about it! But God knows that his church needs money in order to do the things he wants it to do. How does the church use God s money? (To buy things to teach us; to help people grow closer to God.) We could give God everything we have all our money, toys, books, cars, homes, even ourselves! But no matter how much we give to God, he always gives more back to us. We ll never outgive God. 28 KidsOwn Worship Fall Quarter Pray; then take the offering. (continued on page 31)

29 Preschool Activities Worship Theme: God Sends Quail and Manna God gives good gifts. Exodus 16:1-26 Session Set up a CD or cassette player to play a CD or cassette of praise music. 2 Easy Prep for Leaders God s Gift Clues Draw simple pictures of manna and a quail on separate sheets of construction paper. Attach a gift bow to each picture. Hide the pictures in the room where the children can find them without moving any materials. The Gift Box Game Collect four boxes. Three of the boxes should nest in the largest box. Put the treats in the smallest box, wrap it, and place it inside the next size box. Wrap that box. Place it in the next size box. Wrap the box. Place it in the largest box. Wrap that box, and place a bow on top. Preschool Leader Tip To make the pictures more interesting, glue frostedflakes cereal to one sheet of paper to represent manna. Cut or trace a picture of a quail from a wildlife magazine and glue it to a second sheet of paper. Young children enjoy learning through all five senses. Your creativity will add more interest and fun to the activity. Using Theo Consider using Theophilus the FaithRetriever puppet today in these ways: Have Theo lead the preschoolers from the main worship area to the preschool room. Let Theo call out the categories during Gifts for All People. See the KidsOwn Worship Kit for a puppet skit written for today s worship session. God s Gift Clues Gather the children around you. God gave good gifts to his people, the Israelites. After he led them out of Egypt, the people became hungry. What do you do when you re hungry? The Israelites began to complain. God wasn t happy that the people complained. He wanted them to believe he would take care of them. But God loved the Israelites. He gave them good gifts of food to eat. Hold up a gift bow. There are two pictures hidden in this room. The pictures have gift bows like this one attached to them. Find the gift bows, and you will discover what God gave the people to eat. Give the children time to find the pictures. Set the pictures where all of the children can see them. Look at the picture of the manna. What does this remind you of? God called this food manna, which means What is it? God put it all around the camp for the Israelites to pick up and eat. It was flaky, kind of like cereal. Tell a friend sitting next to you about your favorite kind of cereal. Encourage the children to tell each other about the cereals they like best. Allow about one minute for sharing. Point to the picture of the quail. This is a wild bird that is good to eat. It s called a quail. What kind of food does this remind you of? In the evening after God promised to send meat, a flock of quail came and settled in the Israelite camp. The Israelites caught the quail and had meat to eat for dinner. It was a special meal. Tell your friend about your favorite special meal. Allow the children a moment to talk to each other again. For as long as the Israelites were in the desert, God gave them manna to eat. God gave good gifts to his people quail and manna. These good gifts helped the people to know that God would keep his promises to them. God gives you food to eat, too, like the cereal and special meals you told your friend about. God s gifts are always good. Session 2 KidsOwn Worship 29

30 Preschool Activities Gifts for All People Have the children stand in the center of the room. God loves each of us, and he made each of us different. Everything we are and everything we have is a gift from God. Let s play a game to discover some of the good gifts God has given us. As you lead the game, point to the side of the room that you want the children to move to. If you have dark hair, move to this side of the room. If you have light hair, move to that side of the room. Give the children time to move to the sides of the room you indicated. Our hair is a gift from God. It protects our * The Gift Box Game Have the children sit in a circle. Give the wrapped boxes to one child. I have another treat for you today. Let s play a game to find out what it is. When I start the music, pass the box around the circle. When I stop the music, we ll see who s holding the box. Play the CD, and let the children pass the box. Stop the music whenever you please. What do you think is in the box? Why do you think I would give you [whatever the children named]? Let the child holding the box open the first box. Let the children react to finding another box inside. Play the game again. What would you do if I put spiders in the box? What do you think you will find in the box this time? Let the child holding the box open it. Let the children react to finding another box inside. Play the game again. Why do you think I wouldn t put spiders in the box? What will you do if the box is empty? heads and helps us stay warm. Let s thank God for the good gift of hair! On the count of three, say, Thank you, God, for my good hair! Count to three, and help the children cheer. Repeat the game using such categories as eye color (light or dark), family size (brothers and sisters, no brothers and sisters), home (house or apartment); clothes (colors). When you finish the game, gather the children. God gives good gifts. He gives us different gifts, but he loves us all the same. All of God s gifts are good. On the count of three, let s thank God again by saying, Thank you, God, for your good gifts! Count to three, and let the children cheer. Let the child open the box and give the treats to everyone. I would never give you something as scary as spiders, because I love you too much for that. I would never give you an empty box instead of a promised treat. I gave you a good gift because I care for you. Why does God give good gifts? God loves us too much to give us anything harmful or bad. God shows his care by giving us the things we need, just as he promised he would. God gives good gifts because he loves us. Let the children enjoy the treats you ve provided. ALLERGY ALERT Be aware that some children have food allergies that can be dangerous. Know your children, and consult with parents about allergies their children may have. Also be sure to read food labels carefully, as hidden ingredients can cause allergy-related problems. Let the child holding the box open it. Let the children react to finding yet another box inside. Play the game one more time, but don t let the children know it s the last time. What do you think I put in that box? 30 KidsOwn Worship Fall Quarter

31 (continued from page 28) Give and Thank Prayer Have the children stand. God gives good gifts. We can never outgive God, but we can offer what we have back to him. This is one way to show our thankfulness to the Giver of Good Gifts. Repeat the following poem after me. Then name things you d like to give back to God. Have the children repeat each line after you: Lord, you give good gifts to us. We want to give some, too. You ve given us so very much Here s what we give to you: Let the children speak out to name things they want to offer to God as they think of these things. Include your offerings among theirs. Pray Thank you, God the Giver of Good Gifts. Your gifts are perfect, just what we need. Thank you for accepting our gifts, as small as they are compared to yours. We worship and praise you, our Lord. In Jesus name, amen. Pray No Greater Gift God is good, and he gives good gifts. Let s thank him in song for being so good to us. Let s sing No Greater Gift. Sing No Greater Gift. Lyrics are in the back of this book. Close your eyes and bow your heads. Thank you for loving us always, Lord. Thank you for giving perfect gifts. We worship and love you, our generous God. In Jesus name, amen. Track 10 Session 2 KidsOwn Worship 31

32 Session 3 God Provides Water Exodus 17:1-7 Worship Theme: God is patient. Weaving Faith Into Life: Children will praise God for being patient in all our circumstances. Session Sequence What Children Will Do Supplies Let s Praise God! (up to 25 minutes) Sing He Cares for You (1 Peter 5:7) (track 2) Praise Him (track 19) Doxology (track 4) There s Power in the Blood (track 13) Faith (Hebrews 11:1) (track 1) Praise the Lord (Psalm 150:6) (track 5) KidsOwn Worship Kit: Songs From FaithWeaver, Lesson Videos DVD: Patience CD player, TV, DVD player, index cards, transparent tape Preschool Session Sequence What Children Will Do Supplies Let s Learn the Point! (up to 25 minutes) Shake, Shake, Shake Make instant pudding as they talk about patience. * Whine, Whine, Whine Explore the Bible story by whining as the Israelites did. God Is Patient Do an action rhyme that explores the way God is patient with us. 6-oz. box instant pudding, 3 cups milk, and jar with lid for every 6 children; whisk; paper cups; plastic spoons; napkins 32 KidsOwn Worship Fall Quarter

33 Elementary Session Sequence What Children Will Do Supplies Let s Learn the Point! (up to 25 minutes) * Patience Relay Play a relay game of stuffing and unstuffing pillowcases. * Faithful Memories Look at a picture, and then see how much they can remember as they hear the Bible story about God s patience. Trying Patience Try to solve a puzzle, and compare it to the ways God is patient with us. Large pillows, small pillowcases KidsOwn Worship Kit: 1 copy of Faithful Memories picture for every 5 children Pencils, paper, 1 copy of dot pattern (see activity) per child, chalkboard or whiteboard Session Sequence What Children Will Do Supplies Let s Pray! (up to 10 minutes) The Offering Offer their gifts to God. Patience Prayers Share about impatience and patience. Closing Prayers Pray for each other s requests. Offering bowl * Starred activities can be used successfully with preschool and elementary children together. Customize your session to fit your needs. You can separate preschoolers and elementary children for Section 2. Or, if you keep the children all together for the entire worship session, we suggest you choose from the starred activities. Session 3 KidsOwn Worship 33

34 Bible Background for Leaders God Provides Water Exodus 17:1-7 As we begin today s session, we find the Israelites continuing their journey toward the Promised Land. They were still getting manna every morning and quail every evening, but they could not find water at their latest campsite. Again, instead of calling in faith upon the God who had secured their freedom, turned bitter water sweet, and provided manna and quail, the people complained to Moses. Again, instead of trusting God, they lamented that they were going to die in the desert for lack of water. As you can see from Exodus 17:4, Moses was exasperated. God, however, proves his patience and love in this passage, giving the Hebrews the water they needed in spite of their complaining and their lack of faith. God had a plan. His instructions to Moses must have seemed ludicrous! Moses was to take with him the leaders of the people likely representatives from each tribe so that they could see firsthand what God was going to do. In front of these leaders, Moses was to hit with his staff a rock that God would point out to him. And enough water would come out of the rock to take care of the needs of two million people. As unlikely as God s plan seemed, Moses didn t question God. He did what God told him to do, and God did what he said he would do. Moses and God gave a convincing demonstration of what acting on faith in God can do. What a story those leaders must have had to take back and tell their people! The names Moses gave to the place where all this happened mean testing and quarreling. No doubt Moses intent was to make this place a reminder of the people s unbelief, but also an encouragement toward faith in the God who had provided for them. Devotion for Leaders A relationship with Jesus brings us forgiveness, not perfection. As our faith in Jesus grows, we become more like him! Thank you, Jesus, for being patient with us and molding us to be like you. Weaving Faith Into Your Life: Think of some people who bring you frustration. Why are they frustrating to you? Now think of some people you have recently frustrated. Why did you create frustration for them? What must happen for you to see resolution in these situations? Pray for clarity and the opportunity to recognize when you need to extend to these people the same type of grace and understanding that Jesus has given you. 34 KidsOwn Worship Fall Quarter

35 Why We Worship for Leaders We are becoming a society with little capacity for patience. We want clear cell phone reception wherever we are, instant coffee, fast-food restaurants, and hundreds of channels at the touch of a remote control button. Yet we are people who place a great demand on the patience of our Creator. Like the children of Israel, we forget the great things he has done we do not rest in our trust that he will lead and guide our lives. Still, God lovingly offers his grace, his forgiveness, his mercy, and his compassion over and over again. Paul writes in Romans 2:4 that it is God s kindness, demonstrated through his patience, that leads us to repentance. As we consider God s mercy to us, let us praise him for his patience a patience we don t deserve but is freely given anyway. Easy Prep for Leaders Let s Praise God! Use the margin illustration as a guide and set up index-card houses around the room for the children to work on during arrival time. (If necessary, use transparent tape to hold the cards together.) You ll need one card house for every four to five children. Place extra cards near each card house. front view Set up a TV and DVD player. Cue the Lesson Videos DVD to Patience. Watch it at least once before the worship session so you ll be familiar with it. top view Patience Relay Place the pillows and pillowcases in the relay area. Faithful Memories Make a photocopy of the Faithful Memories picture for every five kids. Trying Patience On a sheet of paper, draw three rows of three dots as shown in the activity. Then make a photocopy of the paper for each elementary-age child. Preschool Activities Refer to the preschool pages for preparations. Let s Praise God! Play Songs From FaithWeaver, Fall 2015 as children arrive. Greet children by name, and say to each one, God is patient with us! Invite children to add additional floors to the index-card houses. When everyone has arrived and worked on the houses for a while, begin worship. Hello, everyone! As you came in, many of you worked on building card houses. Was it easy to place the cards so they wouldn t fall? (Yes, I ve done it before; no, it took too much time and effort.) How did you feel when the cards fell down instead of staying where you put them? (Frustrated; upset; annoyed.) How many times did you start over after they fell? (A lot; about 15.) Worship Leader Tip Preschoolers will probably become more impatient than older kids during this activity because their motor skills aren t as developed. Pair preschool children with older children so they can work together on the houses. Session 3 KidsOwn Worship 35

36 For additional worship songs each week, check out the Sing & Praise DVD included with your KidsOwn Worship kit! That feeling of frustration when you couldn t get the card houses to stand is called impatience. We are all impatient sometimes. But God is always patient. Today we re worshipping God for being patient. God is very patient with us. He patiently waits for us to do the things he has told us to do. God waits patiently even while we do the wrong things. God offers us forgiveness when we do wrong, helps us to do what s right, and loves us through it all. The words of our first song remind us how much God loves us. Sing He Cares for You (1 Peter 5:7). Lyrics are in the back of this book. We can worship God because he loves us and is patient with us. Let s praise God together with the words of our next song. Sing Praise Him. Lyrics are in the back of this book. The song we will sing next is a very old praise song that people have sung for hundreds of years. It s a song that calls everything God made to praise him. Every creature, every person and animal, is called to praise God. And all the angels, the heavenly host, are also called to praise God, who patiently and lovingly gives us all good things. Sing the Doxology. Lyrics are in the back of this book. Why do we praise God? (God deserves it; God made us; God loves us no matter what.) Today we ll be talking about something that happened to the Israelites while they were wandering in the desert. They became impatient with God because they didn t remember that God had the power to provide them with everything they needed. God could have gotten angry with them. Instead he showed patience to them God also showed that he has the power to give us anything we need. Let s sing There s Power in the Blood. Sing There s Power in the Blood. Lyrics are in the back of this book. Wow! We have a mighty God who can do so many things. For example, no matter what, God is always patient with us. Let s watch a DVD about patience. Track 2 Track 19 Track 4 Track 13 Show the DVD segment titled Patience. It s about a customer who grows impatient with a sales clerk. Then have the children answer the following questions in small groups of three or four. 36 KidsOwn Worship Fall Quarter

37 What made this DVD funny? (The sales clerk gave the customer the same thing; they didn t understand each other.) In what ways did the sales clerk try the customer s patience? (He wasn t listening; he didn t give the customer what he wanted.) What might happen if God were impatient with people? (They wouldn t know what love is; people wouldn t trust God.) Why is it a good thing for God to be patient with us? (God shows us how to be patient with others; God shows his love in his patience.) I m very thankful that God is patient with me all the time. God is patient when we grumble. God is patient when we do wrong. And God is patient when we need encouragement. God s patience helps us learn to love him and trust him more. Pray Even so, sometimes it s hard to wait for God because we want things done right away. God doesn t always do things when we expect them to be done but he always does them when he knows it s the right time. Sometimes we have to believe that God will do what he said just because he said he would. That s having faith. To have faith is to believe that God will do what he has promised. It is also doing what he said to do for no other reason than because he said to do it. Let s sing about living by faith. Sing Faith (Hebrews 11:1). Lyrics are in the back of this book. All the songs we have sung this morning celebrate our mighty and wonderful God who loves us and is patient with us. We have reason to celebrate! Let s sing this next song and celebrate as we praise the Lord. Sing Praise the Lord (Psalm 150:6). Lyrics are in the back of this book. Track 1 Track 5 God, we know that you deserve our praise. You care for us, you give us every good thing in our lives, and you are so patient with us. We sometimes forget to think about how wonderful, loving, and mighty you are, and we sometimes fail to do the things you ask of us. Thank you for patiently waiting for us, for always loving us, even when we aren t easy to love. Help us learn more about your patience so we can praise and worship you more. In Jesus name, amen. Session 3 KidsOwn Worship 37

38 Let s Learn the Point! Preschool Activities, pages At this time, have the preschool leader invite the preschoolers to go to their own room for this section of activities. Tear out the Preschool Activities page, and give it to the preschool leader. Have the preschool leader bring the preschoolers back to participate in Let s Pray! with the older children. If you prefer to keep all the children together, do the starred (*) activities. They will work well with both elementary and preschool children. Elementary Activities * Patience Relay Have children form teams of five to eight kids. Have one large pillow and one small pillowcase for each team at one side of the room. Have the teams line up across the room from the pillows and pillowcases. See the illustration in the margin. We re going to have a relay. Each team should line up opposite the pillow and pillowcase. When it s your turn, run to the pillow, and put it completely in the pillowcase. When that s done, hold the pillow up by the open end of the pillowcase, and then take the pillow out of the pillowcase for the next player. When you return to the team, it will be the next person s turn to go. You want to do all this as quickly as possible. Have the children do the relay race. Then have them sit in a circle. Set the pillows and pillowcases aside. What were you thinking when it was your turn to put the pillowcase on the pillow? (I wanted to do it as fast as possible; I was nervous that I wouldn t be able to do it quickly.) How did you feel when you watched your teammates trying to put the pillowcase on the pillow? (I didn t think they were doing it very fast; I was hoping we could be the fastest.) Was it easy to wait for someone to complete the task? Why or why not? (No, because I wanted to try; no, because I wanted to go faster.) When we are able to wait for something without becoming angry or frustrated or complaining, we call that patience. It isn t easy to be patient when we want something to happen or when we want something to stop happening. We want to hurry. People struggle to be patient every day. But God is always patient with us as he waits for us to do the things he told us to do. God is patient when we forget to trust him. God is patient when we disobey him. God waits patiently to forgive us and lovingly teach us to trust and obey him. Let s learn more about God s patience. 38 KidsOwn Worship Fall Quarter

39 * Faithful Memories I m going to give each team a picture. Look at it very carefully. Try to remember as much about the picture as you can. After a few moments, you ll turn the picture over and I ll ask you some questions about what you saw. You can t look at the picture again until all the questions have been answered. Give each team a Faithful Memories picture. After about 15 seconds, have kids turn the pictures over. Did you see a frog and flies or just a frog? How many pyramids were there? What was the name of the body of water? Were there more quail, or was there more manna? Was the pillar of cloud to the right or left of the pillar of fire? Were the rocks at the bottom of the mountain stacked or scattered? Have kids turn the pictures back over, and let children check their answers. Did anyone remember the correct answer to every question? (Almost; I got them all; I was fuzzy on the details.) Sometimes it s hard to remember what we ve just seen. The Israelites had a big problem remembering what they saw. They watched as God sent 10 plagues when the Egyptians refused to let them leave. They watched God part the Red Sea so they could cross it on dry land. They ate food sent from heaven every day, and they ate the quail God provided so they would have meat. They followed a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night, knowing that the pillars were sent by God so they would know exactly which way to go. After seeing all that, the people forgot the loving care God had given them. They still didn t trust God to meet their needs. They still grumbled, whined, complained, and doubted when they found themselves without water to drink. They accused Moses of leading them out of Egypt just to let them die of thirst in the desert. How do you think this made God feel? (Sad; hurt; angry.) How would you feel if you had done so much to take care of someone and that person accused you of something like that? (I d be angry; it would hurt my feelings if someone treated me that way.) God could have been angry and frustrated with the Israelites for not trusting him. Instead, God told Moses exactly what to do to take care of the situation. God told Moses to hit a rock with his walking staff. When Moses did this, water gushed out of the rock. There was plenty of water for the people. Once again, God took care of his people and provided them with just what they needed. Let s learn more about why we get impatient and why God is always patient. Session 3 KidsOwn Worship 39

40 1 4 Trying Patience In a moment, I ll give you each a pencil and a piece of paper with nine dots on it. Your job is to cross every dot by drawing only four straight lines. You can t cross any dot more than once, and you can t retrace any line. You can t lift the pencil from the paper until all nine dots have been crossed. If you need to try again, you may draw the dots on other sections of your paper or turn it over and use the back. I ll give you two minutes to work. 3 2 Distribute the supplies. Then give the children two minutes to solve the puzzle. Unless your group includes a very creative child or one who has already seen the puzzle, it isn t likely that they ll discover the answer. It is likely that they ll become frustrated and question the task. If someone does complete the puzzle right away, ask the child to keep the answer quiet and allow time for others to experiment. After two minutes, have the children put down their pencils. How did trying to find the answer make you feel? (Frustrated; upset that I couldn t get it.) Do you think the problem can be solved, or do you think it s a trick? (It s a trick; there must be a way; it s impossible.) 40 KidsOwn Worship Fall Quarter Demonstrate the solution on a chalkboard or whiteboard. What about the answer is a surprise? Why? (I didn t know you could draw lines outside the square; I hadn t thought of it that way.) The Israelites didn t expect God to be able to solve their problems because they couldn t see a way to solve them for themselves. They knew they were thirsty, they knew they needed water, and they knew they couldn t make water or find it. What they kept forgetting was that God had solved so many problems for them already that they could trust him to find an answer they wouldn t think possible. They didn t trust God to take care of them. They tried to solve problems their own ways and failed, and they often disobeyed God s directions in the process. Yet God was patient with them and lovingly showed them over and over that he has many surprising solutions to their problems. Do we limit our idea of what God can do in our lives? Explain. (Yes, we only think about what we can do; we never know how God will work.) Do we ever get impatient with God when he doesn t do things the way we think they should be done? Explain. (Yes, sometimes we think we know what s best; no, I know that God has the best plan.) What does that say about our trust in God? (Getting impatient means we don t trust God; if we trust God to do what s best, we ll be patient with him.) (continued on page 43)

41 Preschool Activities Worship Theme: God Provides Water Exodus 17:1-7 Using Theo Session 3 God is patient. Easy Prep for Leaders Shake, Shake, Shake Set out a large jar with a screw-on lid (quart-size Mason jars work well), three cups of milk, and a 6-ounce box of instant pudding mix for every six children. Also set out a whisk, napkins, paper cups, and spoons. Consider using Theophilus the FaithRetriever puppet today in these ways: Have Theo lead the preschoolers from the main worship area to the preschool room. Have Theo lead the actions in the God Is Patient action rhyme. See the KidsOwn Worship Kit for a puppet skit written for today s worship session. Shake, Shake, Shake Have the children sit in a circle. If you have more than six children, you may want to break the group into smaller circles. We re going to make a special treat today. We re going to put this powder and this milk into the jar. Then we will shake it until it turns into a delicious treat. Use a whisk to mix the ingredients well. Seal the jar tightly, and pass it around the circle. the children to help you mix the ingredients. Allow each child about 30 seconds or so to shake the pudding before handing it to the next child. As soon as the children begin to shake the jar and pass it around, Are you ready to open the treat now, or do you want to wait? Look inside. Show children the runny liquid. Does this look like a special treat? I guess we need to wait and shake a little longer. When we must wait for something we want, we have to be patient. Is it easy to be patient? How do you feel while you re waiting? After five minutes of shaking the jar, check the pudding. If the jar has been shaken vigorously, the pudding should be ready. If not, send it around the circle, and encourage the children to shake vigorously. When the pudding is ready, spoon it into paper cups, and let the children eat their pudding. Was it hard to wait for the pudding to get finished? Did you want to yell at it to hurry up? Did you want to do something to make it hurry up? Did you feel a little angry inside that it was taking so long? When we re upset because we re tired of waiting, we say that we re impatient. When do you get impatient? People get impatient all the time. But God is always patient. God is patient with us when we mess up, and he s patient with us when we disobey. God is always patient and loving toward us, even when we whine. Let s find out about a time the Israelites whined. ALLERGY ALERT Be aware that some children have food allergies that can be dangerous. Know your children, and consult with parents about allergies their children may have. Also be sure to read food labels carefully, as hidden ingredients can cause allergy-related problems. Session 3 KidsOwn Worship 41

42 Preschool Activities * Whine, Whine, Whine I need your help to tell this story. To tell this story well, we need to be good whiners. Are any of you good whiners? Let s all whine. Let s say, I m tired together, and let s use whiney voices. Help the children whine. Now let s say, I m hungry. Help the children whine. Now let s say, But I don t want to. Help the children whine. Now let s say, I need a drink of water. Help the children whine. That was great whining! Be ready to whine when I tell you to. The story we re about to hear comes from the Bible. God had just rescued his people, the Israelites, from slavery in the land of Egypt. God loved the Israelites very much, and he wanted to lead them to their new home. But the Egyptian soldiers chased the Israelites. They wanted to catch the Israelites and make them slaves again. The Israelites wanted to run away from the soldiers, but they were trapped beside a huge sea. The Israelites didn t have any boats to use to get to the other side. What do you think the Israelites did when they saw the soldiers? The Israelites could have trusted God, but instead they whined. Let s all whine together. Whine, whine, whine. Even though the Israelites didn t trust God, God was patient with them. God parted the Red Sea with a mighty miracle, and the people escaped from the soldiers. God saved the Israelites because he loved them so much. He led the people with a great cloud during the day and with a bright pillar of fire at night. God God Is Patient God was patient with the people of Israel when they didn t trust him to protect them and care for them. God was patient with them when they whined and complained. God showed them his love over and over again to help them learn that he would always care for them. Let s learn a rhyme that helps us remember how God is patient with us today. Repeat the words as I say them, and follow my motions. God is patient when I m scared and forget to trust in him. (Act frightened.) God is patient when I m angry and say mean things. (Act angry.) took good care of the people. But they didn t see how good God was to them. They whined about the things they didn t have. God led the people through the desert. The people got very hungry. They could have trusted God to take care of them, but they didn t. Instead, they decided to whine. They whined, We should have stayed in Egypt. There was plenty of food there. Let s all whine together. Whine, whine, whine. But God was patient with these whining people. He sent manna for them to eat. And when they whined even more, he sent quail so they d have meat to eat. Then the Israelites traveled in the desert some more. One day, when they made their camp, there was no water for them to drink. Do you think the people trusted God to take care of them this time? No, they didn t. They whined. Let s all whine together. Whine, whine, whine. God didn t get angry with the people who didn t trust him. He didn t give up on them and refuse to give them water. God showed Moses what to do. He told Moses to hit a rock with his special stick. When Moses hit the rock, water came pouring out. God gave the Israelites just what they needed. Why do you think God was patient with the Israelites when they whined so much? God was patient with the Israelites. He wasn t angry with them for not trusting him. God loved them and wanted to take good care of them. God is patient with us, too. Our God is a good God! God is patient when I do things that I know I shouldn t do. (Act sneaky.) God patiently waits for me (open arms) and says, Remember I love you. (Hug yourself.) God is patient as he helps me to trust him more each day. (Lift your arms and look up.) God patiently reminds me of kind words that I should say. (Point to your mouth.) God is patient as he teaches me to do the things he said to do. (Point up; then slowly wag your finger.) God is patient, and I tell him, God, I love you, too! (Point up; then hug yourself.) 42 KidsOwn Worship Fall Quarter

43 (continued from page 40) We can know for a fact that God knows much more about our situations than we do. We can also know for a fact that God loves us, is patient with us, and wants the best for us. God has known the solutions to all our problems since before we were born. That s why we can trust God to help us. God is always ready to give us the help we need. And even though we get frustrated and impatient, we can know that God is always patient. Let s Pray! The Offering Let s practice patience as we collect the offering. It ll be our way of showing our appreciation to God, who is always patient with us. Put the offering bowl by the front wall of the room. Have the children line up along the back wall and take tiny steps toward the offering bowl. As you make your way toward the offering bowl, thank God for being patient with you. Take the offering. If there are kids who haven t brought an offering, have them walk to the bowl and pray just as the other kids do. Patience Prayers Have the children return to their seats. Think about a time in your life when you were patient with someone. Think about what it felt like to be patient. Turn to a friend, and tell him or her about your experience. Give the children one minute to do this. Now think about a time in your life when someone was impatient with you. Think about what that felt like. Turn to the same friend, and tell him or her about your experience. Give the children one minute to do this. And now think about how good God is to be patient with us. Pray with your friend, and thank God for being a patient God. Begin your prayer by saying, God, we thank you for being patient with us because Give the children one minute to pray together. Worship Leader Tip Some kids may try your patience by taking forever to do this activity. You may want to play a worship song, such as You Have Been So Good to Me, and have children take tiny steps while the song plays. Then, when the song ends, they can walk at a normal pace to the offering bowl. Extra Impact Help kids make Patience Journals where they can write complaints, times God is patient, and ways they can be patient. Give each child a small notebook you can probably still get these at a back-to-school sale. Encourage kids to take their journals home and write or draw about times they need to practice a little patience. Closing Prayers Invite one or several children to close the worship session in prayer. If you d like, collect prayer requests on a chalkboard, and have the children pray for one another s requests. Session 3 KidsOwn Worship 43

44 Session 4 God Gives the Ten Commandments (Part 1) Exodus 19:16 20:21 Worship Theme: God is worthy of honor. Weaving Faith Into Life: Children will honor God through worship. Session Sequence What Children Will Do Supplies Let s Praise God! (up to 25 minutes) Sing Praise Him (track 19) God Is the King (Psalm 47:7) (track 15) His Great Love (Romans 5:8) (track 9) Trust and Obey (track 8) To God Be the Glory (track 18) Love the Lord (Deuteronomy 6:4-9) (track 16) KidsOwn Worship Kit: Songs From FaithWeaver CD player Preschool Session Sequence What Children Will Do Supplies Let s Learn the Point! (up to 25 minutes) God Is the Best Find a blue ribbon, and award it to God to practice giving God honor. The Ten Commandments Number stones, and talk about what the first four commandments mean. We Honor God Sing a song about honoring God by following his commands. Prize ribbons, envelopes Bible; bowl; 4 stones per child, 1 resealable bag, and 1 washable marker per child 44 KidsOwn Worship Fall Quarter

45 Elementary Session Sequence What Children Will Do Supplies Let s Learn the Point! (up to 25 minutes) * The Up Late Show Watch a video about why God deserves honor.. * Report From Mount Sinai Watch a news report about Moses receiving the Ten Commandments. * What s It Worth to You? Participate in a game show to explore why God is worthy of honor. KidsOwn Worship Kit: Lesson Videos DVD: The Up Late Show TV, DVD player KidsOwn Worship Kit: Lesson Videos DVD: Report From Mount Sinai TV, DVD player Several wrapped boxes, marker, 1 small candy bar per child Session Sequence What Children Will Do Supplies Let s Pray! (up to 10 minutes) The Offering Listen to a song and give their gifts to God. God Is Worthy Read words to a prayer. Closing Prayer Listen to a prayer. KidsOwn Worship Kit: Songs From FaithWeaver: Take My Life and Let It Be (track 12) CD player, offering bowls Chalkboard or whiteboard * Starred activities can be used successfully with preschool and elementary children together. Customize your session to fit your needs. You can separate preschoolers and elementary children for Section 2. Or, if you keep the children all together for the entire worship session, we suggest you choose from the starred activities. Session 4 KidsOwn Worship 45

46 Bible Background for Leaders God Gives the Ten Commandments (Part 1) Exodus 19:16 20:21 This week s Bible Background concentrates on the events surrounding the giving of the Ten Commandments, while next week s concentrates on the commandments themselves. You may want to read both Bible Backgrounds before beginning this session. The Amalekites attacked the Israelites where they were camped. So the Israelites put together an army under the leadership of Joshua and went on the attack. Moses held high in the air the staff that had struck the rock to get water. As long as Moses held the staff in the air, the Israelites continued to win so Aaron and Hur helped hold Moses hands up, and the Israelites defeated the Amalekites. Moses father-in-law, Jethro, came to visit after the battle with the Amalekites. Seeing Moses burdened with judging disagreements among the two million Israelites, Jethro gave Moses some good advice. He suggested that Moses appoint judges to serve the people so that Moses could concentrate on what was most important being the people s representative before God. Moses took the advice and then led the Israelites on to Mount Sinai, where Moses had earlier met God in the burning bush. They arrived at Mount Sinai three months to the day from the day they left Egypt. A significant event is recorded in the next few verses (Exodus 19:3-9): God spoke to Moses and promised him that Israel would be his treasured possession, his holy people if they would obey him. After Moses told the people what God had said, they responded gratefully: We will do everything the Lord has said. God responded by telling Moses that God himself would come down and speak with the Israelites from a cloud. Why was God so concerned about people coming up the mountain to see him? Because he wanted them to realize the extent of his holiness and of their unholiness. Certainly his power and majesty were evident through the blast of the trumpet, the smoke and the fire, and the trembling of the earth. Most would not have needed a warning to stay away, but some well-meaning, faithful souls might have too boldly approached God without the warnings. Only Moses and Aaron were allowed to approach God, and then only as the people s representatives, not on the basis of their own holiness. The law God gave spelled out how the Israelites were to honor him through their obedience. In the thousands of years that have passed since this event, one thing hasn t changed: The best way we can honor God is by obeying him. Devotion for Leaders Following Jesus is not about obeying rules; it s about knowing him. However, our obedience in honoring and glorifying God in our everyday lives allows our relationship with Jesus to grow. Weaving Faith Into Your Life: Read Exodus 19:5-6. When have you felt favor from God? How did you experience his favor? How were you following God at the time? Who were the people involved? Were they aware of their involvement in God s work in your life? When we honor and follow God, blessings come to us and to the people around us. What blessings have you received from teaching these children? Pray that the ministry you are involved in today helps your students experience God s blessing. May you see the fruit of God s work through your obedience. 46 KidsOwn Worship Fall Quarter

47 Why We Worship for Leaders People are accustomed to honoring individuals for achievements, such as climbing Mount Everest, making a great scientific discovery, or executing a daring rescue. But even our greatest achievements pale beside the worthiness of almighty God. God s worth goes far beyond what we perceive as his achievements. God s worth lies in who he is. Because of who God is, the honor due him is far greater than any honor bestowed on the most deserving person. Today, we worship God because he is worthy of honor. The Bible text for today centers on the part of the Ten Commandments that focuses on honoring God. Let s help the children go beyond understanding that we honor God to understanding why we honor God. We honor him because he is above us. We honor him because he is loving, just, patient, and forgiving. We honor him because he is Creator, Lord, and Redeemer. Everything about God s character and his actions explains why he is entitled to our full devotion and our tireless service. Let s help the children bring to God the honor that he richly deserves. Easy Prep for Leaders The Up Late Show Set up a TV and DVD player, and cue the Lesson Videos DVD to The Up Late Show. You ll want to watch it at least once before the worship session. Report From Mount Sinai Watch Report From Mount Sinai, which leads kids in a discussion with Moses. Watch the clip several times so you can get a feel for how quickly you need to ask the questions in the time allowed by the DVD. What s It Worth to You? Wrap several large boxes. Use a marker to label each box as if it contained something your children would really want a video game system, for example. Label one box God, and put it aside where the children can t see it. God Is Worthy Copy the prayer at the end of this session onto a chalkboard or whiteboard. Preschool Activities Refer to the preschool pages for preparations. For additional worship songs each week, check out the Sing & Praise DVD included with your KidsOwn Worship kit! Let s Praise God! Play Songs From FaithWeaver, Fall 2015 as children arrive. some children to stand at the door and welcome everyone who comes into the room. the greeters to smile, shake hands, and say, Welcome! When everyone has arrived, begin the worship session. Hello, everyone! Welcome to children s church. Why do leaders make laws? (So people respect each other; to keep order in the country.) Session 4 KidsOwn Worship 47

48 Today we re going to be talking about some laws that God made thousands of years ago. These laws are called the Ten Commandments. Why do you think God gave us the Ten Commandments? (To help us know how to live; so we make him happy.) Those are good ideas! One reason God gave us the Ten Commandments is so that we can bring him honor. That s what we re going to talk about today. We re going to discover why God is worthy of honor and how we give honor to God. Let s begin our discovery journey with some praise songs. Our first song will give us a clue about how we honor God with the Ten Commandments. Sing Praise Him. Lyrics are in the back of the book. Did you notice that the song talks about praising God all throughout the day? How does what we do every day bring praise or honor to God? (Our actions can show others that we re following Jesus; we can thank God for giving us everything; if we follow God, it shows that he s important to us.) Great ideas! How we spend our days shows what s important to us. Paying attention to God s commandments means that God s important to us. God is the greatest. He s the King of everything! Let s sing together. Sing God Is the King (Psalm 47:7). Lyrics are in the back of the book. God is the greatest! He gives us wisdom, help, and encouragement when we need it. Most of all, though, he gives us his great love. You know, some people think that God s commandments are kind of a drag. They think that following God s laws means you can t have fun. But the opposite is really true. God gives us commandments because he loves us. Think about that while we sing this next song. Sing His Great Love (Romans 5:8). Lyrics are in the back of the book. How do God s commandments show that he loves us? (The commandments protect us; they help us know how to love God and others.) Let s explore this idea some more. I need three volunteers: one to be a parent, one to be a toddler, and one to be a crazy teenager who just got a driver s license. Track 19 Track 15 Track 9 Choose three volunteers, and have them come to the front of the room. Tell each of the volunteers which role they ll play, and have them act out their roles in slow motion while you tell this story. 48 KidsOwn Worship Fall Quarter

49 One day a toddler was playing with a ball in his yard (pause) while the parent was planting flowers in the garden (pause). The toddler bounced the ball (pause) and rolled the ball (pause). And the parent kept on planting flowers (pause). Oh no! The toddler rolled the ball too hard, and it landed in the street (pause). The toddler toddled after the ball (pause). Meanwhile, the crazy teenager got into her little red sports car and revved the engine (pause). She was raring to go! The crazy teenager slammed the pedal to the floor and took off down the street (pause). The crazy teenager hit 75 miles per hour. And, at the very moment she passed the toddler s house, the toddler was jumping off the curb to get the ball. The parent looked up and saw the sports car about to hit the toddler (pause). The parent threw the flowers in the air (pause), jumped up (pause), and dashed out into the street just in time to snatch the toddler away from the wheels of the little red sports car (pause). Whew! And everyone was safe! Let s give a round of applause to our actors! What rules do you think the parent made for the toddler after this incident? (Never play in the street; if the ball goes in the street, let it go; ask before running after your ball.) Why was it necessary to make those rules? (To keep the toddler safe; because it was best for the toddler.) Now why do you think God gave us the Ten Commandments? (To keep us safe; because they re best for us.) One reason God gives us rules is to keep us safe, and that shows how much God loves us. We have a choice. We can decide to follow God s rules or we can decide not to follow them. When we follow God s rules, we re saying we agree that God knows best and we re honoring God. Let s tell God that we plan to honor him by trusting him and following his rules. Sing Trust and Obey. Lyrics are in the back of the book. Track 8 Part of worshipping God is bringing glory and honor to God s name. We show through our worship that God is important and wonderful. Let s sing To God Be the Glory. While we sing, think about how obeying God s commandments gives him glory. Worship Leader Tip Here s a great way to get preschoolers more involved! preschoolers what rules they have in their homes to keep them safe. They ll be glad to tell you. If your preschool children don t feel comfortable sharing in front of everyone, let them whisper to you. Then repeat what they say. Sing To God Be the Glory. Lyrics are in the back of this book. God wants us to love him as much as he loves us. When we honor him by obeying his commandments, we show that we love God with all our heart. Let s sing together. Track 18 Session 4 KidsOwn Worship 49

50 Pray Sing Love the Lord (Deuteronomy 6:4-9). Lyrics are in the back of the book. God, you are the greatest of all. You love us and care for us every day. You give us rules to keep us safe. We want to honor you by following those rules. We know that you are worthy of honor because you are such a great God. Help us learn more about you and how to give you the honor you deserve. In Jesus name, amen. Let s Learn the Point! Track 16 Preschool Activities, pages At this time, have the preschool leader invite the preschoolers to go to their own room for this section of activities. Tear out the Preschool Activities page, and give it to the preschool leader. Have the preschool leader bring the preschoolers back to participate in Let s Pray! with the older children. If you prefer to keep all the children together, do the starred (*) activities. They will work well with both elementary and preschool children. Elementary Activities * The Up Late Show Show The Up Late Show on the Lesson Videos DVD. It uses a talk-show format to illustrate why God is worthy of honor. After the DVD, have the children find a partner and discuss these questions. What about God makes him worthy of being honored? (He protects us; he loves us; God is amazing in everything he does and is.) What has God done that makes him worthy of being honored like this? (Created everything; sent Jesus to die for us.) If you were to throw a party to honor God, what would your party be like? (Exciting; everyone in the world would be invited.) What do you think is the best way to give God the honor he deserves? (Worship him; live a life that honors him.) Have volunteers share their insights with the rest of the group. There are lots of ways to honor people. Sometimes we throw parties for people. Other times we might give them awards or a pat on the back. The Bible tells us about something special we can do to honor God. Let s find out more about it. 50 KidsOwn Worship Fall Quarter

51 * Report From Mount Sinai Show Report From Mount Sinai on the Lesson Videos DVD. In this segment, Moses is interviewed by a reporter and explains how God gave him the Ten Commandments. Be prepared, though! This is an interactive DVD. You ll have the opportunity to ask Moses the questions listed below. Be sure you know how quickly you need to ask the questions to stay with the DVD. (to Moses) We d like to know why the people were so scared of God. (Moses) God doesn t speak to us so that we can hear him. Why did God speak to the people like this? Why are you on your way up the mountain? When the segment is over, have the children discuss these questions: Why do you think God gave the commandments to the people? (They needed guidance; to protect them; to show them how to love God and others.) Why is it that God is honored when we obey the Ten Commandments? (Because it shows that what s important to God is important to us; it shows our love for God.) How do you think God feels when we don t obey him? (Hurt; sad; angry.) God s commandments are important. Moses climbed to the top of Mount Sinai and actually received the commandments from God himself. We may not fully understand why God chose to give us the Ten Commandments to follow, but we can know for certain what the result is when we follow them. When we follow the Ten Commandments, we can know that we re pleasing God and bringing honor to him. Let s find out more about why God is worthy of honor. * What s It Worth to You? Set out all the wrapped boxes except the one marked God. Let s play a game called What s It Worth to You? Several of you will be offered the opportunity of a lifetime. Who d like to volunteer to play the game? Put the first box on a table, and ask for a volunteer who d really like to have what the box indicates is inside. In your best game-show-host voice, Now it s time to get to the truth. Just how much do you want this item? Please keep in mind that there isn t really a [what the label says] inside this box. We re simply playing the game to explore what this item might be worth to you. Rest assured you do have the opportunity to win a prize, but our lawyers insist that we cannot make it appear that you may win a [what the label says] today. With that in mind, let s find out what it s worth to you. I have a just few simple questions for you. Session 4 KidsOwn Worship 51

52 Would you be willing to scratch and hoot like a monkey to win this fabulous prize? Would you be willing to do your best friend s chores for a month to win this fabulous prize? Would you be willing to give your allowance for one year to win this fabulous prize? Would you be willing to give us all your possessions to win this prize? If the answer to all four questions is yes, Would you be willing to give us everything you own, and everything your parents own, including your house and the family car, all the money you ll earn in your entire lifetime, and the family dog to win this fabulous prize? Continue to raise the stakes until the contestant bows out. When the child says no, Well, I m sorry, but it s not worth enough to you. You don t win the fabulous prize today, but you will receive a lovely parting gift. Let s thank our contestant for playing What s It Worth to You? Give the child a candy bar or other prize, and have him or her return to the group. ALLERGY ALERT See Session 2. Play the game at least once more, asking similar questions and raising the stakes until the child bows out. Give each contestant a candy bar or another prize, but suggest that the contestants allow your assistant (an adult helper) to keep the candy until the end of the session. For the last contestant, put the box labeled God on the table. Now we re down to our last contestant. Let s see how much the grand prize is worth to this contestant. To the contestant, We d like to know just how much this fabulous prize is worth to you. Tell us, is this fabulous prize worthy of praise? Is this fabulous prize worthy of honor? Is this fabulous prize worthy of glory? Is this fabulous prize worthy of obedience? Is this fabulous prize worthy of devotion? Well congratulations, contestant! You ve just won this round of What s It Worth to You? You ve won candy for everyone in the studio audience. Let s give our winning contestant a round of applause. Pass out small candy bars to everyone. Let s talk about this game. 52 KidsOwn Worship Fall Quarter (continued on page 55)

53 Preschool Activities God Gives the Ten Commandments (Part 1) Worship Theme: Exodus 19:16 20:21 Using Theo Session 4 God is worthy of honor. Easy Prep for Leaders God Is the Best Obtain prize-type ribbons in different colors (or make prize ribbons out of construction paper) so you have one for each child. The ribbons can be of any color, but two should be blue. Put each ribbon (except one blue ribbon) in an envelope opaque enough to conceal the ribbon s color. Don t seal the envelopes. Consider using Theophilus the FaithRetriever puppet today in these ways: Have Theo lead the preschoolers from the main worship area to the preschool room. Have Theo help the children sing the two songs. See the KidsOwn Worship Kit for a puppet skit written for today s worship session. God Is the Best Have you ever heard your parents say that the Bible says we should honor our parents? How do we honor our parents? Those are good ideas. We honor our parents by paying attention to what they say and doing what they tell us to do. But there are other ways to honor people. We might honor a firefighter for rescuing someone by giving a medal. We honor someone who wins a race by giving the winner a blue ribbon or a trophy. Hold up a blue ribbon. Giving someone a ribbon means the person did something great it s a way to give the person honor. God does many great things, and God is great. We honor God by worshipping him and obeying him. We honor God because he s done so many great things. God is worthy because he is God! What are some things you know about God that make him worthy of getting the blue ribbon of honor? We re going to worship God with a game we ll play to bring him honor. We can bring God honor by what we do with our hands and where we go with our feet. Have the children sit in a circle. Explain that you ll pass out envelopes and that inside each envelope is a ribbon. Pass the envelopes around the circle while you help the children sing the following song. After the song, have the children take the ribbons from the envelopes. Have the child with the blue ribbon say, The first-place honor goes to God. Have the other children say, We praise God. Sing these lyrics to the tune of This Old Man. God is great! God is good! God is best he s number one! The Ten Commandments help us honor our good God; I ll obey his rules today. Play the game several times. Great job, everyone! God is worthy of honor. That means that God deserves first prize. He is a good God. Let s learn more about the commandments he gave us to help us honor him. Session 4 KidsOwn Worship 53

54 Preschool Activities The Ten Commandments You ll need a Bible; washable markers; a large bow; four small, round stones per child; and small resealable plastic bags. Open your Bible to Exodus. Our Bible story tells us about a man named Moses. Moses climbed the mountain to worship God. Let s pretend to climb the mountain. Have the children march in place. Let s get on our knees to worship God. Have the children kneel. When Moses got to the top, God was there. God talked to Moses! God told Moses ten important things. We call these things the Ten Commandments. Can you say that? Pause. One of the Ten Commandments tells us to honor God. God wrote the commandments on big stones so that Moses and the Israelites would remember what they were. Let s write some of the commandments on stones, too, to help us remember. Put the washable markers and the bowl of stones in the middle of the group. Give each child a resealable plastic bag. The first commandment tells us that God is more important than anyone else. God is number one. Let s all take a stone and write a one on it. Have each child choose one stone and write 1 on the stone. Have the children put the stones in a plastic bag. While the children are working, talk with them about what the first commandment means. The second commandment tells us to never make an idol to worship. Sometimes people in those days would carve a stone or a piece of wood to look like a person. Then they d pretend that it was God. Isn t that silly? God wanted them to remember that he s the only real God. Let s all take another stone and write a two on it to help us remember the second commandment. Have each child choose one stone and write 2 on it. Have the children put these stones in their plastic bags. While the children are working, talk with them about what the second commandment means. The third commandment God gave to Moses was that people should be careful how they used God s name. God is important. It wouldn t be right to be silly with God s name or to use God s name in anger. Let s take another stone and write a three on it to help us remember the third commandment. Have each child choose one stone and write 3 on it. Have the children put the stones in the plastic bags with the other two stones. While the children are working, talk with them about what the third commandment means. The fourth commandment is to keep one day a week as a special day to worship God that s the day we come to church. Let s take another stone and write a four on it to help us remember the fourth commandment. Have each child choose one stone, write 4 on it, and put it in the plastic bag. While the children are working, talk with them about what the fourth commandment means. When we do all these things, we show God that we think he s extra special. That means that we bring honor to God. That pleases God because it helps him know that we love him very much. Let s show God how much we love him right now. We Honor God God is honored by the things we do and the things we say. What kinds of things could we do to honor God? What kinds of things could we say to honor God? Let s sing a song about honoring God. In this song, we ll clap our hands to show that we know there are things we can do to honor God. We ll say amen to show that we know there are things we can say to honor God. Ready? Let s sing! Sing this song to the tune of If You re Happy and You Know It. If you d like, lead the children on a march around the room while singing this song. If you want to honor God, clap your hands. (Clap, clap.) If you want to honor God, clap your hands. (Clap, clap.) If you want to honor God, then you ll follow his commands. If you want to honor God, clap your hands. (Clap, clap.) If you want to honor God, say amen. (Amen!) If you want to honor God, say amen. (Amen!) If you want to honor God, then you ll follow his commands. If you want to honor God, say amen. (Amen!) 54 KidsOwn Worship Fall Quarter

55 (continued from page 52) When you see something you really want in the store, how do you decide how much you re willing to pay for it? (I think about how much it s worth to me; I think about how much money I have.) There are some things in the world that are very valuable. What are some valuable things? (Diamonds; gold; money; sports cars.) There are some things in the world that really aren t worth much. What are some of those things? (Pennies; torn or bent baseball cards; broken-down cars.) Let s say you saw a huge candy bar sitting in the store window. And let s say that sitting next to it was a tiny little saltine cracker. Which item would you be willing to pay more for? Why? (The candy bar, because it s bigger and better; the candy bar, because it tastes better.) We d probably think that a candy bar was worth more than a cracker. When we say that God is worthy, we re saying that he s very valuable. What makes God worthy? (He s awesome; he s done so much for us; he loves everyone.) God is worthy of honor because of how wonderful he is and because of the great things he does. God is the best there is. He s worth more than the biggest diamond in the world. He s worth more than all the gold there is. God is worthy of our devotion, our praise, and our honor. By following the first four commandments, we re saying that God is more valuable to us than anything else ever could be. That s what it means to give God honor. Let s Pray! The Offering As we give our gifts to God today, we ll listen to the song Take My Life and Let It Be. This song is about giving our lives to God. When we sing it, we re telling God that we promise to dedicate ourselves to following him and honoring him with our lives. While you re waiting for your turn to give your offering, listen carefully to the words and talk to God about how you can live your life to honor him. Play Take My Life and Let It Be and take the offering. Track 12 Session 4 KidsOwn Worship 55

56 God Is Worthy Show kids the prayer you prepared before the session on the chalkboard. Pray this prayer along with me. I ll read the leader parts alone. You read the parts marked all. All: God, you are worthy. Leader: God, we know that means that you are precious and valuable. Help us to remember your worth. All: God, you deserve power, wealth, wisdom, and strength. Leader: God, we know that you are all powerful. All the money in the world belongs to you. You are wiser than we can understand, and you are so strong that you will always win. All: God, you deserve honor, glory, and praise! Leader: God, you created us, and we see how great and mighty you are. You are worthy of our worship! Help us remember to worship you by giving you honor, glory, and praise every day. All: In Jesus name, amen! Pray Closing Prayer God, today we ve learned that you are worthy of our honor and our devotion. We want to worship you, not only with the words that we say, but also with our thoughts and with our actions. God, we are your children and we love you. Help us every day to worship you by living our lives in honor of you. In Jesus name, amen. 56 KidsOwn Worship Fall Quarter

57 Encouragement for Leaders Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up (Deuteronomy 6:5-7). Thank you for listening to God s Word and sharing him with the children in your class. From Heartfelt Thanks for Sunday School Teachers. Copyright 2003 Group Publishing, Inc., Loveland, CO.

58 Session 5 God Gives the Ten Commandments (Part 2) Exodus 19:16 20:21 Worship Theme: Respecting others honors God. Weaving Faith Into Life: Children will bring honor and glory to God by respecting others. Session Sequence What Children Will Do Supplies Let s Praise God! (up to 25 minutes) Sing Praise Him (track 19) Wherever You Go (Joshua 1:9) (track 3) Faith (Hebrews 11:1) (track 1) My God Is (track 7) Take My Life and Let It Be (track 12) Trust and Obey (track 8) KidsOwn Worship Kit: Songs From FaithWeaver CD player, 2 hand mirrors, picture of Jesus, tape Preschool Session Sequence What Children Will Do Supplies Let s Learn the Point! (up to 25 minutes) Treasure Chest Find a treasure chest, and see that the treasure is God s Word. Discover that the Bible tells us how to respect others. Because God s So Use a candy bar to explore the Ten Commandments. Imitators of God Imitate God and honor God by respecting others. Treasure-chest box, Bible Large candy bar 58 KidsOwn Worship Fall Quarter

59 Elementary Session Sequence What Children Will Do Supplies Let s Learn the Point! (up to 25 minutes) * Respectful Commandments Devise skits to illustrate five of the Ten Commandments. * In Honor Watch a DVD about how one person made a choice to honor someone else with her life. * Reflections Consider specific ways they can respect others. 5 Bibles KidsOwn Worship Kit: Lesson Videos DVD: In Honor TV, DVD player 2 mirrors from Let s Praise God, pencils, 1 copy of Person Shapes (at the end of this session) for every 4 children, scissors Session Sequence What Children Will Do Supplies Let s Pray! (up to 10 minutes) The Offering Give their gifts and their person-shaped promises. Circle Prayer Promise to honor God by respecting others, and pray. Closing Prayer Pray about honoring God by honoring others. Offering bowls * Starred activities can be used successfully with preschool and elementary children together. Customize your session to fit your needs. You can separate preschoolers and elementary children for Section 2. Or, if you keep the children all together for the entire worship session, we suggest you choose from the starred activities. Session 5 KidsOwn Worship 59

60 Bible Background for Leaders God Gives the Ten Commandments (Part 2) Exodus 19:16 20:21 Last week s Bible Background concentrated on the events surrounding the giving of the Ten Commandments, while this week s concentrates on the commandments themselves. If you haven t already done so, you may want to read both Bible Backgrounds before beginning this session. As we begin looking at the Ten Commandments, remember that God spoke these words directly to the people of Israel. These commandments contained the essence of the entire law that God would be giving to Moses. Over the centuries, scholars have divided the commandments into categories in various ways. For the purpose of these studies, we re dividing them into two sections. The first four commandments have to do with our relationship with God; the last six have to do with our relationships with others. These commandments were not given to force the Israelites to follow an arbitrary set of rules. These commands were intended to help the people lead holy lives that honored God and resulted in appropriate, compassionate relationships with each other. Should Christians obey all of these laws? With the death and resurrection of Jesus, we live no longer under the law but under grace. Jesus said that he came to fulfill the law (Matthew 5:17-18). Certainly we are not bound to follow these laws to try to win God s favor, but the principles behind the Ten Commandments are valid principles for all time. The commandments regarding our relationship with God clearly spell out the priority and honor that he is to hold in our lives. How often even in the Christian community do we let other things come before our relationship with God? God will be honored when we show through the way we live that he is first in our hearts. One commandment that is often taken too lightly, especially in today s culture, is the instruction not to misuse God s name. To use it in swearing or frivolously in joking is not appropriate. How we use God s name directly reflects how we feel about God. He and his name are worthy of all the honor we can muster! The commandments regarding our relationships with others (Exodus 20:12-17) give us lots of guidance on how to respect others. Though our culture often fails to take many of these commands seriously, living by them gives people the honor and respect due them as unique creations of God. No matter how much we see our culture denigrate these commandments the honoring of parents, the sanctity of marriage, and the importance of honesty we must hold true to these principles if we are to honor God and respect others the way God intends. Devotion for Leaders As our relationship with Jesus grows, we can begin to see this world and other people through his eyes of unconditional love. We will enjoy fellowship more and others will see Jesus presence in our lives. Weaving Faith Into Your Life: God loves his creation so much that he gave us commandments to help preserve it and glorify him. God s greatest creation is humanity and we are surrounded by it. Every person you have contact with today gives you an opportunity to glorify God by lifting up his greatest creation people. Who are you going to allow God to bless today through your actions? Everybody? A person who is down in the dumps? How do you expect to be blessed during this intentional service? At the end of the day, take note of who God blessed through you and how you were blessed in his service. 60 KidsOwn Worship Fall Quarter

61 Why We Worship for Leaders Today we learn that one way we honor God is by respecting others. Honoring God involves more than following a code of conduct. It involves taking on the nature of God. When we respect others, we reflect God s nature. When we imitate God or honor his wishes by respecting others, we bring honor and glory to his name. For additional worship songs each week, check out the Sing & Praise DVD included with your KidsOwn Worship kit! The correlation between honoring God and respecting others is evident in the Ten Commandments. The first four are about honoring God. The last six center on respecting others. Together, they present a picture of what it means to honor God. This week lead children in worshipping God, and help them learn to honor God with their actions toward others. Easy Prep for Leaders Let s Praise God! Tape a small picture of Jesus to the center of a hand mirror. In Honor Set up a TV and DVD player. Cue the Lesson Videos DVD to In Honor. You ll want to watch it at least once before the worship session begins so you ll know what it s about. Reflections Make one copy of Person Shapes at the end of this session for every four children. Preschool Activities Refer to the preschool pages for preparations. Let s Praise God! Play Songs From FaithWeaver, Fall 2015 as children arrive. Have all but one chair stacked against the wall, and sit in that chair. Greet the first child by name, and give him or her your chair. As the second child enters, encourage the first child to give the chair to the second child and stand or get another chair. Repeat this procedure as all the children enter. Hello, everyone. Let s start off our worship session with a praise song. Sing Praise Him. Lyrics are in the back of this book. This song talks about praising God all day long. Today we re going to talk about how the things we do each day help us praise God. For example, when you came in today, you did an act of praise by giving your chair to someone else. You treated each other with respect. How did you feel when you were offered the chair? (Good; it was nice to have someone show kindness.) How do we make others feel when we show them respect? (Important; they feel good.) Track 19 Session 5 KidsOwn Worship 61

62 Respecting others brings honor to God. We worship God because he is worthy of honor. One way to honor God is to respect others. It isn t always easy to do what God asks us to do. God asks us to treat others well. That can be hard when others are mean or disrespectful to us. But God calls us to be strong and courageous. He reminds us that he s always with us and will help us do the right thing. Sing Wherever You Go (Joshua 1:9). Lyrics are in the back of the book. God calls us to have faith to live according to his rules and to trust him to make things work out. Let s sing about faith. Sing Faith (Hebrews 11:1). Lyrics are in the back of the book. When we live by faith, we want to honor God because God is faithful and true! One way to honor God is to be like him. When we are like him, we treat others with respect. As we do that, we reflect what God is like to other people. God is love. When we treat people with love, we reflect God s love to other people. I have an activity that will illustrate what I mean. Hold up two mirrors, one with the small picture of Jesus taped to the center. This mirror has a picture of Jesus on it. for two volunteers to hold the mirrors. Show the volunteers how to place the mirrors facing each other. The mirror with the picture of Jesus should be angled slightly away from the other mirror. (See the illustration in the margin, and practice this at home.) When the mirrors are in the correct position, you see the image of Jesus reflected an infinite number of times. the volunteers not to disclose what they see in the mirrors until everyone has a chance to see it. the rest of the children to form a line, pass by the mirrors so they can look into them, and return to their seats. Track 3 Track 1 What did you see in the mirror? (Jesus; Jesus was reflected a lot.) When we are like God, we honor him. We can say that when we are like God, we are his reflection to other people. As we reflect God, we help others reflect God, too. This brings honor to God all over the world. Respecting others as God respects them brings honor to God. Now let s sing a song about who God is and what he s like. This will help us remember the one we re honoring and serving. Sing My God Is. Lyrics are in the back of the book. Track 7 62 KidsOwn Worship Fall Quarter

63 That song said, My God is a friend to the lonely. My God sets the prisoner free. My God is a loving companion. That s who God is. We honor God by having his characteristics. If you have his characteristics, you show them to others. You become a friend, someone who helps to set people free, a loving companion. Raise your hand if anyone has ever told you that you are like one of your parents. (Pause.) Raise your hand if someone said you look like your mom or dad. (Pause.) Raise your hand if someone said you act like your mom or dad. In what ways are you like your parents? (I sometimes act like my parents; I laugh like my mom; I m good at sports like my dad.) If someone said you are like your mom because you are both kind, how would your mom react? Would she be happy? Why? (She d be happy, because she wants me to be kind; she d like it if someone said that, because it shows that we re both kind.) It brings honor to your mom when people see that you are kind. It means that she has taught you to be kind by her example. In the same way, we honor God by being like him. When we give our lives to God, we become like him. Let s sing Take My Life and Let It Be. It says: Take my life, and let it be consecrated, Lord, to thee. That means that we want our lives to be holy before God. The next part says, Take my hands, and let them move at the impulse of thy love. That means that we want to be loving toward others just as God is loving. Worship Leader Tip It can be difficult for preschoolers to compare themselves to their parents. Instead of asking them how they re like their parents, ask them what they like about their parents. Then talk about why we d want to be like someone we admire. Sing Take My Life and Let It Be. Lyrics are in the back of the book. Now let s tell God that we want to obey him in all we do. Track 12 Pray Sing Trust and Obey. Lyrics are in the back of the book. God, you are loving and kind. We honor you today by being loving and kind to others. You are faithful and true. We honor you by being faithful and true to others. You are a friend to the lonely. We honor you by being a friend to the lonely. Help us to honor you by respecting others. In Jesus name, amen. Let s Learn the Point! Preschool Activities, pages Track 8 At this time, have the preschool leader invite the preschoolers to go to their own room for this section of activities. Tear out the Preschool Activities page, and give it to the preschool leader. Have the preschool leader bring the preschoolers Session 5 KidsOwn Worship 63

64 back to participate in Let s Pray! with the older children. If you prefer to keep all the children together, do the starred (*) activities. They will work well with both elementary and preschool children. Elementary Activities * Respectful Commandments Let s explore the commandments that teach us how to honor God by respecting others. In a moment, we ll form five groups. Each group will have one of the Ten Commandments. It ll be the group s job to come up with a short situation skit to show how to honor God by following this commandment. You ll have five minutes to come up with your skit. Then each group will have one minute to perform the skit. Ready? Here we go. Have the children form five groups. Give each group a Bible. (The New Century Version is very easy for kids to understand.) Give each group one of these references: Exodus 20:12 Exodus 20:13 Exodus 20:15 Exodus 20:16 Exodus 20:17 Have the groups look up the verse and devise a short skit. Circulate among the groups and offer help as needed. Then have each group present its skit. Between the second and third group, explain that the seventh commandment is about being faithful in marriage. Tell kids that, when people get married, they make a promise to respect and love their husbands and wives for the rest of their lives. Committing adultery is breaking that promise by loving someone else. For younger children, you might need to explain that it s OK to love family and friends but it s not OK for someone to feel romantic love toward someone other than his or her husband or wife. When groups have presented the skits, ask these questions: How does keeping these commandments show respect to others? (It shows that we see others as important, too; it shows kindness toward them.) How does keeping the commandments honor God? (When we respect God s creation, we re respecting God; we honor God by showing love to others.) God loves all people after all, he created us all. When we treat others with respect, we re treating God s creation with respect. (continued on page 67) 64 KidsOwn Worship Fall Quarter

65 Preschool Activities God Gives the Ten Commandments (Part 2) Exodus 19:16 20:21 Worship Theme: Using Theo Session 5 Respecting others honors God. Easy Prep for Leaders Treasure Chest Put a Bible in a treasure-chest box (such as a decorated shoe box), and hide it somewhere in the room. Treasure Chest When we love someone, we want to honor that person s wishes. That means we want to do what that person wants us to do. If you love your mom, you want to honor her wishes. Your mom wants you to share when you play. You want to honor her wishes because you love her. When we honor God, we want to honor his wishes. How do we find out what God s wishes are? Let s go on a treasure hunt today. We ll look for a treasure box that shows us God s wishes. Let s look for the treasure. Have the children hunt for the treasure box. Because God s So Let s play a game called Because God s So and We Love God. Help the children form two groups and be seated on the floor in their groups. This game helps us learn our Bible story today. Raise your hand if you remember who Moses is. Moses went up the mountain to worship God. God told him ten rules we should follow to honor him. These rules are called the Ten Commandments. The Ten Commandments tell us how to honor God by loving him and treating others with respect. In this game, I m going to ask you questions and you ll answer them. Sometimes the answer will be, Because God says so and we love God. When that s the right answer, Group 1 will stand up quickly and say loudly, Consider using Theophilus the FaithRetriever puppet today in these ways: Have Theo lead the preschoolers from the main worship area to the preschool room. Have Theo imitate his mom being nice to the neighborhood puppies during the Imitators of God section. See the KidsOwn Worship Kit for a puppet skit written for today s worship session. This box has a treasure inside it. That treasure is God s wishes. Let s open it. Open it to reveal the Bible. Look! It s a Bible! The Bible is a wonderful treasure because it is the Word of God. The Bible tells us that we honor God by honoring his wishes. Let s open it and see what it tells us today. Open to Matthew 19:19b. This says, Love your neighbor as yourself. Wow! These are God s wishes. This is what God wants us to do. This means you should love others as much as you love yourself. You should show others respect and honor God. Let s play a game to see what that means. Because God says so. Then Group 2 will stand up quickly and say loudly, And we love God. Then everybody will sit down quickly and wait for the next question. I ll help you know when it s time to say your lines. Put a big candy bar in front of the children. If I put this on the table and walked away, would you steal it? How do you know you are not supposed to steal? Have the children stand and shout, Because God says so! and then And we love God! That s right. In the Ten Commandments, God tells us not to steal. We want to honor God by following his rules. Put the candy bar in your pocket or purse. Session 5 KidsOwn Worship 65

66 Preschool Activities Who took the candy bar? Would it be right if I said that [name of a child] took the candy bar? How do I know that I m not supposed to lie about [name of child]? Have each group stand and call out its line. That s right, the Ten Commandments say not to tell lies about what someone else did. When we tell the truth, we honor God because we re following his rules. Give the candy bar to a child to hold. Instruct the child not to eat it. If [name of child] has a candy bar and I don t, would it be right to want it so much that it s all I think about? Get up and pace around the room muttering aloud about how much you want that candy bar. Wanting something like that is called coveting it. It means that you want what someone else has for your very own. You don t want someone else to have it. You just want it for yourself. How do I know I m not supposed to covet that candy bar for myself? Have groups stand and shout their lines. That s right, the Ten Commandments tell us not to wish for or covet what other people have. an adult helper to hold the candy bar. Whisper to the helper that he or she shouldn t give you the candy bar when you ask for it. Can I have the candy bar? The helper will say no. Exaggerate anger at the helper for not giving you the candy bar, but do so in such a way that it is funny, rather than frightening, to the children. Should I hurt our helper so I can have the candy bar? How do I know I m not supposed to hurt [name of helper]? Have groups stand and shout, Because God says so, and then, And we love God. That s right, the Ten Commandments tell me it s wrong to murder someone. God loves people, and he wants us to love people, not hurt them. Place the candy bar out of sight. You know, my [husband or wife] doesn t like candy bars. He doesn t have any candy bars at all. But my friend s [husband or wife] just loves candy bars. [He or she] has lots of candy bars. Should I run away with my friend s [husband or wife] because I think [he or she] is better than my [husband or wife]? How do I know I shouldn t run away with someone else s husband or wife? Have kids shout lines. That s right, the Ten Commandments tell us that we re not to run away with a different husband or wife. God wants people to love their husbands or wives and to stay with them. Place the candy bar on the table again. If my mom told me not to eat this candy bar before lunch, should I eat it? How do I know I should do what my mom says? Have the groups stand and shout their lines. That s right, one of the Ten Commandments says that you should honor your mother and father. That means you should obey them and respect them. When we treat others the way God wants us to treat them, we are showing honor to God. Imitators of God Think of someone you respect. I respect our pastor [or other person with whom the children are familiar]. Our pastor really honors God by treating people with love. Let me show you what I mean. Act out a way in which the pastor or other person shows love to people, such as greeting them kindly or offering to pray for them. others. You might suggest they do such things as put bandages on cuts or share toys. When we are like someone, we do what they do. When we are like God, we do what God does. God treats us with respect. He treats us kindly. We honor God by being like him and respecting others. Think of someone you respect. Let s play a game and act like people we respect. We ll each respect one another by taking turns. We ll try to guess who you are acting like. Help the children act out how the people they respect treat 66 KidsOwn Worship Fall Quarter

67 (continued from page 64) And, when we treat others with respect, we re treating them as God would treat them. Keeping God s commandments honors him. Let s learn more about how our actions honor God. * In Honor Show In Honor on the Lesson Videos DVD. In this segment, a woman explains how she made choices in her life to honor someone important to her. After the segment, ask the following questions: What did this woman do to honor her teacher? (Chose to learn something new every day; decided to become a teacher.) What do you think the teacher thought about this woman s decisions? (She was happy; she was proud of her.) Knowing what you know about God s wishes, what decisions will you make about how you live your life? (I ll make choices that please God; I can follow God in everything I do.) When we choose to live our lives a certain way because of another person s wishes, we bring honor to that person. We honor God by living by the Ten Commandments. * Reflections You ll need photocopies of the handout at the end of this session so that you have one person shape for each child, including the preschool children. Redirect the children s attention to the mirrors used during Let s Praise God! When we respect others, we reflect God s love to them. Right now, let s consider specific ways we can respect other people. I ll pass out a piece of paper and a pencil to each of you. Think of who you ll respect this week, and decorate the person shape to look like that person. Then think of at least one way you can honor God by respecting that person this week, and write it on your person shape. Hand out the copies and pencils. Give the children a moment or two to work. Then have the children tell three other people what they plan to do. We can honor God every day by keeping his commandments and respecting others. Now let s offer our gifts to God. Session 5 KidsOwn Worship 67

68 Let s Pray! The Offering As the preschoolers join the group, give each one a person shape. Tell the preschoolers to pretend the person shape is a person they re going to be nice to this week. As we give our gifts today, let s give God the honor he deserves. As you come to the front to put your offering in the offering bowl, also bring the person shape that you made and put it in the offering bowl. Take a moment to tell God how you plan to honor him this week. Take the offering, and have the children put their person shapes in the offering bowl. Circle Prayer If you have more than 20 children, divide them into two groups for this activity. If your children s church uses small groups, have each small group do this activity by itself. Have the children stand in a circle. Have them take turns around the circle patting the back of the child to their left and saying, I ll honor God by respecting people this week. Then give individual children an opportunity to pray. Pray Closing Prayer God, you are always kind and loving. We want to be just like you. God, help us to honor you by the way we treat the people we see each day. Help us to be kind, loving, and respectful at all times. In Jesus name, amen. 68 KidsOwn Worship Fall Quarter

69 Person Shapes OK to copy Permission to photocopy this handout from KidsOwn Worship Leader Guide, Fall, granted for local church use. Copyright Group Publishing, Inc. group.com Session 5 KidsOwn Worship 69

70 Session 6 The Israelites Worship a Golden Calf Exodus 32:1-25 Worship Theme: God alone is worthy of worship. Weaving Faith Into Life: Kids will worship God with wholehearted devotion. Session Sequence What Children Will Do Supplies Let s Praise God! (up to 25 minutes) Sing Praise the Lord (Psalm 150:6) (track 5) My God Is (track 7) God Is the King (Psalm 47:7) (track 15) He Is Powerful (track 14) Doxology (track 4) KidsOwn Worship Kit: Songs From FaithWeaver CD player Preschool Session Sequence What Children Will Do Supplies Let s Learn the Point! (up to 25 minutes) Golden Calf Help enact the Bible story. * Thankful Acts Act out ways to say thank you, and see what it feels like when the wrong person is thanked. Only One God Play a singing game to discover why we worship only God. Toy cow Big, bouncy ball 70 KidsOwn Worship Fall Quarter

71 Elementary Session Sequence What Children Will Do Supplies Let s Learn the Point! (up to 25 minutes) * Who Is Worthy of Worship? Participate in a skit comparing the golden calf to the one true God. * Thank Who? Watch and discuss a DVD segment. God in Sight Make journals for sightings of God s work to gather evidence of why God alone is worthy of our worship. Photocopies of the script (at the end of this session), chairs, 3 index cards, pen KidsOwn Worship Kit: Lesson Videos DVD: Thank Who? TV, DVD player 1 sheet of 11x17 construction paper, several sheets of plain paper, and several glitter pens per child; stapler Session Sequence What Children Will Do Supplies The Offering Give offerings, and remember God alone is worthy of worship. Offering bowls Let s Pray! (up to 10 minutes) Worthy of Worship Take turns praising God in a prayer. Take My Life and Let It Be Sing a song as a prayer. KidsOwn Worship Kit: Songs From FaithWeaver: Take My Life and Let It Be (track 12) CD player * Starred activities can be used successfully with preschool and elementary children together. Customize your session to fit your needs. You can separate preschoolers and elementary children for Section 2. Or, if you keep the children all together for the entire worship session, we suggest you choose from the starred activities. Session 6 KidsOwn Worship 71

72 Bible Background for Leaders The Israelites Worship a Golden Calf Exodus 32:1-25 Moses was up on the mountain for a long time receiving all the laws from God almost six weeks (Exodus 24:18)! It s likely that the Israelites feared Moses had perished on the mountain. Since he had been their main contact with God, they may have reasoned that they had lost contact with God, too. The Hebrews had been used to seeing gods in Egypt. They had been asked to serve a God they couldn t see. They had been camped in the same place for six weeks and were likely getting anxious to move on. They couldn t even see God s representative, so they asked for a god they could see who would lead them on. Why didn t Aaron stand up for God and oppose the people s request? Apparently, he too had some doubt about Moses return. However, some believe that Aaron s request for the gold earrings was an attempt to avert the people s desire for a god. If they realized they had to give up things of value, they might decide they didn t really want a golden god after all. If that was Aaron s intent, his attempt failed. Once the gold was in his hands, the cowardly Aaron had little choice but to craft a golden idol. Notice that after making the idol, Aaron s proclamation was that there was to be a festival to the Lord. The name translated Lord (Yahweh) is the name by which God had announced himself to Moses at the burning bush. It appears that Aaron thought that this idol would represent the true God. However well-intentioned his motives, Aaron was wrong in making the idol. He was leading the people in disobeying God s second commandment, You shall not make for yourself an idol (Exodus 20:4). Aaron s response to Moses questioning revealed his feeble nature. He tried to make it seem as if he had no choice and that the fire itself had mysteriously shaped the calf. God s sparing of Aaron in this situation was certainly an example of his mercy and grace. Devotion for Leaders Our salvation through faith in Jesus makes us want to worship and obey him. Weaving Faith Into Your Life: We are surrounded with things that promise to bring us immediate pleasure and satisfaction. Many of these promises are deceitful, leading to destruction. But even God s blessings themselves can distract us from our true calling of worshipping God. What blessings in your life have you taken for granted? Our families, our homes, our material possessions, and other blessings should drive us to acknowledge and worship God. Concentrate this week on finding God s hand in the blessings in your life, and worship him by giving praise for those gifts. 72 KidsOwn Worship Fall Quarter

73 Why We Worship for Leaders God alone is worthy of worship! God alone is holy, perfect, and without sin. God alone can create a universe and keep it going. God alone can count the grains of sand on the seashore and the hairs on our heads. God alone can rescue his people, saving them from the Egyptians or saving them from their own sin. God alone is God, and he requires our wholehearted devotion. All other aspects of our spiritual expression flow from these simple truths. For additional worship songs each week, check out the Sing & Praise DVD included with your KidsOwn Worship kit! Easy Prep for Leaders Who Is Worthy of Worship? Make two photocopies of the script at the end of this session. Invite two adults to play the roles of Moses and Aaron, and rehearse the skit with them. Have them wear simple Bible costumes, if possible. Print the three questions on separate index cards, and number the cards 1 through 3. Thank Who? Set up a TV and DVD player. Cue the Lesson Videos DVD to Thank Who? Watch it at least once before the children arrive. Preschool Activities Refer to the preschool pages for preparations. Let s Praise God! Play Songs From FaithWeaver, Fall 2015 as children arrive. Greet children by name. Give each child a sincere compliment, and then direct the praise to God. For example, say, Susan, you have a beautiful smile. God gave you that smile. That s something only God could do, or Trevor, your red hair is the perfect color for you. Only God could make so many shades of red and choose just the right shade for you. When you re ready to begin, welcome the children warmly. I m going to ask you some questions to help you figure out why we are here today. Shout out a one-word answer to each question. Ready? Who is always perfect? Who is always good? Who is always loving? Who is always kind? Who is always wise? How many answers did you have to think of? Those answers give us the one reason we are here. There is one God, and we are to worship only him. No matter how many times we gather together, we have only one purpose to worship only God, who is always perfect, good, loving, kind, and wise. No one and nothing else deserves our worship. Session 6 KidsOwn Worship 73

74 We ve come together to praise God for his power, wisdom, and blessings. God alone deserves our praise and honor. Let s honor the one and only God with the song, Praise the Lord. Sing Praise the Lord (Psalm 150:6). Lyrics are in the back of this book. God made the land and sea. God made all creatures. The song we just sang tells everything that lives to praise God. God gives hope and salvation to those who ask for it. God is our friend, and he loves us. He alone is worthy of worship. Let s sing My God Is. Sing My God Is. Lyrics are in the back of this book. God is greater than anything or anyone anywhere! God is the greatest! Find three people, right now, and tell each one a different reason you believe God is the greatest. Give the children time to do this. Track 5 Track 7 God is the King of everything! Let s sing about the greatness of God. Worship Leader Tip Preschool children would love to be the demonstration group as you create the thank-you chain. After the demonstration, let the preschoolers join different groups so you have a variety of older children and younger children in each group. Sing God Is the King (Psalm 47:7). Lyrics are in the back of this book. God Almighty is the only one worthy of worship. He is powerful. He saves his people. He makes the waters of the sea obey his commands. God sees deep into our hearts and loves us anyway. Let s praise him and sing about his power. Sing He Is Powerful. Lyrics are in the back of this book. Today we ll make thank-you chains to thank God for all he has done. Our chains will prove that God deserves the credit for every good thing in our lives. Have children form groups of five. Have one group come up front to help you demonstrate. Food is something I am thankful for. Track 15 Track 14 Choose one of the children to represent food. I can thank my mom for making the food. Choose one child to represent Mom. Have this child stand next to the food child. I can thank the grocer for selling the food to my mom. Choose a grocer to stand next to the child representing Mom. I can thank the farmer for growing the food. 74 KidsOwn Worship Fall Quarter

75 Choose a farmer to stand next to the grocer. But God is the final one I can thank because he created food, the ground it grows in, the rain that waters it, the sun that shines on it, and the people who provide it for me! Ultimately all thanks go back to God because nothing would exist without him. That s why God alone deserves our worship. God alone provides all we need. Let the demonstration group sit down. Each group should think of something to be thankful for and then make a thank you chain like the one you just saw. Give the children time to do this. Then let each group come to the front to explain its thank you chain. Pray Praise God from whom all blessings flow! That s what we just did. All of the things you just thanked God for are blessings. And all blessings come from God. Let s stand and sing the Doxology. Sing the Doxology. Lyrics are in the back of this book. God, you alone are worthy of worship. You are the source of everything. You provide all we need. Nothing is greater than you. There are no other gods, only you. We worship you today, dear Lord. In Jesus name, amen. Let s Learn the Point! Track 4 Preschool Activities, pages At this time, have the preschool leader invite the preschoolers to go to their own room for this section of activities. Tear out the Preschool Activities page, and give it to the preschool leader. Have the preschool leader bring the preschoolers back to participate in Let s Pray! with the older children. If you prefer to keep all the children together, do the starred (*) activities. They will work well with both elementary and preschool children. Elementary Activities * Who Is Worthy of Worship? Have the Moses and Aaron volunteers sit in chairs at the front, as if they were game-show contestants. Encourage the children to act as though they are in a game-show studio. Give the three question cards to volunteers from the studio audience. Session 6 KidsOwn Worship 75

76 Present the skit. Which god do you think is worthy of worship and why? (Moses God, because he s always been here; Moses God, because he s the one true God.) Why do you think the Israelites chose the golden calf when it s so clear that God is the only real God? (They didn t know God was still there; they chose to disobey God.) The evidence is clear. God alone is worthy of worship. Nothing on earth compares to our God. Let s give a real studio-audience round of applause to the one who deserves all glory and praise. * Thank Who? Show the DVD segment titled Thank Who? It shows people getting credit for other people s accomplishments. After the video, ask the following questions: How do you think the people felt when other people got credit for what they d done? (Angry; sad; cheated.) Has this ever happened to you? (When I worked with a friend on a project, he took all the credit; I spent all summer teaching my sister to ride her bike, but she got all the credit.) How did you feel? (It was OK, because my sister did do a good job; it made me mad; I felt like no one cared about me.) Can you think of anyone or anything who sometimes gets the credit for things that God has done? (Doctors; people who help others; rich people; movie stars.) How do you think God feels about this? (It probably makes him mad; it hurts his feelings.) Why does God alone deserve our worship? (God created everything; God can do anything and is better than anyone.) God alone is worthy of worship. He can do what no one else can do. Nothing would exist without God. Without God s help, we couldn t do anything we wouldn t even be here! God deserves all praise. God in Sight Gather the children at tables. Give each child a large sheet of construction paper, three or four sheets of notebook paper, and markers or glitter pens. God alone is worthy of worship. Sometimes, though, we are tempted to worship things other than God. Sometimes we give these things or people credit for what God has done. What are some things people might be tempted to worship in place of God? (Sports stars; money; power.) (continued on page 79) 76 KidsOwn Worship Fall Quarter

77 Preschool Activities The Israelites Worship a Golden Calf Session 6 Worship Theme: God alone is worthy of worship. Easy Prep for Leaders None is necessary. Exodus 32:1-25 Using Theo Consider using Theophilus the FaithRetriever puppet today in these ways: Have Theo lead the preschoolers from the main worship area to the preschool room. Have Theo pretend to be a cow during the Golden Calf activity. See the KidsOwn Worship Kit for a puppet skit written for today s worship session. Golden Calf Gather the children in an open area. After God rescued his people, the Israelites, from Egypt, he invited their leader, Moses, to come to the top of a great, big mountain. There, God gave Moses a list of rules for his people to follow rules that would help them do right. Moses was up on the mountain with God for a very long time. Can anyone tell me of a time when your mom or dad was gone for a very long time? How did you feel when your mom or dad was gone so long? When Moses was gone for a very long time, the Israelites began to worry. They thought Moses was dead! They thought God had left them, too. They asked Moses brother, Aaron, to make them a new god. So Aaron collected all of their jewelry to make this new god. Aaron built a big fire. Let s imagine that we have a big fire here in our room. Have the children form a circle and then blow into the center as though they are fanning a fire. The people all gave Aaron their gold jewelry. He put it into the fire, and it melted together. Then Aaron made the melted gold into the shape of a calf, a baby cow, for the people to worship like a god. Why do you think the people wanted to worship a baby cow made of gold? It seems kind of silly that the Israelites wanted to worship something that was really just a statue. Let s find out why it was so silly. Set out a toy cow. If this were a real cow, what would it eat? Does this toy cow really eat anything? If this were a real cow, what kinds of sounds would it make? Does this toy cow make any sounds? This is a toy cow. It doesn t eat, and it doesn t make any sounds. Toy cows can t walk or see or do any of the things that a real cow does. Now let s do some pretending. Let s pretend that we re all cows. Have the children pretend to be cows. Have them walk around on all fours, pretend to eat grass, and moo. After a minute of pretending, have the children act like children again. Just a moment ago you were walking like cows and mooing like cows, but were you real cows? No, you weren t real cows even though you were pretending. And the golden calf wasn t really God even though the Israelites were acting as if the cow were really God. Aaron was wrong to make a calf for people to worship. God is the only one we are to worship. He s the only one who is really God. How strong is God? What can God do? Pretend cows can t do anything. But God can do everything! Only God is worthy of worship. When God saw that the Israelites had tried Session 6 KidsOwn Worship 77

78 Preschool Activities to replace him with a calf, he was very angry. Moses was angry, too. Moses came down from the mountain and got rid of the idol. He tore it apart and told the people to worship only God. Let s shout the worshipping words God wanted to hear from the Israelites: We love God. Chant the words with the children several times. Only God deserves our shouts of worship. * Thankful Acts Gather the children in front of you. Our God can do anything. He s everywhere at once. He knows everything there is to know. He has the power to do anything he wants to do. If you were God, what would you do today? Give each child a turn to answer. Our God is very busy every day. He s watching over every single person (point to each child) you and you and you and you. God heals the sick and helps people who are sad. He gives ideas to people who want to help him with his work. God answers prayers. God helps us every single day because he loves all people. Imagine that you wanted to do something special to make your mom or dad happy. What could you do? Choose a child to answer, and then choose volunteers to join that child to act out the idea. For example, if the child suggests Only One God Have the children stand in a circle. Let s learn a song about worshipping God. Teach the following song to the tune of The Farmer in the Dell. We worship only God. We worship only God. God is the only one. We worship only God. Let s play a game with this song to learn why God alone deserves our worship. Give a big, bouncy ball to one child. While we sing the song, bounce the ball back and forth to each other across the circle. I ll have a question for the child who is holding the ball when the song is done. Have the children pass the ball while you lead the song again. drawing a picture as a gift for Mom, choose a volunteer to be Mom. Let the child pretend to draw the picture and give it to Mom. When the children finish acting out the scene, thank a different child for making the mom in the story happy. Ad lib this part, gushing about how special the act was. Continue until the children protest that you re thanking the wrong person. How would you feel if someone else was thanked for doing something you did? That might be how God feels when we don t remember to thank him for the good things he does for us. God has created a big, beautiful world for us to enjoy. He watches over his people and gives them what they need. When we don t honor God for what he has done, or when we give the credit to someone else and leave God out, God feels bad. Let other children suggest special things they could do for others. Choose volunteers to help them act out their ideas, repeating the above activity three or four times. God alone is worthy of worship! When good things happen, let s remember to give God thanks and praise. Where is God right now? Yes God is there! God is everywhere. Only God can be everywhere at once. God alone is worthy of worship. Play the game five more times. the child holding the ball at the end of each round one of the following questions: How many gods are there to worship? Who makes the flowers grow? Who sends the rain? Who watches over you all day and all night and never sleeps? Who answers prayers? No one but God can do those things. God alone is worthy of worship. Let s remember to only worship God. 78 KidsOwn Worship Fall Quarter

79 (continued from page 76) Some of the things you mentioned are obviously not from God. But some of the good things you mentioned can be traced back to God s goodness. At first glance, a good thing may seem to have just happened. But when you look deeper, you can see that God s hand was at work. That s what we did when we made the thank you chains during praise time. Here s an example. When you look into a forest, what do you see? Most people say trees. But a bird watcher is looking for something different birds! And because that s what the bird watcher is looking for, what do you think he or she sees? In the same way, people who love God are always looking for him in everything that happens. So what do you think they see? Let s make God-sighting journals that will help us watch for God at work. Then we can give God credit for those things and not be tempted to worship or honor anything else. Have the children fold their construction paper in half to make a folder for the notebook paper. Have them slide the notebook paper into the folder. Place a few staples along the fold to hold the paper inside. See the margin illustration. On the cover of your journal, write God in Sight. Give the children time to do this. What have you noticed that makes you want to worship God? (He creates great things; he s powerful; God loves everyone.) Why is God alone worthy of worship? (He created me to worship him; he loves me.) Have the children print their responses on the first page of their journals. There are many reasons to worship, praise, and thank God. There are many reasons God alone is worthy of worship. We ve talked about some of these today. Take your journals home, and use them to remind you to watch for God and to worship only him. No one else is worthy! Let s Pray! The Offering The Israelites made a poor choice concerning their treasure, the gold jewelry they brought out of Egypt. They made a golden calf to replace the one true God. We give our treasure, our offerings, to God to show we worship him and not the treasure God has given to us. Everything we have belongs to God. Our offerings remind us that God is more important than our treasure. As you give your offerings today, Session 6 KidsOwn Worship 79

80 Pray remember that God alone is worthy of worship. God, we worship you. You alone are worthy of our praise. We give these gifts to show our love. Our treasures belong to you. In Jesus name, amen. Take the offering. Worthy of Worship Have the children stand. Pray Let s pray together to worship only God. I will pray, God, we worship you because Then one of you may complete the sentence. Tell God why you worship him. After someone completes the sentence, we will all pray, Lord, you alone are worthy of worship. Let s practice. Lead the children to say, Lord, you alone are worthy of worship. God, we worship you because Wait for someone to complete the sentence. Lead the group to respond, Lord, you alone are worthy of worship. Repeat the prayer several times, giving different children the opportunity to tell God why they worship him. Pray Take My Life and Let It Be God alone is worthy of worship. He created us. He saves us. He loves us like no one else can. How can we show our love for God in return? (By giving things to him; by living our lives to serve God.) When we give our very lives to God, promising to obey, serve, and love as he wants us to, we worship him in the greatest way possible. The song Take My Life and Let It Be is a prayer telling God that we give everything to him. The word consecrated means set aside for a holy use. If we consecrate our lives to God, that means God is free to use our lives as he chooses. You may sing or just listen to the words as we all do the motions together. Sing Take My Life and Let It Be. Lyrics are in the back of this book. Lord, we worship only you. You are our God. You are the only God. Nothing in the universe you created is higher or greater than you are. We give you glory and honor, dear Lord. In Jesus name, amen. Track KidsOwn Worship Fall Quarter

81 Who Is Worthy of Worship? Leader: Welcome to the game show Who Is Worthy of Worship? where we will determine just that! Today we have Moses and Aaron, each claiming to represent a god. Members of our studio audience will question these ambassadors of the awesome to find out Who Is Worthy of Worship? Let s begin. Who has the first question for our representatives? Question #1: How did your god come to exist? Aaron: That s an easy one! I collected all the gold jewelry in our camp, melted it, and made a beautiful golden calf for the Israelites to bow down to. Moses: My God has always been here. He created all things; he existed before anything else did. Leader: Question #2. Question #2: Why did you choose to worship this god? Aaron: Moses had been gone for a long time. The people thought God had left them. They needed someone to worship, so I made them a new god. They asked me to Moses: God commanded me in person. He said, I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me. I worship the one true God. There is no other god to worship. Leader: Question #3. Question #3: Why is your god worthy of worship? Aaron: I threw gold jewelry into the fire and fashioned a golden calf. We decided it was a god. Moses: There are many reasons God alone is worthy of worship. God created everything. God answers prayer. God rescues his people when no one else can. He deserves their worship and praise. Leader: The representatives have spoken. Now it is time for our choice. OK to copy Permission to photocopy this handout from KidsOwn Worship Leader Guide, Fall, granted for local church use. Copyright Group Publishing, Inc. group.com Session 6 KidsOwn Worship 81

82 Session 7 The Israelites Build the Tabernacle Exodus 35:4 36:38 Worship Theme: God deserves our excellent service. Weaving Faith Into Life: Children will worship God by offering their excellent service. Session Sequence What Children Will Do Supplies Let s Praise God! (up to 25 minutes) Sing To God Be the Glory (track 18) Doxology (track 4) Praise Him (track 19) His Great Love (Romans 5:8) (track 9) Trust and Obey (track 8) Love the Lord (Deuteronomy 6:4-9) (track 16) KidsOwn Worship Kit: Songs From FaithWeaver, Lesson Videos DVD: Excellent Service CD player, TV, DVD player Preschool Session Sequence What Children Will Do Supplies Let s Learn the Point! (up to 25 minutes) * Good Work! Work together to build with blocks as they explore the Bible story. Are You Willing? Play a game about being willing to use our talents. What s It Used For? Practice using talents to serve God. Blocks, newspaper Several brooms, 1 paper cup per child, pitcher of water 82 KidsOwn Worship Fall Quarter

83 Elementary Session Sequence What Children Will Do Supplies Let s Learn the Point! (up to 25 minutes) * My Talents List abilities, and discuss how they can be used to serve God. * Running the Race Watch a video about how athletes prepare for a race, and compare that to serving God. Design a Church Design a church, and talk about the Bible story. 1 index card and pencil per child KidsOwn Worship Kit: Lesson Videos DVD: Running the Race TV, DVD player Paper, pencils Session Sequence What Children Will Do Supplies Let s Pray! (up to 10 minutes) The Offering Give their gifts to God for his service. You Deserve It! Tell God that he deserves their excellent service. Prayer Partners Pray with a partner asking God to help them use their gifts for him. KidsOwn Worship Kit: Songs From FaithWeaver: Love the Lord (Deuteronomy 6:4-9) (track 16) CD player, offering bowls, cards from My Talents, tape * Starred activities can be used successfully with preschool and elementary children together. Customize your session to fit your needs. You can separate preschoolers and elementary children for Section 2. Or, if you keep the children all together for the entire worship session, we suggest you choose from the starred activities. Session 7 KidsOwn Worship 83

84 Bible Background for Leaders The Israelites Build the Tabernacle Exodus 35:4 36:38 It was time for the Israelites to build a portable dwelling place for the worship of God. When Moses asked for contributions, the people gave generously. Apparently the events of the previous months inspired them to give to God. They may have realized how they had wronged God in worshipping the golden calf and wanted to do what they could to make amends for the damage done. They gave so generously that eventually they had to be told to stop bringing more materials (Exodus 36:6-7)! One might wonder where these former slaves got gold and fine cloth to donate to the tabernacle. The answer lies in the generosity of the Egyptians as the Israelites were escaping. God told the Hebrews to ask for things from the Egyptians; the Egyptians responded with silver, gold, and clothing (Exodus 12:35-36). Not only did the Hebrews give things, but they gave time and talents as well. This story singles out Bezalel and Oholiab as the leaders of the workers, and also mentions women skilled in spinning goat hair (Exodus 35:26) and other skilled and willing people (Exodus 36:2). Notice the detailed instructions provided by God and the way the people followed God s plan meticulously. Crafting the sanctuary required willingness to give, willingness to work, and willingness to obey. And all the people did what they were asked. What can we learn from this story? Serving God involves all kinds of different tasks and abilities. If you can t build a structure, maybe you can spin cloth. If you can t sing, maybe you can tell a co-worker about Jesus. Every one of us has God-given abilities and spiritual gifts. God wants us to use what he s given us to serve and honor him in whatever ways we can. God can use anyone to serve him and to further his kingdom here on earth. The only thing stopping our service to him is our unwillingness to serve. Devotion for Leaders Our relationship with Jesus gives us daily opportunities to serve him. He is our friend, our Creator, and our Savior. Weaving Faith Into Your Life: Service is a choice we make on a daily basis. But how often do you analyze your motives for serving? Wrong motives can rob us of blessings and limit our effectiveness in service. Look at the following list, and objectively respond to these statements: I serve to please... I find my identity in I must prove myself by I need to be depended on for For the Christian, service comes out of thankfulness for salvation and devotion to honor our Creator. If we are not serving for those reasons, perhaps we are really self-serving. 84 KidsOwn Worship Fall Quarter

85 Why We Worship for Leaders In Exodus 25, God commanded the people to make a sanctuary for him so that he might dwell among the people. The instructions God gives in Exodus 25 and in Exodus 35 are very specific and very detailed. God told the people exactly what materials to give for the building of the Tabernacle. God even chose who would be in charge of the design and who would train the workers. It was important to God that the Tabernacle be well made and beautiful. We do well when we tell children that they don t need to be the best at something for God to be pleased with them. But we also do well when we explain to them that when we serve God, we should do our best. We serve the Creator who took care to create atoms as well as galaxies. God is worthy of our best work. Take the opportunity today to help children learn to worship God by offering him their excellent service. Easy Prep for Leaders Let s Praise God! Set up a TV and DVD player. Cue the Lesson Videos DVD to Excellent Service. You ll want to watch the segment at least once before the worship session. Running the Race Set up a TV and DVD player in your elementary meeting area. Watch Running the Race at least once before the worship session. Preschool Activities Refer to the preschool pages for preparations. Let s Praise God! Play Songs From FaithWeaver, Fall 2015 as children arrive. some children to stand at the door and welcome everyone who comes into the room. these greeters to smile, shake hands, and say, Welcome! Hello, everyone! Welcome to children s church. Every time we gather as a church, our goal is to give God glory, honor, and praise. Let s begin our time of worship by singing To God Be the Glory. Sing To God Be the Glory. Lyrics are in the back of this book. Today we ll be learning that one way to worship God is by serving him. God deserves our excellent service. Let s watch a DVD to help us know what that means. Track 18 Show Excellent Service on the Lesson Videos DVD. The video shows a person at a restaurant who gets less than excellent service. Then ask the following questions. If your children are in small groups, have them answer the questions with their small-group leader. Worship Leader Tip One great way to always include preschoolers in worship, and to make them realize how special they are, is to have them serve as greeters at the door each week. Session 7 KidsOwn Worship 85

86 What did you think about the way the server did her job? (She was rude; she did a bad job; it was gross.) How do you think this server would have worked if God were the one she was serving? (Probably the same; she would have done much better.) Why does God deserve excellent service from us? (He created us to serve him; he deserves the best at everything we do; God has done so much for us, we should show our appreciation by serving him well.) We don t serve God the same way a restaurant server serves diners. What do we do to serve God excellently? (We worship him; we help others grow closer to him; we love others the way he does; we use the gifts he gives us to serve him.) We each have gifts and abilities. God wants us to be willing to use our gifts and abilities for his glory. God calls all of us to praise him. We can do that by using our gifts and abilities to serve him with excellence. Let s praise God right now with this song that calls all creatures to praise. Sing the Doxology. Lyrics are in the back of the book. Now let s sing Praise Him. As you sing this song, think about all the reasons it s important to praise God. Sing Praise Him. Lyrics are in the back of the book. Why is it important to praise God? (God deserves it; it s how we show our appreciation for all God has done for us.) God does so many good things for us that it s natural to want to give him love and praise. One of the things we praise God for is the way he loves us. Let s sing about God s great love for us. Sing His Great Love (Romans 5:8). Lyrics are in the back of the book. That was great singing. The Bible tells us that God has prepared good works for us to do. What kinds of good works do you think God has prepared for you to do? (Helping others know Jesus; sharing God s love with others; following God.) Track 4 Track 19 Track 9 God gives each person special abilities so that we ll each be perfectly prepared to do the things God wants us to do. Our job is to obey God and to do those good works as excellently as possible. Let s worship God now by telling him we want to obey him and do the good works he has prepared for us to do. 86 KidsOwn Worship Fall Quarter

87 Sing Trust and Obey. Lyrics are in the back of the book. There are many ways to worship God. One way is to come to church and sing fun worship songs. Another way is to use your gifts and abilities for God. The song we just sang told us all about that. It said, While we do his good will, he abides with us still, and with all who will trust and obey. That means when we trust and obey God by doing his will, we can know that he is with us. We worship and obey him with everything we have, with everything we are. We can use our voices to praise God, and we can use our skills to serve God. The Bible says, Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not men (Ephesians 6:7). When we serve God with our whole heart, we re showing God how much we love him. Stand up if you want to serve God with your whole heart. Let s sing a song to tell God that we want to love him with our whole heart, soul, and strength, the way the Bible says to. Sing Love the Lord (Deuteronomy 6:4-9). Lyrics are in the back of the book. Track 8 Track 16 Raise your hand if you can think of a way to serve God with your whole heart. Pause and allow children to give answers. Pray Those are great answers. Whenever we serve God wholeheartedly, we are serving him with excellence. And anytime we serve God with excellence, we re showing him how important we think he is. Let s pray. God, we worship you with our whole life. Please help us to remember that we should use our gifts for you because you deserve our excellent service. In Jesus name, amen. Let s Learn the Point! Preschool Activities, pages At this time, have the preschool leader invite the preschoolers to go to their own room for this section of activities. Tear out the Preschool Activities page, and give it to the preschool leader. Have the preschool leader bring the preschoolers back to participate in Let s Pray! with the older children. If you prefer to keep all the children together, do the starred (*) activities. They will work well with both elementary and preschool children. Session 7 KidsOwn Worship 87

88 Elementary Activities * My Talents In a moment, I m going to give each of you one index card and a pencil. I want you to think very carefully about the things you like to do and the things you re good at. The Bible tells us that God gives each of us special gifts and abilities, so I know you ll be able to think of several things you do well. On your index card, write your name, and then list things that you do well or things that you really like to do. Hand out pencils and an index card per child. Have adult or teenage helpers circulate among the children and help them come up with 10 things to write on cards. For example, children may list playing an instrument, drawing, playing soccer, or acting. Give the children two or three minutes to work. Now that you have 10 things written down, put a star next to the one you re the best at. Then put a smiley face next to the one that is your favorite thing to do. Give the children a moment to do this. Now find a partner to talk about your list with. Talk about how you could use each activity or skill to serve God. Give the children two or three minutes to share with each other. Then have volunteers share their ideas with the entire group. God was very careful when he created each one of us. God made sure that he gave each of us a unique set of gifts and talents to use to serve him. Now let s learn about how we can use our gifts to serve God with excellence. 88 KidsOwn Worship Fall Quarter * Running the Race Show Running the Race on the Lesson Videos DVD. The video shows how athletes prepare for a race, and then compares that preparation to serving God with excellence. After the DVD, have the children get in groups of four or five to discuss these questions. What do athletes do to prepare for a race? (Stretch; run every day; practice a lot.) Why do you think they work so hard? (They want to win; so they can do well; to be good at what they do.) How is training for a race like serving God with excellence? (We need to practice; we need to work hard at it; we should always do our best.) How is it different? (Training for a race is just practice for one event, but serving God with excellence is like always being in a race; serving God with excellence takes different kinds of skills, but training for a race takes just physical skill.) (continued on page 91)

89 Preschool Activities The Israelites Build the Tabernacle Session 7 Worship Theme: Exodus 35:4 36:38 Using Theo God deserves our excellent service. Easy Prep for Leaders Good Work! Get some blocks out and put them in a messy pile in the middle of the room. Make sure there is at least one block per child in your class. Lay out some newspaper in a different location. What s It Used For? Gather several brooms (the more the better, but one is fine), paper cups, and a pitcher of water. * Good Work! Gather the children around the newspaper. Let s talk about jobs. What jobs do you do at your house? If I say, [name of a child], you did an excellent job making your bed, what do I mean? That s right. I mean that [child s name] did a super fantastic job at making [his or her] bed. If you did an excellent job making your bed, you probably worked hard to make sure all the wrinkles were smoothed out so everything was neat and tidy. It makes us feel good to do excellent work. Sometimes the work we do is for God we call that service. God deserves our excellent service. Let s pretend it s our job to build a building for God. But we ve got some hard work to do! The blocks are a big mess! Everybody needs to help clean up the mess before we can build. Encourage the children to pick up one or two blocks and carry them to the newspaper. Have the children work together to build a building with their blocks. While the children are working, ask the following questions: What do you work hard at? Do you like working hard? What does it feel like to know that you re doing excellent work? Consider using Theophilus the FaithRetriever puppet today in these ways: Have Theo lead the preschoolers from the main worship area to the preschool room. Have Theo try to play the Are You Willing? game and say that he is willing to share his bones with others. See the KidsOwn Worship Kit for a puppet skit written for today s worship session. Why is it a good thing to work hard? After the children have built the building, You ve all done an excellent job making this building! You re all good builders. The Bible tells of a time when God asked the Israelites to build a tabernacle. A tabernacle is like a church, but it s also a tent that can be moved from place to place easily. God asked the people to bring the materials to build the Tabernacle. What do you think they used to build the Tabernacle? The people brought gifts of cloth, leather, wood, gold, and precious stones to build the Tabernacle. God also had a special person in mind to be in charge of building the Tabernacle. God chose Bezalel to be in charge. God gave Bezalel special talents so that he would make the Tabernacle a special and beautiful place for the people to worship God. Bezalel taught the people how to do excellent work. And together, Bezalel and the other workers worked hard and created a beautiful Tabernacle for God. We ve got to work hard one more time to clean up our building! Have the children take blocks from the building and stack them neatly on a shelf. Session 7 KidsOwn Worship 89

90 Preschool Activities Are You Willing? God deserves our excellent service. Bezalel and the Israelites served God with excellence. We can, too. I think that Bezalel and the Israelites were happy and willing to serve God with their building skills. We need to be willing to use our gifts and talents for God. Let s play a game to help us remember to be willing to serve God. It s called Are You Willing? Here s how we play the game. I am the leader. I What s It Used For? Hold up a broom. What is this used for? That s right! It s used for sweeping. How can we use a broom to serve God? Let s sweep up our room and give this service to God. God is pleased when we serve him. Let s work hard and do an excellent job for God. If you don t have many brooms, have the other children wipe off tables or straighten clutter. Then hold up a cup. What is this used for? That s right. We use cups to drink from. Can you think of a way to serve God with a cup? will call on each of you by name and ask, Are you willing? You say, Yes, I am. Yes, I am. Then I say, Good! I give you a job to do, and you do it. Ready? Here we go! Play the game, assigning various types of service. For example, you might have a child sing a song or pretend to dust a table. Make sure that each child is called on at least once. What kinds of things do you think God wants you to do? Are you willing to serve God? Let s serve God with excellence right now. God is pleased when we serve others. When we serve others, we re really serving God. Let s serve God by getting cold drinks for each other. Pour water into each cup, and allow the children to give their cups of water to another child. We all have gifts and talents. Gifts and talents are things that we can do well. What are some things you re good at? How can you serve God with the things you re good at? God has given us all gifts and talents. We can serve God with our gifts. Just as the people of God used their gifts to build the tabernacle, we use our gifts for God. We use our gifts for God because he deserves them! God gave us our gifts because he wants us to use them for him. 90 KidsOwn Worship Fall Quarter

91 (continued from page 88) Every day people work hard at many different things. Kids work hard at school, and they work hard at sports. Athletes work hard to be good athletes. Musicians work hard to be excellent musicians. It s good to work hard to be excellent at the things we do. But as Christians we have an extra reason to strive for excellence. We know that we can serve God with the things that we do. And we know that God deserves excellent service. Design a Church Today we ve been talking about serving God with excellence. Serving God with excellence is really an act of worship it s a way to tell God that we think he s important. Now I want each of you to become an architect. I m going to hand out paper and pencils. I want you to design a church building. Church buildings give us a place to serve God and to worship God. So, as you re designing your church, think about all the ways we can serve God we ve talked about so many today. Design your church with space to serve God in all the ways we ve mentioned. Pass out paper and pencils. You may also want to provide rulers and compasses for children s use. Give children 5 to 10 minutes to design their church buildings. Then have them share their drawings with each other. The Bible tells us that God wanted the Israelites to build a Tabernacle, which is kind of like a tent church. The story is in the book of Exodus. God told the people to bring gifts of precious metals, precious stones, special fabrics, and expensive wood. He appointed a talented craftsman named Bezalel to be in charge of the building project. Bezalel used his abilities as a craftsman to serve God with excellence. The Tabernacle was built according to God s instructions. It was a beautiful place in which the people worshipped God. Bezalel s special gifts helped the entire nation of Israel worship and serve God. How might your special gifts and talents help others serve God or learn about God? (We can help others worship God with music; I can invite my soccer team to come to church with me before our game next week.) God has special work for each of us to do. There isn t time for any of us to sit on the sidelines. God wants all of us to use our talents and gifts to serve him. When we do, others will learn about God. We have important work to do. Session 7 KidsOwn Worship 91

92 Extra Impact Get to know your kids better with this great idea! After the offering, make a Talent Box, like a recipe box, with the kids talent cards organized in it. As you prepare to lead worship sessions in the future, refer to these cards so you can meet the interests and needs of each child in your children s church. 3 Let s Pray! The Offering As we give our gifts today, we will listen to the song, Love the Lord. When we offer our gifts to God, we do it out of love and adoration for God. Just as the people brought their gifts for the Tabernacle, we bring our gifts for God s service today. When I tell you to, bring your talents cards to the front of the room. We ll all tape our cards to the wall as a way of showing God that we re willing to use our abilities to serve him with excellence. The offering bowl is at the front of the room, so, if you brought an offering, you can put it in the bowl. Play Love the Lord (Deuteronomy 6:4-9). Track 16 Take the offering, and have the children tape their cards to the wall. Have the preschoolers serve the others by handing out small pieces of tape. Pray Look at all the gifts we have to give God. Let s thank him now. God, we worship you with our gifts today. Please use our gifts for your service. In Jesus name, amen. Pray You Deserve It! The reason we give God our excellent service is because God deserves it. Sometimes people give someone a gift and say, You deserve it. Well, the one who really deserves our gifts is God. Let s say this prayer together. Repeat after me. Pause after each line so that children can repeat it. You are my God; I give my gift and say, You deserve it. You are my King; I give my love and say, You deserve it. Amen. Prayer Partners Take a prayer partner, and ask your partner what his or her gifts are. Pray with your partner that God will help both of you use your gifts for him. Help the children find prayer partners, and give them a couple of minutes to talk and pray. Then close the worship session in prayer. 92 KidsOwn Worship Fall Quarter

93 Encouragement for Leaders Dear God, thank you for the encouragement I can always find in your Word. Help me remember your teachings and always speak encouraging words to the students in my class. In Jesus name, amen. From Heartfelt Thanks for Sunday School Teachers. Copyright 2003 Group Publishing, Inc., Loveland, CO.

94 Session 8 Moses Sends Spies Into the Promised Land Numbers 13:1 14:23 Worship Theme: God never fails. Weaving Faith Into Life: Children will praise God for never failing them and holding true to his promises. Session Sequence What Children Will Do Supplies Let s Praise God! (up to 25 minutes) Sing There s Power in the Blood (track 13) The Power! (track 6) Doxology (track 4) He Cares for You (1 Peter 5:7) (track 2) He Is Powerful (track 14) KidsOwn Worship Kit: Songs From FaithWeaver, Pick-Up Sticks game CD player Preschool Session Sequence What Children Will Do Supplies Let s Learn the Point! (up to 25 minutes) God Never Fails Try to touch the ceiling, and discuss what God can do. How Big Is a Giant? Consider how big giants are, and taste milk and honey to explore how God took care of the Israelites. * You Can t Beat God! Play a game similar to bowling to see that you can t beat God. Purple balloon, tape Bible; purple balloon; pencil; 1 paper cup and spoon per child; milk and honey for all Several milk cartons, ball, box filled with books 94 KidsOwn Worship Fall Quarter

95 Elementary Session Sequence What Children Will Do Supplies Let s Learn the Point! (up to 25 minutes) * Joshua and Caleb s Amazing Adventure Watch a video, and talk about Joshua and Caleb s adventure. How d You Do That? Learn a neat trick, and discuss what God can do. * Giants Everywhere Draw and talk about giants, and celebrate God s power. KidsOwn Worship Kit: Lesson Videos DVD: Joshua and Caleb s Amazing Adventure TV, DVD player Chalkboard or whiteboard, string, scissors 1 long strip of paper per child, markers Session Sequence What Children Will Do Supplies Let s Pray! (up to 10 minutes) The Offering Give their gifts, and sing to thank God because he never fails us. Unfailing God Talk about times when God didn t fail them. All the Power I Need Shout and sing praises to God. KidsOwn Worship Kit: Songs From FaithWeaver: Give Thanks (1 Chronicles 16:8) (track 17) CD player, offering bowls KidsOwn Worship Kit: Songs From FaithWeaver: There s Power in the Blood (track 13) CD player * Starred activities can be used successfully with preschool and elementary children together. Customize your session to fit your needs. You can separate preschoolers and elementary children for Section 2. Or, if you keep the children all together for the entire worship session, we suggest you choose from the starred activities. Session 8 KidsOwn Worship 95

96 Bible Background for Leaders Moses Sends Spies Into the Promised Land Numbers 13:1 14:23 The spies were sent on an exploratory mission. The purpose was to see what kinds of opposition they would be facing and if the land would be able to support the Israelites as they conquered it. Moses instructions were clear: They were to explore the land from the southern end all the way to the northern end. When the spies first returned, they simply reported what Moses had asked for. They told of the fruitfulness of the land, the powerful people, and the fortified cities (Numbers 13:26-29). But after Caleb spoke his mind, the other spies went beyond what they had been asked to do. They began to lament that there was no way they could defeat the people in the land. They exaggerated the reports of the size and strength of the land s inhabitants. The people responded by rebelling against Moses and against God. Once again the Israelites grumbling attitude took over. Once again they lost faith and wished to be back in slavery in Egypt. Once again God threatened to strike down all the people and begin again with Moses. And once again Moses interceded for the faithless Israelites. This time Moses intercession involved protecting God s own name and reputation. Moses pointed out that what the Egyptians had learned about God through their recent experience would be nullified if God allowed the Israelites to die in the desert. Moses wanted the whole world, including the Egyptians, to see how powerful God was. God once again forgave the Israelites. But notice he imposed a harsh punishment: No adults who were alive during the rebellion except Joshua and Caleb would be allowed to enter the Promised Land. They were destined to wander and die in the desert during the next 40 years. God had forgiven them, but they had to live with the consequences of their lack of faith and of their rebellion against God. Joshua and Caleb had faith that God could do what he said he would. Their faith enabled them to stand up for God, even when it was not the popular thing to do. Although their courage didn t convince anyone else to have faith, they were rewarded. Devotion for Leaders Jesus Christ stood up for the world through his atoning sacrifice on the cross. Through our relationship with Christ, we should stand up for what we believe and who Jesus is. Weaving Faith Into Your Life: Throughout history and all over the world, people have died because they professed a faith in Jesus Christ. While most of us do not experience persecution to this degree, non-christians can be resentful of our claims to know the truth. These confrontations put Christians in a difficult situation. Think about non-christians you regularly come in contact with. Are you the same person with them that you are before the children you are teaching? Pray that you will stand up for Jesus in your interactions with non-christians. 96 KidsOwn Worship Fall Quarter

97 Why We Worship for Leaders It was finally time for the Israelites to claim the land God promised them. Moses sent scouts to explore the land. It was a land flowing with the richness of God s promise: It was abundant in fruit, milk, and honey. Everything they had been promised was right before them. All of the scouts observed the same things: The land was very fertile, the people were powerful, and their cities were fortified. But from there, the reports differed significantly. Ten scouts warned that the people were too powerful for them to overtake. But Caleb, and later Joshua, encouraged the Israelites to take the land, insisting that the Lord would be with them. Caleb and Joshua knew they could count on God to help them. They knew that God never fails to keep his promises. Let s help children understand what Joshua and Caleb knew that God never fails his people. Rather than comparing ourselves to the giants in the land, let s compare the giants to God! No matter how big a problem we face, God is greater. All problems pale in the light of the goodness of the God who never fails. Let s worship God because he never fails. Easy Prep for Leaders Joshua and Caleb s Amazing Adventure Set up a TV and DVD player. Cue the Lesson Videos DVD to Joshua and Caleb s Amazing Adventure. You ll want to watch it at least once before the worship session. How d You Do That? Write the text of Isaiah 55:8-11 on a chalkboard or whiteboard. For additional worship songs each week, check out the Sing & Praise DVD included with your KidsOwn Worship kit! Cut a 2-foot piece of string for each elementary-age child. At one end of each string, make a loop that will slide over a child s finger. Preschool Activities Refer to the preschool pages for preparations. Let s Praise God! Have Songs From FaithWeaver, Fall 2015 playing as children arrive. some children to stand at the door and welcome everyone who comes into the room. the greeters to smile, shake hands, and say, Welcome! When you re ready, begin the worship session. Hello, everyone! We re here to worship God today because God never fails! Let s play a game to see what we mean when we say that God never fails. Take the Pick-Up Sticks from the KidsOwn Worship Kit. Hold them in a bundle as you would hold uncooked spaghetti, with the bottoms of the sticks against a table. Release your hand, and let the sticks fall in a random pattern. Have the children take turns trying to take one of the sticks without making any of the other sticks move. At first some of the children will be successful, Session 8 KidsOwn Worship 97

98 but soon it ll be almost impossible to take a stick without causing another stick to move. Worship Leader Tip Because the first sticks in the Pick-Up Sticks game are the easiest to pick up, let preschool children go first. Their motor skills aren t as developed as those of some of the older children, and allowing them to go first will give them a sense of accomplishment. Give each child one chance to play. Even if a child does remove a stick successfully, move on to another child for the next stick. If you run out of sticks before you run out of children, set up the game again. Once everyone has had a turn, put the sticks away. How difficult was it to take a stick without moving the others? (It was pretty easy at first; it was hard when others got in the way.) What did you think about while you waited for your turn? Were you nervous? Why? (I started getting nervous, because other people weren t doing a good job; I knew I could do it, because I came up with a strategy.) Imagine that you were playing this game all by yourself. Do you think you d be able to remove all of the sticks without ever making another stick move? Explain. (No, others would still get in the way; yes, I could make sure to move the top sticks first.) Do you think you could play five games in a row perfectly? (No, that would be too hard; yes, five isn t many.) How about 100 games? (No way, that s a lot of games; I d probably mess up a few times.) When I say that God never fails, I really mean never! God could play this game a million times and do it perfectly every time. There is no one stronger than God. There is no one smarter than God. No matter what God tries to do, he ll always succeed. Let s sing about our wonderful God. Sing There s Power in the Blood. Lyrics are in the back of the book. This song told us about how much power we have through Jesus. Raise your hand if you can think of a time the Bible tells about when God proved that he is powerful. Call on individual children, and have them mention various Bible stories. Discuss how God showed power in those situations. Track 13 God never, never, never, ever fails! He is always powerful. And if we take the time to look, we ll see God s power working all over the place. Let s sing The Power! Sing The Power! Lyrics are in the back of this book. Just as God moved in mighty ways in the Bible, God moves in mighty ways now. God is mighty, and he never fails! God never fails to help us when we re in trouble. God never fails to encourage us when we re sad. We serve a mighty God. Let s praise him. Track 6 98 KidsOwn Worship Fall Quarter

99 Pray Sing the Doxology. Lyrics are in the back of this book. Our God is worthy of our best praise. God never fails us when we have problems; he never fails us when we re sad; and he never fails to provide for us, either. Raise your hand if you can think of times in the Bible when God provided for his people. (Pause to discuss.) God even cares for the birds of the air and the flowers of the field. But even more than that, God cares for you! Sing He Cares for You (1 Peter 5:7). Lyrics are in the back of the book. The Bible is full of stories about how God never fails to rescue his people from scary circumstances. There s a song we sing that tells about these exciting stories. It s called He Is Powerful. Sing He Is Powerful. Lyrics are in the back of this book. God, we thank you that you never fail. You never fail to set us free. You never fail to be all the power we need. In Jesus name, amen. Let s Learn the Point! Track 4 Track 2 Track 14 Preschool Activities, pages At this time, have the preschool leader invite the preschoolers to go to their own room for this section of activities. Tear out the Preschool Activities page, and give it to the preschool leader. Have the preschool leader bring the preschoolers back to participate in Let s Pray! with the older children. If you prefer to keep all the children together, do the starred (*) activities. They will work well with both elementary and preschool children. Elementary Activities * Joshua and Caleb s Amazing Adventure Show Joshua and Caleb s Amazing Adventure on the Lesson Videos DVD. In this video, Joshua and Caleb will tell what happened to them when they were spies in the land of Canaan. After the DVD, have the children form small groups of three or four to answer these questions. Session 8 KidsOwn Worship 99

100 What made Joshua and Caleb s trip into Canaan so adventurous? (There were big, powerful cities; they were sent as spies; they found great things in the land; they wanted to conquer the land.) Why do you think they stood against the rest of the Israelites? (Joshua and Caleb knew what God wanted; Joshua and Caleb wanted to go into the land, but the Israelites were scared.) Do you think it was hard for them to stand up for the truth? Why or why not? (Yes, because everyone was against them; no, because they knew what was right.) Why do you think the other spies were so sure that the people couldn t take the land? (They were scared; they forgot how powerful God was; they knew the cities in the land were powerful.) Why is it sometimes easy to get scared and forget that God won t fail us? (We see scary situations and only think about what we can do; we forget how strong God is.) In what situations in your life do you need to remember that God won t fail you? (When my family fights, I need to remember that God is in control; I need God to comfort me when I m scared.) Joshua and Caleb were brave men. They were in the minority. Ten men were saying that they would lose any battle they fought against the people in Canaan. Those 10 men quickly convinced all the Israelites that they would be defeated. Only Joshua and Caleb stood up for the truth and reminded the people that God was on their side and that God never fails. In any situation, we can know for certain that God won t fail us. Let s talk about why. How d You Do That? I ve got a trick to show you that you won t believe! Choose a volunteer, and have him or her stand next to you in front of the other children. Have the child hold up one finger. Loop the string around the child s finger, and touch the tip of your index finger to the child s finger. (continued on page 103) 100 KidsOwn Worship Fall Quarter

101 Preschool Activities Moses Sends Spies Into the Promised Land Numbers 13:1 14:23 Worship Theme: Using Theo Session 8 God never fails. Easy Prep for Leaders God Never Fails Tape an inflated purple balloon to the ceiling or on the wall too high for you to reach it standing on the floor. You Can t Beat God! Gather a small ball, several milk cartons or 2-liter soda bottles, and a heavy object that can t be knocked down by rolling a ball, such as a box of books. Consider using Theophilus the FaithRetriever puppet today in these ways: Have Theo lead the preschoolers from the main worship area to the preschool room. Have Theo try to touch the balloon during the God Never Fails activity. See the KidsOwn Worship Kit for a puppet skit written for today s worship session. God Never Fails Today we are worshipping God because he never fails. To fail means that we can t do something. Even though we try, we sometimes fail. But God never fails he can do anything. I need to use a balloon for the Bible story today. Can you reach it for me? Try to stretch your arms up and touch the balloon. Do this with the children. What happened? We failed. We can t touch it. Let s try harder. Let s stand on our tippy toes and touch the balloon. Do this with the children. What happened? We failed again. We still can t touch it. Let s jump as high as we can and touch the balloon. Do this with the children. Warning To avoid potential choking hazards, pick up pieces of any broken balloons promptly. What happened? We failed. No matter how hard we try, we can t touch the balloon by ourselves. God never, ever fails. He can make anything happen. Stand on a chair to remove the balloon from the ceiling and place it just above the children s heads. Now, gently touch the balloon. (Pause.) You couldn t reach the balloon because it was too high. It seemed to be impossible for you to touch the balloon. But I brought the balloon down where you could reach it. In the same way, God makes impossible things happen. God never fails at what he does. God will help us do what we need to do because God is on our side. Let s place the balloon over here because we will need it later. Put the balloon out of the children s reach. How Big Is a Giant? How big is a giant? Is a giant this big? Make a pencil mark on the wall a little taller than the children. Is a giant this big? Make a mark as tall as you are. Is a giant this big? Make a mark as high as you can reach. God is even bigger and stronger than giants, because God made the giants! Open your Bible. Our Bible story tells us about a land called the Promised Land that had giants in it. It also had great big grapes. Show the children the balloon. The grapes might have been as big as this balloon! What would you think if you asked your mom for some grapes and she gave you a grape that was this big? The Promised Land had all kinds of good things to eat. God knew that his people would need good land that could grow lots of food. God wanted to provide for them, because God never fails. God didn t just give them a land that would grow food; God gave them a land Session 8 KidsOwn Worship 101

102 Preschool Activities that would grow great big fruit (hold up the balloon) and other wonderful food. Raise your hand if you like sweet things to eat. (Pause.) I love sweet things to eat. In the Promised Land, God even provided sweet things for his people to eat this honey, for example. Allow the children to use spoons to taste some honey. God never fails to provide all our needs. When you eat a meal, what else do you need beside food? That s right, God knew they would need something to drink. So God did not fail them. He gave them lots of milk to drink in the land. Distribute cups of milk to drink. God told his people to go to the Promised Land, but some of them were afraid of the giants in the land. God told them he would take care of the giants for them, but some of the people didn t believe God. Joshua and Caleb knew the secret, and they weren t afraid to say it right out loud. Let s say it together in a loud voice, God never fails! Lead kids in repeating the phrase. Joshua and Caleb told the others that they could go in and take the land because God would be with them. They knew that it is really no secret that God never fails. Let s stand up and shout, God never fails! Lead the children in shouting the phrase. We know that God is bigger, stronger, and better than any giants! We know that God never fails. That s why we worship God! Let s say it together one more ALLERGY ALERT Be aware that some children have food allergies that can be dangerous. Know your children, and consult with parents about allergies their children may have. Also be sure to read food labels carefully as hidden ingredients can cause allergy-related problems. time, God never fails! Lead the children in shouting, God never fails! * You Can t Beat God! We re going to play a game that helps us to remember that God never fails. This game is called You Can t Beat God! Set up the milk cartons like bowling pins. We re going to take turns rolling this ball to knock the cartons down. Allow the children to knock them down. That was very easy. We knocked these over easily. We can beat this game easily. But you can t beat God. God is sort of like this heavy box. You can t knock God over. No enemy can beat God. The giants in the land may have been big, but they could not have beaten God! Allow the children to roll the ball at the box. God is greater than anyone! God is strong, and God cares about us. God will help us. God is on our side! No one can knock God down because God never fails! Replace the cartons with a heavy object. 102 KidsOwn Worship Fall Quarter

103 (continued from page 100) See how the string is trapped between our fingers. Unless we separate our fingers, there s no way for the string to be released. Tug at the string to emphasize this point. But watch this! Step 1: Take your index finger off of the child s finger. Using your middle finger, pick up the left side of the string, loop it over the right side of the string. Step 2: Then turn your hand over so that your fingers are pointing up. Step 3: Stick your index finger through the hole closest to the child s finger. Step 4: Slide your fingers toward yourself. Step 5: Flip your hand back over so your fingers are pointing down. Step 6: Put your middle finger on top of the child s index finger, pull gently on the string with your left hand, and watch the string fall freely from the child s finger. Hand out strings to all the children, and teach them how to do the trick. Give the children four or five minutes to experiment with it. Then have the children put the strings in their pockets, or collect the strings until the end of the worship session. What makes this trick so much fun? (At first it seems impossible, but it s possible; it s surprising.) Do any of you know why this trick works? (No; it doesn t make sense to me.) I don t know why this trick works either. That s why this trick is so cool! It doesn t seem like it should work, but it does, and we can t figure out why. How is figuring out this trick like trying to understand God? (We ll never understand him; God does things to surprise us all the time.) Listen to these verses from the Bible. Direct kids to the text of Isaiah 55:8-11 on the chalkboard. Read the words aloud to the children. Then have the children read the words aloud with you. Why don t we understand God? (Because his ways are greater than ours; he knows more than we do.) Why is it that God never fails at what he sets out to do? (God is perfect; God is holy; God is powerful.) We can t understand God. God is smarter than we are, and God is stronger than we are. In the Bible, God says that he will always accomplish exactly what he sets out to do. We may not understand God, but we can trust God. God loves us very much, and he wants the best for us. God will never fail that means that God will never fail us. We can count on him. Session 8 KidsOwn Worship 103

104 * Giants Everywhere For this activity, you ll need long sheets of paper. Use newsprint, toilet paper, paper towels, or adding machine tape. You ll also need markers and scissors. Check to make sure the markers won t bleed through and stain the carpet or the floor. Ten spies and all the Israelites were so scared of the giants in Canaan that they forgot to trust in God. There are giants in our lives, too. Let s think of the things that frighten us and make us forget that God will never fail. What makes people forget that God never fails? (When bad things happen to them; natural disasters; people who hurt us or are mean to us.) Take a strip of paper that s as tall as these bad giants are. Use a marker to draw a picture of a giant thing on the strip of paper. If you want, write the name of the giant thing you ve thought of that makes people forget that God never fails. Give the children time to do this. Have them explain their giants to one another. What do you think we should do when these giants appear in our lives? (Pray; ask God to help us; trust God; read the Bible.) God wants us to remember that he is faithful and powerful. He ll never let these giants destroy us. God will never fail. He s more powerful than the biggest, meanest giant. Let s destroy these giants to celebrate our God who will never fail. Encourage the children to tear, crumple, or rip their giants and throw them into the trash can. Let s Pray! The Offering As we give our offering today, let s give thanks using a song from 1 Chronicles 16:8. The Scripture says, Give thanks to the Lord, call on his name; make known among the nations what he has done. Let s make known among our nation right here what God has done. After we sing the song, stand up, and shout out one thing that God has done. (For example, children might shout, God, you parted the Red Sea. ) Sing Give Thanks (1 Chronicles 16:8). Lyrics are in the back of the book. Track KidsOwn Worship Fall Quarter

105 Pray Pray Unfailing God People can fail you, but God never fails. It s important to remember times when God has helped you. This helps you to remember that God never has failed and never will. Turn to the person to your right, and tell him or her about an experience you had when God didn t fail you. Give the children time to share. Now face forward. In just a few minutes, we will all thank God together for never failing us. I will start, and then we will all thank him together. Thank you, Father, because you never have failed and you never will. Thank you for keeping your promises to us. Thank you for not failing me when [have all the children say their experience at the same time]. In Jesus name, amen. All the Power I Need In every experience we have, God is all the power we need. Just like God brought you through the experiences we just talked about, God will bring you through everything. Let s close by thanking God because he gives us power. Let s say together on the count of three, Thank you, God, for being powerful. Let s sing There s Power in the Blood. Sing There s Power in the Blood. Lyrics are in the back of the book. Let s give God a round of applause for being the one who never fails! Lead the children in praising God with applause. God, today we celebrate your strength, your power, and your intelligence. We know that there s nothing you can t do. You re bigger than any problem. No matter what, you will never fail. We worship you because you are a great and mighty God. Help us remember this week that you are always with us and you promise to help us every day. In Jesus name, amen. Track 13 Session 8 KidsOwn Worship 105

106 Session 9 Balaam s Donkey Talks Numbers 22:1-38 Worship Theme: God helps us obey him. Weaving Faith Into Life: Children will worship God through their obedience to him and praise him for helping them obey. Session Sequence What Children Will Do Supplies Let s Praise God! (up to 25 minutes) Sing He Cares for You (1 Peter 5:7) (track 2) Faith (Hebrews 11:1) (track 1) Praise the Lord (Psalm 150:6) (track 5) Trust and Obey (track 8) Take My Life and Let It Be (track 12) God Is the King (Psalm 47:7) (track 15) Love the Lord (Deuteronomy 6:4-9) (track 16) KidsOwn Worship Kit: Songs From FaithWeaver CD player, Bible, hairbrush, washcloth, glass of water, toy phone, pen, paper, small wrapped candy per child Preschool Session Sequence What Children Will Do Supplies Let s Learn the Point! (up to 25 minutes) Cause My Feet to Follow Use their feet to practice obeying God. * Donkeys and Angels Make donkey and angel puppets to help tell the Bible story. * The Talking Donkey Use the puppets to dramatize the Bible story. Bible 1 brown paper lunch sack and coffee filter per child; tape, construction paper, yarn, scissors, markers Stuffed animal, puppets from Donkeys and Angels 106 KidsOwn Worship Fall Quarter

107 Elementary Session Sequence What Children Will Do Supplies Let s Learn the Point! (up to 25 minutes) * Knots Form a knot, and then obey instructions to untangle the knotty situation. Yes to God Devise skits about saying yes and no. Multiple Choices Work with a partner to decide which parts of the Bible story are true. 3 index cards and marker per 2 children Session Sequence What Children Will Do Supplies Let s Pray! (up to 10 minutes) The Offering Offer their gifts to God, and thank him for helping us obey. Moving Praise Sculptures Form praise sculptures with their bodies. My Whole Heart Sing a song as praise to God. KidsOwn Worship Kit: Songs From FaithWeaver: He Cares For You (1 Peter 5:7) (track 2) CD player, offering bowls KidsOwn Worship Kit: Songs From FaithWeaver: Love the Lord (Deuteronomy 6:4-9) (track 16) CD player * Starred activities can be used successfully with preschool and elementary children together. Customize your session to fit your needs. You can separate preschoolers and elementary children for Section 2. Or, if you keep the children all together for the entire worship session, we suggest you choose from the starred activities. Session 9 KidsOwn Worship 107

108 Bible Background for Leaders Balaam s Donkey Talks Numbers 22:1-38 This story takes place near the end of the Israelites wandering in the desert. They had defeated a few adversaries in their travels and were approaching the Promised Land again. The leader of Moab was afraid of what Israel might do to his land, so he sought the help of Balaam. Apparently Balaam was a widely known fortuneteller, or diviner, who made his living through his divination. He probably believed in many gods and would consult anyone, including the Lord, who could help him earn his fees. From the beginning of this episode, God knew Balaam s heart. Even though he called upon the Lord and spoke God s words to the people sent by Balak, Balaam s underlying motive was for selfish gain. When God had told Balaam no the first time, Balaam should have taken that as a final answer. But when Balaam came back to God a second time, it was clear that Balaam s desire for financial gain was greater than his desire to do what God told him. In letting Balaam go but not letting him do anything that would please Balak, God was showing how he disliked Balaam s money-hungry attitude. Even though God had let Balaam go with Balak s men, God was angry because he knew that Balaam was willing to do whatever would get him honor and riches. God knew that Balaam didn t intend to do exactly what God had said. Not being able to see the angel his donkey saw must have been a huge insult to Balaam, who prided himself on knowing and seeing spiritual things. Certainly Balaam was humiliated when the donkey had to speak in order to get him to see reality. Balaam had been blinded by his desire for riches. God finally opened his eyes to the angel standing in the path and to the evil of what Balaam had been doing. After getting Balaam s attention through the donkey and the angel, God let Balaam know that he wanted Balaam to go through with his trip, but to speak only what God said. This whole episode was intended to help Balaam think clearly and to know that he had to do what God told him. We see from Balaam s greeting to Balak that he had learned a lesson, at least for a time. He was intent on speaking only what the Lord told him, and he let Balak know that right upfront. And we know from the chapters that follow, Balaam did indeed speak what God told him to and refused to curse Israel in any way. Devotion for Leaders The Holy Spirit lives in those who have a relationship with Jesus. God uses us every day to do amazing things and show his power in our lives and in the lives of others. Weaving Faith Into Your Life: Write about some past experiences in which you have seen the direct hand of God. Take a few moments to thank God for these experiences, and begin to pray for opportunities to share these experiences with people who need to hear about them. You will be surprised to see the fruit of this prayer. Save the paper you have written on as a reminder and refresher to tell these stories. God shows his power through the body of Christ and gives us opportunities to be part of amazing ministry. 108 KidsOwn Worship Fall Quarter

109 Teaching This Bible Story to Children When you use FaithWeaver, your Sunday school, children s church, midweek, and home life are woven together as everyone in your church studies the same Bible story in interactive, age-appropriate ways. Having all ages study the same Scripture passage each week occasionally presents what could be a challenge at first glance having younger children study what many would consider stories that are not age-appropriate. However, because we believe so strongly in the power of having the whole family living out the learning from the same passage, we are careful to identify an age-appropriate truth and develop the session accordingly for all ages. You might be surprised to see that this week s session teaches children about Balaam beating his donkey. Rest assured that for this age level we have chosen to focus on how God helps us obey. Check out the session we think you ll find God has a lot to teach children through this important Scripture! Why We Worship for Leaders Today s Bible story is the strange account of an obscure man and the donkey that spoke to him. God made an extraordinary effort to encourage Balaam to obey wholeheartedly. God helps us obey, too. That is a reason to worship God! Use this session to help kids understand that God doesn t just dictate what we re to do and how we re to think; he helps us obey him. This shows that we re important to God and that he cares about us. Let s worship God for that! Easy Prep for Leaders Let s Praise God! Put a bag of small wrapped candy that can be eaten quickly (not hard candy) near the entrance. You ll need one piece per child plus a few extra pieces. Place a Bible, hairbrush, glass of water, washcloth, toy phone, pen, and paper on a table near the front of the room. Find two older children of the same gender who are comfortable hamming it up to do an experiment. Explain that, during worship time, you ll ask for volunteers to conduct an experiment and they should raise their hands then. For additional worship songs each week, check out the Sing & Praise DVD included with your KidsOwn Worship kit! Preschool Activities Refer to the preschool pages for preparations. Let s Praise God! Play Songs From FaithWeaver, Fall 2015 as children arrive. one or two children to help you welcome everyone. Instruct them to greet children by name, hand them a piece of candy, and say to each one, Hello, [child s name]. Find someone in the room who doesn t have a piece of candy yet, and give this to him or her. Session 9 KidsOwn Worship 109

110 ALLERGY ALERT See Session 2. When everyone has arrived, begin worship. Hello, everyone! Welcome! Please stand up if someone in this group gave you a piece of candy. (Pause.) That s great! That means that most of you obeyed when you were told to give your candy away. If any children remain seated because no one gave them a piece of candy, give them one now. Have all the children sit and eat their candy if they haven t already done so. Pass a wastebasket around while you continue. How did you feel when you were given candy and then told to give it away? (I was sad; I was excited at first, but I wanted to keep it.) Were you tempted to keep it for yourself? Explain. (Yes, I like candy; no, I knew we had to give it away; even though I knew I should give it away, I still wanted to keep it.) How did you feel if you gave yours away then didn t receive one? (I was afraid I wouldn t get another one; it was OK, because I knew I was doing the right thing.) Our obedience is important. It affects other people, just as your obedience just now made someone happy. God cares about our obedience so much that he helps us obey him. Let s stand and start our worship today by singing He Cares for You. Sing He Cares for You (1 Peter 5:7). Lyrics are in the back of this book. God shows he cares in lots of ways. Today we re going to talk about one of those ways. Today we re focusing on how God helps us obey him. Track 2 What are some ways God helps us obey him? (He gives us the Bible to tell us how to live; he shows us the right way; he gives us people who teach us what s right.) God helps us by giving us parents and teachers to teach us what s right and wrong. God gives us his Word, the Bible, to help us obey him. He s also given us something called a conscience. What s a conscience? (It s the feeling that tells us if something s right or wrong; it s a voice inside that helps us know what s right.) A conscience is that voice inside us that tells us when we re doing something wrong. Every human being has a conscience. Every day we have to make choices. Will we make our beds as we re told, or will we forget about it? Will we sneak a cookie when we were told not to, or will we wait for dessert? Will we hit our brothers when we re mad, or will we choose not to because we know it s wrong? We might not always listen to our conscience, but it s a tool God gives us to help us obey him. Sometimes we face really hard choices. But God is there to help us if we ask him. 110 KidsOwn Worship Fall Quarter

111 Sing Faith (Hebrews 11:1). Lyrics are in the back of this book. Track 1 We know that God is more powerful than anything. We know that he created all things. We know that he has the right to set the rules and he wants us to follow those rules. But today we re celebrating because God will help us follow the rules! Let s worship him for that by singing praises to him! Sing Praise the Lord (Psalm 150:6). Lyrics are in the back of this book. Track 5 I need two volunteers to conduct an experiment for us. Call on the volunteers you talked to before the session. Our volunteers are going to work together as one person. One of them is going to be the hands for the other. The hands must obey the voice and help [him or her] get ready for children s church! Let s watch. Worship Leader Tip Make sure preschool children are near the front so they can see the experiment. Have one volunteer be the voice, and have the other volunteer be the voice s hands. The voice person will stand at the table with hands behind his or her back. The other child should stand behind the voice person so he or she cannot see the table. The hand person should then put his or her arms around to the front of the voice person so that it looks like the hand person s arms belong to the voice person. The two volunteers are to work together to use each of the objects on the table. The hands should respond to whatever the voice says. For example, the voice might say, I need to brush my hair. The hands should find the brush and begin brushing the voice s hair. Have the voice suggest that the hands open and read the Bible, brush the voice s hair, wash the voice s face with the washcloth, drink some water, call a friend on the phone, and write down a message. Stand by to coach them if needed. If the hands can t find an item right away, the voice should offer more instructions, such as, It s over to the left. Continue until each item is used. Did the hands do a good job obeying the voice? Explain. (Yes, they did exactly what the voice said; no, they couldn t find most of the items, and they missed the voice s mouth.) Why was it difficult at times for the hands to obey the voice? (It was hard to find the items; it was hard to do things the way the voice said.) Why is it difficult sometimes for us to obey God? (We might not know exactly what God wants us to do; we might not want to do what God tells us to do; we can t see the big picture like God can.) How did the voice help the hands obey? (The voice told the hands where to go; the voice didn t really help much.) What happened when the voice tried to direct the hands to the right object? (The hands found it fine; the hands went the wrong way.) Session 9 KidsOwn Worship 111

112 Sometimes it s hard to obey God because we can t see what he sees. He sees the big picture of our whole life and all of eternity. We only see the little situations that we re in. But if we obey God s voice, he ll guide us into everything that s good for us. He loves us and helps us obey him. Let s offer God our hands, our voices, and our whole selves as we sing the next song. Pray Sing Trust and Obey. Lyrics are in the back of this book. When we give our hearts entirely to obey God, we consecrate ourselves. That s a big word that means to be dedicated or devoted to be set apart for a special purpose. The next song uses the word consecrate. It also says, Take my hands, and let them move at the impulse of thy love. That means we want God to use our hands to do good things when we feel his love for others. Let s sing that song now. Sing Take My Life and Let It Be. Lyrics are in the back of this book. God helps us obey him when we ask. I need someone to read John 14:26 aloud while the rest of us listen for another way that God helps us obey. Have a volunteer read the verse. How does God help us obey him according to this verse? (God sends the Holy Spirit; the Holy Spirit guides us.) God is the perfect father! God not only tells us what to do through his Word, but he loves us so much that he helps us do it! God sent the Holy Spirit to help us understand what God wants us to do. And the Holy Spirit helps us love God so that we obey him out of love, not because we re afraid of him. Isn t God the greatest? Let s worship him for that! Sing God Is the King (Psalm 47:7). Lyrics are in the back of this book. Let s use our next song to tell God that we want to love him with our whole heart. Loving him totally is the key to obeying him completely. Sing Love the Lord (Deuteronomy 6:4-9). Lyrics are in the back of this book. Track 8 God, you created us, and you love us so much. Help us to give ourselves to you completely and to love you with all our heart. Thank you for helping us obey you. We know we can count on you to give us the wisdom, strength, and courage we need to obey you. We love you, Lord. In Jesus name, amen. Track 12 Track 15 Track KidsOwn Worship Fall Quarter

113 Let s Learn the Point! Preschool Activities, pages At this time, have the preschool leader invite the preschoolers to go to their own room for this section of activities. Tear out the Preschool Activities page, and give it to the preschool leader. Have the preschool leader bring the preschoolers back to participate in Let s Pray! with the older children. If you prefer to keep all the children together, do the starred (*) activities. They will work well with both elementary and preschool children. Elementary Activities * Knots Have kids stand in a loose circle. Choose a child to be the Untangler, and have that child stand with you. Reach your arms out in front of you, and cross them at the elbows. Close your eyes now, and listen to my directions. Make sure you don t open your eyes! Move slowly toward the center of the circle. Take hold of the first two hands you touch. No peeking! Pause while kids move around to find a hand. Guide those who need help finding a hand. By the time everyone has found two hands to hold, the children should be in a knot. Tell them to open their eyes. You ve gotten yourselves tangled up into a fine mess! Our Untangler will give you instructions to get the knots out, and you must obey. But the rules are that you may not talk and you may not let go of one another s hands. Encourage the Untangler to give instructions to untangle the knot until everyone is back in a big circle. Kids might have to crawl under someone, step over someone s arms, or twist around to undo the knot. If the Untangler has trouble figuring it out, remove another child from the knot, being careful to close it up again, and have the two children work together to untangle the group. When everyone is back in a circle again, have everyone sit down. How did it feel to be told you couldn t talk? (I was afraid we couldn t do it; I thought this would be impossible; it made me nervous.) How did you feel if the Untangler told you to do something you knew wouldn t work? (I was upset that I couldn t talk; I just had to trust the Untangler; I thought we d get even more tangled up.) Was it easy or difficult to wait for the Untangler s instructions? (Easy, because the Untangler was doing a good job; difficult, because I thought I had a better idea.) Session 9 KidsOwn Worship 113

114 How was this experience like or unlike obeying God? (It can be hard to wait for God s help; it s easier to trust God, because I know he knows what s best.) Sometimes life is like this. We have to wait for God to help us untangle our messes. Just like the Untangler helped you get out of the knot, God promises to help us obey him. He makes everything turn out great in the end. Our job is to trust him and obey, and he helps us do that. Yes to God Have children stand with a partner. When we obey God, it s as if we re saying yes to him. When we disobey, it s as if we re saying no. Let s devise some skits to discover what happens when we say yes instead of no. Pretend you and your partner are actors in a play. Decide together who you are and where your scene takes place. For example, you might be camping together, hiking in the woods, on a trip to Disneyland, or on another planet. Take a minute to decide who you are and where you are. Give children a few moments to talk this over. Now act out your scene together, but, as you re acting out the scene, always say no to your partner. Disagree and be negative in every way possible. If your partner says, Let s hike this mountain, you might say, No, I don t want to climb that mountain, or That s not a mountain, it s an ocean. Then your partner should answer you, but your partner should say no, too. Make sure you each have a few chances to say no. Have all the children act out their scenes at the same time for a few minutes. Now let s start our scenes over. Be the same people in the same place, but this time always say yes. Agree with everything your partner says, and add on to it. For example, if your partner says, Let s hike this mountain, you might say, Yes, that s the best mountain I ve ever seen. And look, there s a stream to go swimming in. Then act out doing those things. Allow kids to act out the yes scene for a few minutes. Then have everyone sit down. Which scene was more fun to act out? Explain. (The no scene, because it was funnier; the yes scene, because we actually got to do something.) How much fun stuff did you and your partner do together in your make-believe scene? (A lot when we said yes; nothing when we said no.) Sometimes it s fun to be silly and pretend to argue, but think for a moment about what you and your friend did together in your role-play scene. In your no scene, you and your partner probably stood around, argued a lot, and didn t do many 114 KidsOwn Worship Fall Quarter (continued on page 117)

115 Preschool Activities Balaam s Donkey Talks Session 9 Worship Theme: Numbers 22:1-38 Using Theo God helps us obey him. Easy Prep for Leaders Donkeys and Angels Set out a paper lunch sack and a large coffee filter for each child, transparent tape, construction paper, scissors, yarn, and markers. Cut one pair of construction-paper donkey ears for each child. Consider using Theophilus the FaithRetriever puppet today in these ways: Have Theo lead the preschoolers from the main worship area to the preschool room. Have Theo tell the Bible story as your talking stuffed animal. See the KidsOwn Worship Kit for a puppet skit written for today s worship session. Cause My Feet to Follow When we re little, we have to obey our parents. When we obey our parents, we re obeying God. Open a Bible to Ephesians 6:1, and show it to the children. Look, it says right here, Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. Every time you obey your parents, you re obeying God! Let s take off our shoes and put them in a pile. (Pause.) Put your feet up in the air, and wiggle them at me. Let s use our feet to practice obeying God. Give instructions that the children can obey. For example, tell them to skip across the room, dance with a partner, spin around in circles, or give someone a back rub. What obedient feet you have! You were all so quick to follow my instructions! Let s take our shoes now and make a path around the room with them. Make a winding path with the shoes, spacing them to make it as long as possible. Practice the following song to the tune of Frère Jacques once or twice before traveling the path. Cause my feet To follow Jesus. Help me, Lord; help me, Lord. Cause my feet to follow; Cause my feet to follow; Help me, Lord; help me, Lord. Have the children walk the path of shoes as they sing the song once or twice more. Then have them walk the path again, pick up their shoes when they come to them, and keep walking. Gather children in a circle and have them put their shoes on. God made our hands and feet, our eyes and ears, and our voices so we can obey him. He wants us to do good things. God helps us obey him. * Donkeys and Angels There s a Bible story about a man named Balaam who had a donkey. God used the donkey and an angel to help Balaam obey. Let s make donkey puppets and angel puppets, and then you can help me tell the story. Our puppets will help us remember that God helps us obey him. Show children how to make a donkey puppet by taping two ears to the folded top edge of the bag (see illustration). Tape pieces of yarn down the back of the bag for the mane. Show children how to use markers to draw eyes and a nose Session 9 KidsOwn Worship 115

116 Preschool Activities To make an angel puppet, fold a coffee filter in half. Fold down the two sides and tape them, leaving a small opening in the top (as shown on previous page). Flip over the filter. Cut three slits in the top layer, one up the back and one on each side, stopping about half an inch from the end. Fold up the cut portions to form wings, and tape them into place. The children will put a finger through the opening at the top to be the angel s head. While children work, ask the following questions. What are some times when you have to obey? What happens when you don t obey? God will help you obey him. That s what the Bible story of Balaam and his donkey is about. * The Talking Donkey You ll need a stuffed animal and the puppets from the Donkeys and Angels activity. Have the children hold their puppets in their laps until you tell them what to do. Show children the stuffed animal. Do you have a favorite pet or stuffed animal? Tell us about it. What would you do if your favorite animal started talking to you? A talking animal would be pretty amazing, wouldn t it! I m going to pretend that my stuffed animal is telling you the Bible story today. Hold the stuffed animal and move it as if it were a puppet. One day Balaam s donkey talked to him! It s true! Put your donkey puppet on, and be ready to help me. God s people, the Israelites, had escaped from Egypt where they d been slaves. Now they were on their way to the Promised Land, and they were camping by the banks of the Jordan River. Balak was the king of the land where the Israelites camped. King Balak saw how many Israelites there were, and he became very afraid. He thought the Israelites were going to take away his land so that he wouldn t be the king anymore. King Balak sent a message to a man named Balaam who lived by the river. King Balak wanted Balaam to put a curse on the Israelites so that bad things would happen to them. Then they wouldn t be able to take the king s land. Before Balaam would agree to put a curse on God s people, he decided to talk to God about what he should do. What do you think God said to Balaam? God told Balaam not to put a curse on the Israelites because the Israelites were blessed. Good things were to happen to them. When the king found out that Balaam wouldn t do what he asked, he asked Balaam to come and see him. He wanted to change Balaam s mind, and he planned to offer him a reward. God told Balaam that he could go visit the king, but that he could only say what God told him to say. So Balaam hopped on his donkey to go see the king. Make your donkey go walking as if it were Balaam s donkey. Can you make some clipclopping sounds? Good job! Put your donkey in your lap now, and pet him so he ll be quiet. God was angry with Balaam. God knew that the attitude of Balaam s heart wasn t right. Pop your donkey puppet up, and say, Oh no! Then pet him again so he ll be quiet. It was very important to God that Balaam obey him. So God sent an angel to block the donkey s path. Put on your angel puppet and have it block the path as your donkey travels along the road. (Pause.) The donkey obeyed the angel and stopped. Make your donkey walk now stop! Good donkeys! But Balaam kept trying to go on. He couldn t see the angel. Make your donkey walk again, and have your angel block its path. (Pause.) Three times this happened. Balaam got so mad he started to hit his donkey. Pet your donkey softly, and say, Poor old donkey! You re much nicer than Balaam! Then it happened! God made the donkey talk to Balaam! Make your donkey talk and say, Obey God, Balaam! Suddenly Balaam could see the angel! Now he knew what God wanted he was ready to obey God with his whole heart. Why did God make the donkey talk to Balaam? How does God help us obey him? God went to a lot of trouble to help Balaam obey! He made his donkey talk! That s how much God cares about us. He cares about you, too! God gave you your parents and teachers to help you learn to obey him. When you go home today, hug your favorite pet or stuffed animal, and tell God thank you for helping you obey. 116 KidsOwn Worship Fall Quarter

117 (continued from page 114) things. In your yes scene, you probably did lots of stuff you might have climbed a mountain, gone swimming, or traveled to another planet! How is this game like obeying God? (We can do more cool things when we obey God; if we disobey, all we do is stand around arguing.) What can you do when you don t want to obey God? (Nothing; ask God for a different assignment.) What are some good things about obeying God? (We can serve him with excellence; it makes God happy; God might have us do cool things; God helps us.) The more we say yes to God and obey him, the better our lives become. And the best part of it is, God helps us obey him! God doesn t expect us to do it on our own. So the next time you feel grumpy and find yourself arguing with everyone, ask God to help you start saying yes instead of no. He ll say yes! Multiple Choices Have kids find new partners. Pass out three index cards and a marker to each pair. Tell partners to write a large letter A on one index card, a B on the next, and a C on the third card. I ll tell you a Bible story about a man named Balaam (BAY-lum) and his donkey. Listen carefully because it s a multiple-choice story. You and your partner must guess which things really happened and then hold up the card that is your answer. Balaam was a man who often: (A) led his army into battle; (B) tried to tell the future; (C) beat his slaves if they were disobedient. Decide with your partner which is the correct answer, and hold up that card. Pause; repeat the choices if necessary. If you guessed B (tried to tell the future), you were right. Shake hands with your partner. Balak, the king of Moab, was afraid of the Israelites because he thought they were going to invade his land and steal his kingdom. He asked Balaam to: (A) tell the Israelites to leave them alone; (B) put a curse on the Israelites to frighten them away; (C) move out of the area and take the Israelites with him. Allow time for discussion. If you chose B, you re right! Pat yourself on the back. But Balaam wouldn t do it. He couldn t curse the Israelites. God told him that the Israelites were blessed people. The king wanted to change Balaam s mind so he invited Balaam to the palace. He planned to offer Balaam a big reward to put a curse on the Israelites. God told Balaam he could visit the king, but God warned Balaam to say only what God told him to say. The Session 9 KidsOwn Worship 117

118 next day Balaam: (A) rode the nearest camel; (B) took a taxi; (C) hopped on his donkey to go see the king. Allow time for discussion. C is correct! But God was angry with Balaam. God knew that Balaam s heart wasn t right. It was important to God that Balaam obey wholeheartedly, so three times God: (A) sent an angel to block the donkey s path; (B) sent an earthquake to make Balaam stop; (C) struck Balaam with a bolt of lightning. Allow time for discussion. A is the right answer. But Balaam kept trying to go on. He couldn t see the angel, so he didn t understand why his donkey kept stopping. He beat his donkey to make her move. Finally God: (A) made the donkey speak to Balaam; (B) spoke to Balaam through the angel; (C) made Balaam fall off the donkey. Allow time for discussion. It s amazing, but God made the donkey talk to Balaam! Suddenly Balaam could see the angel. Now he knew for sure what God wanted he was ready to obey God with his whole heart. Why did God make the donkey talk to Balaam? (To get Balaam s attention; because Balaam wasn t doing what God wanted him to do.) What does this teach us about how God feels about obedience? (It s important to God; we need to obey God; God will help us obey however he needs to.) God went to a lot of effort to encourage Balaam to obey! God sent an angel to stop Balaam, and God made the donkey talk to get his attention! God cares so much about obedience that he s willing to do whatever it takes to help us. He gives us Scripture, our consciences, our parents and teachers, and the Holy Spirit, among other things. God helps us obey him. If you got all your answers right, stand up, and take a bow! Collect the cards and markers. Let s Pray! The Offering God cares about everything we do. Because he cares, we can trust him to help us obey him, just as he helped Balaam obey. While we give our gifts to God today, we re going to listen to the song He Cares for You. While you re listening, think about how good it is to have a God who cares for us and helps us obey him, and thank him for that. Have volunteers take the offering. Play He Cares for You (1 Peter 5:7). Track KidsOwn Worship Fall Quarter

119 Moving Praise Sculptures Form groups of four or five children. Let s praise God for helping us obey him. You and your group are going to make a moving praise sculpture. Your materials are your bodies and voices! You ll be something like a music box that I ll turn on and off to praise God. Here s how to do it. Each person will think up a different praise motion and praise statement to make. You can sing, talk, dance, or jump up and down. Be as creative as you can be. A praise statement could be I love you, Lord or Thank you for helping us, Jesus. When I come to your group, I ll turn your praise sculpture on by tapping one of you on the shoulder. Then you all begin your movements and saying your praises together over and over until I stop you. When I turn you off, freeze in place. Give children time to make up a different action and statement for each person in their group. If they need help, prompt them with ideas such as touching their toes and leaping up with praise or spinning around while praising God. Encourage children to choose a movement that uses their entire body. When everyone is ready, circulate among the groups and turn them on and then off, one at a time. Last of all, turn all the moving praise sculptures on at the same time to praise God together! We just worshipped God in a fun way. God deserves our worship because he helps us obey him. You can worship God any time of the day or night, any way you want. God loves your praises! Pray My Whole Heart Let s sing Love the Lord as our closing prayer. Think about the ways you ll obey God this week; then ask him for his help as you sing. Remember he cares for you and wants to help you. Sing Love the Lord (Deuteronomy 6:4-9). Lyrics are in the back of this book. Thank you, God, for your love. You are always there, ready to help us. For that we praise you and thank you. Help us to make you happy this week as we try to do all that is right and good. We love you, Lord. In Jesus name, amen. Track 16 Session 9 KidsOwn Worship 119

120 Session 10 Joshua Becomes Leader of Israel Joshua 1:1-11 Worship Theme: God encourages us. Weaving Faith Into Life: Children will turn to God for encouragement and praise him for the encouragement he gives. Session Sequence What Children Will Do Supplies Let s Praise God! (up to 25 minutes) Sing His Great Love (Romans 5:8) (track 9) Wherever You Go (Joshua 1:9) (track 3) Praise the Lord (Psalm 150:6) (track 5) Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah (track 11) My God Is (track 7) No Greater Gift (track 10) Take My Life and Let It Be (track 12) KidsOwn Worship Kit: Songs From FaithWeaver CD player, Bible Preschool Session Sequence What Children Will Do Supplies Let s Learn the Point! (up to 25 minutes) Hug-o-War Race against time to give encouraging hugs. You Can Do It! Complete difficult tasks, and tell each other You can do it! just as God said to Joshua. * Colorful Encouragement Watch how encouraging words make a pan of milk beautiful. Timer Cake pan, 2 percent milk, 3 squeeze bottles of food coloring, liquid dish soap 120 KidsOwn Worship Fall Quarter

121 Elementary Session Sequence What Children Will Do Supplies Let s Learn the Point! (up to 25 minutes) * Winning Encouragement Compete by thinking of encouraging things to say. Shopping With God Shop for the right encouragement for specific problems. * Learning to Encourage Read Joshua 1:1-11, and give someone encouragement. Chalkboard or whiteboard Bibles, 1 copy of God Encourages Us handout (at the end of this session) per child, card stock, scissors, marker, 10 bags with store names Bibles Session Sequence What Children Will Do Supplies Let s Pray! (up to 10 minutes) The Offering Receive a promise from God, and offer their gifts. Wherever You Go Pray as they place cords on poster board, and watch God s encouragement make a beautiful picture. Praise Concert Offer God a concert of praise. Offering bowls, copies of God Encourages Us handout (at the end of this session), scissors, basket KidsOwn Worship Kit: Tie-Dye Cords Bible, poster board, scissors, spray bottle, water, black plastic * Starred activities can be used successfully with preschool and elementary children together. Customize your session to fit your needs. You can separate preschoolers and elementary children for Section 2. Or, if you keep the children all together for the entire worship session, we suggest you choose from the starred activities. Session 10 KidsOwn Worship 121

122 Bible Background for Leaders Joshua Becomes Leader of Israel Joshua 1:1-11 As we begin this passage, Moses had died and Joshua had taken over the leadership of the Israelites, as had been arranged in advance (Deuteronomy 31:1-8). Verse 5 tells us that God was going to be with Joshua in the same way he had been with Moses, so we can assume that God s communication with both men was in some way similar. This message from God must have been reassuring to Joshua and the Israelites Joshua was the right person for the job and God would use him to lead the Israelites as he had used Moses. The question may arise: Why was it OK for the Israelites to kill other people and take away their land? This is a complicated question. However, one point seems apparent: God was using Israel to judge the immoral people who lived in the land at the time. Just as Israel was later defeated and their land taken away because of sin, so God was using Israel as an instrument of punishment, taking away the land of the Canaanites because of their sin. In this passage God gave Joshua a command of encouragement ( be strong and courageous ), a condition for success ( obey all the law my servant Moses gave you ), and a promise of his presence ( the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go ). God had a plan for Israel, and Joshua was the instrument through which he was going to accomplish that plan. What more could Joshua ask for? All he had to do was to follow what God laid out for him, and God would be there to assure success. However unsure or discouraged Joshua might have been at the death of Moses, this visit from God rejuvenated him. The first thing recorded after God s message to him is Joshua s ordering the leaders to get the people ready to cross the Jordan. The Israelites were ready to move into the Promised Land, and God was going to give them the land. Devotion for Leaders When we commit our lives to Christ, we give our lives to Jesus and he uses us to accomplish his mission. Weaving Faith Into Your Life: Our plans and God s plans don t always match. In today s culture of seizing the day, it s easy to slip into a mentality of entitlement: I m a good person, and I deserve to be happy. I deserve to be successful. I deserve to be comfortable. The truth is, we deserve death and serious consequences for our sin. But God doesn t give us what we deserve. Christians surrender their lives to God s service because of what God has given us and what he has to offer through us. How has this message gotten lost or distorted in your life? What is keeping you from truly surrendering your life for the sake of others? Make a list of people and situations that need your greater service. Go through the list, and serve in these areas this week. 122 KidsOwn Worship Fall Quarter

123 Why We Worship for Leaders Imagine having to take the place of someone like Moses! God gave that job to Joshua. The Bible doesn t say Joshua felt overwhelmed or scared, but chances are good that he did because God showered encouragement on him! God s words to Joshua have echoed down through the ages, from generation to generation of people who seek to love God and do his will. Use this session to teach children that we worship a God who lavishes his encouragement on his children. He sees us through scary times, times we have big tasks to do, and times we re unsure of ourselves. His confidence in us gives us the courage we need to move ahead with his plans for our lives, just as it did for Joshua. This is reason to worship! Easy Prep for Leaders Winning Encouragement Make sure a chalkboard or whiteboard is set up in the elementary meeting area. Shopping With God Make photocopies of the God Encourages Us handout at the end of this session, one per child. For additional worship songs each week, check out the Sing & Praise DVD included with your KidsOwn Worship kit! Use a marker to write each of the handout questions on a separate piece of card stock. Write the corresponding Scripture reference on the back of each. Place the cards in shopping bags that have a store name, one card per bag. Put the shopping bags around your elementary meeting area. Put the bag with the question Do you have doubts and fears? in an easily accessible place. The Offering Make additional copies of the God Encourages Us handout, and cut apart the individual promises so that you have one promise per child. Fold each promise in half, and put all the promises in a basket near the offering bowl. Wherever You Go Cut the Tie-Dye Cords into pieces so that every child can have one small piece of the cord. Preschool Activities Refer to the preschool pages for preparations. Let s Praise God! Play Songs From FaithWeaver, Fall 2015 as children arrive. Designate greeters to welcome children by name at the entrance to the room. Have greeters encourage each child with words such as God loves you! or You re awesome! or I m glad you came today. Tell greeters to think of something someone could say to them that would make them feel good. When everyone has arrived and been encouraged, begin worship. Welcome to children s church, everyone! I m so glad you re here today. God loves you and wants to encourage you today. Session 10 KidsOwn Worship 123

124 Did you know that God has special plans for your life? Did you know that he thinks about you all the time? Did you know he goes with you wherever you go? He does! Let s stand and be encouraged by his love today as we sing our first song. Sing His Great Love (Romans 5:8). Lyrics are in the back of this book. I m so glad God s love reaches out to us. That encourages me! Today we re worshipping God because he encourages us. What does it mean to encourage someone? (To make someone feel better; to give someone confidence; to give them courage.) When we encourage people, we give them courage, hope, or confidence. After Moses died, God told Moses helper, a young man named Joshua, that he was to be the new leader. Imagine taking the place of someone like Moses Moses, who led the Israelites out of Egypt, through the Red Sea, and across the desert! Imagine if you suddenly had to be pastor of our church! How do you think Joshua felt? (Scared; nervous; intimidated.) Joshua probably felt scared because the job was so big. He probably wondered how he could ever lead the Israelites as well as Moses did. Let s hear how God encouraged Joshua. Have one volunteer read Joshua 1:2-3 and have another volunteer read Joshua 1:5-7 from an easy-to-understand version of the Bible. Those are strong and encouraging words God spoke to Joshua. God s words and actions gave Joshua confidence and courage. God does the same thing for us. That s why we have the Bible, which has his words to us. As we sing our next song, let God s encouraging words to Joshua encourage you. Sing Wherever You Go (Joshua 1:9). Lyrics are in the back of this book. God is so good to us! Even though he s the King of kings and creator of the universe, he s never too busy to encourage us. Let s praise him for that. Sing Praise the Lord (Psalm 150:6). Lyrics are in the back of this book. Track 9 Track 3 Track 5 God has a purpose for each us, just as he had a purpose for Joshua. And you don t have to wait until you re grown up. God has things for you to do right now loving others, doing well in school, and obeying your parents, for example. Sometimes it s very hard to love others or obey our parents or do our homework every night. God wants to help you and encourage you when those things seem too hard to do. God is on our side to guide and encourage us today the way he did for Joshua long ago. Let s sing a song about how God guides us. 124 KidsOwn Worship Fall Quarter

125 Sing Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah. Lyrics are in the back of this book. Those are great words! It s good to know that God is mighty and that he will be our strength and shield. God encourages us with his words, whether we read them in the Bible or sing them in songs. What are other ways that God encourages us? (Gives us friends who encourage us; he gives us strength.) God uses people to encourage us, too. Track 11 for two volunteers to stand with you. Think up two scenarios for each, something the kids in your group can relate to. Give them fictitious names, and introduce them and their situations to the group. For example, you might say, This is Stephen. He has to give a report in school in front of the whole class. He doesn t think he can write it, much less stand up in front of everyone and say it. Or, This is Cara. Her parents are divorced. After living with her mother for three years, Cara is going to live with her father in a different city. She knows both her parents love her, but she s scared about the move. How do you think God would encourage these two? (He d give Cara new friends when she moves; Stephen s teacher would encourage him before he presented his report.) How could you encourage them if they were your friends? (I d give Cara a hug; I d tell Stephen how great I know he d do.) Worship Leader Tip Include preschoolers in the example of giving courage. Have one of the scenarios be a preschool scenario, such as starting kindergarten. Then talk about what would make that child feel better about something big like that. What are some ways you ve been encouraged? (Someone sent me an encouraging card once; my parents always tell me how proud they are of me.) What are some ways you ve encouraged others? (I give my friends hugs; I tell my family I love them.) God often encourages us through other people. This week look for ways to encourage someone. You ll be doing God s work encouraging people! Let s stand and worship God for being our creator, master, and the friend who always encourages us! Sing My God Is. Lyrics are in the back of this book. Track 7 It s good to know that we don t have to be perfect to please God. Jesus is the perfect one. That s why he s our Savior. And that s why he s a wonderful friend. God knows when we do something, and he knows when we fail. He knows when we re good and when we re not. In spite of all he knows about us, he keeps loving us. Let s thank God for the gift of his great love. Sing No Greater Gift. Lyrics are in the back of this book. Track 10 Session 10 KidsOwn Worship 125

126 Let s say yes to God as Joshua did. Let s live our lives for God. He ll encourage us every step of the way! As we worship God with our last song, give your life to him the way the song says to do. He ll encourage you and use you to do great things for him! Pray Sing Take My Life and Let It Be. Lyrics are in the back of this book. Lord, thank you for loving us so much. Thank you because you know everything we do and you want to encourage us. Help us to live our lives for you and to love others the way you love us. Thank you for your encouragement today. In Jesus name, amen. Let s Learn the Point! Track 12 Preschool Activities, pages At this time, have the preschool leader invite the preschoolers to go to their own room for this section of activities. Tear out the Preschool Activities page, and give it to the preschool leader. Have the preschool leader bring the preschoolers back to participate in Let s Pray! with the older children. If you prefer to keep all the children together, do the starred (*) activities. They will work well with both elementary and preschool children. Elementary Activities * Winning Encouragement Have the children form two teams, and have the teams sit on opposite sides of the room. Make sure everyone can see the chalkboard. We re going to have an encouragement challenge! Think of something encouraging to say, such as You re awesome! or Be strong! or You can do it. When it s your team s turn, the first person to stand gets to say something encouraging. The other team will decide if what you said really is encouraging or not. If it is, I ll draw one stair step beginning in the lower corner of the chalkboard. Draw one step as an example. You can say things that mean the same as something someone else said, but you must use different words each time. If two people stand at the same time, I ll quickly pick one of you. 126 KidsOwn Worship Fall Quarter Erase the first stair step you drew for demonstration purposes. As each team says an encouraging statement, draw a stair step, starting in the lower corners of the board (one corner for each team) and moving toward the upper center. You ll need to estimate the size of the stairs based on one stair per child. If you have a large group or limited time, base your estimate on the number of representative statements you will accept.

127 While kids give their encouraging statements, quickly write down as many of the words as you can within the stair steps. (See the diagram.) When the stairs both reach the top center of the board, draw a line to join them, and a little stick figure standing on the top. Look how many encouraging things you thought of to say! We are reminded in 1 Thessalonians 5:11 to encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing. I feel encouraged just by reading all these words. By offering these encouragements, you were able to build something solid for our little guy to stand on. And you re all winners, because now you know lots of ways you can give encouragement to others. Why do you think the Bible asks us to encourage each other? (Because sometimes we feel down; we need help to stand up for God.) When have you needed encouragement? (When something bad has happened to me; when someone made me feel bad.) Who can you encourage? (Everyone; my friends; my brother and sister; my parents.) Who can you turn to for encouragement? (My friends; my family; you.) Sometimes it s hard to find a person who is willing to build us up. But being an encourager is part of God s nature. God is always ready to help us feel strong and courageous. Let s look at some ways God offers encouragement through his Word. Shopping With God How many of you like to go shopping when you have money to spend? Most of us do! If you want a toy, you go to a toy store. If you need clothes, you go to a clothing store. God s Word is like that. It s like a giant mall full of great places that contain hundreds of promises for us. When you need encouragement in your life, you can shop for God s message to you. There are shopping bags all around the room. In each one is a message from God for someone in a particular situation. Shop around, and find a situation that describes you or someone you know about. When you find your situation, sit down by that bag. More than one person may be shopping for the same message, and that s OK. Let s say you ve been struggling with doubts and fears. Anybody here ever feel that way? Let s shop around and see what God has for us. Walk to the bag containing that question. Show the question; then show the side that says Isaiah 41:10. Open the Bible to the verse, and have a child read it aloud. That s a great word of encouragement when you re afraid or doubting! Now let s go shopping! Session 10 KidsOwn Worship 127

128 Give the kids three minutes to choose shopping bags. If some are having trouble deciding which situation fits them or someone they know, they can choose to be window shoppers and sit in the center of the room. At the end of three minutes, give each group a Bible, and let each group share the situation and the verse with the whole group. How is looking for encouragement in God s Word like shopping at the mall? (We have to look for it like we have to look for what we want to buy; it s exciting to find encouragement like it s exciting to find new clothes.) How is it different? (We don t have to pay for encouragement; we don t have to go anywhere to find encouragement, just look in our Bibles.) Every word of the Bible is true, and we don t pick and choose which parts we want to believe. But when you need special encouragement, you can go to God s Word and shop around until you find just what you need to hear. Then do what his Word says. If it says to pray, pray. If it says to believe, believe. If it tells you to have courage, then have courage. God s Word is better than the mall it has everything you need, it s never closed, and best of all, everything s free! You can shop till you drop! Give copies of the God Encourages Us handout to everyone who wants one. Tell kids to keep the handout in their Bibles or next to their beds for easy reference when they need encouragement. Worship Leader Tip Make sure there is at least one reader and one Bible in each group. Have extra Bibles on hand in case you need them. You can write Joshua 1:1-11 on the chalkboard if your kids don t bring Bibles to children s church. * Learning to Encourage When God told Joshua he was to be the leader of Israel after Moses, Joshua needed lots of encouragement. God knew that. Let s find out how God encouraged Joshua. Have children form discussion groups of two or three. Make sure older children are placed with younger children. If you have adults who can help lead, you can have children form groups of up to five. Have one child in each group read Joshua 1:1-11 aloud to the rest of the group. Then have them discuss these questions. How did God encourage Joshua? (God told him to be strong; God said he d be with Joshua; God said no one would be able to stand up against the Israelites.) What does this teach us about God? about us? (God is always with us; God wants to encourage us.) God encourages us just as he encouraged Joshua. Some of you here today need encouragement in your lives. I d like someone in each group who feels brave to share something you re struggling with. It might be something you re afraid of or something you re discouraged or sad about. Have the willing people share in their groups. Allow about a minute. (continued on page 131) 128 KidsOwn Worship Fall Quarter

129 Preschool Activities Joshua Becomes Leader of Israel Joshua 1:1-11 Worship Theme: Using Theo Session 10 God encourages us. Easy Prep for Leaders Colorful Encouragement Pour 2 percent milk (whole or 1 percent will not work as well) in the bottom of a jellyroll or cake pan. Set this on a table with several colors of food coloring and liquid dish soap. Consider using Theophilus the FaithRetriever puppet today in these ways: Have Theo lead the preschoolers from the main worship area to the preschool room. Have Theo set the timer for Hugo-War. See the KidsOwn Worship Kit for a puppet skit written for today s worship session. Hug-o-War Encourage is a big word that means someone makes you feel brave or strong or that you can do something hard. God gives us our parents and friends to encourage us. What are some ways your mom or dad encourages you? What are some ways you can encourage others? We can tell people we love them as God does. He tells us in the Bible again and again that he loves us. Another great way to encourage people is to give hugs. Hugs are like saying, I love you, or You re great! Let s encourage each other with God s love and hugs. Let s play a game called You Can Do It! Gather children around you on the floor. God chose Joshua to take Moses place as the leader of God s people. Joshua probably was a little worried, maybe even scared. How could he ever do all the wonderful things Moses did? What amazing things do you remember about Moses? Moses was brave, and he obeyed God. Even though Joshua might have been scared about taking Moses place, God wanted him to be strong and full of courage. God said to Joshua, You can do it! And Joshua did it! Let s do some things that might be hard for us. I m Hug-o-War. If everyone gets a hug before the timer goes off, we win the Hug-o-War! Have children stand in a line. Set the timer for enough minutes to complete the activity, depending on the size of your group. Have a child at one end begin by going down the row and giving everyone a gentle hug. When the hugger reaches the last child in line, he or she should join the line. Continue until each child has had a chance to hug everyone. As the children hug down the line, have everyone else cheer them on to be fast and to beat the timer. If you don t beat the timer the first time, set it for a little longer, and try again. What good huggers you are! We won our Hug-o-War! You encouraged each other with hugs and by cheering for each other. God encourages us, too. going to tell you three things to do. The rest of us will call out, You can do it! to cheer you on. Instruct each child to do three things. For very young preschoolers, you may want to limit the instructions to two things. If you have a large group, have two or three children follow the instructions at the same time. Have the children who are watching call out, You can do it! to encourage each doer and You did it! after each child completes the task. Here are some examples of three-part instructions. Walk to the table, pat the table, and then walk back to us. Jump to the light switch, turn off the lights, and crawl back. Crawl to the light switch, turn on the lights, and then jump back. Session 10 KidsOwn Worship 129

130 Preschool Activities Hop to the bookshelf, pick up a book, and bring it to me. Put the book on the bookshelf, knock on the door, and wave at us. Touch the wall on the other side of the room, blow kisses to the group, and then come back. What good listeners and doers you are! Was it easy or hard to follow the instructions? How did you feel when everyone cheered you on? What are some hard things you have to do at home? When we re at home, we have to obey. We have to follow our family rules. We have to do our chores. Sometimes those are hard things to do. But God says, You can do it! God encourages us. Pat your neighbor on the back, and say, You can do it! * Colorful Encouragement Gather the children around the table of supplies you prepared before the session. What are some nice things you could say to someone? When we say nice things to someone, that s called encouragement. We can say, I love you, or Do you want a hug? or You can play with my toys, or You can do it! Those things make people feel loved and special. That s how we feel when God encourages us. Think of an encouraging thing to say. When it s your turn, tell us your encouraging words, and then put a drop of food coloring into the milk. I ll start first. something encouraging, and squeeze a drop of food coloring anywhere in the pan of milk. Give each child a chance to say something encouraging and gently squeeze the bottle of food coloring to add a drop in the pan. Caution the children not to get the food coloring on their clothing. Encourage the children to put their drops of food coloring where no one else has placed a drop. It s OK if children repeat encouraging words someone else has already said. Our pan of milk looks pretty with all those nice things you said! And when God encourages us WOW! That s extra special! Here s what God says to you. He says, I love you. (Put a drop of dish soap anywhere in the pan.) And he says You can do it! (add another drop somewhere else in the pan) and I ll always be with you, (add another drop) and Don t be afraid. (Add another drop.) Watch as the colors begin to swirl and mix together. When God encourages us, we feel special, just like our pan of milk looks really special. Let s clap and thank God for all the special ways he encourages us. Thank you, God. 130 KidsOwn Worship Fall Quarter

131 (continued from page 128) Thank you, sharers. Let s think of ways to encourage the sharer so your group can shower that person with encouragement the way God showered Joshua. You might say, God loves you and will help you, or You re awesome and brave, and you can do it, or Don t be afraid; be strong and courageous. Have the kids shower the sharer with encouragement. How did it feel to hear all the encouraging words being said? (Great; it made me feel better.) How did it feel to do the encouraging? (I liked encouraging someone; it was hard to think of things to say.) After God encouraged Joshua, Joshua went out and did everything God told him to do. God s encouragement gives us confidence and the courage we need to move ahead with his plans for us. So when we re discouraged, let s remind each other that God encourages us. Let s Pray! The Offering Today we talked about how God encourages us. When you come up to the offering bowl today, take one of the pieces of paper from the basket. Each has a word of encouragement from God for you. Then you can place your offering in the bowl if you brought one. Take the offering. Wherever You Go Lay a large piece of white poster board in the center of the children. Put plenty of black plastic or newspapers under the poster board the dye from the Tie-Dye Cords will stain carpets and clothing. Hand out a piece of Tie-Dye Cord to each child. Close your eyes for a moment, and think about an area of your life where you need encouragement. Maybe there s something scary you have to do. Maybe you have a big job to accomplish and you re not sure you can do it. Maybe you feel discouraged because things aren t going well in your life right now. Or maybe you or someone you love needs help and you don t know what to do. (Pause.) Now listen to these words that God says to you. Read Joshua 1:9 aloud. Let s take turns placing our pieces of cord on this poster board. As you put your cord on the poster, say a one-word prayer that represents your area of need. For example, you might say, family or friends or school. After each person says his or her word, the rest of us will answer, The Lord your God will be with you wherever you go. Give every child a chance to pray and put a piece of cord on the poster. Session 10 KidsOwn Worship 131

132 Extra Impact Kids love to pretend to be superheroes! Try this Instant Hero activity for extra impact. Have kids make name tags indicating which superheroes they are. Give kids supplies to make capes and other equipment superheroes need. Then talk about the courage superheroes need and compare it to how God gives us courage to make a difference. Pray Sometimes we have troubles and worries in our lives. But God wants to encourage us. He showers us with encouragement just as he showered Joshua with encouraging words. Wonderful things happen when God encourages us. He says, I love you. Spray a few squirts of water over the cords on the poster. He says, You can do it! (spray again), I ll always be with you, (spray again) and Don t be afraid. (Spray again.) What do you notice happening as the showers of encouragement rain down on the cords? (The poster is changing colors; it s making a pretty design; it s bringing the color out of the cords and onto the poster.) What can God s encouragement bring out of you? (Love; strength; courage.) Just as the water releases color from the cords to make a beautiful design, God s encouragement releases strength, confidence, and courage from us. Quickly spray a few squirts of water over the kids. God wants to shower you with encouragement today! Lord God, you are the source of all encouragement. We put our hopes in you and ask you to make our lives beautiful creations of your design. In Jesus name, amen. Remove the bits of cord from the poster and throw them away, being careful that dye drips don t land on clothing or carpet. Allow the poster to dry before hanging it up. Praise Concert Have children form small groups. Have each group decide on someone to be the conductor. Let s praise God in a fun way and thank him for encouraging us. Think of something to say to praise God. You can thank him, praise him for what he s done or for who he is, or you can simply tell him you love him. When the conductor in your group points to you, begin praising God or thanking him. Don t stop until the conductor gives you the stop signal. Show the conductors this signal, which is to circle their hands in the air while closing their hands into fists. When you get the stop signal, stop praising God immediately, even if it s in the middle of a word or sentence. Then the conductor will point to someone else. When the conductor points to you again, begin right where you left off, even if it s in the middle of a word or sentence. Conductors, you can point to one person, or even two or three at the same time, or the whole group. This means many people will be talking and praising God at the same time. Remember to watch for the signal to stop and start. Let s warm up our praises now before we begin our concert. 132 KidsOwn Worship Fall Quarter

133 Have the groups practice for a minute; then stop and offer assistance and encouragement to any groups who seem shy or unsure about what to do. That was a good warm-up. Now we re ready to begin our praise concert to thank God for encouraging us. We ll all be praising God at the same time but with different words! Don t listen to others, just think about what you re saying to God. Have children perform the concert of praise for a few minutes. If you have time, give several children a chance to be conductors. Pray Thank you, Lord, for loving us and encouraging us. We praise you today and thank you for being the God of encouragement. Help us to encourage others as we learn to be more like you. We love you. In Jesus name, amen. Session 10 KidsOwn Worship 133

134 God Encourages Us Do you have doubts and fears? So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand (Isaiah 41:10). Are you lonely? Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you (Hebrews 13:5b). Are you unhappy? Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength (Nehemiah 8:10c). Are you sad about something? I, even I, am he who comforts you (Isaiah 51:12a). Do you need protection? I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go (Genesis 28:15a). Do you need peace of mind? And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:7). Is sickness a problem? I am the Lord, who heals you (Exodus 15:26b). What about your friends? He who walks with the wise grows wise, but a companion of fools suffers harm (Proverbs 13:20). Do you often feel insecure? I can do everything through him who gives me strength (Philippians 4:13). Are you often tempted? In all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us (Romans 8:37). Permission to photocopy this handout from KidsOwn Worship Leader Guide, Fall, granted for local church use. Copyright Group Publishing, Inc. group.com 134 KidsOwn Worship Fall Quarter OK to copy

135 Encouragement for Leaders Dear God, thank you for placing each of these children in my life and in my class. Teach me to love these children as you do and to see them as you see them. In Jesus name, amen. From Heartfelt Thanks for Sunday School Teachers. Copyright 2003 Group Publishing, Inc., Loveland, CO.

136 Session 11 Joshua Sends Spies to Jericho Joshua 2:1-24 Worship Theme: Our faithfulness honors God. Weaving Faith Into Life: Children will show their faithfulness to God as they worship and honor the Lord. Session Sequence What Children Will Do Supplies Let s Praise God! (up to 25 minutes) Sing Faith (Hebrews 11:1) (track 1) Wherever You Go (Joshua 1:9) (track 3) My God Is (track 7) Praise Him (track 19) Trust and Obey (track 8) To God Be the Glory (track 18) Love the Lord (Deuteronomy 6:4-9) (track 16) KidsOwn Worship Kit: Songs From FaithWeaver CD player, clear container, rocks, sand, water, blanket Preschool Session Sequence What Children Will Do Supplies Let s Learn the Point! (up to 25 minutes) * Faithful Actions Practice showing faithfulness to God by serving others. Faithful Rahab Make reversible puppets, and dramatize the Bible story. I Spy Faithfulness Be affirmed for ways they are faithful. Cleaning supplies, snack supplies (see activity), hand wipes Bible; knife; markers; 1 plastic foam cup, 1 craft stick, and 6 inches red yarn per child Paper plate, craft stick, tape, scissors 136 KidsOwn Worship Fall Quarter

137 Elementary Session Sequence What Children Will Do Supplies Let s Learn the Point! (up to 25 minutes) * Human Tic-Tac-Toe Look for faithful actions in their lives as they play Tic-Tac-Toe. * Lasting Faithfulness Discuss faithfulness, and pledge lasting faithfulness. Our Wall in the Hall of Faith Discuss faithfulness in the Bible story, and add their names to a wall of faith. Masking tape, paper, pen, hat KidsOwn Worship Kit: Ink Pad Poster board, marker, hand wipes KidsOwn Worship Kit: Songs From FaithWeaver: Faith (Hebrews 11:1) (track 1) Bible, newsprint, markers, tape, CD player Session Sequence What Children Will Do Supplies Let s Pray! (up to 10 minutes) The Offering Offer their gifts to God. Pantomime Praise Praise God in pantomime. Object Prayers Use common objects to pray for God s help in being faithful. Offering bowls KidsOwn Worship Kit: Songs From FaithWeaver: Trust and Obey (track 8) CD player Various household objects (see Easy Prep) * Starred activities can be used successfully with preschool and elementary children together. Customize your session to fit your needs. You can separate preschoolers and elementary children for Section 2. Or, if you keep the children all together for the entire worship session, we suggest you choose from the starred activities. Session 11 KidsOwn Worship 137

138 Bible Background for Leaders Joshua Sends Spies to Jericho Joshua 2:1-24 As Joshua prepared to send spies into the Promised Land, no doubt he remembered the fiasco of 40 years earlier when Moses sent a large group of spies into the land. This time Joshua sent only two and gave them a very specific mission: Investigate Jericho. He sent them secretly, not wanting the Canaanites to know what they were doing and probably also to protect the Israelites from the distressful result of the first spy mission. It may seem suspicious that the first place the spies went was to the home of a prostitute. However, it s likely that this was a place where gossip would abound. In addition, the word most often translated prostitute can just as accurately be translated innkeeper. Either way, it was a place where the spies were able to hear and gauge how the people of Jericho felt about the Israelites who were camped just across the Jordan River. Rahab, though she lied about hiding the spies in her house, had apparently become a believer in God through what she had heard about the Israelites experiences and conquests. She hid the men at great personal risk. She was commended for her strong faith in Hebrews 11:31. Note that God did not commend her for lying, but for acting in faith and hiding the spies. God blessed her for that faith. The end of this story lies beyond the scope of today s passage. During the victory over Jericho, Rahab and her family were indeed spared from death (Joshua 6:17). Moreover, the New Testament attests to her faithfulness and includes her in the line of King David and of Jesus (Matthew 1:5)! Devotion for Leaders A relationship with Jesus can give us confidence that miraculous things will happen. Remember, the Lord of the universe wants to guide and direct your life! Weaving Faith Into Your Life: Where would you be without Jesus in your life? Take a few moments to jot down the answer to that question. What miracles has God performed to bring you to the place where you are today? How did those miracles come about? What people were involved? What were the circumstances? Did you realize a miracle was taking place at the time? Rest in the truth that you have the same opportunities to be used in God s miracles in the lives of others. 138 KidsOwn Worship Fall Quarter

139 Why We Worship for Leaders God is faithful in all that he does. He is always trustworthy, always loyal, always loving. God never fails us. As his children, God calls us to be like him. Though that s an impossible task for us, God sent his Son, Jesus, to make it possible. He s here to help us in our weakest moments, love us when we fail, and encourage us to try again. He gives us opportunities in everyday life to be faithful in the little things, so that he can trust us with the big things. As the psalmist wrote, To the faithful you show yourself faithful (Psalm 18:25a). Let s honor God with our faithfulness today because he is eternally faithful. That s why we worship! Easy Prep for Leaders Let s Praise God! Set out a large clear container, enough fist-size rocks to fill the container, enough sand in a bowl or bucket to fill the container around the rocks, and a pitcher of water. Drape a blanket or tablecloth over a table, and hide the demonstration items underneath the table. For additional worship songs each week, check out the Sing & Praise DVD included with your KidsOwn Worship kit! Human Tic-Tac-Toe Use masking tape to make two Tic-Tac-Toe grids, with nine squares each, on the floor. Write the words home, school, and church on small pieces of paper, one word per paper. You ll need several papers for each word. Fold the papers in half, and put them in a hat or basket. Lasting Faithfulness Fold a large poster board in half, like a greeting card. Draw a large heart inside the card, and write GOD inside the heart. Our Wall in the Hall of Faith Tape a large piece of newsprint on a wall. Set markers on the floor below the newsprint. Object Prayers Collect common household items such as a book, a pen or pencil, a pillow, a toothbrush, a photograph, and a Bible. Be sure to include items that both genders would use. Preschool Activities Refer to the preschool pages for preparations. Let s Praise God! Play Songs From FaithWeaver, Fall 2015 as children arrive. Designate greeters to welcome children at the entrance to the room. Have the greeters shake hands with the children and greet each one by name. When everyone has arrived, have children sit down. Hello, everyone! Welcome! We re here to worship God today because he is good and loves us very much. Session 11 KidsOwn Worship 139

140 If you could create a perfect person to be your friend, what would that person be like? (Always listening; ready to help me when I need it; that person would always want to be with me.) Worship Leader Tip Let preschoolers add the rocks, sand, and water during your demonstration. They ll feel privileged to give you a hand, and it s a great way to include young children in this worship session! 140 KidsOwn Worship Fall Quarter If you knew that friend would always want to be with you and would never lie or be mean to you, would you want to be around that person a lot? Why? (That kind of person would be a lot of fun; we d be best friends.) I have good news for you! God has given us that perfect person and that person is in this room right now it s Jesus! He s here to be a perfect friend and Savior to us. Do you ever wish you could see Jesus and talk to him in person? We all wish for that. But until heaven, we have to walk by faith. Jesus said, For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them. That means here and now! Let s sing about having faith. Sing Faith (Hebrews 11:1). Lyrics are in the back of this book. God will never leave you or fail you. That means God is faithful. When we trust God, we re being faithful, too. Our faithfulness honors God. Maybe there are hard things going on in your life right now. Maybe you re wondering if God is really there or if he really cares about you. When you choose to be faithful anyway, you honor God. As we sing our next song, ask God to help you be faithful to him. Sing Wherever You Go (Joshua 1:9). Lyrics are in the back of this book. Set the empty, clear container and the fist-size rocks on the table. Tell me some ways God shows his faithfulness to us. Add a rock to the container for each thing children mention until it s full. Is this container full? (Yes, you can t get anything else in there; no, you can fit more around the sides.) It looks full to me! But there are still more ways God is faithful and good to us. Pour sand over the rocks, and shake it down into the spaces between the rocks as you mention more ways God is faithful. Is the container full now? (Yes, you can t get anything else in there; no, you can still put water in.) Track 1 Track 3 It certainly looks full. But it still isn t! God s faithfulness goes on and on. Mention a few more ways God shows his faithfulness while you pour water into the container until it s full to the brim. What does this demonstration say to us about God? (God is more faithful than we can expect; God fills us with his love and power.) God is more faith-full than we realize! He s always bigger and better than we think. Let s be faithful to a God like that! Our faithfulness honors God. Let s worship him by singing My God Is.

141 Sing My God Is. Lyrics are in the back of this book. We re here to honor and praise God. When you worship and praise him, no matter how you re feeling, you are being faithful to God. What are some other ways you show faithfulness? (By showing God s love to others; by following God no matter what; by obeying God.) When you love others, or believe in God even when things don t go your way, or do your homework or chores when you haven t been told, you re being faithful. Our faithfulness honors God. One way we can be faithful to God is by praising him. As we sing, let s choose to be faithful to God. Sing Praise Him. Lyrics are in the back of this book. Track 7 Track 19 Another way we show God our faithfulness is by obeying him. Faithfulness means doing the right thing no matter how you feel. When have you obeyed God even though you didn t want to? Explain. (When I obey my parents, even if I don t want to, I m obeying God; when I tell someone about him, even if it makes me nervous, I m obeying God.) What good things happened because you obeyed God? (My friend started coming to church; my parents let me have an extra scoop of ice cream when I helped clean up after supper.) Let s ask God to help us be faithful as we sing Trust and Obey. Sing Trust and Obey. Lyrics are in the back of this book. Every week when you come to children s church, you are being faithful. We meet at church so we can worship God for who he is and what he has done for us. Let s thank God for his faithfulness with our next song. Sing To God Be the Glory. Lyrics are in the back of this book. Track 8 Track 18 The best way to honor God with our faithfulness is to make him number one in our lives. We need to make sure that no person or thing is higher or more important than God in our lives. That kind of faithfulness brings honor and glory to God. Sing Love the Lord (Deuteronomy 6:4-9). Lyrics are in the back of this book. Track 16 Session 11 KidsOwn Worship 141

142 Pray Dear God, thank you for your faithfulness to us. We ask you to help us be faithful, especially when we don t feel like it. Help us to love and encourage one another. Help us to honor you by being faithful. In Jesus name, amen. Let s Learn the Point! Preschool Activities, pages At this time, have the preschool leader invite the preschoolers to go to their own room for this section of activities. Tear out the Preschool Activities page, and give it to the preschool leader. Have the preschool leader bring the preschoolers back to participate in Let s Pray! with the older children. If you prefer to keep all the children together, do the starred (*) activities. They will work well with both elementary and preschool children. Elementary Activities * Human Tic-Tac-Toe Divide the group into two teams, and have each team sit on the floor near one of the masking tape grids. God is always faithful to us. That means we can trust him because he never changes his love toward us. God wants us to be faithful, too. What does it mean for us to be faithful? (To do what we re supposed to do; to follow God, even when it s hard.) Being faithful means that we can be trusted to do what we re supposed to do, even if no one else sees, and even if we don t feel like it. What are some ways you can be faithful? (By coming to church; by obeying God; by serving God and others.) Coming to church every week shows faithfulness to God. Things like sticking by friends when everyone else seems to be against them and keeping your promises show faithfulness. Our faithfulness honors God. Let s play a game of Human Tic-Tac-Toe and see how faithful we are! Explain that the first column in each grid is for home situations, the middle is for school, and the third is for church. Have teams take turns sending someone to draw a home, school, or church paper from the hat and read it aloud. Describe an action for that category (examples are listed on the next page), and have the child put the slip of paper back in the hat. Teammates should then discuss whether anyone on the team has done that action in the past week. If someone has, he or she has to prove it by describing the action briefly. 142 KidsOwn Worship Fall Quarter

143 If you believe the child s story, have that child stand in any empty block in the appropriate column on the grid. For example, if the child did a church action, he or she should stand in any blank spot in the third column. Have the teams take turns drawing cards from the hat. When one team gets three in a row in any direction, they shout out together, Our faithfulness honors God! Allow the other team to finish the same way. Remind kids to be honest. If there s time, play another round or play until the entire grid is filled. Actions for the home category might include, You made your bed without being told, You read your Bible, You fed the pets without being told, You brushed your teeth every day. Actions for the school category might include, You did your homework whenever you had it this week (everyone on the team must say yes to qualify), You were kind to someone you don t like very much (don t name names), You helped someone who was having trouble with an assignment, You complimented your teacher, You told a classmate about Jesus. Actions for the church category might include, You came to church the last four weeks in a row, You gave your teacher a hug when you came in today, You didn t fight with a family member on the way to church, You brought your Bible today, You complimented someone in church today, You brought an offering today, You told a friend about Jesus. Good job, everyone! Maybe you didn t know it, but you are faithful in many ways. You might not think some of these things are important, but listen to what Jesus will say to those who are faithful in little things. He ll say, Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. If God can trust us with little things, he ll trust us with big things later. Let s look for ways to show faithfulness this week. Our faithfulness honors God. * Lasting Faithfulness Being faithful means that you stay loyal to someone or something. It means that you stick by that person or thing, no matter what. Jesus is always faithful to us. Have the children pass around the card you created earlier and examine it while you continue. God loves us perfectly. He doesn t love you for two days or two months and then turn his attention on someone else. Sometimes we do that to each other, but God is never that way. He is always faithful. Have kids pass the card back to you. God s love and faithfulness never disappear. Session 11 KidsOwn Worship 143

144 How do you feel when someone isn t faithful to you? (Hurt; sad; like they don t care about me.) What are some ways we might act unfaithful to God? (Not following his commands; not loving others the way he wants us to.) Hold the open card up while you say the following. Lots of times when we don t feel like it, we don t do the things we know are right. Or, if life gets tough, we close our hearts and our faithfulness in the little things disappears. Close the card. God wants us to learn to be faithful. Our faithfulness honors God. Take a moment right now, and tell God silently that you want to be faithful to him. Pause while the kids pray. Now let s all put a thumbprint in the heart as a way to show God that we want to be faithful and to bring him honor. Gather kids around the card and have them use the Ink Pad to put their thumbprints in the heart. Have hand wipes available for kids to clean their thumbs. for a volunteer to pray and ask God for help with being faithful. Our Wall in the Hall of Faith We ve been talking about what it means to be faithful. Tell me how these people showed faithfulness to God: Noah (pause for answers), Abraham (pause), Moses (pause). I want to tell you of another person who was faithful to God. One time Joshua sent spies to check out the land of Jericho. When they got there, the spies met a woman named Rahab. Rahab knew about them. She had heard people talking about the God of the Israelites and believed in him. So she hid the Israelite spies and saved their lives. In return, the spies promised to spare Rahab and her family when they came to fight against Jericho. From the story I ve told you, who demonstrated faithfulness? (The spies promised to save Rahab; Rahab helped the spies; Joshua was following God s commands; God sent Rahab to help the spies.) Listen to what Rahab said to the spies in Joshua 2:9-12. I know that the Lord has given this land to you for the Lord your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below Swear to me by the Lord your God that you will show kindness to my family, because I have shown kindness to you. What does this tell us about how Rahab feels about God? (She s faithful to God; she knew that God was the one true God.) What was her motive for helping the spies? (To save her life; to be on God s side; to serve God.) 144 KidsOwn Worship Fall Quarter (continued on page 147)

145 Preschool Activities Worship Theme: Joshua Sends Spies to Jericho Our faithfulness honors God. Easy Prep for Leaders Faithful Actions Set up two or three stations for practicing household chores: Vacuuming Set out a handheld vacuum cleaner or a broom and dustpan. Sprinkle something coarse, such as oatmeal or rice, on the floor for children to clean up. Dishwashing Set out tubs of warm, soapy water and clear rinse water; a variety of plastic containers to wash and dry; and a towel. Dusting Provide small cloths to use as dust cloths. Joshua 2:1-24 Chair cleaning Put water in spray bottles and provide paper towels so children can spray chairs or tables and wipe them off. Snack preparation Set out supplies for a simple snack, such as cream cheese on crackers or frosting on vanilla wafers, that the children can assemble. Faithful Rahab Use a knife to cut a small slit, the width of a craft stick, in the bottom of a foam cup for each child. Cut red yarn into 6-inch lengths, one for each child. Set out the craft sticks, cut cups, and yarn. I Spy Faithfulness Make a spy s magnifying glass by cutting out the center of a sturdy paper plate and taping a craft stick or paint stirrer to the side of it for a handle. Using Theo Consider using Theophilus the FaithRetriever puppet today in these ways: Have Theo lead the preschoolers from the main worship area to the preschool room. Have Theo help children with the cleaning chores in the Faithful Actions activity. See the KidsOwn Worship Kit for a puppet skit written for today s worship session. Sesson 11 * Faithful Actions Gather the children around you. Being faithful means doing the right things at the right times. What are your jobs at home? church? preschool? When you obey your mom or dad, even when they re not looking, you re being faithful. When you love and help others, you re being faithful, too. Our faithfulness honors God. Let s practice some ways to be faithful. Briefly discuss each of the stations. Help children form small groups and rotate through the stations. Make sure each child tries every activity. (If children make snacks, have them wipe their hands first.) Preschool Leader Tip Have an adult or teen helper assist at each station. If you don t have helpers, talk to the worship leader before children s church, and arrange for a few older volunteers from the group to help you with this activity. After the children have rotated through the stations, gather them together. What are some things you practiced doing? How do these things honor God? You were such good helpers today! You can be good helpers at home, too. When you help others, you re being faithful. Our faithfulness honors God. If children made a snack at one of the stations, have them serve it to one another now. Praise children for being faithful in helping each other. ALLERGY ALERT Be aware that some children have food allergies that can be dangerous. Know your children, and consult with parents about allergies their children may have. Also be sure to read food labels carefully as hidden ingredients can cause allergy-related problems. Session 11 KidsOwn Worship 145

146 Preschool Activities Faithful Rahab Let s make puppets to help us tell our Bible story. Our story is exciting it has spies and a brave woman named Rahab in it! Help children draw smiley faces at each end of a craft stick, one for Rahab and one for a spy. Show them how to slide the stick through the slit in a cup so that the spy face is inside the cup. When everyone has made a puppet, gather the children in the story area. Open your Bible to Joshua 2:1-24. When Joshua became the leader of Israel, he sent two spies to a place called Jericho. What is a spy? Spies don t want anyone to see them. Joshua s spies sneaked into Jericho to see how strong the enemies were. Here s my spy. Push the spy end of your stick up so it looks over the cup, make the spy look around, and then pull it back into the cup. Make your spy peek out now; then hide him again. Don t let the enemy see him! (Pause.) Good job, everybody. Joshua s spies went I Spy Faithfulness Hold up the paper plate magnifying glass, and look from child to child. In our Bible story today, Joshua sent spies into Jericho to see what the land was like. Rahab saved their lives by hiding them from their enemies. Spies learn to see things other people don t see. I have my spy glass here. I m spying, looking for some faithful people like Rahab. Stop turning the spy glass, and look at one child. something like, I spy someone quickly into Jericho. They went to the house of a lady named Rahab. Turn your cup puppet over, and move Rahab around in a happy way. Show me your Rahab. (Pause.) Rahab knew that God was a friend of the spies. She knew that God was more powerful than anyone. So when enemy soldiers came to her house to kill the spies, Rahab acted quickly. She hid the spies on the roof of her house. Hide your spy now. Turn the cup over, and cover it with your hand to hide the spy. The soldiers couldn t find the spies! Finally they went away. Rahab said to the spies, When you come back to this city, remember to protect me and my family the way I protected you. They agreed to protect Rahab. Drape the piece of red yarn around Rahab. The spies gave Rahab a red cord. They told her to hang it out her window so they would know which was Rahab s house. They said they would protect her house. Give everyone a piece of red yarn to put on their puppets. What did Rahab do that was good? Rahab believed in and trusted God. Rahab was willing to help others. Rahab was faithful. God wants us to be faithful, too. Our faithfulness honors God. who loves God with all [his or her] heart. [Name of child] is faithful to God. Continue to look for faithful children, find each child in the group, and give each child an affirmation. Affirmations might include I spy someone who tries hard to obey [his or her] mom or dad, or I spy someone who comes to church every week. Make sure each child is affirmed. When you are faithful in little things, you make God happy. Let s remember to be like Rahab. Our faithfulness honors God. 146 KidsOwn Worship Fall Quarter

147 (continued from page 144) Rahab believed in God just from hearing others talk about him. She wanted to save her life, but, more than that, she knew that God always wins and that it was pointless to fight against him. Let s find out what God thought of Rahab. Open your Bible to Hebrews 11, and show it to the kids. Sometimes people refer to this chapter as the Hall of Faith. It mentions the people we talked about earlier, as well as others. Each mention begins with By faith. It says By faith Noah and then tells what Noah did. It continues with By faith Abraham, By faith Isaac, and many others. Then verse 31 says, By faith Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient. Wow! Rahab wasn t even one of the children of Israel! Yet God chose to include her in the list of people who walked by faith! How does God feel about Rahab? (God knows that she s faithful; God loves Rahab.) What does this tell us about how God feels about faithfulness? (It s important to him; he honors those who are faithful to him.) Rahab s faithfulness honored God, as did that of all the others mentioned in Hebrews 11. I don t know about you, but if my name were in that chapter, I d think it was a big deal! The writer of Hebrews said he didn t have time to tell of all the people who walked by faith. That can include us! Let s make a Wall of Faith to tell God we want to honor him with our faithfulness, too. As you work, I ll play the song Faith. Let s honor God by choosing to be faithful. Play Faith (Hebrews 11:1). Track 1 Have kids use the markers to draw pictures of themselves and sign their names. Or have them trace their handprint and sign it. Repeat the song until kids are finished. Leave the poster in the room to remind kids that their faithfulness honors God. Let s Pray! The Offering Another way we show faithfulness to God is by bringing offerings. Our offerings help do God s work. That work includes sending missionaries to other countries, paying for this building so we can worship, and helping people that need money and food. When we give God some of our money, we re giving him something that s important to us. That honors God. As you bring your offering today, tell him you re glad to honor him. Take the offering. Session 11 KidsOwn Worship 147

148 Pantomime Praise When actors act out a scene silently, it s called a pantomime. We re going to praise God without singing it ll be a pantomime song. Instead of singing, we ll act it out. Play Trust and Obey (or another song of your choice) one time, and have children brainstorm among themselves about simple ways to use their bodies to praise God as the song says. Track 8 When the song is over, have children scatter around the room and find a spot of their own. They can sit, stand, or kneel, but they shouldn t move from their space during their pantomime. Remind children not to think about others but to concentrate on worshipping God. When I play the song again, stay in your own space and worship God with your actions. We won t be watching each other, so just concentrate on praising God. Play the song again, and have everyone pantomime praise to God. Object Prayers Set out everyday objects on a table, and gather the children around it. Have each child in turn pick up an item and use it to complete the prayer, Lord, help me be faithful in [doing an action]. For example, if a child picks up a book, he or she might pray, Lord, help me be faithful in doing my homework, or Lord, help me be faithful in reading to my little brother. Pray Continue until everyone has had a chance to pray. Lord Jesus, thank you for helping us be faithful. Help us make right choices every day to bring you honor. Help us be faithful in little things, so that we can be faithful in the big ones later on. We love you, Lord. In Jesus name, amen. 148 KidsOwn Worship Fall Quarter

149 Encouragement for Leaders For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart (Hebrews 4:12). God s Word is powerful. Even when you feel like you re struggling as a teacher, God s Word is powerfully impacting the lives of the children in your class. From Heartfelt Thanks for Sunday School Teachers. Copyright 2003 Group Publishing, Inc., Loveland, CO.

150 Session 12 The Israelites Cross the Jordan River Joshua 3:1 4:24 Worship Theme: We can thank God for what he does. Weaving Faith Into Life: Children will worship God for who he is and praise God for his provision. Session Sequence What Children Will Do Supplies Let s Praise God! (up to 25 minutes) Sing The Power! (track 6) His Great Love (Romans 5:8) (track 9) Give Thanks (1 Chronicles 16:8) (track 17) He Is Powerful (track 14) Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah (track 11) To God Be the Glory (track 18) Doxology (track 4) KidsOwn Worship Kit: Songs From FaithWeaver CD player, Thanksgiving symbols, several self-stick notes per child, markers Preschool Session Sequence What Children Will Do Supplies Let s Learn the Point! (up to 25 minutes) Show Me the Story Act out the Bible story, and learn that God stopped the Jordan River. Thank You Do nice things for each other, and say thank you when someone does something nice for them. * Thanksgiving Snack Enjoy turkey treats, and say what they re thankful for. 3 small rocks and 1 plastic bag per child 2 crackers, 1 piece of turkey lunchmeat, and 1 piece of cheese per child; hand wipes 150 KidsOwn Worship Fall Quarter

151 Session Sequence What Children Will Do Supplies * Be the Story Dramatize a paraphrase of God stopping the Jordan River. Elementary Let s Learn the Point! (up to 25 minutes) Reminder Rocks Decorate rocks as reminders to thank God. * Thanksgiving Potatoes Clean and wrap potatoes to serve as reminders to thank God on Thanksgiving. 1 smooth rock per child, art supplies 1 potato, 1 square of cellophane, and 2 feet of curling ribbon per child; 1 copy of Potato Instructions handout per 8 children; tape; scissors; paper towels; 1 vegetable brush per 3 children Session Sequence What Children Will Do Supplies Let s Pray! (up to 10 minutes) The Offering Make a pile with their offerings like the pile of rocks the Israelites created. Prayer Pile Create a pile of rocks as they say what they re thankful for. What God Has Done Sing a closing song and cheer for God. Offering bowls Potatoes from Thanksgiving Potatoes activity KidsOwn Worship Kit: Songs From FraithWeaver: Give Thanks (1 Chronicles 16:8) (track 17) CD player * Starred activities can be used successfully with preschool and elementary children together. Customize your session to fit your needs. You can separate preschoolers and elementary children for Section 2. Or, if you keep the children all together for the entire worship session, we suggest you choose from the starred activities. Session 12 KidsOwn Worship 151

152 Bible Background for Leaders The Israelites Cross the Jordan River Joshua 3:1 4:24 Parts of this story seem like a rerun of the Israelites crossing of the Red Sea 40 years earlier. Remember, however, that apart from Joshua and Caleb, all of the people crossing the Jordan River were no older than children when Israel crossed the Red Sea. This totally new experience must have reminded them of the stories their parents had told them about the miracle of crossing the Red Sea. Notice that the Jordan River was not just a trickling stream it was at flood stage. In the area of Jericho, it would have been 10 to 12 feet deep, and the current quite strong. The Israelites built a stone memorial with the rocks taken from the center of the Jordan River. The memorial would remind people of the wonders God had done for the Israelites as they entered the Promised Land, and the 12 stones together would remind them of the 12 tribes joined together as one nation. The last verse of today s passage, Joshua 4:24, tells us why God dried up the Jordan for the people to cross: so that all the peoples of the earth might know that the hand of the Lord is powerful and so that you might always fear the Lord your God. God wanted his people to fear him to give him the worship and service he deserved. Remembering what God had done would give them encouragement and faith when they faced the difficulties of conquering this new land. Devotion for Leaders As we grow in our relationship with Christ, we become more Christlike. We can testify that we have been renewed and delivered from our different lives of the past. Weaving Faith Into Your Life: Reread Joshua 4:24. Note the public display of power that God left as a reminder of his love and power. In times of darkness, it is often helpful to rest in the truth of what we have experienced in the past. Encounters with our Savior remind us that he is with us. Sharing these experiences with others can give hope to the hopeless and bring glory to the work God has done in you. Identify five people to whom you will testify of God s power in your life this week. After you share, watch how God s power in you affects the people you share with. 152 KidsOwn Worship Fall Quarter

153 Why We Worship for Leaders During the Exodus, the Israelites experienced God s presence and power in many mighty ways. After Moses death, when Joshua was leader of Israel, God continued to care for his people. But when the Israelites reached the Jordan River, they faced a huge obstacle. They needed to cross the river to reach the Promised Land, but it was swollen to flood stage. When we face obstacles in our lives, God s glory really can shine. He helps us overcome trouble just as he stopped the Jordan River from flowing. It s easy to take God s incredible deeds for granted, but it s important to stop and thank God for what he does. What better time than at Thanksgiving? Let s thank God just as the Israelites did! Easy Prep for Leaders Let s Praise God! Gather a variety of Thanksgiving symbols and set them on a table. Symbol examples include squash and pumpkins, corn and other grains, Pilgrim hats, and praying hands. You may also want to collect various symbols of God s provision, such as clothes, money, toys, blankets, and a Bible. Thanksgiving Potatoes Photocopy the Potato Instructions handout (at the end of this session). Cut apart the sets of instructions so each child will have one. For additional worship songs each week, check out the Sing & Praise DVD included with your KidsOwn Worship kit! Preschool Activities Refer to the preschool pages for preparations. Let s Praise God! Play Songs From FaithWeaver, Fall 2015 as children arrive. Greet kids by name, and say to each one, I m thankful to God that you came today. When everyone has arrived, begin the worship session. Hello, everyone! Welcome to children s church. It s almost Thanksgiving, so today we re going to be thanking God for what he does. Point out the objects you set out beforehand. As we sing today, take notice of these items that represent our Thanksgiving holiday. They also symbolize the abundance of gifts God gives us. As you look at the Thanksgiving symbols, think about the gifts God gives us the things he does and the way he loves us, gives us what we need, protects us, and more! God is so powerful, and he can provide for all our needs. Let s sing a song about God s power. Sing The Power! Lyrics are in the back of this book. Track 6 Session 12 KidsOwn Worship 153

154 If we were to fill a box with God s gifts, what are some of the things that might be in it? (Food; friends; God s love.) One of God s gifts to us is his love. Remember, God loves us no matter what! He loves you more than anyone else does! And he loves us all the same! That s something to celebrate. Let s sing a song about God s great love, which will last forever. Sing His Great Love (Romans 5:8). Lyrics are in the back of this book. Because of God s great love and the other wonderful gifts he gives us, God deserves our thanks. Let s pray a thank you prayer now: God, thank you for loving us and for all the other wonderful things you do. Invite kids to share their own thanksgiving prayers aloud. Track 9 Another way we can thank God is to tell other people about the wonderful things he does. Worship Leader Tip During the discussion, allow preschool children to answer questions first so they have a chance to give some of the easier answers. When older children answer questions, preschool children may feel a little intimidated and less willing to answer questions themselves. Let them go first so their answers aren t always taken and they feel less overwhelmed. Read 1 Chronicles 16:8. What are some of the wonderful things God does? (Saves us from our sins; helps us when we need help; shows us how to do what s right; encourages us.) Let s sing a song about telling others what God does. Sing Give Thanks (1 Chronicles 16:8). Lyrics are in the back of this book. God does so many incredible things. We have so much to thank him for. Since God wants us to tell others about the things he does, let s sing another song that talks about some of those things. Sing He Is Powerful. Track 17 Lyrics are in the back of this book. God is amazing and powerful! Let s clap and cheer for God and the incredible things he does! Encourage kids to clap and cheer even jump for joy to celebrate God. Sometimes we need God s help. Maybe we need God to help us out of a scary situation or to help us make a tough decision. We can always count on God to be with us in those times. When are some times when you have needed God s help? (When I was sad; when I got lost; when my dad lost his job.) How did God help you? (He sent a friend to cheer me up; he helped my family have enough money to pay bills.) 154 KidsOwn Worship Fall Quarter

155 Let s thank God in a creative way for those ways he has helped us. Distribute several self-stick notes and a marker or pencil to each person. Have kids write or draw on their notes things God has done in their lives that they re thankful for for example, providing protection, showing power, providing for them, or creating the world. When kids have finished writing or drawing, have them stick their notes on a wall to form a large collage. Remember what we ve learned over the past several weeks: God led the Israelites to the Promised Land. He protected them along the way and provided what they needed. God does the same for us. But even though we know God will always help us, it s important that we don t take that help for granted. We should always remember God s help and thank him for it. Let s sing a song to ask God to help us every day. Sing Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah. Lyrics are in the back of this book. Track 11 God always answers our prayers. He ll help us and guide us every day. Let s remember to turn to him and to thank him for the awesome things he does! Now let s thank God together through a responsive reading. I ll say a sentence, and I d like you to say, Thank you, God, for what you do after every sentence. Let s begin. God is good to us. God loves us. God takes care of us. God gives us what we need. God is good to us. Kids say, Thank you, God, for what you do. Kids say, Thank you, God, for what you do. Kids say, Thank you, God, for what you do. Kids say, Thank you, God, for what you do. Kids say, Thank you, God, for what you do. Thank you, God! Good job! Let s sing another song to thank God for what he does. Sing To God Be the Glory. Lyrics are in the back of this book. Now let s try a fun way of thanking God for the things we described in our collage. Have kids form teams of five to eight. Track 18 Session 12 KidsOwn Worship 155

156 In your team, come up with a thank you cheer for God. Think of yourselves as cheerleaders for God. You have five minutes to make up your cheers. After five minutes, ask teams to perform their cheers for one another while looking at the collage for inspiration. When all the teams have performed their cheers, lead everyone in clapping and cheering together. Pray As we sing this last song, think about all the gifts God has given us. Sing the Doxology. Lyrics are in the back of this book. Now let s pray together. God, we thank you for your wonderful gifts to us. Remind us of your everlasting love and your power and protection in our lives. Help us to worship you in our hearts. In Jesus name, amen. Let s Learn the Point! Track 4 Preschool Activities, pages At this time, have the preschool leader invite the preschoolers to go to their own room for this section of activities. Tear out the Preschool Activities page, and give it to the preschool leader. Have the preschool leader bring the preschoolers back to participate in Let s Pray! with the older children. If you prefer to keep all the children together, do the starred (*) activities. They will work well with both elementary and preschool children. Elementary Activities * Be the Story I m going to tell you a Bible story. As I do so, I want you to participate. Here are your instructions: When I mention the Israelites, say, Hello! When I mention the river, wave your arms from side to side and say, Woosh! like rushing water. Every time I mention the ark of the covenant, I want you to put your arms out at your sides and bend your elbows down to make yourself look like a box. When I mention Joshua, flex your muscles and say, Fearless leader! When I mention the stones, roll yourself up into a ball to look like a rock. 156 KidsOwn Worship Fall Quarter Encourage children to practice the motions and words before you launch into the paraphrase of the Bible story. Pause after each of the underlined words to prompt children to participate in the story.

157 When the Israelites got to the land God had promised them, they realized they had a problem. As they were traveling, they found themselves at the edge of the Jordan River. This was a problem because they knew they had to go across the river to get to the Promised Land. The Jordan River was fast and wide and deep. In fact, it was as full of water as it could get. It was almost overflowing! How do you think the people felt at this point? (Scared; afraid they d have to go back; confused; disappointed.) When have you felt afraid? (When things didn t go the way I wanted them to; when I wasn t sure what was going to happen.) What made you feel better? (Having someone with me; when I realized everything would be OK.) Joshua and the other leaders of the Israelites told the Israelites to get ready for God to do something amazing. They said, The priests are going to carry the ark of the covenant into the Jordan River. When you see them carrying it, follow them. But don t get too close to the ark of the covenant. It represents the presence of God. Joshua told the Israelites, God will show you today that he is with you and he will take care of you. So when the priests started carrying the ark of the covenant toward the Jordan River, the Israelites followed. When the priests put their feet in the water, something amazing really did happen! The river stopped flowing, and the water stacked up in one place! The priests who were carrying the ark of the covenant stopped in the middle of the river bed, and all the Israelites walked across the Jordan River on dry land! How do you think the people felt at this point? (Excited; happy; relieved; thankful.) When have you felt that excited? (When I got a good grade I didn t expect on a test; when something good happened that I didn t know would happen.) When have you felt that thankful? (When God helped me; when God provided for my family.) After the Israelites had crossed the Jordan River, Joshua told them to gather 12 stones from the middle of the river. Then the priests carrying the ark of the covenant walked out of the river, and the Jordan River began to flow again. The Israelites carried the stones to the other side of the river and built a large pile of stones. These stones would remind them for years to thank God for what he did for them. Joshua told the Israelites, In the future, when your children ask you, What do these stones mean? tell them that the flow of the Jordan was cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord For the Lord your God dried up the Jordan before you until you had crossed over. Session 12 KidsOwn Worship 157

158 Why do you think God wanted the people to make the pile of stones? (So they remembered how he helped them; the stones reminded them to thank God for what he d done.) How do you say thank you to God? (I worship him; I pray.) Reminder Rocks Give each child a smooth rock, and set out art supplies. Just as the Israelites did, we re going to create reminders to thank God for what he does. Use the art supplies I ve provided to decorate your rock. Be sure to decorate it in a way that will remind you to thank God. Encourage children to be creative as they decorate and to keep in mind that the rocks are to serve as reminders to thank God. After three or four minutes, put aside the art supplies. Have the children show each other their decorated rocks. Then ask the following questions. What are some of the ways you decided to decorate your rock? (With pictures of things God has given me; with family members; with bright colors.) Why did you choose to decorate your rock as you did? (Because God gives good gifts; because God gave me my family; the bright colors remind me of how happy God s gifts make me.) How can these rocks remind us to thank God? (When I see it, I can thank God; I can set my rock somewhere so I see it every day and thank God.) There are many ways to express our thanks to God in everyday life. Let s remember to tell God thank you for all the wonderful things he does. * Thanksgiving Potatoes It s Thanksgiving time. It s time for us to celebrate the things in our lives that we re thankful for. Why do we celebrate Thanksgiving? (To thank God for what he s given; to remember what God has done for us.) How does your family celebrate Thanksgiving? (We eat a lot; we watch football; we celebrate with family.) How is our Thanksgiving holiday similar to what the Israelites did after they crossed the Jordan River? How is it different? (We remember God with food, they remembered God with stones; like the Israelites, we do something to remember to thank God.) Give each child a potato. (Continued on page 161) 158 KidsOwn Worship Fall Quarter

159 Preschool Activities The Israelites Cross the Jordan River Joshua 3:1 4:24 Session 12 Worship Theme: We can thank God for what he does. Easy Prep for Leaders Thank You Place three rocks in a small plastic bag for each child. Using Theo Consider using Theophilus the FaithRetriever puppet today in these ways: Have Theo lead the preschoolers from the main worship area to the preschool room. Have children do nice things for Theo during the Thank You activity. See the KidsOwn Worship Kit for a puppet skit written for today s worship session. Show Me the Story When the Israelites got to the land God had promised them, they realized they had a problem. They had to go across a big, deep river to get to the Promised Land. What do you think that river looked like? Encourage the kids to act like they think a big, deep river would act. Help them understand that the river would be powerful, fast, and probably frightening. While the children act like the river, continue to paraphrase the story. The leaders of the people told them, The priests are going to carry the ark of the covenant into the river. When you see them carrying it, follow them. But don t get too close to the ark. God is going to do something amazing. So when the priests started carrying the ark of the covenant toward the river, the people followed. When the priests put their feet in the water, something amazing really did happen! The river stopped flowing, and the water stood in one place! Show me what that must have looked like. Indicate to children that they are to simulate the river by stopping where they are and lying still on the floor. Then as you continue with your paraphrase, walk among the children to represent the way the Israelites walked across the riverbed. When the water stopped flowing, the people walked across the river on dry land! After they had crossed the river, they gathered some stones from the middle of the river and built a large pile of stones to remind them to thank God for what he did for them. How do you think the Israelites felt after they crossed the river on dry land? Show me how you think the people acted after they crossed the river. Encourage children to express happiness by jumping, dancing, and celebrating. Do you know what the Israelites said after they crossed the river? They said the same thing people say when other people do something nice for them. What do people say when other people do something nice for them? We can thank God for what he does. Let s say thank you to God all together: Thank you, God! Session 12 KidsOwn Worship 159

160 Preschool Activities Thank You Let s play a game. We re going to practice saying thank you. We re going to do nice things for each other and say thank you. The nice things we do can remind us of the nice things God does for us. After someone does something nice for you, say thank you. Encourage children to do nice things for each other, such as patting each other s arms, handing out toys, or hugging. Remind children to say thank you after each nice gesture. Also, be sure each child is the recipient of at least one nice gesture. Now we re going to say nice things to each other. The nice things we say can remind us of the nice things God says to us. After someone says something nice to you, say thank you. Encourage children to say nice things to each other, such as I like you, I m glad you re here, or You re nice. Remind children to say thank you after each nice statement. Also, be sure each child is the recipient of at least one nice statement. Now I m going to give each of you a small bag of rocks, and I want you to say thank you. These rocks can remind us of the rocks the Israelites set up to remind them to thank God. Give each child a bag of rocks, and encourage children to say thank you. Let s count our rocks. Help children count to three. These rocks can remind us to thank God for what he does. Since we all have three rocks, let s try to think of three different kinds of things God does for us. I gave you a gift of three rocks. What kinds of gifts does God give us? You did nice things for each other. What nice things does God do for us? You said nice things to each other. What nice things does God say to us? What should we say to God for what he does? Let s say it all together to thank God for what he does: Thank you, God! * Thanksgiving Snack What does your family do at Thanksgiving? At Thanksgiving, most people thank God and enjoy the gifts he s given us by eating a meal. Many people eat turkey at Thanksgiving. Let s make our own small turkey meals now. Have children wipe their hands with the hand wipes. Then help them make small turkey sandwiches. They should place a small amount of turkey lunchmeat and a small slice of cheese between two crackers. As you eat your turkey, say one thing you re thankful for. We ll do this to thank God for what he does. As kids eat their treats, allow each person to say one thing he or she is thankful for. ALLERGY ALERT Be aware that some children have food allergies that can be dangerous. Know your children, and consult with parents about allergies their children may have. Also be sure to read food labels carefully as hidden ingredients can cause allergy-related problems. 160 KidsOwn Worship Fall Quarter

161 (continued from page 158) These potatoes sort of look like stones, don t they? We re going to use these potatoes to thank God the way the Israelites used the stones. Show kids how to wash their potatoes, rinsing them under water and scrubbing them with a vegetable brush. Then have children pat their potatoes dry with paper towels. When all the potatoes are clean, give each child a segment of decorative cellophane. Show kids how to wrap their potatoes in the cellophane so the ends of the cellophane are gathered at the top. Then distribute pieces of curling ribbon and instruct children to tie their cellophane shut. Give each child a copy of the instructions for baking potatoes from the Potato Instructions handout. Make tape available, and help kids tape the instructions to their cellophane. Take these potatoes home and ask a parent to help you prepare it as part of your Thanksgiving meal. When you eat this potato, tell the story of the Israelites crossing the Jordan River. Then remember to thank God for what he does. If preschoolers do not participate in this activity, make extra potatoes for the Prayer Pile activity. Let s Pray! The Offering One way to thank God is to share what he has given us with others. Why do you think God wants us to share with others? (Because he wants us to show love; it s the right thing to do; because God is generous.) How can we help others by sharing what God has given us? (Giving old clothes to the poor; inviting a less-fortunate friend to dinner.) Let s say thank you to God by making a pile with our offerings, just as the Israelites made the pile of stones. Instruct kids to bring their offerings to the front of the room and make a pile with them. We can thank God for what he does. Prayer Pile You ll need the potatoes from the Thanksgiving Potatoes activity. Set the potatoes where everyone can see them. God loves to hear us say thank you for the things he does. Session 12 KidsOwn Worship 161

162 Let s tell him some of those things we re thankful for. Think of something you re thankful for that you haven t mentioned yet today. I ll start a sentence, and you finish it by telling God what you re thankful for. As you finish the sentence, take one of these potatoes and set it up here at the front of the room. We ll create a pile of potatoes like the pile of rocks the Israelites made, and we ll get to watch our prayers of thanks pile up. Let s pray. God, thank you for everything you do. Thank you for Encourage children to finish the sentence and to create a pile of potatoes as they do so. What God Has Done As we close our worship time, let s sing Give Thanks again. As we sing, try to sing the song as a prayer, talking to God. I m going to pause the song a few times so we can tell about great things God has done. So be thinking about what you d like to share. Sing Give Thanks (1 Chronicles 16:8). Lyrics are in the back of this book. Track 17 As children are singing, pause the CD a few times, and ask them to share what God has done. We can thank God for what he does. What great things has God done? After children have shared and sung, say amen. Then lead the kids in a celebration of clapping and cheering for God! As children leave, remind elementary students to take home their potatoes and the rocks they decorated. Remind them to put the rocks where they ll see them often and to thank God every time they see them. 162 KidsOwn Worship Fall Quarter

163 Potato Instructions Baked Potato If desired, rub the potato with shortening, margarine, or butter. Prick the potato with a fork. Wrap the potato in foil. Bake in a 425-degree oven for 40 to 60 minutes (or in a 350-degree oven for 70 to 80 minutes) or until tender. Baked Potato If desired, rub the potato with shortening, margarine, or butter. Prick the potato with a fork. Wrap the potato in foil. Bake in a 425-degree oven for 40 to 60 minutes (or in a 350-degree oven for 70 to 80 minutes) or until tender. Baked Potato If desired, rub the potato with shortening, margarine, or butter. Prick the potato with a fork. Wrap the potato in foil. Bake in a 425-degree oven for 40 to 60 minutes (or in a 350-degree oven for 70 to 80 minutes) or until tender. Baked Potato If desired, rub the potato with shortening, margarine, or butter. Prick the potato with a fork. Wrap the potato in foil. Bake in a 425-degree oven for 40 to 60 minutes (or in a 350-degree oven for 70 to 80 minutes) or until tender. Baked Potato If desired, rub the potato with shortening, margarine, or butter. Prick the potato with a fork. Wrap the potato in foil. Bake in a 425-degree oven for 40 to 60 minutes (or in a 350-degree oven for 70 to 80 minutes) or until tender. Baked Potato If desired, rub the potato with shortening, margarine, or butter. Prick the potato with a fork. Wrap the potato in foil. Bake in a 425-degree oven for 40 to 60 minutes (or in a 350-degree oven for 70 to 80 minutes) or until tender. Baked Potato If desired, rub the potato with shortening, margarine, or butter. Prick the potato with a fork. Wrap the potato in foil. Bake in a 425-degree oven for 40 to 60 minutes (or in a 350-degree oven for 70 to 80 minutes) or until tender. Baked Potato If desired, rub the potato with shortening, margarine, or butter. Prick the potato with a fork. Wrap the potato in foil. Bake in a 425-degree oven for 40 to 60 minutes (or in a 350-degree oven for 70 to 80 minutes) or until tender. OK to copy Permission to photocopy this handout from KidsOwn Worship Leader Guide, Fall, granted for local church use. Copyright Group Publishing, Inc. group.com Session 12 KidsOwn Worship 163

164 Session 13 God Gives Victory Over Jericho Joshua 6:1-27 Worship Theme: God always wins. Weaving Faith Into Life: Children will praise God for using his winning power in their lives. Session Sequence What Children Will Do Supplies Let s Praise God! (up to 25 minutes) Sing The Power! (track 6) There s Power in the Blood (track 13) Wherever You Go (Joshua 1:9) (track 3) My God Is (track 7) Give Thanks (1 Chronicles 16:8) (track 17) God Is the King (Psalm 47:7) (track 15) KidsOwn Worship Kit: Songs From FaithWeaver CD player, straight-back chair, chalkboard or whiteboard Preschool Session Sequence What Children Will Do Supplies Let s Learn the Point! (up to 25 minutes) The Wall Came Down Dramatize the story of Joshua and the wall of Jericho. * Winning Words Build a wall with scary things; then praise God, and knock the wall down. God Always Wins Parade March around chairs singing and pretending to blow trumpets. Package of plastic foam cups Blocks 164 KidsOwn Worship Fall Quarter

165 Elementary Session Sequence What Children Will Do Supplies Let s Learn the Point! (up to 25 minutes) * The Great Adventure of Jericho: A Slide Show Make a human slide show, and discuss the lesson of Jericho. Always a Winner Learn a winning math trick, and talk about how God always wins without tricks. * Personal Walls Write on a wall things they need God s help with. Large-beam flashlight Monthly calendar, marker, calculators, paper, pencils KidsOwn Worship Kit: Songs From FaithWeaver: There s Power in the Blood (track 13) 1 index card per child, tape, markers, CD player Session Sequence What Children Will Do Supplies Let s Pray! (up to 10 minutes) The Offering Offer their gifts to God, and give their situations to him. Praise Waves Cheer God with waves of praise. Confetti Praise Tear their cards to make confetti as they thank God. KidsOwn Worship Kit: Songs From FaithWeaver: God Is the King (Psalm 47:7) (track 15) Offering bowls, Personal Walls cards, CD player Cards from Personal Walls * Starred activities can be used successfully with preschool and elementary children together. Customize your session to fit your needs. You can separate preschoolers and elementary children for Section 2. Or, if you keep the children all together for the entire worship session, we suggest you choose from the starred activities. Session 13 KidsOwn Worship 165

166 Bible Background for Leaders God Gives Victory Over Jericho Joshua 6:1-27 This story is probably one of the best-known stories in the Old Testament. Certainly it is one of the most dramatic because of the way God chose to claim the city for the Israelites. Archaeologists have found the site of ancient Jericho but are still uncertain which city is the one delivered into the hands of the Israelites because it has been destroyed so many times. In light of the curse put upon Jericho in Joshua 6:26, the archaeological findings are interesting indeed. While scouting out the city, Joshua was no doubt surprised to see a man with a drawn sword in front of him (Joshua 5:13). We don t know if this was an appearance of God himself, a preincarnate appearance of Jesus, or an angel; however, we do know that he was someone sent from God. Notice how the messenger responds to Joshua s question Are you for us or for our enemies? The messenger was the commander of the Lord s army. It was up to Joshua and Israel to be on the Lord s side, not for the commander to be on Joshua s side! In Joshua 5:15 we are reminded once again of one of Moses encounters with God: the time at the burning bush when Moses was asked to remove his sandals because the place on which he stood was holy ground (Exodus 3:5). In the middle of God s message to Joshua, the writer stops to mention a very important fact in Joshua 6:1: The people of Jericho had closed up their city, counting on its strong fortifications to protect them. It was so firmly sealed that no one could go in or out. This meant that no one from Jericho would get in the way as the Israelites marched around the city walls! Notice that God not only told Joshua what to do, but also told him precisely what would happen (Joshua 6:5). Assuming that the word from God spread among the Israelites, imagine their increasing anticipation as the army marched silently around the city day after day and then seven times on the seventh day. The people knew that God was about to do something spectacular! Just as promised, Rahab and her family were spared because of the faith she had shown in hiding the Hebrew spies. God s power worked to save her and the Israelites, while at the same time it was working to destroy the inhabitants of Jericho for their idolatry and immorality. Devotion for Leaders A relationship with Jesus allows us to walk in confidence, as his power of forgiveness has given us freedom. His love for us provides us with what we need to be clean in his perfect eyes. Weaving Faith Into Your Life: Take a few minutes to write down as many words as you can that show the character of God: powerful, patient, creative, and faithful, to name a few. After the list is complete, save it and use it as a devotional tool. Each day, meditate on one of these characteristics and how God has shown that characteristic in your life. Give God praise, and acknowledge his mighty work in your life. 166 KidsOwn Worship Fall Quarter

167 Why We Worship for Leaders All human beings desire to win in life and be successful, even children. But all too often, reality makes us painfully aware of the shortcomings and weaknesses that rise like mighty walls in our hearts, relationships, and lives. God wants us to be victorious, but sometimes we wonder if he really is in control and if he really knows what s going on! Joshua must have felt the same misgivings as he contemplated God s order to do battle at Jericho, which was built on a high hill and consisted of walls so thick people built their homes in them. But God s directions were clear and simple, and all that remained was for Joshua to obey. When he did, the miraculous happened the mighty walls of Jericho fell to the ground! God s instructions may sometimes seem odd to us, but he always has a plan. He chose us to be on his team, and, if we choose to play his way, we ll learn that he is the God of victory, the one who always wins. That s reason to worship. Easy Prep for Leaders Let s Praise God! Set a straight-backed chair at the front of the room. a small child and an adult helper to help you. Briefly explain what they ll do for the demonstration shown in the activity, but don t have them try it. For additional worship songs each week, check out the Sing & Praise DVD included with your KidsOwn Worship kit! On a chalkboard or whiteboard, write Enemies =, Deep waters =, so that the phrases are separated. Leave room below each one to write words later. Always a Winner Make several photocopies of a one-month calendar page. Secretly enlist the help of one of the older kids who knows the multiplication tables well. Explain the activity. You might want to test the volunteer on a few numbers to make sure he or she can do the trick. Personal Walls Tape blank index cards, at least one per child, on a wall in the shape of a brick wall. Set a container of markers or pencils on the floor underneath the wall of cards. Preschool Activities Refer to the preschool pages for preparations. Let s Praise God! Play Songs From FaithWeaver, Fall 2015 as children arrive. the first few children who arrive to help you as greeters. Have them greet children by name and give them a high five as they say, God always wins! When everyone has arrived and been greeted, begin worship. Welcome to children s church, everyone! Someone tell me what your favorite sports team is. Does your team always win? (They re winning every game this season; not all the time.) Session 13 KidsOwn Worship 167

168 Wouldn t it be great to be on a team that always wins? (That would be awesome; I d love to always win.) I have good news! You are on a team that always wins God s team! God always wins, no matter what. Sometimes it may not look like he s winning, but in the end, God always wins. That s why we re worshipping him today. Let s stand and sing The Power! Sing The Power! Lyrics are in the back of this book. Track 6 Call on the small child and the adult you spoke to before the session. them to come to the front and stand by the straight-backed chair. Who would you guess is stronger, [name of small child] or [name of adult helper]? If we had a contest to see if [child s name] is strong enough to keep [name of adult] from getting out of the chair using only one or two fingers do you think [he or she] could do it? We re going to show that it s possible to win even when it doesn t seem possible. Worship Leader Tip This is a great experiment for preschoolers to be a part of. It will give them a chance to be involved in worship in a unique way and help them realize that even small children can do anything with God on their side. Have the adult sit in the chair with feet directly in front with knees together, and head held high, looking up. Have the small child stand directly in front of the chair and press his or her index finger against the middle of the person s forehead. (See the margin illustration.) Tell the adult to try standing up without using his or her hands. It s highly unlikely he or she will be able to get up. Here s why: To stand up, the adult will have to shift his or her weight to the feet by moving his or her head forward which will be difficult with the child s finger pressing against it. Even if the adult manages to stand up, it ll take a lot of effort! Looks like [child s name] wins! Allow one or two other children to try the trick; then explain why the adult can t get up. When we first looked at our two contestants in terms of strength, it didn t seem like [child s name] could possibly win. But when the instructions were followed, it was easy. It s like that with God. Sometimes what seems to be an impossible situation is not impossible at all. If we follow God s instructions, we ll be winners. He gives us power through Jesus. 168 KidsOwn Worship Fall Quarter Sing There s Power in the Blood. Lyrics are in the back of this book. Psalm 144:7 says, Reach down from heaven and rescue me; rescue me from deep waters, from the power of my enemies (NLT). If you were Daniel, David, or Jonah in the Old Testament, your enemies would be lions, giants, and sea creatures. But we don t get thrown into lions dens or fight giants or get swallowed by sea creatures. So who are our enemies, and what are deep waters in our lives? (People who don t believe in God; things we re scared of; negative feelings; sin and temptation.) Track 13